Need an education on 55th & 557th Military Police patches

[Siamundo]

Hello. I recently picked up this pair of Military Police patches and was hoping someone might be able to provide me a quick lesson on their history. Although both patches appear almost identical, one is from the 55th MP Company and the other from the 557th MP Company. Are these two units related or was one redesignated? When I first picked these up I thought they were Vietnamese made, but on closer examination they both look like they might be Korean made. I have found in Stanton's Order of Battle where the 557th was stationed in Vietnam, but no mention of the 55th. Any and all information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[patches]

I would have to say that the 55th one is a error, as you have seen, while there was a 557th Military Police Company in Vietnam there was no 55th. Some might go as far as to say the one with only the 55th is a repro, if they did I might be able to sign off on that.

[Siamundo]

I have been able to verify by searching on line that there was, and is a 55th MP Company. The company has been active and stationed in Korea during it's lifetime. It received several campaign participation credits and decorations for service in the Korean War. On one site it stated the 55th MP Company was inactivated in 1971 and then reactivated again in 1976. A Department of Defense website states the unit is still active in Korea and assigned to the 94th MP Battalion. The 557th MP Company was deactivated in 1972 following service in Vietnam and then it too was reactivated in 1976 and is also currently in service assigned to the 94th MP Battalion in Korea.

 

So, in light of this I am not sure why both patches would have the 89th MP Group header at the top-even though the 557th was assigned to the 89th during it's service in Vietnam. Lastly, can anyone tell me why the patches say Ship Security? Thank you.

[patches]

I would think the on one that say 57th is either an error or a repro, that there was a 57th MP Co active at that time in Korea is of no consequence, MP Companies Army Wide do not really have Identical insigina of this type, the differ vastly from one Company to the next. As to why the 557th MP one has Ship Security is that this Company was station at Long Binh, among other things, Long Binh is a River Port, a Army Terminal was located there on the Dong Nai River, it handled ships and barges that were excess from Saigon, from what I can tell the Saigon River is is a tributary of the Dong Nai.

[Siamundo]

Thank you for the information, I appreciate it.

[former557thmp]

The 557th military Police Company arrived in Vietnam in 1965. One of their duties was ship security. The company was headquartered at Pershing Field at the edge of Saigon by the airport. We rode on ships on the Saigon River from Saigon to Vung Tau, and also to Can Tho with supplies to the air force base there. We also had patrol boats located at Nha Be which was just outside of Saigon. The duty for the ship assignments was good as river traffic was shut down during nighttime hours. A lot of trips were made on Victory line freighters and contract LST's with Japanese and Korean crews hauling supplies into the country.

The 557th in the early years there also had US Army stockade duty which then moved to Long Bihn as that area was being developed and the stockade became know as LBJ. Long Bihn Jail

The 557th was designated as a Guard Unit..

[MP25]

I just wanted to confirm what Patches said. The 55th MP Co. served in Korea and was

never attached to the 89th MP Grp. The 557th was attached to the 89th. I don't think

there's any doubt that the 55th MP Co. patch is a repro.....

[former557thmp]

You are correct that the 557th was attached to the 89th MP Grp. Due to the quality of my 557th patches I'd say the 55th patch may have just been an omission(of the 7) error as the production person didn't know any different. We aren't talking a high quality product here.

[former557thmp]

Does anyone know when the 89th MP Group changed to become the 89th MP Brigade?

[PATCHRAT]

The 89MP Brigade SSI was Authorized 7 / 81 that should get you in the ball park

[former557thmp]

I don't know if anyone noticed after my reply about the quality of the above patches but I'm sure both of the patches pictured are reproductions. Even the one that has the correct 557th info has spelled Military wrong - they used a P instead of a R in Military. My original patches from 1966 are also a darker shade of green on the background but that could be just due to the photography, and 557th MILITARY POLICE CO is spelled correctly.

[gwb123]

I don't know if anyone noticed after my reply about the quality of the above patches but I'm sure both of the patches pictured are reproductions. Even the one that has the correct 557th info has spelled Military wrong - they used a P instead of a R in Military. My original patches from 1966 are also a darker shade of green on the background but that could be just due to the photography, and 557th MILITARY POLICE CO is spelled correctly.

It's quite possible both patches were made for collectors.

 

With that said, patches were often made in different batches from one year to the next, sometimes by different shops. This could explain the color differences.

[manayunkman]

Did anyone notice the spelling mistakes?

 

Secrity and Militapy?

[gwb123]

Did anyone notice the spelling mistakes?

Secrity and Militapy?

Yes,that was mentioned above.

[MPC]

On 12/16/2018 at 6:21 PM, PATCHRAT said:

The 89MP Brigade SSI was Authorized 7 / 81 that should get you in the ball park

 

Found online and pasted.  "The 89th Military Police Group remained at Fort Lewis until 21 February 1976 when the colors were transferred to Fort Hood, Texas. On 16 July 1981 the 89th Military Police Group was reorganized as the 89th Military Police Brigade."