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

[patches]

18 hours ago, seanmc1114 said:

6th Cavalry Brigade with AIRBORNE tab. I don't know what unit he was assigned to, but he is wearing the Pathfinder Badge, so I'm assuming a pathfinder unit. 

Starting in 1975, Pathfinders were in the HHT of the Brigade the 6th Pathfinder Section, they might of had them in due course as Platoons in Air Cavalry Squadrons of the Brigade.

[Haze99]

U.S. Army Garrison Fort McCoy Soldiers are welcomed into the 88th Readiness Division by the 88th Readiness Division command team, Maj. Gen. Joseph Ricciardi, senior commander of Fort McCoy and 88th RD Command Sgt. Maj. Douglas Dieckman during a patching ceremony, March 13, 2025, at Fort McCoy, Wis. This patching ceremony is symbolic of changing from one higher headquarters to another and was a tribute to the enduring partnership between the garrison and the 88th Readiness Division, showcasing the division’s storied legacy, unwavering strength, and commitment to shaping a bold and resilient future. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Nataja Ford)

Fort McCoy Garrison soldiers formerly wore the U.S. Army Material Commamd SSI

 

[patches]

Bragg 1969.

[patches]

 

This is in Orleans France, a contingent of the 35th Infantry Division is present for the 80th Anniversary of it's liberation. the old lady there I think was a resident back then when the Germans were there, and is showing a photo of hers of GIs in the city there in 1944..

[patches]

Thunderbirds In Korea September 1952

[patches]

An 8th Infantry Division Trainee at Ft Jackson in 1952 wearing the Flat Topped Variant of the patch. He's wearing a French Rope, so we gather he's with the 28th Infantry, despite him not wearing their DIs.

[patches]

Speaking of the 8th Infantry Division, here are POWs from the Division filmed by their captors, sub unit unknown, it's warm weather with Green bushes etc, so possibly in Brittany.

 

This one appears to have an OD Border.

[patches]

The old 43rd Infantry Division as a Scorpion Patch, unit now called the 143rd Regional Support Group of the Conn NG..

[patches]

A 1st Log Cmd GI who's wearing the Full Color one at the late date of December 1968, he's at the Bob Hope Christmas Show at Long Binh,

[Rhscott]

2 hours ago, patches said:

A 1st Log Cmd GI who's wearing the Full Color one at the late date of December 1968, he's at the Bob Hope Christmas Show at Long Binh,

Patch has been around.  Later was 1st COSCOM and now is 1st TSC.

[Haze99]

U.S. Army photo of the 68th Theater Medical Command unit patch during an activation ceremony Sept. 20,2024 in Sembach, Germany. U.S. Army Col. Tracy Michael assumed command of the 68th TMC, which is a direct reporting unit of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, providing a foundation of readiness, synchronizing operational health service support throughout Europe and Africa. As a theater medical command, 68th TMC will integrate with the joint military-medical enterprise to include NATO Allies and partner nations. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Yesenia Cadavid)

[Haze99]

Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commanding General of U.S. Army Europe and Africa hands the colors to Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Maranian, commanding General of the 56th Artillery Command during the 56th AC reactivation ceremony on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, Nov. 8, 2021.  "The reactivation of the 56th Artillery Command will provide U.S. Army Europe and Africa with significant capabilities in multi-domain operations" said Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Maranian. U.S. Army Photo by Volker Ramspott

Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Maranian, commanding general, 56th Artillery Command, gives his remarks during the unit’s reactivation ceremony on Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden, Germany, Nov. 8, 2021. U.S. Army Photo by Volker Ramspott

[seanmc1114]

Personnel with the 2nd Armored Division prepare to blow some railroad tracks somewhere in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany - April 1945

[seanmc1114]

L to R: Lt. General Sir Miles Dempsey; General Omar Bradley - 12th Army Group; Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, and Lt. General William Hood Simpson - Ninth Army - at an Allied Commanders Conference - 11 April 1945

[seanmc1114]

U.S. Military Academy with HONOR GUARD tab

[seanmc1114]

5th Regimental Combat Team in Korea. Officer on the right is General James A. Van Fleet, commanding general of the Eighth Army.

[patches]

29th Division patch on a POW in Paris, captured in Normandy..

[patches]

 

The above comes from a never seen before film, at least in America, of Allied POWs being transported through Paris to trains back to Germany, here you'll see U.S. Paratroopers  and Glidertroopers of the 101 and the 82nd, more 29th GIs among others, British Para, British Commandos, British 50th Tyne Tees Infantry Division Tommies among others. As you'll see, there being groups of French civilians spitting, cursing, at tjhe POWs with at least one man punching a GI real hard right in the face as he walks by, in another view from another edited view on the Deutsche Woschenchau newsreel, a man, a civilian kicks an allied soldier, maybe even trying to kick him between the legs.

 

I was shocked when I seen this, never seen this before, why are thy  doing it? One site, a Reddit, discuses this footage, and basically narrows it down to these people either being hardcore collaborators, or having lost family to the Allied Bombing Campaign of areas all over France in the Spring, or just being paid to do it by the Germans.

 

 

[patches]

This is the Translation from the French, of the description of film.

 

This is a German propaganda sequence broadcast by filmed newsreels (filmed by "France Actualités" and reprinted by "Deutsche Woschenchau"?) in movie theaters and at the Fernsehsender Paris. A long cohort of English and American prisoners getting off a bus arrives at the Gare du Nord to the jeers of the crowd, flanked by German soldiers and officers. The people present, held back by the German soldiers but also by French police officers, insult them, spit in their faces and even go so far as to violently beat them as they pass. During the prisoners' march, two men in civilian clothes are also seen flanking them. As these are unedited rushes, the scene is reproduced several times from different angles and approaches.

 

The Film,it as you'll see is not on YT, but on a French site, thus not sharable except to linking site.

https://www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/video/vdf07000861/prisonniers-anglo-americains

[Ranger-1972]

18 hours ago, patches said:

 

The above comes from a never seen before film, at least in America, of Allied POWs being transported through Paris to trains back to Germany, here you'll see U.S. Paratroopers  and Glidertroopers of the 101 and the 82nd, more 29th GIs among others, British Para, British Commandos, British 50th Tyne Tees Infantry Division Tommies among others. As you'll see, there being groups of French civilians spitting, cursing, at tjhe POWs with at least one man punching a GI real hard right in the face as he walks by, in another view from another edited view on the Deutsche Woschenchau newsreel, a man, a civilian kicks an allied soldier, maybe even trying to kick him between the legs.

 

I was shocked when I seen this, never seen this before, why are thy  doing it? One site, a Reddit, discuses this footage, and basically narrows it down to these people either being hardcore collaborators, or having lost family to the Allied Bombing Campaign of areas all over France in the Spring, or just being paid to do it by the Germans.

 

 

Some years ago, the commander of the US Ranger Battalion descended from the one that had assaulted Pont du Hoc wanted to return to the area with his troops and offered to meet with the local French residents.  Instead of being welcomed, he was told (1) they could come as tourists, but could not wear their uniforms and (2) there would be no official activities with the local residents or government officials.  When the US officer asked why, he was told that the Allied invasion had devastated the local villages (Army Air Forces bombing, US Navy shelling from offshore, plus the fighting once the US forces landed) -- and that it was not much of a 'liberation' from their point of view.

 

While stationed in Europe, I visited the Normandy beaches and made a point of going to Sainte-Mère-Eglise (since I had served several tours in the 82nd Airborne Division). I walked into the tourist information center looking for a map and asked the lady on duty "Parlez-vous anglais?"  She said, "No" ... then turned and walked out of the visitor center.

 

Nearly 20,000 French civilians were killed in Normandy from June - September 1944.  No idea how many were wounded -- but 300,000 civilians were made homeless. Caen, Lisieux, Pont-l'Evêque, Vire, Falaise, Avranches, Valognes, Alençon, Argentan, Le Havre, Rouen, Saint-Lô and Flers were all reduced to rubble. 

 

[seanmc1114]

On 4/6/2025 at 4:46 AM, patches said:

Bragg 1969.

These are actually soldiers of the 3rd Brigade 82nd Airborne Division at the Americal Division Combat Training Center soon after their arrival in Vietnam in February 1968. This is a screenshot from official Army footage.

[seanmc1114]

Army Material Command in the foreground and Army Sentinel System Command in the background.

[seanmc1114]

123rd Army Reserve Command with AIRBORNE tab

[rtd_sf_eng]

While going through pictures that my dad had, I came across one from a graduation NCO class.  One of the soldiers, center row, third from the left, is wearing the South Atlantic Forces SSI.  But the soldier in last row, far right is my dad.  What is interesting is that the DUI's he is wearing is the 324th Infantry Regiment.  The same unit he was assigned to just before being shipped out to Germany sometime in 1944.  I figured that by the time he attended the NCO school he would be assigned to a different unit.  Also, the 44th ID would be on his right shoulder as well.

[seanmc1114]

Member of the 2nd Squadron 1st Cavalry wearing a full color theater made AERO RIFLE tab over a subdued I Field Force Vietnam SSI