KevinBeyer Posted July 17, 2011 #1 Posted July 17, 2011 Hello, All, I recently obtained this reunion badge from an organization referring to itself as "Retreads". The obverse of the pendant states: THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY 21 MARCH 1947-1977 RETREADS WORLD WAR I WORLD WAR II 6 APRIL 1917 - 11 NOVEMBER 1918 * 8 DECEMBER 1941 - 25 SEPTEMBER 1945 and the reverse states: RETREADS A NATIONAL SOCIETY OF VETERANS WHO SERVED HONORABLY IN BOTH WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II IN MEMORY OF COLONEL OLIVER J. TROSTER NATIONAL COMMANDER 1956-1958 NATIONAL COORDINATOR 1959-1976 Its ribbon is a combination of two mini-ribbons for the WWI and the WWII Victory Medal. (A nice amalgamation!) Does anyone have any reference material for this organization? I am guessing that it is a defunct organization as there are no longer any living survivors of WWI. Kevin
67Rally Posted July 17, 2011 #2 Posted July 17, 2011 Long gone, I'd say. I have these from my uncle's things: He also served in the Korean War.
KevinBeyer Posted July 18, 2011 Author #3 Posted July 18, 2011 Hey, those ID cards are fantastic. And, from the numbers, there seem to have been a lot of LIFE MEMBERS. Thanks for sharing those! I had never heard the term before I found this reunion badge. Thank you for your and your uncle's service! Kevin
67Rally Posted July 18, 2011 #4 Posted July 18, 2011 Hey, those ID cards are fantastic. And, from the numbers, there seem to have been a lot of LIFE MEMBERS. Thanks for sharing those! I had never heard the term before I found this reunion badge. Thank you for your and your uncle's service! Kevin That medal is very well-made and pleasing to the eye. Great find!
ADMIN Posted July 18, 2011 #5 Posted July 18, 2011 How interesting! I had never heard about this organization before either! Very informative!
67Rally Posted July 18, 2011 #8 Posted July 18, 2011 AND...here it is (on the right!) Dave, The next time I am in your neck of the woods, I'd love to view your collection. I understand that you no longer possess this uniform, but what you do have would be absolutely fantastic to see! Your collection (what I know of it) is absolutely stunning! The uniforms you've divested alone are amazing (I love the RMC jacket I got from you)!
TCSchultz Posted January 21, 2012 #9 Posted January 21, 2012 I was googling this organization in advance of posting these pictures to the forum and end up finding this thead here on the "Retreads" Veteran's Organization, so I'm going to reply with them rather than posting it as a new topic. I found this plaque quite a while ago and so have no history on it but it's metal, possbly aluminum, measuing @ 6" in height and weight.
67Rally Posted January 22, 2012 #10 Posted January 22, 2012 That plaque is very cool! Thanks for sharing!!
Salvage Sailor Posted August 26, 2015 #11 Posted August 26, 2015 Patch that was just sold on ebay - congrats to the owner
CW4AFB Posted September 11, 2015 #13 Posted September 11, 2015 And here's another piece of the Retread Mystique---would have loved to be drinking in the hotel bar with these guys at their reunions---you know they had some great stories...
SCF-Collector Posted October 4, 2015 #14 Posted October 4, 2015 Not something I collect, but I picked up a related piece in a box of medals at the show last weekend so I thought I'd post a picture to add to the knowledge base. Standard pin-back, 1.75", no date - and no paper maker's label in the back (missing).
Goosenheimer Posted June 17, 2024 #15 Posted June 17, 2024 … and a Retreads membership lapel pin, purchased on Ebay.
KevinBeyer Posted March 14 Author #16 Posted March 14 For the first time in 14 years I have come across another Retreads reunion badge. The pendant is suspended by a WW2 Victory Medal ribbon and backed with a WW1 Victory Medal ribbon that also had printing on it that says, "NEW YORK / 1951". This is most likely the 4th, or 5th reunion that the Retreads held since their founding in 1947.
KevinBeyer Posted March 14 Author #17 Posted March 14 I started going down a Rabbit Hole and learned that the Retreads had a Ladies Auxiliary. Quote LADIES OF RETREADS (LOR), INCORPORATED was registered on Feb 28 1979 as a domestic nonprofit corporation type with the address 2429 CRESTKNOLL CIR, DECATUR, GA, 30032-6813, USA. The company id for this entity is H902105. There are 3 director records in this entity. The agent name for this entity is: SMITH DOROTHY LANG. The entity's status is Dissolved now. Ladies Of Retreads (lor), Incorporated's dissolution date is Jul 04 1999 and it had been operating for 20 years 4 months, and 4 days since its establishment until dissolution.
KevinBeyer Posted March 14 Author #18 Posted March 14 And, I found a few more locations in which they had Conventions/Meetings: Convention/Meeting: annual - always October. 1982 Chicago, IL; 1983 Portland, OR; 1984 Atlanta, GA; 1985 Indianapolis, IN.
KevinBeyer Posted April 7 Author #19 Posted April 7 My luck has been improving these days. I found some more Retreads reunion badges. Retreads Philadelphia, PA, September 13-15, 1963
KevinBeyer Posted April 7 Author #21 Posted April 7 Retreads Jefferson, IN, 1981-1982. Can you imagine? These veterans would be most likely in the 80s at this point. Couldn't be too many reunions after this one.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now