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The Combat Infantryman Badge


Steve B.
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BILL THE PATCH

Nice to see other examples, I think mine are pin backs. I'll have to look.

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4 hours ago, rd12 said:

I found two more examples of CIBs with unit insignia attached. The crest on top is still unknown to me. 

3883E6F1-E79D-47AC-B48C-B7C696B83F93.jpeg

That Top One is for 62nd Anti Aircraft Artillery (Gun) Battalion.The old 62d Coast Artillery Regiment who's DI was adopted on 21 February 1929, unit fought Africa,Sicily. Italy, South of France up into the Alsace and into Germany. Don't know why this Mini DI for this unit was applied to the CIB, maybe a store did it?????

t303436384772_1_0_1.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just added another Gemsco to the collection.  I love the variety of their badges.  No cookie cutter short cuts with these.

 

883204671_Gemsco2nd(79).jpg.1c1588c92d73f53f083a0ea59ba6b850.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
easterneagle87

This is an interesting picture I just saw on posted on ebay. A pair of Korean War, 2nd Infantry soldiers. Definitely see a Private chevron on his sleeve, BUT ....  wearing 2nd Award CIB's !!! The quartermaster wasn't paying attention when they were handing these out. OR ..bought the wrong ones while outside the gate.  Another find, is the guy on the left have a Transportation collar disc on?    

CIB 2.jpg

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8 hours ago, easterneagle87 said:

This is an interesting picture I just saw on posted on ebay. A pair of Korean War, 2nd Infantry soldiers. Definitely see a Private chevron on his sleeve, BUT ....  wearing 2nd Award CIB's !!! The quartermaster wasn't paying attention when they were handing these out. OR ..bought the wrong ones while outside the gate.  Another find, is the guy on the left have a Transportation collar disc on?    

CIB 2.jpg

The rank notwithstanding, they could very well be little  older then they look and be WWII Retreads, lets say making them in 1952 26-27 years old, it would have to be after February 1952 this photo, the date the 2nd Award came out, and before the Blue stuff came out in August 1952 in any event. The TC guy, maybe a branch switch after being in combat with the 2nd Div?

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easterneagle87
4 hours ago, patches said:

The rank notwithstanding, they could very well be little  older then they look and be WWII Retreads, lets say making them in 1952 26-27 years old, it would have to be after February 1952 this photo, the date the 2nd Award came out, and before the Blue stuff came out in August 1952 in any event. The TC guy, maybe a branch switch after being in combat with the 2nd Div?

 

That is a possibility. I went and found the listing again (eBay item number: 124259347954). The photo is dated Dec 8, 51. And with the location as being Japan. The date is close enough to your scenario to put it in the ballpark. Let's spit ball this a sec. They aren't wearing any other ribbons, not even Korean Theater. No combat patch on the right shoulder of the Infantry guy on the right,. No overseas bars or enlisted service stripes. This is early enough in the War that they probably didn't come to theater with much. A basic, flat uniform set up in their duffle or footlocker and off they were shipped. Did they just arrive right off of the line and sent for a little R&R?  Who knows. To me the CIB looks Occupied Japan made. Look how low the 2nd award star is on the badge. Overall a good discussion.    

CIB 2 -2.jpg

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4 hours ago, easterneagle87 said:

 

That is a possibility. I went and found the listing again (eBay item number: 124259347954). The photo is dated Dec 8, 51. And with the location as being Japan. The date is close enough to your scenario to put it in the ballpark. Let's spit ball this a sec. They aren't wearing any other ribbons, not even Korean Theater. No combat patch on the right shoulder of the Infantry guy on the right,. No overseas bars or enlisted service stripes. This is early enough in the War that they probably didn't come to theater with much. A basic, flat uniform set up in their duffle or footlocker and off they were shipped. Did they just arrive right off of the line and sent for a little R&R?  Who knows. To me the CIB looks Occupied Japan made. Look how low the 2nd award star is on the badge. Overall a good discussion.    

 

I would say these two are on R&R, when these guys on R&R got to Nippon, they really didn't have that much time there, they were normally in clean fatigues when they flew out via U.S. Air Force MATS, and sent to a base where they were immediately issued dress uniforms and pay, probably supplemental pay. OD Ikes or if appropriate Khakis, these bases where Camp Kokura near the Ashiya Air Base on Kyushu in Southern Japan, and Camp McNeely near Haneda Air Base near Tokyo, and Camp Drake also near Tokyo, another one opened late in the war at Itami Air Base near Osaka, , we would imagine it varied by the individual on just what insignia he acquired to wear, we would imagine the bare minimum they got right off the bat was unit shoulder patch and rank, and collar discs, and CIBs,  if he wanted more perhaps they had to ask, or even had to buy the other insignia, cause we have seen GI R&R photos where they wear full regalia..

 

One Glaring curiosity is the date, December 8 1951, as every source says, including the biggie, TIOH states the 2nd Award of the Combat Infantryman Badge was approved 8 February 1952, So date must be off on the card, happens sometimes, unless the army or insignia makers started making and issuing out unauthorized proposed CIBs with a Star in late 1951, but we've never seen anything like that on paper before.

 

The question on the one wearing the TC Collar disc??? A recent a branch switch???

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  • 4 weeks later...
Cobra 6 Actual

But, the reverse is pretty strange:

 

A8C7F75A-432F-4DE0-B543-C932D9D4181F.jpeg
 

I’ve never seen a CIB wreath reinforced like this one. Nor have I seen that pin back style used before. If you look closely you can see where there are indentations in the metal on either end of the bar (and under the chrome) that were placed there for more standard clutch back attachments. No hallmarks, no other information.

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  • 5 months later...

Here is a badge by the Silverman Brothers. Being pin back it is not gov’t issue but made for PX sales/private purchase. 
I would date this to late ‘50s - mid ‘60s. I think Silverman brothers went out of business around 1965. 
 

2662EBE4-FAB4-45EF-924F-AE4F3DD904FB.jpeg

2F955E31-8234-40B3-B59E-BFDC71C22777.jpeg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Here’s one that hasn’t been posted before. Medals of America, marked M-37. This is a heavy (thick) badge. A WW2 issue sterling CIB weighs about .6 oz, this badge is 1.1 oz.  First CIB I’ve come across by this company. 

 

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05D69588-F251-4462-905B-0F611A70B267.jpeg

512E88B6-3BA1-42E4-9FFA-83B1BB65C54B.jpeg

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38 minutes ago, rd12 said:

Here’s one that hasn’t been posted before. Medals of America, marked M-37. This is a heavy (thick) badge. A WW2 issue sterling CIB weighs about .6 oz, this badge is 1.1 oz.  First CIB I’ve come across by this company. 

 

2B435850-C894-402E-A4F1-7903316D1073.jpeg

05D69588-F251-4462-905B-0F611A70B267.jpeg

512E88B6-3BA1-42E4-9FFA-83B1BB65C54B.jpeg

Very nice, what would be the time period of these, post 1965 late 60s?

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Not that old. I believe Medals of America was founded in 1976.  They don’t currently offers badges such as this, I’m guessing 80’s or 90’s. 
I was going to reach out to them for more information. 

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On 3/10/2021 at 6:05 PM, rd12 said:

Not that old. I believe Medals of America was founded in 1976.  They don’t currently offers badges such as this, I’m guessing 80’s or 90’s. 
I was going to reach out to them for more information. 

That would make this quite unique then from the standard CIBs one had access to at the PXs in the 80s-90s, even the late 70s, non precious, not even 1/20 anymore.

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Agreed. I've not seen another "sterling" badge from this time period. The one exception would be the badges made recently by jewelers in Afghanistan that have been posted in this thread. This badge is certainly the only commercially-produced (not hand made) that I have come across.

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18 minutes ago, rd12 said:

Agreed. I've not seen another "sterling" badge from this time period. The one exception would be the badges made recently by jewelers in Afghanistan that have been posted in this thread. This badge is certainly the only commercially-produced (not hand made) that I have come across.

Yeah know and when you think about, most GIs never knew to buy stuff like this, nice ones, unique ones, like those exquisite French ones, they just going to the PX and buying the run of the mill badges that was stocked, I imagine it was the same governmental contract stuff at the Clothing Sales Store too. I guess back then these kind of specially made badges where sold only through insignia mail order houses, and most if not all GIs. Officers too, just didn't either bother or knew about it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
ItemCo16527

Here are some of mine.

 

The first belongs to SFC Richard Hamel, and this uniform dates from the late 50s. The reverse of his CIB is marked "Amtaya". 

Hamel (13).JPG

Hamel (14).JPG

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Neat badges, the “Antaya” badge is a rarer one. CIB #2 is an WW2 era badge  (produced under WW2 era contract). Stocks of these were issued for years after WW2. 

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Here’s an odd one. I think it came off an award or a plaque, the pins are ground off and there is glue residue. Marked “MADE IN ROK” on back.  Only CIB I’ve marked like this. 
 

BE241D5D-8B10-48E3-81DD-B7CF47A16F2D.jpeg

9634CD04-00E8-42D6-8F8C-DB344228C86B.jpeg

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