When did beret flashes start for Airborne Units?

[Brittroop]

I am trying to find out when US Airborne units started to wear beret flashes on their maroon berets? The history of Special Forces green beret flashes is easy to date but there are photos of Airborne maroon berets being worn with just jump wings or jump wings and ovals and rank badges, but no beret flashes, into the 1980s. Is there any source which gives the dates of beret flashes for different Airborne units in the 1970s and 1980s? (TIOH doesn't help.)

 

Thanks for any help.

[patches]

Welcome to the Forum Britt, This will be of some help, on the question of the 1st and 2nd Battalions 17th Infantry, 6th Infantry Division's Charlie Airborne you posted a separate topic, maybe other members might know more, however you will see a group photo of troops of the 17th Inf, 6th Inf Div in Alaska wearing their berets, it's post #87....... but it's in Black and White, so we can't really tell, a good guess it's an Inf Blue field with a White Border?

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7676-us-army-berets-blue-black-green-maroon-tan/

 

 

But as a rule, Maroon Berets as well as other Branch types as you will see came out first in around 1973 and lasted to late 1978, they were unofficial in those days, however the flashes for them, the Airborne types, as well as the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT)'s Berets in the main were derivatives of the units official ovals, and would be continued to be used again when the Berets received official sanction in 1981.

[Brittroop]

Thanks for that, Patches and the links. The info on the 17th Inf makes perfect sense and also ties in with the use of the standard white and blue Infantry flash by the 60th Infantry when they provided a 'Charlie Airborne' company to the 172nd Brigade in Alaska.

 

The dates of Airborne unit flashes are more complicated than I expected. To take two examples: I have seen a photo of a 509th NCO in 1975 wearing just wings, an oval and rank insignia. As this predates the official sanctioning of the Airborne maroon beret in 1980 that is explained by the fact that they had not started to use a flash in 1975 but the question is then when did they start the flash?

To use another example, the 187th had Airborne elements in Panama in the 1980s and this would have been the first time they would have worn a maroon beret. There is a photo of a 187th NCO wearing jump wings and oval and rank insignia on a maroon beret but this would have been after the 187th had a beret flash when they were in the 101st Airborne during the blue beret era in the 1970s. Why did they simply not just reuse the 1970s flash and when did they start to use it again?

When the maroon beret was officially sanctioned in 1980, were the unit beret flashes specified at that time or did they evolve in a more haphazard way after 1980?

 

These complications make research more difficult but also make the hobby more interesting. Thanks for your help.

[patches]

Thanks for that, Patches and the links. The info on the 17th Inf makes perfect sense and also ties in with the use of the standard white and blue Infantry flash by the 60th Infantry when they provided a 'Charlie Airborne' company to the 172nd Brigade in Alaska.

 

The dates of Airborne unit flashes are more complicated than I expected. To take two examples: I have seen a photo of a 509th NCO in 1975 wearing just wings, an oval and rank insignia. As this predates the official sanctioning of the Airborne maroon beret in 1980 that is explained by the fact that they had not started to use a flash in 1975 but the question is then when did they start the flash?

To use another example, the 187th had Airborne elements in Panama in the 1980s and this would have been the first time they would have worn a maroon beret. There is a photo of a 187th NCO wearing jump wings and oval and rank insignia on a maroon beret but this would have been after the 187th had a beret flash when they were in the 101st Airborne during the blue beret era in the 1970s. Why did they simply not just reuse the 1970s flash and when did they start to use it again?

When the maroon beret was officially sanctioned in 1980, were the unit beret flashes specified at that time or did they evolve in a more haphazard way after 1980?

 

These complications make research more difficult but also make the hobby more interesting. Thanks for your help.

For the two battalions of 17th Infantry, were they at Richardson? If so they just used the old 1/60th Charlie Airborne flash when these battalions were assigned to the reactivated 6th Inf Div, the 1/60 was stationed at Richardson back in the day. I,m pretty sure when the traditional maneuver battalions of the 172nd Inf Bde (Sep) were reflagged as battalions of the 327th Inf in 83, their Charlie Airborne's wore derivatives of the 327th Inf's ovals, here with TICKS, just like their Air Assault Ovals, and would not of worn the old flashes from the now inactive 4/9. 4/23, 1/60 Infs.

 

On the flashes for at least the 82nd and 101, as mentioned, they just continued to used the same basic design as in the 70s, ie Battalion TICKS, the other smaller units is where it can get confusing, especially as you mentioned in the early period of the unofficiall berets.

[tredhed2]

Beret flashes were worn in RVN by may elite units, e.g. 75th Infantry, and the predecessor units to those Ranger companies, CRIPs, etc. If local COs approved, they were worn. Korean War Ranger companies wore them, too.

[McChizzle]

I understand this is an old thread, but I want to share what I found on this topic.  I too have struggled to find good evidence of when exactly organizational beret flashes began to be worn on the maroon beret in the US Army.  The best peace of evidence I have found is a 1975 photograph of the 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry standing in review for the Commander–in–Chief of the Swedish Army at Fort Bragg.  Photos before that example show 82nd paratroopers wearing their DUI on their maroon beret around the time they started to wear the beret in 1973.  They could have started wearing beret flashes in 1974 but I have not found any evidence to prove that as of you.  If any of you have credible written or photographic evidence of them wearing beret flashes in 1973 or 1974, please share.

 

References:

• https://digitaltmuseum.se/021016284333/utrikestjanst-ca-besok-i-usa-fort-bragg
• https://web.archive.org/web/20200324172243/https://archives.hunaheritage.org/digital-heritage/robert-wolfe-served-us-army-82nd-airborne1st-ranger-battalion

[SKIPH]

Quick personal experience with berets and flashes.  I was assigned to B-1-504 in the 82d from April 71-May 73. We did not have berets. Got out of the army.  Came back in in July 1974, went back to B-1-504. we had maroon berets, and 1-504th flashes. Somewhere in my 14 month service break, berets and unit flashes were authorized.  SKIP

[McChizzle]

26 minutes ago, SKIPH said:

Quick personal experience with berets and flashes.  I was assigned to B-1-504 in the 82d from April 71-May 73. We did not have berets. Got out of the army.  Came back in in July 1974, went back to B-1-504. we had maroon berets, and 1-504th flashes. Somewhere in my 14 month service break, berets and unit flashes were authorized.  SKIP

Good to know, thank you SKIP!

 

Here is a photo and article I found about a paratrooper from the 82nd Airborne Division's 82nd Division Support Command, 782nd Maintenance Battalion wearing his battalion DUI on his maroon beret with no organizational beret flash that was taken in February 1973, according to the article.

• Reference: https://web.archive.org/web/20200324172243/https://archives.hunaheritage.org/digital-heritage/robert-wolfe-served-us-army-82nd-airborne1st-ranger-battalion

[Brittroop]

Glad to see the thread has been resurrected and some really good information has come to light. Thank you guys.

 

Brittroop

[collectsmedals]

On 11/15/2015 at 9:46 PM, patches said:

Maroon Berets as well as other Branch types as you will see came out first in around 1973 and lasted to late 1978

 I may be taking this out of context, but it is my understanding that the 509 PIB re-designated at the 503 PIR was authorized to  wear the maroon berets in 1942 when they trained with the British 1st Parachute Brigade. I still have my father's maroon beret and British paratrooper wings he received in England.

[patches]

6 hours ago, collectsmedals said:

 I may be taking this out of context, but it is my understanding that the 509 PIB re-designated at the 503 PIR was authorized to  wear the maroon berets in 1942 when they trained with the British 1st Parachute Brigade. I still have my father's maroon beret and British paratrooper wings he received in England.

Yes they were, 509th PIB, though locally approved, worn scattershot thereafter we suspect, the Maroon Berets as currently constituted originated really in the 70s.

 

https://www.509thgeronimo.org/uniforms/uniformberet.html

[patches]

And to add this one to member's post on the 509th.