Guest corpspatcher Posted February 5, 2008 Share #1 Posted February 5, 2008 hi. i want to set up a display of marine patches from the vietnam war to before. the e-bay seller said these were from the early 60s becaues the stripes are on wool with cheesecloth. i assume that means they changed. so i wanted to ask. are these real? when were these made? what do the new ones look like? thanks. Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest corpspatcher Posted February 5, 2008 Share #2 Posted February 5, 2008 sorry pic didnt attach.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted February 5, 2008 Share #3 Posted February 5, 2008 Rex, They look real to me.I dont believe they have changed in constuction or materials used much in the last few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laury Allison Posted February 5, 2008 Share #4 Posted February 5, 2008 I think the newer (current) ones are fully embroidered and have a merrowed edge. These appear to be the ones before that with the cheese cloth type backing. Maybe some of our Marines on the board can confirm this? I would say these are from the early 1960's to the 1990's. Laury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason G Posted February 5, 2008 Share #5 Posted February 5, 2008 That's correct. The cheescloth style was used from the start of these type of chevrons, until 1996/97, when they were no longer authorized for wear, being replaced with the merrowed edge style. These would be correct for a Vietnam, 70's, 80's or even 1990's uniform. Lastly, an easy way to determine if USMC chevrons from this period were used, aside from looking for thread/needle holes, is the cheesecloth backing. If these were sewn on a uniform without the cheesecloth being trimmed on the inside, it would show when stiched down. I've seen a few put together Alpha uniforms where someone 'upgraded' the rank without doing that. It's an immediate red flag, since any Marine from that time period knew to trim that 'white stuff' off the back prior to sewing it on the uniform. These are correct, and unissued. Jason G (USMC 82-89, 97-01) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADMIN Posted February 6, 2008 Share #6 Posted February 6, 2008 I've seen some of these with three numbers on the cheesecloth back. Any idea about those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason G Posted February 6, 2008 Share #7 Posted February 6, 2008 Likely a lot number. I've seen them with dates as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeb Posted December 12, 2008 Share #8 Posted December 12, 2008 sorry pic didnt attach.. The chevron in the photo is for a Sergeant Major. This design with 4 rockers below the 3 point-up chevrons was introduced in January 1959 when the current rank structure was introduced. Prior to that, a sergeant major wore a chevron with just 3 rockers below. The basic design was the same as the Army's sergeant major chevron, only in different colors and construction. The current Marine Corps Uniform Regulations(MCO P1020.34G dated 31 March 2003) authorizes "scarlet broadcloth insignia" for the dress and service green chevrons and also states they "may be finished with either a merrowed (whip-stitched) edge or a cut edge. I'm not familiar with the exact details, but the serial number you refer to has something to do with how the Marine Corps regulates the manufacture of the insignia it issues/sells to its members. I haven't seen anything official, but my guess is only insignia manufacturers who have been approved by HQMC are allowed to apply these numbers to the items they make. The Marine Corps has always been more strict about their "trademark" items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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