Post '84 Navy rates - Fat Parrots and Surrendering Chickens

[sigsaye]

After 1984, the Navy changed the shape of the eagles on it's rates. I have read on this forum that it was because they changed the thread of the bullion used for CPO rates and this was the best the machines could do, so it was adopted as the standard. Whatever. This is what we got. Honestly, I didn't notice at first. They just started being used. I think I may have thought when I first saw them that they were some junk cranked up in Subic or something. I was still a Pacific Fleet SAilor and all sorts of strange stuff was used. If you look at them sort of "Squint Eyed", they look like the old 1880s crows. The only thing I really like is that on the rates for blues, the "eagle" has a red tounge. I like that. Any way, Here is a DP2 for blues. it has been trimmed correctly.

[sigsaye]

Back of DP2

[sigsaye]

GM2 for white shirt, just wacked off and fraying.

 

I'm showing the back of this one because you can see that the GM2 who did this realized what he had done and tried to fold up what was left on the edge when he sewed the crow on his shirt. So, YET ANOTHER way to fold your crow.

[sigsaye]

FC3 for white jumper. This one was done correctly. I think my wife did this one for the guy. She liked taking care of my guys like that She was a good Navy Wife

 

Back of FC3, how Mrs. Sigsaye did it.

[sigsaye]

GM3, Chopped off

 

Back, Again, looks like he tried to turn it when he realized what happened

[sigsaye]

RM3 white jumper

 

Back, again, correctly done, and hand stitched to jumper

[sigsaye]

SH1, white jumper

 

Back, just to see

[Salvage Sailor]

To tell the age at a glance, I usually look at the perch first.

 

The older rates have a 45 degree beveled edge whereas the newer rates are cut at 90 degrees

 

1970's Operations Specialist First Class on the left - 1990's Operations Specialist First Class on the right

 

Eagle vice Chicken (i.e. right and just so wrong)

[sigsaye]

You'll notice I don't really have a lot of these things

[Justin B.]

The only thing I really like is that on the rates for blues, the "eagle" has a red tounge. I like that. Any way, Here is a DP2 for blues. it has been trimmed correctly.

 

Well I'll be, I never noticed that before. That is another indication that the silver embroidered chief eagle was used as the basis for all the crows; the red stitch for the tongue was part of bullion eagles for ages.

 

By the way I am really enjoying these not-so-distant history posts, I've learned a lot. Thanks!

 

Justin

[sigsaye]

Thanks Justin. Sometimes I think that on this forum, if it is newer than 1945, it is simply dismissed a uninteresting (except if it isVN

[67Rally]

Thanks Justin. Sometimes I think that on this forum, if it is newer than 1945, it is simply dismissed a uninteresting (except if it isVN

 

Yeah...that seems to be the norm...unless it is Vietnam SOG or some such rarity.

 

I am in the same camp as you on the parrot-chicken bird rather than the genuine eagle-crow design. Like you, I didn't pay much attention to the bird until I noticed the difference in the embroidered dungaree crows (that I had made in Subic) looked vastly different from the heat-transfers from the ship's store. I pulled out my whites and saw that my tropicals had the eagle and one set of my SD whites had a parrot. When we transitioned to blues, I noticed that my SDs had the good crows while one of my working shirts had a parrot. My peacoat had the fully-embroidered experimental chevron (we called them peacoat crows back in the 80s)...but my command required them exclusively for the peacoat.

 

The recent Navy stuff that I really enjoy are seems to be what I had tailored or custom-made in the Western Pacific. Being a recent-history veteran, I suppose that I will have a soft spot for the era in which I served.

 

Thanks for sharing these crows, Steve!

[sigsaye]

I have dug out all of "My Stuff" from my years. I am away from home now, but will post them Saturday. I have the AR stripe I wore on my blues for boot camp graduation, a commercial made ASAN for blues, and a bunch of various crows, both AS and SM that I wore. I will also be posting a collection of hash marks from WW2 to current, my Dad stuff and my Sons. My uncle was a retired CSC, served from '40 to '60. Was at Pearl Harbor. But when he passed, his daughter tossed all "That Navy Trash" out. "Nobody cares about that old junk anyway".

 

Steve

[subsystem4]

I have dug out all of "My Stuff" from my years. I am away from home now, but will post them Saturday. I have the AR stripe I wore on my blues for boot camp graduation, a commercial made ASAN for blues, and a bunch of various crows, both AS and SM that I wore. I will also be posting a collection of hash marks from WW2 to current, my Dad stuff and my Sons. My uncle was a retired CSC, served from '40 to '60. Was at Pearl Harbor. But when he passed, his daughter tossed all "That Navy Trash" out. "Nobody cares about that old junk anyway".

 

Steve

I hate hearing stories like that. I let all the people i work with know that I like this stuff and to give me a ring before they toss gandpa's old army stuff.

 

I have been enjoying your post's as well Steve. I am guilty of being one of those guys that's not buying much that was made after 1945(the wife allows me only so much space) but I love learning and hearing the stories from the guys that have been there and done that.

 

 

-Jay

[sigsaye]

Room is always an issue. That is one of the reasons I'm selling off all my stuff except family items. My Father and I had a restaurant and had decorated it with our patches, certificates, pictures, flags, the whole bit. Had lots of old Sailors and Marines hang out there. My uncle took the bullion crow off of his dress blues and his embroidered ribbons and brought them to us to display. While I would rather they had been left on the uniform, they were beautiful. He said he had two sets of blues, some khakis and whites. All tossed.

[Lee Ragan]

Thanks Justin. Sometimes I think that on this forum, if it is newer than 1945, it is simply dismissed a uninteresting (except if it isVN

Steve,

You are on the money about the post 1945 items. Sometimes I get the feeling that a lot of collectors on this forum seem to think the forum should only be concerned with WWII and little else. Thanks for posting all you post 1945 Navy goodies, I find it all very interesting.

[dpcsdan]

Nice choice on that DP example.

[sigsaye]

Thought you might like that

[dpcsdan]

All but left middle two, post 2005 production.

-dan