Jump to content

Ecogene Introduction


ecogene
 Share

Recommended Posts

Greetings to the Forum,

 

I am now a retired guy filling in holes left in my previous life! I have found my way here to help me deal with a crest collection dating from the late '50s. Dad was stationed at 5th Army headquarters in Chicago and we lived on Ft. Sheridan. Don't know how it started, but I began to collect crests. The post was a mustering out location with lots of targets of opportunity. Thinking back on it now I was pretty cheeky asking soldiers if they would give me a crest for my collection. Granted, many wanted to see no more of the Army but I generally encountered friendly, generous guys who graciously contributed to my collection. I ended up with over 200 crests. Unfortunately, I didn't curate this collection very well, it resided with other stuff from my youth recovered as parents passed. I recently recovered the Cortina cigar box from an old footlocker and began to consider what I had. Some crests are in good condition, unfortunately too many have suffered from inattention. All of the crests were collected prior to 1960 so it is a pre-Vietnam era collection.

 

I acquired a copy of Stein and have spent a bit of time on the web. I have been able to identify associated units for 80+% of the collection but have hit the wall trying to turn up new sources of information. I was directed here, and after some confusion about administrative approval and how the forum works, I am now looking forward to a possible source of help.

 

I am working out how to photograph unknowns for posting. I am attacking the Forum learning curve and hopefully I can get your help with unit associations. Member feedback will be much appreciated.

 

Ed

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rakkasan187

Ed,

 

Welcome to the forum, there are many crest collectors, (myself included) on here who will be able to assist you with your searches.

 

The Stein book is a good book, but also keep in mind that many of the crests in the book were/are being currently worn. You may have some crests to units that have been deactivated, disbanded or the crests may have changed shape/design..

 

Another great alternative to identifying the crests you have would be looking into a membership with the American Society of Military Insignia Collectors also known as ASMIC. This society has very dedicated collectors/members who have sub categorized many of the unit crests into catalogs such as Infantry, Armor, Maintenance, Ordnance, Signal, Medical, etc. There is also a very handy Motto Catalog that helps identify crests that have mottos..

 

Here is a link to the ASMIC website: http://www.asmic.org/

 

Looking forward to seeing some of your crest collection

 

Leigh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome ecogene!

 

There's also this.

 

I know the link below has been posted previously under various other topics in the past however I’m posting this in the Army Badge DUI forum in it's own topic as it's a great guide to mottos since the United States Army Institute of Heraldry, also known as The Institute of Heraldry or (TIOH) has been and is still offline. The TIOH was the website where a lot of forum members looked for a Unit ID via a motto, but that's not been available for quite some time and who knows when it’ll be back up.

So, here’s the link. http://www.warriorswatch.org/downloads/Army_Mottos.pdf

Note: The list appears to be sorted in alpha order by motto, or you can user your browser's search feature to type in your motto and find it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to both of you. I actually came to this Forum via ASMIC. The secretary recommended that I look at this forum because he felt folks were more interested/active here. From your response I can see that I am at the right place.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I recognize that my collection is dated and I have been aware that a lot has changed. I also identified many of my crests by motto but have been stumped on some.

 

I will be working up pictures. I have been impressed with the quality of the photography in Forum posts so I am working to get a photographic set up that will allow easy addition to the post. I am considering posting multiple crests in a single picture. Advice appreciated with these details.

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...