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Vietnam Era Three Star General, Need Help IDing


Polygon
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Hey guys,

 

I picked up this grouping and could use some help in identifying the general. The only thing I have is his last name based on the name tag and the insignia present. I searched the jacket and pants but could not find a full name. I did find a '68 date for one of the trousers though. Also, I noticed one of the pairs of pants has an odd lining which I'll post pictures of as well. Here are some shots of the uniform which indicates service from WW2 to Vietnam.

 

Also, does anyone know what the silver and red ribbon is?

post-187-0-06588000-1557529638_thumb.jpg

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Rakkasan187

The button is for the Corps of Engineers branch.. I have had officer uniforms where the owner replaced the standard buttons with the Engineer branch buttons..

 

There are 18 Davies in my West Point Register of Graduates and 8 in my 1961 dated Army Register still Active at the time,, There were no retired officers with that name..

 

Based on the awards he may have been in the Infantry at one time and switched branches to Corps of Engineers..

 

I will see what I can try to find based on the names I found

 

Leigh

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CNY Militaria

There were only two active officers in the US Army that achieved General Officer rank with that last name: Isaiah Davies and John H. Davies, neither of which match to this uniform or time period.

 

Remove the name tag, and everything about this uniform exactly matches Lieutenant General Harry A. Griffith, USMA Class of 1949, an Engineer Officer who served in Korea and Vietnam, and commanded the Defense Nuclear Agency (the patch on this uniform) from 1980-1983.

 

 

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/hagriffith.htm

 

The_Times_Tribune_Sat__Apr_30__1983_.jpg

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Very nice, wha's the size on the coat?, looks huge, unless my eyes are playing tricks on me.

 

43, pretty big.

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And the name plate was stuck on in the wrong place. To me an indicator of an after the fact addition.

 

Looking closely, the name tag itself is a bit rough in terms of the lettering as well. It's possible someone swapped out Griffith's tag for the Davie's one and wore it as a costume.

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Martinjmpr

The GS branch insignia also seems wrong. General officers normally don't wear any branch insignia anyway. The only exception I'm aware of are generals who are "branch chiefs" sometimes wear the insignia of the branch but not always. There are a few exceptions but not many (I have seen, for example, photos of LTG Groves, who was the Manhattan Project commander and also the builder of the Pentagon, wearing a LTG uniform with Engineer branch insignia) but they are rare.

 

GS branch insignia is normally worn by officers on a general staff assignment at a Division, Corps or higher headquarters. It's one of the few branch insignia that is officer only - there is no equivalent enlisted insignia.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I know I sound like a broken record, but in addition to the name tag being in the wrong place, the general staff insignia is probably just pinned on there since it isn't aligned properly in the first place, and a lieutenant general would probably not be wearing branch insignia anyway.

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