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you seem to have a nice ETO british made jacket here !

Great display

CORRECTION: I just found information on the Aisne campaign. I stated in a previous post that I believed the Aisne bar covered the battle of Belleau Wood. I was mistaken. The Aisne campaign was a Defensive action trying to stop the German advance in that area. The Aisne campaign dates from 27 May to 5 June 1918. The Allied attack on Belleau Wood started on 6 June 1918. The battle of Belleau Wood is not covered by a battle bar. It would be covered by the Defensive Sector bar. Also not covered is any action at Chateau-Thierry between 6 June and 16 July 1918. There was fighting at Chateau-Thierry by some elements of the 3rd division starting 31 May. Those soldiers would be entitled to the Aisne bar. If a replacement joined the Chateau-Thierry battle between 6 June and 16 July, he would not be entitled to the Aisne bar, just the Defensive Sector bar. The Defensive Sector doesn’t quite do the Marines and Soldiers credit due for a brutal battle. I’m sure there were others. It might explain the unofficial battle bars out there. They probably wanted credit for the battles the major operation bars didn’t cover. ( My opinion ) A lot of my information comes from different sources. The Laslo book along with various information I’ve collected over the years. I believe I’ve seen in a post or two that one of our Forum members has written a book about Victory Medals. I haven’t made the time or effort to find how I could get one. My work schedule over the last few years hasn’t allowed me much time to enjoy the Forum and what it has to offer. I would be interested in information on where I could get one. I would think other members interested in Victory Medals might be as well. If the author, I apologize for not knowing who he is, or anyone else could post how to get one of his books, this would be a good place for people to get that information, if appropriate with Forum rules. If for some reason the Forum rules prohibits posting that info a PM would be appreciated. The more information the better. My apologies for the wrong information. Mike

I could not find a ruler so I had to get creative, I used brass knuckles and a $5 dollar bill to show the size of the sign. Hope this helps in determining if it's original, If the exact measurements are needed let me know.

I recently bought two navy dog tags and was wondering what year they would dated to. The owner told me they are Vietnam era but when I did some research they seem to be more Korean war era. Both dog tags have p38s attached to them and one also has a set of keys attached to it. The first set of dog tags without the keys read: Gibson, James T 4216620 A USN C The second set of dog tags with the set of keys read: Hodgman Frederick H 9020491 O USN P

DP-28. Beautiful medal in great shape. Even better it was your great grandfather’s. The bars are in the correct order. Just about every one I’ve seen ,excepting a few, are in order by the date the campaigns started. The Cambrai campaign started 20 November 1917. That would be at the top. The Meuse-Argonne campaign has the latest start date the AEF participated in France. 26 September 1918. That would be at the bottom unless the soldier participated in the Vittorio-Veneto campaign that started 24 October 1918. I’ve never seen that combination but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have happened. I, by all means, don’t know it all. The Defensive sector is usually placed under the Meuse-Argonne bar, or the latest battle the individual soldier participated in. The Defensive sector was given for service in a zone specified between 6 April 1917 to 11 November 1918. There are 5 conditions that apply to be entitled to the Defensive Sector bar. There are specific dates and units outlined but there is a catch all condition stating “Any engagement not included in one of the thirteen major operations recognized by its own battle clasp.” Navy personnel with the 2nd I.D. have four additional conditions in which they could get the Defensive Sector bar. I have just found some info I didn’t know a couple days ago that the Belleau Wood battle is not covered by the Aisne battle bar so the Defensive Sector covers that battle. In the case of your great grandfather, the Somme Offensive started 8 August 1918 . Ypres-Lys started 19 August 1918 .. Even if your great grandfather’s unit marched through a Defensive Sector between his two campaigns, the Defensive Sector bar would be worn at the bottom. No matter how many Defensive Sectors a unit was in, they only received one bar. This is my interpretation of the information I have.

My gawd there are some incredible pictures in those links!

The US Navy Organizational flag pictured below is an early 1960’s version with full, chain-stitched embroidery. They don't make them like this any more.

Maltese Cross Ribbon Device. I realized that I left this one out. I addressed it earlier. I might as well add the picture. Approved for men and officers of the Marines, Medical Corps and Navy in France between 6 April 1917 and 11 November 1918 that were not entitled to any battle bar. Shown with a 5th Marine Brigade patch

I am looking for Spanish American War Army Service Medal numbered # 13703 Philippine Campaign Medal - US Army rim #'d 7973 Both medals were awarded to James Havelock Johnston I am in possession of all his other medals including his named Purple Heart and named Silver Star.

Here's a compass I sold a few weeks ago. Was very surprised to see a red one. This one is factory painted, not painted over, as the markings are black printed ink over the red paint. Anyone know what a red one might have been for?

Some additional naval flags:

And I got your man John D. Marchi as of 1 January 1969, a Captain of Military Intelligence.

Amazing how none of that popped up during my internet research. Thanks Tonomachi!

I suspect, that the 1st Avn Bde patch was removed from the combat side and sewn on the other side, note how there are thread on it, mostly off the border the tread sewn down down the patch then the tan thread on the border, the tread sewn down the patch when it was on the other side, plus the tread on the patch does not match up with the thread on the rest of the insignia. The patch that used to be there was V Corps,

It'd be a cool hat without all the stuff on it.

Could be that he went through aviation school after this photo was taken. I had friends who served a tour in the infantry or artillery, and then became aviators later in their career (the Army was ramping up rotary-wing aviation during the Vietnam War).

Good Job, I was saying to myself this Napier, he wasn't a big ticket puncher right, no RANGER Tab, no Parachute Bade, thee two big Tickets for advancement in the Zero Defect Army, yet he makes LTC in such a short time!!!!

Any idea if these are US made patches?

We noticed he isn't wearing the Aviator Badge, if he was a Aviator surly we would think he'd wear one, a cloth one just above his jump wings. One the tab, note he has his meal badge on an Oval, looks like the genic Infantry type right. got to be some kind of jump unit under Alabama HQ,, a small and obscured one.

The collar insignia is Intelligence Branch and this uniform is actually dated 1973 not 1972. I checked the Internet and the 1st Aviation Brigade was deactivated in 1973 but reactivated in 1977. This could explain why the pentagonal shaped patch on the left arm was replaced with the 1st Aviation Brigade patch. So this major could have been with the 1st Aviation Brigade at the end of the Vietnam War which is why the 1st Aviation Brigade patch was on the right arm and once the brigade was reactivated he rejoined the brigade and moved the patch over to the left arm as this was now his current unit assignment. Of course why he didn't leave the 1st Aviation Brigade patch on the right arm and gotten another for the left arm is a little puzzling.

I picked these up today at the military show in Louisiana

Here is a new one. Credit to Fitzkee Militaria for bringing this one out. Never seen before.

Office of War Information (epaulettes slip-ons I believe) The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II to consolidate existing government information services and deliver propaganda both at home and abroad. OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other forms of media, the OWI was the connection between the battlefront and civilian communities. The office also established several overseas branches, which launched a large-scale information and propaganda campaign abroad. ORIGINS President Franklin D. Roosevelt promulgated the OWI on June 13, 1942 by Executive Order 9182[1] to consolidate the functions of the Office of Facts and Figures (OWI's direct predecessor), the Office of Government Reports, and the Division of Information of the Office for Emergency Management. The Foreign Information Service, a division of the Office of the Coordinator of Information, became the core of the Overseas Branch of the OWI. At the onset of World War II, the American public was in the dark regarding wartime information. One American observer noted: “It all seemed to boil down to three bitter complaints…first, that there was too much information; second, that there wasn’t enough of it; and third, that in any event it was confusing and inconsistent”.[2] Further, the American public confessed a lack of understanding as to why the world was at war, and held great resentment against other Allied Nations.[3] President Roosevelt established the OWI to both meet the demands for news and less confusion, as well as resolve American apathy towards the war. DOMESTIC OPERATIONS The OWI’s creation was not without controversy. The American public, and the United States Congress in particular, were weary of propaganda for several reasons. First, the press feared a centralized agency as the sole distributor of wartime information.[4]Second, Congress feared an American propaganda machine that could resemble Joseph Goebbels’ operation in Nazi Germany.[5] Third, previous attempts at propaganda under the Committee on Public Information/Creel Committee during WWI were viewed as a failure.[6] And fourth, America was experiencing endemic isolationism and was hesitant to become involved in a global propaganda campaign and subsequently a global war. But in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the need for coordinated and properly disseminated wartime information from the military/administration to the public outweighed the fears associated with American propaganda. President Roosevelt entrusted the OWI to beloved journalist and CBS newsman Elmer Davis, with the mission to take “an active part in winning the war and in laying the foundations for a better postwar world”.[ President Roosevelt ordered Davis to “formulate and carry out, through the use of press, radio, motion picture, and other facilities, information programs designed to facilitate the development of an informed and intelligent understanding, at home and abroad, of the status and progress of the war effort and of the war policies, activities, and aims of the Government”.[8] The OWI’s operations were thus divided between the Domestic and Overseas Branches. The OWI Domestic Radio Bureau produced series such as This is Our Enemy (spring 1942), which dealt with Germany, Japan, and Italy; Uncle Sam, which dealt with domestic themes; and Hasten the Day (August 1943), which was about the Home Front, the NBC Blue Network's Chaplain Jim. The radio producer Norman Corwin produced several series for OWI, including An American in England, An American in Russia, andPassport for Adams, which starred the actor Robert Young. OWI also established the Voice of America (VOA) in 1942, which remains in service today as the official government broadcasting service of the United States. The VOA's initial transmitters were loaned from the commercial networks, and among the programs OWI produced were those provided by the Labor Short Wave Bureau, whose material came from the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations. During 1942 and 1943, the OWI boasted two photographic units whose photographers documented the country's mobilization during the early years of the war, concentrating on such topics as aircraft factories and women in the workforce. In addition, the OWI produced a series of 267 newsreels in 16 mm film, The United Newsreel which were shown overseas and to US audiences. These newsreels incorporated U.S. military footage. Examples can be seen at this Google list. The OWI Bureau of Motion Pictures (BMP) was established in collaboration with Hollywood to produce films that advanced American war aims. According to Elmer Davis, “The easiest way to inject a propaganda idea into most people’s minds is to let it go through the medium of an entertainment picture when they do not realize that they are being propagandized”.[9] Successful films depicted the Allied armed forces as valiant “Freedom fighters,” and advocated for civilian participation, such as conserving fuel or donating food to troops.[10] By July 1942, OWI administrators realized that the best way to reach American audiences was to present war films in conjunction with feature films. OWI’s presence in Hollywood deepened throughout the war, and by 1943, every studio, except for Paramount, allowed OWI to examine all movie scripts.[11] OWI evaluated whether each film would promote the honor of the Allies’ mission. FOREIGN OPERATIONS The Overseas Branch enjoyed greater success and less controversy than the Domestic Branch.[13] Abroad, the OWI operated a Psychological Warfare Branch (PWB), which used propaganda to terrorize enemy forces in combat zones, in addition to informing civilian populations in Allied camps.[14] Leaflet warfare gained popularity during WWII and was utilized in regions such as Northern Africa, Italy, Germany, the Philippines, and Japan. For example, in Japan, the OWI printed and dropped over 180 million leaflets, with about 98 million being dropped the summer months of 1945.[15] Leaflets dropped in Tunisia read: “You Are Surrounded” and “Drowning Is a Nasty Death”.[16] Millions of leaflets dropped in Sicily read: “The time has come for you to decide whether Italians shall die for Mussolini and Hitler—or live for Italy and civilization”.[17] OWI also used newspapers and publicized magazines to further American war aims. Magazines distributed to foreign audiences, such as Victory, intended to convey to foreign Allied civilians that American civilians were contributing to the war.[18] Victory showcased America’s manufacturing power, and sought to foster an appreciation for the American lifestyle.[19] Aside from the aforementioned publication and production styles of propaganda, the OWI also utilized unconventional propaganda vehicles known as "specialty items." Specific examples of these items include packets of seeds, matchbooks, soap paper, and sewing kits. The packets of seeds had an American flag and a message printed on the outside that identified the donor. Each matchbook was inscribed with the “Four Freedoms” on the inside cover. Soap paper was etched with the message: "From your friends the United Nations. Dip in water - use like soap. WASH OFF THE NAZI DIRT." Sewing kit pincushions were shaped like a human rear end. On the reverse side lay a caricatured face of either Adolf Hitler or Japanese General Hideki Tojo.[20] The details of OWI’s involvement can be divided into operations in the European and Pacific Theaters. European Theater[edit] One of the most astounding of all OWI operations occurred in Luxembourg. Known as Operation Annie, the United States 12th Army Group ran a secret radio station from 2:00-6:30am every morning from a house in Luxembourg pretending to be loyal Rhinelanders under Nazi occupation. They spoke of Nazi commanders hiding their desperate position from the German public, which caused dissent among Nazi supporters. Further, they led Nazi forces into an Allied trap, and then staged an Allied attack on the Annie Radio office to maintain their cover.[21] On the Eastern front, the OWI struggled not to offend Polish and Soviet Allies.[22] As the Soviets advanced from the East towards Germany, they swept through Poland without hesitation. However, Poles considered much of the land of the Eastern front as their own. The OWI struggled to present the news (including the pronunciation of town names or and discussion of county or national boundaries) without offending either party. Further, Poles and Soviets criticized the OWI for promoting the idealization of war, when their physical and human losses so heavily outweighed that of America’s.[23] Pacific Theater[edit] The OWI was one of the most prolific sources of propaganda in “Free China.” They operated a sophisticated propaganda machine that sought to demoralize the Japanese army and create a portrait of US war aims that would appeal to the Chinese audience. OWI employed many Chinese, second-generation Japanese (Nisei), Japanese POWs, Korean exiles, etc. to help gather and translate information, as well as transmit programs in multiple languages across the Pacific. OWI also created communication channels (logistical support) for intelligence and coded information.[24] However, the OWI encountered public relations difficulties in China and India. In China, the OWI unsuccessfully attempted to stay removed from the Nationalist versus Communist conflict. However, the Roosevelt administration and OWI officials took issue with many aspects of Chiang Kai-shek’s rule, and conversely, Chiang placed spies in the OWI.[25] Also, the OWI struggled to paint a post-war image of China without offending Nationalist or Communist leaders. In India, the Americans and British agreed to win the war first, then deal with (de)colonization.[26] The OWI feared that broadcasts advocating liberty from oppression would incite India rebellions and jeopardize cooperation with the British. But this approach angered Indians as well as the African-American lobby at home who recognized the hypocrisy in American policy.[27] The OWI also worked with Japanese resistance groups. The Japanese People's Anti-war Alliance worked closely with the OWI.[28] Koji Ariyoshi, who worked for the OWI,[29] made contact with Japanese, and Chinese communists in Yan'an. [30] studying propaganda techniques that the Communists were using to "re-educate" Japanese prisoners of war.[31] Japanese political activists in America were also recruited. Painter Eitaro Ishigaki, who glorified China's anti-Japanese resistance thru his artwork, and his wife, feminist journalist Ayako Ishigaki, who publicly denounced the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, were recruited by the OWI.[32][33] Taro Yashima, who was imprisoned for protesting the regime of his homeland, enlisted in the U.S. Army and was posted first to the Office of War Information and then to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the CIA.[34] Controversies at home[edit] The OWI suffered from conflicting aims and poor management. For instance, Elmer Davis, who wanted to “see that the American people are truthfully informed,” clashed with the military that withheld information for “public safety”.[35] Further, OWI employees grew evermore dissatisfied with “what they regarded as a turn away from the fundamental, complex issues of the war in favor of manipulation and stylized exhortation”.[36] On April 14, 1943, several OWI writers resigned from office and released a scathing statement to the press explaining how they no longer felt they could give an objective picture of the war because “high-pressure promoters who prefer slick salesmanship to honest information” dictated OWI decision-making.[37] President Roosevelt’s “wait-and-see” attitude and wavering public support for OWI damaged public opinion of the agency.[38] Congressional opposition to the domestic operations of the OWI resulted in increasingly curtailed funds.[39] Congress accused the OWI as President Roosevelt’s campaign agency, and pounced on any miscommunications and scandals as reason for disbandment.[40] In 1943, the OWI's appropriations were cut out of the following year’s budget and only restored with strict restrictions on OWI’s domestic capabilities. Many overseas branch offices were closed, as well as the Motion Picture Bureau. By 1944 the OWI operated mostly in the foreign field, contributing to undermining enemy morale. The agency was abolished in 1945, and many of its foreign functions were transferred to the Department of State. Some of the writers, producers, and actors of OWI programs admired the Soviet Union and were either loosely affiliated with or were members of the Communist Party USA.[41] The director of Pacific operations for the OWI, Owen Lattimore, who later accompanied U.S. Vice-President Henry Wallace on a mission to China and Mongolia in 1944, was later alleged to be a Soviet agent on the basis of testimony by a defector from the Soviet GRU, General Alexander Barmine.[42][43][44] In his final report, Elmer Davis noted that he had fired 35 employees, because of past Communist associations, though the FBI files showed no formal allegiance to the CPUSA. Flora Wovschin, who worked for the OWI from September 1943 to February 1945, was later revealed in VENONA intercepts to have been a Soviet spy.[45] Dissolution and legacy[edit] The OWI was terminated, effective September 15, 1945, by Executive Order on August 31, 1945. President Truman cited OWI for “outstanding contribution to victory,” and saw no reason to continue funding the agency post-war.[46] The international offices of the OWI were transferred to the State Department, and the United States Information Service and the Office of Strategic Services/Central Intelligence Agency assumed many of the information gathering, analyzing, and disseminating responsibilities.[47] Despite its troubled existence, OWI is widely considered to be influential in the Allied victory and mobilizing American support for the war domestically. People[edit] Among the many people who worked for the OWI were Eitaro Ishigaki, Ayako Tanaka Ishigaki, Jay Bennett (author), Humphrey Cobb, Alan Cranston, Elmer Davis, Martin Ebon, Milton S. Eisenhower, Ernestine Evans, John Fairbank, Lee Falk, Howard Fast,Alexander Hammid, Jane Jacobs, Lewis Wade Jones, David Karr, Philip Keeney, Christina Krotkova, Owen Lattimore, Murray Leinster, Paul Linebarger, Irving Lerner, Archibald MacLeish, Lowell Mellett, Edgar Ansel Mowrer, Charles Olson, Gordon Parks,James Reston, Peter Rhodes, Arthur Rothstein, Waldo Salt, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Robert Sherwood, Dody Weston Thompson (researcher-writer), William Stephenson, George E. Taylor (historian), Chester S. Williams, and Flora Wovschin.