Navy gold wings metals...

[Jim123]

Our own newspaper, the Navy record of truth calls it a "chopper" - face palm.

I guess the 'Crimes is gonna have to wait another year for that Pulitzer...

 

[MIDNJAC]

Unrelated, but I have learned that there are some interesting operational and logistical concerns with flying SAR birds long distances into the mountains/high elevation.

 

[ea6bflyr]

Unrelated, but I have learned that there are some interesting operational and logistical concerns with flying SAR birds long distances into the mountains/high elevation.

I thought we learned that lesson again when the Helo crew decided to "attempt a hover" over Lake Tahoe a few years back. ?

 

[Griz882]

I thought we learned that lesson again when the Helo crew decided to "attempt a hover" over Lake Tahoe a few years back. ?

Come on...that was just a fresh water wash down.

 

[Ozarky]

x2 for the Balfour 10k, though on my grandfather’s flight surgeon wings he gifted to me. Would have been issued approximately 1960

 

[nittany03]

x2 for the Balfour 10k, though on my grandfather’s flight surgeon wings he gifted to me. Would have been issued approximately 1960

I wonder when they went from the pin-through clasp to the frogs with multiple prongs. I have my grandfather's dolphins and war patrol pin from WWII, as well as the insignia from his garrison cover. All one-pin designs like the above wings.

I bet the transition happened about the same time after WWII that Marines stopped wearing normal people's haircuts and folks stopped posing for uniform photos with their covers cocked askew. As in, at some point we adopted the poke-through pins with frogs when everyone wearing black shoes adopted their present level of anal-retentiveness about uniform regs.

 

[SynixMan]

I wonder when they went from the pin-through clasp to the frogs with multiple prongs. I have my grandfather's dolphins and war patrol pin from WWII, as well as the insignia from his garrison cover. All one-pin designs like the above wings.

I bet the transition happened about the same time after WWII that Marines stopped wearing normal people's haircuts and folks stopped posing for uniform photos with their covers cocked askew. As in, at some point we adopted the poke-through pins with frogs when everyone wearing black shoes adopted their present level of anal-retentiveness about uniform regs.

I’m imagining how hard it would be to get them straight, and doubly so putting them on and off wash khakis all the time like you see in WWII photos. Then I remembered those guys were too busy flying and and trying to kill them before they killed you to give a fuck about dumb shit like that.

 

[VMO4]

Then I remembered those guys were too busy flying and and trying to kill them before they killed you to give a fuck about dumb shit like that.

This exactly. My WWII and Korea Aviator father aviator was around for part of my time on this forum. I would tell him about the things people were complaining about and he would just roll his eyes. He had a Stearman end up as a smoking hole that he had to bail out of. His incident review board consisted of the CO saying "What happened", "Well sir the wing came off so I got the hell out of there"...."I see, get back to work".

 

[Griz882]

I wonder when they went from the pin-through clasp to the frogs with multiple prongs. I have my grandfather's dolphins and war patrol pin from WWII, as well as the insignia from his garrison cover. All one-pin designs like the above wings.

I bet the transition happened about the same time after WWII that Marines stopped wearing normal people's haircuts and folks stopped posing for uniform photos with their covers cocked askew. As in, at some point we adopted the poke-through pins with frogs when everyone wearing black shoes adopted their present level of anal-retentiveness about uniform regs.

Interesting question. My dad’s tiny WWII place-on-piss-cutter wings are pin through but all the rest are prongs...including at least one set he had converted (or converted himself). The funniest set are 1950’s GEMCO wings marked “USMC SER.” He probably just needed some and never looked at the back. Now, all that said, my uncle’s lead AAC wings from WWII are prongs with old heavy-duty clasps that never come off.

 

[MGoBrew11]

I’m imagining how hard it would be to get them straight, and doubly so putting them on and off wash khakis all the time like you see in WWII photos. Then I remembered those guys were too busy flying and and trying to kill them before they killed you to give a fuck about dumb shit like that.

At my winging my dad pinned on his uncle's (my great uncle) WWII wings. It was this style of pin and you could feel the whole theatre thinking, "Why is it taking this guy so long?"

You can see in my winging video one of the COs signing to another one that they are slide on. They looked a little crooked once they were on there but in the handshake line all the COs said something to the effect of, "Nice wings man."

The pin on wings are sooo much easier to deal with for sure.