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Post-WWII 1950's & 1960's US Air Force uniform photos


Bob Hudson
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  • 2 weeks later...

This is a soldier of the 184th Infantry Regiment 49th Infantry Division of the California Army National sometime in the late 40's due to the wear of the double collar discs. But note that he is wearing an early gold AIr Force cap device.

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This is a soldier of the 184th Infantry Regiment 49th Infantry Division of the California Army National sometime in the late 40's due to the wear of the double collar discs. But note that he is wearing an early gold AIr Force cap device.

Cool photo.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The same nurse, Captain Vivian M. Gersema, from Post # 914. I assume this is inside the same aircraft shown in the previous post at Offutt AFB in 1953 - a flying hospital, a C-54 dubbed an “MC-54M” due to its medical role.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

AHR HERE

CAN SOME ONE SEND INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE THIS FORUM

IT TOOK FOREVER TO FIND HOW TO SIGN ON, NOW AFTER SIGN ON IF I CLICK MEMBERS I GET NOT ALLOWED.

I HAVE A VN PATCH TO ID, CAN'T SEEM TO FIND OUT HOW.

THIS IS A FEW OF MY PROBLEMS HELP

 

[email protected]

 

THANKS AHR

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  • 1 month later...

On their visit to the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson (center) greets T/Sgt. William R. McLand (second from left), U. S. Air Force, Pope Air Force Base, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and twenty-eight other outstanding soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, who are visiting Washington, D.C., from January 12 to 15, 1950, as guests of the Department of Defense. The identities of the other servicemen are unknown and were selected by their respective services from among enlisted personnel on the basis of leadership, conduct, bearing and initiative. The soldiers were selected from Ft. Bragg, North Carolina; the sailors from the Atlantic Fleet; the airmen from Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina; and the Marines from the Marine Corps School, Quantico, Virginia. January 13, 1950

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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A Capt Keith Grimes in Vietnam 1965, Grimes who was in command of a Special Ops unit styled the Commando Combat Weather Team

wears the 1st Pattern Tropical Coat with the Air Force's new White on Blue Tapes but with what appears to be Army Ranks and Master Blaster cloth badges, His South Vietnamese Made Cowboy Hat, is that Blue? Looks Blue right, in any event he's got what appears to be a South Vietnamese Made Master Blaster, Army type White on OD and Captains bars, which also appear to be In Country Made as opposed to the insgnia on his Coat.

 

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Here's one more of Cpt Grimes, here receiving a Bronze Star w/V Device, on this day he's wearing the OD Army 1st Pattern Fatigue shirt that appears to have now all Air Force White on Blue Insignias, plus a Blue Bib.

 

There's that Cowboy Hat again, is it BLUE? Looks BLUE like the Bib right? Would be real cool if these were made in Blue, something like those Blue Ridgway Caps bought only by Air Force guys.

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No, the hat is dark olive drab -- maybe newer than the other uniform items. Lighting in different photos throws off the reflectiveness of the color.

 

The insignia tapes are woven on a rayon type material. The jump wings and rank insignia are embroidered on an almost ultra-marine blue cotton a little thinner than the rip-stop fatigues.

 

The scarf would be an issue one, almost the same color as the background color of the badges. I still have my scarf -- worn with starched fatigues to dress up a field uniform during formations and exercises.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Equipt with Army Web Gear, Steel Helmets, M1 Rifles and GI Boots, but wearing the new Air Force Sage Green Utilities, are K-Dets of the new Air Force Academy on a road march out of Lowery Air Base Colorado in the late summer of 1955, Lowery was the first location while the new academy grounds were being built near by.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Steindaddie

Aviation cadets at Lackland AFB, 1959.

 

 

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1959: Aviation cadet, Lackland AFB, and cadet formation of the 3300th Pilot Training Squadron, Graham Air Base.

 

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  • 2 months later...

Stratemeyer, sometime in the late 40s in the new Blue. Note the CBI patch, and the wear of his French Aviator Badge and another Foreign Wing, Nationalist Chinese, he's also wearing a tiny badge on his left pocket flap, this badge also shows in his late WWII photos when he's wearing dress, a P-38 Right, anyone know what this is for?

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easterneagle87

My contribution... love this era, such class. I do believe it was a pain in the a$$ as well. Polishing, primping, etc., but God they look good!  

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easterneagle87
On 12/6/2011 at 1:58 AM, DutchInfid3l said:

 

Same here. Stamped metal... 1 1/2 inches across. I've had this one forever.

 

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I had one of these as well and wondered if it was real. So I am glad there is another example. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
IntotheBlue
On 6/16/2020 at 8:29 PM, easterneagle87 said:

 

I had one of these as well and wondered if it was real. So I am glad there is another example. 

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Yes they are real.  I found a 50's period  Ridgeway with the same metal SSgt chevron as well as an A/1c chevron.  I asked Fernando curator of the Lackland Museum and he verified that they were used in the 50's.  He also has helped me find a lot of odd ball stuff that was used authorized or not.   There are a  lot of photos out there with things that few recognize do to the rarity or short period of use.  Lt.Col. Dave Shultz and I found numerous such items while researching the book Into The Blue.  I love these oddball  items!

 

Best, Lance

 

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General Joseph T. McNarney wearing the Allied Forces Headquarters SSI as a combat patch sometime between the creation of the Air Force in 1947 and his retirement in 1952. He went to Europe as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean Theater and commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces, Mediterranean Theater, in October 1944. He was promoted to full general in March 1945 and in September became acting supreme allied commander of the Mediterranean Theater. Note he is wearing the ribbon of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

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10 hours ago, IntotheBlue said:

 

Thanks guy.

 

It is the little P-38 Badge on the pocket that is the Question Mark, here he is again during the war wearing it, any idea what it is for?

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A couple of shots of Gen Pete Quesada wearing the abbreviated Khaki Uniform in 1951 Kwajalein during Operation Greenhouse.

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IntotheBlue

As to the P-38, Dave and I found, and Johnny Schlund (USAFFLAGOFFICERS.com) that when you are a General nobody points out to you that what you are wearing is unauthorized!!!  So he's wearing it because he can.

 

As for the khaki short uniform, entered the  inventory in 1956.  You can find the AUTHORIZED Jungle Jacket, short sleeve shirt, Pith helmet and knee length khaki stockings (that are authorized  tan shade 505) with blk low quarters on page 86 of Into the Blue, volume 1.  Authorized headgear was the blue service cap,  flight cap or pith helmet.  As you can see to make the uniform a class "A" the blue tie was worn under the jacket

 

The combinations were variously titled: "Shorts Cotton Summer Service,. or Shorts Walking Summer Service."  The Jungle (Service) Jacket was phased out in 1965.  Damn, I missed it by one year!  The shorts and knee socks were finally phased out of the inventory in 1976.  I would like to see a better photo of his shorts to see if they are poss civilian cut with the silver tighteners on the side.  It does look like he is wearing the blue belt  but that silver tab throws me!

 

Note the Airman it looks like he is just passing?  No silver flight cap braid or rank insignia and no chevrons?  At Wiesbaden we had an A/1C busted to E-1, he would have looked like that standing formation.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Lance

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6 hours ago, IntotheBlue said:

As to the P-38, Dave and I found, and Johnny Schlund (USAFFLAGOFFICERS.com) that when you are a General nobody points out to you that what you are wearing is unauthorized!!!  So he's wearing it because he can.

 

As for the khaki short uniform, entered the  inventory in 1956.  You can find the AUTHORIZED Jungle Jacket, short sleeve shirt, Pith helmet and knee length khaki stockings (that are authorized  tan shade 505) with blk low quarters on page 86 of Into the Blue, volume 1.  Authorized headgear was the blue service cap,  flight cap or pith helmet.  As you can see to make the uniform a class "A" the blue tie was worn under the jacket

 

The combinations were variously titled: "Shorts Cotton Summer Service,. or Shorts Walking Summer Service."  The Jungle (Service) Jacket was phased out in 1965.  Damn, I missed it by one year!  The shorts and knee socks were finally phased out of the inventory in 1976.  I would like to see a better photo of his shorts to see if they are poss civilian cut with the silver tighteners on the side.  It does look like he is wearing the blue belt  but that silver tab throws me!

 

Note the Airman it looks like he is just passing?  No silver flight cap braid or rank insignia and no chevrons?  At Wiesbaden we had an A/1C busted to E-1, he would have looked like that standing formation.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Lance

Thanks Lance, I wonder what the P-38 pin stands for, maybe it was a gift to the general from one of either a unit of P-38s under his command or an individual or commander of one of these units, and treasured it and wore it always. The Abbreviated Uniform, wow the USAF kept theirs longer than the Army, we got rid of them in like 1965 or so, and their the uniform came out after the Air Force started wearing theirs, 1956. They were worn in South Vietnam actually by Office and Staff Types in the early advisory period, but were banned from wear after a bit, cause their appearance smacked of the French Army thus the French Colonial period..

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IntotheBlue

Hi, looked him up and found that he graduated from WP in 1915.  None of his service indicates that he was intimately involved with P-38s so it must be special to him and once again: Who is going to tell him to take it off?

 

Lieutenant General George Edward Stratemeyer was World War II chief of Air Staff and Far East Air Forces commander during the first year of the Korean War.

Stratemeyer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1890. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in June 1915 as a second lieutenant of Infantry. He served with the 7th and 34th Infantry divisions in Texas and Arizona until September 1916 when he was detailed to the Aviation Section for flying training at Rockwell Field, San Diego, Calif. Stratemeyer became a first lieutenant in June 1916. He became commanding officer of the Air Service Flying and Technical Schools at Kelly Field, Texas in May 1917. He became a captain in August 1917 and later commanding officer of Chanute Field, Ill. Stratemeyer was promoted to major in August 1918. With official transfer to the Air Corps from the Infantry in 1920 he went to Luke Field, Hawaii as commanding officer of the 10th Air Park.

He returned to West Point in August 1924 as instructor in tactics. He graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School at Langley Field, Va., in June 1930 and from the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in 1932. He remained at Leavenworth as an instructor for the next four years. Stratemeyer was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 1936 and assigned to command the 7th Bomb Group at Hamilton Field, Calif. He graduated from the Army War College in 1939 and went to the office of the Chief of Air Corps as head of the Training and Operations Division, with promotion to colonel in March 1940.

A year later Stratemeyer became executive officer to General H.H. Arnold, the chief of the Air Corps, and in August he was promoted to brigadier general. General Stratemeyer commanded the Southeast Air Corps Training Center at Maxwell Field, Ala., for five months and returned to Washington in June 1942 as chief of Air Staff for General Arnold. He had been promoted to major general in February 1942.

General Stratemeyer went to the China-Burma-India Theater in mid-1943, becoming commanding general of the India-Burma Sector and air adviser to the commanding general of the China-Burma-India Theater. Stratemeyer was promoted to lieutenant general in May 1945 and from April 1944 until March 1946 was commander of the Army Air Forces in the China Theater with headquarters at Chungking.

After the war General Stratemeyer commanded the Air Defense Command at Mitchel Field, N.Y., and the Continental Air Command which was organized there in November 1948. At both positions, Stratemeyer tried to improve America's warning system.

He went to Tokyo in April 1949 as commanding general of Far East Air Forces, which he led through the first year of the Korean War. His units responded rapidly to the North Koreans' invasion of the South and provided South Korea and MacArthur with the vital air arm. General Stratemeyer had a serious heart attack in Tokyo in May 1951 and was confined to the Air Force hospital at nearby Tachikawa.

His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters; Distinguished Flying Cross; Air Medal with oak leaf cluster; American Defense Service Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Theater Medal with five service stars; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with service star; World War I Victory Medal; World War II Victory Medal; American Campaign Medal with service star; National Defense Service Medal; Korean Service Medal with four service stars; Mexican Border Service Medal; Ho-Tu Medal of Chinese Air Force; Tashou Cloud Banner (Chinese); British Order of Companion of the Bath Chinese Special; Chinese Pilot's Badge; Polish Order of Polonia Restituta Commander's Cross; Most Excellent Order of the British Empire Degree of Knight Commander; Yugoslavian pilot's badge.

Lt. General Stratemyer.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Memorial Day services held in Rose Hill Cemetery for Major Horace Carswell for whom Carswell Air Force Base is named. May 30, 1951.

 

Air Force.Carswell AFB.1951.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Was rewatching No Time For Sergeants I got on DVD for the 17th Time 853174796_emoticonlaugh.png.07537b98b19476653b696552b58e7cf7.png  and decided to try and find images of M/Sgt King and his Silver on Khaki Service Stripes and Gen Bush and his Silver on Khaki Overseas Bars that we spied being worn, images were real hard to find, but got them, the Service Strips on King appear to be on White, but that's just photo voodoo, the way his arm is, they are on Khaki. Note they are small just like the Silver on Blue type worn on the Blue Uniforms back then.

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  • 1 month later...

Colonel Edwin Doss wearing the U.S., Philippine and Korean Presidential Unit Citations over his right pocket sometime in the 1950's (He was promoted to the permanent rank of Colonel on July 2, 1954). Note that the unit awards are worn in the worn order.

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