Help with Jump Wings Para oval

[Boy Howdy]

On 2/9/2021 at 7:43 PM, triplecanopy said:

Back in the 1960's -1970's This was known as the INFANTRY School Oval. It was worn by the Airborne Department which included Ground, Tower and Jump week cadres plus both Jumpmaster and Pathfinder school cadres. It was also worn by those instructors on jump status in the Ranger Department. I was a Ranger Instructor 1971-1974 and the light blue Infantry School oval is what we wore. Also anyone else assigned to Fort Benning who was on jump status correctly wore the light blue oval behind their jump wings. Allan is correct about the black hats in the Airborne School as they also wore the light blue oval behind highly polished jump wings. Most of the Airborne School Instructors were master parachutists, but a few had senior wings like the one below.

Since this is a 60''s -70's jump oval what hat would they have worn this on?

I just want to get it right.

 

[triplecanopy]

Allen has suggested a black patrolling cap was worn by the 'Black Hat' Jump School Instructors and that may be correct for his time frame. I went through jump school in the summer of 1969 and at that time the instructors wore black baseball caps with the crown folded in a bit to make it more military looking. It was not a soft cap as it had a stiff crown. It looks a lot like this one below: The jump wings with oval were worn top dead center and below the fold. I hope that helps.  I am not sure what is currently worn. Remember back in my time OD (Olive Drab green) baseball caps were the standard head dress for most of the Army.

[Boy Howdy]

Thank you.

I will look for such a hat.

[Allan H.]

 

[Allan H.]

I took the two photos above from this website- https://arsof-history.org/articles/19oct_mike_kunik_page_1.html and they show the patrol cap that the black hats wore when I went through school. As I was looking at photos of black hats, I found both the baseball cap and the patrol cap being worn. I think that either would be a good resting place for the jump wing and oval.

 

Allan

 

 

[Skysoldier80]

On 2/13/2021 at 8:31 AM, triplecanopy said:

Basic Jump wings - Successfully make 5 jumps from an aircraft while in flight (usually 1 jump with combat equipment) or 1 actual combat jump

 

Senior  Jump wings - Served 24 months or two years on jump status, Graduate of JM Course and a minimum of 30 parachute jumps including 15 combat equipment jumps, two night jumps (at least one as JM) and 2 mass tactical jumps.

 

MASTER Parachutist: Served at least 36 months on jump status. Participated in a minimum of 65 jumps to include 25 jumps with combat equipment; 4 night jumps, one of which is as a jumpmaster of a stick; five mass tactical jumps which culminate in an airborne assault problem with a unit equivalent to a battalion or  larger, a separate company/battery, or organic staff of a regiment size or larger; and graduated from the Jumpmaster Course.

 

Senior and Master Parachutist nominees must also pass a board review that examines the credentials and conduct of the candidate.

Glad you brought this up; was just going to write on it.

[Boy Howdy]

Great pictures!

Just what I was looking for.

Thank you.

[e19]

On 4/7/2021 at 4:48 PM, Allan H. said:

 

Numba 457  is either Bull Simons, or his clone!

The black hats appear to be from the old Ft Bragg Airborne School.

[seanmc1114]

My father was an amateur photographer. When he was in the NCO Candidate Course at Fort Benning between October 1967 and February 1968, he would sometimes take picture of some of his fellow candidate, I guess so they could send them home to their families, girlfriends, whatever. Several of these show them wearing the same oval posted above both on their dress greens as well as on a black beret with an AIRBORNE tab. The first two photos are my father and the second one in color looks like it has a white on blue AIRBORNE tab. The others I'm not sure. I have seen other examples of this oval worn on a beret with a gold on black AIRBORNE tab.

 

These guys were jump qualified, but were not actually on jump status at the time as they then in the NCO course.   

 

[seanmc1114]

Here's an example of the oval being worn on both the dress greens and beret but with a gold on black AIRBORNE tab. Note he is wearing the Training Centers DUI.

[seanmc1114]

Here's another one showing an officer of the Airborne Department at Fort Benning in 1973 wearing the oval on a maroon beret. 

[Outtair]

Here is another Oval for help, Green With Purple Ring, Wings by Krew. His Jump Log shows 15th Ranger Company June 1951 Is it them?

[e19]

2 hours ago, Outtair said:

Here is another Oval for help, Green With Purple Ring, Wings by Krew. His Jump Log shows 15th Ranger Company June 1951 Is it them?

Looks like maroon on green to me, which would be 10th SFG…Authorized 19 Sep 1952.

It was the first authorized SF insignia.

What was the trooper's name?

 

 

[Outtair]

Thanks , Yes these were Robert M Jewell's. An early pioneer, Bad Tolz Germany. Enjoy this page from his log, his 5th jump in 1951 broke his ankle which is why he stayed stateside in Korea.

[e19]

There was an SFC Robert U Jewell in 10th Grp. Deployed to Germany in ‘53 with FA-Team 46.

[Purple129]

I just stumbled upon this.

 

The Infantry Blue oval was the oval we wore in the 4th Airborne Training Battalion, The School Brigade, US Army Infantry School, Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), Georgia.  We changed it when we were redesignated 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment by SecArmy Marsh on 23 Oct 1985.  I was the Tower Training Branch Chief in the 4th ATB and then 1-507th, and then the Cdr HHC 1-507th.  

  

We wore the USAIS SSI at that time for both affiliations and the Airborne Command SSI for historical lineage reasons on our black windbreakers and PT shorts in the training area. Many of us would have liked to have worn it as our SSI instead of the USAIS SSI.

 

Atchd pics are the flashes, ovals, and DUI I wore during that time -- and the large plaque that sits on the back of my desk was from the Maintenance Section when I left command and has the two flashes as worn by NCOs with the appropriate DUI instead of rank.