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Post War uniform oddity


arclight
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Not yet long story short most of it is with my sister in Ontario so im still trying to get her to send me photos as I want to post it all rather than bits here and there unfortunately I learned that most of the paperwork was damaged last year in a flood :(. Hopefully I can post the group soon though

What! damn I'm sorry to here about the damaged documents, hopefully some it it was salvageable, and still presentable. PM me when you do post what you have, you know in casen I miss it.

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What! damn I'm sorry to here about the damaged documents, hopefully some it it was salvageable, and still presentable. PM me when you do post what you have, you know in casen I miss it.

 

 

Will do it might be a bit though as Im packing up for a move but as soon as I get the rest of it together I shall post it

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1st AAA Group

I have an ID'd Ike to a Cpl. who served with the 644th TD Bn. There is a TD patch on the right shoulder, and a 70th ID SSI on the left. His lower right sleeve has an 8th ID patch. The 644th spent most of it's time with the 8th ID hence the reasons for the veteran putting the patch there I would guess.

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I have an ID'd Ike to a Cpl. who served with the 644th TD Bn. There is a TD patch on the right shoulder, and a 70th ID SSI on the left. His lower right sleeve has an 8th ID patch. The 644th spent most of it's time with the 8th ID hence the reasons for the veteran putting the patch there I would guess.

 

Would you be able to post a pic of it? Sound like an interesting Ike jacket. At my boss's store they purchased an ike with a 29th Div on the right shoulder, 1st Airborne Army on the left and a 3rd Army on the cuff. No other insignia though, wish I would have taken a pic of it.

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1st AAA Group

Have to get a new camera. It's an old pic, but you can just see the 8th SSI on the lower right arm.

 

Vet was a Gunner on an M-10 and original member of the unit serving with the 644th TD to include it's entire time in the ETO.

 

 

post-1241-0-45236100-1377912021.jpg

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1st AAA Group

Thanks Timberwolf. He was also wounded Feb, 1945, but remained with his unit. I did contact another vet of the 644th who was in the same Company and knew him during there time in the ETO.

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  • 2 months later...

I know it's been quite a while since the photo that started this thread was posted, but I was just recently able to track down the description on the reverse of the photo through the NC Museum of History. Unfortunately, it doesn't give a date, only a broad range (1941-1945). Anyway, Check this out:

 

post-297-0-05915300-1384353859.jpg

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I know it's been quite a while since the photo that started this thread was posted, but I was just recently able to track down the description on the reverse of the photo through the NC Museum of History. Unfortunately, it doesn't give a date, only a broad range (1941-1945). Anyway, Check this out:

 

attachicon.gifsoldiers at CB 1947.2.explanation.jpg

 

Here is a possible clue. I can only find one Henry S. Covington in the NARA records and I believe this obit is his.

 

Henry S. Covington Jr.

Bradenton

Henry S. Covington Jr., 80, of Bradenton, died Dec. 20, 2001, in Manor Care Health Services of Sarasota.

Visitation will be 2-4 p.m. Sunday at Bradenton Funeral Home, 5827 14th St. W. Service will be 10 a.m. Monday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Ronald A. Hazlett officiating. Burial will be in Skyway Memorial Gardens in Palmetto. Memorial contributions may be made to Bayshore Baptist Church, 6502 14th St. W., Bradenton, Fla. 34207, or to the Alzheimer's Association, 1230 S. Tuttle Ave., Sarasota, Fla. 34239.

 

Born in Danville, Va., Mr. Covington came to Manatee County from Sarasota in 1983. He was a retired letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Sarasota. He attended Bayshore Baptist Church. He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II, and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. He served in the 3rd Infantry in the African and Mediterranean Theaters. He served during the invasion of Italy and Sicily, and in Northern Italy. He was a member of the Elks, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, and the American Legion, all in Sarasota.

 

Survivors include two daughters, Jerry L. Cockerham of Julian, N.C., and Sandra C. Sweeney of Bradenton; a son, Henry S. "Jack" III, of Sarasota; a sister, Peggy Foushee of Aberdeen, N.C.; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

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Thanks for that intell, Beast! Given this, my guess is he was at Butner Convalescent Hospital after having been wounded, then shipped back out, endning the war as SGT.

As for the combat patch, I really think that the taylor just didn't understand the regs and figured the lower sleeve was correct.

Thanks,

G

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  • 4 years later...

Here is a similar jacket from my collection. Notice this is still a four pocket and has the 3rd ID patch on the lower sleeve as well, additionally there is no evidence n a patch on the upper part of the sleeve either. I pulled this out of a Goodwill about three years ago during Halloween time.

Second is a current auction on ebay, item #112618454672.

post-5665-0-05129800-1515031973.jpg

post-5665-0-44224000-1515032250.jpg

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Damn doyler where you been hiding that. What a beauty.

 

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk

Thanks Bill.

 

Part of a small local group.

 

Still have a few secrets....:D

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Going back to the original photo and the jacket shown in post #39, note that the SSI is running from high left to low right in both cases. I assume this is because it is on the left sleeve, but still incorrect for wear in this manner. Jack

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Here's my guess: Since we know that the practice of wearing the SSI of the former wartime unit (FWTS-SSI) started as an 'unofficial' and 'informal' practice, I would bet some of the soldiers put the patch on the right cuff because that's also where unit awards were worn.

 

From what I've read (here) the practice was "formalized" some time around 1945 towards the very end of the war, but when you have 16 million people in uniform, there are always going to be some who are a little slow to get the word, or slow to comply.

 

In my mind I picture our GI, a combat vet with a CIB, who is at an overseas demobilization post, or has just arrived at a CONUS demobilization post, still wearing his unauthorized cuff-placed SSI. Some stiff-necked Corporal or Lieutenant (who joined up after hostilities ended or who spent the entire war in a safe stateside post and never heard a shot fired in anger) sees this soldier, maybe standing in line at the PX or in the mess hall, and says "Hey, soldier, that SSI is incorrect, it needs to be on your right shoulder, not the cuff." Soldier who knows he'll be getting discharged day after tomorrow takes a puff off his cigarette, blows smoke at the NCO or officer and says "Yeah, I'll get right on that."

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carbinephalen

I see a scenario where a Pvt...has no idea what to do with the patch...asks a SNCO and he said eh just put it on the sleeve. If there is already a patch there...put it somewhere else

 

Voilà

 

Instant inaccuracy! Haha

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So here is one to throw a wrench into the discussion. This grouping came from the vets nephew and he had few answers to my many questions, but he said his Uncle was still living! So, I called him and asked why the 32nd SSI was on the pocket. He said he was in the 125th Infantry early in the war. The 125th was part of the 32nd until the Army went to the triangle configuration. The 125th was considered the best trained and equipped regiment so they were sent to California for defense against a Japanese invasion.

Later the vet is reassigned to Hawaii and then sent to the Philippines only to be almost immediately reassigned back to Hawaii! So, he gets combat service as seen in the fwts ssi, and of course his left sleeve Hawaiian Dept ssi. He then says he was only proud of his time in the 125th, so he asks his commander if he can still wear the famous "Red Arrow". The commander tells him to sew it on a pocket, so there you have it! Right from the vet himself... Enjoy a really neat group! Scott

 

http://**********************.com/index.php?topic=5067.0

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I see a scenario where a Pvt...has no idea what to do with the patch...asks a SNCO and he said eh just put it on the sleeve. If there is already a patch there...put it somewhere else

 

Voilà

 

Instant inaccuracy! Haha

 

 

I don't think it really mattered to most vets.I bet they were fortunate to even have a spare patch at times.Most had other things on their mind rather than being"correct" or meeting some standard some 70 odd years later.I don't even really notice which way the 3rd Division patch runs typically.

 

I have a set of uniforms from a Navy Corpsman and the 3rd Marine Div patch is sewn on up side down on the greens.His blue jumper also has the patch.No one keel hauled him as far as I know

 

I guess they figures being incorrect they would mess with some collector in 2018 :rolleyes:

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  • 7 months later...

To add on to this older topic, I have an Americal uniform of a soldier that was sent stateside after Bougainville. He has the Americal patch on his left shoulder, I can see stitch marks on the right sleeve showing that he had his Americal patch there at one point. I am guessing that it was an unoffical combat patch until the official regs came out.

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