US Navy / Attack Squadron 43 (VA-43) "Challengers" 1961-1973. NAS Oceana, VA. A4D-1 (A-4A) // A4D-2 (A-4B) // A4D-2N (A-4C) // A-4E/F // TA-4J // TF-9J. Japanese-made "Vulcan".

I was the successful bidder on this paratrooper wing.  I have been collecting variations of WW2 era US paratrooper wings for going on 50 years now and I have never encountered this hallmark.   True this is an older hallmark used by Robbins and shouldn't be on something they produced in the 1940s but I looked at the wing itself and it isn't mint in that there is some wear on the high spots and the pin isn't straight as if it has been placed on and off of a uniform numerous times.  I also looked at what this eBay seller was selling and it wasn't purely militaria.   I felt it was unique and decided to take a chance however if a couple of months from now another pops up for sale then we will know that these are being re-struck using their older hallmark.  

I have a handful of "keeper" out of the woodwork uniforms, this is probably the nicest set though.  Still undecided if I want to restore the ribbon rack or not.   

Thanks, Marty.  Those early days are hard to decipher who was doing what to whom....  I think between about 1935 and 1955ish CC. Moseley started with the Curtis-Wright school, renamed it the Grand Central Flying School, then Cal Aero, then added Mira Loma and Polaris, ETC, and finally returned to the Grand Central Rocket Company (all this makes my head spin).     To me, this started as a relatively general question... "What, exactly, were these wings given out for?"  Then it became a kind of mental breakdown that preyed on my scientific background.... "Lets see how many of these unique wings I can find and what I can glean from them by the date they were awarded".    Now its a bit of an obsession (They can call me Dr. P Rainman) as I have my Moseley Excel file that I proudly add to once or twice a year.   But a story begins to form.  C.C. Moseley apparently liked to have wings engraved with his name on them that he could give out to either outstanding cadets (E.B LeBailly) or employee instructors (e.g. J Bowen),  I suspect that he used a local engraving shop to have them made starting in 1940 and going well into 1944ish).  Maybe something will show up from post WWII?     I wonder if there is an advert in one of the old yearbooks for a "Bob's Trophy and Engravings Shop, Downtown Ontario, CA" that could give us a hint. I seem to vaguely recall that I once found a likely candidate but like so much in my life, I didn't write it down and forgot the specifics.   Pretty cool stuff if you are a wing ding

This piece may not stand out to anyone else, but it's extremely sentimental for me personally. This is my great uncle's M41 Arctic Field Jacket, which he wore during the frigid winter of late 1944 through early 1945. From what I've heard, he had extreme emotional/psychological impacts from the war on a completely different level from his three brothers, who served. As a result, I have practically zero stories to help understand what he experienced. I'm honored to have been passed down 3+ duffel bags' worth of uniform gear to preserve and respect.  Outnumbered, outgunned, overlooked... but never outmatched. The 95th Infantry Division

Another great score, yokota57! Thanks for posting!

US Army / 93d Transportation Company (Light Helicopter). Fort Devens Army Airfield, MA. Piaseki H-21C. (*93d TC (LH) arrived at Danang, RVN 25 Jan, 1962). Japanese-made "Vulcan".

Please excuse a question from a non patch collector, i.e., a gather.   I have several "greenback patches", in part, 3rd ID, 9th ID, 29th ID, CONARC, and 82nd ABN w/o Airborne tab. What is the interest in "greenback patches" vice other patches?     All the patches above and the dozens of other patches I have are from the 1950's (my childhood collection) when almost everyone's dad had been in WWII and patches were traded like baseball cards.   TIA!

1935 to 1940 year groups would not be making flag rank until the start of the 1960's or, perhaps, the very, very, late 1950's.  One with whom I was closely associated was 1938 and didn't get his boost to flag until 1965.

Richard, it really depends on circumstances/unit/condition.  I have one to a Lost Battalion KIA, which would be at one extreme,  and another to an influenza casualty in a transport unit - the other extreme.  I would say at the lower end you are looking at $100 + or - $20.