Example of the four types of Shoulder Sleeve Insignia for the U.S. 10th Mountain Division (LI); Full Color, BDU Subdued, Desert Subdued, ACU Subdued (source: wikimedia).
During World War One, the 81st Division was the first to be authorized to employ a shoulder-affixed unit identification as they headed for France in 1918. The “Wildcats,” as the 81st was known, was the only division personnel with permission to wear patches on their uniforms during the war. With only a few short weeks remaining in the war, other units obtained permission from General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing to begin wearing patches on October 19, 1918. Soon, there would be an abundance of varying unit insignia with multiple variations of patches for the individual units.
Two WWI Uniforms with SSI - On the left is the 4th Infantry Division ("IV" or Ivy Division) and 82nd Division (the AA stands for All American).
This uniform bears the insignia of the 4th Division Army of Occupation
Many of the WWI patches were constructed in theater and were hand-made, resulting (in some cases) in various representations of the same design. As a patch collector, this is both a point of frustration and enjoyment as one could spend years tracking down every known SSI-design instance.
As WWI veterans returned home, their ornately decorated uniforms drew the attention of would-be collectors and soon, the practice of stripping uniforms for their patches was born.
Exercise caution (or seek advice of experienced collectors) prior to purchasing patches of this era. Considering the availability of period-correct wool flannel material, many of the World War 1 SSIs are easily reproduced and passed off to collectors as authentic.
By the mid-1930s, collectors in upstate New York organized an exchange that would become the basis for The American Society of Military Insignia Collectors or ASMIC, one of the oldest organizations in the area of militaria collecting. With a resource such as ASMIC, collectors can draw from the knowledge of professional collectors as well as trade or purchase insignia.
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- This WWII-era theater-made patch is for the China Burma India (CBI) theater.
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- This uniform shows the Screaming Eagle of the 101st Airborne Division and belonged to Herb Suerth of the famed “E” Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
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- The WWII SSI for U.S. Seventh Army – the “Seven Steps to Hell”
In the years leading up to and during World War II, SSI were mass-produced and designs were standardized, which meant that variations would be reduced. However, this did not eliminate variations altogether.
This patch was worn by my father on his uniform during his service in Viet Nam. He was an adviser with the Military Assistance Command in the Delta.
During the Viet Nam war, subdued patches were introduced for wear on combat uniforms providing additional variants of the same insignia. With the downsizing and restructuring of the Army, units have been decommissioned or combined resulting in fewer SSIs. Uniform changes have all but eliminated the colorful patches as they are no longer worn on dress uniforms.
Will the Army do away with unit patches all together? Only time will tell.
