pattons buried equipment

[roc2rol]

Thanks Guz!
I had no idea the U.S. military use that symbol shape
I find that fascinating and am doing some research as to the origin

[gollum]

Not an Infantry Badge, but a Marksman Badge. It shows that the wearer was qualified at the lowest level for each weapon displayed under it. In this case, RIFLE and BAYONET. The two higher levels of qualification are "SHARPSHOOTER" and "EXPERT".

Best-Mike

[roc2rol]

Thanks Guys!

Any one else think its peculiar
that the U.S. military is using
(what seems to me)
the obvious shape of the Prussian Iron Cross ?

Is there some back story on this ?
Or am I reading too much into thingS?

gracias
roc2rol

[Teufel_Hunden]

if i had a metal detector i would look over by az western college here in yuma. patton had a hq in that area of the school overlooking the valley. there was also a calvery corral from the 1800s over by the craftbarn on 95.

when i worked at ypg they had a safety brief for all visitors and new hires on patton and leftover uxo and one of the storied that the eod guys told us was that some snowbirds found and brought in a LIVE landmine and set it on the desk at pass and id. everyone RAN out the door. lol

[gollum]

The problem with using a metal detector to look for buried vehicles is that wherever Patton and his troops trained, they also fired their weapons on a VERY regular basis.

Gobs and Gobs of brass, bullets, shrapnel, buried C Ration Cans, unidentifiable rusted things, and more. You can't walk five feet without a detector going nuts.

Best-Mike

[yuccahead]

The problem with using a metal detector to look for buried vehicles is that wherever Patton and his troops trained, they also fired their weapons on a VERY regular basis.

Gobs and Gobs of brass, bullets, shrapnel, buried C Ration Cans, unidentifiable rusted things, and more. You can't walk five feet without a detector going nuts.

Best-Mike

Actually, my recollection is that it wasn't nearly as bad as that. Once we found a good tent area or a place where people spent a lot of time we were finding really good artifacts, not to mention money. My dad had a huge collection of Mercury head dimes from these areas. Or, for instance, at a rifle range, all kinds of things fell out of pockets, etc. near the berms of earth they were shooting from. We never went out to the target areas - nothing but spent bullets out there. They didn't bomb or fire on areas where they were living.

[historik951]

Roc, thats not an Iron Cross, its an US infantrymans badge.

And that one is know as a " bollo " badge... It was the lowest badge one could get, if you showed up and at least attempted to fire you got that badge... lol The tags below are what weapons he/she " qualified " in....

H

[reptilist]

I qualified as expert rifle (M16), but I never did get a badge for it!
SOB!

Interesting story (to me)... The day of rifle qualification, I was a nervous wreck because I knew everyone was expecting me to shoot poorly and they couldn't wait for me to prove them right. As I waited my turn for the foxhole, I was thinking that I sure wished that I had a stick of chewing gum (I never chewed gum, but in that state of mind, I felt the need.) I looked down on the ground and there... There was an unopened piece of Juicy Fruit chewing gum!

I unwrapped it and put the gum in my mouth then got down to shoot. I shot faster and smoother than anyone else. I finished ahead of everyone else. I had a rhythm! To tell you the truth, I could see the bullets leaving my rifle and hitting the targets. I was in a state of consciousness that was one with the rifle. The only bullet I sent that wasn't center of mass was the last one, and I saw that one leave the barrel askew.

That was one of those days when my guardian angel made himself known.
Sorry to get off topic, but the badges stirred up a memory.

[historik951]

Here's a map of some of the ranges at Anza Borrego during WWII...

H