July 30, 2024 A Soldier from the New Jersey Army National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 112th Field Artillery Regiment, 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, works with his counterparts from the Iraqi Division of Artillery’s 1st Brigade, during a classroom exercise in western Iraq. Advising, assisting, and enabling are key components of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve’s mission to enhance partner capacity in Iraq to ensure the enduring defeat of Da’esh. (U.S. Army photo) (Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Bruce Daddis Note: FWS-SSI, NJ ARNG 44th IBCT

Air Defense tab above Maryland National Guard patch.   

This is a photo the family sent of their grandfather who I'm assuming is the recipient of the purple heart.  

Very nice group !

The patch came out in 1955, so could it not be applied & worn in 1956/57? Absolutely

Good Afternoon Gentlemen,   I recently purchased from the family the awards to Chief Turret Captain Edward M. Mclagan from the research I was able to do he joined the navy at the tail end of ww1 and was onboard the USS Brooklyn ACR-3 a Spanish American war era cruiser, then seems to have transferred to the USS Genesee AT-55, USS Whitney AD-4 and he was also onboard the USS Crescent AP-40 and would have been there for the pearl harbor relief efforts. It has proven difficult to find alot of records on this man's service but he would retire in 1946 after nearly 30 years of service. The grouping includes alot of his insignia, such as his ensign and lieutenant junior grade bars he received after becoming a gunner, as well as his ordnance bomb which is imperial marked, a very nice set of wolf brown ribbons, his ww1 and 2 victory medals as well as his engraved good conduct with 3 bars for subsequent awards which are all also engraved. The purple heart is numbered 364326 but does not belong to him, it did come with the group and I'm told it belonged to a Francesco Escobedo. The man i bought these from said the medals all belonged to his grandfather so I am assuming they are all related in some way even though the last names dont match. Either way i am happy to be the new caretaker of these items, as always comments, opinions and information is always welcome.   USN                  

I’ve been “under the weather” this past week so I’m late in the day wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July US INDEPENDENCE DAY holiday today. I hope you have (or had) a good one  mikie

. More finds today . . . . . . . .   I went with Mike today to check on some work he's having done on one of his beach-racers,  in the same garage was a Hotchkiss having work done.  I checked out and looked over the Hotckiss and it appeared more of a refurbishment of an existing Willys than a complete Hotchkiss build, there was a mixture of Willys, Ford and Hotchkiss parts, my first spot was the Ford made and stamped engine hood, take a look at the top of the second image I added an arrow to show the ' F ' stamping.   The real find though was a genuine Ford marked block, albeit with a Willys cylinder head, it did appear though that the engine block might have had some recent work done on it, it was cleaner and the paint looked more fresh than the rest of the bodywork etc.          Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July  04  2O25.     ….  

Thanks.  For about 15 years I was quite serious about researching US Cavalry sabers.  Career, late-life law degree, and family have kept me away from it for several years, so finding stuff in my archives isn't as intuitive as it used to be.  All the info is still there, though.  Speaking of which, I found another that was mis-catalogued under an older file naming system:   #76  Last two digits of date obscured.  Dragoons-marked blade.  Number on scabbard drag.  Named to a J. Baker (?).  Ebay 2020:            

... more correctly, a Model 1889. Basically that's 95% a Model 1883 in wich the punched 'snowflake' vents had replaced the 1883's brass wire screens.  For what it counts, technically this hat would place the soldier not prior to year 1890, even better the early 1890s.   ps. As for the riding gloves, I permit myself to date them to 1896, even better somehow later, if they are buckskin (at least, so it looks to me). Mainly, the decorative stitching of the true Pattern 1884, 1886 and 1889 was quite different from the later ones. Lastly, all the first three pattern were made of different material    -     1884 and 1886 were goatskin, 1889 was calfskin.   Just for a comparison should it turn out useful, I'm posting my 1889 campaign hat and the 1884 / 1886 Cavalry gloves. Hues can change in the gloves, but the main features will stay the same up to the 1889 gauntlets Pattern.   Here the hat       here the 1884 gloves