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


Bob Hudson
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WWII combat medic with an interesting backstory to judge from his ribbons.

 

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A USAF 1st Sgt. looks on approvingly while his commanding officer seems to be signifying a preference for San Miguel beer (ca. 1955).

 

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WWII combat medic with an interesting backstory to judge from his ribbons.

 

post-1963-1313879660.jpg

 

 

I've never seen before (what I presume) is the combat medic badge above the ribbons. Was that used by all branches of service?

 

***** Thanks for the post.

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...the combat medic badge above the ribbons. Was that used by all branches of service?

The Combat Medical Badge is an Army award. When it was created (January 1945) it was intended to be a parallel award to the Combat Infantryman Badge. It was awarded to combat medics serving in Infantry units of regimental size or smaller under criteria similar to CIB awards. Taking the picture at face value, this USAF Master Sergeant evidently served in WWII as an Army combat medic with an Infantry unit in ETO/MTO/NATO, as indicated by his EAME ribbon with four service stars, and note that he also earned a Purple Heart while he was at it.

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Airmen on duty in Korea ca. 1953 (detached from 136th Communications Security Squadron, Nagoya Air Base, Japan). Note the eclectic uniform combinations and their "Eight Ball" cap insignia.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Another sighting of the USAF cotton summer service jacket (aka: "bush jacket"), worn here by the officer assisting in this award ceremony, standing beside the Colonel who is presenting a medal to the staff sergeant. Detachment 3, TUSLOG (somewhere in Turkey) ca. 1958.

 

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Another sighting of the USAF cotton summer service jacket (aka: "bush jacket"), worn here by the officer assisting in this award ceremony, standing beside the Colonel who is presenting a medal to the staff sergeant. Detachment 3, TUSLOG (somewhere in Turkey) ca. 1958.

 

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Thanks for the post. Do you know how long the bush jacket -- along with the matching shorts and "pith" helmet --were in use? Seems the uniform didn't make it very far into the '60s, if at all.

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Air Policeman wearing a Segram's "Short-Timer" ribbon (on his right pocket), 734th Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, Morocco ca. 1960.

 

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Do you have info regarding the "short timer" ribbon?

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...Do you know how long the bush jacket -- along with the matching shorts and "pith" helmet --were in use?

The “bush jacket” and shorts were authorized in 1955. They were first available in the fall of that year by purchase in Air Force Exchanges or base clothing sales stores and in July 1956 as initial issue to newly enlisted airmen. The USAF sun helmet undoubtedly was on duty as organizational equipment long before 1955. By regulation, the sun helmet could "... be prescribed as ‘required’ when issued as organizational equipment…” (meaning that the sun helmet was not a required personal uniform item). I’ve never seen a documented phase out date for the “bush jacket” but I have seen anecdotally that it was eliminated in 1965 and that the shorts stayed on the books until all USAF tan uniforms were eliminated (1970s?)

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...Do you have info regarding the "short timer" ribbon?

The black-and-gold short-timer ribbon was a fad of the 1950s and ’60s (and maybe even before and/or after that period). It was used to signify that the wearer was approaching some such service milestone as transfer (particularly from overseas) or discharge. The ribbon itself came with bottles of Seagram’s V.O. Canadian whiskey (see below). In practice, the short-timer acquired a bottle of V.O. to celebrate his status (perhaps as a gift from his envious comrades) and attached the ribbon to his uniform to show his short-timer colors. This was all completely unofficial and unauthorized, of course. Wearing the ribbon was tolerated in some units and not in others. In any case, it was probably prudent to leave the ribbon easy to remove (as the pictured A.P. has done) in case of encounters with a military superior whose disapproval might matter to the short-timer.

 

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The black-and-gold short-timer ribbon was a fad of the 1950s and ’60s (and maybe even before and/or after that period). It was used to signify that the wearer was approaching some such service milestone as transfer (particularly from overseas) or discharge. The ribbon itself came with bottles of Seagram’s V.O. Canadian whiskey (see below). In practice, the short-timer acquired a bottle of V.O. to celebrate his status (perhaps as a gift from his envious comrades) and attached the ribbon to his uniform to show his short-timer colors. This was all completely unofficial and unauthorized, of course. Wearing the ribbon was tolerated in some units and not in others. In any case, it was probably prudent to leave the ribbon easy to remove (as the pictured A.P. has done) in case of encounters with a military superior whose disapproval might matter to the short-timer.

 

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I figured the ribbon wasn't authorized, but didn't know anything about the story behind it all. Thanks for the information.....

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The “bush jacket” and shorts were authorized in 1955. They were first available in the fall of that year by purchase in Air Force Exchanges or base clothing sales stores and in July 1956 as initial issue to newly enlisted airmen. The USAF sun helmet undoubtedly was on duty as organizational equipment long before 1955. By regulation, the sun helmet could "... be prescribed as ‘required’ when issued as organizational equipment…” (meaning that the sun helmet was not a required personal uniform item). I’ve never seen a documented phase out date for the “bush jacket” but I have seen anecdotally that it was eliminated in 1965 and that the shorts stayed on the books until all USAF tan uniforms were eliminated (1970s?)

 

I have an enlisted USAF sun helmet with a quartermaster's stamp of 1948 on the inside, so it does seem they were in use way before the bush-jacket came in.

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...I have an enlisted USAF sun helmet with a quartermaster's stamp of 1948 on the inside, so it does seem they were in use way before the bush-jacket came in...

 

DutchInfid3l has posted some excellent pictures of the USAF sun helmet being worn in formations and other settings at Johnston Island AFB ca. mid-1955 (link here). You should be able to work back from here to find other uses of this helmet going back to 1948 and, probably, earlier.

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A WAF barracks scene ca. 1950 (the photo has a "Randolph AFB" stamp on its reverse). The seven WAFs sitting on bunks on the left side of the scene and the Sergeant seated on the footlocker are wearing Army style uniforms and the five of them with discernible collar insignia are wearing pierced "wing-and-prop" discs on their left collar points. The lone exception is the WAF Private seated in the background (partially obscured by the Sergeant), who is wearing the new pattern USAF two-piece summer service dress, which was just rolling out in 1950 (source p. 230 The Air Officer's Guide, 5th ed., 1951).

 

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Another early WAF (ca. 1948). In this picture Private Patricia Rahe is taking a break from basic training in San Antonio, Texas. She is wearing the contemporary Army WAC uniform, with double sets of collar insignia discs per Army regulation of 1948. Link here to see a newspaper report of her enlistment in the WAF and link here to see more about the establishment of the WAF in June 1948 and the first WAF enlistment of record.

 

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Another early WAF (ca. 1948). In this picture Private Patricia Rahe is taking a break from basic training in San Antonio, Texas. She is wearing the contemporary Army WAC uniform, with double sets of collar insignia discs per Army regulation of 1948. Link here to see a newspaper report of her enlistment in the WAF and link here to see more about the establishment of the WAF in June 1948 and the first WAF enlistment of record.

 

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Nice pic. I'm wondering about the braid piping (that appears to be) around her overseas cap. Think they were still using the AAF colors?

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...I'm wondering about the braid piping (that appears to be) around her overseas cap. Think they were still using the AAF colors?

My wholly unscientific WAG on the question of transitional USAF enlisted cap cord colors is "yes," the former AAF colors ultramarine blue and golden yellow were used for this purpose by both enlisted men and women. The unlikely alternative would have been for the WAF to wear the WAC colors old gold and moss-tone green (I kid you not)…and that seems to be a losing proposition. Proof? None. However, here are a couple of pictures of another WAF, taken ca. 1949 and ca. 1951, which show a bi-color cap braid. The earlier picture even appears to be a black-and-white copy of a full color or colorized portrait — too bad we don’t have the original in color to conclusively answer this interesting question.

 

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My wholly unscientific WAG on the question of transitional USAF enlisted cap cord colors is "yes," the former AAF colors ultramarine blue and golden yellow were used for this purpose by both enlisted men and women. The unlikely alternative would have been for the WAF to wear the WAC colors old gold and moss-tone green (I kid you not)…and that seems to be a losing proposition. Proof? None. However, here are a couple of pictures of another WAF, taken ca. 1949 and ca. 1951, which show a bi-color cap braid. The earlier picture even appears to be a black-and-white copy of a full color or colorized portrait — too bad we don’t have the original in color to conclusively answer this interesting question.

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Just to confuse the isssue a little more, here's picture of my Dad (USAAF/USAF 1943-1969) wearing an overseas cap with no piping at all. Picture taken in Celle, Germany, July of 1949.

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...Just to confuse the isssue a little more, here's picture of my Dad (USAAF/USAF 1943-1969) wearing an overseas cap with no piping at all. Picture taken in Celle, Germany, July of 1949...

Yes, I remember that picture well. Thanks for reposting it on this thread, astra, where it shall have a permanent home.

 

Your dad is wearing his garrison cap (aka “flight cap” per AFL 35-4, Sept. 1, 1948) “as issued” i.e., without branch braid. The idea behind bare garrison caps was that the soldier would be responsible to attach cap braid of the branch needed to match his unit of assignment, just as he would sew on appropriate unit shoulder patches. Of course, these types of unit insignia were issued by unit supply and in the transitional USAF their availability undoubtedly became problematic as time went by (how about soon after Sept. 1947). Perhaps your dad had just picked up a new khaki garrison cap but couldn’t find the old AAF blue and yellow piping in his unit supply room or maybe he didn’t even try. Think about it: How long would the USAF remain interested in supplying Army legacy items for the benefit of airman whom they wanted to be going Blue in any case?

 

By the way, the “flight cap” was AWOL from the first generation of USAF Blues, which provided for a service cap only (per AFL 35-46, April 8, 1949). This blunder probably was soon corrected. Does anyone have an early dated photo of an officer or airman wearing the blue flight cap to post here? I’ll open with the following from October 1952.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
...By the way, the “flight cap” was AWOL from the first generation of USAF Blues, which provided for a service cap only (per AFL 35-46, April 8, 1949). This blunder probably was soon corrected. Does anyone have an early dated photo of an officer or airman wearing the blue flight cap to post here? I’ll open with the following from October 1952...

June 1952 in Korea.

 

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Here’s a scene from the pilot for The Brat in the Hat, a T.V. series about growing up in the Air Force ca. 1955. What? You never heard of it. Unfortunately “The Brat” lost out to Leave it to Beaver, which aired for six seasons starting in 1957.

 

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Here’s a scene from the pilot for The Brat in the Hat, a T.V. series about growing up in the Air Force ca. 1955. What? You never heard of it. Unfortunately “The Brat” lost out to Leave it to Beaver, which aired for six seasons starting in 1957.

 

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Wow!

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USAF Master Sergeant wearing 14th Air Force patch ca. 1950.

 

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Another excellent picture....don't know where you find them.....

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