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Re: Seeking to identify this US uniform
Alex Daverede May 7, 2020 7:01 AM (in response to Carrie Odum)Carrie,
Accepting your stipulation that this photo does not date from the WWII era due to the context of your photo collection, I offer the following:
The uniform is the khaki Class "A" uniform that was one of the basic Army uniforms from prior to World War II through the Vietnam era.
I cannot make out the unit patch on the right sleeve, but it definitely is not a U.S. Army Air Forces patch--those patches had mainly blue backgrounds regardless of design. Also the U.S. Air Force became an independent service in 1947 and began developing its own uniforms, of which this is not one.
The rank insignia is that of a Sergeant, pay grade E-5 in today's Army. The rank was known colloquially as "buck" sergeant.
The rank chevrons are of the large variety. In 1948 the Army adopted smaller rank chevrons with color distinctions between those individuals on combat assignments and those on non-combat assignments. The change was unpopular, and in 1951 the Army switched back to the larger rank chevrons.
The tie and belt appear to be either a darker shade of khaki or olive drab. The Army began to switch to black accoutrements and footwear with this uniform starting around 1955 with the changeover completed by about 1960.
My best guess is that according to Army uniform regulations this uniform dates from 1951-1960 with a more likely date (because of delays of implementation of new uniform items) from 1952-1958.
I hope you find this information useful.
A. J.
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Re: Seeking to identify this US uniform
Joseph Armstrong May 19, 2020 3:41 AM (in response to Carrie Odum)Carrie,
People assigned to an Army wear that army’s patch on their right shoulder. People assigned to an independent Division wear the divisions patch on their left shoulder. This appears to be the 24th Infantry Division Patch out of Augsburg Germany. Time would be 1953 to 1959.
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Re: Seeking to identify this US uniform
Elliot Schneider May 21, 2020 8:51 AM (in response to Carrie Odum)Carrie,
Yes this is from Army Air Corps or Army Air Force later on. This patch looks like 15th AF.
Hope this helps,
Elliot Schneider
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Re: Seeking to identify this US uniform
Thomas Murray May 21, 2020 12:24 PM (in response to Carrie Odum)This appears to be the U. S. Army Air Force patch which is a winged star emblem embroidered in yellow, white, and red on a blue twill circle. It's worn on the left shoulder of a uniform coat or shirt. Known as the “Hap Arnold emblem,” it was approved for wear in 1942. Judging from the larger size of the star in comparison to the "wings", this appears to be the WWII early version. In later versions the embroidering seems to have improved and the star was made a bit smaller in proportion to the wings.