WW I Shoulder & Helmet Insignia of the 35th Division, AEF

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 75: In respect to stenciled helmet insignia, black paint seems to have substituted for that of blue paint with some degree of regularity. Depicted here is an example of a 137^th Infantry Regiment helmet in which the blue quadrant has been painted black.

 

Photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 76: Close ups of the four stenciled 137^th Infantry Regiment helmets whose insignia each bears one quadrant which has been painted with a very dark blue paint, or with blue paint that with age, has turned black, or was painted black paint as a substitute for blue.

 

All photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 77: The 138^th Infantry Regiment’s insignia was made up of two yellow and two blue quadrants within a yellow outer-ring … An example of which has here been hand painted onto a miniature flag of the United States bearing 48 stars; thus transforming it into a patriotic wartime banner or a post war welcome home parade pennant.

 

Photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 78: Displayed here, clockwise from top are a: machine embroidered (top), two applique (bottom left & right), and one hand embroidered (bottom center) 35th Division, shoulder patches bearing the insignia made in the colors of the 138^th Infantry Regiment.

 

Top, bottom center & bottom right photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

Bottom left photo courtesy of the Dave Schwind collection

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 79: Because the March 1918, dated division memo failed to mention how the two yellow and two blue quadrants were to be placed within the outer-ring, two different configurations of the 138^th Infantry Regiment’s insignia were made – one with the two colors equally divided, two on top and two on the bottom (as seen in the previous photo) and with the two quadrant colors alternating as illustrated by these two machine embroidered examples.

 

Left hand photo courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

Right hand photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 80: A steel helmet painted with the most common variation (two up & two down) of the 138^th Infantry Regiment’s insignia. This design was also sometimes sewn on the service coat or painted onto a steel helmet with the two pairs of colored quadrants placed vertically side by side, rather than horizontally with one on top of the other.

 

Photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 81: Just as it was done for the insignia for the 137^th Infantry Regiment, the practice of substituting very dark blue or black thread, fabric or paint for that of blue was also occasionally done when fabricating or painting the insignia of the 138^th Infantry Regiment. Three examples of blue paint that darkened with age or of black paint being used as a replacement color are shown here.

 

All photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 82: The 129^th MG Battalion SSI worn by this unidentified Doughboy looks to be incorrectly sited with one red quadrant positioned in the upper left and lower right corners. Although I’ve found no official directive stating this was to be so, I believe when correctly placed, one yellow quadrant would reside in the upper left and lower right corners, like the machine embroidered example depicted in the inset.

 

Background photo courtesy of Bay State Militaria.com

Inset courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 83: Two of the 129^th MG Battalion shoulder insignia (left & right) are composed of the authorized and alternating yellow and red quadrants. However, two different construction methods have been employed – machine embroidered (left) and applique (right).

 

The center SSI is a variant of the 129^th MG Battalion, composed of red and purple quadrants. This particular patch was sewn onto a tailor made service coat belonging to an officer from that battalion and thought to be the only one of its kind.

 

Left hand photo courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

Center photo courtesy of Bay State Militaria.com

Right hand photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 84: Full view of a steel helmet neatly stenciled on each side with the insignia of the 129^th MG Battalion.

Photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 85: Close ups of the 129^th MG Battalion’s insignia as stenciled onto the side of three different steel helmets. Of interest here is that amber colored paint was pressed into service as a substitute for yellow on both the left and right hand examples.

 

Left & right hand photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

Center photo courtesy of the estatesalesbytoma collection

[world war I nerd]

Black Outer-Circle

35^th Division, 70^th Infantry Brigade

 

The outer-ring on the insignia assigned to the regiments and battalions of the 70^th Infantry Brigade was black. The 35^th Division organizations that were authorized to wear a black-ringed insignia were:

• 70^th Infantry Brigade HQ
• 129^th Infantry Regiment
• 130^th Infantry Regiment
• 130^th MG Battalion

Photo No. 86: Two of these three unidentified 35^th Division soldiers sport shoulder patches that might be a variant of the 139^th Infantry Regiment’s SSI. The combination of one yellow and three black quadrants are correct for that regiment’s insignia. The yellow outer-ring however, suggests that the insignia resides under the umbrella of the 69^th Infantry Brigade, not the 70^th Infantry Brigade, whose outer-ring color is, of course, black, like the shoulder patch shown in the inset. At the time of posting, it is not known if the insignia worn in this period photograph is a variant of the 139^th Infantry Regiment, an insignia belonging to the yellow-ringed 69^th Infantry Brigade, or the insignia of an as yet, unidentified organization within the 35^th Division.

 

Background photo courtesy of the John Adams-Graf collection

Inset courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 87: These all black 70^th Infantry Brigade HQ insignia are, clockwise from upper left: hand embroidered, machine embroidered, applique, window pane applique, and another applique.

 

Upper left, bottom center & lower right photos courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

Lower left hand photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 88: This stenciled version of the 35^th Division’s Santa Fe Cross has been painted on the helmet’s front, not on the right and left sides as was typical. In this case, the insignia represents the 70th Infantry Brigade HQ. To further hammer home the fact that the insignia denoted brigade headquarters, the initials “HQ”, also in black, have also been stenciled just above the all black insignia.

 

Photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 89: Close ups of three different 70^th Infantry Brigade HQ insignia as painted on 35^th Division steel helmets.

 

All photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 90: The 139^th Infantry Regiment insignia consisted of one yellow and three black quadrants within a black outer-ring. Clockwise from upper left, these SSI have been constructed using the following fabrication techniques: window pane applique, hand embroidered, machine embroidered, hand embroidered with a yellow quadrant that was made from metallic gold bullion thread, which over time has oxidized to an almost black color, and yet another hand embroidered.

 

Upper left & upper right & lower right hand photos courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

Bottom left & Center photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 91: The insignia of the 139^th Infantry Regiment has been stenciled onto this steel helmet with the yellow quadrant thought to be incorrectly placed in the upper right hand corner.

 

Photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 92: Three additional examples of the 139^th Infantry Regiment’s insignia as painted on different steel helmets. Note that all of the yellow quadrants have been situated in the upper right hand corner.

 

All photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 93: The service coat worn by Colonel Albert Linxwiler, commanding officer of the 140^th Infantry Regiment, has been adorned with an insignia composed of two black, and two yellow quadrants within a black outer-ring, as assigned by Division HQ to that regiment. The inset provides a better view of a 140^th Infantry Regiment insignia whose appearance is similar to that of the one sewn onto Linxwiler’s left shoulder.

 

Inset courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 94: Three examples of 140^th Infantry Regiment insignia, all of which have been machine embroidered.

 

All photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 95: A painted helmet bearing the insignia of the 140^th Infantry Regiment.

 

Photo courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 96: Additional painted examples of the 140th Infantry Regiment’s insignia as applied to steel helmets. Note that all but one of the painted emblems has been painted with the pair of yellow quadrants on the bottom.

 

All photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 97: The insignia employed by this unnamed captain from the 130^th MG Battalion also utilized two black and two yellow quadrants within a black outer-ring. However, this insignia differed from that of the 140^th Infantry Regiment by situating the quadrants so that the two colors alternated black to yellow and yellow to black. The inset is of a high quality hand embroidered 139^th MG Battalion shoulder patch.

 

Inset courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 98: Two hand embroidered (left & center) and one applique (right) 139^th MG Battalion SSI are displayed here.

 

All photos courtesy of Advance Guard Militaria.com

[world war I nerd]

Photo No. 99: A 140^th MG Battalion painted steel helmet.

 

Photo courtesy Advance Guard Militaria.com