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The Combat Infantryman Badge


Steve B.
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riflegreen297

I would love to have one of these CIBs with acorns to wear on my ASUs. But I am sure finding a second award that has acorns takes it from looking for a needle in a haystack, to looking for a grain of rice in a haystack. Thanks all for sharing your examples.

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Yes im glad that they are made of sterling. German Awards are most in very bad condition if you find a non-precious metal badge.

 

Yes i dont know why someone smooth off the oak leaves. Maybe "it looks better" ???

 

 

Greetings Stefan

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I would love to have one of these CIBs with acorns to wear on my ASUs. But I am sure finding a second award that has acorns takes it from looking for a needle in a haystack, to looking for a grain of rice in a haystack. Thanks all for sharing your examples.

Check out post #196, I believe that is what you are looking for. The problem would be violating the unwritten (but strictly enforced, at least in the unit's I have been in) rule of mixing polished insignia with 'dull' insignia. So, there goes all of the sta-brite buttons, badges, etc. Good luck finding one, I sure haven't been able to!

 

Travis

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  • 1 month later...

Hello

 

I was searching for a other item in a sales-box and found this.

 

A = Assmann (German manufacturer)

 

45mm

 

HAVE A NICE DAY

Michael

post-8324-1322251646.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here is an unusual looking badge, at least I've never seen one like this before.

 

It appears to be a typical VN era crude theater made badge.

 

The difference is on the back, there are lugs instead of pins.

 

Early attempt at making US insignia by Vietnamese makers accustomed to making French insignia?

 

Any comments on this are appreciated, I haven't seen this before on insignia from that era.

 

Travis

post-2876-1323640695.jpg

post-2876-1323640698.jpg

post-2876-1323640702.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
riflegreen297

While digging thru a box in the closet, I found the CIB issued to me after returning from DESERT STORM. Nothing special, but it seems it was made in the mid 60s-70s. Sorry for the second blurry photo.


I do not think I was issued a CIB 2nd Award after OIF I. I think it the one I have is a self purchase.

post-50776-0-12576400-1399760712.jpg

post-50776-0-51258000-1399760721.jpg

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While digging thru a box in the closet, I found the CIB issued to me after returning from DESERT STORM. Nothing special, but it seems it was made in the mid 60s-70s. Sorry for the second blurry photo.

PC190299.jpg

 

PC190302.jpg

 

I do not think I was issued a CIB 2nd Award after OIF I. I think it the one I have is a self purchase.

 

I would say you are correct, when you see that shield for Meyer made badges with that code it will be an early post 1965 made Meyer item , a 22 above an M, it was in 1965 the the manufacturer hallmark codes where changed, prior to this, from around 1954 the codes where a number with a letter for Meyer this was 9M in a shield. In 1965 when the new codes where adopted, Meyer confusingly kept its main design of two shields and used the new code the same way it had used the now obsolete code, a 22 over an M, all the other makers had their badges with the proper code display, In example V21 for Vanguard, it was sometime in the late 60s that Meyer did away with its shield hallmarks and correctly put its code on the badges, this being the proper M22, it may have continued for a while with the Meyer company shield and later just putting N S Meyer NY on them, but the code would not have been in that old shield and would have been seen as M22 by itself.

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I would say you are correct, when you see that shield for Meyer made badges with that code it will be an early post 1965 made Meyer item , a 22 above an M, it was in 1965 the the manufacturer hallmark codes where changed, prior to this, from around 1954 the codes where a number with a letter for Meyer this was 9M in a shield. In 1965 when the new codes where adopted, Meyer confusingly kept its main design of two shields and used the new code the same way it had used the now obsolete code, a 22 over an M, all the other makers had their badges with the proper code display, In example V21 for Vanguard, it was sometime in the late 60s that Meyer did away with its shield hallmarks and correctly put its code on the badges, this being the proper M22, it may have continued for a while with the Meyer company shield and later just putting N S Meyer NY on them, but the code would not have been in that old shield and would have been seen as M22 by itself.

 

This is a mid/late 70's to 80's era badge. Meyers didn't start making non-precious metal badges until the 70's. If this were a 60's era badge it would have some silver content, either sterling or 1/20 silver filled.

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This is a mid/late 70's to 80's era badge. Meyers didn't start making non-precious metal badges until the 70's. If this were a 60's era badge it would have some silver content, either sterling or 1/20 silver filled.

 

You know you are right, I lossed the photo when I was replying and took it to be the silver filled 60s type, if it is a mid late 70s one when did Meyer stop using that shield ? I always thought it was by the early 70s

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I guess one cannot go strictly by marking either.

 

As Sivart has corrected me and pointed out, this is in fact a mid 70s to early 80s Non precious ( NO SILVER CONTENT ) badge, I thought going in that it was one that had a silver content, I was thinking of a current CIB thats up in the Q Badge forum, I GOT SO CONFUSED :blushing:

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  • 3 weeks later...

So, I was preping my Class B shirt this morning and I noticed that the mini CIB that I just bought from Ira Green a couple weeks ago has two acorns in the wreath. I checked my large badge that is on my ASU jacket and it doesn't have the acorns. I checked the Ira Green sight and all of the mini CIBs have acorns, but not the dress mini or full size badges.

 

Of course, as soon as my sterling silver master wings come in (thanks to a fellow forum member), the staybrite stuff gets replaced with sterling silver!!! I'll post pics when I can.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Very useful website, thanks.

 

I have a mystery in my collection, this is a sterling CIB without pins or clutches that obviously had the enamel paint carefully removed and it has four very tiny holes punched or drilled into the four corners of the rectangular field. It was slightly dull from surface oxidation and I did my ammonia treatment and it clean up nicely and is now very shinny. I have no daylight now to photograph it but did use a flash on my foam background and the shots are decent to show the nice die strike and detailing. From the website this has to be I think a World War II or perhaps a Korean era piece.

 

The mystery is why was the enamel paint removed? Had it chipped from age and the intent was to restore the painted finish?

 

Why the four holes? Why the lack of a mount (P&SC or CB)?

 

Was this intended to be sewn to the uniform?

 

I know of ribbon bars being affixed or sewn onto a uniform for permanence.

 

I know military supply houses and tailors sew the ribbons onto a uniform fabric and then had snaps affixed to the backs for mounting on a uniform.

 

I know the CIB came in a bullion version, sewn on fabric. And we know the commercial embroidered ones came on Khaki and OD for sewing on.

 

Some clever serviceman (Infantryman at that) had this sewn on. That would be nice to see the results.

 

The more interesting fact is, I won this one at a eBay auction sometime last year, and the dealer was in Poland of all places. I haven't gotten the connection there and the seller provided no information.

 

Photo attachment #1 obverse

 

post-9136-1329114947.jpg

 

••••••

 

Photo attachment #2 reverse

 

post-9136-1329115005.jpg

 

••••••

 

Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. This one has me stumped.

 

Tom

 

EOM/tmh

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Very useful website, thanks.

 

I have a mystery in my collection, this is a sterling CIB without pins or clutches that obviously had the enamel paint carefully removed and it has four very tiny holes punched or drilled into the four corners of the rectangular field. It was slightly dull from surface oxidation and I did my ammonia treatment and it clean up nicely and is now very shinny. I have no daylight now to photograph it but did use a flash on my foam background and the shots are decent to show the nice die strike and detailing. From the website this has to be I think a World War II or perhaps a Korean era piece.

 

The mystery is why was the enamel paint removed? Had it chipped from age and the intent was to restore the painted finish?

 

Why the four holes? Why the lack of a mount (P&SC or CB)?

 

Was this intended to be sewn to the uniform?

 

I know of ribbon bars being affixed or sewn onto a uniform for permanence.

 

I know military supply houses and tailors sew the ribbons onto a uniform fabric and then had snaps affixed to the backs for mounting on a uniform.

 

I know the CIB came in a bullion version, sewn on fabric. And we know the commercial embroidered ones came on Khaki and OD for sewing on.

 

Some clever serviceman (Infantryman at that) had this sewn on. That would be nice to see the results.

 

The more interesting fact is, I won this one at a eBay auction sometime last year, and the dealer was in Poland of all places. I haven't gotten the connection there and the seller provided no information.

 

Photo attachment #1 obverse

 

post-9136-1329114947.jpg

 

••••••

 

Photo attachment #2 reverse

 

post-9136-1329115005.jpg

 

••••••

 

Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. This one has me stumped.

 

Tom

 

EOM/tmh

 

I dont think this was done to be worn on a uniform, for one thing these bagdes were not worn striped and shined like say a pair of Jump wings, or a marksmanship badge, It is curisuos though, the only thing I can think of is that it was to be used on some sort of presentational trophy, or some kind of plaque.

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My photographs of my after-market, US made, CIB for some reason didn't show up in this forum, so I will re-post them now.

 

I believe the example I have is unique in that it is not the common variety of CIBs we have seen in the past, and even to this date.

 

I believe my "mystery CIB" which curiously came from a seller in Poland last year is of World War II vintage, but may be post-War, possibly even from the Korean War. The maker's hallmark is not present, and the marking "STERLING" is faintly visible.

 

What caught my attention almost immediately was the execution of the design, it is a very nice die stamping, very clear, very detailed with a lot of depth, more depth than I have seen with other CIB offerings.

 

The depth of the engraving die is important to this subject because normally an enamel paint (or epoxy today) is sprayed on the metal and burnished off the highlight (raised portions) of the design. You can easily tell a re-painted piece, and they are common to eBay offerings. The color match is off, and the painted layer has bumps and irregularities, it is mostly obvious to any observer looking for this in an offering.

 

My old CIB, long gone with my collection was an Acid Test piece, it was oxidized silver color, and yes with time the paint wore off.

 

I have never seen a true oven baked enamel piece, similar to the DUIs we see, high quality, opaque or transparent. DUIs have a much greater die strike depth to accommodate the powdered flux. I could only believe such a piece would look SUPER! But the regulation CID die strikes would be too shallow to make this feasible. It would have to be retooled with a new die.

 

I am showing four attachments, the first two were taken with flash indoors under tungsten lighting, the last two I did this morning in the sunlight shade. All are comparable and will show the level of die detailing.

 

I think this piece is unique because there is no evidence that pins were ever mounted to the back. There are "lands", two areas where these pins would have been soldered on, and no grinding marks or abrasions indicating they were ground off later on.

 

There are four tiny holes, one in each corner of the rectangular field, I first thought were drilled but inspecting the back I see some flaring indicating that they were perhaps "punched" with a die into the metal surface from the front side.

 

My assumption is that these are the holes used to sew the CIB to the uniform fabric permanently.

 

If my assumption is correct, I believe this makes my piece somewhat unusual because sewing CIBs on uniform is not that common of a practice since most either have a P&SC (as WW2 pieces have) or the more common CBs with patented Ballou style clutches.

 

Attachment 1 - flash, obverse

 

$$$

 

 

post-9136-1329158862.jpg

 

Attachment 2 - flash, reverse

 

$$$

 

post-9136-1329158929.jpg

 

continued next post/tmh

 

continued next post

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Thanks for your input Patches, most appreciated.

 

Yes, it is possible this was for a display, plaque or award presentation, those four tiny holes could accommodate a small brad, or nail.

 

The very shiny appearance, like with jump wings indicate it is a show piece, probably not intended to be worn.

 

For one thing, lacking the Infantry blue enamel paint would make it non-regulation, and it probably wouldn't pass an officer's inspection in ranks.

 

All GI made, issued DUIs have the blue paint.

 

I will show an offering of a GI piece at eBay, and the ID label as my last attachment.

 

Attachment #3 daylight, no flash, obverse

 

$$$

 

post-9136-1329160195.jpg

 

see next post

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Attachment #4 daylight, reverse

 

$$$

 

post-9136-1329160435.jpg

 

Attachment #5 CIB GI issue contract label

 

$$$

 

post-9136-1329160580.jpg

 

Note the difference in the GI contract badge, also see notation on contract box label

 

EOM/tmh

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here is the first of my new collecting habit.
The two upper left CIBs are marked sterling and came with sterling clutches. The upper right hand CIB has sterling caps, but the only mark is a "10". The right hand mini is a sterling Meyer, and the lower left hand is marked sterling. I'll add some individual pics also.

post-50776-0-39258400-1399760956.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Here're a part of my collection of desert insignia : the desert infantryman badges (brown embroidery on tan cloth)

 

infant12.jpg

 

(possibility to download this file in high resolution here : http://www.scribd.com/doc/87442009/Infantryman-Badges)

 

And here's a small complement of informations I found very interesting...this come from Wikipedia :

 

"The Combat Infantryman Badge has been a prized award of the United States Army Infantry since its 1943 authorization. It has been said, that the Combat Infantryman Badge is the infantryman's most prestigious award, next to the Medal of Honor. Although Army Regulations provide for a fourth award possibility, the Army has nearly made it impossible to not only earn a fourth but to receive more than two is difficult according to Lieutenant Colonel Albert N. Garland in his 1996 article The Combat Infantryman Badge.

 

Major General David E. Grange, Jr. was the Commanding General at Fort Benning, Georgia between 15 June 1979 and 2 August 1981 and a recipient of the 3rd award of the Combat Infantryman Badge. He understood being awarded three Combat Infantryman Badges was a rare achievement and thought a list should be compiled to celebrate these men of distinction. With his urging the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning began collecting names of known 3rd CIB recipients. By 1983 the museum had collected and set to bronze the names of two hundred and thirty men and the unveiling of a memorial to these Soldiers and the unknowns was conducted at Fort Benning. An additional 94 names have been added to the bronze plaques.

 

The list of recipients is not considered the "definitive" list, and is not sanctioned by the U.S. Army as 'Official'. A complete list may never be fully known as the Army does not keep records of the number of CIB's that have been awarded to individuals. Only the individual Soldier's record would list this information. Identification today is in the hands of the recipient or his family.

 

Although many men served long tenures in the Army, not all found themselves in a shoot back situation that also met the other requirements for award of the CIB. There are publicly known to be 324 men who have received three Combat Infantryman Badges. These men would have had to have seen combat in World War II, the Korean Conflict (sic), and the Vietnam Conflict (sic). The War on Terrorism (Afghanistan, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM) and (Iraq, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM) are also qualifying periods for award of one CIB. Hypothetically a twenty year old Soldier in 1953, who also fought in Vietnam. would have to have a fifty year career to be eligible in 2003 for a third CIB".

 

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Infantry_Museum

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