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During the Korean War, the need for
Ranger units evolved early in that war. After a provisional
unit was formed in Korea in late 1950, the U.S. Army
activated 15 separate Ranger Infantry Companies (Airborne).
Some of these companies saw service in combat in Korea, some
were attached to divisions on occupation duty in Germany,
and some were attached to NG divisions in CONUS.
While the black and gold RANGER Q-tab
was the only authorized insignia for these Ranger units,
many of the units adopted scrolls that resembled the WW II
era battalion scrolls. These KW-era units were also black,
red, and white, for the most part.
Somewhere along the line, some
manufactures got the jump on others, and, using US-made
Ranger lozenge SSI worn by the 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion
in WW II, added numbers 1-15 underneath the
word Rangers. They have subsequently been reproduced for
collectors over the past 50 years, with different levels of
quality. See images.
The numbered lozenge patches were
never issued to or worn by any KW Ranger
Infantry Company (Airborne).
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