5th Regimental Combat Team patch and DI set

[Patchcollector]

Hi all,

I just picked up this set from the 5th Regimental Combat Team.The Bullion patch is Korean made,and the DI is made in Japan,according to the seller.

Seller pics,I'll take more and post them when the items arrive.

[Sean F]

Very cool pair have never seen the di theater made

[firefighter]

Impressive looking patch.have never seen a 5th RCT di, U.S. or theater made.Very sweet looking.Is it just the single di or do you have a pair?

[Patchcollector]

Thanks Sean and FF,I have only one DI.This unit went through hell in Korea,participating in some very intense and bitter fighting near the end of the "Police action".I have some photos of the unit that I will be posting.Here is a pic of a 5th tank I found.

[patches]

Very nice set, the DI, this patch type crest, I gather would be if worn, by the non color bearing units of the 5th RCT.

To wit

72nd Engineer Company

5th Aviation Section

or any other small detachment type units.

The main units of the 5th RCT, the 5th Infantry Regiment, and the 555th Field Artillery Battalion were color bearing units, and naturally would wear their unit crests, if they were to be worn.

[ScottG]

A good friend of the family served in the 5th RCT in Korea, I have his ssi here somewhere but he would rarely talk about his service time. He just recently passed away and I really wish he would have opened up more as he was very proud of his service. Scott.

[Patchcollector]

Thanks for the info Patches

 

I found some more info on Wikipedia:

 

 

Korean War

The 5th Infantry performed occupation duty in Austria for a year after the war, and was deactivated in November 1946. The regiment reactivated in South Korea on 1 January 1949, with personnel and support units from the departing 7th Infantry Division. It constituted the core of the 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team (RCT) with the mission to provide security while all U.S. troops were withdrawn from the country. The 5th RCT left Korea effective 31 June 1949 and was transferred to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, where it was when the Korean War began.
It deployed to Korea on 25 July 1950 to reinforce Eighth Army in the shrinking area of United Nations control known as

the Pusan Perimeter. In July and August it reinforced the 25th Infantry Division, then the 1st Cavalry Division on the Naktong River line. In September the RCT was attached to the 24th Infantry Division, replacing the 34th Infantry Regiment.

It remained with the 24th Infantry Division until January 1952 when it officially became a separate RCT again and was assigned to IX Corps.

The 5th Regimental Combat Team consisted of:
5th Infantry Regiment
555 Field Artillery Battalion (105 mm) (The "Triple-Nickel")
72nd Engineer Company
5th Tank Company
Heavy Mortar Company
5th Medical Company
5th Aviation Section

Fought in the Battle of Pusan Perimeter.

Two 5th Infantry soldiers received the Medal of Honor for service in Korea:
Second Lieutenant Carl H. Dodd, Company E, 30–31 January 1951, near Subuk
Master Sergeant Melvin O. Handrich, Company C, 25–26 August 1950, near Sobuk-San Mountain (posthumous)

On 11 October 1953, Company A, 1st Section, Machine Gun Platoon, Company D, and Forward Observer Team, 555th Field Artillery Battalion were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, for actions in the vicinity of Songnae-dong, Korea on 12 June 1953.

On 18 November 2005 the award was amended to include the following units:
2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th Squads, 2d Section Machine Gun Platoon
Recoilless Rifle Platoon
Forward Observers, 81 MM Mortar Platoon, Company D

Actor James Garner (The Rockford Files) served in the 5th RCT during the Korean War, when he was awarded two Purple Hearts.

 

[Patchcollector]

Here is another 5th RCT photo I found online

 

 

The caption for the photo is as follows:

 

Sgt. Herbert Ohio of Hilo, T.H., views the battered remains of the Communist defenders of Hill 268, which was taken by men of the 5th RCT, 1st Cavalry Division in their advance on Waegwan, Korea.
21 September 1950. Korea.

[Patchcollector]

A good friend of the family served in the 5th RCT in Korea, I have his ssi here somewhere but he would rarely talk about his service time. He just recently passed away and I really wish he would have opened up more as he was very proud of his service. Scott.

 

 

Hi Scott,

I have been doing some reading about this unit and man these guys had some tough battles.Lot's of hand to hand fighting and very rough environmental conditions to boot.No wonder your friend did'nt speak much about his time there.My Dad was on a Destroyer and patrol boats during WW2,he was badly wounded and never spoke much of his service either.I think alot of vets have seen things that are so horrific that they simply cannot talk much about them later.

[MPage]

I think that's the 5th Cavalry in the photo, actually.

[Patchcollector]

Not sure which photo you are referring to,I found them after googling "5th RCT".

[Patchcollector]

Here is another pic I found:

[Patchcollector]

And another with a caption:

 

In photo on right, 5th RCT rifleman with M3A1 after The Cav fought to
the top of Hill 268, 9/50

[patches]

The Battle of Hill 268 is mention here.

http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/019/19-7/CMH_Pub_19-7.pdf

[Patchcollector]

Thanks for the info patches,here is an excerpt from the PDF that you provided the link to:

 

Moving along the east bank of the Naktong on 19 September, the 5th Regimental Combat Team, which was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division, began a full regimental assault against Hill 268. After a hard day of fighting the 5th took the hill, except for its northeast slope. By nightfall the 5th Infantry’s 3d Battalion was on the hill; its 1st Battalion was pushing northwest toward another enemy position; and its 2d Battalion had captured Hill 121, one and a half miles north of Hill 268 and one mile short of Waegwan.
The battle for Hill 268 continued the next morning as more than two hundred NKPA soldiers in log-covered bunkers fought the 3d Battalion. Three flights of U.S. Air Force F–51 Mustang fighters dropped napalm, fired rockets, and strafed the enemy bunkers. Following the air strikes, the 5th Regimental Combat Team again struck at the bunkers, where, in many cases, the North Koreans fought to the last man. By noon the 5th controlled both the summit and slopes of the position.

With the loss of these key positions, the 3d Division’s defenses around Waegwan broke apart and its troops began a panic-stricken retreat across the Naktong. Aerial observers estimated that fifteen hundred North Koreans crossed to the west side of the Naktong just above

Waegwan. Further reports indicated that the roads north of the town were jammed with enemy soldiers in groups of ten to three hundred.
On 19 September the 5th Infantry’s 2d Battalion traversed the Naktong River, took Waegwan, moved through the town to the south- west slope of Hill 303, and secured the hill on the twentieth. By the afternoon of the following day the entire 5th Regimental Combat

Team was on the other side of the Naktong, and in a span of five days the 5th had crushed the 3d Division’s right flank and part of its center. The enemy’s advance positions on the road to Taegu, where the 1st Cavalry Division’s 5th Cavalry found battle, were thus rendered indefensible.

 

 

Kind of reminds me of the hill battles of Vietnam.Tough fighting,to say the least.

[Tankpatches]

here's a scarce theater made tab for the 5th Tank Company

[scottplen]

My Father was Co. C 5th rct WIA oct 30 1950 James Bumgardner AKA james gardner was co E I believe ? THe best out fit in Korean war IMO ! They were in some of the worst fighting

[Patchcollector]

here's a scarce theater made tab for the 5th Tank Company

 

Excellent piece.There cannot be too many of those around.I have never seen one before,thanks for posting it!

[Patchcollector]

My Father was Co. C 5th rct WIA oct 30 1950 James Bumgardner AKA james gardner was co E I believe ? THe best out fit in Korean war IMO ! They were in some of the worst fighting

 

Yes this unit was involved in some very tough battles,and they came out on top too.

[Patchcollector]

Well the patch and DI have arrived,I have taken new photos but I'm not sure if they are better than the sellers!I tried to get a close up of the bullion border.

[Patchcollector]

Front view

[Patchcollector]

DI

[Patchcollector]

Bullion detail

[Ozarkian]

Beautiful patch, my Uncle was a machine gunner with the 5th RCT. Some of the stories he has told me shows how much combat this unit saw in Korea. I have some pictures of him in Korea I will post soon. I wanted to ask him before I put them on here. Thanks, Eric

[Patchcollector]

Beautiful patch, my Uncle was a machine gunner with the 5th RCT. Some of the stories he has told me shows how much combat this unit saw in Korea. I have some pictures of him in Korea I will post soon. I wanted to ask him before I put them on here. Thanks, Eric

 

 

Thanks Eric,I agree the patch is beautiful.I'm really happy to have the patch and badge as I got a great deal on these hard to find pieces.

I think that no one realized what they were and nobody else bid on them.

I would really enjoy seeing your Uncles' photos and hopefully you can post some of his stories too