tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37859418048629455162024-03-13T04:12:51.847-04:00hawse pipeianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-9472276121948041172018-05-25T18:12:00.001-04:002018-05-25T18:13:46.660-04:00Number One, BroadwayI wrote a letter to the Maritime Administrator today. I hope he reads it.<br />
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May 25, 2018<br />
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Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby, USN, Retired<br />
Maritime Administration<br />
1200 New Jersey Avenue., SE<br />
Washington D.C., 20590<br />
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Dear Admiral Buzby,<br />
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With the recent sale of Number One, Broadway to a real estate developer, the last vestiges of the United States Lines are under the imminent threat of destruction. <i><a href="https://nypost.com/2018/05/15/landmark-office-building-one-broadway-sold-for-140m/" target="_blank">New York Post</a></i> reports the new owner of the property will convert the space into condos. As often happens in New York, old interiors are demolished to make way for the new. The few remaining objects of the United States Lines are worth preserving not only due to their intrinsic beauty but because they are touchstones of another age – one often evoked to remind the nation and legislators the importance of a robust civilian Merchant Marine. As the ultimate custodian of our nation’s maritime history, perhaps you may use your good offices to save these jewels of our past.<br />
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The history of the United State Lines and its parent company International Mercantile Marine is inextricable from the rise and fall of American preeminence in shipping during the twentieth century. The original formation of United States Lines as a compact between the Federal government and private shipping industry was unprecedented and inarguably set the stage for the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. The ships of the United States Lines inspired generations of Americans; society pages of leading newspapers highlighted the comings and goings of its passenger liners during the 1930s, thus offering an improvised nation hope for better times. Masters such as George Fried and H. Pedersen executed daring sea rescues to great public acclaim; the former received twenty-seven awards and a number of parades down Broadway for saving lives. When the Second World War came, the officers and men of the United States Lines trained a nascent Merchant Marine Corps of Cadets at Kings Point, while others commanded around 300 freighters – one of them, <i>SS Nathaniel Greene</i> earned the coveted title of Gallant Ship. Post-war, the leadership of the company blundered yet produced the magnificent <i>SS United States</i> – a ship that still holds the Blue Riband for the trans-Atlantic speed record. As meteoric was the company’s successes, as was it’s fall.<br />
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Today artifacts from the glory days of the United States Lines are scattered. Successive moves have resulted in neglect and discarding much of its headquarters’ original contents. What now remains at Number One, Broadway is surreptitiously available to the public in the building’s lobby and the retail floor of the current tenant, CitiBank. In the lobby is a stunning globe light fixture – the only of its kind since its twin came crashing down years ago – and a stunning marble staircase slated for removal – undoubtedly by a jackhammer and torch in an upcoming renovation. The bank has beautiful murals showing the original tenant’s shipping routes, and a magnificent 4-foot long polished brass model of an old-style United States Lines passenger liner. Original ballroom-style light fixtures light the bank, and it still has some IMM-logoed metalwork near the entrance. The public has a hint of the once grand opulence of the place.<br />
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Given the significant cultural and historical value of the United States Lines and the unique nature of what remains, for everything to disappear would be a considerable loss. If your administration has contacts with the buyer – Midtown Equities – or perhaps the seller’s broker – Cushman & Wakefield – they may be worth querying to see if any of the art may be saved or placed in a safe location to be conserved and appreciated by the American public. Immediately nearby is your museum – the <a href="https://www.usmma.edu/museum" target="_blank">American Merchant Marine Museum</a> at Kings Point; it is in a grand, old Gold Coast mansion, and does have United States Lines ship models, and a few items from the fleet including a flag and a hat – but nothing from the old headquarters itself.<br />
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I hope this letter will inspire you to look at the United States Lines objects not so much as a relics requiring preservation, but as inspiration as to what America once was and can be again.<br />
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Sincerely,<br />
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<br />
Ian Watts<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71YU1ljsiJuOofv0tM3f3hIQ5cAEflAMlEY3SAiYXXqzBZHyJeXqMFTdDgAJpk6r8_UGQtR4bxwu70rFExXn7jZQGy7m1t8X7H-tVzBbbG5URP-NzS-8Ju8GCZma2pJh2pUNtHjEwYKY/s1600/FullSizeRender+16.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71YU1ljsiJuOofv0tM3f3hIQ5cAEflAMlEY3SAiYXXqzBZHyJeXqMFTdDgAJpk6r8_UGQtR4bxwu70rFExXn7jZQGy7m1t8X7H-tVzBbbG5URP-NzS-8Ju8GCZma2pJh2pUNtHjEwYKY/s640/FullSizeRender+16.jpg" width="640" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-14277670412877624522018-05-08T23:15:00.000-04:002018-06-20T12:15:27.866-04:00The Last Full Measure<div>
Every time I visit the American Merchant Marine Museum at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, there's always a little something that captures the imagination - it is like a huge curiosity cabinet. Since I have been looking a bit closer at the history of the Merchant Marine Combat Bar ribbon, seeing (and holding) a Tin Fish Club member card was particularly exciting. I know it is just a piece of cardboard with print on it, but that card represents perhaps one of the most terrifying days of the owner's life up until that point. There's something about the black humor - the creation of a club specifically to laugh at Death after having survived a torpedoing - that encapsulates the experience. And yet, having laughed at Death, the cadet-midshipmen went on to graduate and ship.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3sUOLLzvJX59FzG_-3_9dhRIkGru50_-H1v_65FsyNcTh0PShPT5iSfl4iEzShRVrsjyClf9b88gxRFo51qTDyW_1Nf7H5QmIiLw5_2wwvPdUwRojnmoZR3i9v-qIAfAqVA37SFoQsTc/s1600/Scan+1.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3sUOLLzvJX59FzG_-3_9dhRIkGru50_-H1v_65FsyNcTh0PShPT5iSfl4iEzShRVrsjyClf9b88gxRFo51qTDyW_1Nf7H5QmIiLw5_2wwvPdUwRojnmoZR3i9v-qIAfAqVA37SFoQsTc/s320/Scan+1.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
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The card belonged to a fellow by the name of Oran F. Perks. Extant public records show his career as a licensed officer starting as a 3rd Assistant Engineer on the States Marine-operated ship <i>SS Wolverine</i> in June 1944 and ending as a 2nd Assistant Engineer aboard the Calmar Line ship <i>SS Hagerstown Victory</i> in October 1945. Taking into consideration the Tin Fish Club card's issue date, it was barely three months before his first job as a Kings Point graduate when he experienced the cold reality of war at sea.. I found he supported a Maryland Maritime Museum and was a teacher, which probably means he left the maritime industry after the war and in retirement wanted to give something back. Many old seamen do this even after having been on the beach for decades - some out of an appreciation for their <i>alma mater</i> or for a place that captured their imaginations. He wasn't a warrior, but his vocation expected him to be one - for just a moment. Thus, the war was only a brief chapter in his life. Along with the card was a note to the ex-museum director for him to return the card when he was done with it. That means it was something special, a touchstone, for the original owner. And now, it is in a box along with a club alumni pin to be re-discovered. I'm glad I had the privilege to see it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_81u1FbAtNdR0NsiRdrAZgQBiGe2VTt-3wQBsdFqhmOloreCnu5Xra2ZPUWcEFWRb_qDHNdI7HngGldIJ5mPN7sTTlwsVFYI2PeeoFOcrILXGB2h-Rtv1BgNXoFH95BFKPMA6jURMN4/s1600/IMG_1770.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_81u1FbAtNdR0NsiRdrAZgQBiGe2VTt-3wQBsdFqhmOloreCnu5Xra2ZPUWcEFWRb_qDHNdI7HngGldIJ5mPN7sTTlwsVFYI2PeeoFOcrILXGB2h-Rtv1BgNXoFH95BFKPMA6jURMN4/s200/IMG_1770.JPG" width="167" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiSB9q26rF2gtp7J4jBLtxFnEouYghp4VNnRIFMttCB0qCfBLXBJI8p1Uap3On4W5D_rhFLjvtf5Jbrg_7vJDcRMHfSAFYf2OXRWYkQNLRkbeomkjFSj4zLjlmMNlGYOifwOP7OxGZds/s1600/Scan+3.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiSB9q26rF2gtp7J4jBLtxFnEouYghp4VNnRIFMttCB0qCfBLXBJI8p1Uap3On4W5D_rhFLjvtf5Jbrg_7vJDcRMHfSAFYf2OXRWYkQNLRkbeomkjFSj4zLjlmMNlGYOifwOP7OxGZds/s320/Scan+3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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On the same day, I held the Tin Fish Club card, I learned a mural of the <i>SS America</i> was leaving Academy's dining hall - Delano Hall. It is a massive mural at 190" high by 139 ½" wide; it is the focal point of the the dining hall and has remained in place for generations of midshipmen. Once removed, it will reveal a cast stone plaque titled "The Last Full Measure." The mural covered it for almost seventy-five years; and although the Academy wants the plaque to remain in place, the Administration is unsure of its condition given it has been buried for quite some time in an often humid dining hall. Archival photographs and an old issue of <i>Polaris</i> show the plaque featuring a shirtless cadet-midshipman behind a machine gun hovering over two columns of names. It was installed in October 1943 behind the head table in the center of Delano Hall in what was then called the Academy's canteen; the intention of the plaque was to honor cadet-midshipmen who died over the course of the Second World War. Their names were periodically added as war reports filtered back to Kings Point.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceuZgBPu5IcoUpbSuaT-dKngGPz9gW4jdBnexmDpoJWRaHnz9xQnzSr5I7Avsu1qoRJ4a-CgngW47uCoEncvMMUloekZ_5BWP_K9qKDTY3HBaODA3ag5otSd1OlgkAEehO90VkvOsD6g/s1600/Scan+5.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceuZgBPu5IcoUpbSuaT-dKngGPz9gW4jdBnexmDpoJWRaHnz9xQnzSr5I7Avsu1qoRJ4a-CgngW47uCoEncvMMUloekZ_5BWP_K9qKDTY3HBaODA3ag5otSd1OlgkAEehO90VkvOsD6g/s400/Scan+5.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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With no end to the war in sight, but with the tide turning, the Academy's Superintendent Captain Giles Stedman commissioned the painting of <i>SS America</i> mural in 1944 and had it promptly placed over the plaque in 1945. Captain Stedman, who arrived at Kings Point a month after the plaque's installation, was concerned that students seeing the names of their friends and fellow classmates being constantly added to the list was not good for overall morale. For Captain Stedman, the painting was particularly touching as it shows the ship entering New York harbor on the morning of July 29, 1940 - just before she became the flagship for the United Lines' fleet with Captain Stedman at the ship's helm. Howard Barclay French, who painted mural, "wanted the viewer to enter the moment of the painting" and captured the regal approach of the ship dressed overall into the country's busiest port, guided and not pushed by tugs. And like Captain Stedman, he knew the <i>SS America</i> quite well as he painted a mural on the ship in 1940; his attention to her detail was unparalleled (click image for the full photograph).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnlk26USljATtRI_iIuqLDJ4oqoax9A2cd20QJqJcHwS_82IbUkNur5F6gXTHVgO2UyyJ4WVE7jc54SVK4FW7Cz4-krdW9Env_CNeNLTPTmLfktqOJUOufU8VEiH9_arNRGpar53ZxCw/s1600/IMG_9507.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnlk26USljATtRI_iIuqLDJ4oqoax9A2cd20QJqJcHwS_82IbUkNur5F6gXTHVgO2UyyJ4WVE7jc54SVK4FW7Cz4-krdW9Env_CNeNLTPTmLfktqOJUOufU8VEiH9_arNRGpar53ZxCw/s640/IMG_9507.JPG" width="518" /></a></div>
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I agree with Giles Stedman - the plaque is too depressing. I think dwelling too much on the militaristic at a place like Kings Point misses the core mission of what it means to be both a merchant officer and naval officer. The Academy, in many respects, is already full of memorials to those cadet-midshipmen who have died in past conflicts - the chapel on grounds is dedicated to the 142 who perished in the Second World War with a grand honor roll atop a platform with the inscription "Tell America." A plaque such as the "Last Full Measure" was a fine piece of propaganda for the war - it was meant to inure young men for certain death. The <i>SS America</i> mural is deeply symbolic of what it wished to achieve as well. The mural has the ship dressed as it was during the time of Neutrality; the underlying message of the mural is the United States wanted freedom of the seas and to trade in peace - per the Maritime Act of 1936, that is what the nation was investing in by having a place like Kings Point. If you sit and eat under that mural day in and day out, and having taken a history class on maritime history, the idea of freedom of the seas and idea of neutrality sits with you in your subconscious. You put a bare-chested warrior in its place, well, you get an entirely different result. Today's military's place is to keep the peace - the last thing most career military officers want to be involved in is a shooting war.<br />
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Nevertheless, the work order for moving the mural stands in the public record:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The purpose for moving the mural is to<br />
reveal the relief sculpture and plaque to inspire<br />
the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA)<br />
midshipmen with the deeds of their forebears.</blockquote>
Apparently, the rendering of a ship in peacetime is not inspiring. The same ship served in the Second World War with great heroism as the <i>USS Westpoint. </i>She rescued two-thousand British refugees from Singapore before the fortress fell. The war was but a chapter of her career and one that did not define her worth. The same is true for an education at Kings Point - its motto is "In Peace and War." Lest we forget, In Peace comes first.<br />
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I'm going to guess The Tin Fish Club would be divided on the subject of the mural or plaque. I am going to guess they would want the <i>SS America.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i> <i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2yp3vpei8T0oKBK225cmQR2fiLdQN24rWdTxmXDNvu6jae27LW6z-XRXn-GbqZV8cgYzSdEZ9HRIOpDD3wiiYN7A4FCaR0sU-1rsxnC0uOPxiSVgiYSN3KLwzg5VDu2D1pTYmRnuj-Y/s1600/IMG_7812+%2528Edited%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2yp3vpei8T0oKBK225cmQR2fiLdQN24rWdTxmXDNvu6jae27LW6z-XRXn-GbqZV8cgYzSdEZ9HRIOpDD3wiiYN7A4FCaR0sU-1rsxnC0uOPxiSVgiYSN3KLwzg5VDu2D1pTYmRnuj-Y/s320/IMG_7812+%2528Edited%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></i></div>
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ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-15944543472293251062018-01-17T15:22:00.000-05:002018-03-18T13:04:27.802-04:00U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia reprise<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHIFDnjqAhfQKTG_JHuMXIfcuDE9lcOmu14ITC78Ljc_r0GplciuY_cD94g2BclAqeigoUArHyywVvf9fgoRS3zhQi0YIL7dz3LCwT5dMStdWUnynPviD0gmYHiiXVH0mAnXxzfenpIc/s1600/usmma-midid-obv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFHIFDnjqAhfQKTG_JHuMXIfcuDE9lcOmu14ITC78Ljc_r0GplciuY_cD94g2BclAqeigoUArHyywVvf9fgoRS3zhQi0YIL7dz3LCwT5dMStdWUnynPviD0gmYHiiXVH0mAnXxzfenpIc/s200/usmma-midid-obv.jpg" width="200"></a><br>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Midshipman Identification badge.</b><br>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet" , "trebuchet ms" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY.</span><br>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet" , "trebuchet ms" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Circa 2017.<br><i>The Eagle Pin</i>.</span><br>
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Midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point met the proscription of the U.S. Naval Reserve badge from their uniforms of by the Chief of Naval Operations in June 2011 with mild derision. The Academy administration did not, and quietly resurrected the pin for local use in 2013. For the almost seventy-five year existence of the Regiment of Midshipmen, Kings Pointers pinned the insignia on their uniforms with pride. If no other piece of insignia or decoration adorned midshipmen coats or shirts, the Sea Chicken was present. Its removal echoed a larger narrative of the changing rôle of merchant seamen within the U.S. military establishment and the struggle of the Merchant Marine to remain relevant in an age where Federal maritime policy has been one of neglect. Its reappearance emphasizes its symbolic status and importance within the midshipmen community.<br>
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Often a means for military and paramilitary organizations to cultivate group cohesion is through the selective disbursement of insignia among its members. Insignia falls into three broad classes: rank designator, personal award, and unit identifier. Rank insignia indicates seniority and managerial responsibility within an organization. As one achieves seniority, the uniform is updated with a progression of rank pins; with another stripe or another star comes additional opportunities for command. Badges are awarded for knowledge area expertise; this recognition enables the wearer to feel invested in their rôle. By comparison, unit identifiers embody continuity with the past and promote a mythos of belonging. Thus, a uniform’s accouterments operate as potent coded visual markers and their configuration signal mimetically shared traditions. Through deciphering insignia at salute distance, by those within or trained in the organization’s symbolic language, can one divine a member’s seniority, skill area, and place in the organization’s hierarchy. Among insignia, badges are often more coveted than rank insignia. Badges are objects of prestige for what they represent: a skill, a position of trust, or an achievement. In this light, wearers meet the removal of a badge with some degree of resistance and critique unless done to signify a merit-based change of status. Without group consultation, the act of removal may cultivate ill will.<br>
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No discussion of the U.S. Naval Reserve (USNR) badge’s deletion is complete without a sketch of contemporary U.S. Naval culture. The U.S. Navy is compartmentalized and hierarchical in structure. It has aligned its officers into communities. The prestige of attaining rank and qualifications governs these communities. The culture is such that badges represent a passage through a figurative ritual process denoting one’s advancement as a militarized officer. In the specific case of the Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) badge, these rituals include watch standing and mastering damage control. In fact, among the surface officer communities, the award of the badge separates those junior in subject mastery from those who hold advanced, compartmentalized knowledge. In the Surface Supply Corps, if a junior officer does not earn that community’s badge while afloat, they rotate back to shore; this acts as an impetus for the officer to return to the prestige of a ship billet. Moreover, if a junior officer does not earn the SWO badge, they, in turn, do not advance in rank. Since the U.S. Navy has a limited number of billets, failure to advance results in eventual discharge from the service.<br>
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The SWO badge has an analog in the enlisted community; it is the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS) badge. The design is similar to the officer’s except it has enlisted cutlasses as opposed to an officer’s swords, and is brushed silver in finish. The prerequisites for earning the enlisted badge are similar to the officer’s badge but dissimilar enough to warrant a separate award. This badge, though, is not the determiner of a sailor’s “fitness”; however, earning it enables an enlisted sailor to advance in rank and opens a hatch for entry into the surface officer community. Junior commissioned officers seen wearing the silver ESWS badge are members of a small community of “Limited Duty Officers” or ex-enlisted sailors who by virtue of specialized knowledge and ambition are granted entry into the officer corps. These individuals call themselves “Mustangs.” After completing the requisite – or what they call “Mickey Mouse” – qualifications, they replace the ESWS for the SWO badge. The replacement of the badge is not done grudgingly; Mustangs are keen to take on the mantle of regular officers and undergo the breadth of rituals associated with the prestige of rank. The only obvious markers of their previous status as an enlisted sailor after attaining the SWO badge would be the deep crimson ribbon for “Good Conduct” in their ribbon rack.<br>
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Through a confluence of events and tradition of use, the USNR badge mediates a position of both a skill badge and a unit identifier for the Kings Pointer. <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2012/09/us-naval-reserve-insignia.html" target="_blank">As I have discussed before</a>, the badge was created expressly to identify members of the newly formulated U.S. Naval Reserve Merchant Marine Reserve. In time, it was adopted by cadets of the U.S. Maritime Commission and awarded to cadet-midshipmen at state maritime academies (CFR 1941 Title 46 §293.16 “they shall wear such Naval Reserve insignia”). Despite Kings Pointers sharing a similar uniform and speaking the same military vocabulary as their colleagues at the U.S. Naval Academy, the badge became an integral identifier of Kings Pointers and marked them apart. Since the badge was an official U.S. Navy decoration, and since Kings Pointers wore the badge past graduation aboard U.S. Navy ships and auxiliary vessels, it identified them as maritime professionals serving with the U.S. Navy. In this discrete definition, the badge spoke to their community and unique skill-set from the moment they entered the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. Thus, like Mustangs and their silver ESWS badge, the USNR badge denotes membership in a small group of mariners within the ranks of the U.S. Navy officer community. It specifies Naval Officers who completed various prerequisites and swore an oath, at one time or another, as members of the Merchant Marine Reserve (USNR/MMR).<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDH_UizggrjrStSw3Rz1B5izOEiUYRsodR-2WmIEIzrN2WigfDCVUFmquEvmTOEQQzg1CdOEA5fc8FLsdkp0eKf6yh-QDqsweYeUzNZyxIBlf4ROJhAqLByQs2pBOtQvpAOIJQvsX3NME/s1600/usnr-min-obv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDH_UizggrjrStSw3Rz1B5izOEiUYRsodR-2WmIEIzrN2WigfDCVUFmquEvmTOEQQzg1CdOEA5fc8FLsdkp0eKf6yh-QDqsweYeUzNZyxIBlf4ROJhAqLByQs2pBOtQvpAOIJQvsX3NME/s200/usnr-min-obv.jpg" width="200"></a></div>
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It is worth mentioning that the USNR badge was deleted from the Kings Point midshipman uniform once before during a stretch from 1956 to 1964. Congressional and U.S. Navy oversight legislated away the status of U.S. Navy Midshipman Reserve for the Kings Pointer; this was due to ending the Merchant Marine Reserve Program. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and its allies argument for the reinstatement of the program was that many students enrolled at the Academy for the opportunity to become licensed officers of the U.S. Merchant Marine and for the prestige of joining the U.S. Armed Services as a commissioned officer. Conventional wisdom at the time held, if they wished to simply sail, they could go to a state maritime school. After Congress addressed the oversight and reestablished the program, Kings Pointers reclaimed the title of midshipmen and donned the pin once again.<br>
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Popular backlash from the Vietnam War resulted in problems for the U.S. Armed Services to attract recruits after the cessation of hostilities. This, coupled with former volunteers leaving the military in droves, resulted in too many vacancies and a weakened threat response by the military. The U.S. Navy, long a proponent of bifurcation of Active duty and Reserve personnel, found this segregation counter-intuitive for maintaining a ready force and wasteful of resources. Thus, under Admiral Zumwalt, it re-organized its personnel system and abolished both the formal and informal barriers between “regular” and “reserve” officers. Among those in the latter class were U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduates. As a means of identifying Merchant Marine Reserve Officers who took active commissions, and indicating their important contribution to the mission of U.S. Navy, in 1978 the Bureau of Personnel wrote into regulation the ability to wear the USNR badge on the uniforms of active duty officers. This reversed an explicit 45-year prohibition of its wear and gave a long overdue nod to maritime professionals who chose to “Go Navy.” This symbol of status and prestige remained unchanged until 2011.<br>
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During early 2011, the U.S. Navy underwent another personnel realignment and rewrote the specifications for its various officer communities. Among those programs written out of existence was the U.S. Naval Reserve/Merchant Marine Reserve (USNR/MMR). Despite their military education component falling under the auspices of the U.S. Navy Education Command, Kings Pointers remained in the U.S. Naval Reserve, but MMR became a component of the Strategic Sealift Officer (SSO) community. Strictly speaking, the USNR badge represented the identification of a class of individuals who no longer existed within the U.S. Navy. A press release from the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations states:<br>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Extensive coordination with several Navy organizations and the U.S. Maritime Administration helped with the program change.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The SSOP [Strategic Sealift Officer Program] supports national defense sealift requirements and capabilities, which are executed by Military Sealift Command (MSC). The program provides the Navy with officers that possess sealift, maritime operations, and logistics subject matter expertise, and further hold U.S. Coast Guard credentials as Merchant Marine officers.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“These changes will help align and improve support to Military Sealift Command and numerous other Joint and Navy commands,” said Vice Adm. Bill Burke, Deputy CNO for Fleet Readiness and Logistics, who is the SSOP program sponsor. “This revision improves stewardship, integration, and opportunities for about 2,400 Navy Reserve officers.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The SSOP, like the old MMR Program, will continue to provide the capability for emergency crewing of sealift ships and shoreside support to Navy commands that require unique maritime expertise. Further, this change provides opportunities for greater operational support to the Navy by expanding selected Reserve (SELRES) billets and active duty recalls to SSOP officers. (Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. “Merchant Marine Reserve Program becomes Strategic Sealift Officer Program” NNS110616-16 Release Date: 6/16/2011.)</blockquote>
The new program brought with it a new badge and provisions to earn it. Unlike the USNR badge, a midshipman could not earn the SSWO badge by pledging an oath, as done when formally entering the USNR/MMR; in fact, the initial CNO communication explicitly mentioned midshipmen (at Kings Point and the State Maritime Academies) were not authorized to wear the new badge. This singled-out of Kings Pointers and rubbed a bit of salt in the wound since earning this new badge was unattainable for the duration of a midshipman’s tenure at the Academy. In an ironic twist, the new badge’s design gives a nod to its historical roots – it keeps the “eagle from the USS Constitution’s stern” and places over it crossed U.S Navy officer swords behind a Federal U.S. shield surcharged with “a fouled anchor from the U.S. Merchant Marine flag” (U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations NAVPERS 15665I, 5201.2.bbb). The last design note is deemed particularly insensitive by some Kings Point alumni since one of the few locations that fly U.S. Merchant Marine flags is Kings Point. As a matter of course, the Strategic Sealift Officer program only mans Military Sealift Command ships – thus only mariners attached to MSC will ever earn the badge; in essence, the SSWO badge very clearly pigeonholes maritime school graduates as being merchant mariners in the U.S. Navy. Whereas the USNR badge was more democratic in its wear; Kings Point midshipmen and graduates wore it while attached to any of the U.S. Navy’s activities and not just the MSC.<br>
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Nevertheless, with the change, the Kings Point class of 2013, became the last Kings Pointers to wear the USNR badge. Upon graduation, those who took oaths as commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy removed the USNR badge, and due to permutations of administrative procedures, could immediately wear the new SSWO badge. The class of 2014 and all those that followed did not have this opportunity. Unless the Academy took action, incoming U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Plebe candidates would find themselves without the once proud symbol of their Federal service status and obligation on Acceptance Day; as mentioned before, the badge awarding ceremony is the first ritual Kings Point midshipmen participate in at the Academy.<br>
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The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Commandant, under the provisions of U.S. Code (CFR 2006 Title 46 §51308.1), could prescribe the wear and standards of uniforms at the Academy. Under this umbrella, he granted the Regiment of Midshipmen their distinctive uniforms and ability to wear pieces of insignia and awards specific to the Academy. With word of the deletion of the old badge, the Academy administration was quick to act, and after consultation with the insignia manufacturer, Vanguard Industries, they came up with a redesign of the traditional badge and new name. Vanguard first manufactured the badge on July 11, 2013; afterward, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Ship’s Store stocked the item as “MM BDG MIDSHIP ID GLD” – U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Midshipman Identification Badge in Gold.<br>
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The Ship's Store initially ordered 900 units of the new badge. On the same Purchase Order was a $500 tooling fee for the new die. Kings Point, in effect, now owns a key component of their identity. The badge is a Kings Point-only uniform item. It is similar to the old USNR badge with the exception that four stars replaced the letters U S N R on the scroll beneath the eagle. When in uniform, Kings Pointers at the Academy will continue to look as they have for decades, thus keeping visual continuity and cultivating an <i>esprit de corps</i>. They call it simply: “The Eagle Pin.”<br>
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On graduation day, when Kings Pointers become active-duty commissioned officers or join the ranks of those in reserve, they will continue to remove the re-designed USNR badge. Within the U.S. Navy, their unique identity is no longer as markedly visible as before. Since a Kings Pointer is thrifty to a fault, they will reuse their old uniforms, and they will be distinctive by the shadow of two pinholes on their khaki shirts and Service Dress blues. Time will tell whether or not the U.S. Navy will re-establish the oldest of its badges. Until then, Kings Pointers will work for their sanctioned pins and place them over the outline of their first.<br>
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Special thanks are owed to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Association and Foundation in granting me access to their trove of old yearbooks and for publishing my previous article on the subject; the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Ship’s Store for answering my queries about the badge; Vanguard Industries for furnishing me with production dates of “The Eagle Pin”; and many others who endured my inane questions about what the old badge meant to them. Thank you all.<br>
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<i><b>Note</b></i><br>
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The naming convention for the USNR badge has changed over time. In the 1930s documentation refers to it as a USNR insigne and during the Cold War, it became a USNR badge. In colloquial speech, it is today called a USNR pin. I use badge as this is the term commonly used by archivists and collectors in both the United States and British Commonwealth. Insigne (an outmoded term for a single piece of insignia), insignia, badge, and pin nomenclature holds in any discussion of U.S. Naval uniform insignia.<br>
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<b>U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Midshipman Identification Badge in Gold.</b><br>
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY.<br>
Single piece, solid construction.<br>
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)<br>
Circa 2017.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutDLfzucoknObk-pI4IRv1OSw6fQu9DWBo2S-VC22uZ7Zyy4nK-swmDH_Emt8UF5o0nw8WF3kU6Fho9MsEx3Dl87eZAuX8OpKAo_pZNFUvR9mcnpbZTNOFM-tJx2yV-fKenlbW69UnmM/s1600/usmma-midid-obv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutDLfzucoknObk-pI4IRv1OSw6fQu9DWBo2S-VC22uZ7Zyy4nK-swmDH_Emt8UF5o0nw8WF3kU6Fho9MsEx3Dl87eZAuX8OpKAo_pZNFUvR9mcnpbZTNOFM-tJx2yV-fKenlbW69UnmM/s320/usmma-midid-obv.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJ6_SsjXCK8vztiHrjSmR5g-jxTk3zkX5QzqAjQybB1BRKKYaqum-rLbePfWdTCqMXlzulBejFO1K3DvyE35mSQiBMr5VuV9Sy9p4odtG5CbNM8QnRegqrUywBoixtJpUn1HGGz6RwoM/s1600/ussma-midid-rev.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJ6_SsjXCK8vztiHrjSmR5g-jxTk3zkX5QzqAjQybB1BRKKYaqum-rLbePfWdTCqMXlzulBejFO1K3DvyE35mSQiBMr5VuV9Sy9p4odtG5CbNM8QnRegqrUywBoixtJpUn1HGGz6RwoM/s320/ussma-midid-rev.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
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Despite some talk that the badge has a variant with no stars, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Ship's Store staff (the sole distributor of the badge) and Vanguard Industries (the sole manufacturer of the badge) have communicated to me that there is no such variant.<br>
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<b>Strategic Sealift Officer Warfare badge.</b><br>
U.S. Navy.<br>
Two piece construction; punched anchor device.<br>
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)<br>
Circa 2017.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8ZCgJ_LNTQrm4LeyK3OhuQCo21GouCUHU00KH3c_seuSPUABaYOIvEbbMmdo9jvUWlD3XCCtbskNv6tB7C_m1b501xCoML0j39JkqUUzLmv-BtczN41yj8SmJHV90JDRSasjnAzWoQ0/s1600/sso-obv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8ZCgJ_LNTQrm4LeyK3OhuQCo21GouCUHU00KH3c_seuSPUABaYOIvEbbMmdo9jvUWlD3XCCtbskNv6tB7C_m1b501xCoML0j39JkqUUzLmv-BtczN41yj8SmJHV90JDRSasjnAzWoQ0/s320/sso-obv.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaIp1nWJerLe9Sk63xghc22ERboSadQYgTFl7UNtJFfvi3deEMBZUchSJF3NcKZGOUUPqxZrfdbzzcydIj0ubmTn_f8WSjAoVHeS4V5faCfMNro92IEEHP_adAz-fZfyiRdtV45sal8g/s1600/sso-rev.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitaIp1nWJerLe9Sk63xghc22ERboSadQYgTFl7UNtJFfvi3deEMBZUchSJF3NcKZGOUUPqxZrfdbzzcydIj0ubmTn_f8WSjAoVHeS4V5faCfMNro92IEEHP_adAz-fZfyiRdtV45sal8g/s320/sso-rev.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
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<b>U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve insignia (miniature).</b><br>
U.S. Navy.<br>
Single piece, solid construction.<br>
Eagle stamped sterling silver with gold-plate.<br>
Hallmark, Vanguard N.Y.<br>
Circa 1943.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDH_UizggrjrStSw3Rz1B5izOEiUYRsodR-2WmIEIzrN2WigfDCVUFmquEvmTOEQQzg1CdOEA5fc8FLsdkp0eKf6yh-QDqsweYeUzNZyxIBlf4ROJhAqLByQs2pBOtQvpAOIJQvsX3NME/s1600/usnr-min-obv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDH_UizggrjrStSw3Rz1B5izOEiUYRsodR-2WmIEIzrN2WigfDCVUFmquEvmTOEQQzg1CdOEA5fc8FLsdkp0eKf6yh-QDqsweYeUzNZyxIBlf4ROJhAqLByQs2pBOtQvpAOIJQvsX3NME/s320/usnr-min-obv.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyd9GMFUTrcnXbC6YcuSfw-wpdyCzOkCbXEs3Pv8D948iy4RDJHuXHT45JeIuO5NQ4VActk7U04QUL3v2S-Nkq2Dg-oa2Ew_eCskVeUMfLcFnpGZnec4tKhwLCAHNwV7NWzAv7i-f_BuU/s1600/usnr-min-rev.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyd9GMFUTrcnXbC6YcuSfw-wpdyCzOkCbXEs3Pv8D948iy4RDJHuXHT45JeIuO5NQ4VActk7U04QUL3v2S-Nkq2Dg-oa2Ew_eCskVeUMfLcFnpGZnec4tKhwLCAHNwV7NWzAv7i-f_BuU/s320/usnr-min-rev.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
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<b>Surface Warfare Office badge.</b><br>
U.S. Navy.<br>
Single piece, solid construction.<br>
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)<br>
Circa 2017.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CuATzb3Sv9sQid-D0dL6Lgzv7dnNAkEg4V83lnFX5IJpMRWaJeTcq-bTlwNzBJuPQ03gfbLR-bygw119DxTznYflDdZkvDlDORvKmTSe_PQy8u8opOtYI7GcZIQljOzB3mT6nAv5Jcs/s1600/swo-obv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CuATzb3Sv9sQid-D0dL6Lgzv7dnNAkEg4V83lnFX5IJpMRWaJeTcq-bTlwNzBJuPQ03gfbLR-bygw119DxTznYflDdZkvDlDORvKmTSe_PQy8u8opOtYI7GcZIQljOzB3mT6nAv5Jcs/s320/swo-obv.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
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<b>Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist badge.</b><br>
U.S. Navy<br>
Single piece, hollow construction.<br>
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)<br>
Circa 1979. The badge is pinned above the ribbon rack on a Zummy uniform reefer.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3AvEZJFLAsY4IHcuzHRxNAjhc_dnk8diIpFc0jfM7cEhTkg-2QRoiWH5bKMkLzDXa5Xb8VnnKFpf0FZFj-xA8s0d7umrBtDlYNPe1JN1vHLjgILKIx-ZuEK7dEziqXYjXH058RxuRUs/s1600/esws-obv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE3AvEZJFLAsY4IHcuzHRxNAjhc_dnk8diIpFc0jfM7cEhTkg-2QRoiWH5bKMkLzDXa5Xb8VnnKFpf0FZFj-xA8s0d7umrBtDlYNPe1JN1vHLjgILKIx-ZuEK7dEziqXYjXH058RxuRUs/s320/esws-obv.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
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The U.S. Navy sometimes errs in re-writing uniform regulations. Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., the Chief of Naval Operations, wished to “humanize a service soured by the war in Vietnam” and ordered a drastic change in the uniform for enlisted sailors in 1971. Out were the bell-bottom trousers, buttonless jumpers, black silk four-in-hands tie, and white Bob Evans sailor’s caps. They were replaced with military shirts, straight-legged trousers, pewter-buttoned reefers, neckties, and combination hats. The enlisted sailor became almost indistinguishable in appearance from officers and chief petty officers. This order became mandatory in 1973 when morale in the U.S. Navy was at a low. The thought was if enlisted sailors felt they looked professional, they would take more pride in the service.<br>
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However, the changes Admiral Zumwalt initiated resulted in the opposite. Reportedly, the change in uniform caused a problem in morale among career petty officers; they complained loudly that discipline suffered and sailors wanted their crackerjacks back. On August 1, 1977, the Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, supported CNO Admiral James L. Holloway III’s order to return to the old uniform. In classic U.S. Navy style there was a year-long evaluation period before the release of “BuPers Notice 1020 of 22 March 1978” allowing for jumper-style uniform purchase by those testing the new uniform. In July of the same year, U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations, 1978 came out permitting the rest of the fleet Seamen to Petty Officers Second Class the same. By 1984, The service collectively breathed a sigh of relief when the “Zummy uniform” finally was out for all.<br>
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But, the uniforms were not retired soon enough for the ESWS badge to be pinned on the above reefer.<br>
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<b>Surface Warfare Officer (top) & Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist badge (bottom) (subdued).</b><br>
U.S. Navy<br>
Single piece, solid construction.<br>
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries)<br>
Circa 2017.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJaEK9OQwZTY6uB5q25E0BhjC7b9f6-m7p733Ao5GLflhw8xDqFV-b361TjPjciHkdRrdlvymdW9DOwkQPdAVFAY9jy7UD6ZDYN2V8iacpRA2sKL_cNp2Xesm3Udk1TKXktNDn1ETggwA/s1600/swo-sub-obv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJaEK9OQwZTY6uB5q25E0BhjC7b9f6-m7p733Ao5GLflhw8xDqFV-b361TjPjciHkdRrdlvymdW9DOwkQPdAVFAY9jy7UD6ZDYN2V8iacpRA2sKL_cNp2Xesm3Udk1TKXktNDn1ETggwA/s320/swo-sub-obv.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSpjrWwEOPYcpK_CozRkEDuMcS9eMMWpNbuqS9SAY0s5Td_5o0Py5atHQ-lzCAJaT-O9azYkKwe0wFxXNXxXKq3RrCe6EaEz5OvfcNaa_COGk6IXy1161D7nA9BcJcYQ86B-Ope2fesA/s1600/esws-sub-obv.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSpjrWwEOPYcpK_CozRkEDuMcS9eMMWpNbuqS9SAY0s5Td_5o0Py5atHQ-lzCAJaT-O9azYkKwe0wFxXNXxXKq3RrCe6EaEz5OvfcNaa_COGk6IXy1161D7nA9BcJcYQ86B-Ope2fesA/s320/esws-sub-obv.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
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Both the officer and enlisted badges have subdued versions for wear in joint combat operations or attached to Fleet Marine Forces, in brown and black metal, respectively. In the U.S. Navy, rank insignia and the SWO/ESWS badge, gold becomes brown and silver black when subdued.<br>
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<b>Surface Warfare Officer (top) & Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist badge (bottom) (subdued) - reverse.</b><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65rz63cFhxz5NNMIFbC2egWNy762icKYQ33Kurc-7SDmQWxdGcnDtv7Soq7gFkSOLagPtgLLI0abC2r0onT7Z11ib3LzE-W0fGpPBpK8Kaz-QtEhexRJClB3voWEGncD3EdqQ0tvv7CQ/s1600/swo-sub-rev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65rz63cFhxz5NNMIFbC2egWNy762icKYQ33Kurc-7SDmQWxdGcnDtv7Soq7gFkSOLagPtgLLI0abC2r0onT7Z11ib3LzE-W0fGpPBpK8Kaz-QtEhexRJClB3voWEGncD3EdqQ0tvv7CQ/s320/swo-sub-rev.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNw2YjiLFhuDkRJ4qPHPeILLRYKn0X1cUL8Aasmnhzm3UD5sgSngN2VvvS7rekjW7PZijUFfqS-HYG26H9EuE-6Q7X9zz2EKcysk9zcVNsdnaeZfvOWtTbKOkeOh3qvF5VwprrRA8LF4/s1600/esws-sub-rev.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghNw2YjiLFhuDkRJ4qPHPeILLRYKn0X1cUL8Aasmnhzm3UD5sgSngN2VvvS7rekjW7PZijUFfqS-HYG26H9EuE-6Q7X9zz2EKcysk9zcVNsdnaeZfvOWtTbKOkeOh3qvF5VwprrRA8LF4/s320/esws-sub-rev.jpg" width="320"></a><br>
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<b><i>References</i></b><br>
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“<a href="http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah197304.pdf" target="_blank">Coming Soon... The New Uniforms.</a>” <i>All Hands</i>. 675 (April 1973), p 3-7.<br>
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“<a href="http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah197805.pdf" target="_blank">Jumper Style Uniform Guidance Provided.</a>” <i>All Hands</i>. 736 (May 1978), p 3.<br>
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“<a href="http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah197806.pdf" target="_blank">Traditional Uniform Returns to Navy.</a>” <i>All Hands.</i> 737 (June 1978), p 4.<br>
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James C. Bradford. <i>America, Sea Power, and the World</i>. John Wiley & Sons, 2015. see “Z-grams: Zumwalt’s Reforms” p 308<br>
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The New York Times & Clyde Haberman. “August 2, 1977: Navy Reviving Bell-Bottoms” in <i>New York Times The Times of the Seventies: The Culture, Politics, and Personalities that Shaped the Decade.</i> Running Press, Nov 12, 2013.<br>
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Rogers Worthington “<a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-07-05/news/8602170756_1_zumwalt-chief-of-naval-operations-navy-officials" target="_blank">Saluting A Return To Navy Tradition: To Rebellion And Back In A Decade.</a>” <i>Chicago Tribune</i>, July 05, 1986.<br>
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Thomas H. Lee, Jr. “<a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/12/7/blue-navy-pbjbohn-w-warner-secretary/" target="_blank">Blue Navy.</a>” <i>The Harvard Crimson</i>, December 7, 1972.<br>
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United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel. <i>U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations, 1978</i>. Department of Defense, Navy Department, Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1979.<br>
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United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel. <i>United States Navy Uniform Regulations, 1985</i>. Department of Defense, Navy Department, Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1985.<br>
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United States. Bureau of Naval Personnel. <i>U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations NAVPERS 15665I.</i> Department of Defense, Navy Department, Bureau of Naval Personnel, 2013.<br>
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United States. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. “Merchant Marine Reserve Program becomes Strategic Sealift Officer Program” <i>NNS110616-16</i> Release Date: 6/16/2011.<br>
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United States. <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4343116" target="_blank"><i>Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America 1941 Supplement Titles 46-50</i></a>. National Archives, Washington D.C., 1943.<br>
<br>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-71548875430425025052017-11-27T13:34:00.000-05:002017-11-28T09:54:57.686-05:00Becoming a Kings Pointer<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3T3QpH2n0ce6e8afm_dBQ9p3zQhRqmqyrWPro-emAXBWJ4weFfj9E7tTHYn9HWPSvDVVHIDvXeOBcWUJ_cV_rR1Z422rS6IIKfIHsADcYdRc2OGAIA19BtUgdDIth9vzZDI3pDfi4eA/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3T3QpH2n0ce6e8afm_dBQ9p3zQhRqmqyrWPro-emAXBWJ4weFfj9E7tTHYn9HWPSvDVVHIDvXeOBcWUJ_cV_rR1Z422rS6IIKfIHsADcYdRc2OGAIA19BtUgdDIth9vzZDI3pDfi4eA/s200/unnamed.jpg" width="150" /></a><b>Midshipman cap badge.</b><br />
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY.<br />
Single piece construction.<br />
Hallmark, V-21-N (Vanguard Industries).<br />
Circa 2006.</div>
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This is the first in a series of articles where I explore the culture of the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy Regiment of Midshipmen. This first post focuses on the process of a Midshipman Candidate becoming a Plebe Midshipmen, and finally a Fourth Class Midshipman.<br />
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A U.S. Merchant Marine Academy alumnus intimated to me there are no fraternities permitted at Kings Point but that midshipmen are all one fraternity. Yet within the ranks, there are subtle differences; the most telling comes in a midshipman’s final year. There are the “Gung Ho,” active duty commission-bound, and the industry-leaning ”Merchie bum.” who have decided, with a shrug and a hint of self-effacement, to “Go Merch.” A measure of pride among some was the assumption of an aloof status within Regiment as a Zombo. Over the next weeks, I spoke with the same alumnus and a current midshipman, and after my conversations with them, I reflected on the pride underpinning both statements and how the Regiment maintains itself with such seeming contradictory messages. I propose this dichotomy of signals within the ranks of the Regiment allows an escape valve of sorts for the academic and military rigors experienced by midshipmen from Day Zero to the moment they leap into Eldridge Pool for their final act as midshipmen in the class Change of Command ceremony.<br />
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Although government-run academies are repositories of the past, Kings Point does not operate in a vacuum. That being said, the administration and student body are insulated by the fact the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is a closed institution supporting a discrete function, outside factors often shake its timbers, yet it perseveres.<br />
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In the decade following the Second World War, demobilization brought with it the rapid Federal dismantling the workshops of war. In the maritime field, the U.S. allocated ships to its allies, scaled-back and canceled construction projects in shipyards, and cut training programs. Despite calls to the contrary, the newly ascendant Merchant Marine was not immune. The U.S. Maritime Administration Annual Report of 1954 notes closure of the last of the U.S. Maritime Service training facilities with the exception of Kings Point. Under Executive Order, the U.S. Maritime Administration actively purged its institutional memory of its wartime activities keeping only the essentials: 27,297 cubic feet of records were transferred to General Services Records Management Center, in Washington, D. C., 3,887 cubic feet were salvaged, and 5 cubic feet transferred to National Archives. The next year brought 12,524 cubic feet of records to General Services Records Management Center, New York, NY; 47,216 cubic feet were "salvaged." In effect the Government department largely responsible for U.S. gain during the war deleted itself.<br />
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Cognizant of potential future difficulties, in the waning days of the Second World War, the Academy administration lobbied Congress to place the Academy on the same footing as the other Service Academies. Academy efforts met with success; thus, as the Eisenhower administration demobilized and the U.S. Maritime Administration found its resources legislated out-of-existence, Kings Point gained recognition as both a permanent federal fixture and a degree-granting institution. The Academy weathered the upheavals of the Vietnam era - following the Regiment marching off-campus in protest to administrative procedures - which resulted in the abolition of the strict battalion system of Regimental governance. Equal rights reached Kings Point with the matriculation of female midshipmen - it was the first Service Academy to do so; the present day finds the Academy reflecting on sexual assault and protection of individuals as the Academy acts in the role of <i>in loco parentis.</i><br />
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The course of study has gradually changed from a purely vocational one to granting B.S. and M.S. degrees. This change represents a need for the Academy to honor its responsibility to provide students with opportunities for meaningful employment after graduation. Following industry trends, Kings Point innovated in maintaining relevance for its graduates. In the past, it provided training for students in nuclear physics to prepare them for a career in a nuclear-powered merchant fleet (an idea which floundered with the widely unsuccessful experiment in the form of the NS Savanna). The 1980s saw a dwindling U.S. merchant fleet with a smaller pool of available positions; to counter this, the Academy offered a dual certification program where a midshipman could study and sit for exams for either a Deck or Engineering license. At present, the Academy gives its students the opportunity to sail on a variety of ships and engage in industry internships to experience the multitude of positions potentially open to them upon graduation. Of course, the Merchant Marine being an auxiliary to the Department of Defense in a time of military conflict, enables Kings Pointers to join all branches of uniformed services. However, the rites and rituals of the Regiment remain relatively unchanged.<br />
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The Regiment has its origins in the United States Maritime Commission Corps of Cadets established by the U.S. Merchant Marine Act of 1936. The Corps of Cadets was instituted immediately after the creation of United States Maritime Commission with the express mission of educating maritime professionals in 1938. To fulfill this mission, The U.S. Maritime Commission established Cadet schools on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts. The USMCCC on the East Coast peregrinated along the Long Island Sound before finding a permanent home at Kings Point, New York in 1942. The primary purpose during this period was to supply trained junior Deck or Engineering officers to a rapidly expanding U.S. Merchant Marine fleet. As the Second World War progressed, ships slipped off their ways sometimes as quickly as three weeks of construction. A reported 2,700 vessels were launched, with some 1,554 sunk. With crews numbered at an average of 42, an estimated 120,000 people were needed – government records count 243,000 served all together. By war’s end, around 3,000 cadet-midshipmen found themselves at sea in one capacity or another.<br />
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The education midshipmen receive today at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy teaches them how to become both maritime professionals – be it shoreside or at sea – and auxiliaries of the U.S. Defense establishment. No longer a “fink factory” for junior officers, as labor unions once derided the Academy during the war, Kings Point prepares midshipmen for a rewarding career as maritime leaders. This education is grueling with the expectation of a midshipman to concurrently master technical certifications and mediate military regimentation. These two components are considered separate dominions, but the very nature of their military education in the form of the Regiment permeates every aspect of their tenure at the Academy: from how to live in their Spartan rooms to personal interactions as defined by a codified set of numbered regulations. For a non-uniformed visitor to the Academy, Sir or Ma’am is an unconscious honorific given by all midshipmen to those in their midst; it is a military courtesy extended by the Regiment to all within the confines of Kings Point.<br />
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The Regiment’s command structure acts as a leadership laboratory in which every upperclass midshipman is given the opportunity to lead in some capacity. This experience gives them a practical taste of running or participating in a rigid atmosphere as is common aboard merchant and military ships – the latter more rigid than the former. The stated goal of the Regiment’s leadership is to encourage a midshipman’s rise within the command structure with the eventuality of becoming a Regimental officer - the logical conclusion is to hold an appointment as the Regimental Commander or as a member of their staff. The noted exception is the jocular “Zombo” – a first classman who rates respect of their juniors, yet eschews both the status and opportunity for a leadership position within the Regiment. The Zombo takes their status outside the anointed Regimental spheres of power quite seriously and does the very least to keep their rank and rate, breezing through their last year beyond the reach of Regimental politics and responsibilities. The foil of the Zombo is the proverbial “Regcock.”<br />
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The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was born in the crucible of national emergency and came of age in a time of war. Its history speaks to how the Regiment’s structure is an evolving reflection of shipboard life seventy-five years ago. Unlike the U.S. Naval Academy, where teamwork is drilled into midshipmen to suppress individuality using close-order drill and sports, Kings Point cultivates the psychology of self-sufficiency and independent thinking. The culture that permeates the Academy is of community tempered with a can-do attitude. The ultimate test of an individual’s grit is through “Sea Year.” “Sea Year” is a bifurcated program where midshipmen third class and second class – or those in their second and third years of study, respectively – learn the ropes of the sea-borne maritime industry for two sailing periods of four months and eight months on commercial or government marine vessels. This singular experience, although ostensibly an apprenticeship – tests and congeals a midshipmen’s independence of spirit, and both ingrains and cultivates a strong sense of self. Upon their return from their first sailing, midshipmen are no longer the <i>prima materia</i> of their Plebe year and are notably changed and matured. Having experienced the isolation and beauty of maritime trade first hand, they understand the importance of bootstrapping common to the function of work aboard ships often underway for months at a time. In a word, they internalize their ultimate goals within the Regiment and proceed to become a Zombo or a Regcock. However, to earn the privilege of experiencing “Sea Year,” a midshipman must undergo the gauntlet of Indoctrination and Plebe year.<br />
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The Academy’s combined mission has created a unique culture within the Regiment where midshipmen function as a group and close ranks when challenged. This fraternity coalesces during the trials of a midshipman’s first year as a Plebe. Like members of other military academies, midshipmen undergo a period of indoctrination where they are molded into members of the Regiment and proceed along a track where every year brings them new responsibilities and opportunities. Simply put, the Regiment is a class-based system. Unlike other military schools, Kings Point midshipmen embrace the irregular, the ersatz, and the ironic. There may be a ribbon for “company cheer,” but on the other hand, the company that does the worst job keeps an oral tradition of being the worst; some companies revel in their unstated labels.<br />
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The first day of a Plebe Candidate – also known as a Candidate– at the Academy is called Processing Day. Upperclassmen succinctly refer to this day as “Day Zero” – a day on which a Candidate begins their figurative journey on the Regimental calendar as nothing. After signing in, and gathering their name plaques and blue backpacks, there is a mandatory head shaving for male Candidates (women do not undergo this humiliation) - symbolizing their status as a <i>tabula rasa</i> on which upperclass midshipmen will mold to fit into the Academy hierarchy. Lining up in the quadrangle outside Delano Hall, they officially enter a month known as Indoctrination. During this period, they no longer have a first name, and thus no individual identity. With the close of each day, a Candidate garners respect for their superiors and cultivates a keen desire to earn badges of Regimental identity. They also learn to recognize the gold crows and ladder bars on the upperclass trainers’ uniforms as signs of prestige and respect.<br />
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Despite the non-uniformed nature of the current U.S. Merchant Marine, Kings Point continues the tradition of uniforms as instituted in nautical schools of the past century. A uniform visual appearance is a crucial concept for Candidates to negotiate on Day Zero. After the Ships Store gives them a quick sizing up, they issue the Candidates a stack of uniform items. From this moment forward, Candidates no longer rate wearing civilian clothes. Beyond their khaki uniforms, the only clothes the Candidates wear are their exercise gear. The number of companies that comprise of the Battalion has ebbed and flowed over the course of the Academy’s history – seven at the height of the Second World War shrunk to five in 2016. As of this writing, the number is six. At Indoc, a Candidate’s shirt color specifies one of the five companies to which they are assigned. They are:<br />
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1st: Dark Green<br />
2nd: Light Blue<br />
3rd: Dark Blue<br />
4th: Maroon/Red<br />
5th: Neon Green<br />
Band: Yellow (before the 2017 academic year, Band wore black shirts)<br />
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Over the next month, they are drilled, PTed, and subject to the recollection of the contents of a section called “Plebe Knowledge” from a volume titled <i>Bearings</i> upon command. This slim volume acts as an orientation and reference for Candidates regarding the Regiment and their home for the next four years. <i>Bearings</i> first appeared immediately after the Second World War when Kings Point attempted to model itself on the precedent set by other U.S. Service academies; this type of indoctrination was pioneered by the U.S. Naval Academy in the 1930s as a means for reorienting and molding future naval officers. Beyond the recitation of facts from <i>Bearings</i>, Candidates and later Plebes, being subject to “personal correction” from the moment they wake at 5:00 am to lights out at 10:00 pm (0500-2200) was also a U.S. Naval Academy innovation.<br />
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The dropout rate is minimal during Indoc. A candidate understands the month is temporary and a necessary phase in their military education, despite the psychological shock of abandoning an often-comfortable middle-class life. They are taught the rigors of memorization, the hierarchy of Kings Point, and the overriding discipline of time management and importance of group cohesion. Often, an individual’s infractions or remedial performance is met with punishment for the entire group. It is in the group’s best interest to buoy its members for success - be it a clean head (lavatory) or for military appearance. To reinforce the dynamic of the group, Candidates eat, sleep, and perform ablutions together.<br />
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After a month as Plebe Candidates, the Candidates don khaki uniforms and attend a ceremony called Acceptance Day. On this day, they swear an oath and enter the ranks as Midshipmen USNR - or the more formal, midshipmen, Merchant Marine Reserve, United States Naval Reserve with the simultaneous status as Enlisted Reserve per Federal Code Title 46, Chapter II (10-1-16 Edition), Subchapter H, § 310.6b.3; the latter status is the mechanism by which the government ensures a service obligation from midshipmen who drop out of the program. At this moment they become Plebes at Kings Point. As noted, reaching this day was not without its challenges. During the dog days of summer, they reported to Kings Point in August. With them, they brought the barest of necessities: undergarments, exercise shoes, toilette articles, and a computer, all undergirded with a desire to succeed. This last point cannot be belabored more: this past summer a Candidate collapsed from heat exhaustion, having pushed themselves to the limit.<br />
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The Regiment builds itself around visuals. When a Plebe Candidate is sworn into the USNR, they are given analogs to the pins once known as USNR pins, now called Merchant Marine Midshipmen Identification pin. They also don the shoulder boards of a Plebe: a shoulder board with no ornamentation other than a Merchant Marine snap button - gold with an anchor flanked by a single star to the left and right. They are permitted to wear garrison covers and combination caps. The former without any insignia, and the latter with an anchor of the same design as that worn by midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.<br />
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In essence, the insignia worn by the Plebes indicate they enjoy a status where they could be called to active service with the U.S. Navy at a time of conflict. It also points out they are indeed at the lowest position within the Regiment’s hierarchy, ready to archive personal and group awards, and hold rank - if they so choose. Upperclassmen teach them that with each stripe comes privilege. The lack of insignia also points out they have no status as members of the Kings Point community - this is something they must achieve as a group.<br />
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As Plebes, midshipmen continue some of the rigors of Indoc and work toward Recognition. Recognition Day is when Plebes transition to the status of Midshipmen Fourth Class. It is an event organized by the Regiment’s training staff – those upperclassmen responsible for Plebe training – and only occurs when the Regiment as a whole considers the Plebe class as having satisfactorily exercised the spirit of being a Kings Pointer. This is evaluated by intangibles such as genuine enthusiasm during athletic events (of which all Plebes must attend), dormitory decoration, and demeanor. Recognition may happen as early as October or as late as March or April depending on their performance.<br />
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At the end of their first trimester in October, Plebes declare their course of interest and take on the moniker of either Deckie or Engineer by going “deck” or “engine”; the former is for midshipmen enrolled in a Deck course and the latter for future members of the black gang. Only on Recognition Day, they are given insignia denoting either: a fouled anchor for Deck or a three-bladed propeller for Engineering. They also trade-in their blank shoulder boards at Recognition specifying the same: anchor in a rope circle for Deck, and a propeller for Engineering. In the past, there was a Dual certification program where a midshipman could earn a certification as a Deck officer and an Engineering officer; its insignia was an anchor superimposed by a propeller. These insignias are not worn until Recognition; in the 1990s and early 2000s, the status of a Plebe having declared a major – regardless of Engineer or Deck – was denoted by shoulder boards they would wear for about a trimester – U.S.N.-style Fourth Class boards with a Maritime school snap button.</div>
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On Recognition Day comes new insignia for a Midshipman’s cover and collar. After the ceremony, Plebes become full members of the Regiment as Midshipmen Fourth Class and rate the opportunity wear both their class and course of study insignia. The insignia of a Midshipman Fourth Class is a fouled anchor – it has the same form as a miniature U.S.N. midshipman anchor – and it is pinned on both collars of their khaki shirt and left blouse of their garrison cover. Their course of study insignia goes on the right blouse of their garrison cover. The day after Recognition the new Midshipmen Fourth Class are issued their Kings Point cap badge for their combination cap - the badge is similar to the Plebe cap badge with the exception that in the cable’s lower loop, it has the seal of the U.S. Merchant Marine in miniature.<br />
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All the minute permutations in Candidate, Plebe, and finally Midshipman Fourth Class’ uniform appearance underscore their place within the hierarchy within the Kings Point Battalion. The ribbons on their chest denote group or individual awards, the anchor or prop reminds others as to their course of study, and the Merchant Marine Midshipmen Identification pin speaks to their community. After the experience of the ardors of their first year, midshipmen forge close friendships in the crucible of experience.<br />
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Special thanks are owed to Dr. Joshua Smith of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point and Interim Director of the American Merchant Marine Museum. He introduced me to B. Sturm and W. Kelley, two Kings Pointers who showed me the ropes and contributed greatly to this post; without their input, this post would never have happened.<br />
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For more images of Kings Point insignia over the years as well as an old copy of <i>Bearings</i>, please see images I have on the companion site to this:<br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/view/hawsepipe/kings-point?authuser=0">insignia of the regiment of midshipmen</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TNtcJ0pqeNzjtsZrieMpdoQzhqpwTwo_Fq2DNBKluZGC5fEkQp6QhvnebRIiY0VF-fjgiRcfJofDIl_WAARI5qE510eJrf2lWFOt_NLpB0x0Y08l2CwxVVQEZOoIXtNPLtKZgrlQrlg/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TNtcJ0pqeNzjtsZrieMpdoQzhqpwTwo_Fq2DNBKluZGC5fEkQp6QhvnebRIiY0VF-fjgiRcfJofDIl_WAARI5qE510eJrf2lWFOt_NLpB0x0Y08l2CwxVVQEZOoIXtNPLtKZgrlQrlg/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Midshipman cap badge. Stay-Brite. This is worn by Midshipmen after Recognition Day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJez6U8ZLEzpTR_f_slpBzp7WZ77BkUiBKE6OHve3RlhKUWfdYnpY47kQ_niiCkqe1Hml4w4vSvYh635OQGMViLps-mGUvAyMefA0Gz7WrJ80ETvrz_y7D9HMNqthD57wuj57TiAW11o/s1600/unnamed+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJez6U8ZLEzpTR_f_slpBzp7WZ77BkUiBKE6OHve3RlhKUWfdYnpY47kQ_niiCkqe1Hml4w4vSvYh635OQGMViLps-mGUvAyMefA0Gz7WrJ80ETvrz_y7D9HMNqthD57wuj57TiAW11o/s320/unnamed+%25281%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Midshipman cap badge, circa 1940s. This is a holder image until I photograph the current cap badge in Stay-Brite. It is from the U.S. Naval Academy and is worn by U.S.N. Midshipmen and U.S.M.M.A. Midshipmen. The design has remained unchanged for the past 75 years. This is worn on a Plebe's combination cap prior to Recognition Day.<br />
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Name plaque, circa 1980s. Like those worn by U.S. Navy chief petty, warrant, and commissioned officer, Kings Point issues name plaques with the unit's seal. ZIGGY is an affectionate term given to a member of the football team who is able to weave with finesse through defensive lines.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglTLhdLtDjk821ums4ut06bKALjJ7S0IDj_SBw6QJgwF6vpdpffZbnobitKnpxoWf3o6HoNIpCAFES1rYnhJKN36QIxsQVfUvLgVqOeJChWxFQmlAWoaHr5rOnn3hEZ4mfoQprTFsK2Rw/s1600/unnamed+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglTLhdLtDjk821ums4ut06bKALjJ7S0IDj_SBw6QJgwF6vpdpffZbnobitKnpxoWf3o6HoNIpCAFES1rYnhJKN36QIxsQVfUvLgVqOeJChWxFQmlAWoaHr5rOnn3hEZ4mfoQprTFsK2Rw/s320/unnamed+%25282%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Midshipman Fourth Class insignia, circa 1980s.<br />
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Deck program course of study pin, circa 2007.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjx8N4o_evLYjq3Mozo-hNSd1VLf2g8xNNtrOZs5wj2kWMV6PuxXkeMBM_yyzF-PCNUf65a-nxkhhIOgTVdESoP2IDKXRDu0kTlNr5Fbi_E2h_C_6IlOVKftxItSIi1vZAntb_Zhnmb3Q/s1600/unnamed+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjx8N4o_evLYjq3Mozo-hNSd1VLf2g8xNNtrOZs5wj2kWMV6PuxXkeMBM_yyzF-PCNUf65a-nxkhhIOgTVdESoP2IDKXRDu0kTlNr5Fbi_E2h_C_6IlOVKftxItSIi1vZAntb_Zhnmb3Q/s320/unnamed+%25285%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Plebe hard shoulder boards, circa 2017.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Fff2MsnyhLkuWnXC1SQzOHZFs7-05dgmnKKrZJ5Rs6DUWr0Rwqt2CDCipk8TKQgnVCHVHPLGjaRNISaYPWDN1dBa_tjorS6zASA28xSgRrX3c-MQkD1YizQoAMXiid5mZozYkD4iUgo/s1600/unnamed+%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Fff2MsnyhLkuWnXC1SQzOHZFs7-05dgmnKKrZJ5Rs6DUWr0Rwqt2CDCipk8TKQgnVCHVHPLGjaRNISaYPWDN1dBa_tjorS6zASA28xSgRrX3c-MQkD1YizQoAMXiid5mZozYkD4iUgo/s320/unnamed+%25286%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Plebe hard shoulder boards denoting a course of study has been decided, circa late 1990s-early 2000s. Unlike U.S.N.A. and N.R.O.T.C. Fourth Class should boards, the position of the anchor is off-center and the snap-button is of the Maritime School-type. This particular button was introduced in the mid-1940s as a catch-all for civilian mariners. to wear on their caps and coats if they were not members of or did not wish to wear the insignia of the U.S. Maritime Service. These same buttons were also worn by mariners whose companies did not have a defined button in the catalog of corporate livery.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1dtytfBk8wubxkJKrWByh05lKw_iFNm7kXZ1i80JvsBMbTalLXdKccx3hlcRXAbNhN183W23yIbnjNpzBBNzggckuJBY-l-5AuN-bv7cyG76LQ0iWqb86atJqIodj5OqPEC-yEahU2M/s1600/unnamed+%25287%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1dtytfBk8wubxkJKrWByh05lKw_iFNm7kXZ1i80JvsBMbTalLXdKccx3hlcRXAbNhN183W23yIbnjNpzBBNzggckuJBY-l-5AuN-bv7cyG76LQ0iWqb86atJqIodj5OqPEC-yEahU2M/s320/unnamed+%25287%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Midshipman Fourth Class, Deck Program hard shoulder boards, circa 1990s.</div>
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ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-2272360973957186962017-11-08T13:08:00.001-05:002017-12-22T12:53:30.362-05:00Cenotaphs and Cemeteries<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlbI4mnoKwkaGNzKPebr9IhpOHOrYF90hYdUqEhD7BJeFQAAp3UZbNuDsTMSDLpmzCTrNdgyv9qiWbGZWTn7kN0oWHAuMfnzqda-cSjeeAt9DQomoSSfy800LD94UaLh6ybvgH2109B0/s1600/IMG_8590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlbI4mnoKwkaGNzKPebr9IhpOHOrYF90hYdUqEhD7BJeFQAAp3UZbNuDsTMSDLpmzCTrNdgyv9qiWbGZWTn7kN0oWHAuMfnzqda-cSjeeAt9DQomoSSfy800LD94UaLh6ybvgH2109B0/s200/IMG_8590.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Maquette, American Merchant Mariners' Memorial</b><br />
Clay and painted wood.<br />
Artist: Marisol (Marisol Escobar)<br />
Located at: American Merchant Marine Museum.<br />
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“The men of our merchant marine form the essential link between the home front and the millions of men in the armed forces overseas. These men, although relatively few in number – around 180,000 – performed an heroic task in delivering the goods. I am informed that since their first casualties, three months before Pearl Harbor, more than 5,800 have died, are missing, or have become prisoners of war while carrying out their assigned duties. … [T]hese men may feel that they are the forgotten men of war. They are not. They deserve and receive from all of us thanks for the job they’ve done.”<br />
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FDR's Christmas greeting to the U.S. Merchant Marine, 1944.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/albums/72157623839610398/page2/" target="_blank">I visited Gold Beach</a> near the commune of Arromanches in Normandy on a chilly spring morning. The beach was deserted and serene in its stone silence. A brisk breeze kept all except the bravest of seagulls away. The sun, the wisps of clouds, and the shadowy remnants of an artificial harbor demanded reflection. Beyond the stalwart concrete caissons lie the bones of a group of sixty ships known as the Derelict Convoy who acted as the breakwaters that made the Normandy landings possible. Without the fearless devotion of their skeleton merchant crews, the landings would have failed.</div>
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Turning around, I crouched low on the sand and looked to the bluffs overhead, thinking of all those who lost their lives on the same beach almost seven decades prior. I imagined for many a young man this same gentle beach was their last sight: grains of sand in front, blue sky above, and churning seas behind – all colored by adrenaline static as fear spiked their guts. And many of them died, an estimated 1,100, on this beach in a single day. Local legend claims faint red leeches into the channel, markedly visible after a storm. I climbed aboard a Land Rover and toured the broken and twisted remnants of the concrete emplacements tasked with sentinel duty over the seaside. They stood perched on their cliffs as gaping sockets naked to the elements. Later that same day, I walked among a field of white grave makers and was lost among the names of so many taken too soon. I was moved by the silence of the place and of the sea. It was harrowing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-wTKW_SwJcQs1xANDXxKqOnqYKicQVNCtwDLDBj3XRr97_TsiuhHc_2Tj9xqmuPnPg9X_wQU4bvVASU0LcfYJrsJAQP9Fovd93zhgxfkGKa4EPtpkrjK1Weqd8SeT57MYtD2Y4Y2KNA/s1600/IMG_0296.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-wTKW_SwJcQs1xANDXxKqOnqYKicQVNCtwDLDBj3XRr97_TsiuhHc_2Tj9xqmuPnPg9X_wQU4bvVASU0LcfYJrsJAQP9Fovd93zhgxfkGKa4EPtpkrjK1Weqd8SeT57MYtD2Y4Y2KNA/s320/IMG_0296.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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Across the ocean, at the tip of Manhattan Island, rests a cenotaph and sculpture in memory of the sailors and mariners who perished in the Atlantic during the Second World War. It is the East Coast Memorial. Unlike the Normandy American Cemetery, the solemnity of the memorial seemed lost on those around me. Summer was coming, and vendors were out with hot dogs and frozen treats. Everyone was rushing to queue up for the ferry to take them to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Purists among us may call for hushed silence upon seeing such a memorial. However, the ultimate sacrifice of the few was so that we may live and go about our concerns without fear. And there, the names of the dead persist in direct view, in the background, stalwart and barely reflected upon by those who pass by.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFjgTlrkfZUMrER0fBAtMTdLWFVt1UC45hrSaVAKIrWhJi7kBs8fzdVX88ZyYPdHqUz5YMkqN5L48PMBsEochSEoKZz4fnW_fvZl6e03JEd-jXeUWY-kzd5pD5aXcmGkw5cpUn8wdJbw/s1600/IMG_7575.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFjgTlrkfZUMrER0fBAtMTdLWFVt1UC45hrSaVAKIrWhJi7kBs8fzdVX88ZyYPdHqUz5YMkqN5L48PMBsEochSEoKZz4fnW_fvZl6e03JEd-jXeUWY-kzd5pD5aXcmGkw5cpUn8wdJbw/s320/IMG_7575.JPG" width="236" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyWYfw4l_t5F4RNQGfKdPFQObHAlySx2EPKuoZPOV1SjM2PCF4fRlu8iJuJl4lu9SP59_IrHyp2CIiEXJTagLm0dYHeSWLuQOp3HDApGdUbSnwP8E6qlX1sCD1CKxPGtXOOHjs1PknuSY/s1600/IMG_7579+%2528Edited%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyWYfw4l_t5F4RNQGfKdPFQObHAlySx2EPKuoZPOV1SjM2PCF4fRlu8iJuJl4lu9SP59_IrHyp2CIiEXJTagLm0dYHeSWLuQOp3HDApGdUbSnwP8E6qlX1sCD1CKxPGtXOOHjs1PknuSY/s320/IMG_7579+%2528Edited%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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President Kennedy debuted the memorial eighteen years after the close of the Second World War. The pylons of the memorial, acting as a cenotaph, are comprised of several slabs flanking two sides of a black eagle. The eagle is poised for flight above a wave and grasps a wreath of olive branches. Names and ranks of the dead are carved deep into the stone in orderly rows. Absent from the memorial are the names of the many merchant seamen who perished in the wartime Atlantic. As almost an afterthought, a tablet, placed on the eagle’s pedestal is engraved with the following:</div>
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1941 * * * * 1945<br />
ADDITION TO THE 4,597 AMERICAN SERVICEMEN HONORED HERE / WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN HER SERVICE AND / WHO SLEEP IN THE AMERICAN COASTAL WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN / THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / HONORS THE 6,185 SEAMEN OF THE UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE / AND THE 529 SEAMEN OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY TRANSPORT SERVICE / WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DURING WORLD WAR II</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76HyXMovOwuyHYrMUYAP5lUcExvuapme6MaJYTCBszXMTRx0vplVNPbQJcTmnIe0iM4BJQainJ2qSsNwQkU0GCv2VpRf0m6WW7xMNoXFcY_Hc7AMdsPyxJ4wmr8-3UznR1YaBJOC0Sog/s1600/IMG_7577+%2528Edited%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76HyXMovOwuyHYrMUYAP5lUcExvuapme6MaJYTCBszXMTRx0vplVNPbQJcTmnIe0iM4BJQainJ2qSsNwQkU0GCv2VpRf0m6WW7xMNoXFcY_Hc7AMdsPyxJ4wmr8-3UznR1YaBJOC0Sog/s320/IMG_7577+%2528Edited%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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A stone’s throw from the imposing and sterile war monument, another, more visceral and emotional monument faces the City. It honors the Merchant Mariner. The president of AFL-CIO, Joseph Lane Kirkland – himself a Kings Pointer – conceived of an idea to commission a monument that would pay homage to the generations of Merchant Mariners who were pressed into the service of the nation. He gained the support of a fellow classmate, then superintendent of the Merchant Marine Academy, Rear Admiral Thomas A. King. He had a similar idea and wished to create a national monument. Combined, their ideas coalesced and became the national American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial. After holding a nation-wide competition, a maquette submitted by Marisol moved the jury. Instead of creating a work in an impersonal, heroic Greco Deco style, she chose a personal, almost accusatory rendition of four merchant seamen alone on a floundering lifeboat.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQvztbm6YTduqNh-eHmWpnIo91617ikZ9EZzv9H4FH88wUXYWKJUkuTF-MkmBTHcynPzPDjwo4RlscVYE78hRA0j_RD_dUo2zkA2mjmjLJtz96FXUWu7-H3W7n4v0EyPKoW8DOC1CyHls/s1600/IMG_8590.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQvztbm6YTduqNh-eHmWpnIo91617ikZ9EZzv9H4FH88wUXYWKJUkuTF-MkmBTHcynPzPDjwo4RlscVYE78hRA0j_RD_dUo2zkA2mjmjLJtz96FXUWu7-H3W7n4v0EyPKoW8DOC1CyHls/s320/IMG_8590.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unlike somber pride represented by the East Coast Memorial, this work evokes the terror and gnawing helplessness felt by many of those who were torpedoed, abandoned ship, and whose fate was left to the capricious sea. Twice a day the body of one of the figures is swallowed by the harbor and is frozen in desperation, just beyond the grasp of his struggling comrade; one shouts out to the viewer, calling for an act of compassion to deliver his shipmates from a certain death; while another is on his knees, impassive and staring toward those who abandoned him. Kirkland spoke at the monument’s installation in 1991, saying it is: “a fitting remembrance dedicated to those merchant seamen who gave their lives in defense of the love of democracy that Americans share with the citizens of other free nations around the world.”</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7HHDJ2VDRsjK-QIVxjQ1kb9togrClb6K17naixr9i9UiQPmIAP86l8v_9f0-gCAUjdsIJ4vVMSdrMD4QiPGhucWWKlmLQY4WaormulNAAW0-JcLGcWxBNhxOut_ECItI0WwHtImVr_0/s1600/CIMG8877.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7HHDJ2VDRsjK-QIVxjQ1kb9togrClb6K17naixr9i9UiQPmIAP86l8v_9f0-gCAUjdsIJ4vVMSdrMD4QiPGhucWWKlmLQY4WaormulNAAW0-JcLGcWxBNhxOut_ECItI0WwHtImVr_0/s320/CIMG8877.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXH9IQvXxJccXGcpzU6s3HVQfqD5aHqE1QqzCiX9XL5lBPW4wwqVCe4jvuNM4v-GxKs5-90_5_JCh2WVUig_qPG8PyiTqOaL77c8rhhP6y9bpNGmk3YONoNorPlmwqRuHqntQtA6bA68/s1600/IMG_7587+%2528Edited%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXH9IQvXxJccXGcpzU6s3HVQfqD5aHqE1QqzCiX9XL5lBPW4wwqVCe4jvuNM4v-GxKs5-90_5_JCh2WVUig_qPG8PyiTqOaL77c8rhhP6y9bpNGmk3YONoNorPlmwqRuHqntQtA6bA68/s320/IMG_7587+%2528Edited%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsP5MsrGov6sK34k7G916pzpyKrPIZT7rIjVDA_-w81D3TQ8JyufilunWuuf0B3Z9JI5PG4YRefqHyRa91RajgTOia6GM9cXmx_-z_zngAxsmLAWK2lePbXJ-k4tgPXON78Xdw2_GYM4/s1600/CIMG8883.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsP5MsrGov6sK34k7G916pzpyKrPIZT7rIjVDA_-w81D3TQ8JyufilunWuuf0B3Z9JI5PG4YRefqHyRa91RajgTOia6GM9cXmx_-z_zngAxsmLAWK2lePbXJ-k4tgPXON78Xdw2_GYM4/s320/CIMG8883.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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It is the most visceral of statues I have ever encountered and is all the more powerful since it was based on the plight of the survivors of the SS <i>Muskogee</i>. Standard practice among U-Boat crews was to wait for identifying debris from their victims or query any survivors after a torpedoing to mark their score in their reports; in this case, the commander of the U-Boat who sank SS<i> Muskogee</i> took a series of snapshots for propaganda purposes of the ship and the remanants of her crew. The snapshots surfaced decades after the war and reached the eyes of the son of one of those who was aboard the ship; in them he saw the last image of his father alive. He later tracked down the commander to learn the story of his father’s death; afterward, he distributed the image, hoping to identify the others on the life raft in an effort to provide closure for their families. The image made it into the hands of Marisol at the time of the competition for the design of American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial; she never rendered a sculpture like it prior or since.</div>
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Naval warfare in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres of war, as cruel as it was, was still prosecuted by professionals and governed by tradition. As heartless as the abandonment of the survivors of the SS <i>Muskogee</i> may seem, the German commander told the son that he did come alongside and gave the survivors water, rations, and smokes – a final act of gentlemanly courtesy to tide them over until their rescue. He further explained he was unable to take survivors since his already cramped boat had no room. In the Pacific, survivors often met capture, torture, or death by machine-gun, as the record shows.</div>
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Captain Arthur R. Moore writes in the opening of his exhaustive study of American ship losses, <i>A Careless Word – a Needless Sinking</i>, he could not describe the emotions of the survivors who sat in lifeboats watching potential rescue ships pass them by in plain sight. Marisol did this flawlessly. For those merchant seamen who returned, young in years but made old through the horrors of war, Vice Admiral Emery Scott Land addressed them on Maritime Day, May 23, 1945:</div>
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“Very few people in this country realize the hardships men of the Maritime Service have withstood so far in this war. Many of you have been torpedoed and been thrown into the water of the North Atlantic, in the middle of the winter. Many have seen their shipmates killed by explosions, collisions at sea, taken prisoners by submarine and in many instances have seen practically entire convoys wiped out by enemy action. Some of you have probably been afloat on a life-raft in the tropics and practically burned to a crisp and almost passed out because of thirst. Some of you have been aboard ships which cracked and fell apart, and most of you know how it feels to return from Europe via the North Atlantic in the winter, with only ballast in the lower holds. For my money the men of the Maritime Service deserve a lot more credit for the job they have done, than the credit they have received.”</blockquote>
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Official reports state war conditions resulted in the loss of 1,586 United States-flag merchant ships and marine casualties during the Second World War. Postwar researchers tabulate the number as 1,768. Nevertheless, U.S. Maritime Commission estimates cover the period spanning from the sinking of the SS <i>City of Rayville</i> after striking a mine on November 8, 1940, to May 8, 1945 – V-E Day. The bulk of the tonnage was accounted for by 570 ships lost from direct war causes; a balance of 984 was lost in marine casualties resulting from convoy operations, reduced aids to navigation, and blackouts; other losses include 32 U. S. flag vessels that were not sunk in combat, but scuttled by their own crews to form the artificial harbors for the Allied invasion of Normandy.</div>
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The destruction of ships by the enemy resulted in a heavy loss of life. “Merchant Marine Casualty List No. 30,” from October 1945 – and the last of the Second World War – brought the United States Merchant Marine casualties reported to next of kin during the period from September 27, 1941, to June 30, 1945, to a total of 6,059 individuals, which breaks down as follows: Dead 4,830; missing, 794; prisoners of war, 435.</div>
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American merchant seamen, although they did not share the uniforms of military combatants, were killed, imprisoned, and imperiled just the same. The War Manpower Commission steadfastly maintained the Federal mandate that the U.S. Merchant Marine functioned “as an auxiliary to the armed forces and [bore] the heavy responsibility for deploying troops […], for moving supplies […], for bringing American troops home and for providing the food and machinery required in the rehabilitation of Europe.” The Roosevelt administration understood the militarized nature of the work American merchant seamen did, and as recognition of being erstwhile agents of the Federal government, the War Shipping Administration provided them with small tokens of appreciation throughout the final years of the Second World War in the form of ribbons and medals. The final thank you was a Victory Medal. After the Merchant Marine’s institution of a pyramid of honor by the War Shipping Administration, this medal was the bookend to wartime awards.</div>
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To this day, the last surviving Merchant Marine veterans are fighting for recognition from Congress for their sacrifices and to be placed on a similar footing with others who fought and sacrificed their lives for the greater good. As they slowly die of old age, the American merchant seaman’s role continues unrewarded and mostly unrecognized. Despite government praise at the time of the war, the unspoken compact between the Federal government and all those who volunteered at the government’s behest were abandoned. Unlike their uniformed peers, who were granted education benefits, medical treatment, and low-interest loans, irrespective of whether they faced the enemy or not, merchant seamen who survived the war received nothing except for a mealy-mouthed citation and few bits of colored cloth. These tokens did not provide them with a living, only a hollow thanks. The greatest award was intangible – they survived.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVc9fDXHC7AJ0UjfZ9ydecnFgj02U98ipZ3ZwlV6r2HA6HKvAAXbjVlixu2E-yjbfyDBD6JbYQf5SD7CyA10g_RYRJyB0XNdSFOs-2SgjEc_HdUgxA55pX1cs8lRC-dqRBJBRb0T4uUXg/s1600/4516719464_cec9122cd7_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVc9fDXHC7AJ0UjfZ9ydecnFgj02U98ipZ3ZwlV6r2HA6HKvAAXbjVlixu2E-yjbfyDBD6JbYQf5SD7CyA10g_RYRJyB0XNdSFOs-2SgjEc_HdUgxA55pX1cs8lRC-dqRBJBRb0T4uUXg/s320/4516719464_cec9122cd7_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Special thanks are owed to Dr. Joshua Smith of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point and Interim Director of the American Merchant Marine Museum. He opened the Museum's collections to me and there I discovered Marisol’s maquette which in turn formed the genesis of this post.<br /><br />The Normandy photos are from a trip to France I went on with my family. One evening my Grandfather Willard told me he had a Z-Card. This post is for him. </div>
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<b><i>References</i></b></div>
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Division of Public Relations, U.S. Maritime Commission. “Derelict Convoy.” <i>Victory Fleet</i>, Vol III no. 17 Oct 23, 1944, pp 1-</div>
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Division of Public Relations, U.S. Maritime Commission. “Gallant Ghosts.” <i>Victory Fleet</i>, Vol III no. 19 Nov 6, 1944, pp 1-3</div>
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Roosevelt, Franklin. “Christmas Greeting.” <i>The Master, Mate, and Pilot</i>, Vol. 8, No. 1 Jan 1945.</div>
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<i>The Master, Mate, and Pilot</i>, Vol. 8, no. 7 July 1945, p 9.</div>
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“Merchant Marine Casualty List No. 30.” <i>The Master, Mate, and Pilot</i>, Vol. 8, no. 10, Oct 1945, p. 8.</div>
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Moore, Arthur R. <i>A Careless Word – a Needless Sinking: A History of the Staggering Losses Suffered by the U.S. Merchant Marine, both in Ships and Personnel, during World War II</i>. American Merchant Marine Museum, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY, 1998.</div>
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ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-29057912430824037292017-09-08T13:51:00.001-04:002017-09-08T14:28:14.566-04:00From a trunk in Bayonne, New Jersey<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGx8M2Xk4u6FC-teptH_42PLxlRo0u7lUgar1r12tNlCjn2Xa6jOMVoIc3kpb4aSi7U1JoVJN2NlxaNFxvbpstyMy2nI5ctGUVU8qK3ISuUg6c_tOgnOYyyUZWxQc-wQ7Zjog1SFZwDgk/s1600/IMG_8011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGx8M2Xk4u6FC-teptH_42PLxlRo0u7lUgar1r12tNlCjn2Xa6jOMVoIc3kpb4aSi7U1JoVJN2NlxaNFxvbpstyMy2nI5ctGUVU8qK3ISuUg6c_tOgnOYyyUZWxQc-wQ7Zjog1SFZwDgk/s400/IMG_8011.JPG" width="400" /></a><b>United States Lines licensed officer cap badge, 1929-1931.</b><br />
Woven in silk and bullion. On a wool backing.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In an old trunk in Bayonne, this cap badge was found. The finder was unsure what it was or why it was there. It was among "junk"; that is: scraps of old clothes, balled up newspapers, and the like.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is a second pattern and short-lived USL officer's cap badge. Another example is at the <a href="http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_1003.html" target="_blank">Smithsonian</a>. The Smithsonian's dates for use are incorrect. Another pattern cap badge was used prior to this from 1921-1929, and it was of the USL house flag (red USL over a blue field).<br /><br />A post illustrating all the cap badge changes of the United States Lines from its inception to the launch of the SS United States is in the works.<br /></span>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-15731256894231387232017-06-28T16:02:00.002-04:002017-07-17T13:46:03.340-04:00"Firmitas adversaria superat" and "Alt for Norge"<div class="MsoNormal tr_bq">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrpMH4u6dveYaP7G5ct6v0d38yyXaVK_xm9OAnw2pNw_T-MCJ8hnvirycTUPdROJ4T9erLU-WQwUiEDdvbLCf1dzBfhvqYfQf_Kn0NABV-Dx32yyUAJr_60NDL9O6BXT-vg2wln95qhU/s1600/victory-norwar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1594" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrpMH4u6dveYaP7G5ct6v0d38yyXaVK_xm9OAnw2pNw_T-MCJ8hnvirycTUPdROJ4T9erLU-WQwUiEDdvbLCf1dzBfhvqYfQf_Kn0NABV-Dx32yyUAJr_60NDL9O6BXT-vg2wln95qhU/s200/victory-norwar.JPG" width="198" /></a></div>
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<b>Second World War U.S. Merchant Marine ribbons and two medals.</b></div>
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USMM Victory Medal.<br />
Norway War Medal.<br />
USMM Combat Bar.<br />
USMM Defense Bar.<br />
USMM Atlantic War Zone Bar.</div>
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Late Second World War and Postwar era.</div>
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Uniformed members of the U.S. Armed Services wear an array of ribbons on their chests. The small strips of cloth denote personal decorations, commendation ribbons for units, campaign medals, and foreign awards. Each ribbon has a specific place depending upon precedence and may have devices for additional awards or added significance. Not surprisingly, these ribbon racks speak to the career of the wearer as an ersatz professional résumé. However, it was not always this way.<o:p></o:p><br />
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At the outset of the Second World War, the military establishment had a paucity of awards it granted to its service members. As the war progressed, the War and Navy Departments redefined and reordered the "pyramid of honor", and behind Executive Orders or Acts of Congress, struck medals and badges, and awarded a small array of ribbons for members of the armed services for service in a total war with no end in sight. <o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the more curious developments in building the pyramid was awarding campaign ribbons before the cessation of hostilities. Unlike the Victory Medal’s suspension ribbon from the Great War that held campaign bars, or inter-war medals themselves for expeditions both domestic and overseas, the Second World War saw ribbons granted for participation or presence in various regional theaters of war media res. Only after the end of the Second World War did the government strike distribute medal-replacements for the ribbons in the late 1940s.<o:p></o:p></div>
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During the waning years of the Second World War, U.S. Merchant Marine seamen were also honored by the federal government by a handful of awards. They were not founded concurrently as those of the armed services, rather came as an afterthought. Some decorations awarded to merchant seamen found an analog in the armed services, such as medals for distinguished and meritorious services, and the Mariner's Medal for war wounds. There were also emergency service and theater ribbons - the latter called bars. Unlike the military's strict order of precedence, seamen wore Merchant Marine campaign ribbons in the order of award – or region sailed. The U.S. Merchant Marine had two unique awards: the Combat Bar and Gallant Ship Citation Bar. The former was granted if the mariner was present on a ship under attack and a silver star was affixed if the seaman was forced to abandoned ship. The latter was a unit award for a ship that stood out among all others in a time of crisis. There was no provision for merchant seamen to wear foreign decorations. Only in 1992 were the campaign bars converted into medals – some forty-seven years after the armistice, and only then several years after Congressional approval.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, the U.S. Merchant Marine was not a uniformed service and ribbons, and medals were not trotted out unless the mariner happened to be an officer on shore or perhaps in the rare ceremonial function.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The ribbon rack and a pair of medals illustrated in this post, although at first glance tells not so an uncommon story of a merchant seaman, further analysis brings quite a surprise.</div>
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The left-most ribbon is for combat action, and the star signifies the enemy hit the seaman’s vessel and he was forced to abandon ship. The middle ribbon bar is for "Merchant Marine Defense." It was awarded to individuals who sailed during Roosevelt's declaration of a state of national emergency up to the formal entry of the U.S. into the war. The last ribbon is for sailing in the Atlantic for more than thirty days during the war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The story the ribbons tell is that the seaman was a career Able Seaman and worked through the Depression or perhaps signed up just as the war in Europe became hot. He was probably in an Atlantic convoy, and his ship was attacked either on convoy or steaming along the East Coast during when U-Boat commanders called “The Happy Time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The medals give us more insight. On the left is a Merchant Marine Victory Medal. It was awarded for participation in the war and was issued a year after the end of hostilities. This means the Mariner remained in the industry on and did not immediately go to a shoreside profession. On the right is a medal that vexed me for over seven years. I always thought it was one of those tokens a serviceman might pick up overseas. Usually, war-tokens brought back after those of the enemy – perhaps an Iron Cross or a patch. This medal is unusual because it was not from an Axis power – rather an Ally. In this case, Norway.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When I first received the lot, I asked if the seller had any information regarding provenance. There were no photo albums, military, or personally identifying items that came with it. The seller said no, it came from a storage unit clean-out. I followed up and asked if the seaman was from Norway. The answer came back with a cagey no, it belonged to an uncle who sailed in the War. <o:p></o:p>I put the items in my collection with a shrug. I was happy to have a ribbon with the star and wondered what stories the mariner could tell if he were still alive and willing – most seamen did not talk about their wartime experiences, and for good reason.</div>
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In the years that followed, I began looking closer at Atlantic convoys. Recently, I came across an interview with a radioman who was on the <i>SS Henry Bacon</i> and how he was awarded a medal by the King of Norway for rescuing nineteen Norwegian refugees of the Island of Sørøya in 1945. I saw an image of his medal, and it looked familiar. I thought this can not be. I dug through various online and print sources and saw that the medal clasp was period Spink's and not a postwar production. I couldn’t believe it.<br />
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Although I do not have ironclad proof the group is from a survivor, the only other possible way examples of the medal could find itself into an American Merchant Marine collection would be if it were awarded to a Norwegian Merchant seaman who first served on a Norwegian ship and then a U.S. vessel – it did happen. This wasn't the case.</div>
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A retired merchant mariner describes the events of February 23, 1945 surrounding the award of the medal far better than I am able:*<o:p></o:p></div>
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[…] I went to another Liberty Ship [<i>SS Henry Bacon</i> in 1944]. The first trip, we went to England, Italy, France, Belgium and Holland. Then we came back to the states – Boston – and loaded up ammunition and locomotives for Murmansk, Russia. We went from Boston to Halifax, joined the convoy, went to England, then we headed north up around Norway and to the Russian winter port at Murmansk.<br />
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In Murmansk while they were unloading, everyday just like clockwork Germans would come and strafe the harbor. Before we left they put 20 Norwegian civilians on our ship. They were being sent to England. As soon as we left the harbor, the Germans started sinking the ships. They sank three of them before we even got out.<br />
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We ran into one of the most severe storms ever recorded in the area. It was so strong that the barometer’s chart paper didn’t go low enough to track the pressure. Winds of over 130 miles an hour; 45 to 60 degrees below zero. We lost the convoy. The rough seas sheared the steel pins holding the main springs on the steering mechanism. We had no steering capacity. We put the pins back in, and every time the ship would try to make a turn, we’d hammer on the pins to keep the springs in place. Our Captain thought we were ahead of the convoy, so he turned around and doubled back for 60 miles. He couldn’t find the convoy, so he turned and decided to go back again on the same route. That was when they hit us – on February 23, about 1500 hours, with twin-engine torpedo bombers – JU-88s.</blockquote>
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They were looking for the main convoy. They couldn’t find it because the storm was so bad. Twenty-three of them hit us. We shot down several of their aircraft. They dropped torpedoes and the gunners where able to shoot them in the water before they hit the ship. But one got by and it hit between the steering engine and number five hatch – that’s where the rear explosive hatch is. We sank in less than an hour.<br />
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I was one of the first ones in the water. I was told I’m in the British Naval medical journals as the longest survivor during World War II in the Artic water – over two hours in 45 below zero weather.</blockquote>
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My Chief Engineer had ordered me to cut loose one of the lifeboats with a fire axe because the cables were frozen. But the sea hit me, and took me and the life boat right over the side. I came up under the life boat. It had hit me on the back of the neck and knocked me out. I had to kick off my sea boots in the tangle of lines in the water, and somehow I rolled the life boat upright. How I did it, I don’t know. Witnesses who saw me do it couldn’t say how I did it by myself. I don’t know to this day.</blockquote>
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I found a life ring floating by and grabbed that. Another of our crew held on to it too, and we caught an unconscious Navy armed guard, put him between us, and locked him in with our feet. He survived. The crew at the time was 48 people, not counting the armed guard. We lost, I think, 27 of our crew. We saved the 20 Norwegians without a loss; that’s why we were cited by the King of Norway. They were all civilians – women and children, mostly.<br />
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The three of us had stayed in the life ring. We were rescued by the <i>Zambezi</i> – a British destroyer. They had come back to pick up bodies for burial. A young English Sub-Lieutenant tied a heaving line around his waist, jumped into the water and tied a rope around us. They thought we were dead. But when they dropped us on the deck, my eyes opened.</blockquote>
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Our clothes were frozen to our bodies. They laid us on the mess hall tables and cut our clothes off. Then they covered us with sheets and packed us in sea ice. They let the sea ice melt to room temperature as our bodies thawed out with it. It was all they could do. They had no medications left. All they had was Pusser’s Royal Navy Rum. They had barrels of it. The doctor on the ship was actually a veterinary doctor in England before he joined the Navy. He told us: The only medication I have is rum; if you have no objections, I’ll keep you supplied. And that’s what he did. He kept us in a mellow glow for approximately four days until we got to Reykjavik, Iceland.<br />
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The doctors checked us out in Iceland and said we would survive. We went from there to Scapa Flow (Editor: Royal Navy base in Scotland). From Scapa Flow we went to a place in Ireland -- Northern Ireland. To this day I still don’t know where. They didn’t tell us. They took us in to this castle and interrogated us. What they thought was that we were German plants, because they thought nobody could have survived for over two hours in Artic water – normally it was ten minute survival rate. They couldn’t believe it. So, they interrogated us, and after interrogation, they gave us a card saying we had been cleared by the FBI, Naval Intelligence, British Naval Intelligence and Coast Guard Intelligence. From there they took us to Glasgow, Scotland, then to Liverpool, where they put us on the USS Wakefield and brought us home.<br />
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The Norwegians awarded us the Norwegian War Medal. After that, I continued sailing through the end of the war. I stayed in the Merchant Marine until 1950.</blockquote>
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* Ed. note: 19 Norwegians were part of the ship’s complement. 21 crew members survived, less than half of the 47. This text is from “Veterans Health Administration ‘My Life My Story’” program. The Master of the vessel, Capt. Alfred Carini went down with the ship, and is one of two Americans awarded Norway's highest honor for military gallantry, the <i>Krigskorset med Sverd</i> (War Cross with Sword).</blockquote>
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One of the more touching aspects of the group is the patina on the Norwegian War Medal. Although the entire medal has turned a deep chocolate, the high relief of the King’s portrait is rubbed and bright. I imagine the mariner thumbing the medal recalling the convoy attack, the shipmates he lost, and remembering the sheer fear he had for his life in the frigid dark of the Arctic Ocean followed by the relief of his rescue. And after all that, told we has a hero by a foreign king.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b> <b><i>References</i></b></div>
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E. Spurgeon Campbell. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Waves-Astern-Memoir-World-Cold/dp/1418498920/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498677824&sr=1-1&keywords=Waves+Astern:+A+Memoir+of+World+War+II+and+the+Cold+War&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=f7cca4fd3edac096f42e30c69a78a062" target="_blank">Waves Astern: A Memoir of World War II and the Cold War</a></i>. AuthorHouse, 2004.<o:p></o:p></div>
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E. Spurgeon “Spud” Campbell. “<a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/oral_histories/maritime_voices/campbell.htm" target="_blank">Unexpected Cargo: Spud Campell Oral interview</a>” in <i><a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/oral_histories/maritime_voices/index.htm" target="_blank">Maritime Voices: Merchant Mariners and Shipyard Workers Remember WWII</a></i>. Smithsonian Institution.</div>
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Donald Foxvog and Robert Alotta. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Last-Voyage-SS-Henry-Bacon/dp/1557788014/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498679539&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Last+Voyage+of+the+SS+Henry+Bacon&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=da9b7698707dd281ed4e5b93c781e21c" target="_blank">The Last Voyage of the SS Henry Bacon</a></i>. Paragon House, 2001.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kjetil Henriksen and Sindre Weber. “<a href="http://nor-miltids.com/NMT2015/Utgivelser-PDF/NMT%203.2015.pdf" target="_blank">Praksis for tildeling av norske krigsdekorasjoner for andre verdenskrig – handelsflåten og Hjemmestyrkene</a>”<i>, Norsk Militært Tidsskrift</i>, No. 3, 2015, pp. 22–29.<br />
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Toni Horodysky. “<a href="http://www.usmm.org/wsa/henrybacon.html" target="_blank">SS Henry Bacon rescues Norwegian refugees at cost of American mariner lives</a> .” American Merchant Marine at War, 2007.<br />
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Jarl Inge. “<a href="http://www.travel-finnmark.no/kvalsund-mason-burr-helten-pa/" target="_blank">Kvalsund – Mason Burr. Helten på SS Henry Bacon. The hero of SS Henry Bacon</a>” in <a href="http://www.travel-finnmark.no/" target="_blank">travel-finnmark.no</a>, 2016.<br />
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Ian A. Millar. “Alt for Norge”, <i>The Medal Collector</i>, Vol. 40, No. 3, March 1989, pp. 14-17.<br />
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Arthur R. Moore . <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Careless-Word-Needless-Sinking-Staggering/dp/B002N6LZ3A/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498679494&sr=1-1&keywords=a+careless+word+a+needless+sinking&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=1711de5d846594cb48117a4d749dd657" target="_blank">“A Careless Word ... A Needless Sinking”: A History of the Staggering Losses Suffered By the U.S. Merchant Marine, Both in Ships and Personnel, During World War II</a></i>. American Merchant Marine Museum at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; First Edition edition, 1983.<br />
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David Schiesher. <a href="http://windhorse.homestead.com/DonaldSchiesher.html" target="_blank">In Memory of Donald Peter Schiesher 1921 - 1945</a>.<br />
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U.S. Congress. “<a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-107hconres411ih/pdf/BILLS-107hconres411ih.pdf" target="_blank">Recognizing the exploits of the officers and crew of the S.S. Henry Bacon, a United States Liberty ship that was sunk on February 23, 1945, in the waning days of World War II</a>, [H. J. Res 411, 107th Congress].” Washington D.C., 2002. (nb.: nothing came of the resolution)<br />
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<b>Merchant Marine Victory Medal, 1946<o:p></o:p></b><br />
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The medal is a decoration of the United States Merchant Marine established by an Act of Congress on August 8, 1946, and was awarded to officers and men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served aboard American-flagged merchant ships for at least 30 days between December 7, 1941, and September 3, 1945.<o:p></o:p><br />
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John R. Sinnock – known for his design of the Roosevelt dime and Purple Heart Medal – designed the Merchant Marine Victory Medal. The obverse of the medal depicts Liberation, facing the wind, astride the bow of a U-Boat and a sand dune. She holds a trident in her right hand and an olive branch in her left hand. The trident is evocative of the same held by Britannia, Mistress of the Seas.To the left of Liberation is the word “WORLD” and to the right of her is “WAR II”. The reverse shows a Herreshoff anchor inside a rope circle, around which is wound a ribbon with the slogan: “FIRMITAS ADVERSARIA SUPERAT” (Latin for “Steadfastly overcoming the enemy”). In a circle around the edge of the reverse, the words “UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE 1941-1945” form a motto.<br />
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The medal was awarded to ~32,000 individuals. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Krigsmedaljen (<o:p></o:p>Norway War Medal), 1945</b></div>
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The medal was established by Royal Decree on November 13, 1942, by King Haakon VII of Norway. It was awarded to Norwegian and foreign military and civilians who participated in a meritorious way toward the efforts to achieve Norwegian liberation from the Germans. It was for the period from May 23, 1941, through the end of the Second World War.<br />
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<i>Krigsmedaljen utdeles til norske eller utenlandske militære som på en fortjenstfull måte har deltatt i krig for Norge og til norske og utenlandske sivile som under krig har ydet Norges forsvar tjenester.</i></blockquote>
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The War Medal is awarded to Norwegians or to foreign military who have served in a meritorious manner in war on behalf of Norway, and to Norwegians and to foreign civilians who, during war, have aided in Norway's defense.</blockquote>
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For the duration of the war, the medal was granted by the Norwegian Government-in-exile and later in Norway proper with the evacuation of the German occupying forces. The medal was not a blanket participation medal - its award was determined after a petition to the King’s Council-in-Exile or the Norwegian Ministry of Defense.<br />
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The medal is a 33mm bronze disc with King Haakon VII's portrait, name, and motto “<i>Alt for Norge</i>” (All For Norway) on the obverse, and a wreath and the text “<i>Krigsmedalje</i>” (War Medal) on the reverse. In the middle along the edges of the reverse is the King's cipher.<o:p></o:p><br />
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If a recipient met the requirements for receiving it again, they received a star each time they did so (to be pinned to the suspension ribbon), although the same individual can not be awarded more than three stars.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the period from 1942 to 1956, about 18,000 decorations were awarded. A breakdown of the classes of awardees is as follows:<br />
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6,500: Merchant Navy<br />
3,800: Navy<br />
1,500: Civilian (Home Guard)<br />
800: Air Force<br />
700: Army (includes foreigners fighting in Norgwegian units)<br />
8: Coastal Artillery<br />
300: Partisans </blockquote>
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Posthumous:<br />
2,350 Merchant Navy<br />
800: Navy<br />
750: Army<br />
400: Home Guard<br />
300: Air Force<br />
110: Secret services</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbVgW8yX0Qt4N70iCs7Yodzp50NR9iUUYUrZeagqc89PKgii5EW3oXB5WXcYacV9wGAyqYuP2jLb3YIPmkB4l2uf15ckxkW_H7QJT2iyuyqijxfzBvVzDxM-rgqRManl9OhPItoW583w/s1600/donald_schiesher150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="762" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbVgW8yX0Qt4N70iCs7Yodzp50NR9iUUYUrZeagqc89PKgii5EW3oXB5WXcYacV9wGAyqYuP2jLb3YIPmkB4l2uf15ckxkW_H7QJT2iyuyqijxfzBvVzDxM-rgqRManl9OhPItoW583w/s320/donald_schiesher150.jpg" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donald Peter Schiesher<br />
from <a href="http://windhorse.homestead.com/DonaldSchiesher.html" target="_blank">David Schiesher</a></td></tr>
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<b><br /></b> <b>Donald Peter Schiesher & Mason Kirby Burr</b><br />
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In doing my research, I came across a mention of the <i>SS Henry Bacon</i> and a posthumous award of the medal to a seaman that was killed by the attack - Donald Peter Schiesher.<br />
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“Donny was serving in the Merchant Marine in World War II […] He gave his life to save 19 Norwegian civilians.” Of interest are the communications from the U.S. Government and medal citation.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<blockquote>
Donald Schiesher Lost in Action With Crew of Henry Bacon</blockquote>
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In an unforgettable epic of the sea, seven officers and eight men of the American Liberty ship Henry Bacon, boldly met death in an icy Artic gale to save the lives of 19 Norwegian islanders. One of these eight men was Seaman Donald Schiesher, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Schiesher.</blockquote>
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The Henry Bacon was starting home in convoy after carrying freight to Russia and carried as passengers the Norwegians who were among several hundred being evacuated to England. She encountered heavy weather, lost touch with the convoy and was singled out by the Germans. An aerial torpedo plunged into the hold and the vessel went down with her guns firing.</blockquote>
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Two lifeboats were successfully launched, one with the refugees and a few crewman and the other with 15 crewman and seven gunners. In the bad gale the Henry Bacon had engine trouble but in accordance with a hard and fast rule the convoy continued and it was later that the Bacon was sighted by the enemy. Five German planes were shot down by the ship's ack-ack, but it suffered heavy damage and the life boats, with the exception of two, were ruined.</blockquote>
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Knowing that his ship was going to sink, Capt. Alfred Carini, ordered the three men among his passengers to put their women and children in a life boat.<br />
Five officers and 21 ratings of the Henry Bacon's crew survived and are enroute home. Captain Carini went down with his ship.</blockquote>
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Two Illinoians were among the heroes who gave their lives. They were Donald of Hampshire, and Edgar B. Snyder, first assistant engineer. Donald entered the Merchant Marine service on Nov. 3, 1942 and received his training at Sheepshead Bay. He was then sent to San Francisco where he was assigned to a ship and sent into the Pacific. He served there 18 months. Last August he enjoyed a furlough at home and was then assigned to service in the Atlantic. His last letter home was from Scotland on December 23.</blockquote>
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Donald was 22 years old, was born in Hampshire, and had lived here all his life. He graduated from the local high school with the class of 1940. A brother Robert, is serving with Patton's 3rd. Army in Germany.</blockquote>
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Memorial Service April 19</blockquote>
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According to present plans the memorial service for Donald will be held at the Hampshire Catholic church on April 19th.</blockquote>
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via: A newspaper clipping of the Hampshire Township Historical Society - publisher/date not noted.</blockquote>
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Full details, including his father’s narrative which became part of Donald's obituary notice may be found here: <a href="http://windhorse.homestead.com/DonaldSchiesher.html" target="_blank">In Memory of Donald Peter Schiesher 1921 - 1945</a>.</div>
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A hundred yards from a gravel road, near the Finnmark coast in northern Norway is a small memorial to one of Donald's shipmates, a Navy Armed Guard. The front and back faces of the memorial stone read:<br />
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<i>Bare 20 år fra USA. Mason Burr</i><br />
<i>helten på “Henry Bacn” 1945</i></blockquote>
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<i>Dette ernoen av dramaer</i><br />
<i>m/ evakueringen av Finnmark 1944 </i></blockquote>
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Only twenty years old from the USA.,<br />
Mason Burr, hero of the “Henry Bacn” 1945</blockquote>
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These are some of the dramas<br />
of the evacuation of Finnmark 1944 </blockquote>
Burr's death was a selfless one: he remained at his post after all his shipmates and the group of refugees put to lifeboat. He was determined to man a gun to fend off the boat's strafing by the Luftwaffe. After the lifeboat detached from the sinking ship, he was hit by shrapnel and died instantly. His body was found a year and a half later in October 1949, washed ashore near Klubbukt, Finnmark entombed in ice. The memorial has flowers every year in remembrance of him and the crew of the <i>SS Henry Bacon</i>.<br />
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ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-23555105962716167812017-06-01T12:06:00.000-04:002017-06-02T08:37:56.717-04:00U.S. Navy V-7 program insignia at Columbia and Ft. Schuyler<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>U.S. Navy V-7 midshipman hat badge.</b><br />
Single piece construction.<br />
Fouled anchor; gold-filled.<br />
Late Second World War era.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Almost twenty years ago I read Herman Wouk’s 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, <i>The Caine Mutiny</i>.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Recalling Captain </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Queeg</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">, ball bearings, and strawberries, I recently decided to re-read the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">novel</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The work fashions a re-creation of the culture of urgency that both defined and circumscribed midshipman life during Second World War.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">It accomplishes this by detailing the career of U.S. Navy midshipman at Columbia University.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Soon after completing this reading, I learned that Wouk not only took part in the V-7 midshipman </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">program</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> but he both attended and graduated from the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at Columbia University.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Following this lead, I consulted a series of the program’s yearbooks – <i>The Sideboy </i>– and found Wouk in the August 1942 class. His company barracked at Furnald Hall, as did the protagonist of The Caine Mutiny: Willie Keith. Wouk’s descriptions of the place and the program match both Columbia and the photos in <i>The Sideboy</i>. Thus, despite his novel being a work of historical fiction, it offers a rare insight and serves as a good primary source as to the functions of a little-studied midshipman organization.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The V-7 program was one of four Reserve officer-intake programs inaugurated by the U.S. Navy in February 1942 (V-1, V-5, V-7, and V-12). V-7 was one in which recent college graduates or men about to complete their college training, were accepted by the U.S. Navy as apprentice seamen and sent to one of the seven Reserve Midshipmen’s Schools: Columbia, Cornell, Naval Academy at Annapolis, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Plattsburg, and Fort Schuyler. At the program’s outset, candidates served an initial month as seamen followed by four as an appointed midshipmen; by war’s end, this was compressed to three. After this period of intense naval indoctrination, they were granted commissions as ensigns and went directly to the Fleet or to one of the numerous special advanced schools for final training; e.g. Wouk attended one of such at Harvard for Communications. Of his sojourn at the Midshipmen’s school and time with the Fleet, Wouk admitted that it figured as a major part of his education: “I learned about machinery, I learned how men behaved under pressure, and I learned about Americans.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">At Columbia University there is a plaque commemorating the Midshipmen’s School, which operated on its campus during the Second World War. It was presented to the University at the cessation of school’s activities. It may be viewed on the south side of campus at Butler Library and is located on the east balustrade of the short staircase approaching Butler Library, just below waist level. It reads:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">To Columbia University<br />In appreciation of its generous assistance<br />and unceasing cooperation in the training<br />of 23,000 officers who went from the<br />U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School<br />New York<br />to Active Duty in World War II<br />to defend the principals which this<br />University has always upheld<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Commodore John K. Richards, U.S. Navy<br />Commanding Officer<br />April 20, 1942 November 2, 1945<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Seal of U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The U.S. Navy eventually used twelve Columbia buildings, including Furnald and John Jay Halls, to house the Midshipmen’s school; classes were held on Columbia’s Morningside campus and in a ship docked at Riverside and West 136th Street on the Hudson River. At one point, Columbia University’s USNR Midshipmen’s School rivaled the United States Naval Academy in size. In all, it trained more than 20,000 officers; most of whom served in the Pacific Theatre of Operations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The following narrative of the Columbia USNR Midshipmen’s School is based upon two consecutive classes; the 7th of August 1942 and 8th of October 1942. Within that 3 month period, vast changes occurred in the fabric of the program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Program candidates began their initial training at Notre Dame in April 1942. After two weeks of apprenticeship training, they traveled to Columbia for a continuation of their indoctrination. They were divided into two groups: Engineering and Deck. By graduation from the program, only 429 of the 500 of the former remained, and 284 of 350 of the latter. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The instructional staff guiding the training of the midshipmen was divided into the following departments:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Administration<br />Drill<br />Navigation<br />Seamanship<br />Ordnance<br />Construction and Main Engines<br />Boilers and Auxiliaries<br />Deck for Engineering<br />Engineering for Deck<br />Medical Corps<br />Supply<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Some senior officers were regular Navy. However, the majority of the staff were young USNR ensigns assisted by Chief Petty Officers and a few Warrant Officers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Following the model as set at Annapolis, USNR Midshipmen followed a regimental and battalion structure. There were two battalions; the 1st at the USS <i>Prairie State</i> (a barracks ship known as “The Ark” or “Black Hole of Calcutta”) and the 2nd at Furnald Hall (the USS <i>Funald</i>, the only ship with 10 decks – the lower deck was on top and vice versa). Each Battalion was comprised of four and three companies, respectively. Midshipmen stood watch, served in “black gangs,” drilled, and attended class from morning until night for each day of the week – unless granted weekend liberty or attending divine worship services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">The Regimental staff was comprised of a Staff and Color Guard component. The noted stripe count represents the number of stripes on the midshipman's sleeve*:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Regimental Staff</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br />Commander </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">– </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">4 stripes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Adjutant </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">– </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">3 stripes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Signalman – 2 stripes<br />Regimental Chief Petty Officer </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">– </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">1 stripe</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Bugler – 1 stripe<br /><br />
<b>Regimental Color Guard**</b><br />National Colors<br />Regimental Colors<br />Color Guard (2 midshipmen)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Battalions and Companies and had their own respective staffs that reported up the chain of command:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; mso-no-proof: yes;">Battalion</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> Staff</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br />Commander </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">– </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">4 stripes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Adjutant – 3 stripes<br />Signalman – 2 stripes<br />Battalion Chief Petty Officer – 1 stripe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Company Staff</span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br />Commander – 3 stripes<br />Sub-Commander – 2 stripes<br />1st Platoon Commander – 1 stripe<br />2nd Platoon Commander – 1 stripe<br />Battalion Chief Petty Officer – no stripes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">* relative rank vis Annapolis as noted by stripe count:<br /><br />4 stripes – Midshipman Lt. Commander<br />3 stripes – Midshipman Lieutenant<br />2 stripes – Midshipman Lieutenant Junior Grade<br />1 stripe </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">– Midshipman Ensign</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br />** no stripes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Company strengths by August 1945, were as follows:<br />
<br />1 – 109<br />2 – 107<br />3 – 108<br />4 – 105<br />5 – 97<br />6 – 93<br />7 – 94<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">In August 1942, V-7 midshipmen at Columbia wore uniforms almost exactly like those of their counterparts at Annapolis, with some distinct changes. Since theirs was a four-month program with the classes compressed and joining year-round, their “plebe” period saw midshipmen wearing the appropriate uniform for the season. For instance, the October 1942 class started out wearing US Navy enlisted undress blues for their initial period at Notre Dame, then switched to the familiar usual plebe whites. These were USN enlisted undress white jumpers with stenciled U.S.N.R. at mid-chest on the blouse; the midshipmen-to-be were not issued black silk scarfs. Both uniforms shared the blue-rimmed white hat – at the time called a Bob Evans hat, and now colloquially called a Dixie-cup hat. Those apprentices holding a Company and above leadership, position wore a white covered combination hat, and not the white hat with their undress whites or blues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Those passing basic indoctrination period – not being “bilged” – rated full USNR Midshipman status. They, in turn, gained the privilege of donning the six-button midshipman reefer, with the classic midshipman gold anchors on the upper coat collars. On the right cuff, they wore a three-prop propeller for Engineering or clean-sleeve for Deck as program marker. There were no “class” indicators of the vertical gold stripes on the coat sleeve like those at Annapolis; however, regimental officers wore horizontal rank stripes on both sleeves (with program indicator above, no stars). There were four, three, two, and one stripers as indicated above. Midshipmen petty officers and buglers, during this period, did not have crows and chevron, nor bugle patches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; mso-no-proof: yes;">Depending upon the program, midshipmen</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> wore dungarees, undress whites and blues </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">(crackerjacks without tape or silk ties)</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">, khakis, and dress blues. Both programs wore dungarees were worn in machine spaces; Engineering midshipmen wore undress blues or whites depending on season in classrooms; and Deck midshipman wore undress khakis (without jackets) in classrooms. For Friday drill and inspection, all midshipmen wore service dress blues and combination hats with white covers. Regarding the khaki uniforms, midshipmen wore combination hats with khaki covers with a 1/8in-width gold chinstrap and on both collars, wore anchor devices on both collars. The anchor shank was horizontal in relation to the top of the wearer’s collar, with flukes inboard toward the neck, and stock outboard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">Fort Schuyler, the present site of the State University of New York Maritime School and once the New York Nautical School, has no plaques or commemorative markers of the shared grounds of the V-7 school nor of the brief sojourn of the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps in its midst. The Midshipmen’s School was wedged between the Fort and the present gatehouse. It shared wooden frame barracks and facilities with a Navy advanced school.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><br />By comparison, at war’s end, Fort Schuyler's V-7 program yearbook </span><i style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Gangway</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;"> (published in October 1945) shows an altogether different organization of USNR Midshipmen. Their program was also for a period of four months. Images and texts suggest a need for expediency. Teaching methods and means of turning out newly minted Naval Officers was honed to a science; anything not tantamount to the ultimate purpose of producing officers was cut. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif;">In uniform matters, from the laconic description of the program and presentation of collective memories, there is no indication of a plebe period where program inductees wore jumpers and Dixie-cup hats. These Atlantic Coast midshipmen wore working grays and were provided with service dress blues. They were not issued khaki uniforms. On their garrison hats was the midshipman anchor. They wore sets of horizontal midshipmen class anchors on their shirt collars. The service dress blues was the classic six-button USN officer uniform – except the coat collar had the midshipman anchor like those found on period Annapolis midshipman hats. These anchors were mirror images of each other, and are pin-back, and not with cap-screws (tabs). I see no indication of midshipman leadership positions; this program appears to be more of a boot-camp style organization. Midshipmen lacked chevrons, hashes, and shoulder boards on all uniforms – including the grays.<br /><br /><b><i>References</i></b><br />Herman Wouk. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Caine-Mutiny-Novel-Herman-Wouk/dp/0316955108/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=ce1d2971cabb96aa86fadf40906842ae" target="_blank">The Caine Mutiny</a>. New York, Back Bay Books, 1992.<br /><br />Leon Rogow (foreword). <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sideboy-August-1942-Foreword-Rogow/dp/B000WABT6W/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496334517&sr=1-1&keywords=sideboy&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=fb022d192cd73a87a201039aba2782ad" target="_blank">The Sideboy August 1942</a>. New York, NY U.S. Naval Reserve, 1942.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYiTMXxS1hDqeS6mAniLuWmwC8ViLqXrsVRHfNRKxfDyNIgWlrHsVbq4FpUJNvHtU5q-mLz5aBE57TBQy0S42u7jtueyrUX-ER4WHJaQTQAVAnyNkdfMK3ajMRJx6UYsT8iSRXuAaNzY/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYiTMXxS1hDqeS6mAniLuWmwC8ViLqXrsVRHfNRKxfDyNIgWlrHsVbq4FpUJNvHtU5q-mLz5aBE57TBQy0S42u7jtueyrUX-ER4WHJaQTQAVAnyNkdfMK3ajMRJx6UYsT8iSRXuAaNzY/s400/Untitled.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Late war V-7 hat badge. 10K G.F. (Gold-Filled). Note: It is of the same design and size as the coat collar anchors.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCnoWNijTXjUrYQcWAUB2aNWXFmN23uaLw369RtI8nt2I225lKtplnz8t-HtJZ_cSAdkdOhsNKTGJmSCpaVNVGe3IaqhF6bbiSX5SW_ClLlrmaphj_dhsikEEVQlbtDrqTE7HNb-01PQ/s1600/5173291589_9132982f08.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCnoWNijTXjUrYQcWAUB2aNWXFmN23uaLw369RtI8nt2I225lKtplnz8t-HtJZ_cSAdkdOhsNKTGJmSCpaVNVGe3IaqhF6bbiSX5SW_ClLlrmaphj_dhsikEEVQlbtDrqTE7HNb-01PQ/s320/5173291589_9132982f08.jpg" width="256" /></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Early V-7 coat anchor, 10K G.F. (Gold-Filled), H-H.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9HSd90nkGR8pUkW5elFKLoAenJZ5guzA2AdxGtMW6PQwp4mUx1-HHL5IHCRndLJ_ndUQ8-NEP2jzgoORGIIhw70_BP6z7BpIJYOZLXCk4fmOjbJrinUGuKTO0MuCqKH0KLIIas5qDLw/s1600/5173290585_c8445ec723.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9HSd90nkGR8pUkW5elFKLoAenJZ5guzA2AdxGtMW6PQwp4mUx1-HHL5IHCRndLJ_ndUQ8-NEP2jzgoORGIIhw70_BP6z7BpIJYOZLXCk4fmOjbJrinUGuKTO0MuCqKH0KLIIas5qDLw/s320/5173290585_c8445ec723.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Late war V-7 coat anchor pair, 10K G.F. (Gold-Filled).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMH3vsLLQIDtJY4OhTZSavE3ghCwvAPCKSfuC4i3PRdYhA7HVSswNWHUlwuDZLQ_-ZuJc87QoOoXVplOUgnfaSpU2BizQX_545F7Jyy_Ookc1rVIx0w2kNC1cJMGYAdxqMls5R46Jas8/s1600/5173290969_1468064f4f.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPMH3vsLLQIDtJY4OhTZSavE3ghCwvAPCKSfuC4i3PRdYhA7HVSswNWHUlwuDZLQ_-ZuJc87QoOoXVplOUgnfaSpU2BizQX_545F7Jyy_Ookc1rVIx0w2kNC1cJMGYAdxqMls5R46Jas8/s320/5173290969_1468064f4f.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Late War V-7 collar anchor pair, 10K. It looks like they've been polished down to brass, as they've not the luster of the other insignia.</span><br />
<br />ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-36884627510735403292012-09-15T13:48:00.003-04:002018-01-04T10:26:47.124-05:00U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988697839/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7988697839_3247242969_s.jpg" height="75" width="75" /></a> <b>U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve insignia.</b><br />
Single construction.<br />
Eagle stamped brass with gold-plate.<br />
1939-1940.<br />
badge: 2-3/4in from tip to tip of wings.<br />
<br />
In October 1942, a curious chain of memoranda was passed between the New York State Maritime Academy Superintendent and various U.S. Navy officials. Prompted by Kings Point cadet uniforms having sewn on them a previously professional only device in preparation for a parade on the 24th of the month, the NYSMA Superintendent had a valid question, and perhaps potentially a little egg-on-face for his counterpart across Long Island Sound. The notes touched on the eligibility of cadets at the aforementioned academy to wear a relatively recent badge: the U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia. This insignia came to be called the U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia, or simply the Sea Chicken.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<pre>(580) Dy
October 14, 1942
From: The Superintendent, New York State Maritime
Academy.
To: The Chief of Naval Personnel.
Via: The Commandant, Third Naval District.
Subject: Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia.
Wear On Academy Uniform.
Reference: (a) Art. 16-9 of Chapter XVI of U.S. Navy
Uniform Regulations, 1941.
1. Information is requested whether the insignia
described in reference (a) is authorized to be worn on
the dress uniform of cadets enrolled in this academy who
hold appointments as Midshipmen in the Merchant Marine
Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve, and who do not hold licenses
issued by Marine Inspection Service.
/s/ Thos. T. Craven.
[Vice Admiral T. T. Craven, U.S.N.]
</pre>
<pre></pre>
<hr />
<pre>1st endorsemnet
JJ55-3
DMq09:cs
19 October 1942.
From: The Commandant, Third Naval District.
To: The Chief of Naval Personnel.
1. Forwarded.
2. The Commandant considers that the Merchant Marine
Reserve insignia is intended to give recognition to
merchant marine officers employed by private companies
who are members of the Naval Reserve, and, therefore,
does not recommend that cadets enrolled in the New
York State Maritime Academy be authorized to wear this
insignia.
/s/ Paul P. Blackburn,
By direction.</pre>
<pre></pre>
<pre></pre>
<hr />
<pre>26 October 1942
Pers-1016--KS
JJ55-3(1522)
From: The Chief of Naval Personnel.
To: The Superintendent,
New York State Maritime Academy,
Fort Schuyler, The Bronx, N.Y.
Via: The Commandant Third Naval District.
Subject: Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia - to be
worn by midshipmen, Merchant Marine
Reserve.
References: (a) Supt. N.Y.St.Mar.Acs.ltr (580)Dy
of Oct. 14, 1942.
(b) Art. 16-9, Uniform Regulations,
U.S. Navy.
Enclosure: (A) Copy of BuNav ltr. Nav-1644-XKS
(QR2(C)(66) of Oct. 4, 1941.
1. As midshipmen, Merchant Marine Reserve, at the State
Maritime Academies are required to wear a uniform
appropriate to an officer, and as these Academies are
under the supervision of the War Shipping Administration,
which succeeded to the training functions formerly
performed by the U.S. Maritime Commission, midshipmen,
Merchant Marine Reserve, under instruction at these
Academies, are authorized to wear the Merchant Marine
Reserve insignia on their Academy uniforms.
/s/ L. E. Denfield,
The Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel.
</pre>
<pre></pre>
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Apparently, the Maritime Academies had a friend in the Chief of Naval Personnel, as in 1942 the matter was settled in that all cadets may indeed wear the insignia. All of this begs the question: what was this insignia, that caused such a stir of interest among Naval and Maritime Academy officials?<br />
<br />
The Merchant Marine Reserve had its beginnings in 1913 when US Congress wrote into law a reformulated the Naval Reserve Force. At the time, the Reserve was separated into five classes, and soon became six:<br />
<blockquote>
Class I: The Fleet Naval Reserve: Consisting of personnel having former active Naval Service.<br />
<br />
Class II: The Naval Reserve: Consisting of persons of the seagoing profession who had served at least two years aboard a vessel on the high seas or larger lakes.<br />
<br />
Class III: Naval Auxiliary Reserve: Consisting of persons who had served or were serving in the Merchant Marine of the United States.<br />
<br />
Class IV: Naval Coast Defense Reserve: Consisting of personnel capable of performing special and useful service in the time of war.<br />
<br />
Class V: Volunteer Naval Reserve: Consisting of personnel qualifying for the other classes of the Reserve, who were willing to serve without pay in the time of peace.<br />
<br />
Class VI: Naval Reserve Flying Corps: Consisting of personnel who were from the Naval Flying Corps.</blockquote>
Class III, Naval Auxiliary Reserve, comprised of officers and unlicensed seamen, was the precursor of the Merchant Marine Reserve program, and the one for which the U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia would ultimately be destined.<br />
<br />
Insignia for the Reserve was first prescribed in “Changes in Uniform Regulations United State Navy, 1913 No. 10” in 1915. This was the first official publication of distinctive uniform elements for the entire Naval Reserve. At the time, those Merchant Marine Officers in Class III wore their steamship line or company uniform with the Naval Reserve Force device on the collar of the “military coat,” or on the lapels of the “box coat.” This device was a miniature of the commissioned officers cap device. There were also special buttons worn on Merchant Marine uniforms. The button field was plain, with an anchor and the letters “U.S.” on either side of the shackle above the stock, and with the letters “N.R.” on either side of the shank between the stock and the flukes.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
On June 25, 1938, the Naval Reserve Force underwent a name change to become simply the Naval Reserve. The classes were reduced to three with the original Naval Auxiliary Reserve renamed the U.S. Naval Merchant Marine Reserve, and still remaining the class III program. The “Naval Reserve (Merchant Marine) Insignia, Special Distinguishing Insignia for certain licensed officers” as it was first known and later called the “breast insignia of the Merchant Marine Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve (Eagle and Scroll badge)”, was approved for wear on Merchant Marine uniforms on April 7, 1938, by then Secretary of the Navy, Claude A. Swanson. This insignia replaced the miniature cap device and buttons originally approved for the Naval Auxiliary Reserve. The authorization for the aforementioned insignia was the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, in which it was stated: “Licensed Officers who are members of the United States Naval Reserve shall wear on their uniforms such special distinguishing insignia as may be approved by the Secretary of the Navy.” The 1936 Act was based on the earlier Shipping Act of 1916 that required officers serving on vessels receiving a Federal government operating subsidy to be, if eligible, members of the United States Naval Reserve. Other Naval Reserve officers serving in merchant ships in positions that required them to wear “a uniform appropriate to an officer,” were authorized to wear the insignia. The insignia was emphatically not authorized to be worn with the naval uniform. Moreover, enlisted men of the Naval Reserve were not permitted to wear the Merchant Marine Reserve insignia.<br />
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As authorized in 1938, the Merchant Marine Reserve insignia was composed of a gold embroidered bronze or gold plated metal pin consisting of a spread eagle surcharged with crossed anchors and shield 5/8in in height, 2-3/4in from tip to tip of wings; length of anchors 7/8in; and underset with 3/16 scroll bearing the letters “US” on one side of the shield and “NR” on the opposite side. Wearers were required to wear the Merchant Marine Reserve insignia on the left breast of their Merchant Marine uniform and nowhere else.<br />
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<br /></div>
The eagle design is based on the original eagle carved into the stern of the USS Constitution. The scroll pattern was often found on the stern of ships and contained the ships’ names. The shield has 13 stars and stripes with crossed anchors taken from the then current US Navy officer’s cap device and recalling the original Naval Auxiliary Reserve insignia. Following the design of the cap device, the original insignia design had the eagle looking to its own left. In 1941, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox prescribed a change wherein all Navy insignia bearing eagles were henceforth to have the heads facing their own right. According to heraldic law, the right side (dexter) of the shield is the honor side, and the left side (sinister) indicated dishonor or illegitimacy. The suggestion also has been made that the change was to have the eagle look toward the olive branches on the left side and peace as appears on the Great Seal of the United States, rather than the warlike arrows to the right. More information may be found <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2010/01/us-navy-commissioned-officer-hat-badge.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The 1930s was a turbulent time. The U.S. shipping industry was in free fall due to the Great Depression, with foreign firms having taken over most overseas and making strident end-runs in domestic shipping. As war erupted across Europe and Asia, the belligerent nations, which once carried the majority of U.S. trade, swept their ships into national service, leaving the U.S. both lacking in both ships and men. The Federal government <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2010/02/war-shipping-administration.html" target="_blank">stepped into the fray</a> by subsidizing ship construction and <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2010/03/us-merchant-marine-cadet-corps-pre-1942.html" target="_blank">encouraging the training</a> of young men to enter the trade, and the U.S. Navy found itself looking for warm bodies to man its ships in the eventuality of war in Europe and in the Pacific. Naturally, the U.S. Navy looked to Nautical Schools and Merchant Marine Academies for potential manpower. Nevertheless, manpower could only be had with concessions from both sides: military and civilian.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
At the invitation of the Navy Department, an informal conference of the governing bodies and Superintendents of the State nautical schools was held in Washington from April 12-14, 1938. The conference was attended by representatives from the then four State schools: New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and California. The object of the conference was to bring about a closer cooperation between the Navy Department and the State nautical schools; also to coordinate the work of the four schoolships. The end goal was to create a professional class of ship officers both adequately trained for the rapidly modernizing maritime industry and serve as potential U.S. Navy officers. Never before had a closer relationship between the two been groups been attempted.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Captain Felix X. Gygax, U.S.N., Director of the Naval Reserve, in the Bureau of Navigation, presided over the conference. The opening addresses at the conference were made by Captain Chester W. Nimitz, U.S.N., Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, and Captain Gygax. In referring to the State nautical schools, Captain Gygax said:<br />
<blockquote>
The Navy Department acknowledges and commends the splendid results that have been achieved, as attested by the fine record of the graduates of these nautical schools at sea, and the success of many more in positions of high trust and responsibility in connection with the administration and operation of the maritime industry ashore.
</blockquote>
The conference resulted in the following: First, the curricula of the State nautical schools were extended with schools preparing young men not only for service in the American Merchant Marine but also in the United States Naval Reserve. The following nine naval subjects were added to the course of study: Navy Regulations, Naval Law, International Law, Types and Characteristics of Naval ships and aircraft, Tactics and Manoeuvering, Ship Drills, Gunnery, Communications and Damage Control. The instruction in these subjects was to be given the form of lectures by commissioned and active duty Naval officers. Second, the Bureau of Navigation, under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, issued instructions to local Naval District Commandants providing for the admission of nautical school students in the Naval Reserve as Merchant Marine Cadets, in accordance with the Naval Reserve Act, approved June 25, 1938. Third, the Chief of Bureau of Navigation and the Chief of Naval Operations recommended to the Secretary of the Navy that appropriate steps be taken to secure from the Maritime Commission the allocation of funds for the construction of suitable vessels as replacements for the then present State schoolships, as necessary; these ships were to be of such a character as to be readily usable as naval auxiliaries in an emergency. The recommendation was immediately approved by the Secretary of the Navy. Thus was the inception of the Merchant Marine Midshipman Reserve program which provided the beginnings of Naval Science Program at the Maritime Academies. The New York State Maritime Academy was the first of the schools to open its doors to Naval instructors in 1939; by the end of the year, a big gun found its way to Fort Schuyler.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIv2MA7QJpP0hdrkPPGhIOjUyIQ-H31QD58L3HaJ-7AyN9GLl0yzpiKyyrvBIXtkBhdMCBUq6iuK4TfREZVNoti0xEXL_7xBDXC3I0sxd12Wd0CO1868skjyHQMLY2FanrIP4NlySTwjU/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIv2MA7QJpP0hdrkPPGhIOjUyIQ-H31QD58L3HaJ-7AyN9GLl0yzpiKyyrvBIXtkBhdMCBUq6iuK4TfREZVNoti0xEXL_7xBDXC3I0sxd12Wd0CO1868skjyHQMLY2FanrIP4NlySTwjU/s320/index.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYSMA cadets marching at World's Fair 1939.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Soon thereafter, with the storm clouds of war looming over the Atlantic, civilian instructors the Nautical Schools joined the Merchant Marine Reserve and sewed the new insignia on their reefer jackets. By 1940 the criteria for valid wearers of the insignia was broadened to include staff officers licensed under the Bureau of Marine Inspection and serving on ships with certificated of registry issued by the Secretary of Commerce under contract with the Maritime Commission. That same year, Merchant Marine officers employed by or under the supervision of the U.S. Maritime Commission and enlisted members of the Naval Reserve who were actually licensed and serving as licensed officers were authorized to wear the insignia. And other Naval Reserve Officers serving on merchant ships or under the supervision of the United States Maritime Commission were authorized to wear it; with the same stipulation that it not be worn on the Navy uniform.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
On the coattails of the limited National Emergency of September 8, 1939, Roosevelt declared a National Emergency on June 27, 1940; and finally an Unlimited National Emergency on May 27, 1941. The first declaration brought with it the activation of the Naval Fleet Reserve; the last, all members of the Naval Reserve not in deferred status were called to active duty. Members of the Merchant Marine Reserve immediately found themselves in reserve officer status if on requisitioned ships between the former and later declarations as per the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 Title III Section 302(g). Along with them, on October 5, 1940, cadets of the Maritime Commission aboard these ships were placed on active duty as Midshipmen, Merchant Marine Reserve due to previous Maritime Commission and Navy interagency agreements. By early 1942:<br />
<blockquote>
[...]There were 60 cadets serving as Midshipman, Merchant Marine Reserve, on active duty on Merchant Marine vessels taken over by the Navy.
</blockquote>
The school ships of the state maritime academies were not taken out of auxiliary status and activated; thus, students and non-Naval Reserve instructors remained unaffected. At the same time, with the allocation of government funds and provision of schoolships, schools (now academies) had their training programs vetted by the Maritime Commission. However, these same instructors became inducted into the Maritime Commission’s uniformed training organization – the Maritime Service. With the final action, came membership in the Merchant Marine Reserve. After the formal declaration of war on December 8, 1941:<br />
<blockquote>
The Supervisor, three Assistant Supervisors, the three District Cadet Training Instructors, the three Commanding Officers of Cadet Schools, and almost all Cadet Training Instructors in districts and at Cadet Schools hold licenses as officers of the Merchant Marine, and commissions in the United States Naval Reserve. On January 6, 1942, the Navy ordered these Naval Reserve officer instructors to active duty status.</blockquote>
It may be due to creative thinking by a Navy supply officer, a Maritime Commission purser or New York uniform supply house salesman, but Corps of Cadets members began to sporadically wear the insignia in 1940. This would be due to a perceived <i>de facto</i>, and not codified <i>de jure</i> reserve status of the cadets and cadets holding a nominal officer status. Ship officers, as defined by U.S. law, are those sailing under or holding a license as issued by the US Bureau of Marine Inspection. Nautical tradition held that cadets were officers-in-training with rank below the lowest officer grade but rating privileges held by a mid-level unlicensed mariner. Some shipboard cadets, known as "cadet officers", previously held licenses but did not sail under them, and could conceivably claim Merchant Marine Reserve status. Others cadets perhaps (and did) don the insignia while on ships activated during the first emergency periods. Either way, on paper this insignia was only valid while in active employ aboard merchant vessels. If a ship were seized directly by the Navy, cadets became midshipmen - as happened to some merchantmen namely oilers and Maritime Commission designed freighters - and were officially barred from wearing the insignia on their uniforms aboard ship. Moreover, the regulations did not state that the insignia was not for midshipmen, rather licensed officers.<br />
<br />
<div>
<div>
It is worth mentioning that the personnel of the Merchant Marine, Government Marine (e.g. Army Transport Service and Coast and Geodetic Survey) and Armed Marine (US Navy and Coast Guard) shared similar trades, but diverged in organizational culture. The Merchant Marine sailor of the late 1930s suffered through the deprivations of the Great Depression and union struggles against shipowners. Except for ship officers, many held no particular allegiance to ship or employer. With the Jones Act, foreign colleagues were ejected from vessels, thereby removing skilled labor, and introducing gaps in overall ship manning. Depending on the union, mariners could be militantly left-leaning or thoroughly apathetic in their daily struggle to make a living. The Navy rank and file also came from the same lower-middle-class background as the merchant sailors – although tempered by grueling training and autocratic hierarchy. Men in the Regular Navy took a dim view of civilians and reservists on shore and in their midst. Many officers of the former worked their way from the deck to the pilothouse; a small number came from the nautical schools and academies. Most active Navy officers came from the Naval Academy where they were molded and inducted into an efficient warrior class. It is at this intersection where academy graduates and the service found themselves: outsiders making an entrance into an unforgiving hierarchy bound by custom and regulation. It is no surprise that despite coexisting on the same waterfronts, the two groups held each other at arm’s length.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Nevertheless, only after the formal granting of Midshipman, Merchant Marine Reserve status to all cadets in state and federal maritime academies in August 1942 – some months after the move of the East Coast Corps of Cadets from Fort Schuyler to their permanent home at Kings Point – did the mass distribution of the insignia to all Corps of Cadets members occur. This was done by the administrators of the Merchant Marine Academies, not the Navy. Absent is period documentation indicating Navy complicity. However, the insignia was only granted after a cadet completed preliminary training in basic Navy Science and swearing an oath. This oath was not compulsory but was done by all cadets. In fact, the Maritime Commission distributed a pamphlet depicting the insignia as an award granted cadets: “U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia Worn by Cadets of U. S. Maritime Commission and Officers of Merchant Marine Enrolled in Naval Reserve.” Interestingly, at the time of press in early 1942, cadets were not yet called cadet-midshipmen.<br />
<br />
State maritime academy cadets did not wear the insignia at any point up to October 1942; graduating class photos attest to this fact. The lack of insignia would not be due to the absence of a Naval Science curriculum; a course of study created by a gentlemen’s agreement in 1938, and put into practice in 1939 – which coincidentally was the same year that the Corps of Cadets was invited to the NYSMA grounds by then Superintendent Tomb. Nor did not having Midshipmen, Reserve status; which state cadets were afforded in August 1942. Nor even lack of connection to the Maritime Commission; with accepting federal monies and federal ships with which came Federal curricula and staff. It would be due to a creative reading of provisions of wear of the Merchant Marine Reserve insignia did the Corps of Cadets come to wear the insignia; and a rather conservative reading that state cadets did not. It is notable in that the wide-spread distribution of the insignia to cadets only came with Tomb coming to Kings Point a month after its inception as the first superintendent in April 1942.<br />
<br />
Kings Point, from its outset, was linked strongly to NYSMA, although both diverged in raison d’être. The NYSMA was created to educate young men from New York for the maritime industry operating out of the Port of New York. The Maritime Commission Corps of Cadets, to bring young men from around the country without access to state schools, the opportunity to become licensed officers of the subsidized blue-water U.S. Merchant Marine. Thus, having looked at the successful model of staffing, cadet structure and uniforming, the early Merchant Marine Academy had similar components as the NYSMA. There was a strong cross-pollination of Kings Point and NYSMA instructors and potential students, Kings Point copying NYSMA regimental and honor system and using practically the same uniforms. At the permanent establishment of the NYSMA at Fort Schuyler, Tomb hailed the facility as being the future Annapolis of the U.S. Merchant Marine; after his transfer to Kings Point, he hailed the Merchant Marine Academy as the same. As such, there existed a friendly rivalry between the two. The mass distribution of the badge, and with it, a perceived honor status, can be viewed as a slight affront to – perhaps even antagonizing – the older school. NYSMA was hampered by New York bureaucracy and its expansion plans stymied by Federal land use provisos and local political posturing. In this light, the Superintendent’s letter makes sense; as does that of the Commandant, Third Naval District. In essence, if the upstart institution may have the insignia, then so should NYSMA – or vice-versa. Whatever the case may be, all maritime academies, having their cadets subject to Midshipmen, Reserve status and the blessing of the Chief of Naval Personnel secured the insignia on October 26, 1942 – but not in time for the big New York Navy Day parade just two days prior. Thus, as an administrative matter in 1942, the Chief of Naval Personnel authorized Merchant Marine Midshipmen, USNR, under instruction at the state maritime academies, to wear the Merchant Marine Insignia on their academy uniforms, since these academies were under the supervision of the War Shipping Administration.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQeq8Wr1Bz4cmsE05DfJFnsCxDRjMclyshaIACQfDPE3-3dYrkRB-7VCAbCvo7BzwMOtPqL8_7QAFLqyqh7u7r-KqIJOXdKsrxI9HQy7BX8EPCeLBz083R9gNy7DrOZdYgwf33V-3pk8/s1600/6843890419_dcf73cecfc_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQeq8Wr1Bz4cmsE05DfJFnsCxDRjMclyshaIACQfDPE3-3dYrkRB-7VCAbCvo7BzwMOtPqL8_7QAFLqyqh7u7r-KqIJOXdKsrxI9HQy7BX8EPCeLBz083R9gNy7DrOZdYgwf33V-3pk8/s320/6843890419_dcf73cecfc_o.jpg" width="246" /></a><br />
<br />
Post-war saw a change in the military establishment’s view of the role of the Merchant Marine as an auxiliary and the desirability of Merchant Mariners in its reserves. In 1951, the Navy regulations were revised, and only cadets who were Midshipmen, USNR, at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy were allowed to wear the insignia on their academy uniforms – not on their uniforms if shipping out or serving on commissioned Naval vessels. With the 1952 abolition of the Merchant Marine Reserve under Public Law 467 by the 82nd Congress, came the resultant removing Midshipman, USNR status from Merchant Marine Academy cadets and therefore the eligibility of wearing the Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia. Despite being granted Federal status, having a military character and Naval Science courses, Merchant Marine Academy cadets became simply “officer candidates.” This touched off a controversy in that one of the selling points in a Merchant Marine Academy (state or Federal) education were draft-deferment or exemption and the possibility to be granted a commission in the U.S. Navy upon graduation. Gone was the pin, escape clause, and privileges. However, due to an administrative oversight, cadets continued wearing the badge until mid-1954 with its overall disappearance on cadet uniforms in 1956. Apparently, the California Maritime Academy administration must not have gotten the memo, as in 1958, 18 of 50 graduates were sporting the insignia; in 1959, however, the insignia was absent. 1964 saw with the re-institution of the merchant marine naval reserve status at Kings Point; only to have it abolished in 1965 and superseded by a Naval Reserve commission for the class of 1968 with accompanying badge reappearance.<br />
<br />
The state academies had to wait until 1977 when their cadets became Midshipmen, USNR, of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) to pin the insignia back on their uniforms. Beginning in 1980, those cadets who signed a Training and Service Agreement and became Midshipmen, USNR, were also authorized to wear the Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia. Up until recently, all Midshipmen USNR enrolled in maritime training programs leading to a merchant marine license, were eligible to wear the insignia.<br />
<br />
With the start of the Merchant Marine Reserve, U.S. Naval Reserve (MMR, USNR) program in 1977, the insignia was authorized for the first time for wear on the Navy uniform of officers by this officer community. The requirement for wear was published in the 1978 Navy Uniform Regulations:<br />
<blockquote>
To be eligible to wear this insignia, Naval Reservists must meet one of the following requirements:<br />
<br />
a. Be licensed merchant marine officers who sail on their license at least four months every two years and are members of the MMR , USNR program.<br />
b. Be officers in the Maritime Service holding merchant marine licenses and who are instructors at Federal, State and Regional Academies, and at industry, or union maritime schools who are members of the MMR, USNR, program.<br />
c. Be merchant marine officers holding licenses as Chief Mate/First Assistant Engineer/Radio Officer or higher, with eight years of licensed sailing experience and currently employed in a maritime related position ashore, and who are members of the MMR, USNR program.</blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWHvqu94PGYgdLDO7f_xVC4A89VHQrD6_HF8AYCsxFFCWUyKV3jJx2EP2RYBR1qEStViaVYy1JurbQJSKpU6DYm6cMnuS-Fs-jM7UCtTyJEJvWF1M0M82nvj8RYWzlv5Foh7hyphenhyphenPQiA_M/s1600/7989074525_283404ab3d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWHvqu94PGYgdLDO7f_xVC4A89VHQrD6_HF8AYCsxFFCWUyKV3jJx2EP2RYBR1qEStViaVYy1JurbQJSKpU6DYm6cMnuS-Fs-jM7UCtTyJEJvWF1M0M82nvj8RYWzlv5Foh7hyphenhyphenPQiA_M/s320/7989074525_283404ab3d_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
On June 10, 2011, a change in the Merchant Marine, U.S. Naval Reserve program resulted in it being called the Strategic Sealift Officer program, and along with it a replacement of insignia (<a href="http://govdocs.rutgers.edu/mil/navy/1534.1D.pdf" target="_blank">OPNAVINST 1534.1D § 12.b.5</a>). The new device, Strategic Sealift Officer Warfare Insignia, will be available in May 2012. Despite patterns yet to be struck:<br />
<blockquote>
The SSOWI is approved for wear by officers who have successfully completed the qualification requirements outlined in OPNAVINST 1534.1D. The insignia is gold in color and is two and three-quarter inches by seven eighths of an inch in dimension, reflecting the background of an eagle from the USS Constitution's stern, crossed naval officer swords and a U.S. shield with fouled anchor from the U.S. Merchant Marine flag. The SSOWI will be available in two sizes (normal and miniature). The normal size SSOWI shall be worn on all uniforms, less dinner dress. The miniature SSOWI shall be worn with miniature medals on dinner dress uniforms (<a href="http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/documents/navadmins/nav2012/nav12164.txt" target="_blank">NAVADMIN 164/12 § 2.B</a>).</blockquote>
Good to know, I guess. To the way of the shadow box and collector the illustrious "Sea Chicken" - once symbol of the larger debate of how Merchant Mariners figure in U.S. National Defense - shall go.<br />
<br />
<b><i>References</i></b><br />
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education. <i><a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015073484977" target="_blank">Public Document 42: III Annual Report of the Commissioners of the Massachusetts Nautical School for the Year Ending November 30, 193</a>8. </i>Boston: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1938.<br />
<br />
U.S. Congress. <i><a href="http://amzn.to/2q0AhNg">Naval auxiliaries for use in the Merchant marine. Hearings before a special subcommittee of the Committee on Naval Affairs, House of Representatives, Sixty-third Congress, second session, on S. 5259, a bill to establish one or more United States Navy mail lines between the United States, South America, and Europe; and H.R. 5980, a bill to authorize the President of the United States to build or acquire steamships for use as naval auxiliaries and transports, and to arrange for the use of these ships when not needed for such service, and to make an appropriation therefor.</a></i> Washington D.C.: GPO, August 1914.<br />
<br />
Department of the Navy. "STRATEGIC SEALIFT OFFICER PROGRAM." <a href="http://govdocs.rutgers.edu/mil/navy/1534.1D.pdf" target="_blank">OPNAVINST 1534.1D § 12.b.5</a>. Washington D.C., June 10, 2011.<br />
<br />
Department of the Navy. "STRATEGIC SEALIFT OFFICER WARFARE INSIGNIA (SSOWI)." <a href="http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/documents/navadmins/nav2012/nav12164.txt" target="_blank">NAVADMIN 164/12 § 2.B</a>. Washington D.C., May 18, 2012.<br />
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<hr />
<b>Original design of insignia as found in Uniform Board notes 1938</b>.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988762660/" title="usnr badge design by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr badge design" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/7988762660_333e7d3352_n.jpg" height="202" width="320" /></a>
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<hr />
Dating the Merchant Marine Reserve Insignia is not very tricky. There are two main variations in design and two types: stamped metal and embroidered. The former continued to be worn until 2012 with planned phase-out in 2013. The embroidered device fell out of use in the mid-1950s along with all embroidered badges on US Navy officer uniforms. It has the interesting quality of being one of the longest-lived badges in the Navy and least awarded.<br />
<br />
<b>1938-1941</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988699001/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8031/7988699001_91143191f9_n.jpg" height="184" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYZPyGVgdhBsB8VoPCAdYL4feNq-41loZaezxPzV3x4sauZQSEyV6lhppflkn3rVhJ7MCqKRdlvCSihglsrDBm2IraEDn7sW9vEda3eLKsmBO_GhNeveqQ7h6LnIVn3p2RU956_emSVU/s1600/7988706948_a13d6717cd_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYZPyGVgdhBsB8VoPCAdYL4feNq-41loZaezxPzV3x4sauZQSEyV6lhppflkn3rVhJ7MCqKRdlvCSihglsrDBm2IraEDn7sW9vEda3eLKsmBO_GhNeveqQ7h6LnIVn3p2RU956_emSVU/s320/7988706948_a13d6717cd_o.jpg" width="266" /></a>
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<br />
The first pattern, as noted in the text is the own left-facing eagle. It was issued until mid-1941.<br />
<br />
This specific item is part of a <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2009/07/panama-railroad-steamship-company_18.html" target="_blank">Panama Railroad Steamship Company</a> pursur grouping. It is displayed along with a Merchant Marine Defense Ribbon; meaning it was worn at least until mid-Second World War.<br />
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<b>1939-1940</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988697839/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7988697839_3247242969_n.jpg" height="188" width="320" /></a>
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<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988704810/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8462/7988704810_b77f4a101d_n.jpg" height="191" width="320" /></a>
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<br />
This is a gold-plated pin from the pre-war period. It was issued prior to mid-1941. The insignia lacks a hallmark; as is the case with many pre-war items.<br />
<br />
This item is of particular interest as it comes from a U.S. Maritime Commission Corps of Cadets cadet grouping dating to the regiment's sojourn at Fort Schuyler. Of interest is the fact that the original owner was relatively old at the time of enrollment, being 22; meaning he was probably a "cadet officer" and sailed under his license until Navy enlistment in 1943. At the time college students were less apt to drop their course of study to join the Corps of Cadets, with hawsepipers making up a handful of cadets during this period.<br />
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<b>1942</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988691144/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/7988691144_050165cbbe_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>
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<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988690488/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7988690488_520450e626_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><br />
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This is a Vanguard insignia that comes from a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate that ended up being a junior radio officer; or a radio officer attached to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Further research is required on my part.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988705754/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8454/7988705754_742be05370_n.jpg" height="252" width="320" /></a>
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<br />
<b>1943</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/6849128589/" title="... by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="..." src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6849128589_5214fc6dc4_n.jpg" height="159" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
The above is from March 1943 granted after the Acceptance of Appointment as Midshipman, Merchant Marine in the U.S. Naval Reserve.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcroZYCUCkeUQUtwG-FD8CMP4KQYO-HQjcWBHzeqY0YrdYT8d_1EU6w9EfjdXIe8AJBi0bO5tbZG5ZCy6z3d9dhERjREcqs_blgzKkYbJ1WMe8m5Ghn9VOe7SQWZu86tGpZEF5GpjIZhI/s1600/6849131915_01f7aa3594_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcroZYCUCkeUQUtwG-FD8CMP4KQYO-HQjcWBHzeqY0YrdYT8d_1EU6w9EfjdXIe8AJBi0bO5tbZG5ZCy6z3d9dhERjREcqs_blgzKkYbJ1WMe8m5Ghn9VOe7SQWZu86tGpZEF5GpjIZhI/s320/6849131915_01f7aa3594_o.jpg" width="244" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<b>1944</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988685923/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8308/7988685923_a97222ff31_n.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988692544/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/7988692544_e07be5a55d_n.jpg" height="170" width="320" /></a>
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<br />
Embroidery of the insignia was still of a high standard in 1944. Notice the overall difference with...<br />
<br />
<b>1945</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988687125/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7988687125_5106ced4a2_n.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988688431/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7988688431_144ed91ff7_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<b>1946</b><br />
The following two insignias are from 1946. Do note the difference in embroidery.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988697560/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/7988697560_689ac83a50_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988695546/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7988695546_ed42e9172b_n.jpg" height="202" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
The first is on a black wool backing for wear with the USMMA dress jacket as well as on the Service Dress Blue coat.<br />
<br />
The second is on a khaki twill backing; it was sewn on the khaki working coat. This is an unusual example, as previously, cadet-midshipmen were directed to wear the pin device on khaki - khaki was commonly steamed, as opposed to dry-cleaned like the worsted wool. When the pin was reinstated, this failed experiment was not repeated, as khaki working coats were no longer in a cadets-midshipman's sea bag.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988699554/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8312/7988699554_1fcd1e57c2_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
The third device, with a Coro hallmark, also dates from the same period and was worn on dress whites of the period.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988698396/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8456/7988698396_f5bd4ed7ae_n.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988690297/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/7988690297_de04c5a79c_n.jpg" height="203" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988694729/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7988694729_eae5f3c686_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<b>2010</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988702154/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/7988702154_8396f0db78_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>
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<br />
The last item is a Vanguard insignia from 2010. It was manufactured by International Insignia in Providence, Rhode Island. Many Vanguard insignia items are actually jobbed out to International Insignia as Vanguard in recent years has apparently found contracting low volume orders more cost effective than striking them inhouse. Notable would be the occasional IOH I-21 as opposed to V-21-N hallmark.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/7988703018/" title="usnr insignia by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="usnr insignia" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/7988703018_20bc4f62b5_n.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-60492746589014488712012-01-14T16:00:00.002-05:002017-10-30T10:02:18.901-04:00Robin Line<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1zIJ_n-kCowg-kDW4WTBAYp3A_DxPy8NtR1VZl0zcmJfmPlg2jmkUJPzxXVZ3t18ofK-HB-a7qOetKEYYHF3f97ezyim2xdecg-zJdB2CakbE81fUw_0Zv_8sABSsdoZhSJZLth9r-E/s1600/6250735967_79b12d8225_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1zIJ_n-kCowg-kDW4WTBAYp3A_DxPy8NtR1VZl0zcmJfmPlg2jmkUJPzxXVZ3t18ofK-HB-a7qOetKEYYHF3f97ezyim2xdecg-zJdB2CakbE81fUw_0Zv_8sABSsdoZhSJZLth9r-E/s200/6250735967_79b12d8225_o.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>
<b>Robin Line ship officer hat badge.</b><br />
Three piece construction.<br />
Eagle and shield sterling; wreath brass/gold-plate. Company insigne brass and enamel. Late Second World War era.<br />
badge: 60mm x 65mm<br />
<br />
On the second page of the March 17, 1954 edition of the <i>Wilton Connecticut Bulletin</i> there is long column about a GOP Sunday Tea. The <i>Bulletin</i> reports that the tea was a breezy affair attended by the community's upper crust; although not mentioned was the striking absence of Arthur Lewis, Jr. This would be explained by a single line next to the column reading: "Arthur Lewis Dies", followed by a pithy obit - speaking nothing about his frantic life nor his high-paced career or even funeral arrangements. Perhaps the same-page announcement of solo-trumpeter Roland Kutik indicated him more a town favorite than the two decade cut-throat steamship executive.<br />
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On his first vacation in years, Arthur R. Lewis, Jr. died of a heart attack in sunny Fort Lauderdale. He was the workaholic president of Seas Shipping Company, whose main and best-known subsidiary was the Robin Line. Lewis' professional life was driven by his twin obsessions: profits and desire to crush his firm's competition - the Farrell Line. The Robin Line and Farrell Line rivalry was one of the most vicious and vindictive rate wars in United States maritime history. This is striking in that the Lewis and Farrell families once shared a close personal and business relationship; in fact the Robin Line was established in 1920 by his father, Arthur R. Lewis, Sr. in concert with the Farrell family. Robin Line ships operated in the intercoastal trade as auxiliaries to various Farrell concerns; mainly the Isthmian Steamship Company - the US Steel shipping company - and the American South African Line - in which Lewis, Sr. had partial ownership. However for reasons not public and perhaps secreted away in the exclusive <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081954065X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=dacd1abdfe18865bcc3b08cd73106564">India House</a>, this immediate and irreconcilable rift between the families resulted in the 1933 separation of ownership and management of all shared firms. The Farrells ended up with full control of the American South African Line and the Argonaut Line; the Lewises gained the Sea Shipping Company and its Robin Line.<br />
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Soon afer the division of interests, Lewis, Sr. died and his son took up his mantle with gusto. Lewis, Jr. continued to operate the Robin Line's four ships in the intercoastal trade and did not foray into international shipping. Relations between the families remained combative, and the opportunity for Lewis to strike a blow against the Farrells presented itself in the person of Sylvester J. Maddock. Maddock, an employee fired by the Farrells, convinced Lewis to bring the Robin Line into the African trade in 1935. As general agent, Maddock knew the ports and shippers in Africa and thus was able to build up the cargo volumes for the Robin Line at the expense of the American South African Line.<br />
<br />
When the United States Shipping Board established direct service between the United States and South Africa, British lines - which prior operated a triangular service via the British Isles and other regions - decided to mimic the American model to diminish the upstart competition in a once sole British preserve. In order to avoid destructive competition between each other and to stave off British ascendancy, the American lines involved in the trade, following the same framework for other regional conferences and agreed in 1924 to establish the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference. The Conference set rates, routes and number of sailings for its members. This was an outward conference with jurisdiction only over cargoes leaving the United States; the lines created a separate complimentary body - the South Africa-U.S.A. Conference - with jurisdiction over the inbound cargoes coming from South Africa to the United States. Although South Africa was the center of the trade, the conference, in spite of its title, held an undefined jurisdiction for decades over the east and west coasts of Africa, as far north as the Azores and the Canary Islands on the west coast of Africa and up to Tanzania on the east. When the Robin Line applied for membership in the conference in 1935, James A. Farrell, Jr., blocked the application, thus initiating a bitter rate war. To try to drive the Robin Line from the trade, the Farrells orchestrated the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference to reduce its rates from twenty dollars to eight dollars a ton, and eventually to four dollars; this last figure barely covered half of operating costs, and as a result both companies including the other conference members were taking heavy losses on each voyage. The Robin Line did not collapse, however, because it was shipping large volumes of automobiles to South Africa for Chrysler and Ford. When the Robin Line bid for membership in the Conference again as a way of ending the rate war in 1936, the Farrell family once again had the application rejected. The Farrels felt confident in the liquidity of the American South African Line since it had the advantage of a generous US mail contract under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1928 to keep it afloat; yet despite the lack of such a contract, the Robin Line managed to survive. The rate war continued until 1937, when a reduction in the government subsidy at last forced the Farrell family to call it off; but losses had been so great that the American South African Line was on the verge of bankruptcy and saved only by profits garnered from other Farrell shipping interests in the Atlantic trade.<br />
<br />
In 1938 the Robin Line managed to secure its own subsidy from the U.S. Maritime Commission, and the next year the Second World War with its high shipping rates temporarily served to halt the destructive competition. At the same time the Robin Line gained entrance into the much-coveted conference. Flush with cash and subsidies, the Robin Line acquired several new ships for the first time in almost a decade. These new ships were streamlined and were dubbed the "best-looking" freighters on the oceans by mariners at the time. With the ubiquitous automobile, farm and road-building equipment cargoes inbound, the Robin Line carried rock lobsters (crayfish), exotic timber, gold bullion and freight-neutral diamond cargoes outbound. These new ships were known for their extensive refrigeration plants for the former and welded-shut safe compartments for the latter, and smart crew accommodations.<br />
<br />
Although the two lines remained rivals, they preferred to respect the agreements of the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference. During the Second World War, the vessels of both lines were requisitioned, and both operated government ships for the War Shipping Administration under ships husband agreements. After the return of peace, the two lines resumed their bitter rivalry. In hearings before the U.S. Maritime Commission, the Robin Line, because of the opposition from the Farrell Line, lost the subsidies on the route from U.S. Atlantic ports to West Africa in 1947. However, when Farrell declined to handle the unusually large volume of automobile exports to South Africa, the Robin Line - who previously provided the service and won lasting goodwill among the automobile exporters - took up the slack to its benefit. In 1955 the last of the British lines withdrew from the route, leaving as active conference members only the Robin and Farrell Lines (American South African Lines renamed) in the region.<br />
<br />
With Lewis, Jr.'s death none of the family members wished to follow his breakneck work ethic, instead they elected Winthrop O. Cook as Seas Shipping Company new president. As president, Cook found before him the expensive task of replacing the company's old wartime surplus vessels. Instead of investing in a costly and immediately unprofitable project, Lewis' heirs decided to avoid the problem altogether and sold the Robin Line to Moore-McCormack in March 1957; making a tidy profit, as seen in the transaction records as argued before United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit (371 F.2d 528): "Seas Shipping Company, Inc., sold ten ships to Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. [...] for $5,466,668 in cash and notes and 300,000 shares of Mooremac stock." Soon thereafter, the new owner removed the vessels of the former Robin Line from the African trade, leaving only the Farrell Line in the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference.<br />
<br />
<b>House Flags of Robin Line</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Blue with a white lozenge bearing a red R. 1920-1942.</li>
<li>Blue with a white oval in the hoist, with a stylized wing with three sections sweeping toward the fly; oval contains red R. 1942-1957.</li>
</ul>
<b>Ships of Robin Line</b> <br />
It is worth noting that the Robin Line was so called because all its ship names began with the word "Robin".<u><br /><br />Pre-War</u><br />
<i>Robin Adair </i>(built at close of the Great War by Skinner & Eddy Shipyard, Seattle)<br />
<i>Robin Doncaster</i><br />
<i>Robin Goodfellow</i><br />
<i>Robin Gray</i><u><br /><br />Second World War (1942-1948)</u><br />
<i>Robin Adair</i><br />
<i>Robin Doncaster</i><br />
<i>Robin Goodfellow</i><br />
<i>Robin Gray</i><br />
<i>Robin Locksley</i><br />
<i>Robin Sherwood</i><br />
<i>Robin Tuxford</i><br />
<i>Robin Wentley</i><br />
<u>Post-War (1948-1955)</u><br />
<i>Robin Doncaster</i><br />
<i>Robin Goodfellow</i><br />
<i>Robin Gray</i><br />
<i>Robin Hood</i><br />
<i>Robin Kettering</i><br />
<i>Robin Kirk</i><br />
<i>Robin Locksley</i><br />
<i>Robin Mowbray</i><br />
<i>Robin Sherwood</i><br />
<i>Robin Trent</i><br />
<i>Robin Tuxford</i><br />
<i>Robin Wentley</i><u><br /><br />1955-1957</u><br />
<i>Robin Doncaster</i><br />
<i>Robin Gray</i><br />
<i>Robin Hood</i><br />
<i>Robin Kettering</i><br />
<i>Robin Kirk</i><br />
<i>Robin Locksley</i><br />
<i>Robin Sherwood</i><br />
<i>Robin Trent</i><br />
<i>Robin Tuxford</i><br />
<i>Robin Wenley</i><u><br /><br />Moore-McCormack purchase (1957)</u><br />
<i>Robin Gray</i><br />
<i>Robin Hood</i><br />
<i>Robin Kirk</i><br />
<i>Robin Locksley</i><br />
<i>Robin Mowbray</i><br />
<i>Robin Sherwood</i><br />
<i>Robin Trent</i><br />
<br />
<i><b>Principal Executives</b></i><br />
Arthur R. Lewis, Sr.: 1920-1933<br />
Arthur R. Lewis, Jr.: 1934-1954<br />
Winthrop O. Cook: 1954-1957<br />
<br />
<i><b>References</b></i><br />
The <i>Decisions</i> volumes are particularly interesting as they document legislative activities around and Robin Lines gripes with the U.S.A.-South Africa Conference; relevant entries may be found under Seas Shipping Company. Interestingly, the Maritime Commission and its successor Federal Maritime Board did not lend a kind ear to Lewis. Albion's monograph is interesting in that it is an economic history of the South Africa trade with a focus on the Farrell Line; it presents the family in a positive light and takes an apologetic approach to its foreign-flag activities, anti-union stance and ignores overall poor crew conditions; Lewis and the rate war is mentioned practically in passing.<br />
<br />
"Arthur Lewis Dies." <i>Bulletin</i>, Wilton Connecticut. March 17, 1954: p 2.<br />
<br />
Obituary. <i>New York Times</i>, March 17, 1954.<br />
<br />
Federal Maritime Board. <i>Decisions, Vol. 4, 1952-1956</i>. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1963.<br />
<br />
U.S. Maritime Commission. <i>Decisions, Vol. 3, 1947-1952</i>. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1963.<br />
<br />
War Shipping Administration. <i>United States Maritime Service Training Manual, Deck Branch Training</i>. Washington, D.C.: Maritime Service, 1943. p. 45.<br />
<br />
Robert G. Albion.<a href="http://amzn.to/2oFsoJX"> <i>Seaports South of Sahara: The Achievements of an American Steamship Service</i></a>. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1959.<br />
<br />
Rene De La Pedraja. <a href="http://amzn.to/2oFiyro">A Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Merchant Marine and Shipping Industry: Since the Introduction of Steam</a>. New York: Greenwood, 1994.<br />
<br />
Colin Stewart. <a href="http://amzn.to/2onkJhy"><i>Flags, Funnels and Hull Colours</i></a>. London: Adlard Coles Ltd., 1957.<br />
<br />
Captain Frederick James Newdigate Wedge. <a href="http://amzn.to/2onAFQG"><i>Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, 5th Edition</i>.</a> Glasgow: Brown, Son & Ferguson, 1951.<br />
<br />
United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit. <i>371 F.2d 528: Seas Shipping Company, Inc., Petitioner, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent</i>. Argued December 1, 1966 Decided January 16, 1967.<br />
<br />
Many kind thanks to Captain Jack Misner for sharing his recollections of his time with the Robin Line.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<b>Robin Line, Hat badge, obverse</b><br />
Eagle and shield sterling; wreath brass/gold-plate. Company insigne brass and enamel.<br />
Second World War era.<br />
Mounted on wool backing and mohair band.<br />
badge: 60mm x 65mm<br />
<br />
This badge uses the US Maritime Service officer hat badge as a base and has the the anchor device replaced with a company insigne. As mentioned in <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2009/10/american-hawaiian-steamship-company.html">previous posts,</a> this was a common practice followed during the Second World War by ship officers throughout industry. This particular badge is interesting is that it does not use the company house flag on the the badge, rather a bow design element. Some Robin Line ships used the Blue-White-Red wings flanking the R in oval device on the bow; the slight incline of the R denotes speed, which the Line was famous for.<br />
<br />
Do note the high degree of corrosion on exposed copper/brass elements and chipped enamel.<br />
The insigne is without or has a corrosion obscured hallmark. I am unable to remove the the badge from backing to determine any hallmarks on the other component elements; the top keeper nut is welded in place by corrosion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLBArjFaujH16ibU3Hf2soSOEaOodzUr_4Z_2ia9WTTBaajPkNuBA2aXX1R3dUouEr4zHvCBAumj9k78Ez6WeMIR8fyv3aNMwtzYYvtmJSsNAemW9vdgVuKLAZ5amwavhsqqFdhOymCE/s1600/6250735967_79b12d8225_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLBArjFaujH16ibU3Hf2soSOEaOodzUr_4Z_2ia9WTTBaajPkNuBA2aXX1R3dUouEr4zHvCBAumj9k78Ez6WeMIR8fyv3aNMwtzYYvtmJSsNAemW9vdgVuKLAZ5amwavhsqqFdhOymCE/s320/6250735967_79b12d8225_o.jpg" width="290" /></a><br />
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<b>Robin Line, Hat badge, obverse detail</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZegF3VQT-iKPd9vg0Sdn9YFk0DkFuMoCySRX1lWSAaJHrw3ZPmPxZGT1tnVd-B42ltCu9yGUnW2p1R4RZO7ec22qFkAOE0GEi7A07YCRLEQLetsDD5aZZz6fB89dEefCx_OxNwfeELXE/s1600/6250736845_b26d9b5809_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZegF3VQT-iKPd9vg0Sdn9YFk0DkFuMoCySRX1lWSAaJHrw3ZPmPxZGT1tnVd-B42ltCu9yGUnW2p1R4RZO7ec22qFkAOE0GEi7A07YCRLEQLetsDD5aZZz6fB89dEefCx_OxNwfeELXE/s320/6250736845_b26d9b5809_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMsIgFG_GBLIaRel0mCdzK21RPyiXbt1pJQZUSYXtrTTsobDpIjKodSIt-2u3qd9lpJg8VN5TrpQNTNiU9X085zTYWtsmJSQKz1zOcv8i8jZiW9A4-TzbYNK2qEC_1Wf82Vw1TXMSk2E/s1600/6251266392_90256f1f81_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMsIgFG_GBLIaRel0mCdzK21RPyiXbt1pJQZUSYXtrTTsobDpIjKodSIt-2u3qd9lpJg8VN5TrpQNTNiU9X085zTYWtsmJSQKz1zOcv8i8jZiW9A4-TzbYNK2qEC_1Wf82Vw1TXMSk2E/s320/6251266392_90256f1f81_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9v0XDU543OAcOpiOzl5uZYjMiGVWVbv7FAPh-lr_sL4gqwJJD-a5FEd1mtNa0PUQNX9vroScKmJXBBgjYyLd8X5wTng_xvhdps_9vYN0mI3KMayYgOYDUarcDuioh39sDdNuY5shIns/s1600/6250743007_9ce63d1059_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq9v0XDU543OAcOpiOzl5uZYjMiGVWVbv7FAPh-lr_sL4gqwJJD-a5FEd1mtNa0PUQNX9vroScKmJXBBgjYyLd8X5wTng_xvhdps_9vYN0mI3KMayYgOYDUarcDuioh39sDdNuY5shIns/s320/6250743007_9ce63d1059_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MWdvSwfd2NC4qY-n7PbkHtqd-xgvZBr671xfUX8djbCFB20xEDOLKTGIahgHd3tZL7Dpah1bopP2XSvqHKza_yvXeWlA9rshNJGFoQbnzEJlHl0nxY8vGfi0UNky2Rw9cboiGpFLqLA/s1600/6251268476_9b50d46671_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MWdvSwfd2NC4qY-n7PbkHtqd-xgvZBr671xfUX8djbCFB20xEDOLKTGIahgHd3tZL7Dpah1bopP2XSvqHKza_yvXeWlA9rshNJGFoQbnzEJlHl0nxY8vGfi0UNky2Rw9cboiGpFLqLA/s320/6251268476_9b50d46671_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>Robin Line, Hat badge, backing and mohair band detail</b><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmI7yWLncNxmJgcU-flPvjCb_CazEUkWrP2f1Vvc0ZJU_7pBaH0_yuWLhZe9E2RhTcwkQPhU77imNXuFwynXtyhkHCy3TGj8zPeRgx2WzVSHoc2OaxSzZWJQ2ysTjk9_Ju7h5cL03h3fk/s1600/6251265224_0de8af7bc4_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmI7yWLncNxmJgcU-flPvjCb_CazEUkWrP2f1Vvc0ZJU_7pBaH0_yuWLhZe9E2RhTcwkQPhU77imNXuFwynXtyhkHCy3TGj8zPeRgx2WzVSHoc2OaxSzZWJQ2ysTjk9_Ju7h5cL03h3fk/s320/6251265224_0de8af7bc4_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3cIsCVMz4flThUGwKQAuvTtW0j7YLEfgr2NAt5A3H9mngwCjNr_bkRto6yk4b3BIcfa8SV2DAcgYc9AiZFE7Y2nA6-nWGNoq4It093gIsJNH1_6nn7LacAHEHzD6GskfwrzD-nTeQKo/s1600/6251267268_613fb51f1e_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3cIsCVMz4flThUGwKQAuvTtW0j7YLEfgr2NAt5A3H9mngwCjNr_bkRto6yk4b3BIcfa8SV2DAcgYc9AiZFE7Y2nA6-nWGNoq4It093gIsJNH1_6nn7LacAHEHzD6GskfwrzD-nTeQKo/s320/6251267268_613fb51f1e_o.jpg" width="296" /></a><br />
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<hr />
<b>Robin Line, coat lapel badge</b><br />
No hallmark. Gold-plate brass. Second World War era.<br />
<br />
This badge would be found in pairs on either coat lapel of a ship officer's reefer. This badge is gold-plated brass, with most of the gold rubbed away. Although the badge itself is without a readable hallmark, the pin snap has a miniscule H&H (Hilborn & Hamburg) star hallmark on its face and is marked Sterling.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8G00vgDFOm9y-VOalRK-qp_xolKTYtDHXDnukkgWPWwPLlEraACevNtWqaRTbbP27llc9xdRoOZ8yxenDkVA0MtYMWYIdhTL5PVzA7L49Kgq4Dwbd0POGfKvmx93hWAAWFKdWtr-CXM/s1600/6250743449_6dfde9a477_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8G00vgDFOm9y-VOalRK-qp_xolKTYtDHXDnukkgWPWwPLlEraACevNtWqaRTbbP27llc9xdRoOZ8yxenDkVA0MtYMWYIdhTL5PVzA7L49Kgq4Dwbd0POGfKvmx93hWAAWFKdWtr-CXM/s320/6250743449_6dfde9a477_o.jpg" width="198" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisq0wZ-WG3Yx8yzG9o7eXE-kh2ajoVZkYu6y1lxyhkLZpraQoi7MBxasWiyooe3TnuGzP0JRafnC-nRCR5s0ZlzXKRyE4v49Rpyq93OuM_K5VhqV0smQVZdrlmd6knZ72qjDTWRsDyrx8/s1600/6250743749_268cfc4e52_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisq0wZ-WG3Yx8yzG9o7eXE-kh2ajoVZkYu6y1lxyhkLZpraQoi7MBxasWiyooe3TnuGzP0JRafnC-nRCR5s0ZlzXKRyE4v49Rpyq93OuM_K5VhqV0smQVZdrlmd6knZ72qjDTWRsDyrx8/s320/6250743749_268cfc4e52_o.jpg" width="210" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-26822126968132929002011-12-31T14:11:00.003-05:002017-06-02T08:49:18.000-04:00British Antarctic Survey<span id="goog_1091015253"></span><span id="goog_1091015254"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_xJ8qDvyU_Qm_-uFpETugkXxCmftmjZhowQdOG_RlBmZpnCWiiy_tY3WhuctExfSwr5_m2P5jN4mj1R6l9RsjxEWBFoxNYCt3SJeFb4gg5lVFHVVUFN-xvafD-rSetejPc54nIKa_zE/s1600/bas-hatbadge.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_xJ8qDvyU_Qm_-uFpETugkXxCmftmjZhowQdOG_RlBmZpnCWiiy_tY3WhuctExfSwr5_m2P5jN4mj1R6l9RsjxEWBFoxNYCt3SJeFb4gg5lVFHVVUFN-xvafD-rSetejPc54nIKa_zE/s200/bas-hatbadge.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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A maxim in many a post-modern and structural Anthropology or cultural history course during my tenure at the University of Virginia and Brown University, and brief sojourns at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and the Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa held common by my colleagues and instructors was that to better understand a society, inquiry should be directed to those on the periphery. Furthermore, by gross example, these marginal or liminal groups may either amplify or atrophy discrete structural patterns in the greater society, thus aiding the social scientist in testing theories about cultural universals in the studied society. This is not a novel idea, the theoretical practice of probing cases on the extreme was explored by leading naturalists and scientists of the nineteenth, twentieth and our own centuries; among them: Charles Darwin who synthesized observations gathered on his voyages aboard the HMS <i>Beagle</i> about evolution, and Walter Falcon Scott journalling weather patterns on his treks across Antarctica. Extending the argument somewhat by using the same critical modality as those in the social sciences, the student of the British maritime establishment may learn much by casting a thoughtful gaze at the history, uniforms, and traditions of those serving aboard Royal Research vessels of the British Antarctic Survey. This post will address the first two points.<br />
<br />
The British Antarctic Survey's (BAS) history, by virtue of its mission and unique circumstance, mirrors that of the United Kingdom's polar adventures. It may trace its immediate lineage to the halcyon days of heroic exploration by Shackleton and Scott, and Second World War secret Royal Naval expeditions of Operation Tabarin I and II. The BAS first answered to the Colonial Office as the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), and then later as the BAS proper to the National Environmental Research Council (NERC); through these organizational permutations, the ships themselves remained Royal Research Vessels, and mariners civilian.<br />
<br />
British scientific interest and exploration of the South Pole began in earnest during the early 1830s with the charting expeditions of John Biscoe. Following him, the Royal Society and Admiralty, through private donation and public subscription, brought a small, but steady stream of explorers to the Antarctic. These men-of-science, experiencing the extremes of human endurance, ventured to the continent and its surrounding seas questioning everything from geologic history to ionosphere behavior and photo-plankton life-cycles. Ships of the period were whalers, borrowed naval ships, and the rare purposefully refitted vessel; all carrying men and materiel to the great ice-shelf and battered polar islands or purposefully (or not) acting as an ice-bound wintering-over base. With fits and starts, exploratory activity was bound by contemporaneous technology; only once the elements could be withstood, did survey give way to dashes to interior peaks and foundation of research camps. Antarctica played host to scores of international researchers during this heady time - with Great Britain leading the pack. Then came war, and Antarctic exploration was largely abandoned. After a decade lull in activity inaugurated by the Great War and broken by Shackleton in 1925, scientific curiosity tempered by national prestige became the new face of exploration; the independent amateur adventurer bowed out to the Royally warranted researcher. It is at this juncture at the cusp of end of the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration that the Royal Research Ship or Vessel - with alternate prefixes RRS, RRV or RARV - took the stage.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4RxaGEyf4C0PK7bUDQBNO-cE6WI3fMwE19WaMiLD5ujnxocX7HLx_x6Y2WgHoIzbHrVs8ZEpmYscPv8PJmuma04MzIFjl00xpDloxxC1eNIK3NRA45FPqpYNXp1KfHTs6S0R5Sf939EE/s1600/2002705928.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4RxaGEyf4C0PK7bUDQBNO-cE6WI3fMwE19WaMiLD5ujnxocX7HLx_x6Y2WgHoIzbHrVs8ZEpmYscPv8PJmuma04MzIFjl00xpDloxxC1eNIK3NRA45FPqpYNXp1KfHTs6S0R5Sf939EE/s320/2002705928.jpg" width="235" /></a><br />
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The Royal Charter of research vessels began with the 1923 Crown purchase of the <i>Discovery</i> for the Royally warranted 1925 Discovery Expedition. This ship was the same three-master which carried Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their 1901-1904 expeditions. Curiously, not coterminous with <i>Discovery</i>'s refitting, flags and crests were not created, rather only official uniforms designed (which we shall return to later) - the former happened when British territorial claims in Antarctica were no longer an international afterthought in the late 1960s. Royal pomp aside, the purpose of the Royal Research Ship was to provide a support platform for scientific endeavor in and around the Antarctic. Beginning with the astounding success of the RRS <i>Discovery</i> and its crew, the Crown continued its patronage and warranted vessels up until the present day. And, with the charter of <i>Discovery</i>, a precedent for Admiralty provision of vessels began. RRS vessels, in turn, were manned by individuals under contract by the organizations which were given the vessels. Thus, under FIDS, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary under Admiralty proviso placed crew on RRS until the 1962 dissolution of FIDS, and the dual creation of NERC and BAS. At this point responsibility for the personnel and ships of the RRS fleet - which grew to include oceanographic, fisheries, polar and Antarctic research vessels - was handed to NERC, with the noted exception of the former; it became the province of the British Antarctic Survey.<br />
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In its various guises the BAS fleet was never very large, and ships' crew few. These individuals were (and are) members of the British Merchant Navy and as such are British or British nationals of one sort or another. During its days as a Falklands Islands Dependencies Survey auxiliary, with long layovers in Stanley (where BAS vessels are flagged and homeport) many a BAS seaman was a Falkland Islander; these days, with off-season dry-docking in the British Isles, this is no longer the case. At this writing, there are two Royal Research vessels chartered for use by the BAS, the RRS <i>James Clark Ross</i> and the RRS <i>Ernest Shackleton</i>. Their respective compliment is 80 (11 Officers, 15 Crew, 1 Doctor and 52 Scientific Personnel) and 72 (22 Officers/Crew and 50 Scientific Personnel). They are run as standard British Merchant Navy Vessels with their organization an outgrowth of a century-old tradition of a division of ship navigation and cargo handling, propulsion and victualing. As such, each member of the crew has a highly circumscribed role with no overlap in responsibilities among the licensed officers. Other members of the crew work as a team within their group; however, if holding a specific trade, a crewman works within that in conjunction with their Department; in other words, a motorman would not find himself in catering. This classic departmental division is also found on Royal Navy vessels, but that is where the similarity both begins and ends - BAS vessels, despite being subject to Admiralty rulings, have no connection with the Royal Navy; although, in theory a reserve Royal Navy officer may serve onboard, but not in the capacity of a warrior. Using the RRS <i>James Clark Ross</i> as our model (the RRS <i>Ernest Shackleton</i> has a different manning level due to the type of vessel), the onboard organization is comprised of Deck, Engineering, and Catering Departments; respectively, each has its province in the superstructure, amidships and the galley. The Radio Officer, otherwise colloquially known as "Comms man", despite spending most of his time in the bridge is in organizational purview of the Engineering Department, yet reports to the ship's Captain. Each of the three Departments' compliment with responsibilities is as follows:<b><br /><br />Deck</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Captain - Command of the vessel and overall commanding officer. On the RRS James Clark Ross, he is dubbed the traditional "Old Man" and sometimes the more playful "Daddy."</li>
<li>Chief Officer - The executive officer of the ship. Involved in the quotidian concerns of the Deck Department. He is also responsible for the stability of the ship, loading and discharging cargo, and feeder boat operations.</li>
<li>Second Officer - Responsible for the passage planning and maintaining the chart portfolio, including navigational corrections.</li>
<li>Third Officer - The most junior Deck Officer is responsible for maintaining much of the Life Saving Equipment.</li>
<li>Bosun - In charge of the Deck Crew. His is not a licensed officer's position (likewise as are his subordinates); an approximate US Navy relative position would be that of Chief Petty Officer.</li>
<li>Bosun's Mate - This position is subaltern to that of the Bosun. His responsibilities involve sounding the all the fresh water and ballast tanks.</li>
<li>AB's (Able Bodied Seamen) - On the RRS James Clark Ross they are the general deck hands. The ship carries five.</li>
</ul>
BAS vessels follow a standard Merchant Navy and Royal Navy watch system. The Chief, 2nd and 3rd Officer are on watches when at sea. The Chief does 4-8, 3rd 8-12, and 2nd 12-4. Also on watch are one of the five AB's who rotate, with two on day work for a week and the other three on watches. The only change in Deck compliment is that from time to time, an additional Deck Officer might join the ship to work with the scientists in the deployment and recovery of equipment. At times, like most British-flag vessels, the crew may be augmented by a singular cadet.<b><br /><br />Engine</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Chief Engineer - He has an equivalent rank to that of the Captain but it would be unusual for him to ever have command of the ship. His responsibilities include overseeing all aspects ship's propulsion and internal mechanics.</li>
<li>2nd Engineer - Responsible for the day to day running of the Engine Room.</li>
<li>3rd and 4th Engineer - Assist the 2nd as required and directed.</li>
<li>Deck Engineer. Responsible for scientific and supporting equipment, such as winches and gantries.</li>
<li>ETO(L) - Electrician. Responsible for all the electrical equipment onboard.</li>
<li>ETO(C) - Communications (Radioman). Maintains all communications and navigational equipment. The two ETO's work in tandem with some jobs being covered by both.</li>
<li>Motormen - They are highly skilled unlicensed crewmembers; in terms of position, are crucial to the function of the Engine Department. Prior to the advent of modern training, they were the "old hands" which would undo the mistakes of younger or less experienced engineers as well as serving in the traditional role of providing extra hands. On the RRS James Clark Ross there are two; they perform engineering tasks allowing the licensed engineers to execute more difficult jobs.</li>
</ul>
<b>Catering</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Purser - In charge of the Catering Department. He is also responsible for storing the vessel with victuals and the office of keeping ship's accommodations clean and tidy. He also acts in the role as a "hotel manager" and looks after the needs of visiting scientists and passengers.</li>
<li>Chief Cook - In charge of the Galley; he rates a Petty Officer.</li>
<li>Assistant Cook - Second in charge. He is responsible for baking the bread each day.</li>
<li>Chief Steward - Responsible for looking after the accommodations.</li>
<li>Stewards - Two work for the Chief Steward and one assists in the Galley.</li>
</ul>
<b>Medical</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Doctor - The ship has a hospital and when working in Southern waters or "down south" it carries a single doctor. Historically, the doctor joined the ship in Great Britain and sailed for the entire season; however, as of late, he joined the ship in the Falkland Islands. The rationale for this change is that in terms of economics, a there has not been a need for one on the Atlantic passage. Nor is one carried in Arctic waters.</li>
</ul>
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Aboard BAS vessels of today, only the officers have undress uniforms. Aside from the Deck Officers and the Purser, it is only worn at meal times. Engineer officers spend their day in working gear or boiler suits and tend to only get changed into uniform for dinner in the evening. The compliment of the ship and visiting scientists messes are divided among the three groups: officers, scientists and unlicensed crew. The Crew all eat in the Crew Mess, with the officers and scientists eating in the Officer's and Scientists Saloon. Furthermore, following traditions mentioned elsewhere, Stewards wear a uniform while serving in the Saloon.<br />
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The RRS <i>James Clark Ross</i> and the RRS <i>Ernest Shackleton</i> operate in different ways, hence the difference in compliment. Both will move scientists around and act as supply vessels, delivering all the equipment that is required to run an Antarctic Base. The RRS <i>James Clark Ross</i> tends to the small island of Signy (summer only), Bird Island and South Georgia, as well as the serving as the main relief for Rothera. The RRS <i>Ernest Shackleton</i> does the relief of Halley each year and then visits the smaller BAS bases. Both ships take waste as and when required.<br />
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Like the original Royal Research vessels, The RRS <i>James Clark Ross</i> acts as a floating scientific platform. Scientists will join the ship, bringing specialist equipment with them. The ship will give them accommodation and computing facilities, and then interface their equipment to the ship. Equipment is as varied as low/high-pressure hydraulics, and electricity in the many forms that it can be turned into interacting with hot/cold water and salt water. The vessel travels to locations specified by the scientists and deploys the equipment as required. A typical science cruise on the RRS <i>James Clark Ross</i> will last six or seven weeks. This upcoming season, the RRS <i>James Clark Ross</i> will carry out about ten or eleven science cruises, with some being complete dedicated cruises for a singular purpose, while others are fitted into other work and may only take a few days or weeks.<br />
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An early group photograph of officers on the RRS <i>Sir William Scoresby</i> show them in Merchant Navy garb, with a few unique embellishments. These uniforms were recently new innovations for the British Mercantile Marine quum Merchant Navy. In the years that followed the Great War, King George V honored the British Mercantile Marine for its valiant service rendered to the Empire in the face of battle by giving it the official moniker of Merchant Navy with the Prince of Wales as its Master. This title underscored the fact that British merchantmen were Royal Navy auxiliaries and could be pressed into service in the event of a national emergency; it is worth noting that decades after the United States attempted to follow the British example with varied results. As a sanctioned and militarized government marine, Merchant Navy officers were licensed, and at an individual's and company's prerogative, uniformed in distinctive cap devices and special cuff lace (alternately known as braid, distinction lace or rank stripes). The cap device (hat badge in United States parlance) is comprised of a Tudor Naval Crown surmounting a maroon-cushioned oval on which rests a silver anchor without cable. The cushion is surrounded by a double border of tightly looped gold wire or purl, and framed by gold oak leaves and acorns. The stylized Tudor Naval Crown is of particular interest as it is found on official British ship crests - for King Henry is credited with circumnavigating the British Isles. Cuff lace, also authorized for Merchant Navy officers, followed the pattern set by the Royal Navy with the noted exception of the executive curl, which as opposed to being curvilinear and resting on the uppermost rank stripe was moved between stripes and made lozenge. As may be discerned from the photograph, officers aboard an RARV wore an insigne quite similar to that of period Merchant Navy (at the time also called interchangeably the Mercantile Marine or Mercantile Navy) and Royal Navy. This is a not at all uncommon occurrence, as Shipping Lines and the Government Marine wore very similar rank identifiers and uniform components; what is striking is the fact that RARV officers have crowns above their rank stripes and modified Merchant Navy cap badges. There exists no clear published explanation for this uniform design - other Admiralty-sanctioned bodies and Merchant Navy types at the time wore a insignia, whereas RRS crew wore something altogether dissimilar. If we think of the RRS crew as Merchant Mariners, then we would expect lozenges and chevrons in the cuff lace; if we think of them as an Admiralty body, then cuff devices would be wavy with elaborate executive curls like their peers in the Fleet Marine Reserve or Volunteer Reserve Navy. However, if we consider RRS as an independent extra-governmental body, as the Irish Lights Commission, whose maritime personnel wore lace similar to that of the RRS officers, albeit with a miniature lighthouse device above all, then the curious cuff symbolism makes sense. The RRS had the distinction of being Royally warranted, thus explaining the crown cuff devices. RRS is unique in being the only British maritime organization to have these specific cuff devices. Other, private lines, which held warrants from the Crown to carry mail could have a Royal Crown surmounting company insignia on cap devices and buttons but not above cuff lace.<br />
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However, unlike the Royal Navy and like the Merchant Navy, officer uniforms of the British Antarctic Survey continue to have branch colors between the rank rings on coat cuffs and epaulettes. The practice for distinguishing non-executive office by such means was abolished in 1955 by the Royal Navy, except for those who must be clearly recognisable as non-combatants serving with the Royal Navy as stipulated under the Geneva Convention. Since Merchant lines and the Merchant Navy inhabited a civil space their uniforms retained the practice. The BAS, not subject to Royal Navy regulations, also kept the distinctive colors. A relevant thought to consider is that since the same tailoring shops provided both shipping lines and the Royal Navy with livery and uniforms, influence of the latter can be discerned in the former, and now former acts as a remembrance of a passed tradition; interestingly, formal military costume these days is thought to retain conservative fashion and embellishments, this example is quite the opposite.<br />
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As mentioned previously, the BAS vessel officer insignia closely mirrors that of the Merchant Navy; this is quite visible in the insignia of rank. At present, on either cuff braid on coats or slip-on epaulettes for shirts, the lace of distinction is thus for BAS vessel officers:<br />
<ul>
<li>Captain and Chief Engineer: four stripes</li>
<li>Chief Officer and 2nd Engineer: three stripes</li>
<li>2nd Officer and 3rd Engineer: two stripes</li>
<li>3rd Officer and 4th Engineer: one stripe.</li>
<li>Electricians or Electric Technical Officers (ETO) including the Radio Officer, and the Purser: two and one half stripes.</li>
</ul>
Branch colors, found between the rank stripes are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Black: Executive or Deck.</li>
<li>Green: Electricians (ETO)</li>
<li>Blue: Engineers.</li>
<li>White: Pursers and Catering.</li>
</ul>
In the late 1950s, branch colors were exactly the same, with the noted exception of:<br />
<ul>
<li>Purple: Engineers.</li>
<li>Red: Surgeons or ship's doctors.</li>
</ul>
Through the 1950s until the present day, Pursers and Catering staff also wear distinctive silver buttons.<br />
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Returning to the hat badge itself, of interest and what makes the BAS badge unique is the heterogeneous use of apparently Royal Navy and Merchant Navy symbolic elements. The cap device is comprised of a Royal crown surmounting a white leather cushioned oval on which rests a black anchor. The cushion is surrounded by a double border of tightly looped gold purl, and framed by tightly-grouped gold laurel leaves. The St. Edward crown on the BAS cap badge is such because its fleet were once Royal Research vessels - prior to Elizabeth II's ascension the crown was a Tudor-style crown, note the difference in both the presented badges and those of the officers in the photograph above. The white oval is a symbolic reminder of the BAS vessels being involved in Polar region exploration. And the black anchor is in somber respect of the Antarctic explorer, Sir Walter Scott who died on his last venture to the ice-bound continent. Thus, a Royal Navy element is not present, and the badge follows a decidedly Merchant Navy pattern.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXy298fYM07Viz-i6P6wyNh_6D0MdyWFd8a1Q_Qc0QrUF3rIYflgXfTJ9O8Eq73gSyVmjlAQ6BxCs4LD8ru2_mlQK-xBCb2Gg6HnZ-fxXvznO0swZs2hag6ZaktEFoYGwc-RkCTQkyR0/s1600/v3782.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXy298fYM07Viz-i6P6wyNh_6D0MdyWFd8a1Q_Qc0QrUF3rIYflgXfTJ9O8Eq73gSyVmjlAQ6BxCs4LD8ru2_mlQK-xBCb2Gg6HnZ-fxXvznO0swZs2hag6ZaktEFoYGwc-RkCTQkyR0/s320/v3782.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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If we view the uniform as a second skin, then the emblems displayed and badges of rank presented thereupon - as Clastres posits that tattoos do in primitive society - serve as visible metaphors of belonging to and the execution of a polity's power over the individual. That is, they are potent inscriptions of a subaltern status to society and hierarchical affiliation within societal structure upon the body. These badges, in turn following Foucault's argument in Discipline and Punish, both remind and bind the self, mold the person into a circumscribed role, and mark an individual person to others. That's quite a weighty symbolic package taken by donning a uniform, and a few flourishes of cloth and metal, but there you are.<br />
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Merchant Navy insignia, and by extension BAS insignia, details the very specific identification of place and privilege concerns of the British polity acting within the maritime establishment. At the interwar zenith of the British Empire, the accepted British Imperial uniform geography reached fruition: medals and badges of individual distinction found their locus over the chest, close to the heart; a person's station showed itself on the sleeve; and allegiance on one's hat. Through the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, the Royal Navy was the master of the seas, was regarded as force to both emulate and fear; and to mimic. For example, the color distinction between cuff rank rings elaborated by decree in 1853 for the officers of the Royal Navy soon found its way onto uniforms of commercial lines once their ships aggregated into fleets. With the adoption of Imperial insignia viz branch colors and cuff braid, many merchant shipping companies attempted to attract business or create an illusion of professionalism by purposefully basing their corporate livery upon the uniform of the Royal Navy. Cook Castle and Co was the first to adopting the color "inserts" and went as far as using the executive curl. Other shipping concerns, following the trend initiated by those with greater gravitas, chose those designs which were generally agreed upon and adopted by uniform suppliers - albeit tempered by the personal taste of the ship owner as determined by available commercial options - a shade of blue brighter or weave a bit more elaborate than the original. And, still others had no uniform at all (this last point changed by a series of Royal decrees in 1918, 1919 and finally 1921, only met recension in 1995).<br />
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National militaries, following the thesis of De Chambray in Philosophie de la Guerre, are in harmony with a country's social and political organization. The formal British maritime establishment reproduced the caste system in the discipline and structure of its ships, reaching its symbolic elaboration in the difference between the costume of its officers and men. Uniform components of prestige materials, lace of gold wire and finely tailored coats were reserved for officers, while petty ("petite" or lesser) officers wore frocks with diminution of fancy detail, and ratings singlets and wool blouses. Cap devices, it may be noted, follows the same rubric: more detailed for the officer, stripping away of elements for the petty officer, and finally leaving a band of machine-sencilled ribbon for the rank and file. It could be stated that uniform follows function, but when one functions less, one's clothing becomes becomes elaborate for appearance or pretension of status. It is thought that markers of rank and distinct devices provide an esprit de corps, but only within a culture of rigid and enforced difference.<br />
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The crew onboard BAS vessels of the second millennium are not found working in formal uniforms, as may be the case on Royal Navy ships. However, being a Royal Research vessel, all are uniformed in some fashion and officers do own bits of insignia. The uniform culture that marked wartime Britain has long passed, and informal, if not personally intimate relationships among BAS and other civilian-manned vessel prevail. Artifacts of an older, formal culture are found in the daily meals in the wardroom in which ship officers may be found in shirt-sleeves adorned with rank-slides. Reefer jackets, once an item for almost daily wear in temperate climates and formal occasions, rarely find their way from the locker. The last time a BAS crew was found in such wear was for a Fleet Review in 2005. The Captain may don his hat on other official duties, such as taking on a pilot or a visit from a dignitary. The hard work and inclement weather experienced by the crew forces a spirit of pragmatism; they are not in dress rehearsal for battle, and outward examples of individual discipline as manifest by gleaming brass buckles, eternally pressed shirts and waxed shoes have given way to work boots, boiler suits and heavy foul-weather gear. By and large BAS personnel have not traditionally worn uniforms and caps simply because there are few opportunities to wear them: their work milleu and Antarctic environment are not conducive to fancy dress. Best of luck to the collector of BAS vessel officer items, they are the rarest of the rare and highly obscure.<br />
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<b><i>References and further reading:</i></b><br />
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British Antarctic Survey. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/British-Antarctic-Survey/dp/0856650595/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496407292&sr=1-4&keywords=british+antarctic+survey&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=1fa456e80db5ea500e01533dcf22cd79" target="_blank">British Antarctic Survey</a></i>. British Antarctic Survey, December 1977.<br />
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Sir Vivian Fuchs. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ice-Men-British-Antarctic-Hardcover/dp/B00NPOPL0M/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496407292&sr=1-6&keywords=british+antarctic+survey&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=2892e7e26d40a075c6663589d40c3739" target="_blank"><i>Of Ice and Men: the story of the British Antarctic Survey 1943-73</i></a>. Anthony Nelson Ltd., 1982.<br />
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Ernest Henry Shackleton. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Antarctic-British-Expedition-1907-1909/dp/1841580813/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496407292&sr=1-2&keywords=british+antarctic+survey&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=4412380ad4edfad4bda4a8055485057c" target="_blank"><i>The Heart of the Antarctic: The Story of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909</i></a>. Birlin Publishers, 2002.<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">BAS, Hat badge</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaASHcVN6bCmb9dJ0A04cz-kOkSqyB-LS-XEPde4OYXNWuUxKsbvSOqm-Bmh4IdWdBYjtL84InnFuMK1oGB2I5i6ho2Dxdwr4a_YN72w25Y9Gr3nTSSvnGmszeL3-kDABoYzliZ1Ya-e8/s1600/P5120001.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaASHcVN6bCmb9dJ0A04cz-kOkSqyB-LS-XEPde4OYXNWuUxKsbvSOqm-Bmh4IdWdBYjtL84InnFuMK1oGB2I5i6ho2Dxdwr4a_YN72w25Y9Gr3nTSSvnGmszeL3-kDABoYzliZ1Ya-e8/s320/P5120001.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlEkp7y3la5BGLbsOLW3rk7ko_wxB9JHhdrF0DCdum1dZqtGWAgZsJmFpZCTV69VCtOUTc4DpnuyKdmoWGCl_z99X0eo-VxkJojdCWJ0jWhLldEpogT-ArCr2ShYa0Eg1sz7RWSu4j38s/s1600/bas-hatbadge.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlEkp7y3la5BGLbsOLW3rk7ko_wxB9JHhdrF0DCdum1dZqtGWAgZsJmFpZCTV69VCtOUTc4DpnuyKdmoWGCl_z99X0eo-VxkJojdCWJ0jWhLldEpogT-ArCr2ShYa0Eg1sz7RWSu4j38s/s320/bas-hatbadge.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Trebuchet, "Trebuchet MS", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">BAS, Hat badge fake</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZ9ATf7iYRClkEQpEW4mLNtVTKYuoxMsEaaWGHxFgKCwn7OHu5GeB-tEWAekANnQ8gJ02xc7OMBZXWM1rKRr5Zy1fSNaiQ5SMqmIUHcmjjGy4tFW1Y6PggZdq7vLWRe7yAFaxVFgUN44/s1600/%2524%2528KGrHqQOKnUE53D9Tk52BOrqjdY0Hg%257E%257E60_12.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZ9ATf7iYRClkEQpEW4mLNtVTKYuoxMsEaaWGHxFgKCwn7OHu5GeB-tEWAekANnQ8gJ02xc7OMBZXWM1rKRr5Zy1fSNaiQ5SMqmIUHcmjjGy4tFW1Y6PggZdq7vLWRe7yAFaxVFgUN44/s320/%2524%2528KGrHqQOKnUE53D9Tk52BOrqjdY0Hg%257E%257E60_12.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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There do exist fake BAS badges on the market and are quite dodgey in their composition. One found in the wild is described as 1950s Queen's crown British Antarctic Survey badges. It is quite simply a Royal Navy Officer's cap badge with a piece of white linen placed beneath a black-painted anchor. The badge is suspect on every account. As is known in cap badge circles, even "economy issue" badges produced at the end of the Second World War are deftly executed - a poorly affixed oval of cloth would never be found on the forward face of a badge. The wreath is altogether incorrect and the anchor is incongruous in both pattern and period. If anything, we might suspect a period BAS officer wearing a Royal Auxilliary Fleet badge, and not a poorly defaced RN one. An image of the cited example is found below. As always, caveat emptor; this was sold at online auction for some 32pounds - only because the seller misspelled "Antarctic" as "Antartic."ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-25105738837806909772011-10-28T15:56:00.000-04:002017-11-27T14:44:10.995-05:00British Tanker Co.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mXdd-_JQkvPUJVDlFbeMSm956Md8jM8gzTWUqjR5S-TvZJTFdQz5p7Zsi0AZhYoNTcjj0VykEtJrEE_KAc4cKWp_7mKGEUT01dgEw9m9NGNgs9DFNl-qZwranv3ZEoikS_OUjp5mVio/s1600/5463288634_212d7a0336_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mXdd-_JQkvPUJVDlFbeMSm956Md8jM8gzTWUqjR5S-TvZJTFdQz5p7Zsi0AZhYoNTcjj0VykEtJrEE_KAc4cKWp_7mKGEUT01dgEw9m9NGNgs9DFNl-qZwranv3ZEoikS_OUjp5mVio/s200/5463288634_212d7a0336_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>British Tanker Co.</b><br />
Officer hat badge<br />
Metal, gold wire, silk and colored thread on wool backing.<br />
Circa 1940s.<br />
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Lately there has been an increased number of television commercials urging tourists to flock to vacations on the Gulf Coast - all of which are sponsored by British Petroleum. This brings to mind that last year I presented a British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge, <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2010/06/british-petroleum-tanker-co.html">here</a>. In that post I mentioned an earlier hat badge used between 1926 and 1955; presented now is said badge.<br />
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The period in which this hat badge was worn was an exciting one for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and by extension British Tanker Co. - profits were terrific, ships were built, the War came and Persia became Iran. There was much expansion of British oil exploration throughout the Middle East, and the Kingdom of Persia in particular. With government backing, the tanker fleet became one of the largest in the world, and its ships could be seen plying the waters between the Persian Gulf and the Suez on up to the British Isles - with regular stop-overs at the Port of Aden, where British interests created a safe haven for its sailors in the protectorate. In an effort to have a more efficient and profitable tanker fleet, vessels were fitted with modern tanks, pumping systems and numeous safety measures. The Second World War came, and with the declaration of hostilities, British Tanker Co. found its fleet under attack; by war's end, a third of its assets sunk and later replaced. By 1955, the British Merchantile Marine reached its zenith, and afterward met an eventual swift decline. BP survived, the fall, however.<br />
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<b>References:</b><br />
Over this past year, I have come across many excellent and encyclopedic works on general British Petroleum history, with scant passages on its tanker fleet throughout. Bill Harvey's book remains the best reference for BP tankers, in specific.<br />
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Bill Harvey, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1861762518/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=ca791c15b537c71fd85673e477133226">BP Tankers: A Group Fleet History</a></i><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1861762518&camp=217145&creative=399373" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. London: Greenhill Books, 2006.<br />
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Henry Longhurst, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CK9UU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=3038381cb93cfe9c2f973d40494810c8">Adventure in Oil: The Story of British Petroleum</a></i><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0000CK9UU&camp=217145&creative=399373" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1959.<br />
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Ronald W. Ferrier, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521246474/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=772a33624cd31ce6c24063a298d5976a">The History of the British Petroleum Company, Vol. 1: The Developing Years, 1901-1932</a></i><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0521246474&camp=217145&creative=399373" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. London: Cambridge University Press, 1982.<br />
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James H. Bamberg, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521259509/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=55cccb5922c5e635b95073a2fe1cf6e7">The History of the British Petroleum Company, Vol. 2: The Anglo-Iranian Years, 1928-1954</a></i><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0521259509&camp=217145&creative=399373" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. London: Cambridge University Press, 1994.<br />
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James H. Bamberg, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521785154/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=6ae2cfc4a47e3349e587f5cbafc83282">The History of British Petroleum, Vol. 3: The Challenge of Nationalism, 1950-1975</a></i><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0521785154&camp=217145&creative=399373" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. London: Cambridge University Press, 2000.<br />
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<b>British Tanker Co., officer hat badge, obverse</b><br />
Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.<br />
Circa 1940s.<br />
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The central badge device is comprised of a rectangular British Tanker Co. house flag of applied ribbed silk fabric - with details stitched in silk floss - and outlined with coiled gold metal. The flag is surrounded by laurel leaves of gold purl with stems of applied coiled gold metal. Surmouting all is a stamped gilt base metal lion passant gardant. All is stitched on a padded black wool base.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspv7Kx9Ss_qAM-bA2tDYBZCpR3fC6Dsdt3Q3gl1oalFNAOl0HCYBL6u5xEgx4PUG7r4QjFlkMlEo-1duZ4sCRfF_QJ3GmHLHv46wBRBd86y52VtI1IIc_TgSHuhwsHzzuyrjs9Cg0pcs/s1600/5463288634_212d7a0336_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspv7Kx9Ss_qAM-bA2tDYBZCpR3fC6Dsdt3Q3gl1oalFNAOl0HCYBL6u5xEgx4PUG7r4QjFlkMlEo-1duZ4sCRfF_QJ3GmHLHv46wBRBd86y52VtI1IIc_TgSHuhwsHzzuyrjs9Cg0pcs/s320/5463288634_212d7a0336_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>British Tanker Co., officer hat badge, obverse detail</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgxJ653PaWjSgncqBzgSXvtJTOsNVhs6AzsvgtUoU6dxgBj66pFR4asRBJZhqgo74KsTRGOuGBxj7p3_TAT8npFYhm-lXjPg_SnFDHL54dvA0c7pc1xQRox569sv3BIlP5tDC7CK1boU/s1600/5463288930_bbde9b8431_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgxJ653PaWjSgncqBzgSXvtJTOsNVhs6AzsvgtUoU6dxgBj66pFR4asRBJZhqgo74KsTRGOuGBxj7p3_TAT8npFYhm-lXjPg_SnFDHL54dvA0c7pc1xQRox569sv3BIlP5tDC7CK1boU/s320/5463288930_bbde9b8431_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>British Tanker Co., officer hat badge, obverse detail</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7LDxfY6S8E_CNwItKNwBCBMWt0R9NzN1otInT8tmuqvnX6_14OQrQsxn99vamjHCd1BUJgCOYFhQO-1xYoix6L5CFZ2J1vxIusz3C39U0MTGR2nGGjAHCjggqf2trotIwNFHhIma2zE/s1600/5463288286_6fe66e9e0c_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc7LDxfY6S8E_CNwItKNwBCBMWt0R9NzN1otInT8tmuqvnX6_14OQrQsxn99vamjHCd1BUJgCOYFhQO-1xYoix6L5CFZ2J1vxIusz3C39U0MTGR2nGGjAHCjggqf2trotIwNFHhIma2zE/s320/5463288286_6fe66e9e0c_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>British Tanker Co. Ltd.</b><br />
House Flag.<br />
838.2 x 1219.2 mm<br />
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, <i>Pope Collection</i>.<br />
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The house flag of the British Tanker Co. Ltd, London. On a white filed is a red cross with a green diamond in the center bearing a gold lion passant gardant. This design was in use from 1926 to 1955 - the central lion symbolizing the Company's Iranian interests. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fiber bunting; it has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The flag's central design is painted. A rope and two Inglefield clips are attached.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyHozgkZzcLFCnKMC-Gl3x5jGwr3OhkyajAnRN4fjGJGTsf7tv_QytKjt0Sh8TkYn9lBV8U8LRr2OYE1wLXULQbD9ycnixXpCxOMX9g3Mbyn5wkiweFYDdsW4ZfMgaNSvtqBVoSFGzHyE/s1600/6289076401_a717389b6e_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyHozgkZzcLFCnKMC-Gl3x5jGwr3OhkyajAnRN4fjGJGTsf7tv_QytKjt0Sh8TkYn9lBV8U8LRr2OYE1wLXULQbD9ycnixXpCxOMX9g3Mbyn5wkiweFYDdsW4ZfMgaNSvtqBVoSFGzHyE/s320/6289076401_a717389b6e_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>British Tanker Co. Ltd.</b><br />
<i>British Gratitude</i> ship model.<br />
Scale: 1:192<br />
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.<br />
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The <i>British Gratitude</i> is depicted the model below in wartime rig with paravanes, light anti-aircraft machine guns, and anti-torpedo net booms and posts. <i>British Gratitude</i> was owned and operated by the British Tanker Company. Built in 1942 by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, it was 470 feet in length and 8463 tons gross, very small by contemporary standards. It survived the Second World War and continued to have an active career under the ownership of British Petroleum. She was eventually sold for breaking up in 1959.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RBy1gOk7Jo4WA2vY7Oq_vydmC5Il38rxfexfs0rL6CFGGp3EFO92CAwil_BN6_sNLlOfPWS2_FSDp_ofGrbT_Lx_eYvYHoeYiNZsCdpNF2Iws6Cp7Ao9e494gmzrHhCdIHdtLwFqtxU/s1600/6289821078_db79be73db_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RBy1gOk7Jo4WA2vY7Oq_vydmC5Il38rxfexfs0rL6CFGGp3EFO92CAwil_BN6_sNLlOfPWS2_FSDp_ofGrbT_Lx_eYvYHoeYiNZsCdpNF2Iws6Cp7Ao9e494gmzrHhCdIHdtLwFqtxU/s320/6289821078_db79be73db_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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From the Collection of Lyle Halkett I present two interesting British Petroleum hat badges.<br />
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The first is a modern pattern of the first British Tanker Company design, followed by that of a 1940's pattern of a BTC Petty Officer hat badge; both follow the same symbolic and stylistic language as other presented BP badges. Do take particular note of the Petty officer badge, as it follows the precedent set in <i>The Mercantile Marine (Uniform) Order</i>, 1921 Schedule which states that a Petty Officer's cap badge is to be of the same design as hat of a officer's with the exception that the surrounding oak leaves and acorns be deleted. The schedule outlines a previously announced, but not defined uniform order from 1919.<br />
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<b>British Tanker Co., officer hat badge, obverse</b><br />
Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.<br />
Pattern circa 1940s.<br />
Collection of Lyle Halkett<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDiE0TZySFSL_s2qil-FLV0r8qkTpFRLGLPNZc8BdxZQAy2Fp26gu5-Nl_Yt4RPOkhoPPiCUEUivvMVSgDMDFvMS4Fy2tOVNZjd-qdlSDZac245AjQYxZmIz8DkkEe36MJGCyrt3YoX0/s1600/6439513627_4ba76c8670_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDiE0TZySFSL_s2qil-FLV0r8qkTpFRLGLPNZc8BdxZQAy2Fp26gu5-Nl_Yt4RPOkhoPPiCUEUivvMVSgDMDFvMS4Fy2tOVNZjd-qdlSDZac245AjQYxZmIz8DkkEe36MJGCyrt3YoX0/s320/6439513627_4ba76c8670_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<b><br />British Petroleum Shipping Co. Chief Petty Officer hat badge, obverse.</b><br />
Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.<br />
Circa 1940s.<br />
Collection of Lyle Halkett<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaJOFUdm-cp3CPrhxPa-Fhfy_bzLl2iqdOrr1naOuBPhIG2P6lVh7kBXqC492QUkN5XJVBWprytja1wS4zRI3Se9_1FMZvIkAEG1e7cbDQZo69GdPyj21BoQ21NSb-TTfVA9tncPiedI/s1600/6439513659_9b566fd579_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaJOFUdm-cp3CPrhxPa-Fhfy_bzLl2iqdOrr1naOuBPhIG2P6lVh7kBXqC492QUkN5XJVBWprytja1wS4zRI3Se9_1FMZvIkAEG1e7cbDQZo69GdPyj21BoQ21NSb-TTfVA9tncPiedI/s320/6439513659_9b566fd579_o.jpg" width="253" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-77301907444395319452011-02-23T16:48:00.017-05:002017-12-01T13:54:52.717-05:00U.S. Army Transportation Corps, Water Division ship's officer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvtsb8Zsot1N46iXcZoO2GDeOBs7mqz1bbMz149k5vBWfPKuZlM3_wg8G0Z1BGCLCDIj55ftXPP6Dv3TF7IOMyISUUjlOgeZRSYP2J3TBic8xSScg3vHsS3ySl6pX4W74x2JpUzvaGl0/s1600/4264724630_0d6255a637_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvtsb8Zsot1N46iXcZoO2GDeOBs7mqz1bbMz149k5vBWfPKuZlM3_wg8G0Z1BGCLCDIj55ftXPP6Dv3TF7IOMyISUUjlOgeZRSYP2J3TBic8xSScg3vHsS3ySl6pX4W74x2JpUzvaGl0/s200/4264724630_0d6255a637_o.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
<b>U.S. Army Transportation Corps, Water Division hat badge</b><br />
Three piece construction.<br />
Stamped gold metal, red enamel on shield.<br />
No hallmark.<br />
Circa Second World War era.<br />
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In the <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2011/02/us-army-transportation-corps-water.html">post</a> immediately preceding this one, I detailed several variations of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps, Water Division (USATC-WD) hat badge. Here, I present two additional examples of the hat badge, a fake, collar brass, shoulder boards and a cuff device.<br />
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It may be worth noting that much of the collar insignia worn and organization aboard today's Military Sealift Command ships may be traced to the hazy and hurried period which saw the birth of USATC-WD. In the late 1940s (which reached its culmination in 1954), the USATC-WD was collapsed into its Navy analog and became the Military Sea Transportation Service; and a decade and a half later was renamed the Military Sealift Command. Most of the varied nautical customs and courtesies followed by USATC-WD personnel - they being old-salts or sea dogs at the tail end long of windjammer sailor traditions - as observed by troops and war brides ferried from overseas stateside, have fallen by the wayside. Today's MSC technocrats, contract crews, and unionmen have a rich past to consider, if they so choose.<br />
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<h3>
Hat Badges</h3>
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<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, obverse.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5R1eMmABKJyqcjCR5MM0ljx3cs8l3XjRNDdWoGWjbuTgYK-6H9C0gWIrGhhgIQjb12aeR33F89Wv3EgrzsTZC3LqHaX8hioTw91exveDjvOrMaH5b90FPBqh68qjHhG0SPvu34fb6qIg/s1600/4264724630_0d6255a637_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5R1eMmABKJyqcjCR5MM0ljx3cs8l3XjRNDdWoGWjbuTgYK-6H9C0gWIrGhhgIQjb12aeR33F89Wv3EgrzsTZC3LqHaX8hioTw91exveDjvOrMaH5b90FPBqh68qjHhG0SPvu34fb6qIg/s320/4264724630_0d6255a637_o.jpg" width="267" /></a><br />
Shield with red enamel on alternating stripes variation.<br />
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<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, obverse detail.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwYP1648BB3VLYxfE_WMvKzSqHoaKyMC8KxxJCQs4Za1ctk0GawMG0SdRhWahm25Vhiz_fW0reW3Z7k1uBbMVXu3bSrCyIsFy-tXkH6BP0WObJQ24d4h1YGy5ZkIROr7vGsOYB9wNzhI/s1600/4263974285_07918a5f27_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwYP1648BB3VLYxfE_WMvKzSqHoaKyMC8KxxJCQs4Za1ctk0GawMG0SdRhWahm25Vhiz_fW0reW3Z7k1uBbMVXu3bSrCyIsFy-tXkH6BP0WObJQ24d4h1YGy5ZkIROr7vGsOYB9wNzhI/s320/4263974285_07918a5f27_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, reverse.</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4264725662/" title="U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division, officer, reverse by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division, officer, reverse" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4264725662_61f1f207fa_m.jpg" height="240" width="167" /></a><br />
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<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, reverse detail.</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4264726478/" title="U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division, officer, reverse by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division, officer, reverse" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2799/4264726478_c103b336e1_m.jpg" height="160" width="240" /></a><br />
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<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, obverse.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUCyA1QQitDtnaJgx7jMSLmIRp7o3YE_pcQXFu3lKqnELZ3LzqpRhddtJMR-Wl62KA-SerRCdDd0ytGO44MlUx1d4R0cxLc0su6OdWEJP4FoO0uPi9MWW6tnTICJKQVHFa5ohBpyO4ds/s1600/4672504888_dd923be9f9_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUCyA1QQitDtnaJgx7jMSLmIRp7o3YE_pcQXFu3lKqnELZ3LzqpRhddtJMR-Wl62KA-SerRCdDd0ytGO44MlUx1d4R0cxLc0su6OdWEJP4FoO0uPi9MWW6tnTICJKQVHFa5ohBpyO4ds/s320/4672504888_dd923be9f9_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Plain shield with no enamel variation.<br />
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<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, obverse detail.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdd9J_uMvryKBmhnbCkl7xGjgzi6dEyNzveA70ztB4NzriiFPo2d_NOt8eu3AhtQTSdyxVW5ZhwCteSeUrgtwuE_PVL3RHM9papsA3ZdTg2jKouUgVBi3_bx_JPRG-FOWSJ5H4o82zMlI/s1600/4671879047_ee5c85f223_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdd9J_uMvryKBmhnbCkl7xGjgzi6dEyNzveA70ztB4NzriiFPo2d_NOt8eu3AhtQTSdyxVW5ZhwCteSeUrgtwuE_PVL3RHM9papsA3ZdTg2jKouUgVBi3_bx_JPRG-FOWSJ5H4o82zMlI/s320/4671879047_ee5c85f223_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, reverse.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBrc8diEoyEcMqw1Ibc-GDbVv74AhJV8MUKUyUpKt_mwbXE6cCYqk5lOz5r7tjL3XeBB4gVNv0BjRiacM7VHVyJLsGzQCQBSTX5KhTED2R3fB2TIMaBQMFTuWJadkqvLXfh191EcDpLo/s1600/4671879535_652eb8bdfb_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBrc8diEoyEcMqw1Ibc-GDbVv74AhJV8MUKUyUpKt_mwbXE6cCYqk5lOz5r7tjL3XeBB4gVNv0BjRiacM7VHVyJLsGzQCQBSTX5KhTED2R3fB2TIMaBQMFTuWJadkqvLXfh191EcDpLo/s320/4671879535_652eb8bdfb_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, obverse.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOzFi98ya2QHNzCrUTqMNle33G316EgnDwBAevmLC3gRznG3k7w39BITKljACguEEjsQE1HhWseHChBhRTEci9578Az40lscCA4gUiC58v6NvNMT4tlvMRtrso5Bi_69mZmjEiKZP0k8/s1600/451109320_e54206b21d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOzFi98ya2QHNzCrUTqMNle33G316EgnDwBAevmLC3gRznG3k7w39BITKljACguEEjsQE1HhWseHChBhRTEci9578Az40lscCA4gUiC58v6NvNMT4tlvMRtrso5Bi_69mZmjEiKZP0k8/s320/451109320_e54206b21d_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Plain shield with no enamel variation.<br />
<br />
This specific hat badge is on display at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy museum. It is in a shadowbox with an array of other hat badges worn by U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduates. Among the other devices shown are U.S. Maritime Service commissioned and warrant officer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2009/08/us-army-corps-of-engineers-floating.html">Floating Plant personnel</a>, and Grace Lines. This badge appears to be a Pasquale badge, bringing to mind that these devices were crafted with expedience at the end of the Second World War. I suspect more care in regard to their detail came about in post-war years.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<b>USATC-WD, Fake Hat badge, obverse.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIEyYXnb0biMNfBpwKe0iW4TI7YQYsz8ptUCSReYGQzlk7vVY3umbnEwXfOflQvl3Pi6Z7wXRBQYcqvIoPCabzHdb5BgnT-wMTP2I8RwzwWYwU1KOXwA3prWpl4gEx_BGKa8Q0Wmew5E/s1600/5472105996_809ba77107_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIEyYXnb0biMNfBpwKe0iW4TI7YQYsz8ptUCSReYGQzlk7vVY3umbnEwXfOflQvl3Pi6Z7wXRBQYcqvIoPCabzHdb5BgnT-wMTP2I8RwzwWYwU1KOXwA3prWpl4gEx_BGKa8Q0Wmew5E/s320/5472105996_809ba77107_o.jpg" width="296" /></a><br />
This is a fake hat badge. During the Second World War, it appears that only Meyer and Gemsco eagles were used, with Vanguard-designed eagles being kept out of the fray. Perhaps maybe a Korean War-era Vanguard eagle such as this may have been defaced to create a TC-WD device; at least one is known to exist in the collection of Dave Collar. One means to determine a fake is to remove the TC device (if affixed with prongs) and look for an IOH (Institute of Heraldry) mark on the reverse. An easier determiner would be to look for the IOH number. For example, V-12 was used by Vanguard Industries beginning in 1965, with V-12-N after 1974 to denote a "Navy Approved" device. The TC-WD was long dissolved by this time.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<h3>
Collar Brass</h3>
<b>USATC-WD, Junior 3rd Officer collar brass</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdL5DWm2dJNGjemkd-bdT6JulaZf7EryhhRAiRAnjEe0kxUyrM_UfAyLPfVs1TgKQDzbNN8FlgW_C-EqT0ebbWwRNdUr-HFXRfMVCrYswyW-saxZnMye_PJ2y2tKJJa_BN2zCXLjPWiY/s1600/5462670709_6e64520bf5_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdL5DWm2dJNGjemkd-bdT6JulaZf7EryhhRAiRAnjEe0kxUyrM_UfAyLPfVs1TgKQDzbNN8FlgW_C-EqT0ebbWwRNdUr-HFXRfMVCrYswyW-saxZnMye_PJ2y2tKJJa_BN2zCXLjPWiY/s320/5462670709_6e64520bf5_o.jpg" width="252" /></a><br />
Despite the fact that the USATC-WD was a military organization, it was comprised of civilians, and as such they held traditional marine positions and titles. As follows is relative Army Rank and Marine title by department:<br />
<br />
<b>Deck</b><br />
Colonel ... Master<br />
Lt. Col ... Chief Officer<br />
Major ... 1st Officer<br />
Captain ... 2nd Officer<br />
1st Lt ... 3rd Officer<br />
2nd Lt ... Jr 3rd Officer<br />
<br />
<b>Engine</b><br />
Colonel ... Chief Engineer<br />
Lt. Col ... Staff Engineer<br />
Major ... 1st Asst Engineer<br />
Captain ... 2nd Asst Engineer<br />
1st Lt ... 3rd Asst Engineer<br />
2nd Lt ... Jr 3rd Asst Engineer<br />
<br />
<b>Steward</b><br />
Major ... Chief Steward<br />
Captain ... 2nd Steward<br />
1st Lt ... 3rd Steward<br />
<br />
<b>Agent</b><br />
Major ... Ship Transportation Agent<br />
1st Lt ... Ship Transportation Clerk<br />
2nd Lt ... Asst Ship Transportation Clerk<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_DDmuhQ77LE8_U2V35gZSUsphtlXE38Zz5zExmrdalhi51BqKarDAAOb6FUjIM9EvzbxNd8adZCK6CT6fKpU4a89Lj-HYxxri4NN1BX8xk7ha_0ngXZg5W8RMsFnYRghsrwI4SOSq-o/s1600/5462670943_8d0dd6508f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_DDmuhQ77LE8_U2V35gZSUsphtlXE38Zz5zExmrdalhi51BqKarDAAOb6FUjIM9EvzbxNd8adZCK6CT6fKpU4a89Lj-HYxxri4NN1BX8xk7ha_0ngXZg5W8RMsFnYRghsrwI4SOSq-o/s200/5462670943_8d0dd6508f_o.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<b>USATC-WD, 3rd Officer collar brass</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/5463271286/" title="... by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="..." src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5020/5463271286_fa654719dc_m.jpg" height="240" width="214" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MaRwhM1U3Sdl387in7st042UBHoLOOX3ppdgjQ5bRXnsGLdQ4QpMU6lIdXIGGhPZvfXz7zvTtU71xPgt4jYxhd7G_L8EbMh3LyMKMY0pX8iUOm5YnDn7agaDREYm6ydOg-3KyL6DF3g/s1600/5463271728_a50d2db586_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MaRwhM1U3Sdl387in7st042UBHoLOOX3ppdgjQ5bRXnsGLdQ4QpMU6lIdXIGGhPZvfXz7zvTtU71xPgt4jYxhd7G_L8EbMh3LyMKMY0pX8iUOm5YnDn7agaDREYm6ydOg-3KyL6DF3g/s200/5463271728_a50d2db586_o.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<b>USATC-WD, Chief Officer collar brass</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/5463272300/" title="... by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="..." src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5218/5463272300_9ff9380573_m.jpg" height="240" width="175" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVsVV9KORkI_u2bSJlNhr_xypjXassBVb_dI_GcNasJWiH4d5XLFEEbH_R5lAsfWK2PoxWHNemEsykMmaz9pDc2Y246N-TqaDWyrQa7WHfMaDWaSWnifl-gKyD7A6eqAlUU-NUAQu3GU/s1600/5463272558_d2a254637d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxVsVV9KORkI_u2bSJlNhr_xypjXassBVb_dI_GcNasJWiH4d5XLFEEbH_R5lAsfWK2PoxWHNemEsykMmaz9pDc2Y246N-TqaDWyrQa7WHfMaDWaSWnifl-gKyD7A6eqAlUU-NUAQu3GU/s200/5463272558_d2a254637d_o.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<b>USATC-WD, Master collar brass</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcTEFYbROmcwaeX7B_cKKgw9hsEB6wuENdVLF0Z2HIpZBxDpYTrljVIFp4TCf6EubltdZlvh4iBAILMo6lr2tMKNnF_EkFthyphenhyphenCxx0dMfT5ZtRGf33jLyBP-SY4aoncEzkqIPSromz_uQ/s1600/5462672043_17e4c0a86f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcTEFYbROmcwaeX7B_cKKgw9hsEB6wuENdVLF0Z2HIpZBxDpYTrljVIFp4TCf6EubltdZlvh4iBAILMo6lr2tMKNnF_EkFthyphenhyphenCxx0dMfT5ZtRGf33jLyBP-SY4aoncEzkqIPSromz_uQ/s320/5462672043_17e4c0a86f_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2-h1aK4depHM8v7kUDuGq9Htnxdz_Rk09bmghfCwpkZP5sYYhVMpYpg5Q2yjivcjRDLT2z8A9wP2RKmW29Y1091dmk4g8Osvz_8EhHwMY_58b-8ZhS6Zym9Ho8Awi4IDJglVxgg5ynw/s1600/5462672643_9707e13eb8_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu2-h1aK4depHM8v7kUDuGq9Htnxdz_Rk09bmghfCwpkZP5sYYhVMpYpg5Q2yjivcjRDLT2z8A9wP2RKmW29Y1091dmk4g8Osvz_8EhHwMY_58b-8ZhS6Zym9Ho8Awi4IDJglVxgg5ynw/s320/5462672643_9707e13eb8_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5go_AvDHQJVRvxfrgc_aUqH5p11qsGtlQxera1TuJHImKDQzHBo6MI31dOpsSTrwE3sLlJ78N3_goq6XsuIqbYF8ye44OdA_8FH7MDVIwVMfsrSchKGEEFOIMeKIOK-kUB-ElHJauPU/s1600/5462673121_f2b9c39a65_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE5go_AvDHQJVRvxfrgc_aUqH5p11qsGtlQxera1TuJHImKDQzHBo6MI31dOpsSTrwE3sLlJ78N3_goq6XsuIqbYF8ye44OdA_8FH7MDVIwVMfsrSchKGEEFOIMeKIOK-kUB-ElHJauPU/s320/5462673121_f2b9c39a65_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<h3>
Shoulder Boards</h3>
<br />
<b>USATC-WD, Junior Officer shoulder boards</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjH0fqjCXdk3YwiaFYXXvYH47i81uD-lh3NWr4tS_9QU1doNkkB_Ma1Hen0gJiML-B9JcIdQTtmtmQzODu4Vn5p8c2Liw0fEakHfMTQfI-9mvK9vQFh1qZ4Wh7dEwOMAuKvOpVExXdXA/s1600/5462666641_bd05a52a16_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRjH0fqjCXdk3YwiaFYXXvYH47i81uD-lh3NWr4tS_9QU1doNkkB_Ma1Hen0gJiML-B9JcIdQTtmtmQzODu4Vn5p8c2Liw0fEakHfMTQfI-9mvK9vQFh1qZ4Wh7dEwOMAuKvOpVExXdXA/s320/5462666641_bd05a52a16_o.jpg" width="188" /></a><br />
I would tentatively say that this set of shoulder boards would belong to a 3rd Officer; even though post-war regulations do not have such a board in the rank tables. Once again, for expediency's sake, it is highly probable that the ½-stripe board was not available (these were not commonly manufactured items), and the closest corresponding board to a USATC-WD 3rd Officer in the other marine services would have been Lieutenant (Junior Grade); hence the incongruous Lt (jg.) board.<br />
<br />
Do note also that the boards have an applied U.S. Army Transportation Corps device as opposed to a woven device. The buttons are of late war U.S. Maritime Service vintage.<br />
<br />
Rank stripes on cuffs and shoulder boards somewhat followed the relative rank structure found in the other sea services.<br />
<br />
<b>Deck</b><br />
Master ... 4 stripes<br />
Chief Officer ... 3½<br />
1st Officer ... 3<br />
2nd Officer ... 2<br />
3rd Officer ... 1<br />
Jr 3rd Officer ... ½<br />
<br />
<b>Engine</b><br />
Chief Engineer ... 4<br />
Staff Engineer ... 3½<br />
1st Asst Engineer ... 3<br />
2nd Asst Engineer ... 2<br />
3rd Asst Engineer ... 1<br />
Jr 3rd Asst Engineer ... ½<br />
<br />
<b>Steward</b><br />
Chief Steward ... 3<br />
2nd Steward ... 2<br />
3rd Steward ... 1<br />
<br />
<b>Agent</b><br />
Ship Transportation Agent ... 3<br />
Ship Transportation Clerk ... 1<br />
Asst Ship Transportation Clerk ... ½<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XmSV76AoxrPhYAO01T93anH0VE4T8lTTxGUIR2sbpzCJ_VkBlclRwM4wjSfiqK1FEdap5gD5dE96yspy-yI8fUlL4DaxadVFaCkUkZeR1wil31xcDC4eLl1vCFergthDF4luKd3I0UA/s1600/5462666361_73a80f892e_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9XmSV76AoxrPhYAO01T93anH0VE4T8lTTxGUIR2sbpzCJ_VkBlclRwM4wjSfiqK1FEdap5gD5dE96yspy-yI8fUlL4DaxadVFaCkUkZeR1wil31xcDC4eLl1vCFergthDF4luKd3I0UA/s320/5462666361_73a80f892e_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0CaHGJPe2VprLw3pO1EsrZbvMIj1cImEVPZ6PSztv51BFXFUVbJRGaMH99p0d9chPNLj6T-9eScpE60I-1Kv-CUk9L2aM4hgS0QQpktS_6iFxD5mPrIT3NM2YrLUazzJAPJ372HvWq8/s1600/5462665703_ac28537179_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0CaHGJPe2VprLw3pO1EsrZbvMIj1cImEVPZ6PSztv51BFXFUVbJRGaMH99p0d9chPNLj6T-9eScpE60I-1Kv-CUk9L2aM4hgS0QQpktS_6iFxD5mPrIT3NM2YrLUazzJAPJ372HvWq8/s320/5462665703_ac28537179_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<b>USATC-WD, 3rd Officer shoulder boards</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJKhyOsb3qC1_-aMqsyQ8tYfrLhNDTqT4osCcv_kJuEAWzwBW7gF16Kv557fPtVf4VT4joTcWqgU2LrsxM0Ivc2X_j6vPSsojzNZC__SNlh1ASczFISVe6TcM8-FLTlh_J9U8qw5Y25o/s1600/5463270122_bbbef61b70_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJKhyOsb3qC1_-aMqsyQ8tYfrLhNDTqT4osCcv_kJuEAWzwBW7gF16Kv557fPtVf4VT4joTcWqgU2LrsxM0Ivc2X_j6vPSsojzNZC__SNlh1ASczFISVe6TcM8-FLTlh_J9U8qw5Y25o/s320/5463270122_bbbef61b70_o.jpg" width="209" /></a><br />
<br />
Note the applied cuff device to the board. This device was used in place of the U.S. Navy officer and staff corps devices, specifying USATC-WD officer status; many of the marine services adopted some variation of U.S. Navy officer and enlisted uniforms, merely substituting buttons or devices for USN ones. Interestingly, the USATC-WD did not have its own specific button made; instead, USN and "Merchant Marine" buttons were used.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFTNhhcvBMT0ja9ylwnsHsP4JvDCE1PpxHjQ5_XgtgxuekO39jkyq7PPHEhea6FO7ZHatPti63sCQ4R-YVCqm8GJbTLBMBBTDfM3QgfI82TSKogs5ojzNzpR4ArSx04_9dazbskIeHwU/s1600/5463269778_bdf840c733_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFTNhhcvBMT0ja9ylwnsHsP4JvDCE1PpxHjQ5_XgtgxuekO39jkyq7PPHEhea6FO7ZHatPti63sCQ4R-YVCqm8GJbTLBMBBTDfM3QgfI82TSKogs5ojzNzpR4ArSx04_9dazbskIeHwU/s320/5463269778_bdf840c733_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEWyb_SjJ4dAM6hqubOo0MDhP9NT3eew_E_tUAqUso2d9aT_OhRtKfpIMAhKoV_zOtgRVuUDZ0nse1D0xKomepwt7pSpDX1g5lwkThcB7ubtls8VibWd8rHSxcD6Lf1HLgLRet2aavZI/s1600/5463269322_4676fe028e_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEWyb_SjJ4dAM6hqubOo0MDhP9NT3eew_E_tUAqUso2d9aT_OhRtKfpIMAhKoV_zOtgRVuUDZ0nse1D0xKomepwt7pSpDX1g5lwkThcB7ubtls8VibWd8rHSxcD6Lf1HLgLRet2aavZI/s320/5463269322_4676fe028e_o.jpg" width="211" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hBnSu5ohyphenhyphenVTmvg3v2R_i0muQl0pmW9-84-21uNKoIpr1FQv3cLQ3M0VHluJraZKRBf9OvoscvlS08lRXue21xlJ9B3s_-9rza8NWmD8RugoznOqns79UqCO0WJEwxaJeRhGGpAEo_8E/s1600/5462667207_b6e680dcc7_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hBnSu5ohyphenhyphenVTmvg3v2R_i0muQl0pmW9-84-21uNKoIpr1FQv3cLQ3M0VHluJraZKRBf9OvoscvlS08lRXue21xlJ9B3s_-9rza8NWmD8RugoznOqns79UqCO0WJEwxaJeRhGGpAEo_8E/s320/5462667207_b6e680dcc7_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<h3>
Cuff Device</h3>
<br />
<b>USATC-WD, Officer cuff device</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUWxYzqrFgt-sGWIYh12EJf6O-qWD7GEHNLrKeIlAd_U1MRFVuA4Vn2HK4w7y_iJkyxs-_exZuN6OWWc0EA3t9zEWdRn2OgOefbJBy1mh8wUyqL2tvdO9SGv6lR1uIiowFWtQMyEM1f0s/s1600/5462669383_d55665105d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUWxYzqrFgt-sGWIYh12EJf6O-qWD7GEHNLrKeIlAd_U1MRFVuA4Vn2HK4w7y_iJkyxs-_exZuN6OWWc0EA3t9zEWdRn2OgOefbJBy1mh8wUyqL2tvdO9SGv6lR1uIiowFWtQMyEM1f0s/s320/5462669383_d55665105d_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-ToikZcr6B7eHw5aZ9CSUa3WfO7RqIbhBU-GYaewIyZoPFPObo6UESA09mfp9lBCQSG-wMkxcVog_qC2Cbewk5OhguQcp318QNw0yeszYTc4ISr0gTCcONj7ritgtsl3cfWJjJa-Mo4/s1600/5463270998_f91dfc3747_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-ToikZcr6B7eHw5aZ9CSUa3WfO7RqIbhBU-GYaewIyZoPFPObo6UESA09mfp9lBCQSG-wMkxcVog_qC2Cbewk5OhguQcp318QNw0yeszYTc4ISr0gTCcONj7ritgtsl3cfWJjJa-Mo4/s320/5463270998_f91dfc3747_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-10059711139507444602011-02-12T17:26:00.018-05:002017-11-27T14:46:52.639-05:00U.S. Army Transportation Corps, Water Division ship's officer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4442515978/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division, officer" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2724/4442515978_8ce818d9f3_t.jpg" height="100" width="100" /></a></div>
<b>U.S. Army Transportation Corps, Water Division hat badge</b><br />
Three piece construction.<br />
Stamped brass with gold wash and applied red paint on shield.<br />
Gemsco (NY) hallmark.<br />
Circa Second World War era.<br />
<br />
<br />
At the mid-point of the Second World War, and as the U.S. military establishment turned greater attention and allocated more resources toward the task of fighting the Japanese Empire, the U.S. Army streamlined its marine operations. The three disparate services which comprised the Army's water-borne forces came under the jurisdiction of the Transportation Corps. No longer was there an Army Transport (ocean going), Inter Island (Phillipine Island transports) nor Harbor Boat (intercoastal) Service; rather the all-inclusive Water Division. The insignia and uniforms of the previous services were cast aside in 1944, and division took a distinctly Navy look.<br />
<br />
This hat badge is one of two designs worn by licensed ship's officers.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
Dave Collar. "Insignia of the Army Transportation Service in World War II." <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TZAJMU?ie=UTF8&tag=hawsepipeblog-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000TZAJMU">ASMIC: The Trading Post</a></i><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000TZAJMU" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> October-December 1994: 29-43.<br />
<br />
William K. Emerson. "Section XIII. The Army's Navy: Chapter Thirty-Six. Army Transport Service and Harbor Boat Service." <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806126221/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=9f4bdc1013e15af06d4700e52b8fdfd0">Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms.</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0806126221" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i> Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. 331-352.<br />
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Steve Soto and Cynthia Soto. "A collector's guide to the History, Uniforms and Memorabilia of the U.S. Merchant Marine and Army Transport Service during World War II." Privately Printed, 1996 (revised 2008).<br />
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<hr />
<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, obverse.<br />
</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4442515978/" title="U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division, officer by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division, officer" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2724/4442515978_8ce818d9f3_m.jpg" height="239" width="240" /></a><br />
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Published regulations from August 1945 call for a red shield; however, for expediency's sake, many examples of this hat badge lack the red shield. There are several variations on the theme:<br />
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Shield with no color.<br />
Shield with red paint.<br />
Shield with red enamel over all (obscuring the stars and stripes underneath).<br />
Shield with red enamel on alternating stripes.<br />
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The reason behind calling for a red shield can only be guessed at.<br />
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<hr />
<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, obverse, detail.<br />
</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4441736309/" title="U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division, officer, obverse detail by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division, officer, obverse detail" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4441736309_45861bbec6_m.jpg" height="240" width="180" /></a><br />
<br />
Changes to Army Transport and Harbor Boat Service uniforms and insignia was an evolving process, reflecting not only organizational but logistics processes within the services, but also the U.S. Army.<br />
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For close to a half-century the ATS maintained its own culture, traditions and fashion, closely mirroring that of the Merchant Marine and distinct from that of the U.S. Army. As was common, young graduates of the various maritime schools and old salts alike would sign on with the ATS for a period of time, return to industry, and then go back to government service. Service aboard ATS ships was akin to work on commercial ships manned by Merchant Mariners. As a result, they both groups spoke the same jargon, shared the same age-old rituals and wore fairly similar uniforms of the trade.<br />
<br />
After the end of the First World War, nautical garb in the United States followed the smart trends set in Europe, and those of Great Britain in particular - albeit with an American interpretation. Gone were the old chokers and pillbox hats; in their place were rolled collar coats, Windsor-knot ties and combination hats. In the staterooms of the larger ships, licensed officers wore sleeve lace; on deck and in the wheelhouse, their hats had handsome and beautifully embroidered hat badges in silk floss and bullion thread. As shoulder boards with branch colors became the rage in Europe, they too were adopted by the Merchant Marine, and by extension the ATS. Thus, uniforms aboard ship were familiar to others in the same trade the world over.<br />
<br />
As the Second World War wore on, the United States garment industry was taxed to the limits of production. To increase production, many uniforms were standardized and organizations within the Armed and Government Services tended to take on similar (if not the same) insignia. The ATS was not immune to these changes. Within the Army's water-borne services, the once distinct look to ATS uniforms changed as fabrics disappeared and the influx of mariners increased. Its ranks were augmented by the best and brightest graduates from U.S. Maritime Service schools, who brought their training uniforms along with them; ever thrifty and in an effort to build division-wide <i><i>esprit</i> de corps</i> and professional appearance (read: military), Army regulations adapted the contemporary stock of uniforms and insignia. For licensed officers, the striking ATS hat badge was replaced with the Navy-style device as seen above; regulations called for red shield with a Transportation Corps device atop it. Shoulder boards were replaced with U.S. Navy-style boards with TC devices as opposed to a star. And, the service - now division - retained the distinct U.S. Army tradition of having insignia on coat lapels. The mariners were officially permitted to wear khaki uniforms - like their counterparts in the Maritime Service and U.S. Navy - bringing about a small constellation of insignia and devices.<br />
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The illustrated hat badge was worn primarily by ship's officers (licensed mates and engineers) serving at the Army schools in Louisiana and Florida, and on ships plying the Pacific. It was worn for a couple of years, and was quite unpopular as insignia go.<br />
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Many mariners held-out changing their uniforms and adopting the new insignia; but, with the transfer of the division to the newly-formed and Navy-controlled Military Sea Transportation Service, it was follow regulations or leave.<br />
<br />
In the future I will post more images of USATC-WD insignia and its successor service, the MSTS; it provides an interesting windows on the convergence of nautical insignia trends at the close of the Second World War and into the Cold War.<br />
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<b>USATC-WD, Hat badge, reverse.</b><br />
<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzD728qCYMAYJAyxq3X1EXcQ5Fw5yn6L4TGNuo8c3kogj7wciGdc-8JdW0emZzfl_a_0xuR2sUb9cYVoi0JqBLOzkIhvAXuj0sqOgINqlvaXMD3d0fUPqXzej3SqwmR_VtBGGqsQDlR_M/s1600/4441736131_5f99ae2606_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzD728qCYMAYJAyxq3X1EXcQ5Fw5yn6L4TGNuo8c3kogj7wciGdc-8JdW0emZzfl_a_0xuR2sUb9cYVoi0JqBLOzkIhvAXuj0sqOgINqlvaXMD3d0fUPqXzej3SqwmR_VtBGGqsQDlR_M/s320/4441736131_5f99ae2606_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></b><br />
ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-11361397247092379192010-09-04T14:02:00.008-04:002017-11-27T14:58:05.651-05:00References for the Collector<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8XIqKY_eIOYOxg8h5HYRyJW3btAGo4QO6Z526835R2d8B1tXt3pBOsJ7GlsD9gKLhhyphenhyphenJ_hA1_55Q5QDIpWxl3FabWtqmd_md6S1ca6HE2MTC4ZB6YnAWFNbkOPKge2XV-o8MjVpeM44/s1600/2122114820_2a905dea7f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8XIqKY_eIOYOxg8h5HYRyJW3btAGo4QO6Z526835R2d8B1tXt3pBOsJ7GlsD9gKLhhyphenhyphenJ_hA1_55Q5QDIpWxl3FabWtqmd_md6S1ca6HE2MTC4ZB6YnAWFNbkOPKge2XV-o8MjVpeM44/s200/2122114820_2a905dea7f_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>U.S. Maritime Service Commissioned and Warrant Officer hat</b><br />
Winter hat; navy blue wool with wicker frame, <span style="font-family: "verdana";">½</span>-in. wide. gold bullion chinstrap and two 22<span style="font-family: "verdana";">½-</span>ligne<span style="font-family: "verdana";"></span> gilt cap screws. (<i>note</i>: if strap is <span style="font-family: "verdana";">¼</span>-in., hat would be that of a warrant officer). <span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br />
</span><br />
Circa Second World War.<br />
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It is one thing to collect, and another to actually know what one is collecting. In a <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2010/08/fakes-and-fantasies.html">previous post</a>, I detailed some known fakes and fantasies, and mentioned a few print sources for the collector. As follows is a reference bibliography; I will keep running updates as articles and works of interest appear - some are followed by a link to a downloadable <span style="color: red;">pdf</span>.<br />
<br />
<b>References:</b><br />
Rudy Basurto. "Insignia of America's Little Known Seafarers, 2nd Ed." Privately Printed, nd. <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?wfe3hchlfusa2u4">here</a>.<br />
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Rudy Basurto. "Insignia of America's Little Known Seafarers, 3rd Ed. (edited and revised by Steve Soto and Cynthia Soto)." Privately Printed, 2008. <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?od0ijdb7o8wnj2f">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #1 (Summer 1992)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?e7ox1zhz8hv6xk2">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #2 (Autumn 1992)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?6hc73qwg4d0ge56">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #3 (Winter 1992)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?bz0eo9mxz2agezv">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #4 (New Year's Special Issue - 1993)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?5jyc2i57ao9mm6b">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #5 (Summer 1993)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?n47ipdzaey6h0d5">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #6 (Mid-Summer 1993)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?g3eloo21irmqc1v">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #7 (Autumn 1993)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?dwi4bnytdr4rg27">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #8 (Special 1993 Encyclopedia Edition)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?vz1g0l3dxp5u3ry">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #9 (Fall 1993)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?ae95v1ue1e72urn">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #10 (1994 New Year's Special)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?5ieaxydm3mcg88v">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #11 (Spring 1994)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?vu080a0meb362cv">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #11 (Spring 1994 - The Issue That Never Was)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?tm6mr0l4f3a1x">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #12 (Summer 1994)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?1b7qnsgo27gdqpw">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Crow's Nest #13 (Fall 1994)." <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?2pmv8loxn234m5r">here</a>.<br />
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Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker, 2nd. "Specialty and Distinguishing Marks: U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Maritime Service, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Public Health Service, 3rd Revision." Privately Printed, 1996. <span style="color: red;">pdf</span> <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?3ayy61ryqlndafw">here</a>.<br />
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Dave Collar. "Insignia of the Army Transportation Service in World War II." <i>ASMIC: The Trading Post</i> October-December 1994: 29-43.<br />
<br />
Dave Collar. "Insignia of the United States Maritime Service, World War II." <i>ASMIC: The Trading Post</i> April-June 1995.<br />
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Dave Collar. "Insignia of the United States Shipping Board." <i>ASMIC: The Trading Post </i>October-December 1996.<br />
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William K. Emerson. "Section XIII. The Army's Navy: Chapter Thirty-Six. Army Transport Service and Harbor Boat Service." <i><a href="hhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806126221/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=75e14a8a039e94dfa7efbfd3edf07a60">Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms.</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0806126221" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i> Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. 331-352.<br />
<br />
Steve Soto and Cynthia Soto. "A collector's guide to the History, Uniforms and Memorabilia of the U.S. Merchant Marine and Army Transport Service during World War II." Privately Printed, 1996 (revised 2008).<br />
<br />
Joseph J. Tonelli. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076431890X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkId=330b8d2f91d6192b92c66196f38205bc" target="_blank">Visor hats of the United States Armed Forces: 1930-1950.</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=076431890X" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i> Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publicartions, 2003.ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-31414040309363499692010-08-23T17:20:00.010-04:002017-11-27T15:00:28.196-05:00Fakes and FantasiesFor a collector of period items there is nothing more vexing than a fake or forgery offered as an original, vintage item. The higher the rarity, the greater the amount of fakes circulate. Unfortunately, in the field of nautical insignia and hat badges in particular, there is a cottage industry of unscrupulous vendors offering fakes and thus inserting into an already small field a score of spurious items. Some collectors unwittingly scoop up these fakes, to the financial gain of the faker and detriment of the hobby.<br />
<br />
An issue with maritime industry and U.S. Merchant Marine hat badges is that published references are few and far between for the interested student and serious collector. It is often difficult to determine what is truly a period or piece, given the paucity of information and relative sophistication of fakers. Coupled with the aforementioned, insignia items are often altered, defaced or invented by bored mariners, thus provenance and determination of "genuineness" is at times problematic. Fortunately there exists a small number of references devoted to the subject: a self-published book by Rudy Basurto acts as a general catalog and starting point for anyone interested in the subject - it is not an academic treatment of insignia, rather is more a collection of images and pithy descriptions and some of the insignia depicted exist only in long-lost regulations; a smattering of articles published in the ASMIC Trading Post by Dave Collar and Bill Emerson have depth to their descriptions and illustrate insignia quite well; a more specialized treatment of U.S. Maritime Service and Army Transport Service (in its various guises) is found in a self-published work by Steve Soto and Cynthia Soto; ATS-only topics are treated by Bill Emerson in his encyclopedia survey of U.S. Army Insignia; perusing Herbert Hillary "Sarge" Booker's newsletter "Crow's Nest" details some of Basurto's material and offers variations of maritime insignia; Joseph Tonelli, in his <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076431890X?ie=UTF8&tag=hawsepipeblog-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=076431890X">Visor hats of the United States Armed Forces</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=076431890X" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i> presents some handsome examples of many common and not-so-common head wear of the sea services, with the Maritime Service and Merchant Marine included. In a <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2010/09/references-for-collector.html">future post</a> I will provide a list of the majority of published and "self-published" works on the topic. Readily accessible, Collar and Emerson are indispensable; take care in looking at Basurto's "book"; it is a good starting point, however many of the hazy depictions of insignia have been picked up by forgers.<br />
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As follows is a gallery of fakes, plain and simple, along with a discussion of each. A great many of these items were manufactured in the 1980s and began re-surfacing in the early 2000s to the present day.<br />
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<b>ATS Chief Petty Officer</b><br />
This device comes up in online auctions from time-to-time with examples in bronze. The dead give-away for this badge is the "hand applied" rope. The wire is loose, and the reverse solder is blotchy. Fakes of this badge often have the NS Meyer hallmarks - this is due to the fact that the dies were sold at auction in the 1990s when the NS Meyer plant closed - every quarter about 3-4 of these badges find their way to sale.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4921028976/" title="ATS CPO by waterclock, on Flickr"><br />
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4921028976_56cc041c0b_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>USMS Chief Petty Officer</b><br />
The applied anchor is a dead giveaway. No USMS CPO devices were ever manufactured that have said application.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4920429249/" title="USMS CPO by waterclock, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4920429249_1ddb2d4117_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>US Coast & Geodetic Survey Officer</b><br />
This is a fun badge. The eagle is actually a MSTS eagle with a USCG shield and USN anchors. US C&GS hat badges from the time of the Second World War are exclusively woven. Only postwar did metal hat badges come to be manufactured; and with those matching NOAA examples from the present day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4XOmhPa40BISGdKcLeafQeteNom49JHltakzlVyqsf3E64moZIpZI-2O1nnC2uBN7ftkrXHRyqV8TVGJwGdX7Ch_kUop3gZZAnw5HyOO3Jpt04vzBmRjf21yIsDWFH4LTBjfl4YhSnY/s1600/4920429213_fb7ce2093b_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4XOmhPa40BISGdKcLeafQeteNom49JHltakzlVyqsf3E64moZIpZI-2O1nnC2uBN7ftkrXHRyqV8TVGJwGdX7Ch_kUop3gZZAnw5HyOO3Jpt04vzBmRjf21yIsDWFH4LTBjfl4YhSnY/s320/4920429213_fb7ce2093b_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>US Coast & Geodetic Survey Senior Chief Petty Officer</b><br />
This badge is problematic in several ways. It was not until 1968 that the US Navy Uniform Board approved a Master and Senior Chief Petty Officer cap insignia - similar to their collar devices, with one or two silver stars superimposed on the anchor, inverted and centered on the stock. The US Coast Guard soon followed the US Navy's lead in 1970, as did the US C&GS. The US C&GS never had Chief Petty Officers, per say, as all unlicensed mariners aboard ship were un-uniformed Federal, civil-service employees. Proposed insignia tables were published in 1965 without examples being produced. With the transfer of the agency to the Environmental Science Services Administration, all non-commissioned officer positions were removed and finally ceased to be with the 1970 reorganization into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<br />
Further complicating matters for this particular hat badge is the fact that the star is not of the type used by any of the licensed manufacturers of US Military establishment insignia, and and the anchor itself is that of a US Navy ROTC/Anapolis midshipman. The only US CG&S true device is the triangle within the circle.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtQI4Gj72ELVeX7xpiplPrsqjPNzlio3EpTY6jTM97rUSAn5DbOMo7Ow20V9w-GjEka_OwwVT1tCgDNkc20Hb-h4IXinv_yaVWrlCS4Ar8ROPUlu-WernRU3h31Iw3qhiGXDOWI-KclA/s1600/4921028918_0d9aedec72_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtQI4Gj72ELVeX7xpiplPrsqjPNzlio3EpTY6jTM97rUSAn5DbOMo7Ow20V9w-GjEka_OwwVT1tCgDNkc20Hb-h4IXinv_yaVWrlCS4Ar8ROPUlu-WernRU3h31Iw3qhiGXDOWI-KclA/s320/4921028918_0d9aedec72_o.jpg" width="193" /></a><br />
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<hr />
<b>USMS Supply Officer</b><br />
This purports to be a hat badge, however, it may be an attempt to create a collar badge which existed only in regulation form.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAgaOM5pmRtngFUrTldc4rqaoGO2RZeew5K3PHA2tBhxm6nQ3CBC6rjdwlTZfagYrqrLRlNZjenfvO395nkSJwDRES08qQhw78fA5vjLBibhFNpiZ2bWwb3IqjyUvxkpapaMX1dDojs8/s1600/4920429175_f1305874a3_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAgaOM5pmRtngFUrTldc4rqaoGO2RZeew5K3PHA2tBhxm6nQ3CBC6rjdwlTZfagYrqrLRlNZjenfvO395nkSJwDRES08qQhw78fA5vjLBibhFNpiZ2bWwb3IqjyUvxkpapaMX1dDojs8/s320/4920429175_f1305874a3_o.jpg" width="311" /></a><br />
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<b>US Navy Commissioned Officer</b><br />
This is quite frankly a fantasy. An actual US Navy Commissioned Officer hat badge of the "pre-1940s" type has been detailed previously. This badge may also be seen in a similar configuration as a WSA badge with bronze anchors. Caveat emptor.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4921028896/" title="USN Officer by waterclock, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4921028896_06a04c34f5_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<hr />
<b>USMS Gunner</b><br />
No such badge was ever produced or existed. Unofficial ATS examples are without supporting strut and are wreaths with a pin-on center device; the same is true for MSTS hat badges.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4920429091/" title="USMS Gunner by waterclock, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/4920429091_64d684b574_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>ATS Radioman</b><br />
This is sometimes advertised as either an ATS Electrician or Radioman. See above.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4921028818/" title="ATS Radioman by waterclock, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4921028818_f311377952_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<hr />
<b>ATS Craftsman</b><br />
See above.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4920429057/" title="ATS Craftsman by waterclock, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4920429057_85cc20b23c_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<hr />
<b>ATS Clerk</b><br />
See above.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4920428791/" title="ATS/MSTS Clerk by waterclock, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4920428791_705b4f7c61_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>US Army Harbor Boat Service - Tug Boat Service</b><br />
This is a fantasy.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnt_7mwvGX28MuPHAkYpj30AxuEkzdZnIqx5hqzW_xZjZ5FOSZdYG16gDMVtCPCYPxEfX5Avgk-ndM2khaaWZoaFtzUe6hpwheU4LjdXvLWuplVJebxP9b9apD5rlt3ambfwWP1lBMQz4/s1600/4920428779_1aec69b6ac_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnt_7mwvGX28MuPHAkYpj30AxuEkzdZnIqx5hqzW_xZjZ5FOSZdYG16gDMVtCPCYPxEfX5Avgk-ndM2khaaWZoaFtzUe6hpwheU4LjdXvLWuplVJebxP9b9apD5rlt3ambfwWP1lBMQz4/s320/4920428779_1aec69b6ac_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>Harbor Boat Service Officer</b><br />
This is a fantasy, and a fun one, at that. Oftentimes fantasies will purport to be a variation by the mere application of a small device on the shield of a US Navy Commissioned Officer's hat badge. Given that not only is the hat badge incorrect for the period (pre-1940), the US Army Quartermaster's device is also incorrect for the same.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4921028540/" title="Harbor Boat Service Officer by waterclock, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4921028540_53a2ec5efa_m.jpg" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-87082473791899556742010-06-27T19:21:00.001-04:002017-11-27T15:04:22.398-05:00Mersey Docks Harbourmaster/Pilot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ84ArlOjxwsGGrmHv_gsEQTBqCMcj0Ga7OfvxufMkw8okoGojgpI62MA_AszaR3czrUI70_m84_fNmvGwFWbwvso0RCSEWWd6WkZn2PQ0TtsGxt57UBch8n7n_KDKLrqlNQGmZgRiHdU/s1600/4685890045_b836ce17e6_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ84ArlOjxwsGGrmHv_gsEQTBqCMcj0Ga7OfvxufMkw8okoGojgpI62MA_AszaR3czrUI70_m84_fNmvGwFWbwvso0RCSEWWd6WkZn2PQ0TtsGxt57UBch8n7n_KDKLrqlNQGmZgRiHdU/s200/4685890045_b836ce17e6_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Mersey Docks Harbourmaster/Pilot hat badge</b><br />
Wool backing and wreath of silver thread.<br />
Central device, stamped white metal.<br />
Circa Second World War era.<br />
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A fact often overlooked by those interested in convoy history is that each ship that entered or left a port area was piloted by an individual versed in the particulars of the waters surrounding the port; when a ship was straffed by airplane fire, those on the bridge were targeted first with many a casualty being the pilot.<br />
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To this day, pilots are still employed and are organized in associations and pilotage authorities much as they have been for the past hundred years. A major pilotage house, such as the Virginia Pilot Association, has about 40 active pilots, who steer a yearly 2000 or more vessels in and out of Hampton Roads. These days, they are fortunate that their launches are motorized, as in years past, the vessels were predominantly powered by sail and oars. Following in the Anglo-American tradition, apprentice pilots live on station, work some seven days a week around the clock, and are subject to U.S. Coast Guard examinations, tests and practical demonstrations. Moreover, to prove their knowledge of the sea about them, apprentices must re-create mariner's charts of Hampton Roads from memory. All of these skills are needed for a knowledgeable and professional group of pilots - all ready at a moment's notice to bring an oil tanker or yacht to port, the former's stopping distance measured in miles. These individual work hard, and without whose dedication to knowing their waterways shipping depends, precious cargoes would remain offshore. In interesting article about pilots on the C&D canal may be found here, <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?yn5mzrytydy">View from the Bridge</a>.<br />
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Much like Hampton Roads, Liverpool was a major embarkation port and convoy terminal during the Second World War; the city's port and train facilies were key links in the Allied war effort's supply chain, and as such the Germans considered it a major strategic target. Despite the constant barrage of aerial bombings, on average a convoy either entered or left Merseyside each day for the duration of the War. Interestingly enough, the last house destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing was Hitler's half-brother Alois' previous residence at 102 Upper Stanhope Street in Toxteth.<br />
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Presented is Mersey Docks and Harbour Board offical's hat badge. This device was worn by both Harbourmasters and pilots in the Liverpool Pilot Service. In the United Kingdom, a Harbourmaster is an appointed position once held exclusively by Navy Officers, they issue local safety information, oversee the maintenance and provision of navigational aids within port areas, co-ordinate maritime emergency response, do vessel inspections and oversee pilotage services. In a large port, such as Liverpool's Merseyside, there is a head Harbormaster assisted by a small staff of assisting officers - during the Second World War, about 20; a priviledge of office is a white-bordered Union Flag with a white central disc bearing the initials "QHM" (or "KHM") beneath the crown, which is flown from the gaff or yardarm either afloat or on land.<br />
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The Liverpool Pilot Service has historically been an independent cooperative association, and is now operated and licensed by the Mersey Docks & Harbour Board (MD&HB) the Port of Liverpool authority. Its stations are located at Point Lynas on the North coast of Anglesey and at the Mersey Bar. At its inception up until the 1960s, the Liverpool Pilot Service covered the approaches to all ports around the Eastern Irish Sea from Holyhead in the South, to Barrow in the North, and the East coast of the Isle of Man; now, pilots are employed to guide ships to the River Mersey ports, which include the Liverpool and Birkenhead Docks, the Manchester Ship Canal and Garston. It is worth mentioning that at latter, vessels are handed-over to a once fierce rival: the Manchester Ship Canal Company Pilots.<br />
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<b>Mersey Docks, Hat badge, obverse.</b><br />
Metal and silver wire on wool backing. Metal central device.<br />
Circa Second World War.<br />
In terms of harbor agencies and government boards, this hat badge follows the British standard design of large laurels leaves with a municipal central device. More often than not, the leaves for other agencies are gold bullion - the Mersey Docks wreath is unusual in that respect, but still within "symbolic bounds." The central device is quite interesting being that it is Athena in a throne over Posideon; this hearkens to Liverpool's claim to being the "Athens of the North." Interestingly this same device is not found anywhere in Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Offices building except on the uniform buttons of the Harbourmasters and pilots.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEGZ4m4gRuLmLHcSYQPO0NPuFFc8FcNaCere-62vxKq2PUXUncmg-baanmuMfo7358C1SxQuMusfEZ6YueRDch5X7hdkzf4tg_EvzhZ3kmh3Fh1d6XRH1mOwW6Rhg8x5xoYCpvLjnrsg/s1600/4685890045_b836ce17e6_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEGZ4m4gRuLmLHcSYQPO0NPuFFc8FcNaCere-62vxKq2PUXUncmg-baanmuMfo7358C1SxQuMusfEZ6YueRDch5X7hdkzf4tg_EvzhZ3kmh3Fh1d6XRH1mOwW6Rhg8x5xoYCpvLjnrsg/s320/4685890045_b836ce17e6_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>Mersey Docks, Hat badge, obverse.</b><br />
Metal and silver wire on wool backing. Metal central device.<br />
Circa Second World War.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHL9XAgg3wuKv_RdJKoCY2qvFghUPKBoW4cmkbIBLa3B32tZW2cl9c_O989KQba0-f3gDvYRMMLFShpEhpGwWfAPVua-AUyrwrUwMjYxqq5jyVv9VizMKHmHortFNppQHUAfR5VQ4EJM/s1600/4685849513_02914b5055_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHL9XAgg3wuKv_RdJKoCY2qvFghUPKBoW4cmkbIBLa3B32tZW2cl9c_O989KQba0-f3gDvYRMMLFShpEhpGwWfAPVua-AUyrwrUwMjYxqq5jyVv9VizMKHmHortFNppQHUAfR5VQ4EJM/s320/4685849513_02914b5055_o.jpg" width="227" /></a><br />
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<b>Mersey Docks, Hat badge, obverse, detail.</b><br />
Metal and silver wire on wool backing. Metal central device.<br />
Circa Second World War.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4685849193/" title="Mersey Docs by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="Mersey Docs" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4685849193_2d3818627d_m.jpg" height="227" width="240" /></a><br />
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<b>Views of the Mersey Docks & Harbour Building</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/3683990423/" title="on the river mersy, liverpool by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="on the river mersy, liverpool" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2664/3683990423_69b53992eb.jpg" height="319" width="500" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5QGae8zpIuntwqze9-8hwOURzGJ6EZMNbq4ojzxL8E2zqJcMFygXFT6RM5NLQzKCJwD8Q-Sh6pEsom4FJckoIxQky1fkaQy9sYWrXK3zuYQcEzoO47UPFSwgniUOKPkOWzkzDcJwuhA/s1600/3684802986_83a045262b_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5QGae8zpIuntwqze9-8hwOURzGJ6EZMNbq4ojzxL8E2zqJcMFygXFT6RM5NLQzKCJwD8Q-Sh6pEsom4FJckoIxQky1fkaQy9sYWrXK3zuYQcEzoO47UPFSwgniUOKPkOWzkzDcJwuhA/s400/3684802986_83a045262b_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfLkKWNhGk0ExjFMzFJYUj6IsEJdOE5f62yApLxEHDWdBMQed_52MAN4hvxsfKEDmghf_m82SyfQoDxNcxfp87cJvc-RIwe1F5K9ZOGK2Plp48fg3_lLjAat_ah1o8Rfvfjwtz_xvv4I/s1600/3683991349_943e80432d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfLkKWNhGk0ExjFMzFJYUj6IsEJdOE5f62yApLxEHDWdBMQed_52MAN4hvxsfKEDmghf_m82SyfQoDxNcxfp87cJvc-RIwe1F5K9ZOGK2Plp48fg3_lLjAat_ah1o8Rfvfjwtz_xvv4I/s400/3683991349_943e80432d_o.jpg" width="400" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-90981020621638250472010-06-14T20:11:00.004-04:002017-11-27T15:05:45.553-05:00U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4700070406/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4700070406_07edf01b8e_t.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Office hat badge (1st design, 2nd pattern)</b><br />
One piece construction. Seal, 25mm diameter; Anchor, 50mm length.<br />
Obscured AE CO N.Y. hallmark (American Emblem Company).<br />
Anchor and device stamped nickel; blue enamel band and red, white & blue shield.<br />
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This is the second pattern of the first design of the USMS CPO hat badge; it was worn from 1939, with the creation of the USMS training program, until the dissolution of formal Coast Guard management of training program and its transfer to the War Shipping Administration in 1942. 1942 saw a re-design of U.S. Maritime service insignia, and with it, the USMS CPO hat badge. Both the first pattern of the first design and second design have been respectively treated before, <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2010/04/us-maritime-service-chief-petty-officer_18.html">here</a> and <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2010/03/us-maritime-service-chief-petty-officer.html">here</a>.<br />
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This specific badge is often misidentified as a USMS Warrant Officer device; this is an understandable error, as mid-war, individuals who trained at USMS Radio Officer schools were issued USMS CPO hat badges and collar disks, and upon graduation held the appointed rank of Warrant Officer within the U.S. Maritime Service. Compounding some of confusion is that by war's end, USMS Regulations published in 1944 stated that officers in the Radio Department, depending upon vessel tonnage and class, and certificate status could rank anywhere from Lieutenant to Ensign, vid.: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4672650868/sizes/l/in/set-72157603493972384/">U.S. Maritime Service Officers' Handbook, 1944 p5</a>.<br />
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<b>USMS CPO Hat badge, obverse.</b><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4700070406/" title="USMS CPO by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="USMS CPO" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4700070406_07edf01b8e_m.jpg" height="240" width="228" /></a><br />
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<b>USMS CPO Hat badge, obverse detail.</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTwVl2GfmtrWng8Es_pPuEAWWyTE9CyZKZtDhGzVu0vC3NXR-ug-2OGG-hprlxS2jrCmZoTrC5kzM_e38l_0UWYAIwoURHb0G0PdQBGhX657r8pnY6D_GIwl7DMFzDRBsGp87qOHYo88/s1600/4697366649_a766580f4c_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTwVl2GfmtrWng8Es_pPuEAWWyTE9CyZKZtDhGzVu0vC3NXR-ug-2OGG-hprlxS2jrCmZoTrC5kzM_e38l_0UWYAIwoURHb0G0PdQBGhX657r8pnY6D_GIwl7DMFzDRBsGp87qOHYo88/s320/4697366649_a766580f4c_o.jpg" width="281" /></a><br />
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<b>USMS CPO Hat badge, reverse.</b><br />
Note that the screw post and pins have been sheared off and replaced by a flat pin. It, like its predecessor has the curious "CO N.Y." or "CD N.Y." hallmark.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCLPflZ0u04FyjAMhXofcRsbe-PVIN3XTxmyGicK539zYCJVuLWW7F-yjGCdTsEsIBJZSfPIDL_2y-hPIuEljnmK_ecIh_QAE4q-0fYdbNnnIpiHOjohRuEZXstMG_ACdiQ_eIZL2y7EI/s1600/4697997658_fbd2b8db41_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCLPflZ0u04FyjAMhXofcRsbe-PVIN3XTxmyGicK539zYCJVuLWW7F-yjGCdTsEsIBJZSfPIDL_2y-hPIuEljnmK_ecIh_QAE4q-0fYdbNnnIpiHOjohRuEZXstMG_ACdiQ_eIZL2y7EI/s320/4697997658_fbd2b8db41_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-87374100602579798542010-06-09T18:23:00.031-04:002017-11-30T12:32:07.362-05:00British Petroleum Shipping Co.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4686480414/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4686480414_1c8ff94a9b_t.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge</b><br />
Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.<br />
Circa 1960s.<br />
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With contemporary events unfolding regarding the catastrophe in the Gulf, it is worth pausing for a moment to think about transport of petroleum products. One of the safest, economical and most expedient methods to transport liquid petroleum and its derivatives is via ship. In fact, about 34% of all worldwide seaborne trade is devoted to the transport of oil. This entry is the first of several regarding oil tanker fleets and officer insignia.<br />
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British Petroleum was originally formed as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1909 to exploit oil deposits in Persia. The British Tanker Co. Ltd started in 1915 to handle sea transport and achieve a contained, integrated oil company model akin to its American counterparts. The parent group was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1935. In 1951 the company's Iranian assets were nationalized, a crisis partly resolved by negotiation in 1954 when the company was re-named British Petroleum. In 1955, the fleet was re-christened BP Shipping. During the 1970s BP extended its oil interests to the North Sea and Alaska, and eventually moved to major oil fields in the Middle East and Gulf of Mexico. The fleet and its manning remained in the province of BP until 1986 when staffing went the way of a modern crimping system known as "agency manning" concurrent with BP re-flagging its fleet under various flags of convenience.<br />
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At present, BP Shipping is based out of Singapore and operates a fleet of 77 vessels and charters an additional 115. Its vessels are comprised of crude oil tankers, product tankers and LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers. In its employ are some 2300 mariners and 600 onshore personnel. In all, 50% of BP's maritime cargo is carried on these ships worldwide. BP remains one of the few major oil producing corporations that continues to man a fleet under its own house flag.<br />
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British Petroleum Shipping hat badges may be found in three distinct variations:<br />
1. 1915-1926. Merchant Navy-style hat badge with the current house flag - a red flag with a horizontal white band expanded at the centre in the form of a circle, the band bearing the black letters "BTC", the "T" being larger. I have read of the red being bordered in black; however I have yet to see an example.<br />
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2. 1926-1955. Similar to the illustrated hat badge, with then current house flag - a St. George's flag with a green diamond in the center - with a golden lion passant gardant above all.<br />
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3. 1955-1968 (present?). The illustrated badge; the golden lion replaced by a red lion rampant.<br />
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Images and analysis of several of the older badges may be found <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2011/10/british-tanker-co.html">here</a>.<br />
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<b>References:</b><br />
Bill Harvey, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1861762518?ie=UTF8&tag=hawsepipeblog-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1861762518">BP Tankers: A Group Fleet History</a>.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1861762518" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i> London: Greenhill Books, 2006.<br />
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<b>British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge, obverse</b><br />
Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.<br />
Circa 1960s.<br />
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In terms of British hat badges, the BP Shipping follows the British standard design of house flag as central device, Royal Navy wreath and Tudor maritime crown surmounting all. Over time, the embroidered leaves have grown thicker; and catalogs may denote the badge as belonging to the agency placing Deck and Engineering officers aboard BP vessels - Chiltern Maritime Ltd.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4686480414/"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4686480414_1c8ff94a9b_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge, detail.</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4686480680/"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4686480680_68141fec5c_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badge, variation.</b><br />
Circa 1950s.<br />
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Note the bronze-toned Tudor crown and the British Merchant Navy-style wreath.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4347484128/in/set-72157623404210560/"><img border="0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2757/4347484128_c774e0051a_m.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>British Petroleum Shipping Co. Chief Petty Officer hat badge, obverse.</b><br />
Metal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.<br />
Circa 1960s.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4686480860/"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4686480860_6534bef825.jpg" height="320" width="278" /></a><br />
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<b>British Petroleum Shipping Co. Chief Petty Officer hat badge, detail.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5l4krnKJ42uBgyfLPBo9kM9Lm0wdTYh4HEMyHSv0oMAb98G720rSt70YZpL9EqTiM-_OwP9DWnkQHnqjlUglv0ZHJFp4smgYNRM84Roc-DzAu2n6dRLgSatwvRYdISrxuuYb68Pd5uiE/s1600/4686481166_f38c7b6978_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5l4krnKJ42uBgyfLPBo9kM9Lm0wdTYh4HEMyHSv0oMAb98G720rSt70YZpL9EqTiM-_OwP9DWnkQHnqjlUglv0ZHJFp4smgYNRM84Roc-DzAu2n6dRLgSatwvRYdISrxuuYb68Pd5uiE/s400/4686481166_f38c7b6978_o.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
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<b>British Petroleum Tanker Co. Ltd.</b><br />
House Flag.<br />
914.4 x 1422.4 mm<br />
Circa 1955-67<br />
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The house flag of the BP Tanker Co. Ltd. On a white field, there is a red St. George's cross with a green diamond in the center, bearing a red lion, rampant. This design was in use from 1955 to 1968 and was re-introduced in 1984. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The lion is printed. A rope and two Inglefield clips is attached.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdQVtpXxSSdRwKeixUw3jIYt7S7zkZdVahtWpJplcloBX7v73N1zNGEBnX-evxfcU_zz74JetmF46HxscQtrSJ-qEMiqdXdtiQommCNqFE7svo71iaQJ7CUTcOKpOyNkMkKYbUO0yCYY/s1600/4685981405_e7a080386d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdQVtpXxSSdRwKeixUw3jIYt7S7zkZdVahtWpJplcloBX7v73N1zNGEBnX-evxfcU_zz74JetmF46HxscQtrSJ-qEMiqdXdtiQommCNqFE7svo71iaQJ7CUTcOKpOyNkMkKYbUO0yCYY/s400/4685981405_e7a080386d_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<b>British Petroleum Tanker Co. Ltd.</b><br />
House Flag.<br />
Circa 1940s.<br />
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The house flag of the BP Tanker Co. Ltd. from the 1940s. On a white field, there is a red St George's cross with a green diamond in the center, bearing a golden lion passant gardant. This design was in use from 1926 to 1955. The flag is made of a wool and cotton bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The lion is printed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOraguK_qN-lZucaw3Ej-puWoOGia8cTJji-X-dTVxeV5K5gU3DBsUFc06Mc-iRu6o_wcmmq3fnaEu1vjblEqbiYu25D_YYqBZfUueeNT9t623PBnX5sLRy8Z6vttDM9oJKnXNoW_5gpQ/s1600/4687967437_ce59ce9db3_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOraguK_qN-lZucaw3Ej-puWoOGia8cTJji-X-dTVxeV5K5gU3DBsUFc06Mc-iRu6o_wcmmq3fnaEu1vjblEqbiYu25D_YYqBZfUueeNT9t623PBnX5sLRy8Z6vttDM9oJKnXNoW_5gpQ/s400/4687967437_ce59ce9db3_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTPjkwd430HN-bqshgVxfoAVnAVRabqbN6g1t1nzqAA3HMISHGKLXEIYymIauduuIXeOM0bqw6e3ENPp7jNgi7mgkKbjqnc_KD2GccVBB1VKstXvxLKvGKNXX0JRfcMeKxQtKPReUaEY/s1600/4688600356_3d5d728468_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTPjkwd430HN-bqshgVxfoAVnAVRabqbN6g1t1nzqAA3HMISHGKLXEIYymIauduuIXeOM0bqw6e3ENPp7jNgi7mgkKbjqnc_KD2GccVBB1VKstXvxLKvGKNXX0JRfcMeKxQtKPReUaEY/s400/4688600356_3d5d728468_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-16083890188376933752010-04-18T17:39:00.133-04:002017-11-27T16:09:32.645-05:00U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer<div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 15px; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QCeg7pfvek7_P9mLU4biK0NURbP67xWPwG0OhA3353dg2ZCHU7mHeXuvxK-o_bodEoyxZa1ec5YdKLMNLsu6LWEEAgCVpPtUOMQ1EFxbYN6jCsxR5PNXewPtpyNyWzj1o40Y0zd9xDA/s1600/4264735576_9c55096201_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QCeg7pfvek7_P9mLU4biK0NURbP67xWPwG0OhA3353dg2ZCHU7mHeXuvxK-o_bodEoyxZa1ec5YdKLMNLsu6LWEEAgCVpPtUOMQ1EFxbYN6jCsxR5PNXewPtpyNyWzj1o40Y0zd9xDA/s200/4264735576_9c55096201_o.jpg" width="158" /></a><br />
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<b>U.S. Maritime Commission Cadre /<br />U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Office hat badge (1st design, 1st pattern)</b><br />
One piece construction. Seal, 25mm diameter; Anchor, 50mm length.<br />
Obscured AE CO N.Y. hallmark (American Emblem Company)<br />
Anchor and device stamped gold-patinated brass; blue enamel band and red, white & blue shield.<br />
Pre-to-early Second World War era; 1938-1939.<br />
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This is the first design of the USMS CPO hat badge; it was worn from 1938, with the institution of the USMC, up until the formal creation of the USMS training program in 1939. The badge itself may be found in plain brass or gold, as well as plated silver or nickel. The early gold-patinated brass patterns were issued in 1938-1939, followed by plated silver or nickel badges and then a new design came about in 1942. A description of the second design may be found <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2010/03/us-maritime-service-chief-petty-officer.html">here</a>. In practice, in the period leading up to the Second World War, USMS CPOs, more often than not wore the more handsome embroidered hat badges - which were of the same design as the stamped metal device, albeit without the band of stars - as evidenced by an image in the article "Heros of Wartime Science and Mercy" in <i>National Geographic Magazine</i>, December 1943 page 717, as seen <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Booker1942/1943HeroesOfWartimeScienceAndMercy#5539622162277391394">here</a>.<br />
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Concurrent with WSA control of the USMS, and the stripping away of the ship-building component of the USMS, came a color and design shift: for the hat badge: the illustrated deco motif of a stylized Federal "classic shield" gave way to a detailed foul anchor charge on "official shield" of finer detail. Whereas the first design was predominantly blue, the color changed to red - perhaps to echo the red of chevrons and other woven cloth devices found on an enlistedman's uniform. My research has alluded to that late in the war, the CPO badge further changed to match the pattern found on USMS buttons (1942-1954); I will post an image of this badge at a later date.<br />
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J. Tonelli in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076431890X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0764317725&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=111K3BR3HHJJMBCQDFX6">Visor Hats of the US Armed Forces</a> incorrectly asserts that the illustrated hat badge was worn by USMS Warrant Officers; however, regulations of the time state that Warrant Officers wear the same devices as regular, commissioned officers. This is a commonly made mistake when attempting to devise a typology of hat devices for a relatively small organization with a small array of hat insignia.<br />
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Overall, the USMS only had a handful of CPOs and these were attached to USMS enrollment offices, training stations, officer schools and the US Merchant Marine Academy; CPO insignia was not issued to regular seamen who were matriculated from or were certified by the USMS. CPOs represented unlicensed seaman hired by the USMS skilled in the maritime industry with some seniority or specialized skills not satisfying the grade of Warrant Officer; it is useful to think of USMS CPOs as experienced Able Seamen (AB).<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">USMS CPO Hat badge, obverse.</span><br />
This device was worn by Merchant Mariners attached to the US Maritime Commission involved in training duties; this badge eventually found its way to be only worn by senior unlicensed personnel (CPOs). This hat badge continued to be issued until stocks were depleted and eventually replaced by a badge of the same design - albeit in nickel (pre- and early war), and then replaced by the more familiar USMS CPO device. There is some speculation that the USMC/USMS CPO device was modeled after the US Coast Guard enlisted hat badge; however, it is worth remembering that the only badge this specific device resembles is the brass US Coast Guard Shore Installations hat badge - however the USCG badge went into production in 1942, half-decade after the production of the USMC/USMS badge.<br />
The mystery of the design lies in the double-anchor and seal motif. If analyzed closely, the badge hearkens to the precursor agency of both the US Maritime Commission and US Coast Guard: the US Revenue Cutter Service. In this light, the anchor stock and flukes, and as well as the rope on the stock themselves echo the old seal. At the time of its creation, it was not stated in USMC regulations, but the uniforms and ranks of the soon-to-be-formed USMS were eventually codified to mirror that of the US Coast Guard. In time, in an effort to create an esprit de corps and the forging of an independent identity, the badge change to the second design.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3KJhm56XO9kl4NV27voF_p5BEQ2iZvBsaPS97ASzH2GwiYmG8zMrTPs9aAPAfRcU349ouaTedXm_KAi481j9Fp9RYwwUnHM6893iIJ0rPOkc99oV5b6GhL8MYNC2gblVTizeWrAPI5c/s1600/4264735576_9c55096201_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3KJhm56XO9kl4NV27voF_p5BEQ2iZvBsaPS97ASzH2GwiYmG8zMrTPs9aAPAfRcU349ouaTedXm_KAi481j9Fp9RYwwUnHM6893iIJ0rPOkc99oV5b6GhL8MYNC2gblVTizeWrAPI5c/s320/4264735576_9c55096201_o.jpg" width="253" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTOYURjulACCG3GcXUpwbBe7n43vELJWSqFIzh7YxFKokKLEXVeIAwtPSmjXftah4FO-SDtYKhex3ffLjpUBAaFE1ZMST49Zcx25cXQC6nTB4askSq2R5tX3GmHPICV6zZtJn5wam2Co/s1600/4598924966_d89e92943e_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTOYURjulACCG3GcXUpwbBe7n43vELJWSqFIzh7YxFKokKLEXVeIAwtPSmjXftah4FO-SDtYKhex3ffLjpUBAaFE1ZMST49Zcx25cXQC6nTB4askSq2R5tX3GmHPICV6zZtJn5wam2Co/s400/4598924966_d89e92943e_o.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">USMS CPO Hat badge, reverse.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2rtgIpNog3tGsmmaFG3yRJ-q6o2wdTOscBam37xWqZ383kUtDguKoVvjJbNSmofukgcn1xBMKqUHc755dj3-ic2PfdmyX5IhmUbI036HEpWqRsRc6ReGHuMiep8Wb08Xck_dBgyHxjA/s1600/4264736204_46d4a534e4_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2rtgIpNog3tGsmmaFG3yRJ-q6o2wdTOscBam37xWqZ383kUtDguKoVvjJbNSmofukgcn1xBMKqUHc755dj3-ic2PfdmyX5IhmUbI036HEpWqRsRc6ReGHuMiep8Wb08Xck_dBgyHxjA/s320/4264736204_46d4a534e4_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">USMS CPO Hat badge, reverse (detail).</span><br />
Note the curious "CO N.Y." hallmark - the complete "AE CO N.Y." mark is obscured by the post - this is of the American Emblem Company of Utica, New York. This firm produced a number of Merchant Marine and Maritime Service items during the Second World War, most notably the ubiquitous Merchant Mariner pin. In regard to this specific badge, NS Meyer produced a very similar insignia set for USMS officers using a similar central device. With the button and device change in 1942, AE Co. was no longer contracted to make USMS CPO badges; rather, the jobbing went to Coro.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRbZ7vwqBS-XfzYdAwVMFGtiVnkAeZ7Q8QX7H4aK-FOyYW9U0mox4Df9FyFRQlfKqJmlGX9Kpuy97INvz3ezkf64PybO3YFbdEEBX6KkicTD9JcxVrbW9vGtkWAdOwTq1Xglq5nx8wrc/s1600/4264736888_eb3b45feb7_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRbZ7vwqBS-XfzYdAwVMFGtiVnkAeZ7Q8QX7H4aK-FOyYW9U0mox4Df9FyFRQlfKqJmlGX9Kpuy97INvz3ezkf64PybO3YFbdEEBX6KkicTD9JcxVrbW9vGtkWAdOwTq1Xglq5nx8wrc/s320/4264736888_eb3b45feb7_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-39253351546850876322010-03-10T12:56:00.018-05:002017-11-27T16:13:26.720-05:00U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps<div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 15px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGA3xH4c-hXO4uony1R0g4yR8qzxGYOaWj-SJeCoTLpwNWsKczUEZv61qlrpKWJC1N0pip4d5P4GeFj9P8nQUPHCeLNFUc9gMF6dEGyzYv3meNHCk4dNZILoMr3QXNShpqk4tPCCzEWVA/s1600/4264697592_2336ac75a4_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGA3xH4c-hXO4uony1R0g4yR8qzxGYOaWj-SJeCoTLpwNWsKczUEZv61qlrpKWJC1N0pip4d5P4GeFj9P8nQUPHCeLNFUc9gMF6dEGyzYv3meNHCk4dNZILoMr3QXNShpqk4tPCCzEWVA/s200/4264697592_2336ac75a4_o.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4264697592/"></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps (pre-1942)</span><br />
Yellow-goldenrod thread.<br />
Embroidered anchor on wool backing and mohair band.<br />
Pre-to-early Second World War era; 1939-1942.<br />
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From the period following the First World War through the Depression, the U.S. Merchant Shipping industry was in a shambles: once profitable companies faltered and fell, ocean-going trade evaporated and even intercoastal shipping dried up. As a result, companies went bankrupt, very few ships were built and crews manning the ships dwindled to a very few. It is also during this period that U.S. maritime unions started operating in full swing, and involved themselves in vicious internecine fighting and bitter struggles with steamship carriers. Of those seamen that survived the wreckage, their efficiency and morale was at an all time low. With the passing of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, Congress abolished the ineffective U.S. Shipping Board and ushered in a new age for the U.S. Merchant Marine. The formerly under-regulated industry came under federal control and found itself subject to an array of programs and regulations. A few of salient features of the Act were the formulating and subsidizing the construction of U.S.-flag ships, as well as the formal training of men to man the ships.<br />
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With the passage of the Merchant Marine Act, the U.S. Maritime Commission came into being. The organization was ostensibly "to further the development and maintenance of an adequate and well balanced American merchant marine, to promote the commerce of the United States, and to aid in the national defense." It too, became embroiled in the old system of unions and steamship carrier falterings. To prop up the maritime industry, the USMC eventually bought out insolvent carriers thereby ringing whole shipping lines under federal control. With the storm clouds of war looming on the horizon, the Merchant Marine Act defined the entirety of the U.S. Merchant Marine as a military auxiliary in the event of war; furthermore, officers and crew of U.S.-flag ships could be pressed into the service of the U.S. Navy.<br />
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One of the most sweeping changes made by the act was that the Merchant Marine be "manned with a trained and efficient citizen personnel." The Act did not offer any specifics for the USMC; but soon after, the Bland Amendment of June 1938 created the United States Maritime Service for "training of licensed and unlicensed merchant marine personnel." Shortly thereafter, Congress enacted the Naval Reserve Act bringing all officers of U.S. public vessels into the U.S. Navy reserve as well as cadets (now cadet-midshipmen) at Federally-funded state maritime and the soon-to-be-created Federal system. It is worth mentioning that the U.S. Maritime Commission's first report to Congress in January 1939 suggested the establishment of a federal cadet system augmenting the pool of graduates from state and private schools - moreover along with traditional sea-handling, the system should emphasize naval science. Congress acted quickly and a series of Maritime Service cadet schools opened in the Pacific, Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Navy, Coast Guard and USMS personnel trained the cadets, with licensure remaining in the hands of the Coast Guard. With the declaration of war, the training of the Merchant Marine Cadet Corps was transferred to the Coast Guard in February 1942 and then to the War Shipping Administration in Fall of the same year.<br />
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The presented hat badge dates from the period between the founding the the Federal Merchant Marine Corps just prior to the Second World War and the institution of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1942 through the creation of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Cadet Corps Regiment on Dedication Day, November1943. By early 1944, midshipman-cadets began wearing midshipman hat badges mirroring their colleagues at the U.S. Navy Academy in Anapolis. This hat badge is an embroidered anchor on a wool backing and mohair band; this specific example was removed from a hat and stored over the period of several years. Bands, such as this were an integral part of the hat to which it was affixed, and did not slide off easily as is the case with removable covers and bands of the present-day; hats were spot cleaned or taken to the cleaners. With the United States' formal entry into the war, the U.S. insignia industry servicing maritime and Naval concerns changed its means and modes of production. The older, elegant hat devices made of woven bullion and metallic thread were replaced by metal hat badges and other removable devices; although, those who had means and money continued to purchase and wear embroidered insignia. For cadets, who were rapidly moved through the federal training system, it was more expedient and cost-effective to use stamped metal devices and removable bands. This badge is the last of an era; from this point forward, stamped devices were and continue to be employed.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps hat badge (pre-1942), obverse.</span><br />
Period photographic evidence points to the fact that leading up to the Second World War and in the initial year of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's operation, cadet-midshipmen wore embroidered hat badges, rather supplanted by the more common stamped metal (brass, gold plated or gold fill). The presented item may be a custom piece - as the majority of cap devices of the period were comprised of metal thread (bullion) on wool backings - as opposed to silk or composite thread. It is important to remember that the USMMCC was quite small in the period leading up to the institution of the USMM school system and uniforms were not always that - uniform - young men on the Gulf coast did not always wear the same kit as their colleagues on the West or even the East coast.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fBHBZe12Sh4x4kUX-i8tY4gr17bew8IrIitJcwDhQpZ6SqEFDoNnHJJkVFaVW74dqPYxmjtEJQIAq28uLe8RckJFS8KE1FsqO_tf2zmtZPrzy6JIDtvQoypMK-DWqeTfvbp3RVFuU7Q/s1600/4264697592_2336ac75a4_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fBHBZe12Sh4x4kUX-i8tY4gr17bew8IrIitJcwDhQpZ6SqEFDoNnHJJkVFaVW74dqPYxmjtEJQIAq28uLe8RckJFS8KE1FsqO_tf2zmtZPrzy6JIDtvQoypMK-DWqeTfvbp3RVFuU7Q/s400/4264697592_2336ac75a4_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps hat badge (pre-1942), obverse detail.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4264698496/" title="U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps, pre-1942 reverse by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps, pre-1942 reverse" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4264698496_bd433cae86_m.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps cadet-midshipman, SUNY Maritime period (1939-1941).</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP70L3BKYL6zgd8X7S8WjdhRosSjP39xTZvAB0tD5M-Iv-KjCQR0JfCvKzjvwnnF2yynx_v79XlAlpsbRvzDoyzd-YBX-hO72Zb2RPHF2zEU004LfOoV56Clby7U6fvHjMEorIAErHcLQ/s1600/4604763523_5f83451f14_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP70L3BKYL6zgd8X7S8WjdhRosSjP39xTZvAB0tD5M-Iv-KjCQR0JfCvKzjvwnnF2yynx_v79XlAlpsbRvzDoyzd-YBX-hO72Zb2RPHF2zEU004LfOoV56Clby7U6fvHjMEorIAErHcLQ/s320/4604763523_5f83451f14_o.jpg" width="224" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps cadet-midshipmen, SUNY Maritime period (1939-1941).</span><br />
The cadet-midshipmen are shown photographed in working khaki manning a monomy in Long Island Sound. Note that the young gentlemen are not wearing garrison hats, pointing to the fact that this photograph is pre-Regiment. The make of their combination hats is consistent with late-1930s and early Second World War construction. Their uniform shirts lack insignia of any sort, underscoring the same.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4605378186/" title="Untitled by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/4605378186_da708382a5_m.jpg" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-26680997269055118452010-03-08T11:02:00.020-05:002017-11-30T12:34:42.446-05:00U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer<div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 15px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/3779002554/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="Maritime Service CPO Hat Badge" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2469/3779002554_96d089e4c2_t.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/3779002554/"></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Office hat badge (2nd design)</span><br />
One piece construction. Seal, 25mm diameter; Anchor, 50mm length.<br />
Coro (Cohn & Rosenberger) hallmark.<br />
Anchor and device stamped brass, sterling plated (marked); red enamel band and shield.<br />
Mid-to-post Second World War era; 1942-1947.<br />
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This is the second design of the USMS CPO hat badge; the first was worn from 1938, with the institution of the USMS training program, up until WSA control of the USMS in 1942. The former badge may be found in plain brass or gold, as well as plated silver - as is the case of this badge. The second design is always in silver plate, any other is a pattern or reproduction. The illustrated badge differs from the first with a few stylistic differences - a difference in shield configuration and the inclusion of a motto, and punctured anchor ring. The first employs blue enamel as opposed to red. Interestingly enough, the changed design did not stylistically match that of contemporary uniform coat, cap and shoulder board buttons and snaps which were altered at the same time as the hat badge.<br />
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A miniature of this device was authorized and manufactured for wear on overseas caps.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">USMS CPO Hat badge, obverse.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRjQxQNr09kYs7HDAsVNyqjs4_hR9JQ6EdAVH-2pKnOiDSgSTISyCeWrFkth3WA7KoNQfji1M_CqJP1Sc1JyQ-Dgk7kVWuTOzdE8z8SQQqx1D1cz2QktvqVF0lUH7CYPa1IGcwuSyskY/s1600/3779002554_21ac11d49b_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRjQxQNr09kYs7HDAsVNyqjs4_hR9JQ6EdAVH-2pKnOiDSgSTISyCeWrFkth3WA7KoNQfji1M_CqJP1Sc1JyQ-Dgk7kVWuTOzdE8z8SQQqx1D1cz2QktvqVF0lUH7CYPa1IGcwuSyskY/s320/3779002554_21ac11d49b_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">USMS CPO Hat badge, reverse.</span><br />
A close-up of the reverse details the Coro (Cohn & Rosenberger) hallmark as well as the Sterling denotation. Coro, as a corporate name came to be in 1943; however, the incuse hallmark "Coro" with a distinct curly-queue C in serif font dates to 1940 and underwent minor variations until 1945. Moreover, due to wartime metal shortages, Coro produced Sterling insignia items under Government contract from 1942-1947. With the aforementioned in mind, this hallmark adequately dates the device to the early-to-mid 1940s, contemporaneous with USMS insignia change.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLt3gwiw_gfhhNEZ5cQpYmwxiY8uSXQz3BviO-iKofeDNGsHR9Bgmg_65hvbEwP50zcf4EQy65qvLt_UfvtGGuoTJZ2TIO53Ze_eUiuUEc89q1ILiYfEYMwcn3dgU02UhV6MvxynoVig/s1600/3778197257_6ff3a09bf7_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLt3gwiw_gfhhNEZ5cQpYmwxiY8uSXQz3BviO-iKofeDNGsHR9Bgmg_65hvbEwP50zcf4EQy65qvLt_UfvtGGuoTJZ2TIO53Ze_eUiuUEc89q1ILiYfEYMwcn3dgU02UhV6MvxynoVig/s320/3778197257_6ff3a09bf7_o.jpg" width="315" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">USMS CPO Hat badge, production hub.</span><br />
This hub is composed of hardened steel; of interest are the alignment pins used in the creation of dies. I have already written about production methods specifically outlining the purpose of a hub, <a href="http://hawsepipe.blogspot.com/2009/08/hat-badge-production-methods.html">here</a>. If you visit the image's page on Flickr, and select "All Sizes", the original size can give you a better idea of the intricacy of design and even the parts of the hub that have been buffed and chiseled.<br />
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One reason that dies do not show up often in collections is that as dies wear out, they are taken out of production, defaced and melted down; hubs survive due to the fact that more than one master is required for die production. In terms of USMS hat insignia, hubs are few and far between as there were not a whole lot of insignia houses producing USMS devices.<br />
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This specific die was sourced from an estate in Rhode Island; which corresponds to the fact that this is perhaps indeed a Coro hub (see above). Prior to, during and following the Second World War, Coro had a large jewelry factory in Providence, Rhode Island. Thus far, I have only seen period USMS CPO badges with Coro hallmarks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kXcj9OodR6VdHNzoPM0Rj9HFrdUHIADA4qjVLeGllxvHAAFzhJIsQHK2zBvHflykiyy_qXmlku9CmXC6rvGqy_XdQcQKp-vX1C6hPCZD6n6IZt9k3mcyHWceiiNBsmCgQCJqP61qeBs/s1600/3779002342_cde5c55368_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kXcj9OodR6VdHNzoPM0Rj9HFrdUHIADA4qjVLeGllxvHAAFzhJIsQHK2zBvHflykiyy_qXmlku9CmXC6rvGqy_XdQcQKp-vX1C6hPCZD6n6IZt9k3mcyHWceiiNBsmCgQCJqP61qeBs/s320/3779002342_cde5c55368_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-3561300507132816472010-02-07T18:08:00.010-05:002017-11-30T12:37:17.996-05:00War Shipping Administration<div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 15px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zn2AcUUdh7A9DKts7OfniTpuyOYRkFIbP-im_0Uu5_aXtnI8SWfyRpw5j1FjpxFN3CT2U13Jvp0bWC5J96bbPlYUdVungUY1Tj7fSQyHoXBNuQvan-N2E4UOWbduHIyAZYQJXkyXSlk/s1600/4167089021_cb38208c5f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zn2AcUUdh7A9DKts7OfniTpuyOYRkFIbP-im_0Uu5_aXtnI8SWfyRpw5j1FjpxFN3CT2U13Jvp0bWC5J96bbPlYUdVungUY1Tj7fSQyHoXBNuQvan-N2E4UOWbduHIyAZYQJXkyXSlk/s200/4167089021_cb38208c5f_o.jpg" width="163" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4167089021/">War Shipping Administration</a></span></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">War Shipping Administration officer hat badge</span><br />
Two piece construction; 60mm (l) x 55mm (h).<br />
No hallmarks.<br />
Eagle and shield gold-filled; anchors gold-filled.<br />
Circa Second World War era; 1943-45.<br />
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Logistics and control of the supply chain is a perennial thorn in the side of military planners. In the interwar period, the U.S.'s sea-borne commerce was handled by a handful of independent shipping companies and corporations. With the clouds of war looming over Europe, and the with country gripped by the Depression, the federal government created the U.S. Maritime Commission so as to provide stimulus to and a regulatory framework for U.S. maritime commerce; this was welcomed by industrialists as a protectionist measure. Of its many roles, the USMC was responsible for the training of men for service in the U.S. Merchant Marine, overseeing ship construction and the militarization of the U.S.-flag fleet in the event of war.<br />
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After Pearl Harbor and in the early days of 1942, by executive order President Roosevelt created the War Shipping Administration. In one stroke, the WSA seized all U.S.-flag merchant ships for wartime duty. Among other responsibilities, the fleet chartering functions of the U.S. Maritime Commission were transferred to the new agency; by mid-war, the WSA owned and operated or chartered 80% of all sea-going merchant vessels in the U.S., with the rest being owned or chartered by the U.S. Army and Navy. An estimated 90% of all military and essential cargo were carried in WSA ships; and the Administration's responsibilities extended to all aspects and phases of shipping. This agency worked closely with Merchant Marine unions, operators, the U.S. Army and Navy as well as with the British Ministry of War Transport to ensure logistical control of the maritime supply lines. Despite service in-fighting and other institutional set-backs, the WSA did fulfill its role as to maintain ever important seaborne logistics control.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/248.html">National Archives</a> provides the following time line and other pertinent information:<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Administrative History</span><br /><br />Established: In the Office for Emergency Management by EO 9054, February 7, 1942, under authority of the First War Powers Act (55 Stat. 838), December 18, 1941.<br /><br />Predecessor Agencies:<br /><br />* Division of Emergency Shipping, Office of the General Director of Shipping<br />* U.S. Maritime Administration (Feb. 1941-Feb. 1942)<br /><br />Functions: Acquired and operated U.S. ocean vessels except those of the armed services and the Office of Defense Transportation; trained merchant crews; and coordinated utilization of U.S. shipping.<br /><br />Abolished: September 1, 1946, by the Naval Appropriations Act (60 Stat. 501), July 8, 1946.<br /><br />Successor Agencies: U.S. Maritime Administration.</span></blockquote>
And regarding seized functions, HyperWar provides the following text culled from a <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/ATO/Admin/WSA/MMatWar-44/index.html">WSA memorandum</a> penned by Adm E. S. Land:<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Under the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, the United States Maritime Commission was established as an independent agency to direct and control all phases of overseas shipping and shipbuilding. It became apparent immediately when this Nation entered the war that a special agency to deal with the operational problems peculiar to war was necessary to supplement the Maritime Commission. That need brought about the creation of the War Shipping Administration on February 7, 1942, which took over from the Maritime Commission virtually all of the Commission's major statutory functions with the exception of shipbuilding. Thus WSA became the Government's ship operating agency and the Maritime Commission its shipbuilding agency.</span></blockquote>
It is important to remember that the WSA owned, operated and chartered sea-going vessels. The personnel manning these ships could be of several classes:<br />
<ul>
<li>Mariners, licensed or unlicensed, union or non-union.</li>
<li>U.S. Maritime Service trained.</li>
<li>"Old salts", or mariners not federally but state trained.</li>
<li>Civil-service, civilian mariners.</li>
<li>Maritime shipping company employees.</li>
</ul>
The hat badge illustrated belonged to an employee of the WSA that worked aboard a WSA-owned and operated vessel. A bit of high-level and maritime culture is required to understand how this hat badge fits into the small constellation of sea-service and federal maritime insignia...<br />
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Since the WSA was not a uniformed service (but did have a uniformed component: the Maritime Service - which will be covered in the future), some individuals employed by the WSA proper could and did procure uniforms and insignia at their discretion. Those mariners who went to the various state maritime schools or the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, during the war, would be inducted into the U.S. Merchant Marine as an active or reserve officer - those individuals had the privilege of wearing U.S. Maritime Service insignia - as they still do today. However, in the early days of the war, not all officers aboard ship were graduates of said schools, and would wear uniforms in the fashion of the day depending upon their status: mate, engineering officer, master, &c. (along the lines of U.S. Coast Guard licensed positions). If in the employ of a company, they would wear the company's insignia. But, if purely in the employ of the WSA, they could wear whatever struck their fancy and within reason.<br />
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WSA officer hat badges (cap devices), usually fell along the the following lines; with the important indicator of looking very similar to the U.S. Navy hat badges, albeit with "a twist":<br />
<ul>
<li>A stamped or silver federal eagle with enamels or painted shield in red, white and blue. Embroidered examples of the latter also exist (these share a symbology harkening to U.S.S.B. badges - which will be illustrated in a forthcoming post).</li>
<li>A stamped federal eagle and anchors all in gold.</li>
</ul>
These hat badges are few and far between given the relatively small number of WSA officers and the eventual manning of ships by freshly-minted officers from U.S.M.S. schools or existing shipping company crew members. The latter usually kept their existing insignia or defaced U.S.M.S insignia with a company flag - as illustrated in previous entries.<br />
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<b>War Shipping Administration officer</b><br />
Hat badge, obverse.<br />
This is ostensibly composed of components from the officer hat badges of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Public Health Service (anchors and eagle-shield, respectively). One might proffer a claim of incongruity by calling attention to the fact that the eagle is without the tell-tale "cow lick" on its crown which many use to "date" some U.S.N. commissioned officer hat badges. However, through careful examination of the toning patterns of the badge itself, the overall patina is consistent with sterling and gold-plated badges from the 1940s; and this die variation was very much in use at mid-war by Vanguard. On a stylistic note, the other encountered variation of enamels and painted shields fell into disuse or non-manufacture over the span of two years after the entry of the United States into the Second World War. The reason for this change may be that uniform shops in the major WSA embarkation ports ran out of stock and offered the illustrated alternative to move existing stock. And, since the WSA was without uniform regulations, these badges were more than likely purchased by an officer eager to adorn his cap with something distinctive.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdQ1HIKWHYDpQN6rli2VZ3XvNutg16vnIvCYLGk8WdLl1ZQsqA44mKvfewmzIRwchA0v7XEybr8xlDig75xGtugBk3venqE7ixfVEf9x-ya9ZG6V3pDNH8qn6prF_ROgLtUr7PQYFxyI/s1600/4167089021_cb38208c5f_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdQ1HIKWHYDpQN6rli2VZ3XvNutg16vnIvCYLGk8WdLl1ZQsqA44mKvfewmzIRwchA0v7XEybr8xlDig75xGtugBk3venqE7ixfVEf9x-ya9ZG6V3pDNH8qn6prF_ROgLtUr7PQYFxyI/s320/4167089021_cb38208c5f_o.jpg" width="261" /></a><br />
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<b>War Shipping Administration officer</b><br />
Hat badge, reverse.<br />
Note the absence of any hallmarks of any sort; the eagle of the usual Vanguard variety and anchors of Viking in design.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNBqvthH73bnoTgQvogjrC9_h4AxPrinTMzTnWYocu249ntlGb4tm8McAEK0EVFI6PGKnaBjBvy5UM5gtr3uaDW5XKZYtx4Ccert-jgQU1tqOmyhS9z5EIwhgrYt4z5dzsqP49T994Gg/s1600/4167849862_59f42635b2_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNBqvthH73bnoTgQvogjrC9_h4AxPrinTMzTnWYocu249ntlGb4tm8McAEK0EVFI6PGKnaBjBvy5UM5gtr3uaDW5XKZYtx4Ccert-jgQU1tqOmyhS9z5EIwhgrYt4z5dzsqP49T994Gg/s320/4167849862_59f42635b2_o.jpg" width="262" /></a><br />
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<b>War Shipping Administration officer</b><br />
Hat badge, reverse bolt detail.<br />
The slight lozenge shaped brass keeper bolt is of contemporary issue.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4167850478/" title="War Shipping Administration by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="War Shipping Administration" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2603/4167850478_f18b3f7683_m.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a>ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-69371242000446667152010-01-31T18:32:00.023-05:002017-11-30T12:43:52.378-05:00U.S. Navy commissioned officer<div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 15px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqg3BhhvFKki9YEtVmjfVMvhHmjG6_RbHGK2eS5w2LAbiDlk0dvd1R-ZYLktwgdEV_vQJHyCWm6uXXk5UR1EmTOx3jvBImiP6Ng3VlUchbtsnN59V0M6cNQ8J93_5EdCRoHBPua7orkwg/s1600/4167847346_47f7a1130d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqg3BhhvFKki9YEtVmjfVMvhHmjG6_RbHGK2eS5w2LAbiDlk0dvd1R-ZYLktwgdEV_vQJHyCWm6uXXk5UR1EmTOx3jvBImiP6Ng3VlUchbtsnN59V0M6cNQ8J93_5EdCRoHBPua7orkwg/s200/4167847346_47f7a1130d_o.jpg" width="187" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4167847346/">U.S. Navy commissioned officer hat badge, pre-1941</a>,<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Navy commissioned officer hat badge, pre-1941</span><br />
Two piece construction; 65mm (l) x 55mm (h).<br />
H & H (Hilborn & Hamburg) hallmark on eagle wing. Viking hallmark on the anchor.<br />
Eagle and shield sterling (marked); anchor gold-filled (1/10 14K GF).<br />
Circa pre-Second World War era; late 1930s.<br />
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Following the Revolutionary War and dissolution of the Articles of Confederation, the early American republic decidedly wished to break with the aristocratic traditions of old Europe - if not in practice, then in symbolic language. Crowns were removed from coinage, royal was dropped from place names, and liberty became the byword of the era. With the birth the Federal government, the American bald eagle emblazoned with a shield representative of the first thirteen states, and clutching arrows in one claw and an olive branch in the other - not so subtle visual metaphors of both the defense and peace-providing nature of the young republic - cropped up on government seals and on military uniform buttons. Despite the desire to promote a democratic and egalitarian society, removing holdovers of rank titles and uniform clothing of a recent hierarchical and aristocratic past from the military proved exceedingly difficult - tradition dies hard, even when trying to supplant it with another (case and point: it was only after numerous bureaucratic and social changes wherein the naval rank of Admiral was finally allowed decades after independence).<br />
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The Navy, in particular, was (and still is) an organization requiring strict discipline and order in its ranks. Reticence to ape European traditions spurred the U.S. Navy to create its own socially relevant native American symbols of rank and hierarchy. Nevertheless, it fell in line with the prevailing tradition of leaves and lace. One of the more curious phenomena illustrating this is the permutations that U.S. Navy officer's hat badge has gone through over time; these also offer insight as to contemporary concerns of the U.S. Navy establishment and can be used to date items to a specific time period. Early on, the cap device denoted rank or rate through color and arrangement of woven images of live oak leaves, acorns, olive branches and other devices such as old-English letters. These show that in the period immediately preceding the Civil War, concern revolved around an officer's job aboard ship: Navy uniform regulations outlined differences in line or specialties of officers, e.g. engineers, surgeons, chaplains or deck. With the close of the Civil War, Federalism was the rule in the governance of the United States, and the strength of the Union was represented even more so than before on naval insignia. The elaborate differences once found on commissioned officers headgear gave way to an elegant and uniform means of identification: an eagle-anchor device worn on a uniform cap centered above the visor. This device served as a potent visual statement of how officers were in the service of the government, and not merely members of a ship - those indicators found themselves on the sleeve and epaulets. Plates in the 1869 regulations illustrated a gaunt republican eagle facing the wearer's left and surmounting a large United States shield in silver with embroidered gold anchors underneath. A definitive statement on the device's construction was published in 1889; afterward, it went through small manufacturer design changes until the publication of the Uniform Regulations of May 13, 1941. Previously, as stated before, the eagle faced to the left whereas the new regulations stated that the eagle face right. A memorandum from the Director of Naval History to Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe of 13 December 1963 states that:<br />
<blockquote>
The shift of the eagle's aspect to right-facing from left-facing is logical from the perspective of heraldic tradition, since the right side (dexter) is the honor side of the shield and the left side (sinister) indicates dishonor or illegitimacy.</blockquote>
I am sure the original configuration was nothing that serious. It was most probably due to a manufacturer creating a product, it selling at the right price and the design continuing to be used without anyone thinking about the possible sinister repercussions or undertones. I imagine the subject was brought up at a garden party and later memos were typed and decisions were made...<br />
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The stamped metal eagle accompanying this entry is from the period immediately preceding the entry of the United States into the Second World War; it is also during this period that Hilborn-Hamburger began hallmarking insignia with the distinctive H-H in a stylized eagle-star device, and also when Viking began producing anchors for officers' insignia. Unlike other times of earlier uniform change, personnel of Navy during mid-twentieth century quickly adopted insignia as dictated by new regulations and few sailors found themselves contrary to regulation. This eagle was not worn during the war; it found its way into a cigar box and was secreted away for decades. Although, regarding the expedient change of insignia... apparently flag officers were exempt or just very slow to change as seen in these <b>LIFE</b> snippets from 1941 and 1942:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLjPmwt2pXTQH45c4gvaG7rgByI7fN70W4pt1BccWO7fe4srzBvNx3f0JptPvkCLYBrcxNMXXFtn-lvQj0h7AkgOlr9ZOaofN5DwqwXj0Ud3e8WW1RUi8ZlJznYmuN7BuX-EhMX-ExWY/s1600/4323470182_40eaa8e2d0_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLjPmwt2pXTQH45c4gvaG7rgByI7fN70W4pt1BccWO7fe4srzBvNx3f0JptPvkCLYBrcxNMXXFtn-lvQj0h7AkgOlr9ZOaofN5DwqwXj0Ud3e8WW1RUi8ZlJznYmuN7BuX-EhMX-ExWY/s400/4323470182_40eaa8e2d0_o.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 78%;">Adm. King is detailed on 24 November 1941 (p 92).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4H2QA9eDZLw5Wlld0t_25WomlDinrVE_gRg26liDRtIXDmXw2CqsrzPEbnR0EiY0wJ9-zv5cfr9sr_kSgpBO6gYegljnjcMBEsm6hy4OVCy3gSSM1f3-d6742L8Apru27n6Tp66dcos/s1600/4322735787_9287833d94_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4H2QA9eDZLw5Wlld0t_25WomlDinrVE_gRg26liDRtIXDmXw2CqsrzPEbnR0EiY0wJ9-zv5cfr9sr_kSgpBO6gYegljnjcMBEsm6hy4OVCy3gSSM1f3-d6742L8Apru27n6Tp66dcos/s400/4322735787_9287833d94_o.jpg" width="225" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 78%;">J. Auld is curious about the hat badge on 15 December 1941 (pg 2).<br />
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<span style="font-size: 78%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7Bp4MFooCyKO9rCkUDaZ8gQt2XwgGaY-sO-1rjABtl9WzQEOhBzGvIioxU8mIaLfwo8V_8q7cdadvCNboDsfMdgd6en3y8K94VTGjxKh3PDJ6JV9J2yMolGHgiEu2lTViXxiF0Ozuco/s1600/4322735819_e67252fc03_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7Bp4MFooCyKO9rCkUDaZ8gQt2XwgGaY-sO-1rjABtl9WzQEOhBzGvIioxU8mIaLfwo8V_8q7cdadvCNboDsfMdgd6en3y8K94VTGjxKh3PDJ6JV9J2yMolGHgiEu2lTViXxiF0Ozuco/s400/4322735819_e67252fc03_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 78%;">Adm. Leahy apparently hasn't updated his wardrobe by 28 September 1941 (cover).</span><br />
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Some design notes: this hat badge is convex and has two screw posts; one small, behind the eagle's breast, and another, larger holding the shield and anchors together. Toward mid-war, the former screw all but disappeared and was replaced by two pins near the wing tips - as can be discerned <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4167850478/">here</a>. This eagle's body is similar in design to the U.S. Army Transportation Corps - Water Division hat badge which appeared in 1944. The aforementioned eagle was almost exclusively manufactured by Gemsco. This anchor design continued to be employed until the Korean War by jewelers and private-purchase insignia houses.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">References:</span><br />
James C. Tily, <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KJSIZE?ie=UTF8&tag=hawsepipeblog-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001KJSIZE">The Uniforms of the United States Navy</a>.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipeblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B001KJSIZE" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
</span> Cranbury, NJ: Thomas Yoseloff, 1964.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Navy commissioned officer.</span><br />
Hat badge, obverse.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbkS6sgQeQiTW1QQ9yrCjEI0efD35mGiJhhbIZ1FR4WYwADWlXoZjP9GDEPRgldrR2_KkFL1cdhUar1R26ksw2KK-l9HaalB0RuSTdCNbsh_QcrKcHyYgklQW_jZOZi2s3S-r5ZKW63c/s1600/4167847346_47f7a1130d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbkS6sgQeQiTW1QQ9yrCjEI0efD35mGiJhhbIZ1FR4WYwADWlXoZjP9GDEPRgldrR2_KkFL1cdhUar1R26ksw2KK-l9HaalB0RuSTdCNbsh_QcrKcHyYgklQW_jZOZi2s3S-r5ZKW63c/s400/4167847346_47f7a1130d_o.jpg" width="375" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Navy commissioned officer.</span><br />
Hat badge, reverse.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbcO19dq-YzpbOINox8Rv7ABmFlgH6BGEGpCUOxnJqQvuEmDWrZMxk0Fn3iClq-pbBNqiWyWtr8SFK8D04bU10fvAHojVQJ-2ff9oBIp00Q7dIssaGRT_MJg-XwTym3c5iFW1yibM9bM/s1600/4167847846_a50bc2b264_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbcO19dq-YzpbOINox8Rv7ABmFlgH6BGEGpCUOxnJqQvuEmDWrZMxk0Fn3iClq-pbBNqiWyWtr8SFK8D04bU10fvAHojVQJ-2ff9oBIp00Q7dIssaGRT_MJg-XwTym3c5iFW1yibM9bM/s400/4167847846_a50bc2b264_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Navy commissioned officer.</span><br />
Hat badge, reverse detail.<br />
Some details of note are the notches on the shield for the flush placement of the anchor stock and chain, and the presence of the convex washer. Later varieties lack notches, and the anchors are placed behind the eagle-shield device; at times slightly bending the anchors. The washer has also changed through time and has become flat - which it is at present.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuzG0EV6qjKIyzsQd5s1rrTiYDWzbqMFRHgDsaouSgn-xNug1Snpkw7qx2DXKb3iYOIAxRl5Ol3jnUebKaOXMv1SgAA72pkbHk9S4TgDs4fxSdqjM2orMZkWzdYqoqvRTjm71oldVdcU/s1600/4167087959_68241d62d5_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuzG0EV6qjKIyzsQd5s1rrTiYDWzbqMFRHgDsaouSgn-xNug1Snpkw7qx2DXKb3iYOIAxRl5Ol3jnUebKaOXMv1SgAA72pkbHk9S4TgDs4fxSdqjM2orMZkWzdYqoqvRTjm71oldVdcU/s400/4167087959_68241d62d5_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">U.S. Navy commissioned officer.</span><br />
Hat badge, reverse hallmark detail.<br />
Note the H-H hallmark on the reverse of the right wing and Sterling on the left. The Viking hallmark is on the left anchor stock; in later designs, Viking placed hallmarks on the anchor shank and sometimes on the arms. I have yet to determine an adequate chronology for Viking hallmark placement.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0piahU0zudbmGUICVsccYhK_WHkPAXPkol57Lx2-EQqSmJ2Q0R2UH6YIbkUtlesUXtK-OjSfJ0Ck38tMiHxRk4iophm-Oc8arZkGsCH4yjQEoT097dnUwOCpQYT1c1r-JDgZRqtPOMo/s1600/4167849038_688a720afd_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0piahU0zudbmGUICVsccYhK_WHkPAXPkol57Lx2-EQqSmJ2Q0R2UH6YIbkUtlesUXtK-OjSfJ0Ck38tMiHxRk4iophm-Oc8arZkGsCH4yjQEoT097dnUwOCpQYT1c1r-JDgZRqtPOMo/s400/4167849038_688a720afd_o.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3785941804862945516.post-80655564849071809662009-12-06T10:56:00.050-05:002018-04-09T16:09:40.440-04:00U.S. Navy Technician<div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-right: 15px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4162622233/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="usn us technician" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2667/4162622233_0146230f79_t.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</span></div>
<b>USN Technician hat badge & miniature device.</b><br />
Cast brass; motto: <i>U.S. TECHNICIAN</i>.<br />
1 screw, 1 non-rotating point.<br />
37mm x 48mm (LxH).<br />
manu: Officer's Equipment Co. Madison, NJ.<br />
mini device: 15mm x 19mm.<br />
Circa 1950.<br />
<br />
Joseph Tonelli's book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076431890X?ie=UTF8&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=076431890X">Visor hats of the United States Armed Forces: 1930-1950</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipe-20&l=as2&o=1&a=076431890X" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i> illustrates one of the most exquisite pieces of headgear worn by U.S. forces in the Second World War - that of the U.S. Technician attached to the U.S. Navy. A passing glance could mistake it for something out of Fascist Italy: these hats have elaborate devices composed of a silver embroidered spread eagle. It faces dexter with a stylized wrench clutched in the left claw and an olive branch in the right. The lettering "U.S. TECHNICIAN" is centered on a brass or gold-plate device on the eagle's chest. The hat's chin-strap changed from gilt to black-braid by end of the war, and finally black leather. The last U.S. Technician hat Tonelli details on page 198 is from 1950 and presumably one in contemporary use.<br />
<br />
With the onset of the Second World War, the technologies involved in weapon creation oftentimes surpassed the basic training of sailors, soldiers and their commanding officers. The technical advancements in aviation, computers, and RADAR required technical personnel of defense industry companies that created these new weapons of war to advise and train their military customers. The Navy, keen on maintaining hierarchical relationships and following Geneva Convention rules, and to insure the clear identification of non-combatants in its midst, drew up regulations for U.S. Navy Technician uniforms and devices. These regulations, for the most part, remain on the books and can be found buried in U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines uniform regulations. A survery of these regulations are as follows:<br />
<br />
First public mention of the uniform was published by <i>All Hands</i> in October 1943:<br />
<blockquote>
<b>New Insignia For Civilian Technicians</b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Jl-5GL6MqqKmO4JdFjKIE-rMuKZySl9uKCxrByI07LEHKPSr0qqT9IU9_uUzXYwhyphenhyphenKkLz3g4xL2gkZc7VxuHE1PM-Zwa0Yed0RyU9f5whSHeEVGnBMBIEtWxY2MMyPNpPfi5PM3QI1M/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Jl-5GL6MqqKmO4JdFjKIE-rMuKZySl9uKCxrByI07LEHKPSr0qqT9IU9_uUzXYwhyphenhyphenKkLz3g4xL2gkZc7VxuHE1PM-Zwa0Yed0RyU9f5whSHeEVGnBMBIEtWxY2MMyPNpPfi5PM3QI1M/s200/Capture.JPG" width="197" /></a></div>
<br />
Civilian technicians, who may serve with the Navy, were authorized last month to wear a uniform similar to that worn by Naval officers, minus any insignia of rank or corps, or shoulder or sleeve marks. Caps with black chin strap and without cap device will be worn. Instead of Naval insignia, technicians will wear the insignia pictured herewith, on the left breast pocket of coat and shirt. (Details in N. D. Bul. [semimonthly], of 1 September 1943, R-1368.)
</blockquote>
<br />
The insignia above was reproduced on uniform visor cap with a small gilt placard bearing the words "U.S. Technician" on the eagle's chest (detail toward the end of the post). By 1950, the elaborate device was no longer and was replaced with a gilt placard. <i>All Hands</i> also relates the same:<br />
<blockquote>
<b>Navy Civilian Technicians Will Wear Uniforms With Emblem on Left Breast</b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrvZkYp0EVQPoqk4-vbgrQhyphenhyphenvddt_MJnMgAEDvHaYPM3JwODXBt72iC96pw38aN-_FTm_QEDNE5RoghTUOydENTNbiF53ZQwhvymRFxpSFcqMXyW1b8c2yU4VTkOGjHu5rNQIt4u-st6A/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrvZkYp0EVQPoqk4-vbgrQhyphenhyphenvddt_MJnMgAEDvHaYPM3JwODXBt72iC96pw38aN-_FTm_QEDNE5RoghTUOydENTNbiF53ZQwhvymRFxpSFcqMXyW1b8c2yU4VTkOGjHu5rNQIt4u-st6A/s320/Capture.JPG" width="289" /></a></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
A new directive authorizes civilian technicians serving with the Navy to wear uniforms that, except for insignia, are the same as an officer’s outfit.<br />
<br />
For the most part, the uniforms will be worn by expert field engineers and scientists sent to Navy ships and shore bases by commercial companies to iron out difficulties the Navy is having with their equipment, Their most noticeable insignia, an embroidered badge about three inches square which shows an eagle and the words "U. S. Technician," will be worn on the left breast pocket of coats and khaki shirts. The uniform will be the same as a commissioned naval officer’s with the exception that no distinctive rank, corps device or other naval insignia will be worn. Plain buttons of the same size and color of naval officers’ uniforms will be worn on the coats. Here are the various insignia to watch for:<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>Cap insignia - Gilt badge one-and-a-half inches wide and one-and-seven-eighths inches high bearing the words "U.S. Technician," worn on the band of the combination cap with a plain black strap and plain gilt buttons.
<br />
</li>
<li>Breast insignia - An embroidered badge three-and-a-quarter inches square. An eagle is shown clutching a group of tools in one claw and an olive branch in the other. The design and the words "U.S. Technician" are white on blue coats and blue on other coats and khaki shirts, on a background the same color as the coat or shirt.
<br />
</li>
<li>Collar insignia - Gilt pin five-eighths of an inch wide and threequarters of an inch high bearing the inscription "U.S. Technician," for wear on both sides of the khaki shirt collar.
<br />
</li>
<li>Garrison cap insignia - Same gilt pin as that worn on the collar. On the garrison cap it is worn on the left side only.
<br />
</li>
As announced in BuPers Circ. Ltr. 142-50 (NDR, 31 Aug 1950), the uniform will be of benefit in establishing the technician’s status in event of capture by an enemy, will provide ready identification as contractors’ representative at naval activities, and will assist area commanders and commanding officers in their control over them.<br />
<br />
The wearing of this uniform is limited to individuals authorized and designated by the Chief of Naval Operations.
</blockquote>
By the 1990s, the uniform regulation for U.S. Navy Technicians became quite specific, and they were mandated to only wear uniforms in forward combat areas and during travel to and from such areas outside of the continental United States (or, on any other occasion as deemed fit by the Chief of Naval Operations). This is to establish their official status as a non-combatant.<br />
<br />
U.S. Navy OPNAV INSTRUCTION 5720.3D § 9 states thus:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Articles of Uniform. </span>The articles of uniform shall be the same as those prescribed for a commissioned naval officer except that no distinctive rank, corps device, or other naval insignia shall be worn. Plain buttons of the same size and color prescribed for naval officer’s uniforms shall be worn on coats. Female technicians shall wear either the garrison cap or beret; combination hat is not authorized.<br />
<br />
<b>Breast Insignia</b>. An embroidered badge 3¼ inches square, consisting of a spread eagle, facing dexter; the left claw of the eagle shall be shown clutching a group of tools and the right claw an olive branch; immediately underneath the eagle shall be the letters: U.S. TECHNICIAN. The background of the badge shall be the same color as the coat/jacket or shirt, with the design and lettering white on blue coats and blue on other coats/jackets and khaki shirts. The breast insignia shall be worn on the left breast pocket of coats and khaki shirts for male technicians. The breast insignia shall be worn above the left breast pocket flap of the jacket (Service Dress Blue), for female technicians.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Cap insignia for male technicians. </span>A gilt badge 1¼ inches wide by 1-7/8 inches high bearing the inscription U.S. TECHNICIAN. Worn on the band of the combination cap with plain black chin strap and plain gilt buttons. Cap insignia for garrison cap (male and female technicians) and beret (female technicians). A gilt pin 5/8-inch wide by ¾-inch high bearing the inscription U.S. TECHNICIAN. Worn on the left side of the garrison cap 2 inches from the front edge and 1½ inches from the bottom edge of the cap when the garrison cap is prescribed for wear by naval officers. For female technicians, worn on the beret, aligned approximately above the left eye.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Collar insignia. </span>A gilt pin 5/8-inch wide by ¾-inch high bearing the inscription U.S. TECHNICIAN. Worn on both sides of the collar of the khaki shirt with the center of the insignia 1 inch from the front edge and 1 inch below the upper edge of the collar for male technicians. Worn on the white shirt collar with the center of the insignia 2 inches from the fold line at top of collar and ¾-inch from the forward edge of collar, for female technicians.</blockquote>
The U.S. Marine Corps has similar directives, however without the "combination hat" and the stipulation that anyone wearing a Marine Corps uniform must abide by USMC grooming standards.<br />
<br />
These directives are still in effect. In terms of the insignia that accompany this entry, they were manufactured prior to the Korean War - as evident by the lack of Institute of Heraldry (IOH) numbers and the wartime keeper screw bolt. In the past, GEMSCO and Officer's Equipment Co. manufactured U.S. Technician insignia; Dondero is presently the only supplier of the collar insignia to the USMC - I am unsure about the hat badge and if it is even produced. I have yet to see these plain buttons.<b><br />
<br />
<b><i>References:</i></b><br />
</b>Marine Corps Order P12304.1, 25 October, 1993<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Contractor Engineering and Technical Services Personnel Manual</span>.<br />
<br />
Marine Corps Order P1020.34G MCUB, 31 March 2003.<br />
Paragraph 8005, <i>Civilians Serving With Marine Corps Units</i>.<br />
<br />
Office of The Chief of Naval Operations OP-09B23T, 1 June, 1994<br />
U.S. Department of Defense Form DOD-OPNAVINST-5720-3D, § 9.<br />
<br />
Nicole A. Lavine. "Tactical Safety Specialist diffuse potential hazards" in <span style="font-style: italic;">Observation Post</span>. Twentynine Palms, California: 26 January 2007, p. A5.<br />
<br />
Joseph J. Tonelli. <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076431890X?ie=UTF8&tag=hawsepipe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=076431890X">Visor hats of the United States Armed Forces: 1930-1950.</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hawsepipe-20&l=as2&o=1&a=076431890X" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i> Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publicartions, 2003.<br />
<br />
U.S. Navy. <i><a href="http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah194310.pdf" target="_blank">All Hands</a></i> October 1943, p. 69.<br />
<br />
U.S. Navy. <i><a href="http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/archpdf/ah195011.pdf" target="_blank">All Hands</a></i> November 1950, p. 51.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<b><b>USN Technician<br />
</b></b>Hat badge & miniature device; reverse, hallmark and screw post detail. 1950s.<b><br />
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipZy62NPw1ahRbdSSg4VgHKtKCBmDTdQjU5guG_8joYsnArZWuxBnTq4QjogiRdUbDxcWRyUotD7d-h2wAJb78klSNeQvtOx9ga-cOY5m81T4nZDrj30aV-DW-PdykX7JmA9sJFv_T0s/s1600/4162622373_480dae968c_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipZy62NPw1ahRbdSSg4VgHKtKCBmDTdQjU5guG_8joYsnArZWuxBnTq4QjogiRdUbDxcWRyUotD7d-h2wAJb78klSNeQvtOx9ga-cOY5m81T4nZDrj30aV-DW-PdykX7JmA9sJFv_T0s/s320/4162622373_480dae968c_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
</b><br />
<hr />
<b>USN Technician.</b><br />
U.S. Navy officers' hat with U.S. Technician insignia<br />
manu: Berkshire, New York, NY.<br />
Circa Early Second World War<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eSs5rhDjKkOVD8cwWJxEzgdPFBEF8gjOO8H68qabX_Qj7ovFVSe3_XL0h8UPsbFXbXUpyAfqsZqYRUhCkxqoncsdDYFjJ-w9YbwqRNmr_9SGW_WSqbMcjEruJIqCyncSiktdgumIb58/s1600/5499853457_0f04aa71e2_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_eSs5rhDjKkOVD8cwWJxEzgdPFBEF8gjOO8H68qabX_Qj7ovFVSe3_XL0h8UPsbFXbXUpyAfqsZqYRUhCkxqoncsdDYFjJ-w9YbwqRNmr_9SGW_WSqbMcjEruJIqCyncSiktdgumIb58/s320/5499853457_0f04aa71e2_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
This khaki covered hat would have been worn with the jacket as detailed below. The hat itself has an early wartime Berkshire logo, and is the standard U.S. Navy officer model; the owner would have had to privately purchase the embroidered insignia. The rich embroidery is worth mentioning; it is speculated that the work was done in Great Britain - however, these findings are inconclusive.<br />
<br />
Do note the U.S. Navy side buttons holding the chin strap - which is of the same width as those found on standard U.S. Navy officer hat.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qSEo_lBOslJNOuHqNsxOPpSts2UFzB6wzf0YLYxkwxtVt9eHwGRqGRZIB1Z7bWR-15BzgHe6DjrUHSkYS2VUp7gpUQf_UC5WUaX7LkhHwBasMrvRyMN-Vr310R5C-ACJ_nbVFugPsP8/s1600/5499853543_28421b666b_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5qSEo_lBOslJNOuHqNsxOPpSts2UFzB6wzf0YLYxkwxtVt9eHwGRqGRZIB1Z7bWR-15BzgHe6DjrUHSkYS2VUp7gpUQf_UC5WUaX7LkhHwBasMrvRyMN-Vr310R5C-ACJ_nbVFugPsP8/s320/5499853543_28421b666b_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/5499853513/" title="U.S. Navy Technician hat by waterclock, on Flickr"><img alt="U.S. Navy Technician hat" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5499853513_d2b21c7d2c_m.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<b>USN Technician.</b><br />
Breast cloth badge; obverse & reverse.<br />
Circa 1950.<b><br />
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGDm53XsNvpW514I0tXdljzLBcr06tupgjkYvI5ssbAE5pzD5S1dmPLdNLCBiH3wnNwW_6SEXuf9SN74fHmeUu4Wd9gdgsCAhl2GC3vK0Or3YbcyH-womHn6Nt318KjgJb73ZT8IanII/s1600/4163353835_51653e2853_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGDm53XsNvpW514I0tXdljzLBcr06tupgjkYvI5ssbAE5pzD5S1dmPLdNLCBiH3wnNwW_6SEXuf9SN74fHmeUu4Wd9gdgsCAhl2GC3vK0Or3YbcyH-womHn6Nt318KjgJb73ZT8IanII/s320/4163353835_51653e2853_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4164113464/" title="usn technician"><img alt="usn technician" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2732/4164113464_9ef85f5c1a_m.jpg" height="161" width="320" /></a></b><br />
<br />
As previously mentioned, a great majority of U.S. Navy Technicians worked in the field of RADAR & ASDIC (SONAR), computational devices and propulsion systems newly adopted by the U.S. Navy over the course of the Second World War and continued to do so after the close of hostilities.<br />
<br />
However, researchers and collectors oftentimes come across "emergency rates" or other insignia worn by sailors during this period who worked with the same technologies. The lower rates were hand-picked as evidenced by special aptitude during seamen training. The others were directly recruited by the U.S. Navy based upon prior civilian experience or training - they often became Petty Officer First Class or Chief Petty Officer after having completed boot camp; at the time, these CPOs were derisively called "Slick Sleeve Chiefs" due to the lack of service hash-marks. Directly-inducted Warrant Officers and newly-minted junior officers out of V-7 training with specialized knowledge were placed into special trade and officer corps groups (former and later). However, U.S. Technicians were another class entirely, they "belonged" to their corporations, had no military training and were "lent" for the duration to train or advise the later, repair or install their equipment or simply to operate it.<br />
<br />
A means to determine a wartime and post-war U.S. Technician patch is the lack of a border on the former.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<b>USN Technician.</b><br />
Breast cloth badge; obverse.<br />
From the collection of David Collar.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Note</span>: The eagle is clutching <span style="font-weight: bold;">arrows</span> as opposed to a <span style="font-weight: bold;">wrench</span>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waterclock/4193881288/" title="usn technician"><img alt="usn technician" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/4193881288_d10b8b7cd7_t.jpg" height="320" width="313" /></a><br />
<br />
<hr />
<b>USN Technician.</b><br />
Khaki Coat<br />
circa Second World War<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqlpPFa-8Bh83udMcSitZ9xQagm5DprdS0bE3OFXIYGpBxRBZ77SoTmMFfM4K6MztVEqZvex6ZzeN12orUo6TbX0JPdVCQ6XGkShj-NP0L-xpnsTUdTkyVnHtF_zkOkJ2EvJNiEq_4sU/s1600/5499804411_2b5fa90638_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqlpPFa-8Bh83udMcSitZ9xQagm5DprdS0bE3OFXIYGpBxRBZ77SoTmMFfM4K6MztVEqZvex6ZzeN12orUo6TbX0JPdVCQ6XGkShj-NP0L-xpnsTUdTkyVnHtF_zkOkJ2EvJNiEq_4sU/s320/5499804411_2b5fa90638_o.jpg" width="228" /></a><br />
<br />
Despite regulations stating otherwise, this belted khaki coat has U.S. Navy officer gold buttons. The main difference between this jacket and its naval and maritime counterparts is the fact that it lacks loops for shoulder boards. It was also an expediently tailored piece as it not only lacks an interior liner, but also interior pockets - this common to other period pieces. The buttons are removable for coat cleaning in ship's laundry.<br />
<br />
<i>Note:</i> The eagle is clutching a wrench (<b>of sorts</b>) and a hammer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMr9gGO0T8mLzB82a5qpWySW8R5IT2t8M8qF4GCkFjX-ynWJ5KHD1YBkw69ACJFeQPiv3sSOx9Uxh0kpR1JKuL1HApU8AT-5FJxeGSpxv9nJxNGdiJePPO2eA3v_5O_jUcEkBWiOcNj0w/s1600/5500402110_2044c35f88_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMr9gGO0T8mLzB82a5qpWySW8R5IT2t8M8qF4GCkFjX-ynWJ5KHD1YBkw69ACJFeQPiv3sSOx9Uxh0kpR1JKuL1HApU8AT-5FJxeGSpxv9nJxNGdiJePPO2eA3v_5O_jUcEkBWiOcNj0w/s320/5500402110_2044c35f88_o.jpg" width="225" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdz7D5egJBNOp0ur5kBYupN4Pi7XeyEMUXc1SEdgoF_-4sZ68JTgvQOtSfP-gviHuwF_5eW34UWwHSOQ1D0AO_iTjOq44JEFLASHtc7C7hYxfeAAd7vXD-_IA6srxSdrP9n41hzQ-ShZ4/s1600/5499805103_b957bf381d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdz7D5egJBNOp0ur5kBYupN4Pi7XeyEMUXc1SEdgoF_-4sZ68JTgvQOtSfP-gviHuwF_5eW34UWwHSOQ1D0AO_iTjOq44JEFLASHtc7C7hYxfeAAd7vXD-_IA6srxSdrP9n41hzQ-ShZ4/s320/5499805103_b957bf381d_o.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WEhAJIQNTsbl6mgb2t87R8u3HIDKdY8pb1TJcvOHdJIKZNRQVVjb_zrKqdM98ukjJuNknekoUmwattMxzTscJ8xpq3dTIZTE4BPm9IfIVgQ3DttKZyGTZ10DXallA3pytuWFMpZ3KIw/s1600/5499806365_1bdfce59fd_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WEhAJIQNTsbl6mgb2t87R8u3HIDKdY8pb1TJcvOHdJIKZNRQVVjb_zrKqdM98ukjJuNknekoUmwattMxzTscJ8xpq3dTIZTE4BPm9IfIVgQ3DttKZyGTZ10DXallA3pytuWFMpZ3KIw/s320/5499806365_1bdfce59fd_o.jpg" width="219" /></a><br />
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<b>USAAF Technician.</b><br />
Silver plate; motto: <i>U.S. TECHNICIAN</i>.<br />
Silver plate; lettering: <i>A.S.C.</i>.<br />
device: 15mm x 19mm.<br />
Reverse: non-rotating points.<br />
manu: no hallmarks or silver content noted.<br />
Circa Second World War through 1947 (n.b. ASC became AMC in Dec. 1947).<br />
from the collection of Joe Weingarten.<br />
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Rarely seen, these silver collar devices were worn by civilian technicians attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces Air Service Command at installations such as Wright Field - from 1948, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. These technicians began working at Wright-Patterson from the Second World War through the Vietnam war when they were replaced by civilian civil service employees of the U.S. Air Force Material Command. They performed tasks much like their U.S. Navy counterparts; if such insignia is still worn or used, I am unaware.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7C8QuTue-CYIzX1NCnA5XEUgTMalHlUbK4sc9fLDfPKpFw5ZaWAOBW0d6D0MR5OP8kVxPTsvmlJHyW80Fuk85zWlsw9iJJJtlHuTmltm_8_BwoFIpb02b1CGVE8rmnnCARAeqlnNcCU/s1600/5204408603_ed1b58a327_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7C8QuTue-CYIzX1NCnA5XEUgTMalHlUbK4sc9fLDfPKpFw5ZaWAOBW0d6D0MR5OP8kVxPTsvmlJHyW80Fuk85zWlsw9iJJJtlHuTmltm_8_BwoFIpb02b1CGVE8rmnnCARAeqlnNcCU/s320/5204408603_ed1b58a327_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcAoDrHVAphfvXloIHc469An0kIH9dGD4x8o1b0hH3Y4npGzbiu4ZVcFUtlSfQpbajmXoi7zAD0EFt8GwECdlfzetdYF46nprSCuh6MHsEQTbqMGMxQNrMZNtgNM5tLFpfdONco5kxedA/s1600/5500433646_1efb57fe11_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcAoDrHVAphfvXloIHc469An0kIH9dGD4x8o1b0hH3Y4npGzbiu4ZVcFUtlSfQpbajmXoi7zAD0EFt8GwECdlfzetdYF46nprSCuh6MHsEQTbqMGMxQNrMZNtgNM5tLFpfdONco5kxedA/s320/5500433646_1efb57fe11_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></i><br />
<i>Korean War Period, U.S.A.F. Technician shirt patch.</i><br />
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More on the USAAFASC activities at Wright-Patterson, may be found <a href="http://www.ascho.wpafb.af.mil/centurygrowth/contents.htm">here</a>.ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02702194966941414411noreply@blogger.com0