Flea market Ike

**Tank Destroyer** · 04-30-2022, 09:14 PM

Nice observation

**RH1941** · 05-01-2022, 05:15 AM

In regards to the CIB . You never know what a guy did in the service wjrn you have just his jacket .I knew a gentleman who fought in the south pacific in a tank and at the end of the war he transferred to become a cook so he could get out faster . On his paper work it has him listed as a cook if it wasn't for his great scrape book he had you wouldn't even know he was a tanker if you looked at his paperwork.

**Rakkasan187** · 05-01-2022, 05:02 PM

I agree Gary,

I have seen and have many uniforms with CIBs for Soldiers who switched careers, but were still authorized CIBs or EIBs or any of the other special skill badges after they changed jobs. Take for example many of the officers in Vietnam who have CIBs or even aviator wings but their branch of service was Air Defense Artillery, or another career field..

There are a few theories: This Soldier was an Infantryman who was attached to a Field Artillery Battalion as a liaison but prior to going to the FA unit he was awarded the CIB,, or he changed MOS's stayed in Europe with the occupation forces and was assigned to an artillery unit..

So there are a lot of possibilities, again the regulations in WW2 were not as stringent and strict as they are today and there were many exceptions to policies that were handled at Division level which would only require the authorization of a Division Commander to approve awards, (authorized while within that division for example).. Since this Soldier served in Patton's Third Army, General George S Patton had a lot of influence on approving and awarding decorations for his Soldiers..

Just some things to think about.

I won't turn away a uniform that has some curious decorations without some investigative research..

Best regards everyone

Smitty

**RH1941** · 05-01-2022, 05:54 PM

Smitty thank you for your great insight. The only reason I bought it was because the guy selling it didn't have any other military and he wasn't trying to up sell it . Gary

**08SMLE48** · 05-02-2022, 01:39 PM

Smitty and Gary,

Of course, not trying to discredit the uniform by no means. I just find it interesting. Army uniforms from WWII are always interesting, because as you said Smitty, they regulations were hardly ever strictly kept. The regulations were there but perhaps because most soldiers were citizen soldiers order of ribbons or exact placement of insignia didn’t matter that much to them.

Also as a note, a number Army Cobra pilots in Vietnam were technically artillerymen so they wore the branch insignia of FA or ADA. I learned this a few years ago while working on a new addition to the FA Museum aboard Fort Sill. As a Marine the Army never ceases to amaze me in its confusing way of doing things haha!