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Texas A&M Insignia


TheCrustyBosun
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TheCrustyBosun

Howdy!  

I was born and raised in the great State of Texas and have always been a fan and supporter of the Texas A&M Corps, especially the Fight’n Texas Aggie Band.  I would have loved to have been a part of it, but things didn’t pan out. My step-brother attended A&M and was in the Corps. He knew I loved the band and was kind enough to bring me back a hat badge, band DUI’s, and lyres. The AMC cut-outs were made by Gemsco and are curved. They are from A&M’s days as Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College. I purchased them from Colonel Bubbie’s Strand Surplus in Galveston, Texas in 1996. I wore them on the collar of my letter jacket until I graduated high school in 1998. The DUI’s have “G-23 Made in USA” on the back and the lyres have “H-24-N”. Here’s my little collection of Aggie insignia. 
 

Gig’em!!

4D215822-C84C-450B-AD9D-BFEB51DE84FA.jpeg

DC3F5686-21AA-4ABD-BBA4-DB0E281DA483.jpeg

7DE03AC6-5098-4951-9EF7-AB6CC0FBD91D.jpeg

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Thanks for sharing!  The Navigator who died with my GGGUncle attended Texas AMC. I have a single collar device and a patch. Really hoping for another badge or buttons or something. :) I'll get some pictures of my patch to post here and share! This is a cool thread! Hope others post more items! :) 

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TheCrustyBosun

Ah yes, I forgot the patches. I also have a subdued fatigue patch, but it’s on the shoulder of my high school letter jacket stored away. Here’s the loose one I have. 

E3C6A4B9-6EAF-404D-8C48-96F2EF98B1BE.jpeg

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TheCrustyBosun

Texas A&M has a very rich history and is steeped in tradition. The school started as a “military school” in that all students were members of the Corps. This has changed but the Corps is still a huge part of TAMU tradition. It was at one time the largest single source of officers outside of the four military academies. 

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iron bender

I'm a big time old school SWC and Big12 fan to the end as a Red Raider. I will admit the Aggie marching band might be one of the best things in the history of humanity. It's absolutely worth going to see in person. I can't think of anything more patriotic or awesome really. Though they get punched in the eye by haters on the web, this school has done as much for this country as any. I NEVER missed an A&M game when I went to Tech as I loved the Aggie band! I also dated a girl briefly who went to A&M so I got to see the bonfire in 95, go to the game, went to Dixie Chicken....all the hits. Not sure I could display A&M insignia in my house without getting killed!😄

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Hookemhorns88

Being from Texas I come across A&M stuff, uniforms, insignia, etc. all of the time at estate sales. I politely keep walking by it. Being a UT grad, it just isn’t happening!

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On 4/9/2021 at 11:48 PM, iron bender said:

I'm a big time old school SWC and Big12 fan to the end as a Red Raider. I will admit the Aggie marching band might be one of the best things in the history of humanity. It's absolutely worth going to see in person. I can't think of anything more patriotic or awesome really. Though they get punched in the eye by haters on the web, this school has done as much for this country as any. I NEVER missed an A&M game when I went to Tech as I loved the Aggie band! I also dated a girl briefly who went to A&M so I got to see the bonfire in 95, go to the game, went to Dixie Chicken....all the hits. Not sure I could display A&M insignia in my house without getting killed!😄

 

Being part of the Goin' Band I've always thought the Aggie marching band to be the best part of A&M, but I was born and raised a Red Raider so that's about all I will concede as it relates to A&M. 😆  The Tech and A&M band uniforms are two of the best-looking of all the college marching bands IMO.

 

On 4/10/2021 at 9:11 AM, Hookemhorns88 said:

Being from Texas I come across A&M stuff, uniforms, insignia, etc. all of the time at estate sales. I politely keep walking by it. Being a UT grad, it just isn’t happening!

 

Ah, the long-standing trifecta of rivalry here in Texas. I do the same with anything maroon & white or burnt orange!

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On 4/10/2021 at 10:11 AM, Hookemhorns88 said:

Being from Texas I come across A&M stuff, uniforms, insignia, etc. all of the time at estate sales. I politely keep walking by it. Being a UT grad, it just isn’t happening!

 

Wow! Wish I was at your garage sales! I've been trying to find some AMC insignia for ages, and so far have only an AMC collar brass. Trying to get some for a display. The Navigator with Uncle Harold was at Tx AMC and I even have his class book picture in his AMC uniform. :) 

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15 hours ago, rustywings said:

WWII era Texas A&M Air ROTC grouping with Flight Instructor wings...

 

1135841363_TexasAM.jpg.ecf42bcfb6e78fd2d5ebe0e2e01330f0.jpg

 

That is an amazing grouping! I have never seen wings before like that! I also didn't know the "Sustineo Alas" pin would be from military universities!

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TheCrustyBosun
5 hours ago, stratasfan said:

 

Wow! Wish I was at your garage sales! I've been trying to find some AMC insignia for ages, and so far have only an AMC collar brass. Trying to get some for a display. The Navigator with Uncle Harold was at Tx AMC and I even have his class book picture in his AMC uniform. :) 

A pair of AMC cutouts by Meyer..... https://www.ebay.com/itm/123788451512

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Thank you for your kind response. The "Sustineo Alas" DUI's were not specifically designed just for Texas A&M... instead they represented USAAF Flying Training Command and were worn at numerous other training facilities as well. I suspect the Cadets enrolled in the Air ROTC program at Texas A&M may have had their own specific DUI's... Maybe a fellow member can show us an example or two?

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  • 5 months later...
On 4/18/2021 at 12:26 PM, rustywings said:

Thank you for your kind response. The "Sustineo Alas" DUI's were not specifically designed just for Texas A&M... instead they represented USAAF Flying Training Command and were worn at numerous other training facilities as well. I suspect the Cadets enrolled in the Air ROTC program at Texas A&M may have had their own specific DUI's... Maybe a fellow member can show us an example or two?

 

A&Ms organizational structure has varied over the years.  There was no UNIT insignia until about 1959, when a massive reorg occured.  The reorg was stretched out through 1961, when the final Engineering/Signal/Medical/Veterinary/etc companies were absorbed into the Wings/Brigades.

 

Prior to WW1, there were simply "COMPANY A" through "COMPANY M" with no special insignias.

 

For 1917-1918, A&M was organized into 1st and 2nd Regiment (Companies duplicated) due to massive expansion during WW1.  Again, no special insignia.  After WW1 ended, 2nd Regiment was stood down.  Back to single companies.  Still no special insignia.

 

After WW1, branch insignia came into use.  A&M Corps members wore branch insignia as units were organized by branch - Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery, Anti-Aricraft Artillery, Signal Corps, Engineering, Aviation.  Divided into "Companies" for non-Aviation units and "Flights" for aviation units.  This arrangement lasted until 1959.

 

Around 1959, A&M shifted to a Brigade/Wing structure - 1 each Brigade/Regiment for Army cadets and 2 Wings for Air Force cadets.  The Band was a separate unit listed at Batallion level.The 1st Regiment did not last long.  The way I understand it, 1st regiment became 2nd Brigade.  3rd Wing existed for 1 year - 1963 to 1964.

 

When NROTC stood up in 1972, NROTC cadets (Navy and Marine Corps) were organized into Regiments.

 

Current structure is 3 Brigades (4 companies @), 3 Wings (5 squadrons @), 3 Regiments (4 companies@) and a 6 Company Band "Brigade", and a DELTA Company, consisting of prior service Cadets who choose to be in the Corps while attending A&M - about 2500 cadets.

 

Let me dig out the various DUI, past and current.

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OK.  Let's see about getting the TAMC/TAMU Corps of Cadets DUIs posted here

 

First up, are the DUIs introduced in 1957 for 1st Brigade and 1st Regiment.  One of the 1st Regiment examples is 3/4 size.  We can assume there was a 1st Brigade equivalent, but I have never seen one.

 

 

1st Brigade and Regiment 1957.jpg

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Next is the 1st Wing DUIs - The Gold Tiger on Blue is the 1957 version.  It has been seen in with gold or silver borders.  The Biplane on Sky Blue is mid/late 1970s.  The Blue Tiger on Red is the current version.  I haven't found out when or why the change occurred.

 

 

1st Wing 3 version.jpg

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Next is the 2nd Wing versions.  The Gold trimmed versions are the 1957 versions.  The second 2nd Wing DUI is only the 2nd 3/4 sized version I have found.  Again, one can assume that the 1957 1st Wing DUI came in this sized, but .... who knows.  The silver trimmed version is 1970s to present.

 

 

2nd Wing 3 versions.jpg

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Up next are the 3rd Wing varieties.  The one with 3 vertical jets is the rarest of all A&M DUIs - it was only used for the 1963 - 1964 school year, the only year the initial 3rd Wing was in existance.  The "torch with crossed sabers" version is the current 3rd Wing DUI.  This is the only DUI presented here that is not picture of an actual DUI, but a graphic, as I have not acquired one of these yet.

3rd Wing 1963-1964.jpg

3rd Wing.jpg

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The current Brigade DUIs are shown here.  1st and 2nd are from 1964 to present.  With the 1964 school year, A&M changed its name from The Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas to Texas A&M University.  I'm not sure when 3rd Brigade stood up.

 

1st Regiment Post 1972.jpg

2nd Brigade.jpg

3rd Brigade DUI.jpg

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The NROTC Regiments come next - 1st Regiment stood up in 1972, the first year NROTC was offered at A&M.  2nd regiment stood up in 1978, if I have interpreted the Company geneaolgy charts correctly.  3rd Regiment's birth is either as early as 2001 or as late as 2016 - the outfit geneaology charts for 3rd Regiment are skewed and I have not received a reply from a querry made to 3rd Regiment staff - it is a football game night.

 

1st Regiment Post 1972.jpg

2nd Regiment.jpg

3rd Regiment.jpg

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Next, is MY unit - the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band.  The band currently marches 300+ musician/cadets for every football game.  Competition is fierce to get through the vetting process with applications/tryouts.  The BQs, Corps slang for a band member, carry full academic loads, attend the same ROTC classes as the all other cadets and put in 20 to 40 hours per week preparing for each performance.  Search youtube for "texas a&m halftime performances" for many examples of their performances.  The DUI has been unchanged since its 1957 introduction.

 

Band.jpg

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The members of Corps Staff, those seniors and juniors selected to be the student leaders of the entire Corps of Cadets did not have unit DUI until 1972.  There has only been one change during that time.  The initial Corps Staff DUI had 5 stars, which represented the 5 wars in which Aggies had served - the Spanish-American War, WW1, WW2, Korea, and Viet Nam.  A sixth star was added for Global War on Terror.

 

Corps Staff 5 Stars.jpg

Corps Staff 6 stars.jpg

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There are 5 KNOWN hat brass, or "hat stacks" as they are termed in Aggieland. There may be 1 or 2 more that have not been identified,

 

The earliest known version is from the late 1890s and early 1900s.  A yearbook picture from the 1904 LONGHORN (only the 3rd yearbook produced) clearly shows the device, although the yearbook picture shows a much nicer, cleaner version that the one I have.  the 1895 and 1903 yearbook picture are poor/fuzzy, not showing much detail. 

 

1890s to 1904 Front.jpg

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The next two stacks are depicted with pictures snitched from the internet.  It is assumed by most of us from A&M that have studied the small pictures in the various yearsbooks post-WW1 through the 1950s, that the version with the "free-standing AMC" is the earliest, post-WW1 version, and the other one is somewhat later.

 

 

AMC Hat Badge 2.jpg

AMC Hat Badge 3.jpg

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TheCrustyBosun

Fight’n Texas Aggie Band, the best dang outfit on the campus!  I’ve been an Aggie Band Fan ever since high school and an associate member of TABA for several years. Thanks for sharing. 

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The final AMC hat stack version most likely came out around the end of WW2 and was used until 1954, when it was replaced.  This version was also "reintroduced" in 1972 when the special Corps unit "Parsons Mounted Cavalry" was organized.  The "official" uniforms for PMC personel were reincarnations of pre-WW2 A&M Cavalry uniforms, including AMC rank arm stripes, collar brass and the AMC banner" stack.

AMC Hat Badge 4.jpg

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