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26th Infantry Honor Guard tab


Germanymp
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Hi guys,

 

I've done some research on this, but my only guess is that this tab was worn above the 7th Army patch. I am not sure and the research did not come up with something really helpful. I read somewhere that at one point of time the 26th Inf Regt was attached to the 7th Army battle group.

 

Can anyone confirm this, or give me some more info on this tab please?

 

 

 

Thanks

best regards,

Phil

post-1035-1199821389.jpg

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Interesting tab. If I'm not mistaken, the 26th Infantry Regt provided the guards at the Nurnberg Trials. Could this tab have been worn then?

 

Also, In the very late 1940s and early '50s, the 1st Inf Div was THE showboat parade unit for USAREUR. Each regiment had drill teams, honor guards, drum and bugle corps - you name it (complete with WILD uniform options). I have seen examples of honor guard tabs for the 16th and 18th Inf Regts (worn over the 1ID patch); as well as an 18th Inf Drum and Bugle tab; but never a 26th Inf tab.

 

I will look at my dad's 1ID yearbooks from 1949-1953; but I'm guessing this tab is from that timeframe.

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Here's the backside of it. Thanks for the info on it. Would love to hear some more. Since it has the colors of the 7th Army, I thought it might go along with the seventh army pach. Never really tought of that the 1st ID patch would go with it.

Patch is on felt with cheescloth backing.

 

thanks again,

Phil

post-1035-1199822626.jpg

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The weird thing about these 1ID HG tabs (and the 42d Scout Dog tab)....... none of the tabs have colors which go with the 1ID patch; but they WERE worn with it. Go figure?

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Thanks to CaptCav for this picture.

 

 

1950 1st ID Yearbook picture of the 26th Inf Honor Guard

 

thanks Hank, had to resize the picture to fit but it's all good. Thanks again for the pic

 

best regards,

Phil

post-1035-1199824579.jpg

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Thanks for helping out!!

 

The uniform guys on this forum will have a field day with the "uniform options" in this scan. The D&B appears to be wearing some sort of dark blue uniform. Check out the drum major's HUGE chevrons, not to mention that GIANT white busby with a 26th "Blue Spade"!!! This particular yearbook has more different HG & D&B uniforms than I've ever seen before.

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The weird thing about these 1ID HG tabs (and the 42d Scout Dog tab)....... none of the tabs have colors which go with the 1ID patch; but they WERE worn with it. Go figure?

 

Don't know how I missed this thread? Very nice tab, Phil! I'm jealous! jeal0001.gif

 

Because of my dads' service with the 1st ID during WWII, it has always been one of my favorite divisions to collect. Here are a few of the regimental crest patches I have found, plus a standard 18th Infantry Honor Guard tab.

 

Gary

post-84-1200434860.jpg

post-84-1200434881.jpg

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and the 6th Ranger Company, (Airborne) was assigned to the 1st ID in Germany 1951. This is a German made scroll. The other is Honor Battery, Div Arty.

post-622-1200435988.jpg

post-622-1200436009.jpg

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Too cool!!! Some great patches.

 

My father and I both began our commisioned careers w/the 1ID. As best I can tell, 1ID was the first USAREUR division to go w/pocket patches for each subordinate unit in 1954. Then, in 1955, the 1ID Gyroscoped with the 10th ID, which was at Fort Riley. The 1ID continued to wear those large pocket patches at Riley, through the 1960s and into the first couple of years in VN. I was stationed at Riley in early '70; and those full color DI patches were available in stacks in every tailor shop in Junction City and Manhattan. Interestly, when the 10th ID got to Germany, it picked up the pocket patch tradition of the 1st. A lot of the 10ID pocket patches you see on eBay (which are attributed to WWII/Italy) are in reality from the 1955-1958 Germany era. In 1958, the 10ID & 3ID did a Gyroscope; and the 3ID picked up the pocket patch tradition for its subordinate units.

 

See...... if you know the history of the USAREUR divisions (and you know their subordinate units), it's not very difficult to date all those USAREUR pocket patches. ;)

 

The 16th Inf and 18th Inf you show in the first pic are from Riley, c early 1960s.The 26th on the left is German-made (pre- '55) and the 26th Inf (on the right) is a Riley patch. I have a 1ID yearbook from 1951 - it has a full page on the 6th Ranger Co. No pix of guys wearing the above tab. Matter of fact, I have never been able to find any pix of those guys wearing a tab during the year it existed. Oddly..... about 5 years ago, I was teaching a class at Defense Intell Agency (DIA) in DC; and a guy in my class told me he had been a platoon leader in the 6th in '51. I showed him the yearbook - he stated he never saw anybody wearing ranger tabs in the 6th.

 

Lastly -

 

No mission too difficult.

 

No sacrifice too great.

 

Duty first!

 

If you're gonna be one..... be a BIG Red One!!!

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P.S. Yes, those 26th Inf HG tabs with the curly "I"s are German, late 40s-early 50s. I could be wrong, but.......... the big, black 26th HG tab just doesn't "feel"/"look" right to me. The embroidered lettering is awful sloppy for the stuff that come out in those years.

 

And - the 42d Scout Dog was the ISDP for 1ID, early 1950s. I didn't know the 35th was with the 1ID. Let me dig on that one, a little.

 

 

 

Later add: Oops!! OB says 35th ISDP was with 1ID in rVN, 1965-1970. I was focused on USAREUR years. My bad.

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Nice ones, Dave! With the I's in that form, I'm guessing German made? Am I right?

 

Gary

 

Yessiree, bob. RE: 35th ISCD - CaptCav, Sir, go stand in a corner.

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  • 12 years later...
On 9/27/2020 at 2:34 AM, doughboy said:

Now I'm confused - I always thought the 35th Inf.Scout Dog Platoon was worn over the 7th Army patch ?

 

Yes, it was worn over the 7th Army while in Germany in the 1950s, and with the 1st Infantry Division after 1966 I believe.

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