I recently came across a box containing my father’s army patches from WW2. I decided to research them to discover a bit about his military service. Unfortunately his records as well as many other veterans was lost in the July 12, 1973 fire at the National Records Center in Saint Louis, MO. From photos and letters I did know that he was stationed in Fort Lewis, WA where he met my mother and served in the Pacific, probably in Okinawa and definitely Korea near the end of the war.

Photos

I Have Questions

My Dad served in the 241st Signal Operations Company, but I have no idea if that is a subset of any of the units represented on these patches. I don’t even know if he wore any of these on a uniform or whether they traded them like baseball cards.

I was in the Navy, our uniform was simple but strange. The buttons on the pants were ridiculous especially after a few San Miguels in an Olongapo bar. Just a simple patch on my left arm with a winged electrons indicating I worked on aviation electronics. When this photo was taken I was a third class petty officer (E-4) which sounds more impressive than it was. I also have my “gedunk” ribbon or “national defense ribbon” that everyone got just for just existing. Somehow I managed to have quite a bit of hair when this photo was taken. Always the rebel, I was wearing my dixie cup hat on the back of my head instead of over the eyebrows. I wonder how I survived those four years.

Our squadron had a patch but it was meant to be worn a flight jacket and I was not in a flight crew. It was a lot more impressive than the army ones . With a halo, lightning bolts and angel wings…. GO NAVY!