Antilles Air Depot Pocket Patch!

[patches]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265090942227?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338722076&toolid=10001

 

Came across this just now,Antilles Air Depot Pocket Patch, it up right now on the Bay, (1hr left), but will post the photos for prosperity.

[militbuff]

Nice patch.  I always thought it was a WWII patch until I saw it on the above uniform.  Interestingly, it looks like Vietnam era. Shirt dated to 1964.

[patches]

Yeah I never heard of this patch before and getting nothing on a unit search, so I'm curious on what's and the where's of this.

[vzemke]

Wow, very nice. I have this as an Air Depot as well, but based on this shirt it’s probably “Aviation Detachment” instead.  

[QED4]

Gotta go along with the Aviation Detachment theory. Why would the Army have an Air Depot, especially in the Antilles, wouldn't that be the Air Force and why would anybody have an Air Depot there in the 1960s?   

[patches]

This sub organization AAD, we would think it had to be based in Puerto Rico, if that first A stands for Antilles, a regular  army component of the Southern Coomand, apart from that PR Reserve unit, the one that wore/wears the old WWII patch with the Spanish castle turret.

[huntssurplus]

 

I was about to say I always thought this was the Antilles Department Patch from WW2. 

 

 

This is the US Army Caribbean Defense Command patch. 

 

I have never seen the AAD Caribbean Defense Command Patch before, any reference to it being the "Antilles Air Department"?

[ocsfollowme]

I picked up the uniform and it appears there is a SSN or laundry tag number written in the shirt. I have had "antilles air depot" in my saved search alerts for about 6 years and saw it. These have been thought to be Antilles Air Depot since I started collecting in 2005 and have fetched very nice prices in the past few years.

 

By 1960, the U.S. Caribbean Command — not engaged in the Caribbean — carried a name that incorrectly described its geographic interests, Central and South America.  The John F. Kennedy administration, therefore, changed the name to U.S. Southern Command on June 11, 1963.

 

Could it be a WW2 patch for a unit carried over into the 1960s? If it was correctly placed, and the uniform is of 1964...it would be part of the US Southern Command and A could stand for Antilles, Antigua, Aruba (unlikely as it is apart of Netherlands), Anguilla (unlikely as it is UK). Antilles is technically not one of the Caribbean Islands....so it could have been under the Southern Command in 1964. As stated earlier, it is odd that the Antilles patch would not have been worn with this if in fact, it is Antilles...but having the Spanish Galleon on it matches it to the Caribbean/Southern Command patch. The area of operation of the US Caribbean Command will need to be researched as well. Could the veteran have picked up the patch and sewed it on after his service? 

 

If you just had the patch by itself, the front and back screams 1940s make up which is why it has been thought to be from WW2. 

 

 

Hopefully I can research SPC Johnson to see if I can find anything on him...but sadly the fire probably destroyed any records of his. I am sure that the U.S. Caribbean Command/U.S. Southern Command used new/old stock WW2 patches up until merrowed patches were required. Regardless what the patch is, they are pretty rare as I think I have only seen about 10-12 come to ebay since 2005. All of them have been twill. 

 

For whatever reason, there were threads on this patch on USMF but I have not been able to find them. 

 

Hopefully we will find out a positive ID on this patch in 2021. 

 

 

[QED4]

OK, let's muddy the waters a little more. First we are assuming the first A is for Antilles, we don't know that. The basic patch itself has had several names but it is most associated with Panama at least by the 1960s. The patch was worn as a pocket patch with a Jungle Expert tab at the jungle warfare school (I forget the exact name), the Army had a pilot's survival course at the school. The propeller or possibly rotor for sure make the patch related to aviation so I am thinking this patch could be an aviation detachment from the jungle school or the School of the Americas, both located in Panama in the 1960s. It would not be the first time that conventional wisdom on a patch ID was wrong, the 442nd Tank Destroyer that turned out to be a Four Roses Whisky promo for example. Then again it may actually be a WWII Antilles Air Depot and just doesn't belong on that uniform.  

[patches]

 

Albrook Aviation Detachment??????, an Army Aviation unit based at the Air Force's Albrook Airbase??????

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrook_Air_Force_Station#Major_units_assigned

[ocsfollowme]

well, the seller washed and starched the uniform so the neck tag is no longer there and the bottom tag is washed out. 

[ocsfollowme]

I scanned the neck to see what was written in ink. It appears that it is "J 1890" three times. The reason why I know that is that behind the collar on the other side this was there

 

 

[ocsfollowme]

the AAD patch was sewn with a nice, thick, cotton olive drab thread through the pocket. 

 

[ocsfollowme]

The bobbin thread for the SPC ranks are the same, darker grey color .The bobbin thread for the Caribbean Command patch does not match the color of the bobbin thread for the AAD patch. The name tapes have different shades of bobbin thread. 

 

So really the only thing that I have is SPC Johnson with a laundry number of 1890. 

[Matt-M]

I would suggest that it possibly stands for Antilles Air Divison which was formed in 1948 (hence the WW2 construction) and then disbanded around 1949-1950. So, quite possible that the unit stayed active for a bit longer and was stationed elsewhere but performed the same tasks.

[patches]

3 hours ago, Matt-M said:

I would suggest that it possibly stands for Antilles Air Divison which was formed in 1948 (hence the WW2 construction) and then disbanded around 1949-1950. So, quite possible that the unit stayed active for a bit longer and was stationed elsewhere but performed the same tasks.

Lineage

Established as Antilles Air Task Force on 12 February 1942

Redesigned as: Curacao Department, VI Fighter Command, Antilles Air Task Force on 21 July 1942

Redesigned as: Antilles Air Task Force, VI Fighter Command, on 4 September 1942

Redesigned as: Headquarters, Antilles Air Task Force, on 1 March 1943

Redesigned as: Antilles Air Command, on 1 June 1943

Inactivated on 25 August 1946

Reactivated and Redesignated: Antilles Air Division on 12 January 1948

Inactivated and Disbanded on 22 January 1949.

[patches]

4 hours ago, patches said:

Lineage

Established as Antilles Air Task Force on 12 February 1942

Redesigned as: Curacao Department, VI Fighter Command, Antilles Air Task Force on 21 July 1942

Redesigned as: Antilles Air Task Force, VI Fighter Command, on 4 September 1942

Redesigned as: Headquarters, Antilles Air Task Force, on 1 March 1943

Redesigned as: Antilles Air Command, on 1 June 1943

Inactivated on 25 August 1946

Reactivated and Redesignated: Antilles Air Division on 12 January 1948

Inactivated and Disbanded on 22 January 1949.

Ah but the question remains,  what this AAD Patch is in relation to a unit of the United States Army Southern Command, as Antilles Air Division, seemly an Air Force organization, and a long inactivated Air Force organization at that by the time this army shirt was worn in the mid 1960s.

[patches]

On 3/27/2021 at 1:58 PM, ocsfollowme said:

well, the seller washed and starched the uniform so the neck tag is no longer there and the bottom tag is washed out. 

Something is weird I'm just now noticing, the tag you posted OCS is not the same tag as in the sale, note the one in the sale is crisp, clear AND is for a 2nd Pattern 1964 Dated item as indeed it is, a 2nd Pattern, the one you posted on getting it the mail is for a 1962 Dated 1st Pattern, also the mere washing and starching one time of these OD Cotton Sateen shirts and pants will not degrade the tags like this, this takes a year or more, maybe a little less for this to occur with the material these tags are made of, not like you know the WWII era Gum gauze tags, also the size tag in the collar, that's different too, written serial numbers are different, same number, but different. Me thinks the seller had two shirts from this GI.

[ocsfollowme]

Patches, you are absolutely correct! The uniform that I received was not the one pictured in the eBay auction. I just messaged the seller about that. Shady, accident, regardless...

 

I am glad that there were two uniforms that had the patch in question as it shows that it was actually worn like this...not taking an older patch and sewing it onto a uniform. It is interesting to note that it was on two uniforms from 1962 and 1964. 

 

The hunt continues...but it proves that the shirt was not altered. 

[ocsfollowme]

Seller confirmed that they had a second shirt. Apologized for the mixup and offered to exchange it if I wanted. Makes sense that the 1962 shirt is more worn than the 1964. 

[patches]

10 hours ago, ocsfollowme said:

Seller confirmed that they had a second shirt. Apologized for the mixup and offered to exchange it if I wanted. Makes sense that the 1962 shirt is more worn than the 1964. 

You can buy that second one

 

 

[patches]

11 hours ago, ocsfollowme said:

Patches, you are absolutely correct! The uniform that I received was not the one pictured in the eBay auction. I just messaged the seller about that. Shady, accident, regardless...

 

I am glad that there were two uniforms that had the patch in question as it shows that it was actually worn like this...not taking an older patch and sewing it onto a uniform. It is interesting to note that it was on two uniforms from 1962 and 1964. 

 

The hunt continues...but it proves that the shirt was not altered. 

Those were my exact thoughts too, he's got a little grouping of it, both shirts have this AAD patch on the pocket, and it shows this old patch was worn as a unit one, lets say now the actual Aviation Department of the United States Southern Command, they just choosing this one because 1: it was a patch found in numbers down there in store, in stock. 2: It has the exact design as it man design as the Southern Command's,the ship, on Blue, with the old letters of AAD on it  not being of importance 3: The Aviation imagery viz a viz the propeller.

[patches]

6 hours ago, patches said:

Those were my exact thoughts too, he's got a little grouping of it, both shirts have this AAD patch on the pocket, and it shows this old patch was worn as a unit one, lets say now the actual Aviation Department of the United States Southern Command, they just choosing this one because 1: it was a patch found in numbers down there in store, in stock. 2: It has the exact design as it man design as the Southern Command's,the ship, on Blue, with the old letters of AAD on it  not being of importance 3: The Aviation imagery viz a viz the propeller.

Make that Aviation Detachment rather then Aviation Department, Department was an error on my part.