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Shoulder Cords


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Following are some of the documents submitted with the 25th Infantry Division's 1971 request to accept the RVN Fourragere when it received its second Gallantry Cross Unit Citation. The request indicates that the wear of the fourragere was apparently authorized by Vietnamese and American regulations applicable at the time as referenced in the documents. Sorry about the quality.

 

I believe it was only after American troops left Vietnam in 1973 that the regulations were rewritten to disallow the wear of the Vietnamese Fourragere by units cited twice.

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  • 3 weeks later...

SP5 Bernhard Broker wearing a huge shoulder cord and a white bib with 8th Infantry Division SSI and either an Airborne or Honor Guard tab while a member of the 1st Brigade (Airborne) 8th Infantry Division Honor Guard. He was assigned to the 1st Platoon 8th Military Police Company. Not sure if that's the unit represented by the Airborne oval.

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I have my old ordnance cord from active duty in the 80s. We had to use them for battalion functions and our color guard used the bibs as well. We were told that they could only be used while assigned to the battalion. I kept mine as I thought it was unique and outside of the infantry had never seen them used. It was crimson and yellow. Scott.

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My old National Guard engineer outfit marched in an Armed Forces Day parade in about 1956; we were issued red ropes and scarves (bibs?) to wear with our khakis for the occasion, and turned them in afterward.

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My old National Guard engineer outfit marched in an Armed Forces Day parade in about 1956; we were issued red ropes and scarves (bibs?) to wear with our khakis for the occasion, and turned them in afterward.

Hey thank's for that info Dexter. Where and what was your unit?

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SFC Joey Walsh of the 1st Special Operations Command in 1987. Any idea what the shoulder chord/fourragere is he is wearing?

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WittWorldWide.com

Thai Jump Cord: This Parachute Qualification Insignia/Uniform Devise, is meant to be worn with the Thai Jump Wing. (Which you can see in the Welsh photo...) This is considered the "Basic" qualification cord/fourragere. The Master is exactly the same, but with two additional thin red cords attached and worn outside the shoulder. Primarily for the Special Forces guys that have been in Southeast Asia and went to the Thai Jump School, qualifying for the Thai Jump Wing.

 

RW

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Thai Jump Cord: This Parachute Qualification Insignia/Uniform Devise, is meant to be worn with the Thai Jump Wing. (Which you can see in the Walsh photo...) This is considered the "Basic" qualification cord/fourragere. The Master is exactly the same, but with two additional thin red cords attached and worn outside the shoulder. Primarily for the Special Forces guys that have been in Southeast Asia and went to the Thai Jump School, qualifying for the Thai Jump Wing.

 

RW

 

Thanks for the ID. I never would have guessed that in a million years. Is that something that was ever officially authorized for wear or was it just worn unofficially?

 

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WittWorldWide.com

 

Thanks for the ID. I never would have guessed that in a million years. Is that something that was ever officially authorized for wear or was it just worn unofficially?

 

 

These were authorized for wear by qualified U.S. Servicemembers... I just sold a group to a high ranking Vietnam Era SF Officer, that had a very nice example of the Master Cord and Jump Wing in the lot. Rich

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PFC Steven Ray Segura, who was killed in action in Vietnam on March 1, 1969 while assigned to the 25th Medical Battalion, wearing an interesting assortment of accoutrements. His bib is presumably maroon for Medical Corps and the beret may be as well but the shoulder chord almost appears pink, although white is the color of Medical Corps piping so that is also a possibility. Also, I'm not sure what the DUI is on his beret or the the flash - it almost looks like a pre-Vietnam War 5th Special Forces flash worn upside down.

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Member of the 82nd Military Police Company wearing what appears to be a full-size 82nd Airborne Division SSI on his white bib along with a fourragere and whistle on a lanyard.

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Is this soldier wearing a black shoulder chord and backings for his collar discs?

 

Sergeant Eugene Dimuzio served 1965 to 1968 and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion 509th Infantry while serving with the 8th Infantry Division. Also note the white on blue DRILL TEAM tab worn over an 8th Infantry Division SSI with AIRBORNE tab, the red (maroon?) beret and what appear to be subdued sergeant chevrons.

 

And is that a 101st Airborne Division oval he is wearing with his jump wings?

 

http://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=Profile&type=AssignmentExt&ID=511296

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Soldier of the 2nd Military Police Company 2nd Infantry Division wearing the MP Green shoulder chord in Korea circa 1978-1979. Note the words "Military Police" below his name.

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Have been researching issues on the Belgian Fourragere (1940) worn by members of the 139th AEB. The 139th was not cited in the order of day and there was no devree awarding the Belgian fourragere to them. The 307th AEB, was awarded it by decree No. 1034 and as such, those members of the 139th who transferred to the 307th after VE Day would have been authorized to wear the cord on their uniforms.

 

Many of the Belgian cords I have seen worn on WW2 ikes have the loops and the knot/ferrule removed. Both of the one's in my collection are this way, and there are a handful of collectors Belgian cords with the same situation. I've added images of two named jackets to 139th AEB guys. The cords are on the jacket as I received them. I know one is on the wrong side, but I have not moved them from their original configuration.

 

QUESTION: Why were these modified? Was it because the Belgian cord was made from a different material and deteriorated heavily over time and these are simply the remnants? Did the 307th guys not want those who joined to wear the full cord since they weren't part of the unit when it was earned?

 

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Does anyone know if the Yellow Armored and Cavalry Shoulder cords are still worn? I'm aware that the Infantry Shoulder Cords are worn but not sure about the Armored and Cavalry ones.

 

 

D

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Does anyone know if the Yellow Armored and Cavalry Shoulder cords are still worn? I'm aware that the Infantry Shoulder Cords are worn but not sure about the Armored and Cavalry ones.

 

 

D

The only branch colored shoulder cord authorized for wear by the Army is the infantry blue cord as part of the distinctive items for infantry soldiers.

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Does anyone know if the Yellow Armored and Cavalry Shoulder cords are still worn? I'm aware that the Infantry Shoulder Cords are worn but not sure about the Armored and Cavalry ones.

 

 

D

 

The only authorized branch-specific shoulder cord is the Infantry blue cord. No other branch wears a colored cord. As shown in some of the previous posts, some branches have unofficially worn cords at various times. This seems to have been most common in the 1960's and 1970's.

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