USA WW2 Unit patches & insignia

Category: Badges

This page is a sub category index

Military Insignia of the US Armed Forces (Army, Navy, USMC, Coast Guard)

also American Red Cross, Air Carrier Contract and Veterans of Foreign Wars. It should be kept in mind that the Air Force was part of Army until after WW2.
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Sub Category Index

The badge at the American Centre Sydney Australia during WW2.

	Obviously on this site I cannot provide images of the thousands of badges , devices and insignia of the Armed Services of the USA. What I attempt is a representative sample.

Shoulder patches of US Army Airborne Units of WW2

	This is the official unissued badge of the US Army General Staff. This beautiful badge is extremely rare to find. I. DESCRIPTION: The Coat of Arms of the United States in gold with the stripes of the shield to be enameled white and red and chief of the shield and the sky of the glory to be enameled blue, superimposed on a five-pointed black enameled star; in each reentrant angle of the star are three green enameled laurel leaves. The star is 2 inches in diameter II. SYMBOLISM: The badge is based on the General Staff insignia with a black star in lieu of the Silver Star. The addition of the laurel leaves indicate achievement.
III. AWARD ELIGIBILITY: The requirements as listed in Chief of Staff Regulation 672-5, authorized award of the Army Staff Identification Badge for one year of service while assigned to the Army General Staff. The badge is authorized for officers and E-9s assigned to authorized positions at Headquarters, Department of the Army. Civilian personnel in grades GS-11 and above may be awarded a lapel button upon completion of at least one year of service.
Images are thumbnails. Click to enlarge	Pay rates of the Services are included.

	For most of the images on this page I am indebted to CWO4 Herbert H "Sarge" Booker II This is the famous "Ruptured Duck" badge. The Ruptured Duck was a cloth insignia depicting an eagle inside a wreath.
It was worn on uniforms above the right breast pocket by WWII servicemen and women. It was issued to service personnel who were about to leave the military with an Honorable Discharge. It also allowed them to continue to wear their uniform for up to thirty days after they were discharged since there was a clothing shortage at that time. This showed the MP's that they were in transit and not AWOL. Well, the boys thought the eagle looked more like a duck; and, because it meant they were going home, the popular saying was, "They took off like a Ruptured Duck"...hence the nickname. Metal version>>>

This is perhaps the rarest of all Polish medals and badges that were awarded to American volunteers who fought in World War One (WW I) with Haller's Army in France and the war for Polish independence against Russia.

This badge is often referred to as the "Across the Ocean to the Legions" badge and it features an American flag with the Polish eagle along with the dates 1914-1918.

This badge is rarely seen and this is only the 2nd completely original example that I have seen in the last 35 years.

The deep rich enameling is 100% intact and the screw nut is nicely marked by famed maker "J. Knedler."

Haller's Army in France has been referred to as the American Legion of the Polish Army. One veteran that I knew indicated that there were many non-Polish volunteers in the legion as well--including a number of Irish. He enlisted in Duluth, Minnesota at the Federal building and he thought he joined just another branch of the American Army. It wasn't until he ended up fighting the Russians that he and many others realized that they had joined the army of a foreign power and that they were not returning home with the rest of the American veterans. A little known army with an incredible history.

Insignia of the American Red Cross, (Armed Services sections)

Also the Air Carrier Contract personnel

US Veterans of Foreign Wars badge (equates with RSL or RSA)

Badges of some of the USAAF in Australia in WW2