Help identifying WW2 patches!

[PaidInFull24]

Hey all,

I came across an INCREDIBLE deal at a garage sale in Oklahoma today! I asked the guy who was running the sale if he had any World War 2 stuff for sale and he stood up and pointed at his seat. He had been SITTING ON a world war 2 duffle bag, with amazing contents. Inside were:

1)A USAAF officer's great coat, green wool, dated 1940 with patch on the left arm and 5th grade Tech Corporal on both sleeves
2)A USAAF class A dress tunic, with unidentified (see below) patch on right arm and excellent AAF patch on left arm
3)2 pairs class A pants (one pair green, the other khaki)
4)An enlisted officer's crusher cap
5)A green wool garrison cap with red piping
6)Two belts, one with solid brass buckle
7)The army issued green duffle bag
8)Several uniform shirts
9)A 100% wool green scarf manufactured by "Zephyr"

Below I have posted the pictures of the unidentified patches on the sleeves of the uniforms. I have done some searching but do not have any really good resources to look up patches. Any pointers as to sites or books?
If anyone has any info on these patches please let me know!
The best part of the deal was that I got the ENTIRE lot for $15!!!! All items are in nearly mint condition (with some staining on the shirts that I believe will come out with a good clean). Minimal mothing on the officer's cap, and the red piping is worn on the garrison cap. I was thinking of having the dress tunic, pants, and uniform shirts dry cleaned. Any pointers as to cleaning fabrics this old?
Here are the patches:

This patch is on both the right sleeve of the class A uniform and the left sleeve of the officer's great coat. I know the below patch is a 5th grade Tech Corporal but have never seen the upper patch before:


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This patch is on the left sleeve of the khaki dress shirt. I have seen this patch before but cannot recall what the specific meaning of it is:


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There is also a collar disc on the class A that is a shield with stripes running vertical and a star in the upper portion of the shield. The disc appears to be bronze. Any ideas? I can post a pic if needed.

Thanks for your help!

Regards,
Nick

 

[Widebrim]

^^The disk sounds like Adjutant General's Corps (which I was attached to for a bit under a year). Don't know about the unit patches. Great find!

 

[Sgt Brown]

The bottom patch is, I believe, 8th Army. No idea on top patch.

DO have the uniform dry cleaned. Only way to guarantee any moths are killed. If you don't have one already, ask around for a dry cleaner that can be trusted to do expensive, quality clothing. I have a "Florida room" porch where I keep any new uniforms until they are dry cleaned. Then I will allow them in the house. Paranoid? Yes. Every had a moth? No.

Tom

 

[thecardigankid]

Can you post pics of the rest of the items?

All around nice score!

 

[PaidInFull24]

I'm working today but will post the rest of the pictures as soon as I can. You'll have to disregard all the wrinkles as all the items were found wadded up in the duffle bag. Im hoping that a good cleaning will press them out.
I know that it is USAAF because the accompanying class A uniform is a Tech Corporal ranking with matching veteran name and service number and on the left shoulder of the class A is the classic USAAF patch. I've been doing more research today but am still unable to identify the red white and blue patch pictured above...

 

[Gene]

2nd patch is 8th Service Command, part of the US service commands tasked with stateside duties. The first patch is a rare Labrador Northeast and Central Command of Canada patch. It was basically US troops stationed in Canada working on the Allied war effort together. The soldier these belonged to may never have gone overseas.

 

[PaidInFull24]

Wow thanks Gene. Why do you say this patch is rare? Do you have any links to more info?

 

[Sgt Brown]

2nd patch is 8th Service Command, part of the US service commands tasked with stateside duties.(Snipped)

Oops!

Tom

 

[Gene]

Wow thanks Gene. Why do you say this patch is rare? Do you have any links to more info?

Well, I've never seen one in person, and it wasn't a huge unit, so I'm not sure if there's too many floating around. I don't know whether or not it's very valuable, but rare definitely.

 

[PaidInFull24]

As requested, here are some pictures of the items found in the duffle bag. Again, please disregard the wrinkles, that was not my mistreatment of the items, but a result of having been wadded up in a duffle bag for an unknown number of years. Also, some of the shirts have a white powdery substance on them that appears as a stain, but I think it will come out with a good cleaning.

The Officer's Great Coat:


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Sorry there are so many pictures but there were alot of items in that duffle! I found an interesting article on wikipedia talking about the "Newfoundland Base Command". The patch for the Newfoundland Base Command exactly matches the patch on these uniforms. The article can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Base_Command

 

[PaidInFull24]

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[PaidInFull24]

Does anyone know if the scarf was standard issue or only issued to flight crews, etc. I would imagine that it would be standard with the wool great coat but maybe someone is a bit more knowledgeable. Thanks so much for all the great feedback! Keep it coming!

Regards,
Nick

 

[Gene]

Most scarves were privately purchased, as this one was. Some were also knitted by the Red Cross or your family back home. The wool coat was issued to all enlisted men as a winter garment. Probably handy up there in Newfoundland!

I'll tell you what I find strange are the overseas stripes (hershey bars). 3 signifies he was overseas for 1 year and 6 months, along with the diagonal stripe which means he was in the Army for at least 3 years. Did Canada count as foreign service? I'm guessing so.

The 3 at the beginning of his serial number means he was a draftee. The AAF HQ patch is more than likely what they assigned him to before he was discharged.

 

[Widebrim]

I'll tell you what I find strange are the overseas stripes (hershey bars). 3 signifies he was overseas for 1 year and 6 months, along with the diagonal stripe which means he was in the Army for at least 3 years. Did Canada count as foreign service? I'm guessing so.

It did qualify for foreign service, as part of the American Campaign (as did the Aleutian Islands). Nowadays you qualify for an Overseas Service Bar only if you are stationed in a recognized combat zone.

 

[PaidInFull24]

It did qualify for foreign service, as part of the American Campaign (as did the Aleutian Islands). Nowadays you qualify for an Overseas Service Bar only if you are stationed in a recognized combat zone.

Widebrim, thanks so much for clarifying that. I was wondering myself.

Gene, correct me if I'm wrong:
The diagonal stripe signifies at least 3 years in the army while the 3 "hershey" bars signify 6 months of service a piece. In that case, would it be realistic to assume that he spent a year and a half in Newfoundland (which qualifies for overseas service) and probably spent the previous year and a half training, etc. to make a total of 3 years of service?

Has anyone else ever seen this patch on any other uniforms or militaria items? As Gene said in a previous post, I can't imagine that there would have been a great number of men permanently stationed at this particular base. I have also found that there was a Greenland base command with a different corresponding patch.

Also, for general info, would someone please differentiate between the Army Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Army Distinguished Unit Citation (later called the Presidential Unit Citation)? I have been curious as to whether the soldier would have worn both the red ribbon in the gold frame (Meritorious Unit Commendation) as well as the MUC wreath on the right sleeve at the same time, or if the ribbon bar came about later. The MUC wreath on this uniform is on OD fabric and stitched of an orange-ish thread, not a bright gold thread, and certainly not bullion.

Thanks for all the info guys. I am enjoying learning about the role of the Newfoundland Base Command in World War 2. As far as I can tell, happenings in this part of the world during WW2 are not a widely taught subject, though the guys at the base command seem to have played a very vital role in the ferrying of aircraft to the ETO during the war, and defense of the Canadian coast and Eastern seaboard of the United States. Very intriguing!