Texas A&M Insignia

[iron bender]

Ugh. I'm gonna need to get used to this thread as my senior got accepted to TAMU engineering last week. It's between A&M and Michigan. Pretty sure TAMU's gonna get the nod

[mikie]

Before reading this thread, I knew nothing about any of this, and I have no connection whatsoever with the school. That said, this is a fascinating read. Thank you to one and all who contributed here.

mikie

[zzyzzogeton]

On 11/5/2023 at 9:36 PM, zzyzzogeton said:

The second badge I encountered is one issued to members of the Corps who are involved with organized athletics, whether the sports is

- a recognized NCAA sports, e.g., football, soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, equestrian, track, etc.  This is a relatively small number, usually walk-ons who get picked up, except for the equestrian team, that's a try-outs only, no scholarships team, I think.

or

- other organized intercollegiate, non-NCAA sports that the Corps sponsors teams for - yes, many colleges and universities have sports competition that are not under the NCAA umbrella. 

Baseball Team

Golf Team

Lacrosse Team

Marathon Team

Marksmanship Unit

Men's Basketball Team

Tennis Team

Triathlon Team

Women's Basketball Team

Women's Soccer Team

Men's Soccer Team

 

 

Forgot to include that this badge is also worn centered on the left breast pocket. Only one of the two badges can be worn at one time.  The odds are probably really low that someone would have both badges.

[Hookemhorns88]

On 11/5/2023 at 9:55 PM, iron bender said:

Ugh. I'm gonna need to get used to this thread as my senior got accepted to TAMU engineering last week. It's between A&M and Michigan. Pretty sure TAMU's gonna get the nod

The bolded text made me laugh for obvious reasons!!  Hookem

[iron bender]

On 11/14/2023 at 9:19 PM, Hookemhorns88 said:

The bolded text made me laugh for obvious reasons!!  Hookem

Red Raider here, and super proud of my boy for getting the nod from A&M engineering. He's worked his tail off to get here. Sad Tech didn't even get a look (he's already spent too much time out there with mom and dad), but A&M has the specific program he wants. UT may still be in the mix. 

[easterneagle87]

Tagging onto this thread, Here's an Aggie's Corps of Cadets uniform that was posted in my "Halloween Warning Order" this year on SEPT 25, Post #17 by Thrifter_01

[Thrifter_01]

Thank you for putting the uniform in here! I had completely forgot to do it before. Here is the uniform tag in it.

 

Also adding a 1922 photo of an Aggie wearing what looks like a lighter version of the 1916 summer shirt with an ROTC patch on the pocket.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

At the last football game I attended this year, I met a cadet wearing a bar I haven't seen before.  This is a "contract bar" issued to cadets who either have an Army ROTC scholarship or have signed an Army ROTC contract.  The cadet in question was a senior aka "Zip" and did not know how long A&M has been issuing them but that they had been around since before he joined the Corps.  Will try to determine initial issuance date next semester.

[zzyzzogeton]

The same cadet was wearing an unusual "medal" on his Class "A" blouse.

 

The medal is issued to cadets who join and stick with the Corps of Cadets Marksmanship Unit for at least one year.  The medal is a split 5.56 casing.

 

The CCMU was formed on 06 Dec 2011. The team has won 13 Collegiate National Championships in the last 12 years, including 7 out of 9 SASP (Scholastic Action Shooting Program) championships, with 2 second place finishes.  The other 6 wins were at the Sig Sauer 3 Gun, with a few 2nd place finishes.  The Unit also send two-person sniper teams to the Mammoth Sniper Challenge at Ft Gordon, GA, where CCMU teams have placed 19th or higher 6x going against up to 90 AD Army sniper units and instructors, as well as other AD service members.  I sure wish the Corps had had this 50 years ago when I arrived on campus.

[KurtA]

On 12/27/2023 at 9:44 PM, zzyzzogeton said:

At the last football game I attended this year, I met a cadet wearing a bar I haven't seen before.  This is a "contract bar" issued to cadets who either have an Army ROTC scholarship or have signed an Army ROTC contract.  The cadet in question was a senior aka "Zip" and did not know how long A&M has been issuing them but that they had been around since before he joined the Corps.  Will try to determine initial issuance date next semester.

 

 

Here's an Army Contract Badge I wore at The Citadel in the late 1970's.   Would be interesting to know what different ROTC programs wear such badges.

[zzyzzogeton]

On 1/8/2024 at 7:49 PM, KurtA said:

 

 

Here's an Army Contract Badge I wore at The Citadel in the late 1970's.   Would be interesting to know what different ROTC programs wear such badges.

 

Looks like they used the same template, with just the disk/scroll and background colors being different.

[Cobra 6 Actual]

I’m wondering whether this badge was an earlier version of these contract badges, but was changed since it looked too much like a CIB:

 

 

So far, even after making contact with Purdue ROTC, I’ve been unable to determine this badge’s specific function.

[KurtA]

1 hour ago, Cobra 6 Actual said:

I’m wondering whether this badge was an earlier version of these contract badges, but was changed since it looked too much like a CIB:

 

 

So far, even after making contact with Purdue ROTC, I’ve been unable to determine this badge’s specific function.

Very strong possibility that is their Army Contract Badge.

As far as USMC, Navy and Air Force contracts go, The Citadel also has  separate badges for those.  

[Guion Hall]

Howdy, I'm a former Aggie Bandsman as my father was (class 1943). My dad lived in Harrington Hall, Dorm 11 as I did in 1974, 1975, 1976.

I have always been curious what dorm the Aggie Band lived in prior to the 1939 construction of Harrington Hall and the "New Area" (so-called) and known in my day generally as the Corp Area attached to Duncan Dining Hall.

Can anyone help me answer that question?

 

[easterneagle87]

Here's a pretty nice cap currently offered on FB market place.

 

  

[easterneagle87]

Vintage Belt buckle currently up on ebay

 

[Eric_H]

On 2/15/2022 at 12:06 AM, zzyzzogeton said:

GMPETE, these are rare.

 

The crossed rifles with A&M related letters/words, per the above book, were introduced in 1917 as collar devices on the dress jackets.  The word description in the book (which does not have a picture of them) does NOT match the above picture.  The book description states that the crossed rifles collar device has TEXAS and A&M  "above" the rifles and a college seal (for officers) or a company letter below the rifles for all others.

 

I have never seen any of these with either the alledged seal or a company letter and I have only seen 1 other like what GMPETE posted.

 

 

 

 

Greetings!

 

First post. Thanks for this info. I’m posting pictures of one with the Texas below the rifles for other’s reference. Literally the only picture on Google searches was the one from GMPETE. Makes sense why there was no picture in the book. Found this one in an auction lot with some vintage jewelry. There was also a WW I identification in with all of it but no way yet to conclusively link that to Texas A&M. 

[easterneagle87]

Don't know if this was posted, this is a REALLY cool LARGE patch offered on a auction I saw. Parachute / Sky diving club for TX A & M

[easterneagle87]

Just a fancy piece of alumni gear, but if they could get away with it, I bet someone would try and wear it.

[zzyzzogeton]

Got a couple more here.  Background - Back in 1957, when the Corps of Cadets had a major reorganization, the two units of the Aggie Band had a name change.  They went from Artillery and Infantry Bands to Maroon an White Bands.  In 1976, for reasons known only to Trigon Staff, the Aggie Band units again changed names, this time back to Artillery and Infantry Bands. I was there for this second name change.  To prevent "resentment", essentially the PTB threw all the names of the fish, pissheads and sergebutts into "papersacks" and pulled out the names one at a time, kinda like "eeny, meeny, miney, moe - this one to the artillery band he goes".  I ended up in the newly reconstituted Artillery Band. 

 

Sometime after I graduated in 1977, these insignia started showing up.  I've been told different timeframes, the earliest being 1979, with a smattering of early 1980s dates bandied about.  They are simply the traditional Aggie Band unit band lyres soldered onto an Infantry or Artillery branch insignia.  I'm sure the first instances were "pull-outs", i.e., not officially approved by the PTB, with the term being derived from the phrase "pulled it out of his a..".   I'll work up a separate post on typical A&M Corps pullouts.

 

 

[zzyzzogeton]

On 3/29/2024 at 5:55 PM, easterneagle87 said:

Here's a pretty nice cap currently offered on FB market place.

 

  

 

I remember seeing that one when it showed up on fleabay.  I advised the seller that it was NOT from the WW2 era since the hat devices didn't come into existence until 1954, but he ignored me

[zzyzzogeton]

The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band Key.

 

I was doing a little drawer cleaning and ran across this one.  Most people will never see one as they are only given to those Cadets who complete 4 full years of half-time performances.  They were given out in different manners from the late 1950s until around 2000.  Some report they were given out at formation on the Monday following their final performance on Kyle Field.  Another said he got his after the final performance in Austin.  Both could be right as back in the day. the final performance was always against the t-sips, whether in College Station or Austin.  Another reported that they got them at the "Senior Appreciation Banquet".  If there was such a banquet my Zip year, they forgot to send me the invitation.

 

All these different anecdotes imply that it was different for every class.  I got mine when the CO walked by my dorm room while the door was open, yelled "Z Catch" and chunked it at me, probably because I missed 4 out of 5 evening formations my zip year as I was taking 18 hours with 5 labs.

 

One former BQ from the class of 1961 states they were given out "for years" before he got his in 1960.  A former BQ class of 2010 doesn't remember ever seeing one before.

[GMPETE]

On 5/20/2024 at 8:49 PM, Eric_H said:

Greetings!

 

First post. Thanks for this info. I’m posting pictures of one with the Texas below the rifles for other’s reference. Literally the only picture on Google searches was the one from GMPETE. Makes sense why there was no picture in the book. Found this one in an auction lot with some vintage jewelry. There was also a WW I identification in with all of it but no way yet to conclusively link that to Texas A&M. 

Eric H-  I am only just seeing this.  Very interesting. 

If you look at mine you will see imperfections under the rifle stocks in precisely the location where the letters 'T' and 'S' of TEXAS would have been soldered.  My photos don't show it well, but I would say there is a VERY HIGH probability that mine looked like the one you found, before the 'TEXAS' got snagged and tore off somewhere down the years.

[Eric_H]

10 hours ago, GMPETE said:

Eric H-  I am only just seeing this.  Very interesting. 

If you look at mine you will see imperfections under the rifle stocks in precisely the location where the letters 'T' and 'S' of TEXAS would have been soldered.  My photos don't show it well, but I would say there is a VERY HIGH probability that mine looked like the one you found, before the 'TEXAS' got snagged and tore off somewhere down the years.

I suspect the same. I don’t see anywhere on mine where a seal or company would have been attached as described in the referenced book. I still haven’t seen any other of these listed anywhere and I’ve been regularly checking sites to find any comps. 

[GMPETE]

On 1/7/2025 at 10:03 AM, Eric_H said:

I suspect the same. I don’t see anywhere on mine where a seal or company would have been attached as described in the referenced book. I still haven’t seen any other of these listed anywhere and I’ve been regularly checking sites to find any comps. 

I gather you got the one you pictured and if so congratulations.  Great find.  Also glad to know (if slightly disappointing) what mine should look like, and brings these examples  in line with what zzyzzogeton's reference states.  Will be interesting when more examples or photos with provenance turn up to tighten the date range.  Mine reconstructed below as it probably should be, using part of the image of yours...