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Patches in action: Photos of SSI being worn by the troops.


Teamski
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An Italian made 15th Air Force patch.

 

The Awardee here is one Kenje Ogata, like Ben Kuroki, Ogata was another Nisei who served in the USAAF in WWII, there was three more Nisei (is there a list?)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenje_Ogata

 

 

Ogata after flight training.

 

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You bring up a good point. As the military was segregated at the time, about the only space available for Nisei was in the Army ground forces 442nd RCT and the few in the MIS in the SWPTO.

 

Many Nisei were sent to Ft. Snelling, MN where they did nothing for months at a time. They protested, and the protests actually led to rioting at the base. Interesting story. I had a book about the riots, but it disappeared and I no longer recall the title of the book or the author's name.

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Buffalo Grunt

Infantryman of the 3rd Missile Command wearing the blue bib, shoulder cord and discs and DUI of the 32nd Infantry Regiment.

 

It would have actually been the "32nd Infantry Battle Group" (1957-1963 Pentomic Era, hence the BG) GREAT photograph!

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It would have actually been the "32nd Infantry Battle Group" (1957-1963 Pentomic Era, hence the BG) GREAT photograph!

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This GI would be in C Co 32d Infantry, this unit was formed apparently as a separate unit under CARS in the late 50s to defend the missiles of the 3rd Missile Command at Fort Bragg North Carolina. At this time from what I could find, only two units of the 32nd Infantry were active, the 1st Battle Group 32nd Infantry, 7th Infantry Division South Korea, and the 4th Battle Group 32nd Infantry, 81st Infantry Division USAR..

 

With the advent of ROAD and the elimination of the PENTOMIC structure in 1963, the 32nd Infantry resumes it,s traditional slot in the 7th Infantry Division, now all three retitled Battalions are with it, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions. The 4th Battle Group 32nd Infantry is inactivated, it's place taken by an Infantry Regiment traditional to the 81st Infantry Division, either one of the battalions of the 322nd Infantry, or a new assignee to the division, one of the battalions of the 345th Infantry (traditionally in the old 87th Infantry Division, the 81st Infantry Division is itself inactivated in late 1965 with all the remaining full combat divisions of the reserve).

 

C Co 32nd Infantry we can assume was inactivated along with the 3rd Missile Command in February 1963, as one source I have does list it in the U.S. Army Order of Battle lists as of April 1968.

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School Of The Americas with AIRBORNE tab SSI worn with the School Of The Americas DUI. Any idea what the oval is and what unit it represents?

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Soldier on the right is wearing a subdued I Field Force Vietnam SSI but also note the uniform hanging behind him has a different variation of the same patch with the black and olive green colors reversed on the shield. It is probably a theater made example with velvet applique.

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Here is the sergeant major from the previous post in his earlier years wearing an MP armband with the Organization Of American States SSI during Operation Power Pack in the Dominican Republic in 1965. It's a good bet that is the SSI he is wearing as a combat patch in the previous picture.

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School Of The Americas with AIRBORNE tab SSI worn with the School Of The Americas DUI. Any idea what the oval is and what unit it represents?

Colors are off, but it looks like the Special Operations & Civil Military Operations Department of the School of the Americas oval.

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Colors are off, but it looks like the Special Operations & Civil Military Operations Department of the School of the Americas oval.

That is exactly what the Oval is. Unit was later reflagged as Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.

see attached

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82nd Airborne SSI worn on snow camouflaged arctic parkas by members of Company G 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Sorry it's a little blurry but this is a screen shot is from a 1956 "The Big Picture" episode "Arctic Night" about an 82nd training exercise to Greenland.

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Here's another screen shot from the video mentioned in the previous post showing a close-up of the SSI. Looks like it may have just been tacked on loosely with thread.

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Awesome close-up Sean! I think you are correct that they were speed sewn on.....

 

-Ski

And looks like with White thread no less, great foto.

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Warrant officer candidate at the Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker wearing the Third Army SSI with a Fixed Wing Aviation School patch worn on the pocket. This came from a 1957 Army film so it must date from right before the Army Aviation Center And School SSI started to be worn as TIOH says that patch was approved in 1957.

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Looks to me like it is the 370th Infantry Regiment. They were an Illinois National Guard outfit in WWI and the first division element sent to Italy.

 

http://www.custermen.com/Reference/Uniforms/DUI_Pins/DUI_370IR_92ID.jpg

 

Not the 370th....the censor has wiped the tab clean and marked thru the DIs....wonder why he or she did not censor the 92nd patch?

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Looks to me like it is the 370th Infantry Regiment. They were an Illinois National Guard outfit in WWI and the first division element sent to Italy.

 

http://www.custermen.com/Reference/Uniforms/DUI_Pins/DUI_370IR_92ID.jpg

 

Not the 370th....the censor has wiped the tab clean and marked thru the BOS insignia on the collar - but not the cap....wonder why he or she did not censor the 92nd patch?

 

The 370th and 371st IR DIs were not made and worn until post war, and at that time, were the 370th and 371st AIBs - elements of the US Constabulary. The DI for the 370th was approved in 1942 but made first by Lauer (in Germany, go figure).

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