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Philippine Made Belt Buckles


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@vintageproductions - Looks like you have a nice collection of buckles. If you can find the time, it would be great to see more detailed photos of all those buckles. That said, one can see some of the different sizes of rectangular buckles. I especially like the large Gunner's Mate buckle in the lower left. I checked out your store to see if these were for sale and if you had better photos posted there. I didn't see the buckles in the post above in your online store, but I did see some cool oval SEAL and UDT Philippine buckles that you are selling.

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vintageproductions

The ones shown above are in our collection.

 

I believe a lot of them are already shown in better detail here on the USMF

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@vintageproductions - So far I have only found one Philippines buckle you posted on USMF (I'll have to keep searching). That said, it is an EXTREMELY neat buckle! "Japan 1943" Submarine buckle for I.J.Carlson. If your buckle was really made in 1943, it would be the only Philippine Buckle for US servicemen that I'm aware of. The fact that it says "Japan" suggests that I.J.Carlson might have had it made in the Philippines in late 1944 or 1945 or later to remember something about being in Japan in 1943 (perhaps as bragging rights to having been the among the first Americans "in Japan", if that were the case) as it is doubtful that the buckle was actually made in Japan (or the Philippines) in 1943.

 

I have one early but undated Submariner buckle for "Robert P. Dorsey Sub-387-64-20-Base Philippines" The USS Pintado SS-387 was commissioned 1 Jan 1944 and decommissioned 6 Mar 1946.

 

Can anyone can tell me what 64-20-Base means?

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You can still find these Philippine made buckles at the flea market. Here are three I've come across pretty cheap ($10.00 or less) at the flea market over the last year or so.

 

 

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I have one early but undated Submariner buckle for "Robert P. Dorsey Sub-387-64-20-Base Philippines" The USS Pintado SS-387 was commissioned 1 Jan 1944 and decommissioned 6 Mar 1946.

 

Can anyone can tell me what 64-20-Base means?

 

That is an awesome buckle. I love the detail in the dolphins.

 

That is his name, Sub Base Philippines, and his service number. Here he is listed on the muster rolls for the USS Nereus (a sub tender). It looks like he was received for duty (RDUT?) from Sub Base 3002 which was the base in Subic Bay.

 

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Great looking buckles. These men and woman would carve anything on pretty much anything.I have a conc shell I sent home to my parents that the carved my name and beach scene on.

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@hink441 - Thank you Chris for pointing out that the 387-64-20 was Robert Dorsey's Service Number. My guess that 387 was for the USS Pintado looks to be incorrect.

 

@zsmith - Thank you for confirming and finding Robert Dorsey in a 1947 muster roll. Yes I agree with you that dolphins are well done.

 

Something interesting I've noticed is that Submariners weren't big on putting dates on their Philippine Buckles. Except for the "1943" buckle that Vintage Production has, I haven't seen any dated Submariner Dolphin buckles until 1986 (buckle on left below). Both are for Micah R, Lightner Machinist Mate USS Bremerton SSN-698 -- these are ones I saw sell on ebay. I wonder what was special about 30 December 1986? Maybe it was date he had it made?

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I wonder what was special about 30 December 1986? Maybe it was date he had it made?

Could have been his qual date (when he received his dolphins). That's a pretty big deal in our little community.

 

Just searched his name. He was in M-div (nuc mechanic) on Bremerton from Dec 85 - 1988. I'd be willing to bet Dec 86 was when he got his fish.

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@Tonomachi - Thanks for sharing a picture of some of your non-Seal buckles. I guess I should start going to flea markets....

 

@Spike - Nice Seal Buckles! Thanks for sharing.

 

@zsmith - Thanks for the the great idea of what 30 Dec 86 meant.

 

Continuing the theme of buckles with specific dates. Here is perhaps my favorite Philippine Buckle -- this time I know what the date is commemorating. The buckle below is for Sam Flynn with the date of 21 June 1972. Here is a quote that I pulled of the internet which explains what happened...

 

"On June 21, 1972, CDR Sam Flynn, XO of the VF-31 Tomcatters [flying from the USS Saratoga], and his NFO, LT Bill John, were leading a section of F-4 Phantoms during the second alpha strike of the day by CVW-3 aboard USS Saratoga, operating from Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin. They had set up a barrier between Hanoi's Phuc Yen airfield and the strike group. The Phantom crew spotted a flight of three North Vietnamese MiG-21s. CDR Flynn was maneuvering into position to fire when his wingman reported he was under fire by enemy Atoll missiles from another MiG. Flynn broke off his engagement and maneuvered against the MiG-21 attacking his wingman. Flynn fired his Sidewinder and hit the MiG. Its tail blew off and the pilot ejected."

 

The person I bought the buckle was Sam's neighbor and she said Sam gave her the buckle and had told her that his CO had given it to him. Another interesting aside is that the F-4 that Sam was flying for this confirmed MiG kill is in the Smithsonian.

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@Tonomachi - Thanks for sharing a picture of some of your non-Seal buckles. I guess I should start going to flea markets....

 

@Spike - Nice Seal Buckles! Thanks for sharing.

 

@zsmith - Thanks for the the great idea of what 30 Dec 86 meant.

 

Continuing the theme of buckles with specific dates. Here is perhaps my favorite Philippine Buckle -- this time I know what the date is commemorating. The buckle below is for Sam Flynn with the date of 21 June 1972. Here is a quote that I pulled of the internet which explains what happened...

 

"On June 21, 1972, CDR Sam Flynn, XO of the VF-31 Tomcatters [flying from the USS Saratoga], and his NFO, LT Bill John, were leading a section of F-4 Phantoms during the second alpha strike of the day by CVW-3 aboard USS Saratoga, operating from Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin. They had set up a barrier between Hanoi's Phuc Yen airfield and the strike group. The Phantom crew spotted a flight of three North Vietnamese MiG-21s. CDR Flynn was maneuvering into position to fire when his wingman reported he was under fire by enemy Atoll missiles from another MiG. Flynn broke off his engagement and maneuvered against the MiG-21 attacking his wingman. Flynn fired his Sidewinder and hit the MiG. Its tail blew off and the pilot ejected."

 

 

 

The person I bought the buckle was Sam's neighbor and she said Sam gave her the buckle and had told her that his CO had given it to him. Another interesting aside is that the F-4 that Sam was flying for this confirmed MiG kill is in the Smithsonian.

Holy Crap!!!! That is one cool buckle.

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Here is another rarity. The buckle below is what I believe to be an "Occupied" Philippines Buckle made for a Japanese soldier in 1943. The Japaneses calendar year for 1943 is 2603 which is engraved on the buckle. I've included a picture of the back of the buckle since it is similar in construction to some 1945 buckles. The hole on the tab reminds me of a baseball home plate.

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I've been posting some of the rarities, but as I've mentioned, the most common dated Philippine Belt Buckles are from 1945. From what I've seen, the most common design for 1945 buckles is a USN Officer's Eagle. Here is an example of one for Marvin Wade Hanson, Manila, Philippines.

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@Jumpin Jack - I totally agree with you that Philippine Buckles often approach the realm of art. Especially some of the 1940s buckles.

 

Here is a recent USCG Squadron 3 Vietnam buckle for Albert L. Halpen that I just picked up. It came with a white cotton belt. I love the dragon in the shape of the 3. An "identical" buckle for Paul E. Schnick sold on ebay in 2016 so one can't argue that this is a unique piece of art (which is actually a good thing as it speaks to unit cohesion), but it is still pretty cool.

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Can someone identify which plane this USMC buckle is picturing? My guess is an A-6 Intruder but I'm not confident about this.

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@Salvage Sailor - Thanks for confirming! The engraver's rendition of the nose and engine intakes was bothering me but the front profile of the plane you provided helps me see that it is an A-6.

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@Bob Hudson - Thanks for posting the E-2 Hawkeye buckle for J.C. Bailey.

 

Here are two VAW-126 Seahawks buckles I picked up on ebay in 2016.

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Salvage Sailor

Grouping from a surface warfare officer aboard USS MULLINNIX (DD-944), DESRON 15, Homeport Yokosuka, Japan - 7th Fleet

 

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Philippine made Surface Warfare Officer insignia

 

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@Salvage Sailor - Thank you for posting the grouping. It's always neat (and more informative) to see other things associated with the owner of buckles -- especially when the buckles are unnamed.

 

Here are some examples of other Surface Warfare Officer buckles.

 

Upper Left: No information Upper Right: Sleep When You're Dead USS Hepburn FF-1055

Bottom Left: No information Lower Right: Kurt A. Stoney U.S. Navy

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