Paratroops qual badge patch with service star

[AndrewA74]

Hello,

Can anyone tell me what this is? I was told the service star is for a combat jump. Is this correct? Thanks.

Andrew

[Teamski]

Yes it is. There were subdued versions done after Panama, I believe.

 

-Ski

[doyler]

Yep,

Combat jump.Would be correct for the Pamama jump and I believe now the 173rd is wearing one for jump for a current combat jump.Some from the 173rd who stayed in for years also wore one for the Viet Nam jump.This in my opinion is more current.

 

 

 

RON

[J_Andrews]

The bronze star device to denote a combat jump was Airborne custom since at least Normandy. Prior to Normandy, practice varied with the 509th in the MTO wearing such stars pinned on the "oval".

 

However, such practice was not officially recognized, by HQDA, until SecArmy John O. Marsh (himself a jumper in the USAR, once upon a time) expressed dismay and chagrin after the Grenada op in 1983. Official authorization was promulgated shortly thereafter.

[gwb123]

Yep,

Combat jump.Would be correct for the Pamama jump and I believe now the 173rd is wearing one for jump for a current combat jump.Some from the 173rd who stayed in for years also wore one for the Viet Nam jump.This in my opinion is more current.

RON

 

Actually the base material looks cotton rather than the later synthetic material. I think this might date back to Vietnam.

[Justin]

Yes it is. There were subdued versions done after Panama, I believe.

 

-Ski

yes, thats what I would think.

[Justin]

Yes it is. There were subdued versions done after Panama, I believe.

 

-Ski

This would be sewn on the slant packet jacket right?

[Justin]

I would think this dates back to vietnam era

[Steve B.]

I have absolutely no doubt that this is post-Panama or Grenada.

 

In my 20+ years in the Army, I never saw combat jump wings worn sewn to fatigues or BDUs until long after Vietnam was over. It's one thing to dress up your khakis or dress greens with unauthorized pin-on awards when going home on leave, but it's much more difficult to get away with it when when the unauthorized is sewn onto the chest of your everyday uniform.

 

The construction of this piece is absolutely consistent with that of sew-on items made after Grenada and Panama.

 

Steve

[camopara]

I agree with Steve in that this was meant to be worn on the now outdated BDU's.

[ehrentitle]

Here is an article I did for the Quartermaster Museum several years back using material provided by the Institute of Heraldry. The cloth wing with the combat star that is featured at the end of the article is from my collection and purchased in the late 90s.

 

http://www.qmfound.com/parachute_badge.htm

 

Kevin

[seanmc1114]

I have absolutely no doubt that this is post-Panama or Grenada.

 

In my 20+ years in the Army, I never saw combat jump wings worn sewn to fatigues or BDUs until long after Vietnam was over. It's one thing to dress up your khakis or dress greens with unauthorized pin-on awards when going home on leave, but it's much more difficult to get away with it when when the unauthorized is sewn onto the chest of your everyday uniform.

 

The construction of this piece is absolutely consistent with that of sew-on items made after Grenada and Panama.

 

Steve

Not to disagree with your experience, but I have seen several photos of officers, including generals, during the Vietnam War wearing embroidered stars on their subdued sew-on jump wings on their jungle jackets and other fatigue shirts and even a few where the jump wings were directly embroidered on the shirt. I will try to fin some pictures to post, but I do know that there are several examples in the 1st Cavalry and 101st Airborne yearbooks printed in 1968 and 1969 while the divisions were in Vietnam. However, the examples I have seen from that period usually had the stars embroidered in gold thread instead of the brown that is now authorized. Even though it was not officially authorized, it is hard to argue with the fact that it was done by two star generals.

[101combatvet]

I think the wear out date for BDUs was 2007. If you jumped Basher in Northern Iraq it could be post 2003. The DA authorized these

sometime in the 1980's.

[Steve B.]

Okay, I probably shouldn't have said anything about what I saw during my time in the Army, since there are always exceptions - particularly in combat zones, and generals seem to make up their own rules sometimes.

 

That said, I still don't think the wings in question are Vietnam-era. I believe they were made no earlier than the 1980s for wear on BDUs. The construction is consistent with other authorized machine-embroidered insignia available at the PX and elsewhere. They do not appear to be hand-made or theater-made insignia.

 

Steve

[doyler]

I have to agree with Steve.I too feel it to be of the Grenada or Panama era.Here are some pics of a shirt that was given to me by a friend.He wore this while attached to the 501st in anchorage Alaska.He was a graduate of West Point(class of 95).He did Jumped into Panama with the 3rd Ranger Bn and was one of the first three men to assault the Commandancia and one of the first 3 into Noriegas office.He has one of Noriegas bussiness cards off of his desk.

 

He caught a lot of flak from the Instuctors at West Point when he showed up wearing CIB,Jump Wings w/CS,West German wings,and his Air assault whirly bird.He said that maybe disgression was the order for the day.He would often get singled out because of his awards and badges.

 

RON

 

 

[doyler]

Here is a closer look of the wing.sorry for the flash,it washed out the color a bit.The jacket is also well worn and washed so a little fading to the star is also seen.

 

RON

 

[seanmc1114]

In spite of what I said earlier about stars being worn on the jump wings in Vietnam, I do agree with Steve that the wings in question are post-war manufactured and meant for the BDU's. For one thing, the style of the wings is the type that was much more common since the early 80's. Most examples of cloth jump wings I have seen from the 60's and 70's actually look like metal jump wings. The example shown in this thread is the type that seems to have shown up with the introduction of the BDUs. If you look closely, you will notice that the bottom of the parachute extends further below the wing portion of the badge than it does on the metal version where the two are more in line with each other.

 

The following photo shows three patches from my collection. The top senior wings I believe to be theater made in Asia, presumably Vietnam. The second set is U.S. machine made; this is the type that was usually worn on OG-107 utilities in the late 60's and 70's. The final version is one I picked up at Ranger Joe's surplus store on Victory Drive outside Ft. Benning for $.25 a couple of years ago. It was in a box full of subdued badges and rank insignia that I assume were removed from BDUs when soldiers had replacements sewn on their uniforms. Notice the bottom of the parachute in relation to the position of the wings compared with the other two versions. Also, this patch is embroidered on synthetic material whereas the top two are on cotton. I have seen this version of the badge on Vietnam era jungle jackets on e-Bay, but I don't think I have ever actually seen one on any Vietnam era uniform with any actual provenance. Whenever I see this variation of the patch on a jungle jacket, I am always suspicious that it was not actually worn in Vietnam. Jungle jackets actually worn in the 80's are a different story and the patch is fairly common on those. Does anyone have any information to the contrary?

[doyler]

Thanks for posting the wings.Your Senior jump wing have a korean made look to me.Just my thoughts

 

RON

[seanmc1114]

Thanks for posting the wings.Your Senior jump wing have a korean made look to me.Just my thoughts

 

RON

I wasn't exactly sure where these were made made, but I do know the style of embroidery is the same as the ones my father had on the jungle jacket he brought home from Vietnam. Also, if you look closely, you can see where there was a line of sewing horizontally across the top of the parachute. I have several of these from the same source and apparently whoever used them took senior wings and folded the cloth over at the star to make basic wings. I have attached a picture showing the front and back of two of these.

[Guest uitlander]

These are novice wings with a combat jump, not a service star

Aye yours,

Ken

173D Abn Bde (SEP) 1970

[J_Andrews]

My brother, USMA 1962, once told me that it was SOP for cadets with decorations earned while enlisted were "mock-harassed", not out of serious DISapproval or meanness, but as a way to make sure that everybody in hearing distance knew of their classmate's experience and soldierly accomplishments. And such cadets did not have the option of NOT wearing their "merit badges"; if they held them legitimately, they were REQUIRED to wear them. Same for ribbons, on appropriate outfits.