Show us your Militaria

[Captain Nemo]

I'd like to add that most likely our man was either a radio mechanic or a ground radio operator assigned to a group's operations section or command post listening for reports from the aircrew out on a mission.

He could have been a radio operator/gunner on a bomber as well, which would explain the aircrew wings.

Here are some anecdotal discussions on another forum with people's experiences in having gone through radio school and gottne picked up for gunner training in order to perform in-flight operations.
http://forum.armyairforces.com/Radio-operatorgunner-training-m162004.aspx

And here's a charming WWII era booklet describing the experiences of "PFC Gweep" at radio school, which also shows that graduates of this course were used for flying duties:

https://archive.org/details/PFCGweepAtRadioSchool

Note AAF MOS 757, which is Radio Operator, Mechanic Gunner, AAF and requires a communications technician patch.

http://militaryyearbookproject.com/references/old-mos-codes/wwii-era/army-air-force-aaf-wwii-codes/aaf-mos-codes-wwii-era

 

[Captain Nemo]

The "toilet seat" is the Distinguished Unit Badge awarded to all members of a unit which received a Distinguished Unit Citation and the triangular patch is an Army Air Force Specialist Badge of which this one is a Communications Specialist. The other specialist badges were Engineering, Armament, Photographer and Weather. In retrospect I have reason to believe that the uniform was put together because the CBI combat patch is loosely and crudely sewn on and someone of the Technician rank (equivalent to today's Army Specialist rank) would not have been aircrew. I've been debating whether or not to remove the CBI patch, aircrew wings and ribbon bar. As those three appear to have been added on.

I wonder if the CBI patch could have been made in theater, which might explain its crude nature.

Obviously the ribbon bar is post-war, since it has the Occupation Service Medal ribbon on it. Perhaps the veteran changed out the ribbon rack to show his authorized Victory Medal and Occupation Service to be more impressive in Veteran's Day parades or reunions after the war???

The technician rank (in this case T/4) was spread out over several paygrades.

a wikipedia link, since I am too lazy now to look up primary sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_enlisted_rank_insignia_of_World_War_II

I was not aware of a prohibition for the use of technician rank for aircrew. Is there an AAF/Army reg to that effect somewhere?

All in all, the uniform is a remarkable piece of history. Too bad that we do not know the identity of the original owner. Being able to see his actual service record would clear up a lot of confusion!!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

While the CBI patch is probably theatre-made, somehow I don't think it's original to this uniform.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

DCU named to a Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL)

 

[jonesy1275]

Now then. My first post on the forum and a sample of what I collect.

I mainly collect all things IX Troop Carrier Command as I live very close to three old airfields where the 435th, 436th and 437th Troop Carrier Groups operated from during WWII. I love the uniforms.


IMG_1311 by jonesy1275, on Flickr


IMG_1264 by jonesy1275, on Flickr


M-M-Laird-(b) by jonesy1275, on Flickr


IMG_0759 by jonesy1275, on Flickr

and here's me holding the uniform that belonged to a C-47 pilot from the 437th Troop Carrier Group. It just so happens that I took my jeep out to the remains of Ramsbury Airfield where the 437th was based. This is probably the first time that jacket has been back to Ramsbury since 1945.


Lt. Buch 437th TCG at Ramsbury Airfield by jonesy1275, on Flickr

Neil.

 

[Stearmen]

Are you near Bottesford or Membury? My dad was with the 436th Group, C-47s. They towed both Waco and Horsa gliders, 101st and 82nd Airborne. He was on D-Day, and some of the other big ones. Oh, by the way, love to see the 9th get a little credit!

 

[jamespowers]

I am going to have to get pictures of a load of uniform patches that my mother accumulated during WWII. I bet there might be something interesting in there. I’ll see if I can get some pictures tomorrow.

 

[jonesy1275]

Are you near Bottesford or Membury? My dad was with the 436th Group, C-47s. They towed both Waco and Horsa gliders, 101st and 82nd Airborne. He was on D-Day, and some of the other big ones. Oh, by the way, love to see the 9th get a little credit!

Membury is only 20 minutes from my house and one the 436th is one of my main interests. Which squadron was your father in? I have a lot of copies of the original 436th paperwork and I might be able to find your father amongst them.

There's not much of the airfield now but here's a photo of the remains of the runway that your father would have launched from on D-Day.


Membury airfield runway by jonesy1275, on Flickr

I'd be very interested to hear more about your dad.

 

[Stearmen]

Membury is only 20 minutes from my house and one the 436th is one of my main interests. Which squadron was your father in?

He was with the 81st.

 

[jonesy1275]

Fantastic. Please email me at airbornejonesy@gmail.com and we can chat.

Thanks.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

OG-107 uniform named to Air Force photographer MSgt Paul N. Hayashi, circa 1982-83. Examples of his work can be found on the Web if you Google his name.

 

[jonesy1275]

He was with the 81st.

Any chance you could get in contact with me regarding your dad? You might be interested in this book too:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Membury-War-Wartime-Airfield-Berkshire/dp/0953660133

Neil.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Vietnam combat veteran's OG-107 named to an Army Specialist 4: 101st Airborne Division combat patch; XVIII Airborne Corps SSI; full-colour Combat Infantry Badge; Basic Parachutist's Badge

 

[hatguy1]

Odd the "US Army" tape and individual's name tape are subdued but nothing else is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I'm guessing that the shirt is from around 1967-68. At the time only units in Vietnam had the subdued patches and tapes. The rest of the Army Stateside and throughout the rest of the world at this time still had the utilities, full-colour patches and the M-14 rifle. And it seems that troops returning from Vietnam often wore a combination of both. Subdued insignia became Army standard after Vietnam.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

SP4 William L. Buvoltz, USA
Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division
Cu Chi, Republic of Vietnam 1966-67

Born: August 21, 1946, Warren, Pennsylvania
Died: May 18, 2009, Pittsfield, Pennsylvania

OG-107 dated 1968 with 25th Infantry Division combat patch, 1st Infantry Division SSI, Combat Infantry Badge.

While serving with the 25th Infantry Division Buvoltz was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (for Merit). He was also awarded two Purple Hearts. As evidenced by the 1st ID patch it's likely that he served two tours in Vietnam as the 1st Infantry Division was also in Vietnam during the same time frame. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any information about his service with the 1st Infantry Division. However, the salty condition of the uniform suggests considerable wear in the field.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

CPT Ted Kobayashi, USA
44th Engineer Group (Construction), Camp Friendship, Korat, Thailand 1967-68

OG-107 with US Army Support Command Thailand SSI, Ranger Qualification Tab, Parachutist's Badge

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

My Vietnam collection thus far:

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Nothing fancy here. An OG-107 dated 1964 and named to an Airman 1st Class, 162nd Communications Group (California Air National Guard)

 

[Stearmen]

I just realized, it is a little sad to see all these Vietnam era uniforms! We are now entering the 50th anniversary of the war, and just like when we started to reach the 50th for WWII, you could go into any thrift store and find uniforms. We now know the reason for this, it was the start of that generation passing away. I did not think about it much at the time, my father wasn't 70 yet, seemed like he would be around for a long time, little did I know, he barely made it to the first part of the 60th. Now, we are repeating history!