patches
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101st Shoulder Patches
There are so many myths and variations of the airborne patches that I thought it only fair that they get their own page. Let's start with the 101st Infantry Division Patch. The first and most important thing to know is that there are over a dozen different manufactures of wartime time patches. These were made in the U.S. and in the UK, most have minor differences, other have some major differences. All, however, are correct in that you would simply be issued a patch, or you could purchase spare patches from the PX. The type 8 was made under instruction of one officer and he had enough made for every officer at that time to purchase some. Eventually the left overs went down the ranks to the other troopers. Richard Winters wore this type of patch; it is very distinctive.
Don't forget you'll need more than just one patch: one on your M42 Jacket, one on your shirt and if you plan on getting an A-Class to wear in the evenings... or getting married in like I did, then you'll need another for that too! The don't all have to be the same type, you can mix and match, or if you want them all to be the same, that's fine too!
To make things easy, I will use the same letters that the best former manufacturer of reproduction patches used to identify each patch (that being GreenArmyProducts which has, sadly, gone out of business). Never fear, however, since you all know I am a total patch nerd, I have started Patch King! I now sell patches of all sorts through Patch King (just search 'Patch King' on eBay) - and they are, frankly, the best available reproduction patches on the market and the least expensive as well - win-win!
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Right... back to basics, if you already have one or more patchs, unless they are an original, or from Green Army Productions, or Patch King, they are almost certainly 100% shit. Best case situation is that it might be good enough to go on a spare shirt. If you don't understand the difference between a good copy and a crap one then I can only advise you to start doing some research; 'Eagle Patch Corner' on the 'Bando' website is a good starting point; then to buy a book on patches which does highlight all the minor differences. Or get a copy of the Miss Drop 44 book '101 Paratrooper in Normandy (3rd Edition)' as it includes the information and more that you'll need. You can ask me if a patch is OK and I will simply tell you, "Yes" or "burn it", but I am not going to go into the minor points of eyes, beak shape, neck size when all the information you need it out there for you; your patch is either usable or it is not.
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So when you need a patch, do not repeatedly ask "is this one OK" and link every reproduction company in existence or every patch on eBay.... you have 2 options (yes, I'm being a big meanie)
1. BUY FROM The Patch King (on Facebook)
2. Learn the differences between fakes, reproductions and wartime originals and then, and only then; buy an original. Just because a dealer says its original... doesn't make it so.
A (220) - British Made
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on black wool felt. Black linen is used on the back.
B (221)
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on cotton canvas.
C (222)
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on cotton canvas.
D (223)
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on cotton canvas.
E (224)
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on cotton canvas.
F (225)
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on cotton canvas. See notes on 'White Tongue'
G (226)
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on cotton canvas.
I (226)
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on cotton canvas.
H (227)
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on cotton canvas. See notes on 'White Tongue'
J (227) - aka type 8
This patch is made of cotton thread, embroidered on black velvet.
White Tongues
Firstly, and most importantly, "NO, they are not Pathfinder patches!", they were not specially made for Pathfinders, they do not make you a Pathfinder, they are not a special Pathfinder patch and secondly "NO, they are not Pathfinder patches!"
I hope that cleared up a little pet peeve of mine. With that being said, some Pathfinders I'm sure would have been given a white tongued patch, as would plenty of non-Pathfinders. This was simply an error on the part of one British manufacturer who ran out of red cotton thread and used white cotton thread instead. Yes, it's a simple as that. This odd variant was created by a simple problem of inventory stock control. Later on, pink-tongued versions would also appear; these were also NOT a special patch for some elite unit. They were not 101st Intelligence patches any more than they were special patches only issued to the guys who handed out the mail. I hope I'm making all this pretty clear :) It's one of those nonsense things that dealers (who may have lots of one item they can't sell) make up so they can claim it's some weird super-ultra-rare variant, so it suddenly seems interesting, exciting and - big surprise - worth LOTS more money! This happens a lot when dealing in militaria; be-wary of sellers who use phrases like "super rare prototype model" as that usually means, something that isn't right, but looks like something wartime that we all otherwise recognize. Anyway, we're drifting off topic. If you re-enact 101st, or want to re-enact 101st, then any of the patches above are great. If you are joining us, then try and find a patch that nobody else currently has a version of - too many of the same unusual, less commonly seem patches, looks odd, too. Or play it safe and order anything that looks something like 'Type C' or 'Type I' above. Patch King clearly isn't the only place to get 101st patches, but I kid you not when I tell you they are the best. I am weirdly obsessed with the quality of the patches I actually make myself...
Garrison Cap Patches
A recent decision in our unit is to all wear the early and, let's face it, nicer and more popular (both then and now) blue parachute patch. Not the combined Parachute & Glider patch that no paratrooper was happy about wearing; after all the gliders were lovingly named 'coffin crates', and who wants to be associated with that?!? Parachutist were known to draw cartoons of crashed gliders with the occupants all dead on the ground. So when this combination patch was requested to be worn by all members of the 101st, it was ignored by most paratroopers at first; it wasn't until August 1944 that it was ordered to be worn instead of the old "parachute only" patch. Even then some troopers still managed to stay under the radar and didn't change over. Others took a dim view of the patch and would wear it tilted so it looked like the glider was plummeting straight towards the ground... such was the view of these planes!
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Even the early blue Parachute Patch came in a series of variants; not limited to the red ones for field artillery. It came in a nice type A felt, in both light blue and type B felt which came in the normal light blue and an odd looking dark blue. Although this looks very wrong, it was both made and worn. However, if you opt for this dark blue patch, expect to be answering questions about its colour for ever more. I can almost guarantee that nobody will believe it was worn during wartime; they are sure to tell you it's wrong and probably that it never existed! So be warned...
Left - Felt version
Bottom Left - Type A
Below - Type B dark and light, note the shape in the parachute has slightly changed
In case you're very new to militaria, each garrison cap only gets one of these patches. I am going to cause lots of trouble here, but there is no correct side to put the patch. I know... shock horror, what did this heathen just say! What rubbish, I know what you're thinking. You probably think that every re-enactor I have ever seen always wears it on the left side (the side without the fold), they all probably told you that's where the patch goes and the biggest fable, 'only officers wore a patch on the right side'; half of the enlisted soldiers who put a patch on a cap did indeed put it on the left hand side of the cap... it's just a shame that the other half put it on the right! Have a look at period photographs, in fact I will include some as I can only imagine the hate-mail I will get for saying things like this. In fact, once my new patch arrives, I'm putting it on the right side of my enlisted man's cap... just to spite all you non-believers!
Ignoring the officers who almost always wear their cap patch on the right, the middle photo is a PFC wearing the early patch on the right. The far-right photo is another PFC with his cap patch on the left.
Cpl McGahan - Right side of the cap
Cpt Swanson - Right side of the cap
Pfc Almeida - Right side of the cap
Pfc Armentrout actually wears it on the left side! The photo is reversed, note the fold is on the opposite side, verifying that this isn't just a weird cap. His jump wings are also on the wrong side of the coat. So when viewing wartime pics for things like this, make sure the photograph isn't reversed :)
Trooper Morss - patch on the right side again.
Sgt Parsons Sr - wears the patch on the left side of the cap (did you catch that the photo is reversed?) A variety of ranks and a mixture of different units in the 502nd. These are not unique to the 502nd, or the 101st. Examples like these can be found across all units.
Pathfinder Patch
Firstly 'NO IT DOESN'T HAVE A WHITE TONGUE!' There is one other airborne patch that I need to mention and that is the Pathfinder Patch. However, this was not on any combat jacket, so don't go getting all excited before you know what it is. This patch was awarded to those who jumped into the Normandy Campaign as a member of a Pathfinder team. Some Troopers were assigned to these groups at the last moment and, although not trained in any sort of Radar signaling (they were there as more of a support/security role), they still were awarded and eligible to wear the patch.
Again, The Patch King makes accurate versions of these as, like all the other Airborne patches, there were variations of even the rarest patches!
These were worn on the lower left arm, just above the overseas service stripes. It was not just sewn on like the big rectangular patch shown right, it was trimmed around the design, how close depended on the individual.
Note - this is only for reference... Miss Drop 44 ARE NOT PATHFINDERS!
Rank Patches
Rank patches are worn on the combat M42 jackets and the A-Class uniforms. When you first join the unit, you will most likely be a regular straight-out-of-basic-training private, which does have some advantages as you won't have to do any sewing of rank chevrons, which is a pain as it can take a couple of attempts to get them properly level and looking good! Rank chevrons can be found in both reproduction and originals. The reproductions are like everything else... very hit and miss. However, originals of most lower rank chevrons can be found if you look carefully for them, and usually for the same price as good reproductions. Depending how lucky you get, of course. For really good chevrons it's always worth contacting The Patch King and asking what's in stock, what they are planning to remake, or even what I can make special for you - if you ask nicely enough!
