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Uncommon and Obscure Combat Patches Being Worn.


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Don't see that this has been done yet, so I thought this would be a interesting topic to start, the actual wear either in photos or on actual uniform jackets, shirts, etc of uncommon and obscure Army shoulder sleeve insignia, to include Marine Corps patches on Army uniforms. Please post any you know would fall into this catogory, I know it might be hard to find these, but will keep a running topic so anytime one is found it can be posted.

 

My first contribution is this photo.

 

Staff Sergeant David Mitchell, 5th Battalion 6th Infantry ( Mech ) 1st Armored Division, Fort Hood Texas, taken sometime in 1969, possibly the fall. Mitchell formally of C co 1st Battalion 20th Infantry, 11th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division was implicated in the My Lai Massacre. ( obviously, will leave out stuff on My Lai as it is way beyond the scope of this topic ).

 

post-34986-0-80846200-1358878194.jpg

 

As we see, Mitchell is wearing the 11th Brigade as a combat patch, and in subdued form, he is wearing full color ranks which due to the thickness of the border on the one we can see is most likely merrowed edge. Typical of this period his tapes and CIB are Subdued, his 1st Armored Division we can not see, but I betting it's full color, it's just the combat patch that he has choosen to wear I,m thinking that is subdued. That he wears the 11th Inf Bde as a combat patch is most uncommon, as the 11th Inf Bde was no longer a seperate organization when Mitchell was in it, and was under the direct command of the Americal, making the Americal Division as far I know the correct combat patch.

 

Reguarding the wear of Divisional and Brigade patches in the Americal, one source, Stanton, gives the date of 19 October 1967 as the date that the three seperate Brigades that now make up the Americal Division are to wear the Americal division shoulder patch as the autherized Divisional shoulder patch, while wearing the Brigade patches on the right pocket as a pocket patch. The only explaination I can think of as to why the 11th Inf Bde was worn, was it may be that this was a fashion affected only by original men of the 11th Inf Bde that went to Vietnam from Schofield after they came home from their tour.

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One of our SGT's transferred from the Corps and wore his combat patch on his sleeve in ACU. Also had a corpsman transfer over but not sure what he chose to wear. I have a uniform downstairs with a US Anti-Aircraft Command Western Defense Command patch as his combat patch, really odd.

 

http://miliblog.co.u...nse-command.jpg

 

Photos please.

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Several guys from our Medevac when I was in OIF 06-07 were attached to the Marines and were authorized to wear the MEF patches as their Combat SSI

 

Photos please.

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Unusual? There were about a dozen people authorised to wear the US European Command Patch as a combat patch after Desert Storm. Joint Task Force Proven Force was a USEUCOM Joint Service (Air Force Heavy) Joint Task Force, which was partially staffed by personnel from the USEUCOM Staff. Those who were EUCOM before deployment and then went back to EUCOM after the war were officially authorised to wear the USEUCOM patch as a combat patch. Interestingly, others in the Joint Task Force who did not come from the EUCOM staff were authorised to wear 3rd Army as a combat patch.

 

Quack

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Second from left is MG William P. Yarborough, who designed the Army's parachutist badge, wearing the SSI of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion which he commanded in WWII. I'm not sure if the SSI was officially authorized.

post-1761-0-69767400-1358962301_thumb.jpg

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Second from left is MG William P. Yarborough, who designed the Army's parachutist badge, wearing the SSI of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion which he commanded in WWII. I'm not sure if the SSI was officially authorized.

 

Good find sean, thanks for posting. Ah if I only had a scaner, I could contribute at least 4 more uncommon combat patches being worn.

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Second from left is MG William P. Yarborough, who designed the Army's parachutist badge, wearing the SSI of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion which he commanded in WWII. I'm not sure if the SSI was officially authorized.

Outstanding one, Sean!!

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Post-VN, I was in the MDARNG. I had several UNUSUAL combat patches made up, back in VN, for NG guys. For example: 5th Air Force (Korean War service), 5th RCT (same, in all-black velveteen with OG border), 7th Inf Div, Seabees, 1st and 3rd Marine Divs, and 187th RCT.

 

In the realm of combat patches, ODS was chaotic. The hierarchy did not know what to authorize or NOT authorize. As a result, it was often left to the LOSING command to tell its (returning) people to wear the hometown patch as their combat patch. Never mind the established criterion that said the HEADQUARTERS of the SSI in question had to have deployed to the combat area! THAT is what HQDA should/would have told them, IF HQDA knew/cared which end was up. The crux of the problem was that there were so many "come as you are" ATTACHMENTS and cross-attachments, often without WRITTEN orders re ASSIGNMENT, no one in the higher echelons could say definitively which units were "theirs". It took several years for the troops to give up wearing the hometown patches and put on one of those to be found in their so-called "command trace" that controlled them (mostly in ATTACHED vice ASSIGNED status) in the desert.

 

I recall the MDARNG truckers wearing the Maryland STARC patch on the right, and Reservists down the road wearing the 97th ARCOM. At Ft Monroe, then the HQ of ROTC Cadet Command, I saw two MSGTs, one wearing that SSI on both shoulders and the other wearing the Field Artillert Center & School. At the Pentagon, I saw a SSgt wearing the Recruiting Command, a CPT wearing the Air Defense center and School, and a WO with the QM School and Center. At AMC HQ was a LTC with the Military Sealift Command (a Joint HQ) and one with the WWII Pesian Gulf Command (!? He wasn't old enough!).

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Photos please.

 

 

You are indeed lucky. He has some on his facebook page. Hard to see, but look at his patch. The second picture is of his 'most recent tattoo'

 

 

 

2618_1102765535342_900385_n.jpg

 

 

419598_3380449676022_2103783404_n.jpg

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This is a souvenir photocard of Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. The photo is dated August 13, 1961.

The soldier on the far left is wearing the insignia of th 5307th Composite Unit on his right sleeve.

 

8410343936_27b1b570f6.jpg

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Those obscure SSIs must be worn on the right shoulder to be displayed in this topic ?

 

Yes Andrei, Right side, combat or WWII Overseas or WWII Service patches, as to WWII service patches,we have now began to notice that quite a few WWII vets wore patches on their right side of/for Stateside or Western Hemisphere based units not so much as combat patches but as wartime service patches, that of course ended with WWII, and was not done for Korea, Vietnam. The topic here is to show seldom seen units being worn or units that are so obscure that one would never think they would show up on a uniform as a combat patch. I know it's going to be a TOUGH topic, but any members that are interested, by all means, if you come across one, do post it here for us.

I found another. Omar Bradley wearing the 21st Army Group, it's hard to see in this June 1969 photo ( D-Day's 25th anniversary, but I have seen others that are way clearer in showing this patch offline, it was taken years and years later during his visit to Fort Benning in I think what 1980 right? I think it had something to do with the very new Mechanized Infantry AFV named in his honor.

 

post-34986-0-12190800-1359010972.jpg

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This is a souvenir photocard of Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. The photo is dated August 13, 1961.

The soldier on the far left is wearing the insignia of th 5307th Composite Unit on his right sleeve.

 

8410343936_27b1b570f6.jpg

 

 

Excellent Joe thank's for posting that.

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You are indeed lucky. He has some on his facebook page. Hard to see, but look at his patch. The second picture is of his 'most recent tattoo'

 

 

 

2618_1102765535342_900385_n.jpg

 

 

419598_3380449676022_2103783404_n.jpg

 

Alright! very good Red Leg, great photo, we see that the M14 is still in use, cool.

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I found another. Omar Bradley wearing the 21st Army Group, it's hard to see in this June 1969 photo ( D-Day's 25th anniversary, but I have seen others that are way clearer in showing this patch offline, it was taken years and years later during his visit to Fort Benning in I think what 1980 right? I think it had something to do with the very new Mechanized Infantry AFV named in his honor.

 

You flipped the "2" and "1" - 12th Army Group.

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This is a souvenir photocard of Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. The photo is dated August 13, 1961.

The soldier on the far left is wearing the insignia of th 5307th Composite Unit on his right sleeve.

 

 

Excellent example proving "Patch King" patches were actually worn.

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This photo appears on page 64 of Shelby Stanton's "U.S. Army Uniforms Of The Korean War". The caption says that the guy on the left is BG Lawrence Dewey who was Chief of Staff of the IX Corps. I assume the patch on the right shoulder of his jacket is a combat patch but I can't figure out what it is.

 

His biography here indicates that all of his WWII service was with either the 1st or 2nd Armored Divisions:

 

http://www.arlington...net/lrdewey.htm

post-1761-0-30929900-1359039546.jpg

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Korean Military Advisory Group. I'm not sure how obscure this one is, but I wouldn't think it is very common. I think the unit was re-designated or absorbed into another unit right after the Korean War began.

post-1761-0-71586800-1359042781.jpg

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This photo appears on page 64 of Shelby Stanton's "U.S. Army Uniforms Of The Korean War". The caption says that the guy on the left is BG Lawrence Dewey who was Chief of Staff of the IX Corps. I assume the patch on the right shoulder of his jacket is a combat patch but I can't figure out what it is.

 

His biography here indicates that all of his WWII service was with either the 1st or 2nd Armored Divisions:

 

http://www.arlington...net/lrdewey.htm

 

The Closest patch that I can find a match for would be Ethopia's Kagnew Battalion. If it is the Kagnew patch it most likely was a honorary thing, the Kagnew battalion was at one time or another assigned along with it's parent U.S. 7th Infantry (Bayonet) Division to IX Corps

 

post-34986-0-85401200-1359055619.jpg

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