Unauthorized Combat Infantryman Badges

[rd12]

I pulled these pictures off of eBay awhile back - listed as US made badges. Seller had a large lot of these, all on the cards. They seem very well made. If anyone bought one of these you should post a picture of the back, I'm curious if they are marked.

 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Yep, rd12, those 3-D ones are really nice. I don’t have the sales cards for mine and they are not hallmarked. However, Sivert noted that a number of his are made by and hallmarked by American Insignia. Anyone else have ones with hallmarks.

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Dang, now they are making UA Artillery Combat Action Badges:

 

[gomorgan]

Will the madness never end...

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Gomorgan, I am afraid that the answer is NO:

 

 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

And a UA Engineer CAB:

 

[rd12]

Thanks for that information and the photos, rd12. I have an Order of the Bayonet around here somewhere. I will have to add it to this thread.

 

Meanwhile, here is a 24th Infantry Division Imjin Badge:

 

E56243AE-3897-4010-8C2A-DDF83CFBC4FB.jpeg

 

Sivart had some info for the criteria for this badge and I hope he can locate it. For now, this is apparently another approved at unit level, but not at the DA level badge.

 

Here is some info from an older post on the forum that Sivart made;

 

The Imjin Rifle Badge. Awarded by the 24th INF DIV between 1955 and 1957 for service along the western sector of the DMZ.

 

The actual date this award was first authorized and ended is unknown. We do know it had a short award period because either the Department of the Army or 8th Army HQ instructed the division to cease making the award. The IRB is the same as the 7th ID Order of the Bayonet Badge and 2nd ID Imjin Scout Patch division awards.

 

The criteria for receiving the IR Badge (also called The Musket) was 25 patrols in the DMZ or 125 hours of service in the DMZ (patrols, work details, escort duty, work detail security, etc. combined). Coming under hostile fire was an automatic award of the IRB and removed the number of hours or patrols requirement.

 

 

[rd12]

Here's a picture Tredhed2 posted in the CIB thread ( post # 689 ) showing some great variations

 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Thanks, rd12. I see that he has a miniature UA Artillery CIB, too.

[rd12]

Right, if I had seen that before I had forgotten about it. And I think the one center/bottom is bullion, but its hard to tell in the picture.

[Cobra 6 Actual]

I think it is bullion, rd12. Also, thanks for reposting that Imjin Rifle Badge info from Sivart.

[gomorgan]

I'm going to make an effort to walk SOS and see how many of these are on the tables. I went to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy way back in 71 and a class mate was a holder of 7th ID's order of the bayonet and he gave me a cloth one off a fatigue jacket, in fact he had been wounded on the DMZ in 68 or 69.

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Have fun at SOS, gomorgan! And if you find any UA CIBs or CABs that we have not posted about yet, I would appreciate it if you would take a photo and then post it here on your return. Thanks for your consideration!

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Almost forgot this one, a UA CIB with an M-1 Carbine:

 

 

This was on eBay several months ago. I just happened to be browsing eBay at the time, not really looking for anything and also stumbled onto this pewter hat pin:

 

 

It sure looks like this hat pin was converted into that UA M-1 Carbine CIB.

[Captainofthe7th]

Neat badge! I've not been able to find any information about award criteria for these 2-38 Skull badges. They are fairly hard to find so I don't think they were in use for a very long time because not too many of them seem to have been made. The 38th Infantry was in Korea from 1950 until 1958 so these date from sometime in this period. After the cease fire infantryman patrolling along the DMZ were not eligible for the CIB even if they were in an engagement. This badge ( like the 7th Infantry Div Order of the Bayonet ) could have been used at the unit level to reflect combat action since a CIB could not be awarded. That's just a guess though. Mine is also marked NBICo JAPAN and is a clutchback. Here are some photos of the badge being worn, interesting that one is worn on the left side, the other the right. Also note that the soldier has a skull and spear painted on the side of his helmet as well.

 

 

 

 

First of all, thanks for mentioning my website, Bob. I have one uniform with a Combat Armor badge (245th Tk Bn, 45th Div) and two with Combat Artillery (9th FA and an unknown unit under X Corps, not shown). These are the style shown at the top of this page (post #51).

 

Regarding the 2d Bn 38th Inf Spearheader badge, I have an IDPF to a Master Sergeant with G Company who was killed January 13, 1952, and this badge is listed in a section detailing personal items. He may have had two. Doesn't matter, the point is that it is listed on this official document and we can at least date as early as the end of 1951, probably.

 

Rob

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Rob, thank you for that additional information!

[Sivart]

Grabbed theses today at a friend's shop

[Sivart]

And saw this one too

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Whoa, Sivart, I’ve NEVER even seen a cloth UA Combat Tanker before ... thank you for posting that!

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Well, looking back over this thread I think we can actually begin to categorize unauthorized (UA) CIB’s as follows:

 

1. CIB’s that are UA because of material used: the CIB made of bone is a good example of this.

2. CIB’s that are UA because the 1795 Springfield Musket has been replaced with another weapon. Examples include the UA CIB with the M-16, the UA CIB with the M-1, and the UA CIB with the M-1 Carbine.

3. CIB’s that are UA because they use an added design element (such as the Branch insignia of Military Police, Artillery, Engineers, etc.) and/or a different color enamel in the rectangle. Sometimes these replace the Musket; sometimes they are overlaid over it.

4. Badges that may be authorized at the unit level, but not at the Department of the Army level. From what we know now it does not appear that these were designed as replacements for the CIB, but for service on the Korean DMZ.

 

Let’s put aside for the moment the growing number of UA CAB’s since they are a little outside of the original intent of this thread. Any other thoughts on UA CIB’s are welcome.

[Cobra 6 Actual]

We should also add to our category list those CIBs that are UA because the Musket is facing in the wrong direction, such as this one:

 

 

Unfortunately, whether due due to inattention, lack of a correct template, or some other reason these cloth error CIBs are pretty common.

 

I have not seen a metal wrong way CIB yet, but I am sure they are out there.

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Just thinking ... and I hate this, but those beautiful Balme CIBs would also be UA because they use an added design element, the filigree designs on the musket:

 

[Sivart]

Just thinking ... and I hate this, but those beautiful Balme CIBs would also be UA because they use an added design element, the filigree designs on the musket:

 

 

If that were the case, wouldn't any CIB without acorns be in the same category? Didn't the approved design from TIOH depict acorns in the wreath? I don't have it at hand, but I believe that Mike's book documented that requirement. Or are the ones with acorns unauthorized as well?

 

 

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Hi Sivart -

 

I am just musing. Anyway, I could be wrong, but, as I recall the acorns where shown on the original miniature CIB template; not on the full-size. However, that was probably a mere oversight.

 

Just to clarify: I am actually doing this mental exercise of classifying what is UA or not, so I can organize my personal collection. What I wrote is surely not doctrine or prescriptive ... in fact, I welcome different perspectives, such as yours.

[Cobra 6 Actual]

Looks like I was wrong:

 

 

It sure looks like there are four acorns on that full size CIB.