Rag Clippings Steve & Dave Johnson Update On Some Previous Articles One of the gratifying aspects of writing these articles for The Trading Post is that we get feedback from other members and we learn a good deal from that. In fact, our articles usually include an admission of some ignorance on our part and a request for help from other members who may know the answer or some part of it. Sometimes the feedback we receive is in the form of photos of patches we have left out of an article either inadvertently or because we did not have a good illustration of one that we did know about. Our articles are not about “our collection” so much as about interesting patches we have run across, whether in another’s collection, in a book, or on the Internet. Usually, we do not own all the patches used to illustrate our articles and rely on the assistance of others to complete the story. Having said that, we wanted to update some of our earlier articles with information provided by other collectors in response to our requests for further information.
In response to our article about borderless patches, i.e. variations that do not have the usual border on them (Trading Post OCT-DEC 2001), ASMIC member Chris Brown pointed out three additional patches that we had neglected to mention. Shown here are a 2nd Cavalry Division, a 78th Infantry Division and a 94th Infantry Division, all of which were manufactured without the standard olive drab border. Thanks, Chris.
In the JUL-SEP 2000 issue, we discussed the Battle Patrol patches worn in the 3rd Infantry Division in WWII. At the time we did not have a clear illustration of the BP patch worn by the 7th and 30th Infantry Regiments and we did not know about two leather versions of the Divisional BP patch as well as the patch for the 15th Inf. BP. Shown here are much clearer pictures of the 7th Inf. BP, 30th Inf. BP and a beautiful incised leather Divisional BP. The other leather Divisional BP patch is in very rough shape. It has been in the rain a lot and is curled and hardened but is nevertheless quite interesting. It is hand painted, and although it is almost impossible to photograph well, the panther on it is very nicely detailed. The 15th Inf. BP was completely new to us, although we had been told that it existed. The veteran who owned this one was given two of them in the hospital in Italy before being evacuated from the theater. Thanks to ASMIC members Dick Graney, Kenneth and Charles Szczesny and to Mrs. Frieda DePalmo and Mr. Roger Dotson for their assistance.
The next update concerns the article we wrote about the 466th Quartermaster patch on the Ike jacket (OCT-DEC 2000). We had stated in the article that the GI who owned the jacket had sewn it on the right shoulder upside down. We wondered how someone who had gone to so much trouble to put together such a fabulous uniform could have made such a mistake. We heard from ASMIC member Bob Creskoff who wrote and asked if we were sure we were correct in what we said. We checked with the Institute of Heraldry and they have no records of the patch in question so the is no “official’ answer available. We also checked with several other collectors and got varying opinions. Therefore, we are still trying to determine the correct wear for this particular patch. We also heard from several members wanting to see a clear photo of the uniform in the article. So here it is. Thanks to Bob Creskoff and all the others who contacted us regarding this article. The issue involving the correct orientation of the 466th QM patch might never be 100% resolvable but if anyone has definite proof regarding the correct way to wear this patch please let us know.
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Lastly, in our article “Strange Airborne Cap Patches” in the APR-JUN 2001 issue, we made the statement that although the designers of the patches didn’t seem to know what a real glider looked like, they at least got the parachute pretty much right. Well, not really. Thanks to ASMIC member Bill Windrum, who points out in a letter to the editor, that “It is a physical impossibility for the edge or skirt of an inflated parachute under load to scallop or curve downward between the suspension lines. A glance at any U.S. Army Parachutist’s badge will show it scallops upward. All but one of the illustrated patches exhibit faulty chutes.” Bill was a member of the 11th Airborne Division from 1947-1950. Our thanks to him for keeping us straight.
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