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Shoulder Cords


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VolunteerArmoury

I was looking at my Infantry cords that have been issued or I bought at MCSS. Has there been any change in the Infantry cords such as production process or anything that would allow to identify earlier from later Infantry cords?

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Thinking on this a little more, which caused me to edit my original post.....I don't know much about Belgian awards and fourragères other than their CdG but I have seen a Belgian medal with a similar color medium pink/purplish ribbon. I suppose it could be possible that they also had a fourragère for a unit award of that decoration but have absolutely no idea and am wildly speculating in the realm of "whatchamacallit."

 

Who knows........ think.gif

The medal you're thinking of is the Belgian Order of Leopold I. I've seen a fourragere for the unit award of this decoration, but it's pretty uncommon, and was never awarded to any non-Belgian military formations.

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Stinger Gunner USMC

Maybe my question has been answered and I missed it, but is there a distinction between a cord that has the two additional "loops" and those that do not. was it manufactures preference or only the origional issued one had the extra loops?

I have seen many WW2 French cords that have two additional loops but have also seen them with just the main under arm braid

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Stinger Gunner USMC
the French fourragere which I got with ww2 USMC uniform

 

post-31-1205022174.jpg

If im not mistaken, the correct fourragere for a USMC uniform would be green with red strips not red specks. the one you show is for awards from WWII not for WWI

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usmc-collector
If im not mistaken, the correct fourragere for a USMC uniform would be green with red strips not red specks. the one you show is for awards from WWII not for WWI

 

thanks or reply, but I am little bit conused by your answer, so this fourragere pre WW II? I saw photos of marines wearing many diffrent fourrageres design depending on time period and fourragere type, I would appreciate if someone can exactly define fourragere type and appropriate time period for use by Marines. JAROSLAV

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Gentlemen,

 

I picked up an interesting shoulder cord the other day and I have not seen another. It is woven white cord and originally came with a group of WWII Navy items according to scuttlebutt.

 

Shoulder_cord.JPG

 

Has anyone seen one of these shoulder cords before?

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Here is a close up view of the manner in which the cord is made.

 

Shoulder_cord_ends.JPG

 

Opinions as to the purpose of this white shoulder cord are welcome. I have seen military policemen wearing a similar white shoulder cord but not one made like this.

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Here is a close up view of the manner in which the cord is made.

 

post-130-1205170546.jpg

 

Opinions as to the purpose of this white shoulder cord are welcome. I have seen military policemen wearing a similar white shoulder cord but not one made like this.

Those white cords you see MPs wearing were probably the white pistol lanyards worn with the side arm. I believe cords like yours are not especially military, but are items that could be purchased by honor guards, color guards, marching bands, drum and band majors, Jr ROTC and etc. whether affiliated with the military or not.

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Those white cords you see MPs wearing were probably the white pistol lanyards worn with the side arm. I believe cords like yours are not especially military, but are items that could be purchased by honor guards, color guards, marching bands, drum and band majors, Jr ROTC and etc. whether affiliated with the military or not.

 

 

Thanks for the reply atb. Some MP units did wear the white shoulder cords but the thicker style. I have never seen any regulations to authorize such a cord but lots of photos of them in wear exist. Here are some US Constabulary SPs wearing the thicker white shoulder cords.

 

Constab_SP.jpg

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Thanks for the reply atb. Some MP units did wear the white shoulder cords but the thicker style. I have never seen any regulations to authorize such a cord but lots of photos of them in wear exist. Here are some US Constabulary SPs wearing the thicker white shoulder cords.

 

post-130-1205175054.jpg

great pic! note the different placement of the occupation ribbon......

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Thanks Plant#4. This photo is interesting in that they are clearly wearing the thick shoulder cord and not the thin pistol lanyard as well as the white boot laces, ascots, and gloves. I have also seen photos of the thick white shoulder cord with a quatrefoil on the top being sworn by Constabulary. They also wore this style of cord in red/white/black but not serving as MPs or SPs especially.

 

Shoulder cords are a confusing, and seemingly changing, subject.

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Thanks for the reply atb. Some MP units did wear the white shoulder cords but the thicker style. I have never seen any regulations to authorize such a cord but lots of photos of them in wear exist. Here are some US Constabulary SPs wearing the thicker white shoulder cords.

 

post-130-1205175054.jpg

Lots of unofficial-unauthorized (a better prase would be locally authorized) items were worn during the occupation period. Look at the shoe laces, too. MP units were especially susceptible to dressing themselves up. The only modern (since the M1902 blue uniform stopped being worn with its branch colored coat, cap and trouser trim and chest cords) Army authorized branch-colored cord and other accessories are the Infantry items approved in 1951 (I think it was 1951; I know it was the early 1950s).

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Gentlemen,

 

I picked up an interesting shoulder cord the other day and I have not seen another. It is woven white cord and originally came with a group of WWII Navy items according to scuttlebutt.

 

post-130-1205170367.jpg

 

Has anyone seen one of these shoulder cords before?

 

This cord appear to be macrame, I am betting it was made on board ship as a boson's pipe lanyard and in not a shoulder cord at all.

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I thought of that possibility. But, the flat white boson's pipe lanyards that I have are much longer than this cord and configured differently with sliders that adjust the length around the neck. dunno.gif

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there is an Ordnance Corps shoulder cord, gold and maroon, like the Infantry one. It was only authorized for wear in transit or if assigned to an Ordnance unit. I wore one from 1984 to 1991.

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there is an Ordnance Corps shoulder cord, gold and maroon, like the Infantry one. It was only authorized for wear in transit or if assigned to an Ordnance unit. I wore one from 1984 to 1991.

Well, if you did, it was not authorized by Army Regulations. It never has been, either. Do you have an image of it being worn? Were you Regular Army or National Guard? If National Guard, was it some kind of state or local thing?

 

Cords could be purchased in every color imaginable in Army-Navy stores for wear by those who did not know better or wanted to "dress" up the uniform to impress civilians. I served from 1970 to 1991 on active duty and the only authorized cord was and still is the one for Infantry. I saw a lot of soldiers wearing Class A and Class B uniforms in all kind of units-- no cords except Infanty were worn. I've been a DA Civilian since 1992, and have traveled to a lot of installations-- again no other cord except the Infantry cord is worn. You will have to show me in the proper uniform and insignia regulations of the past and present where any other cord except infantry was ever authorized. I have some of them here and no Ordnance cord or any other except Infantry has been or is authorized.

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ItemCo16527
If im not mistaken, the correct fourragere for a USMC uniform would be green with red strips not red specks. the one you show is for awards from WWII not for WWI

Hi Stinger,

The correct fourragere for wear by Marines is the one pictured in your post, which is for the Croix de Guerre 1914-18. The one with the green and red stripes would be for the CdG 1939-45.

 

Details:

 

forres2hb0.jpg

 

forres3sj0.jpg

Hi Ricardo,

I'm not sure what that fourragere would be for, but it could be for an ROTC detachment or some type of paramilitary organization. If it is American, that is :)

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Hi All,

 

Opinions, please. It´s american?

 

forres1nu6.jpg

Best regards,

 

Ricardo.

 

Hi Ricardo. I am also not positive about this particular "rope" but I can say that I have an almost identical one (except mine is a considerably more worn condition than yours). It came to me as part of a brightly colored red and medium blue American Legoin band uniform.

 

Mine is made of yellow and blue silk thread woven around a white cotton core in anidentical manner as the Frencf CdG fourragère with an identical "nail" at the end. If I can dig it out this evening, I will post a photo of it.

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Hi All,

 

Opinions, please. It´s american?

 

Best regards,

 

Ricardo.

 

Hi again, Ricardo. As proimised, below is a picture of my yellow-blue fourragère. As I looked at it while photographing it, I realized that mine is not quite the same as the one you posted. Mine has braided yellow and blue cords for the main part and solid yellow for the smaller ones. Anyway, mine came with an american Legion uniform that I believe is for a band.

 

post-1107-1206130766.jpg

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