dzandkw Posted December 26, 2009 Share #1 Posted December 26, 2009 i have a feeling some of this uniform is legit but not the qual bars http://cgi.ebay.com/WWII-US-Military-Army-...=item4cecb40d99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37thguy Posted December 26, 2009 Share #2 Posted December 26, 2009 Well he certainly was in long enough to qualify with all of those weapons, BUT I see two Rifle? That strikes me as odd. Also the Overseas bars are on the wrong sleeve, but who's gunna tell the Colonel they are wrong? It is named and with the higher rank, he should be easy enough to research him. Name, former unit awards, etc... Great piece if it's legit. Anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted December 26, 2009 Share #3 Posted December 26, 2009 For the period shown the O/S bars are on the correct sleeve. The changed from left to right around KW timeframe. I would bet he maintained the long Q Badge but never wore it. Officers do not wear Weapons Qualification badges as they are expected to be experts. I don't wear mine either, but do have one up to date just for fun. I bet he added it later after he retired, or a family member pinned it on. The only thing that really strikes me as odd is the $53 shipping cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted December 26, 2009 Share #4 Posted December 26, 2009 I've seen medals with long strings of Q bars on them sold before, but never seen on on a uniform. At least they are fairly consistent from the standpoint of being infantry weapons. The only one that throws me is "howitzer". In the 1970's Army that I was part of, officers typically did not wear marksmanship medals. It's not that they had not earned them, it just was practice to wear them. Perhaps it was just custom, or perhaps it was because the troops maintained proficiency while most officers did not. I believe I've seen 1930's photos of officers wearing marksmanship medals. Of course, that was a time period when fewer decorations were being handed out. So I am not sure when the practice changed. As you can see, with enough time in service and the opportunity to qualify on multiple weapons, you ended up with something that looked like a set of railroad tracks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted December 26, 2009 Share #5 Posted December 26, 2009 Just checked my USMA register. He is from the class of 1925. XO of 302nd INF, SS, BSM x3, 2CR, CIB. CoS 94th ID, LOM. CO 20th INF (Ft. Ord). KW- HQ IX Corps, KMAG, BSM. G4 Sixth Army 1953. Ret. 55, COL. On the 94th ID site, he is listed as CO of the 376th Inf. 14 Apr 45 --Lt. Col. John W. Gaddis Looks like a a great piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wailuna Posted December 26, 2009 Share #6 Posted December 26, 2009 ...CO 20th INF (Ft. Ord)... Colonels wearing long strings of qualification bars might be a custom of the 20th Infantry. See page 548 of Emerson's Encyclopedia for a picture of a C.O. of 20th Infantry at Ft. Ord, who is wearing the Expert badge with seven qualification bars. Col. Gaddis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted December 26, 2009 Share #7 Posted December 26, 2009 1943 Army register 1954 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne-Hunter Posted December 27, 2009 Share #8 Posted December 27, 2009 maybe one rifle bar is for a normal rifle and the other for a nuclear rifle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainofthe7th Posted December 27, 2009 Share #9 Posted December 27, 2009 I thought this might turn up on here...I was checking this one out for the Korean War history... Didn't mean to be selfish but I kind of hoped it would stay under the radar! I liked this guys foreign awards, too. Not many soldiers award the Korean award there...I can't remember if it's Tae-Guk, Ulchi, or something else! I hope someone on the forums wins this one...it probably won't be me, anyway! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stony Posted December 27, 2009 Share #10 Posted December 27, 2009 If you click on the seller's "see other items" link, you will find Gaddis' two West Point uniforms. Too bad they might not end up together. Nice grouping if they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted December 27, 2009 Share #11 Posted December 27, 2009 What I Find odd is the questions asked on his West Point uniforms about the size measurements. WHO would wear a USMA Jacket? I know they aren't sizing up a mannequin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfhounds Posted December 27, 2009 Share #12 Posted December 27, 2009 I would bet he maintained the long Q Badge but never wore it. Officers do not wear Weapons Qualification badges as they are expected to be experts. That does not make any sense because not everyone is going to shoot expert, and it does not matter whether you are an officer, NCO, or a buck private. Plus, there are photo's here on the forum that show officers wearing Q-badges and bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted December 27, 2009 Share #13 Posted December 27, 2009 You are correct. BUT, as an active duty Army officer right now, I can tell you that is the reasoning behind not wearing them (along with tradition). The only times officers wear them is way back in the day before and occasionally during WWII, and when an officer decided he/she would like to be different ad wear them. I know a few former SNCOs who wore theirs when they became officers since they always had before (until another higher officer would come along and have them removed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvmhm Posted December 27, 2009 Share #14 Posted December 27, 2009 IRT the Q-bars...one bar says "Rifle", the other bar says "Auto-rifle"....and his postage is using the eBay calculator so it might be less...the only thing that looks out of place to me is the ROK PUC is on the wrong side.....but someone might have thought it was "supposed" to be on the same side as the other ribbons and moved it....would be ncie to get that jacket with the West Point uniforms and shako.... So, the jacket might seem a little odd, but you have to remember...there's "by the book", and there's reality....think of how many uniforms you've seen with teh PTO and ETO ribbons upside down because they were put on so that the center stripe would display as red-white-blue! Mark sends Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainofthe7th Posted December 27, 2009 Share #15 Posted December 27, 2009 ...the only thing that looks out of place to me is the ROK PUC is on the wrong side.....but someone might have thought it was "supposed" to be on the same side as the other ribbons and moved it.... Mark, When the ROK PUC was established, no one really knew if it should go with other unit awards on the right breast, as it was indeed a unit award, or below/after the other ribbons as a foreign award. The placement varied between units and between individuals, so you get a mixture of where it is on uniforms. I've gone through my KW uniforms and its about 50/50, some are on the left, some on the right. I forget the date at which the ROK PUC was only authorized above the right pocket, but it was sometime in the 60s I think. Hope that helps! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItemCo16527 Posted December 28, 2009 Share #16 Posted December 28, 2009 The ROK PUC is on the correct side for the period. It wasn't until around '65 or '66 that foreign unit citations were to be worn on the right breast with US unit citations. The uniform looks A-OK to me, with the exception being the marksmanship badge - although I'm sure there might be a pretty reasonable explanation for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wailuna Posted December 28, 2009 Share #17 Posted December 28, 2009 Just to add a bit more spice to the mix, here is a Brigadier General serving on the general staff of Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Area, ca. 1945, with Expert badge and six qualification bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misanthropic_Gods Posted December 29, 2009 Share #18 Posted December 29, 2009 I just was watching the history Channels show on the Manhattan project, I noticed that in a picture of Major General Groves standing with J. Robert Oppenheimer, he has at least 5 qual badges on his uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KurtA Posted December 29, 2009 Share #19 Posted December 29, 2009 I just was watching the history Channels show on the Manhattan project, I noticed that in a picture of Major General Groves standing with J. Robert Oppenheimer, he has at least 5 qual badges on his uniform. One of those Q-bars he is wearing is no doubt the rarely awarded, “Atomic Hand Grenade” bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBird6684 Posted September 10, 2019 Share #20 Posted September 10, 2019 Did any one on the fourm purchase this because I have his west point uniform Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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