I love pictures, I grab them when I can, and from any time period. I don't find as many as I'd like which show WW2 GI's or Marines with weapons and gear, so when I saw this pair from the same man, I decided to add them to the collection.

When I got home I looked at them more closely and that was when i saw the small round emblem on his overseas hat. It is in both pictures.

I have no idea what it is! Odd thing is that it appears on his overseas hat in that rifle picture, which i suspect was boot camp, but it also is on hyis hat which shows him in dress uniform, as a Sergent, so obviosuly later time period. He is not Airborne either.

Another mystery I guess!!

MW

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Cool pictures. It looks like it could be a 37th Division patch.

Good point! I never thought of that, I just assumed it was a boot camp picture (with the rifle) and for the life of me couldn't figure why as a Sergeant he'd have had one too...

Hi,
If you can make out the branch of service collar disc and it's ordnance, it may be the 301st Ordnance Regt. I've had this patch for a while and it came out of an old ordnance collection. I always thought it was worn with a DI in the center or an Officer's Ordnance pin. I guesss it was worn without a pin as well. I thought it might be a generic backer but this one was ID'ed in the collection as the 301st. The 301st Ordnance Base Regt had one campaign credit, Tunisia (ground) 17 Nov 1942- 13 May 1943.
Bill

I suspect this is based on the rank backgrounds worn by Army officers on their overseas caps until 1942. These have been shown on the Forum before. Did EMs wear them? I have never seen any indication that they did, but might have done so using local (unit) authrization. It is great to have one unit IDd.

G

I agree with Gil (as usual), the 37th did wear them as BRANCH insignia. I have many pics of the Artillery OFFICERS wearing them in the 30's. Don't know about enlisted men though.

I just looked at both pics again, with a magnifying glass, and for the life of me just cannot make out the collar emblem on his dress tunic. There is no DI on the hat emblem in either picture, no insignia of any kind on it to clarify, nor do I see any unit patch on his left shoulder on the dress tunic.

Thanks for the comments gents, and the help, I believe it could certainly be the Ordnance patch as mentioned, or a 37th patch too!

Thanks!!

MW

I do have to add though, that the emblem, and the size of the inner color and the size of the outer color, certainly much more closely match the sizes on the Ordnance emblem than they do the sizes of the colors on the 37th Division patch...

Food for thought I guess.

MW