Sully Posted November 29, 2015 Share #1 Posted November 29, 2015 I just got these off one of my regulars today. He does estate clean outs and every couple months brings me a pile of stuff. Mixed in with all of it were these two DI's. I managed to find that they are for the 144th Infantry but I don't know what or why the caps were added. Can anyone give me some insight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atb Posted November 29, 2015 Share #2 Posted November 29, 2015 Judging by the pins and the added "caps," I think those have been turned into costume jewelry or sweetheart pins. I have also seen military insignia designs used by jewelry designers for their items with no connection to the original military use at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted November 29, 2015 I wonder if it would be worth it to remove the decoration then. They are held on only by a small amount of glue on the reverse. The helmet, torch and branches are loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1SG_1st_Cav Posted November 30, 2015 Share #4 Posted November 30, 2015 I would leave them "As Found". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted November 30, 2015 Share #5 Posted November 30, 2015 Er I don't think these are actual 144th Inf DI, below is the official design, no Red field as we see, the one posted below is a 30s one, screwback. So perhaps a specifically made jewelry item that for whatever reason used the basic design of the 144th Inf's DI, perhaps too as suggested, a sweetheart item? Plus we're not seeing any attachment blemishes where these attachments were removed, IE Clutch Posts or Pin Back doohickeys (Forgot the correct names) Ah yes the Catch, that's one of the correct names at least . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted November 30, 2015 Er I don't think these are actual 144th Inf DI, below is the official design, no Red field as we see, the one posted below is a 30s one, screwback. So perhaps a specifically made jewelry item that for whatever reason used the basic design of the 144th Inf's DI, perhaps too as suggested, a sweetheart item? Plus we're not seeing any attachment blemishes where these attachments were removed, IE Clutch Posts or Pin Back doohickeys (Forgot the correct names) Ah yes the Catch, that's one of the correct names at least . l500.jpg There aren't any attachment marks because the decoration is just a slide on. The star in the wreath is still underneath the helmet, it was just covered. As for the red and blue back ground, were there ever variations of this DI? I'm not trying to be defensive about my purchase, I'd just like to know more about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted November 30, 2015 Share #7 Posted November 30, 2015 There aren't any attachment marks because the decoration is just a slide on. The star in the wreath is still underneath the helmet, it was just covered. As for the red and blue back ground, were there ever variations of this DI? I'm not trying to be defensive about my purchase, I'd just like to know more about them. If there where never any attachments applied then it was made that way I thinking, not sure why other then it was specifically made like this. That there maybe were variants with a Red upper corner? possible, but haven't seen one as of yet. For now I,m with member atb on this one, that it could very well be costume jewelry or sweetheart pins. I particularly agree with his assertion of seeing military insignia designs used in the past by jewelry designers for items with no connection with original military use, one sees this with cloth insignia too many times, ranks, unit shoulder patches etc, like there's one item in the Patches forum of a most odd 41st Division patch, it's fully embroidered, and the thinking among some is it's a fashion piece based on the 41st Division's patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlyoun3910 Posted December 6, 2015 Share #8 Posted December 6, 2015 Here's the variations of the 144th Infantry Regiment (Separate). The BW picture from 1940 and before. The red colored pictures, one with flourishes, another with crest/helmet, and the last red is from the "Mess Dress" variations. Then the last is another light infantry blue variation that most people recognize. You can see these variations at Camp Mabry, Austin Texas, in the museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlyoun3910 Posted December 6, 2015 Share #9 Posted December 6, 2015 Here's variations of the 144th crest that were developed into other battalions in the 1950s to 1970s within the MTOE for the 49th Armored Division, Texas National Guard: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter Posted December 6, 2015 Share #10 Posted December 6, 2015 If there where never any attachments applied then it was made that way I thinking, not sure why other then it was specifically made like this. That there maybe were variants with a Red upper corner? possible, but haven't seen one as of yet. For now I,m with member atb on this one, that it could very well be costume jewelry or sweetheart pins. I particularly agree with his assertion of seeing military insignia designs used in the past by jewelry designers for items with no connection with original military use, one sees this with cloth insignia too many times, ranks, unit shoulder patches etc, like there's one item in the Patches forum of a most odd 41st Division patch, it's fully embroidered, and the thinking among some is it's a fashion piece based on the 41st Division's patch. It reminds me of costume jewelry. I have about 3 or 4 military DI's that are costume jewelry. They look just like the original design but the colors are all wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted December 7, 2015 Share #11 Posted December 7, 2015 Here's the variations of the 144th Infantry Regiment (Separate). The BW picture from 1940 and before. The red colored pictures, one with flourishes, another with crest/helmet, and the last red is from the "Mess Dress" variations. Then the last is another light infantry blue variation that most people recognize. You can see these variations at Camp Mabry, Austin Texas, in the museum. Very interesting with the different types, this one shows up again, would this then be a Mess Dress version? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atb Posted December 7, 2015 Share #12 Posted December 7, 2015 I have seen other unit DUI's "prettied up" like the ones shown in this thread and I believe they are costume jewelry or sweetheart pins and not actual insignia (mess dress or otherwise) for wear by the soldier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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