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


Teamski
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1st Sgt. Juan E. Negron wearing the Antilles Department SSI and a 3rd Infantry Division combat patch. As a Master Sergeant with the Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment he initially earned the Distinguished Service Cross for actions in Korea on April 28, 1951. He is one of the 24 soldiers from WWII, Korea and Vietnam who will have his DSC upgraded to the Medal Of Honor on March 18.

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Potsdam patch worn by Major Arthur Nicholson of the US Military Liaison Mission in 1984. He would be shot and killed in East Germany the next year making him the last Cold War Casualty. So, now you can see just how late this patch was worn.

 

-Ski

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I was always told the patch had to be turned in after the soldiers tour with the unit.

interesting, both the color and subdued (was there a subdued version?) had to be turned in? What would the reason be behind this, a agreement with the Warsaw Pact forces in East Berlin, specfically the Soviets? as U.S. personel wearing the patch had access to sensitive areas in the Soviet Zone, and in a bit of Cold War Paranoia, the Soviets would think that plants from U.S. intelligence might be using this as a cover or something???? Or was it us who was Paranoid? :lol:

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firefighter

interesting, both the color and subdued (was there a subdued version?) had to be turned in? What would the reason be behind this, a agreement with the Warsaw Pact forces in East Berlin, specfically the Soviets? as U.S. personel wearing the patch had access to sensitive areas in the Soviet Zone, and in a bit of Cold War Paranoia, the Soviets would think that plants from U.S. intelligence might be using this as a cover or something???? Or was it us who was Paranoid? :lol:

 

 

I'll have to look at some old patch reference books.May also have been in one.I never heard of or have seen a subdued version.I have heard/seen 48 & 50 star variations.

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Re Post #1255: The person on the left looks like Paul H. Nelson, a fine fellow who I worked with at the Pentagon. He was from Kenosha WI and after DIA, was assigned to the agency that monitored/enforced the arms reduction agreements (I cannot recall its name). Unfortunately, he died in a skiing accident around 1990.

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This one has me stumped. Black paratroopers but the SSI on the guy on the right looks like the 2nd Cavalry Division. Any thoughts?

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It looks more like a 92nd Infantry Division patch to me.

 

-Ski

I thought it kind of looks like a buffalo, but the two objects above it look like they are part of the patch and may be the octagonal shapes on the 2nd Cav patch. Also shape of the patch itself looks more like a shield than a circle to me.

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firefighter

picture look's WW2 era.The one soldier has the old TECH stripes.I don't think the 2nd Cav Div had any paratroopers.Maybe something to do with the 555th PIR?

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This one has me stumped. Black paratroopers but the SSI on the guy on the right looks like the 2nd Cavalry Division. Any thoughts?

That picture was a press photo and the original caption reads:

"Sixteen Negro soldiers recently won the coveted `wings' of the U.S. Army paratroopers at Fort Benning, in the southern U.S. state of Georgia. The picture shows some of them riding high in a C-47 transport plane preparing to make one of the required five qualifying jumps (March 1944).”

 

And this is from Wikipedia (proceed with caution):

On 19 December 1943, Headquarters, Army Ground Forces, authorized the activation of the company as an all-black unit with black officers as well as black enlisted men. All unit members were to be volunteers, with an enlisted cadre to be selected from personnel of the 92d Infantry Division at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

The company was officially activated on 30 December 1943 at Fort Benning, Georgia. After several months of training, the unit moved to Camp Mackall, North Carolina, where it was reorganized and redesignated on 25 November 1944 as Company A of the newly activated 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Cpt. Glen A. West, Commanding Officer of the 545th Military Police Company in Vietnam, February 1970 – July 1970, wearing what appears to be a subdued 1st Cavalry Division SSI with the colors reversed. The shield is black and the horse head and band are olive green.

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Cpt. Glen A. West, Commanding Officer of the 545th Military Police Company in Vietnam, February 1970 – July 1970, wearing what appears to be a subdued 1st Cavalry Division SSI with the colors reversed. The shield is black and the horse head and band are olive green.

That's real interesting, could it be the print? normally when we see something like that it's seen in a real old photo, like from the WWI-20s-30s period. I forgot what it's called when the colors change because of the film etc.

 

Has anyone else ever seen a Subdued Cav patch like this?

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I don't recognize this SSI or tab but this guy's history is intriguing. He served in WWII as a paratrooper and worked for NASA from 1963 to 2012 then came back after retirement as an emeritus employee.

 

According to the following link, this picture was taken in 2009 when he would have been 81. His ribbons show service back to pre-1941 (American Defense Service Medal) and his Armed Forces Reserve Medal has three hourglass devices which I believe indicate 40+ years of Reserve service. He also appears to be wearing two American Campaign Medal ribbons and the Special Forces tab device which I don't believe would be proper for the dress green uniform.

 

Any thoughts?

 

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/about/people/VGigliotti.html

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firefighter

I think the tab is SEARCH-RESCUE? Could be a state militia. The NY Guard, NY state militia, has a search & rescue tab.Looks like a glider badge on his pocket flap.Not sure why he has two AC ribbons.Also looks like something on his Occupation ribbon, doesn't look wide enough for the ASIA clasp.He has 5th Psychological Operations BN DI's.

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Pulitzer prize winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin (left) admires the helicopter pilot helmet awarded to his son Bruce upon Bruce's 1964 graduation from the U.S. Army's Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Ala. Bruce is wearing the Aviation Center And School SSI with a "United States Army Aviation Center" patch below on his flight uniform.

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That's real interesting, could it be the print? normally when we see something like that it's seen in a real old photo, like from the WWI-20s-30s period. I forgot what it's called when the colors change because of the film etc.

 

Has anyone else ever seen a Subdued Cav patch like this?

 

Yes, a close friend of mine, also a CPT in the 1st Air Cav wore one. He left the RVN in late '69. I believe they like the OD on black SF SSIs were made by suppliers who jumped-the-gun before the black on OD became the approved SSIs.

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Yes, a close friend of mine, also a CPT in the 1st Air Cav wore one. He left the RVN in late '69. I believe they like the OD on black SF SSIs were made by suppliers who jumped-the-gun before the black on OD became the approved SSIs.

A Black SF Arrowhead with OD Knife and Thunderbolts, sounds like it would look striking. I got one for the Southern Defense Command (the old Caribean Defense Command) it's sewn on a Rip Stop Tropical circa early 70s, it's flat edge with the background Black and the ship OD

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