I assume the second photo is of the awards gained by your grandfather. Nice collection and the shadow boxes are put together well.
What unit is the patch with the black panther represent? I remember as a child a friend of my father's who served in World War II had that patch framed with his medals, but I never thought to talk to him about it because I was so young.
That is the Tank Destroyer patch. It was worn by most of the US Tank Destroyer battalions. More information would be needed to determine the battalion with which a particular veteran served.
Ah, I see. Thank you. Well, I guess I'll never know; he has been deceased for over 20 years. I just remember being impressed with the medals and remember that patch and a Purple Heart in particular.
The collection in the photo on the left are clearly sleeve insignia of various units. The collection in the photo on the right is a little puzzling. Across the top are (from left to right) the American Defense Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation (with the "ruptured duck" pin beneath), American Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal. The part that puzzles me is the TD patch (center bottom) with the infantry crossed rifles (bottom right). They generally don't go together. It's possible he might have moved from a TD unit to an infantry unit or vice versa. If he did I would expect there to be a corresponding unit patch for the infantry unit, or perhaps the TD collar insignia. The two items on the bottom left, I can't quite make out with the low res image. Perhaps one of our experts will be able to ID them. A clearer image of them would be helpful.
The bottom left of the smaller set looks like a DUI. I think I have seen it before, but I cannot remember where or what it was. I have no idea about the piece above it. I blew the photo up and it looks like brass, vertically oriented with rounded ends. I cannot tell what is on the face of it, though.
Brad, I think you are correct about the Warrant Officer tab. I can't tell what the bottom left item is. I can't clear it up any.
Exactly right--my book shows it was worn on the service cap but another section calls it out as insignia. There were three grades of Warrant Officer in the Army, Warrant Officer (the rank shown in the display $150. base pay) Chief Warrant Officer ($175 base pay), brown background with horizonal gold stripe, and Flight Officer ( $150. base pay), blue background with vertical gold stripe.
I think this is correct, but I'll defer to Tommy if I'm wrong. (a shock, I know.) The one on the right Is the armored disk.
Thanks Lou, I found it as soon as I posted. Also found a picture of a TD officer wearing a TD patch and Infantry insignia--interesting.
The SSI of the Tank Destroyer Forces was standardized in Sept 1942. A unique TD branch (or collar) insignia was not adopted until March 1943. Prior to that, it was not unusual for infantry, armor, or field artillery insignia to be worn. Many, as in the case of Lt. Alger above, had the unit number (654) included above the crossed rifles. Some would have also had "T" and "D" to the left and right of the rifles respectively.
It looks like the collar insignia for the "Warrant Officer Corps". I still haven't figured out how to post pictures or else I would post a pic
Brad, you might be right. To post the image, find the picture you want. Right click on the picture and choose "Copy image". Go to your post, right click again and choose "paste". The picture should appear. I can't do it myself because I'm on my tablet and can't copy.
http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608054201365827459&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0 don't know if that ill be the pic or the link
You nailed it, Brad. To post a pic, I usually download it and then use the "More Reply Options" to upload it. View attachment 21557