Question about a Army Patch of one who fought in Vietnam?

Question

I am wondering about a millitary patch that my birth father has on his uniform that is a rectangle with three arrow-spears within. He was in the Vietnam War, and afaik, was in the Army. Link to picture is below. Blurry, but shows well enough to give a good idea.

I am wondering what does it signifty? Infantry or otherwise? Birth father and I don't communicate so I cannot ask him, unfortunately. Comprehensive websites will be appreciated too.

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-1yhL_ZEzd7MSQxxiVinYxhb7?p=670

Patch is on upper arm.

While I appreciate the help from first answerer (www.military.com), I searched their patches site, it does not have the patch I am looking for. I have asked them for help---but doubtful they will answer---still would very much like to see if anyone here may know of a _comprehensive_ site or actually have an answer.

Answer 1

If you want an answer to your question.... ask an old soldier. The left shoulder patch in your father's photo is the ID patch of the Third Support Brigade which, by the way, is not a Vietnam unit but a Vietnam era unit that was stationed within the continental United States. It was activated during August, 1966, and deactivated in 1991. The patch has a red background bordered by yellow with three yellow spearheads in the foreground. The spearheads are pointing upward and are joined at the shoulder symbolizing the spirit of cooperation and industry exerted in support of services to the Army's combat elements. Your fathers rank, below the unit ID patch, shows at that time he was a Specialist Fourth Class ( E-4 ). Kind of like a specialized corporal but had no NCO privileges. The ribbon he is wearing over his left pocket is the ribbon of the National Defense Medal. The badge below that is an Expert Rifleman's Badge for rifle marksmanship. When this photo was taken your father had not been sent to Vietnam yet since no campaign or other personal awards (i.e. ribbons) are present in the photo. I hope this answers your question. If you could describe your fathers Vietnam unit patch, located on the right shoulder of the uniform, I would be more than happy to assist in explaining where your father was at in Vietnam and with what unit he was with. By the way, nice tattoo and your mom and dad did a good job. You're very pretty and lucky to have a dad who served. Tell him I said, "Welcome Home".

Answer 2

I browsed thru your blog and it seems you have this question pretty well answered. I just wanted to add my 2 cents. The ribbon above the markmanship badge looks to me like the National Defense Service Medal. Anyone who served in the military during an armed conflict received one. You didn't have to have been in battle or done anything heroic. We used to call it the geeduck ribbon. Geeduck being the nickname for the coffee shop/ snack bar. All you had to do for the medal was show up for coffee! The colors on it were red, blue, white and yellow. One of the running jokes about it was blue for the seas you never crossed, white for the eyes you never saw, red for the blood you never shed and yellow the reason why! What can I say!!! The servicemen and women have a culture and humor all their own!! And it isn't meant derogatorily either. It is often a why to relieve a hell of a lot of tension and stress!!

Answer 3

I wish I could see it more clearly, because I'd have a better idea, but it's definately a Unit Insignia.

The link below is nothing if not comprehensive. This lists every insignia the army uses. It would be helpful if you knew which branch your father served under, I can't tell from the photo.

Good luck, I hope you find it.

Answer 4

here are few sites u can search

http://www.totalnavy.com/militarypatch.htm

http://bestrelationshipsites.com/Relationships/5/Military/militaryinsignia/Military-Insignia.html

http://expert-guides.net/tt.php?a=Military%20Insignia

for more links click this

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=military+insignia+US

Answer 5

www.military.com will give you all your answeres.