Japanese made or WWII reissue chevrons?

[Captainofthe7th]

A few Korean War uniforms have popped up recently that have white on black rayon rank chevrons. Here are some examples:


This is f16cheif's uniform that can be seen HERE

EDIT: Picture lost
A recent jacket on eBay


This is my own Ike.

Finally a comparison of chevrons:

EDIT: Pictures lost

As you can see, the chevrons on the uniform are white on black. The white is not embroidered, but woven? There was a term for it but I forgot...

They are most similar to the WWII S/Sgt chevrons pictured, except they are on BLACK twill, not blue.

The rank guidelines changed in 1948 for blue on yellow for combatant and yellow on blue for noncombatant. The chevrons were smaller (2 inches in size IIRC). Then in 1951 they changed to the normal 3 inch chevrons with OD embroidered on blue. There is never a mention of these white on black stripes.

Some correlations between uniforms with these chevrons:

They all predate 1954 as they all lack the National Defense Service medal.
Two of the three pictured have an occupation ribbon.
Two of the three have theater made patches (the 25th and the KMAG has a theater made patch on the right shoulder)
The 7th Div has theater made O/S bars and possibly ribbons.

The amount of Japanese/Korean made insignia has led me to believe and call these "theater made" chevrons, only because I know no official term and at this point refuse to consider them WWII chevrons lol

I have yet to see a PFC, SFC or higher chevron of this type.

I'm thinking out loud here, hopefully someone will have something to add.

Thanks,

Rob

[craig_pickrall]

I am far from an expert on these but thought I would join in because I am curious about the chevrons too.

 

The sewn on S/SGT chevron that you refer to as theater made appears to have a beige / tan color stripe but you call it white. Is it really a pure white? The S/SGT chevron to the left appears heavily faded to me. The only type of these chevrons I am familiar with is the WW2 type. I have attached pic s of a T5 and CPL that I took some time ago. It appears as tan on black to me.

 

Can you show the backs of your loosw chevrons?

 

[Wailuna]

Interesting questions, Rob. My take on this topic is that WWII vintage chevrons were commonly worn during the Korean War and beyond, despite the "blue and yellow" chevron fiasco of 1948. Here are some period pictures that show just how fluid the chevron situation was during the this era.

 

This picture was taken at one of 351st Infantry's NCO clubs, in Trieste, on December 31, 1949.

 

One sergeant and two sergeants first class are wearing the blue on yellow chevrons; at least three other sergeants (or above) in the background are wearing WWII pattern chevrons. Note the date: Exactly mid-point in brief period during which the blue and yellow chevrons were nominally required wear.

 

The next two pictures shows the cadre of two basic training companies of 4th Armored Division at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas, mid-1952, about a year and a half after blue and yellow chevrons were nominally replaced by OD on blue chevrons.

 

The SFC and two sergeants on the left are wearing WWII chevrons, while two SFCs on the right are wearing blue on yellow chevrons.

 

The SFC seated far right and the sergeant standing far left are wearing WWII pattern khaki on khaki chevrons, while the PFC is standing behind the SFC is still wearing blue on yellow stripes. The sergeant seated far left is the only NCO who appears to be wearing the "correct" chevrons for this period.

 

And, finally, a couple of pictures from Korea, showing senior NCOs wearing WWII pattern woven silver on dark blue chevrons in the summer of 1951, long after they supposedly had been replaced by the blue and yellow chevrons, which had been replaced in turn by OD embroidered on dark blue twill....

 

Sergeant First Class, 7th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division

Master Sergeant, 31st Infantry, 7th Infantry Division (standing next to Jack Benny)

As for any of these chevrons being "theater made" in Japan or Korea, sure, why not. Just about every imaginable insignia was being locally produced during the Korean War. On the other hand, think of all the millions of unused new WWII chevrons that were left in stock after the war. As these pictures show, NCOs obviously knew how to keep on wearing their old style stripes and how to avoid the curse of the blue and yellow.

[Captainofthe7th]

Wailuna, thanks for the pics. In your first picture, those chevrons look large for the 1948 style. Perhaps yet another transitional style? Or maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me.

 

I think Craig is right that my WWII example S/Sgt chevron is faded. I can't get a pic of the backs of the ones on my KW uni as they are sewn on...

 

Rob

[36-tex]

Very few soldiers liked the small yellow/blue and blue/yellow chevrons. If they had a choice or nobody cared, I bet they chose to wear the larger style. I always thought those rayon chevrons were particularly worn by AAF personnel. Just my two cents!

[Wailuna]

...first picture, those chevrons look large for the 1948 style...Or maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me...

Judging insignia size in pictures like these can be tricky. About the only possible visual reference in this case is to compare the chevrons on the two rightmost NCOs with their TRUST SSIs. According to specifications, the 1948 pattern chevron was 2 inches wide. The Trust SSI was 2-5/16 inches wide and the tab was 3-1/4 inches wide. On that basis, the chevrons look about right to me.