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Patches in action: Photos of SSI being worn by the troops.


Teamski
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White bordered Signal Corps School SSI. It looks like the patch is just tacked on the uniform and the white border may have been added by hand. It also appears than the standard version of the patch. 

Signal Corps School.White Border.png

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Major or Lieutenant Colonel Emil Gregg meeting Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie at the dedication of a school Gregg built there. Note he is wearing the Military Assistance Advisory Group SSI with an AIRBORNE tab. He is also wearing what appears to be the number "21" on his Infantry branch insignia.

MAAG.Airborne Tab.jpeg

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Series of photos showing Command Sergeant Major Laurence Williams as he progressed through his career. Note that based on the service stripes, the picture of him as a First Sergeant precedes the picture of him as a Master Sergeant. 

Williams.Laurence.01.jpg

Williams.Laurence.02.jpg

Williams.Laurence.03.jpg

 

Williams.Laurence.04.jpg

Williams.Laurence.05.jpg

Williams.Laurence.06.jpg

Williams.Laurence.07.jpg

Williams.Laurence.08.jpg

Williams.Laurence.09.jpg

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easterneagle87
2 hours ago, patches said:

Great photos on Laurence Williams Sean. he was or does not seem as we see to have been Infantry early in his career, switches some time after Vietnam


what do you mean? The first shot of him as a buck Sgt , he’s wearing infantry collar discs with the light blue backers. Along with having earned the EIB

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4 hours ago, patches said:

Great photos on Laurence Williams Sean. he was or does not seem as we see to have been Infantry early in his career, switches some time after Vietnam

 

1 hour ago, easterneagle87 said:


what do you mean? The first shot of him as a buck Sgt , he’s wearing infantry collar discs with the light blue backers. Along with having earned the EIB

He was Infantry most of his career - light, armored and Ranger - and did earn the EIB. But for some reason, when he went to Vietnam he was assigned to an air defense artillery unit, thus no CIB, although he did earn a Bronze Star for Valor with that unit.

 

This is from his togetherweserved.com profile: "My service career path was Combat Arms. My primary MOS was Infantry, but I served in every Combat Arms branch. Infantry in Korea (2 tours). Armor and Infantry in Germany (2 tours), and Air Defense Artillery in Vietnam. I performed duties as a Basic Rifle Marksmanship Instructor and Drill Sergeant at Fort Knox, KY. Following DS status, I volunteered for Airborne and Ranger training and duty with the 1st Ranger Battalion at Hunter Army Airfield, GA as a Platoon Sergeant, Operations Sergeant and Intelligence Sergeant. I served 1 year as the Operations Sergeant of a Brigade sized unit at Hunter AAF after being promoted to E-8 and then back to Korea as 1SG of Joint Security Force Company at the JSA. I also had a Combat Support secondary MOS of Ground Surveillance Radar and performed duties on the Korean DMZ, Czechoslovakia and East German borders on guard posts, observation posts and even combat patrols. I retired as the Command Sergeant Major of a Mechanized Field Artillery Battalion with the 24th Infantry Division."

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6 hours ago, seanmc1114 said:

 

He was Infantry most of his career - light, armored and Ranger - and did earn the EIB. But for some reason, when he went to Vietnam he was assigned to an air defense artillery unit, thus no CIB, although he did earn a Bronze Star for Valor with that unit.

 

This is from his togetherweserved.com profile: "My service career path was Combat Arms. My primary MOS was Infantry, but I served in every Combat Arms branch. Infantry in Korea (2 tours). Armor and Infantry in Germany (2 tours), and Air Defense Artillery in Vietnam. I performed duties as a Basic Rifle Marksmanship Instructor and Drill Sergeant at Fort Knox, KY. Following DS status, I volunteered for Airborne and Ranger training and duty with the 1st Ranger Battalion at Hunter Army Airfield, GA as a Platoon Sergeant, Operations Sergeant and Intelligence Sergeant. I served 1 year as the Operations Sergeant of a Brigade sized unit at Hunter AAF after being promoted to E-8 and then back to Korea as 1SG of Joint Security Force Company at the JSA. I also had a Combat Support secondary MOS of Ground Surveillance Radar and performed duties on the Korean DMZ, Czechoslovakia and East German borders on guard posts, observation posts and even combat patrols. I retired as the Command Sergeant Major of a Mechanized Field Artillery Battalion with the 24th Infantry Division."

That's what I was driving at, he evidently was not in an Infantry unit in Vietnam, as he has no CIB, curious as why he did not serve as infantry. Though I didn't notice the first photo of him as a E-5, didn't notice the one ribbon, the national defense, , thought this was one taken after Vietnam in Korea and here is where he changed MOSs and he went that route of not wearing ribbons and just the EIB.Also didn't notice the EIB he's wearing in Nam eiter

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Specialist 5 Randy Pitchford wearing the Army Security Agency SSI in 1972. Nothing uncommon about that. But note that as an E-5 he is being awarded the Legion Of Merit. Now that was a rare occurrence.

Army Security Agency.Specialist 5.Legion Of Merit.jpg

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12 hours ago, patches said:

That's what I was driving at, he evidently was not in an Infantry unit in Vietnam, as he has no CIB, curious as why he did not serve as infantry. Though I didn't notice the first photo of him as a E-5, didn't notice the one ribbon, the national defense, , thought this was one taken after Vietnam in Korea and here is where he changed MOSs and he went that route of not wearing ribbons and just the EIB.Also didn't notice the EIB he's wearing in Nam eiter

These comments also came from his togetherweserved.com profile: "I participated in combat operations during my 1st tour to Korea from February 1967 through March 1968. My battalion had 12 soldiers killed during "CONTACTS" North Korean soldiers. I was very proud of my unit and bragged that we had sustained less losses then any other Battalion that was stationed north of the Imjin River during that period - but I swore that if I ever returned and had any rank, that would never occur again.

 

I was levied from Germany to Vietnam where I spent all but 4 weeks of my tour on Fire Support Bases or Lai Khe Base Camp, which was called "Rocket City" by it's occupants. I only lost one soldier to combat operations and my Battalion only lost 9 during that year. I finally stopped bragging about my Korean tour of duty!! I have never forgot the one soldier who was killed as I escorted his patrol to set up an ambush."

 

It sounds like he may have qualified for a CIB along the DMZ in Korea, but for whatever reason he never received one. He served with the 3rd Battalion 23rd Infantry.

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15 minutes ago, seanmc1114 said:

These comments also came from his togetherweserved.com profile: "I participated in combat operations during my 1st tour to Korea from February 1967 through March 1968. My battalion had 12 soldiers killed during "CONTACTS" North Korean soldiers. I was very proud of my unit and bragged that we had sustained less losses then any other Battalion that was stationed north of the Imjin River during that period - but I swore that if I ever returned and had any rank, that would never occur again.

 

I was levied from Germany to Vietnam where I spent all but 4 weeks of my tour on Fire Support Bases or Lai Khe Base Camp, which was called "Rocket City" by it's occupants. I only lost one soldier to combat operations and my Battalion only lost 9 during that year. I finally stopped bragging about my Korean tour of duty!! I have never forgot the one soldier who was killed as I escorted his patrol to set up an ambush."

 

It sounds like he may have qualified for a CIB along the DMZ in Korea, but for whatever reason he never received one. He served with the 3rd Battalion 23rd Infantry.

 

emoticon thumbs.png

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Salvage Sailor

104th Infantry Division Timberwolves, searching and disarming German prisoners in May 1945

 

104th Division Timberwolves.jpg

 

104th Division Timberwolves 002.jpg

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I have no definitive information on this photo, but from all of the details, it appears to be a soldier wearing the 11th Airborne Division SSI in Korea. Everything about it looks like it was taken in the field and I'm pretty sure the man in the portrait is North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. 

 

The 11th was stateside during the Korean War, but its 187th Parachute Infantry Regiment was detached and sent to Korea along with support units as the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.

 

Thoughts?

11th Airborne Division.Korean War.jpg

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1 hour ago, seanmc1114 said:

I have no definitive information on this photo, but from all of the details, it appears to be a soldier wearing the 11th Airborne Division SSI in Korea. Everything about it looks like it was taken in the field and I'm pretty sure the man in the portrait is North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. 

 

The 11th was stateside during the Korean War, but its 187th Parachute Infantry Regiment was detached and sent to Korea along with support units as the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.

 

Thoughts?

11th Airborne Division.Korean War.jpg

This was talked about awhile ago, maybe in this very topic, the general consensus is this guy is of the 187th RCT in Korea in 1950, and never removed his Angels patch. on this particular shirt, say a spare.

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Allied Forces HQ. Pvt. Roy F. Zorens of Cincinnati, Ohio, receives the Soldier's Medal from CO. J. W. Ramsey for rescuing a British soldier from drowning, near Algiers. Algiers, Algeria. 31 December 1943

Allied Forces HQ.Algiers.12-1943.jpg

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easterneagle87
11 hours ago, seanmc1114 said:

I have no definitive information on this photo, but from all of the details, it appears to be a soldier wearing the 11th Airborne Division SSI in Korea. Everything about it looks like it was taken in the field and I'm pretty sure the man in the portrait is North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. 

 

The 11th was stateside during the Korean War, but its 187th Parachute Infantry Regiment was detached and sent to Korea along with support units as the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.

 

Thoughts?

11th Airborne Division.Korean War.jpg

 

Great picture, but how many of you noticed the North Korean flag at his feet!! GET IT!!

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mysteriousoozlefinch

Something I've been looking for for a while was right under my nose.  Most photos I've found of the 150th Infantry Regiment/Regimental Combat Team/Armored Cavalry Regiment have shown men wearing the 2nd Army patch as their SSI rather than the black diamond patch that was authorized.  However, zooming in a bit on a photo I've seen before from the WVU WV & Regional History Center:

049336.jpg.b51e1511e2f86b69653503f8dc7d8579.jpg

 

I noticed that in the front row of these men from Hinton, WV's Company M, 150th Infantry there are two visibly identifiable black diamond patches.  This photo was taken returning from summer camp in June 1955, right at the transition point from RCT to ACR that took effect August 1st.

2024495323_BlackDiamondpatch.png.82feb3fa33b34c638f618cb3ea49157b.png

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9 hours ago, mysteriousoozlefinch said:

Something I've been looking for for a while was right under my nose.  Most photos I've found of the 150th Infantry Regiment/Regimental Combat Team/Armored Cavalry Regiment have shown men wearing the 2nd Army patch as their SSI rather than the black diamond patch that was authorized.  However, zooming in a bit on a photo I've seen before from the WVU WV & Regional History Center:

049336.jpg.b51e1511e2f86b69653503f8dc7d8579.jpg

 

I noticed that in the front row of these men from Hinton, WV's Company M, 150th Infantry there are two visibly identifiable black diamond patches.  This photo was taken returning from summer camp in June 1955, right at the transition point from RCT to ACR that took effect August 1st.

2024495323_BlackDiamondpatch.png.82feb3fa33b34c638f618cb3ea49157b.png

Great find ozzle

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mysteriousoozlefinch
On 11/12/2020 at 9:27 PM, patches said:

Great find ozzle

Thanks!  Ticks another one off the list, after 80th Airborne Division, that I've wanted to find evidence of. I've also found some photos of the 195th RCT but they're newspaper quality and I can't tell what the shoulder patches are.

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7 hours ago, mysteriousoozlefinch said:

Thanks!  Ticks another one off the list, after 80th Airborne Division, that I've wanted to find evidence of. I've also found some photos of the 195th RCT but they're newspaper quality and I can't tell what the shoulder patches are.

This is the one to find, some GI wearing the 107th RCT shoulder patch LOL.

ty678.jpg

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mysteriousoozlefinch
1 hour ago, patches said:

This is the one to find, some GI wearing the 107th RCT shoulder patch LOL.

ty678.jpg

 

Neither are very good quality.  First is the regimental commander of the 107th, Col. Harry Disston, wearing a patch roughly the right shape.

Daily_News_Fri__Jun_4__1954_.jpg.268c8b77a3830b7d871156d1fe8c850d.jpg

New York Daily News 6/4/54 via Newspapers.com

 

Second is a marching group from 1948.  Also pretty indistinct but closer up looks like it could be the right shape.

Daily_News_Mon__Aug_9__1948_.jpg.57e5b9b3918031cf8cb72f1255b15260.jpg

2132700973_107thCloseup.png.a517365e96d2667fae48d26391e5aade.png

New York Daily News 8/9/48 via Newspapers.com

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