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Uncommon and Obscure Combat Patches Being Worn.


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sean and atb, I agree, when I said in this case, it will mean that when one see's patches on the right shoulder for a unit of any size THAT was not in action at all, then in this case it will be considered a former wartime service patch really not a combat patch, though it's description is usually described as a "combat patch" on right shoulder, you know as well as I do there are people who will be scratching there heads as to why, say a unit like the 98th Inf Div is being worn when it never entered into combat against the Japanese. Now we have seen here a smattering of U.S. based units during WWII worn on the right sleeve on the forum, at least two I can recall, I'll have to look around a bit to see if I can find them.

 

Understood.

 

Folks both in and out of the Army have for a very long time dubbed them as "combat" patches even though that was not and still is not the intent of their wear. Actual combat with the enemy has never been a criteria for authorization to wear an SSI on the right shoulder. It's like the term "kleenex" to describe all tissues or the older and now pretty much no longer used "hoover" to describe all vacuum cleaners.

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Is is possible that it could be the 8081st AU ?

 

The patch for the 8081st AU, or Quartermaster air Supply and Package Company, I don't think that will be the one being worn here, note the longish shield of the 8081st's patch.

 

post-34986-0-33337500-1359398539.jpg

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The patch for the 8081st AU, or Quartermaster air Supply and Package Company, I don't think that will be the one being worn here, note the longish shield of the 8081st's patch.

 

post-34986-0-33337500-1359398539.jpg

Yeah, I think your right now that I have taken a second look at it.

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Re Post #38: To split a hair, actually a FEW elements of the 98th Inf Div are ENTITLED to wearing the patch as a combat patch...BECAUSE as of the cut-off date, those elements were within the war zone, albeit either still aboard ship or just disembarked.

 

The 98th Cav Recon Troop for sure and IIRC the MP Platoon, the Sig Co (-) and HQ Bty DivArty made the cut (barely).

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Also in the MDARNG, 192-75, I had an NCO who wore the US Army Alaska "Teddy Bear" on the right shoulder. He had been in Alaska 1952-1955, and he deciced it was acceptable as a WARtime OVERseas service item....a war was going on in some place called Korea and he flew OVER he sea to get there.... There was another NCO who, on his greens, wore 2nd Mar Div....he wasn't old enough to have served in WWII, but he had been in 2 MARDIV at Lejeune during Korea...he did not serve in Korea, just the Med.

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vintageproductions

And finally another Western Pacific Command item, this one a OD wool shirt, again we see a highly unsual combat patch. So this is the second Western Pacific Command uniform with a unknown patch worn as a combat patch, or more likey a Wartime Service Patch, since both are WestPacComm serving GIs post VJ Day perhaps they are as I thought, both unautherized patches for a Island Base/Garrison unit, any ASIMIC guys out there know what these are, or heard of anything like these?

 

phpuJBeriPM west pac comm.jpg

 

A Close up of the patch.

 

phpsa2zAtPM clu3.jpg

 

I just want to say for the record that all these items can be found for sale at Snyders treasures, this is where I found them.

 

This is a Philippine Army patch, so this GI was attached to them

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post-467-0-84993400-1359391432_thumb.jpg

 

I have already posted these pics in an older thread about two Ikes that popped up in a Paris vintage shop.

I assume this one would fit in this new thread.

 

 

Nice jacket.I really like the theater made patches, 345th Engr & 88th Div.

Is that some sort of marksmanship badge below the ribbons? The lone

ribbon look's like a Meritorious Service Medal, that wasn't established till

1969.

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This is a Philippine Army patch, so this GI was attached to them

 

Interesting Bob, do you know what Fillipino unit this was? if it is a Filipino Army patch that means this shirt would have been worn awhile after WWII ended, like sometime in 1946-47, it was really then that a totally new independant Filipino Army began to form after it's defeat along with U.S. Forces in the spring of 1942.

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Re Post #38: To split a hair, actually a FEW elements of the 98th Inf Div are ENTITLED to wearing the patch as a combat patch...BECAUSE as of the cut-off date, those elements were within the war zone, albeit either still aboard ship or just disembarked.

 

The 98th Cav Recon Troop for sure and IIRC the MP Platoon, the Sig Co (-) and HQ Bty DivArty made the cut (barely).

 

 

John where were these small elements standing off of, Okinawa? Japan? Japan right? The Cut Off Date, what is that, does it mean when WWII ended? Campaign credits for the Pacific Campaigns end 2 September 1945, so I gathering that these elements arrived before the bulk of the Iroquois Division correct?

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vintageproductions

It is at the end of the war and just after.

Similar to the uniform photo in one of the ASMIC Trading Post that showed Filippino officers wearing the SWP patch on one sleeve and the supposed "War Crimes" on the other.

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Re Post #38: To split a hair, actually a FEW elements of the 98th Inf Div are ENTITLED to wearing the patch as a combat patch...BECAUSE as of the cut-off date, those elements were within the war zone, albeit either still aboard ship or just disembarked.

 

The 98th Cav Recon Troop for sure and IIRC the MP Platoon, the Sig Co (-) and HQ Bty DivArty made the cut (barely).

 

If they had been with the division in Hawaii before they would have already been qualified to wear the SSI on the right arm once leaving the division. The "bookend" style was not in vogue in WW2. The SSI was switched to the right side upon reassignment to a new unit.

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Here's a photo from the 1962 4th Infantry Division yearbook of an officer wearing what I believe is the First Special Service Force SSI as a combat patch. It's a little hard to make out. Also notice that he has eight overseas service bars.

post-1761-0-23457500-1359473034_thumb.jpg

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That's one BEEFY officer with that FSSF combat patch, is he not? He looks as if he has to wear his liner thus his steel pot without it's sweatband and nape strap :o

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That's one BEEFY officer with that FSSF combat patch, is he not? He looks as if he has to wear his liner thus his steel pot without it's sweatband and nape strap :o

 

We had a guy in our reenacting unit that made his complete M1 look tiny. The best thing was when he took it off, and you got a chance to examine it, it was clearly a normal M1...

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IIRC the advance part of the 98th was afloat in Philippine waters, or maybe nearing Okinawa.

 

A veteran of the G-3 shop of the 98th (then a lowly LT) told me that there multiple plans for the 98th, and parallel-tracked 86th, to go to China -- forced landings or take-surrender no-force -- at Formosa or Shanghai, and that "weeks had been wasted" with HQDA and SWPA dithering over moving those two Divs up (or using the shipping for other purposes). He, personally, flew into Manila with about 10 Div HQ people, to prepare for such. Before V-J, he was reassigned to the 81st and landed in Japan with them for Occupation. (His jeep driver was my neighbor, who was then a PFC, but HAD been a platoon sgt until being busted for fighting, in a brawl with most of his platoon against Navy SPs...)

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IIRC the advance part of the 98th was afloat in Philippine waters, or maybe nearing Okinawa.

 

A veteran of the G-3 shop of the 98th (then a lowly LT) told me that there multiple plans for the 98th, and parallel-tracked 86th, to go to China -- forced landings or take-surrender no-force -- at Formosa or Shanghai, and that "weeks had been wasted" with HQDA and SWPA dithering over moving those two Divs up (or using the shipping for other purposes). He, personally, flew into Manila with about 10 Div HQ people, to prepare for such. Before V-J, he was reassigned to the 81st and landed in Japan with them for Occupation. (His jeep driver was my neighbor, who was then a PFC, but HAD been a platoon sgt until being busted for fighting, in a brawl with most of his platoon against Navy SPs...)

My grandfather served in the 86th in WWII. Both the 86th and 97th were originally slated to go to the Pacific and had undergone extensive amphibious training in California. They, and I believe one other armored division, were the only division remaining in the U.S. in early 1945. As a result of the German advances in the Battle of the Bulge, and the sudden realization that the war in Europe was not over and could still be lost, both divisions were rushed to Europe instead. Each participated in the final phases of the war in Germany. In the case of the 86th, it went into action during the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket and then was sent south into Austria where it finished the war.

 

Both divisions were immediately sent home for redeployment to the Pacific. The 86th arrived in New York in late June 1945. The soldiers were given a 30 day leave then reported back to Camp Gruber, OK for refresher training for the Pacific. Of course at that time the atomic bombs had not been dropped and no one knew the war against Japan would be over so soon. Both divisions were literally at sea when Japan surrendered in August 1945. The early Japanese surrender really screwed up the Army's plans for withdrawing units from Germany for redeployment for the invasion of Japan. The 97th was ultimately sent on to Japan for occupation duty and the 86th went to the Philippines. Technically this was not occupation duty since it was not an enemy country, but there were still lots of Japanese soldiers holed up in the mountains as well as Fillipino communist guerrillas. My grandfather said they were still being shot at occasionally for months after the war ended.

 

He never mentioned anything about the rumor of going to China. What he did tell me was that they were scheduled to take part in the invasion of Japan. He said their commanders worked them up in the briefings by telling them even though they were not supposed to go in until the second or third assault wave, the planners were no expecting any survivors from the first five waves. Basically their job was to carry their weapons and equipment ashore for somebody coming along behind them to pick up and use. Who knows if there was any truth to the speculation but my grandfather sure remembered being told that and always insisted that Harry Truman was the greatest president ever for choosing to use the atomic bombs.

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Somewhere I have a photo of a friend of mine wearing a 29th Ranger scroll on his class A's in the 60's. He said no one ever gave him any problems about wearing it, and surprisingly few ever even asked what the heck it was.

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I once met, at a dining in, an SF MSG who wore the British Combined Ops (red on dark blue) formation sign. He was born a Canadian and was in the Canadian army in the UK when he volunteered for the Commandos. He was with No.4 Commando for Normandy and IIRC Holland.

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Here is a MAAG Viet Nam combat patch. Best I can tell, about 5,000 soldiers would be authorized to wear this one. Most wore the later MACV patch.

 

SANY0215-10.jpg

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I don't have photo evidence, but I do have a first hand account.

In 2010 in a chow hall in Afghanistan I spotted a full-bird Chaplain sporting a 1st Cavalry Division patch with an Airborne tab on his ACU's.

"Excuse me Sir, wanted to ask you about your patch"

*Annoyed look*

"Were you with them in Vietnam?"

"Yes, finally someone who knows I'm just not a chaplain who can't get his uniform straight!"

He had been an 18 year old draftee and later became a priest and chaplain.

Because of a shortage of Catholic Chaplains he had been recalled to duty. Although an O-6 Colonel, he was not considered the "senior chaplain"...but no one messed with him either.

 

41WFeqazocL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

 

Another interesting combat patch I've run into several times is the Military District of Washington Patch with the Honor Guard tab. Some of the "old Guard" were deployed to the horn of Africa around 04-05 (that's from my memory, so don't hold me to it).

 

a_combat_service_id_badge_mil_district_of_wash_w_hg_tab_81247_427.jpg

 

Also, at one time had a Motor Sergeant assigned to me that was authorized the Infantry School patch as a combat SSI....something to do with deploying on a mobile tech rep team or mechanic training team very early in this war....again, sorry for lack of actual pictures.

 

follow_me.jpg

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Another interesting combat patch I've run into several times is the Military District of Washington Patch with the Honor Guard tab. Some of the "old Guard" were deployed to the horn of Africa around 04-05 (that's from my memory, so don't hold me to it).

 

a_combat_service_id_badge_mil_district_of_wash_w_hg_tab_81247_427.jpg

 

 

Here is a topic I started on this same patch after I saw a soldier wearing this as a combat patch:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/38121-military-district-of-washington-as-a-combat-patch/

 

I thought it was odd at the time but like you learned that units of the Old Guard had deployed to Africa.

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