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Credited USAF Patches From The Air War Over SE Asia


rtepak6
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There was a suggestion (credit to Ski) to start a thread showcasing USAF patches from our various collections with provenance, such as acquired from, or donated by, named individuals. The only caveat being that they be USAF, in your collection, and related to the air war over Vietnam / SE Asia.
Great time to show off your credited squadron and party suit patches.
I'll kick it off with this one out of my collection; a beautiful leather backed North Vietnam - 100 Missions - F-105 patch credited to Col. Roman Darmer, 44th TFS.

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If I recall correctly, this is the one that started it all for me so many years ago ...

 

Dale

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Here's another; North Vietnam - 100 Missions - F-4D, credited to Lt. Col. Norm Turner, 390th TFS (335 total combat missions).

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Dale
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Courtesy of Col. Joe Shriber, USAF (Ret.), 67th TFS, Korat RTAFB, F-4C Wild Weasel IV EWO, 201 combat missions.


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He wrote, “We had some in the squadron that the snack bar officer had a supply of, and the same patch could be obtained a little cheaper at stores off base. Everyone had the same patch, except some on their second tour still had the same one you have.”


Dale
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I normally dislike Vietnam patches, but these are really cool. It's great to see actual pieces of history from men who put it all on the line for the preservation of the freedoms we enjoy today. Thanks for sharing.

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How about one more to round out the evening ...

 

Courtesy of Col. Kevin “Mike” Gilroy, 354th TFS, F-105F Wild Weasel III EWO, 100 combat missions.

 

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About the SAM Slayer patch, Col. Gilroy wrote, "Takhli gave out the SAM Slayer patch for a hard ordnance kill of a SAM site – Shrike hits didn’t count.”

 

Dale

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Here's today's posting: Vietnam - 100 Missions - B-52D, courtesy of Maj. Robert A Hewston, USAF (Ret.), B-52D bombardier (100 combat missions / five Linebacker II missions) ...

 

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If anyone is interested in making a trade for a similarly themed missions or party suit patch, I have two more of these.

 

Dale

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Worn by Col. Thomas "Zipgun" Coady.

 

Col. Coady had more time in the F-105 than any other pilot in the USAF at the time, 1,850 flight hours, 1,000 of which were in combat. Coady flew the F-105G & F-105F Wild Weasel serving two combat tours from 1967-1973 flying from Korat RTAFB w/ the 17th WWS from Mar 1972-Dec1973 & Takhli RTAFB w/ the 357th TFS from Dec 1967-Sep 1969.

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555th Tactical Fighter Squadron 100 Missions North Vietnam Mig Qualified

 

Worn by 1st Lt. Charles C. Clifton

Crew: Col. Robin Olds/AC & 1st Lt. Charles C. Clifton/Pilot

Operation Bolo

F-4C Phantom II 63-7680

2 Jan 1967

MIG 21

AIM-9 Sidewinder

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Maj. Gen. Frederick C. "Boots" Blesse

 

These are on his party suit worn from Apr 1967-Apr 1968 when he was director of operations for the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing at Da Nang AB, Republic of Vietnam. He flew 108 combat missions over North Vietnam and another 46 in Laos and South Vietnam.

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Alec,

 

I wondered who'd snagged that awesome MiG Qualified patch ... glad to see it went into a nice collection. I met Charles Clifton at his home one night a bunch of years back to have him sign a print, and now I kick myself for never having thought to ask if he had a duplicate patch!!!

 

Dale

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SEA (South East Asia) - 200 Missions - F-4D donated by Capt. Richard M. Jarvis, USAF (Ret.), 433rd TFS and 435th TFS (297 combat missions)

 

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Agreed! The Clifton patch is one of the best ... looks like it is actually one of the circular 8th TFW 100 Missions patches with a separate "MiG Qualified" tab set below it, with both then sewn to a leather backing. Very nice!

 

Dale

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firefighter

Those are some good looking patches.I like the 'Triple Nickel' patch.Does anybody know if there were other rockers for the patch?

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Hi Dale,

 

I don't know if Clifton had an extra patch. This one came up after he passed away with a lot of his other items hitting ebay.

 

Al

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Firefighter,

 

Here are a couple of rockers / tabs I have. The yellow / black 100 Missions - North Vietnam rockers were, I believe, distributed by McDonnell Aircraft (I've seen them circling their generic McDonnell Phantom II and Voodoo One-O-Wonder factory patches) ...

 

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Not too sure about the others.

 

Dale

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And here's one straight from the tip-of-the-spear: an original Wild Weasel I (F-100F era) patch from Brig. Gen. Garry A. Willard, USAF (Ret.) ... well, via his son!

 

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Dale

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Contributed by Col. Lacy W. Breckenridge, USAF (Ret.), 433rd TFS (120 F-4 combat missions)

 

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Col. Breckenridge wrote, "The 433 TFS was one of three squadrons of the 8 TFW at Ubon Air Base Thailand. I was in the 433 as a Flight Commander and Operations Officer. I flew 100 missions over N. Vietnam and 20 over Laos, August 66 to February 67. I completed my tour in that short time because we were short of Aircraft Commanders."

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  • 1 year later...

I had some free time today, so I decided to take a few photos of credited patches in my budding collection. Plus, I really enjoyed this thread and thought it might prompt more to contribute to it!

 

First up is one that really started it all for me in collecting credited patches. Jack Phillips was a F-105 pilot with the 34th TFS and flew with them from January 1967 to August 1967. His combat record is impressive to say the least, accounting for 3 Silver Stars, in addition to the DFC and numerous Air Medals. Interestingly, he came into the service as a enlisted Marine. He did two years with the Marine Corps, obtaining the rank of Sgt. He was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1958, then enlisted in the USAF in 1959. After 14 months as an Airman, he was picked up for OCS, which started the journey for him to become a pilot.

 

Jack runs the 34th THUD website and I happened to e-mail the "webmaster" (not knowing it was him) about a question I had regarding the site. He e-mailed me back and when I realized who I was talking to, he graciously offered to answer a few questions I had about his service and the F-105. He even offered to autograph a photo for my collection. To my surprise, this patch was in the return envelope along with two very nicely dedicated autographed photos. This patch truly means the world to me and I am very honored to be the caretaker of it.

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Next up is a group credited to a B-52 gunner who flew with the 99th BW. I was able to pick up most of these when they were first offered for sale, however missed out on 5 others. Luckily Randy got two that I missed out on and we were able to work out a deal on them. I was very happy to reunite them with the group. Thanks again Randy!

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