Ww2 usmc iceland patch ???

[tony75]

Hello
this patch is being offered to me I don't know much about the Iceland patches
any help would be much appreciated
thank you for your time and help
Tony

what is the going rate on these things today

[Scout]

Im not familiar with USMC 'Iceland' patches, but why choose a polar bear for an Icelandic motif - first of all, the polar bear is not native to Iceland and only rarely do polar bears drift/swim all the way to Iceland these days, though it does occasionally happen.

[Scout]

................and I answer my own question:

When British Major General Henry O. Curtis, commander of the British force's 49th Division, suggested that the 1st Brigade wear the 49th's Polar Bear shoulder patch, General Marston agreed. It was worn on each shoulder and was a distinctive insignia the brigade took back when it returned to California in 1942.

The "Polar Bear" patch worn on the shoulders of the sergeants was the British 49th Division's unit insignia adopted by 1st Marine Brigade. The fourageres on the sergeants' left shoulders were worn by the 5th and 6th Marines.

Interesting info, patch and pics here:
HyperWar: Outpost in the North Atlantic: Marines in the Defense of Iceland

[SteveR]

It is the 1st Marine Brigade, Iceland patch. I believe these came in pairs.

[tony75]

Hello
thank you for the help and info
Tony

[Jerry B]

It looks like a patch king patch, though no idea how original US made versions would look.

[Jack Kelly]

I would probably wait until a better example comes along. The patch should be black as opposed to blue. The detailing is poor. There are differences between the British 49th and the Marine version. ASMIC did a great article on these patches a number of years back.

[Adrian Stevenson]

I would agree with Jerry.

Cheers, Ade.

[gel65]

This is patch king, I believe they made the wartime ones in black first with the heads down, but they refused to wear they claiming that the polar bear with the head down signified surrender, so they opted for the same patch but with the polar bears head up, from what I was told