I just finished reading the book "No Bended Knee - The Battle For Guadalcanal" by General Merrill B. Twining, USMC Retired. While reading the book (great book by the way!) he mentioned in it the 1st Marine Division patch.

 

He noted that after the 1st Mar Div left Guadalcanal and went to Australia to rest & refit that the Marines were going to have to wear uniforms that were not their own (they had no good uniforms - of any kind - after the campaign) and thus they didn't want to be confused with Australian or US troops, so they needed a patch to show who they were, the design was thought up, and then the patches purchased.

 

The book touched on how the design of the patch was come up with, and then how he went and purchased them, and where.

 

I had never heard any of that before and so I thought maybe others had not either, so I scanned and cut one part of the book (page 175) where the patch purchase is talked about.

 

I am crediting the book and the author, so hopefully it will be OK to have done that and to have posted it here??

 

MW

 

Mike

Good post.I have seen this before.May have been in an old ASMIC back issue.The Aussie patches are petty neat the ones I have are an odd weave similiar to the BEVO made insignias and have a white muslin type backing.You will also see many other USMC patches done this way;Raider,ParaMarine,Engineer,etc.A very rare one is the one with the half track.Tank Destroyer.

 

RON