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V Amphibious Corps Patch


unterhund
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Hello all. I recently found this patch among my late father's mementos. He served in the 17th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division during World War II. His division was assigned to V Amphibious Corps in Hawaii in the fall of 1943, prior to Operation FLINTLOCK, the invasion of Kwajalein Atoll. It appears to have never been worn. if I recall correctly, members of a corps wore their division patch as their SSI unless they were in the corps' staff. I can only imagine how he got this patch. I'd appreciate it if anyone can instruct me as to the regs regarding corps patches and just who would wear them. At first I didn't know what the patch was, but during research this morning regarding V Amphibious Corps, I discovered an illustration of the patch and at last determined what significance it had for my Dad.

 

I consider myself quite fortunate to not only have had a father with such notable service in the war, but also a father who maintained a large collection of memorabilia.

 

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ocsfollowme

A great unit! A friend of mine, his father was in the 5th Amphibious too. He has an unseen photo of the flag raising on Mt Suribachi.

 

They all had this patch and wore it on their shoulder. Yours is an all cotton version. We are not sure what my friends father's was, but I have found all of these variations at the below link to give to him.

 

Here is a variation list of patches that I have of this unit. Here

 

I am not sure what units attached to other units would do with their insignia. I know when I was in Afghanistan, you could carry both and take them on and off with velcro. Not as easy back then.

 

Somewhere I have digital copies of the thanksgiving and christmas menues that I purchased off of ebay years ago. I'll look for those and send you a PM if I find them. A nice thing to add to your fathers collection.

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Probably just a patch your father aquired while briefly in Hawaii, or post war, possibly in Japan during the early period of occupation. While the the 7th Inf Div was assigned to V Amp Corps for the Marshall's Camapaign it was not for any of the other two combat operations the 7th Div was in, Leyte, and Okinawa, in both cases it was a part of the Army's XXIV Corps. As far as I know these V Amp Corps patches though they might of been worn in Hawaii, were not worn in great numbers till after V-J Day by this Marine unit while it was out in the Central Pacific, and Iwo Jima, don't even think it was worn by the HQ people in the most rearist of areas of this unit till after V-J Day.

 

So, would it have been worn in Hawaii on the Khaki shirts? probably, would it have been worn by any wounded or sick returing vets that where in the HQ or in a supporting unit directly assigned as Corps troops to the V Amp Corps on their Greens, Khakis, or rarer still Dress Blues stateside, worn while the war was still ongoing? most likely. But as far as the 7th Div while it was in Hawaii? no the Divisions Hourglass patch would be worn.

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Here a good example of the 7th Div patch being worn while the war was still in progess, though here in the summer of 1944 when this photo was taken the 7th Div was no longer under the command of V Amp Corps, V Amp Corps was at that time engaged in the Marianas, the 7th Div would soon be placed under the recently activated XXIV Corps, activated at Ft Shafter Hawaii, in April 1944.

 

Posted 29 June 2012 - 11:14 AM by me.

Here,s one Pfc Jospeph R. Humphrey 32nd Infantry, 7th Infantry Division, a Combat Infantry Veteran, he seen action in all the Divisions operations, he was badly wounded on Okinawa and and died of these wounds in 1946 having never fully recovered. This photo was taken in Hawaii sometime in the summer of 1944, when the Hourglass Division was back in Hawaii resting and rebuilding, and training for whatever their next operation would be, they arrived in Hawaii in mid February, they were slated to go in on the Palau Islands operation but this was canceled, they departed in mid September, destination Leyte.

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Thanks, friends. I figured it was more of a souvenir than something he actually wore. Dad was never one to wear an insignia or a decoration to which he was fully entitled. He had plenty that he actually earned to wear instead. His career lasted from March of 1941 through April of 1968, starting out as a Private and retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, the whole time in the infantry. He "only" saw combat in World War II in the 17th Infantry, but that was plenty. Of the six officers in his rifle company during the war, he was the only one not wounded or killed. I'll be posting more of his memorabilia in the future.

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Thanks, friends. I figured it was more of a souvenir than something he actually wore. Dad was never one to wear an insignia or a decoration to which he was fully entitled. He had plenty that he actually earned to wear instead. His career lasted from March of 1941 through April of 1968, starting out as a Private and retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, the whole time in the infantry. He "only" saw combat in World War II in the 17th Infantry, but that was plenty. Of the six officers in his rifle company during the war, he was the only one not wounded or killed. I'll be posting more of his memorabilia in the future.

Sounds good, we'll keep our eyes open, will they be in differant Forums as appropriate to what the items are? ie Hats and Caps in the Uniform Forum, Rank pins and in Ranks, DIs in Quailcations?

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I'll probably have to post them in whatever forum is appropriate, as the size of the collection defies a shadow box or album.

 

Dad was fortunate in the sense that he wasn't assigned to the 17th Infantry until late July of 1943. Consequently, he missed the terrible fight for Attu. His future battalion, the 3rd of the 17th, suffered high casualties on Attu, especially during the final "Banzai" charge. He had been serving at Camp Adair in the 104th Division, his first assignment since OCS, but he couldn't stand all that training, the "hurry up and wait" factor, so he requested a transfer to an overseas unit four times. His request was finally granted in June of 1943 and away he went to the Aleutians. He commanded the 4th platoon of K Company, 17th Infantry, during Operation COTTAGE, the assault on Kiska, Operation FLINTLOCK, the assault on Kwajalein Atoll, and Operation KING II, the liberation of Leyte in the Philippines. During KING II, he suffered malaria and schistosomiasis and was evac'd to a hospital in January of 1945. He rejoined his platoon for the last weeks of the mop-up, and then was kicked upstairs to be the battalion motor transport officer in 3-17s headquarters company. Despite this assignment, he was one of the first men in his battalion to go ashore for Operation ICEBERG, the assault of Okinawa. During that fight, his headquarters company was almost overrun by Japanese in the midst of their May counter-offensive. He lost many friends in the holocaust on Okinawa.

 

He rarely spoke of what happened to him during the war, it's only diligent research that has revealed the details of his service. The clues were in his mementos and old records, which I found in footlockers in the basement after my Mom died. A cousin bequeathed to me after his own death a collection of letters that Dad wrote during the war to his big brother, my uncle. They chronicle his progress from bewildered draftee to seasoned 1st Lieutenant. I supplemented those with info from books and on-line to recreate the whole epic.

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I believe it is possible and recommened now that I'l thinking, to post all your Fathers Items in the Grouping Forum, this will be a catch all.

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