Jump to content

11th Infantry Regiment, Combat Support Company guidon w/history


nirvana
 Share

Recommended Posts

I picked this flag up about a week ago. The previous owner purchased it at an estate sale, I believe. I didn't think anything of this until after I had bought it and the seller offered to tell me the previous owner's name: General Herbert J Lloyd. I didn't know anything about him, so I googled his name. Apparently he was a reasonably well known general with a very long career, serving as a private and ending up near the top. He was a combat veteran with many decorations and had been wounded in two wars. He is in the ranger hall of fame. He passed away at the end of 2015. "Interesting" I thought, and moved on. Oral history isn't really documentable in the long term, but it was nice to know.

 

Lloyd.jpg

 

http://www.hopeprescott.com/general-lloyd-inducted-into-ranger-hall-of-fame/

 

https://www.patriotguard.org/showthread.php?412008-BG-Herbert-Jack-Lloyd-USA(RET)-Vietnam-GWOT-Hope-AR-15-DEC-15

 

So the flag showed up today, and in the envelope were two metal plaques, one with his name, the other with the info. The seller had removed it all from a frame and there is glue residue on both the flag and plaque. The flag is a GI issue piece that was presented to him when he left a unit. There is some weird fading, but so it goes. He is documented online as serving in the 11th in about 1980, meaning it's good. Thought it was a neat piece worth sharing. I have not a damn clue why families let this stuff go.

post-153664-0-76815000-1484884030_thumb.jpeg

post-153664-0-40897900-1484884040.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice piece, even better to have some history with it. There is usually a QM tag inside the sleeve that may be dated. The way the letters are sewn on to blocks is a but unusual, but I have learned never to say "never" or "always". and tagged or not, you know where it came from.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had the flag away from my place, hence the delay in getting back. The flag does have a manufacturer tag in it, not the QM variety where the flags were govt made, but one of the later types when these flags were being contracted to outside vendors. There is a place for a date, but of course it's faded/blank and cannot be read. Given the material, natural fibers, as well as the type of maker tag and the color of the leather pole tabs, I'm betting it's from the 1970s. They switched to synthetic fabric later and maker tags come in a few varieties depending on different factors.

 

Regarding the numbers: early guidons were sewn single sided, where one side could be read, and the other was mirrored and thus not workable. They took three layers of material and made a sandwich, white, the branch, and white, and then sewed through them all. The excess was trimmed and then you had the flag with markings. This was switched later on, in the 70s or 80s, to appliqué squares. The numbers and letter were sewn on to squares, and these squares were sewn to the flag. This allowed the flag to be readable from both sides, and is probably a better idea. All in all, I think the flag is period correct and it matches others of a similar vintage in my collection.

 

Thanks for the questions guys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...