Army Flight Nurse Dress Uniforms Blue & Olive Green

[fraukriegbaum]

I have two Flight Nurse uniforms from the same lady. One is blue and the other one is olive green. Can anyone please tell me when they are used (what occasion)? I know this, the uniform is around Vietnam era (she retired 1965) with ribbon bars also from WWII. I have her papers from 1939 till she retired 1965.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

[Cobrahistorian]

Beautiful uniforms! You've got her class A's and dress blues. A's are normal every day business attire (like a suit you'd wear to an office). Blues during this time period were a bit more formal. The Army is currently getting rid of the Class A uniform and going to all Blues.

 

Your flight nurse served in the Pacific in WWII and also in Korea. Her ribbons are the Army Commendation Medal, American Campaign Medal, Pacific Theater Campaign medal, WWII Victory Medal, National Defense medal, Korean Campaign medal, Armed Forces Reserve medal and Korea Service medal.

 

Looks like you need a pair of Lieutenant Colonel's leaves for her class A epaulettes!

 

That hat is really nice!

 

Jon

[fraukriegbaum]

Beautiful uniforms! You've got her class A's and dress blues. A's are normal every day business attire (like a suit you'd wear to an office). Blues during this time period were a bit more formal. The Army is currently getting rid of the Class A uniform and going to all Blues.

 

Your flight nurse served in the Pacific in WWII and also in Korea. Her ribbons are the Army Commendation Medal, American Campaign Medal, Pacific Theater Campaign medal, WWII Victory Medal, National Defense medal, Korean Campaign medal, Armed Forces Reserve medal and Korea Service medal.

 

Looks like you need a pair of Lieutenant Colonel's leaves for her class A epaulettes!

 

That hat is really nice!

 

Jon

 

Thank you for your response Jon.

By the way i forgot to take picture of her garrison cap (olive green) with the Lt. Col. leaves.

 

Fraukriegbaum

[cutiger83]

WOW!!!! This is truly one awesome find! I would have loved to know her story. I have been reading books about Nurses in WWII. I have not read any about nurses in Korea. Thank you so much for showing this. You are one lucky person! .....Kat

[Cobrahistorian]

Also, I just noticed, her collar brass needs some help. You should have two US's and two Nurse's branch insignia on each uniform. US's go above, Branch insignia below.

[fraukriegbaum]

Thanks to all of you who like it. Actually i will leave it the way it is. What ever adjustment needed i will leave it to the next person who will own it one day.

I just took a lot of pictures of this uniforms because they were the first one's i collected. I have her scrapbook with photos from aviation school from 1939, paper cut outs about her digging her own fox hole one day..., souvenir(s) from Germany...and so on.

 

I will add photos the next 3 days of her scrapbook...

[cutiger83]

I would love to see more pictures. Thanks for offering to post some more! I can't wait....Kat

[fraukriegbaum]

WOW!!!! This is truly one awesome find! I would have loved to know her story. I have been reading books about Nurses in WWII. I have not read any about nurses in Korea. Thank you so much for showing this. You are one lucky person! .....Kat

 

Thanks Kat.

[QED4]

Also, I just noticed, her collar brass needs some help. You should have two US's and two Nurse's branch insignia on each uniform. US's go above, Branch insignia below.

 

 

The insignia are correct, that is the way women wear them, you are thinking of men.

[Cobrahistorian]

The insignia are correct, that is the way women wear them, you are thinking of men.

 

What's your reference?

 

No, I'm not. That is not how female officers wear their insignia. It is not how female officers have EVER worn their insignia. Enlisted soldiers (male or female) have one collar disk designating their branch and one US collar disk. Officers (male and female) have two US insignia, and two branch insignia and always have.

 

In fact, the June 1944 edition of the Officer's Guide (and subsequent AR670-1s) reads:

 

"Insigna and shoulder straps are worn as in the Army" It also goes on to say for WASPS "In lieu of the US insignia worn on the collars of Army Officers, WASPs wear gold lettered "W.A.S.P." insignia. THey wear Air Corps lapel wings, the AAF sleeve patch and shoulder insignia identifying the unit to which they are assigned." There is a photo of a WASP wearing the correct insignia combination on page 67, the page prior.

 

Here are several links to period photos of female officers:

http://www.uvm.edu/theview/article.php?id=1295

http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/wertz-irma...ayton-1911-2007

http://kchr.ky.gov/gallergreatblack.htm?&a...;selectedPic=23

http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/Wac/images/p70.jpg

[Wailuna]

The collar insignia combinations and placements shown on the uniforms in post #1 are correct for 1965 (Emerson's Encyclopedia, Ch. 80).

[gwb123]

The placement of the insignia on the lapels is correct for the time period at least from 1956 to 1971.

 

My reference is US Army Uniforms of the Cold War 1948 - 1973 by Shelby Stanton. The book has a number of photos showing the insignia that way, as well as a line drawing from the uniform regulation of 1962.

 

Per Stanton's book, the women's uniforms underwent significant redesign with the 1956 Uniform Board.

 

The examples that were provided by Cobrahistorian are of WWII / Korea era uniforms, which did indeed feature two sets of US and branch insignia.

 

If I recall correctly the lapels on the the 1956 model dress uniforms were narrower and did not work well proportionately with a second row of insignia.

 

For the life of me I could not remember how women wore insignia on their uniforms when I was in during the late 1970's.

 

However, it does appear we have gone full circle on this. The 2005 edition of AR 670-1, page 74 shows the current women's officer's dress uniform with two sets of insignia.

 

http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r670_1.pdf

[Cobrahistorian]

Leave it to the Army to mess with things. As per AR670-30, that was an authorized insignia combination as Gil said, from 1956-71, which is the time period for these uniforms.

 

Dammit!

 

 

Oh well... I learned something new. Bizarre, but new!

[fortworthgal]

Very nice uniform grouping! Those look WWII flight nurse wings on the green uniform.

[topdcnut]

I find something very intersting as I follow this thread, I assume until told otherwise that this is how the uniform was purchased, not put togather. I also assume that this Army Officer wore this uniform and put it away this way at the end of her service and was sold as it was put away. Yet I see so much trouble when we try to disect these uniforms that span several wars and periods of regulations. Am I missing something?

 

By the way, Awesome grouping, enjoyed seeing it !!! unless I missed something and of course assuming it was not put togather (that was a joke, sorry)

 

John

[gwb123]

Here's a photo that appears in Shelby Stanton's book US Army Uniforms of the Cold War, pg. 204, Lt. Martha Moore being promoted at Ft. Sam Houston in 1968.

[fraukriegbaum]

I think they were original the way it is. I have the picture of the lady wearing this uniform. And by the way, this uniform is with her name on it.

 

This is the only Army uniforms i have. My very first collection. Then i came across the American Red Cross, my main collection right now.

 

I enjoy the Nurse uniforms very much though.

 

I will go back to her papers and scrapbook the next days and will put them up here.

 

Thank you

[fraukriegbaum]

Here's some more info on Lt. Col. Bertha Tiffany.

 

Her origin of descent is Swiss. She was also born in Switzerland and became a citizen of U.S. She enlisted as a nurse in the Army Air Corps [with a rating of Second Lt.] to receive training and become a flight nurse.

According to the paper clip i found in her scrapbook she served in WWII in the South Pacific theater, also served duty tours in France, Germany, Japan and Korea.

[fraukriegbaum]

Here's one pic that some people might have interest to see.

 

[firefighter]

Great looking uniforms.