Beginning in 2009 and up until 2016, Clayton C. “Bud” Shortridge of New Haven, Indiana, churned out a number of informational texts regarding Liberty and Victory ships that were attacked by Axis forces. He passed away in July 2017, with his comcast site soon going offline; this left archive.org, blogspot, and several Google Docs links (mostly passworded and slated to disappear) as the holders of his work. In an effort to preserve his writing and to keep everything readily accessible for those interested, I have made available my archive of his articles.
As follows is a table of Branch Distinction colors found on officer shoulder boards and cuffs of Royal Navy uniforms per 1918 regulations, Merchant Navy livery as standardized by the British Board of Trade in 1918, U.S. Navy officer uniforms per 1919 U.S.N. uniform regulations, U.S. Army Transport Service regulations in effect from 1933-44, and United States Lines Steamship Co. rate detail from a 1937 passenger list brochure.
Although not fully detailed in the United States Lines chart, epaulets – or shoulder boards – followed the same design. Of interest is the fact that USL shoulder boards did not use the same button as the uniform coat.
U.S. Maritime Service Commissioned and Warrant Officer hat
Winter hat; navy blue wool with wicker frame, ½-in. wide. gold bullion chinstrap and two 22½-ligne gilt cap screws. (note: if strap is ¼-in., hat would be that of a warrant officer). Circa Second World War.
It is one thing to collect, and another to actually know what one is collecting. As follows is a reference bibliography of use to collectors of Second World War period maritime insignia; I owe a great debt of gratitude to Herbert “Sarge” Booker for sharing with me his archive of The Crow’s Nest as well as placing me in contact with Rudy Barsuto, Steve Soto, and Dave Collar. Each of these individuals has proven an excellent correspondent in matters of maritime insignia.
Some of the references below deserve a bit of an introduction. The Crow’s Nest is mainly a pictorial review in zine format shared among aficionados of maritime insignia and self-published by Sarge; in its various issues are India ink drawings done by Sarge complemented with photographs of various insignia and charts from uniform manuals; it is an interesting zine the likes of which I have never seen before (and perhaps never again). Of particular interest are the self-published monographs by Steve Soto and Rudy Basurto; they synthesize and order collections. In regard to Insignia by Mr. Basurto, it is a singular work that presents civilian insignia – it is a bit loose on time period, but most of the illustrations are from around the Second World War; Sarge was the artist, designer, and typesetter of study – he insisted I make this work available on this site.
Works that may be downloaded or purchased online have their titles in bold.
Rudy Basurto & Herbert Hillary “Sarge” Booker, 2nd Insignia of America’s Little Known Seafarers, 2nd Ed. Privately Printed, nd. Insignia of America’s Little Known Seafarers, 3rd Ed. (edited and revised by Steve Soto and Cynthia Soto). Privately Printed, 2008.
N.B. May be purchased by contacting Mr. Soto.
Dave Collar
“Insignia of the Army Transportation Service in World War II.” ASMIC: The Trading Post October-December 1994: 29-43.
“Insignia of the United States Maritime Service, World War II.” ASMIC: The Trading Post April-June 1995.
“Insignia of the United States Shipping Board.” ASMIC: The Trading Post October-December 1996.
William K. Emerson
“Section XIII. The Army’s Navy: Chapter Thirty-Six. Army Transport Service and Harbor Boat Service” in Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. 331-352.
Steve Soto & Cynthia Soto A collector’s guide to the History, Uniforms and Memorabilia of the U.S. Merchant Marine and Army Transport Service during World War II. Privately Printed, 1996 (revised 2008).
N.B. May be purchased by contacting Mr. Soto.
Where have all the insignia manufacturers of the American Merchant Marine managing operators gone? Long passed are the days of enamel flags on high-pressure caps, and so too is true for their makers. Through complex mergers and acquisitions, tools that once struck these diminutive flags found their way to the scrap heap or in the hands of other insignia houses.
GEMSCO of New York under the Elkies family once manufactured a majority of American Merchant Marine steamship company cap flags. The company was established in 1881 and later incorporated as Gordon, Elkies Military Supply Company, Inc. on 31 July 1934 with the State of New York, and in less than a month’s time re-registered as GEMSCO, Inc. on 8 August 1934 – although an abbreviation for the original company’s name, it was implied that it was an abbreviation for the trademark “General Embroidery & Military Supply Co., Inc.” which hid the company’s Eastern European roots. GEMSCO was a one-stop shop for all embroidered and metal insignia items. In time, as was a common practice among insignia houses, GEMSCO subcontracted out most of their production. Enamel flags went to The Reynolds Co. of East Providence, Rhode Island.
The period of mass cap flag manufacture was relatively short-lived in the United States – they had their heyday from the mid-1930s through the late 1940s. Until the 1930s, enamel work was not common for maritime insignia in the United States, but was widespread throughout the British shipping industry. The 1930s saw a shift in insignia styles, first with the Chapman-run United States Lines copying White Star Line’s uniform motifs, and then Dollar and Matson. Eventually, most shipping companies had an enamel flag on their employees’ caps – it was almost requisite for doing business as a serious company; along with the stock certificates with a steamship, a house flag, and buttons with said flag. This insignia innovation continued through the Second World War with GEMSCO providing the bulk of blue water shipping’s cap flags.
Style and economics brought an end to cap flags. Once an item worn by all, many mariners opted to wear their Government-issue cap eagles over cap flags while others switched to cheaper embroidered cap badges. GEMSCO provided the latter first from looms in New York, and then New Jersey. Notable exceptions were Ibrantsen, American Export, and United States Lines which continued to issue them through the 1950s and 1960s. With the collapse of the American Merchant Marine industry in the late 1960s, the market for maritime insignia items was no longer profitable, and their specialized manufacture ceased. In the case of GEMSCO, the company realigned its business during the 1970s with Denmark Military Equipment (D.M.E.) eventually buying Reynolds in the 1980s. Denmark operated Reynolds as the Topper Division of D.M.E. for about a decade, at the tail end of which they closed the East Providence location and subsequently, the tooling for cap flags disappeared – unfortunately, I am unaware as to the range of tools lost during the closure. GEMSCO went bankrupt in 1992 and went into re-organization; it decided to pursue contracts in the law enforcement market. Enamel cap flags are now created from old tools for collectors.
Below is a list of current insignia houses, from where their tools came, and the original owner. If the tools have since been discarded, I have indicated as such. After the list, I have provided vendors (Sources) who offer original or restrikes of the cap flags – and what flags they have in stock (current November 2022). As of 2022, Armour Insignia is the holder of most tools.
ex-Town & Country which acquired the stock of: ex-Robbins
Mallory
Mowinckel
ex-Denmark Military Equipment [as Topper DME] (New York) which acquired the stock of: ex-The Reynolds Co. (Lincoln/East Providence, Rhode Island) subcontractor for GEMSCO (New York):
Alcoa
American Export
American Export Isbrandtsen
American President
American Republic
American-Hawaiian
Argonaut
Black Diamond
Brovig
Central Gulf
Everett Orient
Farrell
Grace
Gulf & South American
Isbrandtsen
Joklar
Kerr
Knoch
Luckenbach
Matson
Moore-McCormack
Olsen & Uglestad
Panama Railroad
Rasmussen
Socony
Standard
States Marine
United Fruit
United States Lines
ex-GEMSCO:
U.S. Army Floating Plant & Dredges
ex-International Insignia which acquired the stock of Krew ex-Krew:
The Great Lakes Dock & Dredge
ex-Blackintron:
Southern Pacific (Golden Gate Ferries)
ex-Blackintron which acquired the stock of Braxmar ex-Charles G. Braxmar Co. (New York):
When they’re gone, they’re gone… Below find dealers of Period – original cap flags – and only active dealer offering re-strikes.
Period
Joshua Segal of Lost Legions Militaria in Alexandria, Virginia (https://www.ebay.com/str/lostlegionsmilitaria) is the only known source of GEMSCO-manufactured United States Lines cap flags from the 1930s and early 1940s. His stock comes from the 1992 Army-Navy store close-out and liquidation sale.
☆ ☆ ☆
Stephen E. Lipski, based in New Jersey, is another merchant on eBay (https://www.ebay.com/sch/reatra05/m.html) who has some stock of original GEMSCO-manufactured cap badges. His stock comes from an Army-Navy store close-out about three decades ago. He offers:
American Export Lines
American President Lines
American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Matson Lines
Panama Railroad Steamship Line
☆ ☆ ☆
For over a decade, Robert Steinberg of Pinback Paradise (https://www.ebay.com/str/pinbackparadise) in Medford, New Jersey has been offering the same two cap flags:
American President Lines
American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
His stock came from the buy-out of the stock of another dealer two decades ago.
Restrikes
Armour Insignia in Henderson, Nevada (http://armourinsignia.com/) has restrikes available of the following (November 2022):
American Export Line
American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
American President Lines
American-Export Isbrandtsen Lines
Argonaut
Grace Line
Great Lakes Dock & Dredge
Hudson River Steam Navigation
Isbrandtsen
Moore-McCormack Lines
New York Queens Ferry
Olsen & Uglestad
Southern Pacific Steamship Lines (via Blackinton)
Yonkers Ferry
Armour Insignia GEMSCO re-strikes are easy to differentiate from period cap badges – the planchets are a bit thicker and have no hallmark; from 1942 onward, GEMSCO hallmarked most of their badges.
The summer before I went to college, I was not so worried about leaving home for the first time, I was concerned I did not have what it took to be a good Naval Officer. My doubts came when I received a letter about O-week. This was an orientation, I learned, about life as a Naval ROTC midshipman. I figured it would be a nice way to get to school early and get my bearings. The doubts came when I heard that it was some sort of boot camp where upperclassmen attempted to break-in lubbers. I thought I had it over all of them, since I lived in the Navy for my entire life.
I grew up in the shadow of my Grandfather who was a warrant officer and then LDO, and my step-father who was a chief and LDO in the Navy. Both of them came to the Navy from two different generations. The Navy of my Grandfather was a collegial place – he was in the submarine community. My stepfather’s Navy was bogged down in seemingly petty politics – of who said what at the wardroom table or “college boys” looking down on my stepfather because he did not have the formal education they had. From my perspective, a Naval Officer had dignity about them, were detail-oriented, and honorable to a fault. I felt as though I was a good fit for the role.
One of the first things we did at O-week was to get our photographs taken for ID cards. Name placards were made and we were handed a pile of clothes. My first evening at college was spent polishing my shoes. I taught others around me how to do it since I had been polishing shoes for years. We were also shown how to iron our khakis. I too had this down from years of practice.
The PT in the morning was annoying but bearable. The marching up and down sidewalks in tight formation felt silly. In the classroom, we were constantly being yelled at for the smallest of mistakes. One of my fellow inductees was reamed out for not knowing the NATO alphabet having only been told it once. I did lots of pushups because I called a fellow with a name plaque that read Moran, “moron.” He didn’t like that. I was forced to remove my name plaque and replace it with one emblazoned with the name “Abercrombie.” I had to spell it at a moment’s notice in the NATO alphabet. I never stumbled spelling ALPHA BRAVO ECHO ROMEO CHARLIE ROMEO OSCAR MIKE BRAVO INDIA ECHO – my childhood was spent staring at signal flags and studying the military.
I understood what they were attempting to do: to break me. Despite what might be called hazing, I was motivated to excel. They could not break me.
One evening, though, I realized I didn’t want to be part of the Navy, not this Navy. This realization came when I was sitting in my room and I overheard upperclassmen saying how they couldn’t wait to have a taste of fresh meat. As their conversation continued, I realized they were talking about a group of young women in our group and they went into lurid detail about how they planned on getting them drunk and showing them a “real man.” My head burned with anger. I knew I would not be able to bear being around other students referring to incoming first-year women as fresh meat. The next day, I gathered up the courage and told the unit’s CO I just didn’t have what it took and wished to separate from the unit. Later that afternoon, I gave the Yeoman all my uniforms and called my parents. I felt like a complete failure.
I was given a pair of boards by the Yeoman in parting. He thought I was a good kid. They were apparently antique.
In retrospect, I should not have left on some made-up excuse, in that I didn’t feel I was cut out for the Navy. I should have told the CO I was disgusted with my classmates and I found their comments abhorrent. I should have been an ally to the young women who were participating in O-week. However, I wasn’t mentally prepared to say what I needed to say. What I heard instead were shades of my stepfather’s comments toward women and this was a culture not for me.
A couple of years after I left NROTC I bumped into a fellow midshipman. We chatted a bit, he was planning on becoming an aviator, and I was just accepted to grad school. When I told him a regretted dropping out, he told me I would never have made it anyway – my problem was that I was too sensitive and I needed to toughen up. The Navy had no place for an officer like me. I asked him about the young women in the program – in a low voice he told me one of them was sexually assaulted, but it was all hush-hush.
Sadly, it seems whenever a collector of maritime uniform insignia comes across a Federal-style shield with three white stars, automatically the assumption is the insignia comes from the United States Shiping Board (USSB). Not so.
in Tonelli, identified as WSA
These cap badges are the official insignia of the National Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots (NOMMP). This group was (and still is) a bargaining unit for Deck Officers aboard United States-flag vessels.
The assumption is quite easy to make since NOMMP’s cap badge looks very similar to the insignia worn by USSB employees. However, some also forget that USSB was abolished by Executive Order 6166 of 10 June 1933, and all its functions, including those with respect to United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation, was transferred to United States Shipping Board Bureau, Department of Commerce, effective 2 March 1934 (at this point USSB no longer issued independent annual reports); USSB separation of employees was deferred until 30 September 1933 by Executive Order 6245 of 9 August 1933. The Bureau’s functions were assumed by the United States Maritime Commission (USMC) on 26 October 1936, pursuant to Act of 29 June 1936 (49 Stat. 1985). A chart detailing the Emergency Fleet Corporation’s lines (which USSB managed) from 1919 through the dissolution of federally-managed lines in 1940 (as under USMC); the chart is here.
from The Master, Mate and Pilot. Volume 8, Number 4, April 1945, p. 15.
Although not stated in the description, the design elements are fairly straightforward. The wreath is the same as used on the United States Maritime Service cap insignia; the cable loop is interesting since it is a vestige of a fouled anchor element on the Gemsco-designed USMS cap insignia. The shield itself is a novel design; the three white stars are representative of the three groups of officers represented by the union: Masters, Mates, and Pilots. Note that the central star is shifted slightly upward from the other two – this is the tell-tale indicator of NOMMP stamped-metal cap badges. The badge’s colors are patriotic, and the design is quasi-naval. Surmounting the shield and wreath is an eagle – at the time it was in fashion for licensed officers to have eagles on their cap badges as a symbol of their shipboard authority.
S. Appel & Company on 14-18 Fulton St. in New York was the official distributor and manufacturer of the insignia. They provided both embroidered, and stamped-metal and enamel versions of the same.
Captain Holger Emile Sorensen, Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal recipient, October 1943. Note: regulations codified in 1944 and published in 1945.
The raison d’être for the creation of distinctive insignia is due to the fact that during the mid-1940s, NOMMP wished to distinguish itself from the newly-minted and not-always unionized mariners in the United States Merchant fleet. Since shipboard uniforms were not codified by law, NOMMP tinkered with the dress of the day. Unlike the confusing array of regulations for United States Maritime Service (USMS) officers with appointed rank based upon ship tonnage, NOMMP used lace stripes to designate position aboard a vessel. Buttons were adorned with plain anchors – which in practice was not the between war anchor button – rather the anchor and two stars design used at the time by the United States Merchant Marine Academy Cadet Corps.
1944 regulations in full:
Ersatz NOMMP capIn Tonelli, identified as WSA
Sometimes NOMMP members made do with cap badges they had on hand and painted them. The above is an example of a late-war Gemsco naval officer cap badge painted to indicate the wearer as a NOMMP member. This same cap insignia was often defaced to create cap badges for the re-organized Army Transport Service under the Army Transportation Corps – Water Division. In some literature (Tonelli and Booker), it is called a WSA (War Shipping Administration) cap badge; this may be an incorrect attribution – a discussion of known WSA badges may be found here (ship pilot) and here (Field Service) – but given the spotty nature of period documentation, the jury is still out.
U.S. Maritime Commission Cadre / U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Office cap badge (Type 1) One piece construction. Seal, 25mm diameter; Anchor, 50mm length. Obscured AE CO N.Y. hallmark (American Emblem Company) Anchor and device stamped brass; blue enamel band and red, white & blue shield. Early Second World War era; 1942.
This is the first design of the USMS CPO hat badge; it was worn in 1942 up until the formal transfer of the Prospective Licensed Officer training program from the USCG to the WSA/USMS in July 1942. The badge itself may be found in plain brass, as well as plated silver or nickel. This brass pattern was issued in 1942, followed by plated silver or nickel badges and then a new design came about in August 1942. A description of the second design may be found here. In practice, in the period leading up to the Second World War, USMS CPOs, more often than not wore the more handsome embroidered hat badges – which were of the same design as the stamped metal device, albeit without the band of stars – as evidenced by an image in the article “Heros of Wartime Science and Mercy” in National Geographic Magazine, December 1943 page 717, as seen here. These badge were worn mostly by officer trainees – who held the rank of Chief Petty Officer.
Concurrent with WSA control of the USMS, and the stripping away of the ship-building component of the USMS, came a color and design shift: for the hat badge: the illustrated deco motif of a stylized Federal “classic shield” gave way to a detailed foul anchor charge on “official shield” of finer detail. Whereas the first design was predominantly blue, the color changed to red – perhaps to echo the red of chevrons and other woven cloth devices found on an enlistedman’s uniform. My research has alluded to that late in the war, the CPO badge further changed to match the pattern found on USMS buttons (1942-1954); I will post an image of this badge at a later date.
J. Tonelli in Visor Hats of the US Armed Forces incorrectly asserts that the illustrated hat badge was worn by USMS Warrant Officers; however, regulations of the time state that Warrant Officers wear the same devices as regular, commissioned officers. This is a commonly made mistake when attempting to devise a typology of hat devices for a relatively small organization with a small array of hat insignia.
Overall, the USMS only had a handful of CPOs and these were attached to USMS enrollment offices, training stations, officer schools and the US Merchant Marine Academy; CPO insignia was not issued to regular seamen who were matriculated from or were certified by the USMS. CPOs represented unlicensed seaman hired by the USMS skilled in the maritime industry with some seniority or specialized skills not satisfying the grade of Warrant Officer; it is useful to think of USMS CPOs as experienced Able Seamen (AB).
USMS CPO Hat badge, obverse. This device was worn by Merchant Mariners attached to the US Maritime Commission involved in training duties; this badge eventually found its way to be only worn by senior unlicensed personnel (CPOs). This hat badge continued to be issued until stocks were depleted and eventually replaced by a badge of the same design – albeit in nickel (pre- and early war), and then replaced by the more familiar USMS CPO device. There is some speculation that the USMC/USMS CPO device was modeled after the US Coast Guard enlisted hat badge; the USCG badge went into production in 1942, around the same time as the production of the USMC/USMS badge.
The mystery of the design lies in the double-anchor and seal motif. If analyzed closely, the badge hearkens to the precursor agency of both the US Maritime Commission and US Coast Guard: the US Revenue Cutter Service. In this light, the anchor stock and flukes, and as well as the rope on the stock themselves echo the old seal. At the time of its creation, it was not stated in USMC regulations, but the uniforms and ranks of the soon-to-be-formed USMS were eventually codified to mirror that of the US Coast Guard. In time, in an effort to create an esprit de corps and the forging of an independent identity, the badge change to the second design.
USMS CPO Hat badge, reverse.
USMS CPO Hat badge, reverse (detail). Note the curious “CO N.Y.” hallmark – the complete “AE CO N.Y.” mark is obscured by the post – this is of the American Emblem Company of Utica, New York. This firm produced a number of Merchant Marine and Maritime Service items during the Second World War, most notably the ubiquitous Merchant Mariner pin. In regard to this specific badge, NS Meyer produced a very similar insignia set for USMS officers using a similar central device. With the button and device change in 1942, AE Co. was no longer contracted to make USMS CPO badges; rather, the jobbing went to Coro.
USN Technician hat badge & miniature device.
Cast brass; motto: U.S. TECHNICIAN.
1 screw, 1 non-rotating point.
37mm x 48mm (LxH).
manu: Officer’s Equipment Co. Madison, NJ.
mini device: 15mm x 19mm.
Circa 1950.
Joseph Tonelli’s book, Visor hats of the United States Armed Forces: 1930-1950 illustrates one of the most exquisite pieces of headgear worn by U.S. forces in the Second World War – that of the U.S. Technician attached to the U.S. Navy. A passing glance could mistake it for something out of Fascist Italy: these hats have elaborate devices composed of a silver embroidered spread eagle. It faces dexter with a stylized wrench clutched in the left claw and an olive branch in the right. The lettering “U.S. TECHNICIAN” is centered on a brass or gold-plate device on the eagle’s chest. The hat’s chin-strap changed from gilt to black-braid by end of the war, and finally black leather. The last U.S. Technician hat Tonelli details on page 198 is from 1950 and presumably one in contemporary use.
With the onset of the Second World War, the technologies involved in weapon creation oftentimes surpassed the basic training of sailors, soldiers and their commanding officers. The technical advancements in aviation, computers, and RADAR required technical personnel of defense industry companies that created these new weapons of war to advise and train their military customers. The Navy, keen on maintaining hierarchical relationships and following Geneva Convention rules, and to insure the clear identification of non-combatants in its midst, drew up regulations for U.S. Navy Technician uniforms and devices. These regulations, for the most part, remain on the books and can be found buried in U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines uniform regulations. A survery of these regulations are as follows:
First public mention of the uniform was published by All Hands in October 1943:
New Insignia For Civilian Technicians
Civilian technicians, who may serve with the Navy, were authorized last month to wear a uniform similar to that worn by Naval officers, minus any insignia of rank or corps, or shoulder or sleeve marks. Caps with black chin strap and without cap device will be worn. Instead of Naval insignia, technicians will wear the insignia pictured herewith, on the left breast pocket of coat and shirt. (Details in N. D. Bul. [semimonthly], of 1 September 1943, R-1368.)
The insignia above was reproduced on uniform visor cap with a small gilt placard bearing the words “U.S. Technician” on the eagle’s chest (detail toward the end of the post). By 1950, the elaborate device was no longer and was replaced with a gilt placard. All Hands also relates the same:
Navy Civilian Technicians Will Wear Uniforms With Emblem on Left Breast
A new directive authorizes civilian technicians serving with the Navy to wear uniforms that, except for insignia, are the same as an officer’s outfit.
For the most part, the uniforms will be worn by expert field engineers and scientists sent to Navy ships and shore bases by commercial companies to iron out difficulties the Navy is having with their equipment, Their most noticeable insignia, an embroidered badge about three inches square which shows an eagle and the words “U. S. Technician,” will be worn on the left breast pocket of coats and khaki shirts. The uniform will be the same as a commissioned naval officer’s with the exception that no distinctive rank, corps device or other naval insignia will be worn. Plain buttons of the same size and color of naval officers’ uniforms will be worn on the coats. Here are the various insignia to watch for:
Cap insignia – Gilt badge one-and-a-half inches wide and one-and-seven-eighths inches high bearing the words “U.S. Technician,” worn on the band of the combination cap with a plain black strap and plain gilt buttons.
Breast insignia – An embroidered badge three-and-a-quarter inches square. An eagle is shown clutching a group of tools in one claw and an olive branch in the other. The design and the words “U.S. Technician” are white on blue coats and blue on other coats and khaki shirts, on a background the same color as the coat or shirt.
Collar insignia – Gilt pin five-eighths of an inch wide and threequarters of an inch high bearing the inscription “U.S. Technician,” for wear on both sides of the khaki shirt collar.
Garrison cap insignia – Same gilt pin as that worn on the collar. On the garrison cap it is worn on the left side only.
As announced in BuPers Circ. Ltr. 142-50 (NDR, 31 Aug 1950), the uniform will be of benefit in establishing the technician’s status in event of capture by an enemy, will provide ready identification as contractors’ representative at naval activities, and will assist area commanders and commanding officers in their control over them.
The wearing of this uniform is limited to individuals authorized and designated by the Chief of Naval Operations.
By the 1990s, the uniform regulation for U.S. Navy Technicians became quite specific, and they were mandated to only wear uniforms in forward combat areas and during travel to and from such areas outside of the continental United States (or, on any other occasion as deemed fit by the Chief of Naval Operations). This is to establish their official status as a non-combatant.
U.S. Navy OPNAV INSTRUCTION 5720.3D § 9 states thus:
Articles of Uniform. The articles of uniform shall be the same as those prescribed for a commissioned naval officer except that no distinctive rank, corps device, or other naval insignia shall be worn. Plain buttons of the same size and color prescribed for naval officer’s uniforms shall be worn on coats. Female technicians shall wear either the garrison cap or beret; combination hat is not authorized.
Breast Insignia. An embroidered badge 3¼ inches square, consisting of a spread eagle, facing dexter; the left claw of the eagle shall be shown clutching a group of tools and the right claw an olive branch; immediately underneath the eagle shall be the letters: U.S. TECHNICIAN. The background of the badge shall be the same color as the coat/jacket or shirt, with the design and lettering white on blue coats and blue on other coats/jackets and khaki shirts. The breast insignia shall be worn on the left breast pocket of coats and khaki shirts for male technicians. The breast insignia shall be worn above the left breast pocket flap of the jacket (Service Dress Blue), for female technicians.
Cap insignia for male technicians. A gilt badge 1¼ inches wide by 1-7/8 inches high bearing the inscription U.S. TECHNICIAN. Worn on the band of the combination cap with plain black chin strap and plain gilt buttons. Cap insignia for garrison cap (male and female technicians) and beret (female technicians). A gilt pin 5/8-inch wide by ¾-inch high bearing the inscription U.S. TECHNICIAN. Worn on the left side of the garrison cap 2 inches from the front edge and 1½ inches from the bottom edge of the cap when the garrison cap is prescribed for wear by naval officers. For female technicians, worn on the beret, aligned approximately above the left eye.
Collar insignia. A gilt pin 5/8-inch wide by ¾-inch high bearing the inscription U.S. TECHNICIAN. Worn on both sides of the collar of the khaki shirt with the center of the insignia 1 inch from the front edge and 1 inch below the upper edge of the collar for male technicians. Worn on the white shirt collar with the center of the insignia 2 inches from the fold line at top of collar and ¾-inch from the forward edge of collar, for female technicians.
The U.S. Marine Corps has similar directives, however without the “combination hat” and the stipulation that anyone wearing a Marine Corps uniform must abide by USMC grooming standards.
These directives are still in effect. In terms of the insignia that accompany this entry, they were manufactured prior to the Korean War – as evident by the lack of Institute of Heraldry (IOH) numbers and the wartime keeper screw bolt. In the past, GEMSCO and Officer’s Equipment Co. manufactured U.S. Technician insignia; Dondero is presently the only supplier of the collar insignia to the USMC – I am unsure about the hat badge and if it is even produced. I have yet to see these plain buttons.
USN Technician Hat badge & miniature device; reverse, hallmark and screw post detail. 1950s.
USN Technician.
U.S. Navy officers’ hat with U.S. Technician insignia
manu: Berkshire, New York, NY.
Circa Early Second World War
This khaki covered hat would have been worn with the jacket as detailed below. The hat itself has an early wartime Berkshire logo, and is the standard U.S. Navy officer model; the owner would have had to privately purchase the embroidered insignia. The rich embroidery is worth mentioning; it is speculated that the work was done in Great Britain – however, these findings are inconclusive.
Do note the U.S. Navy side buttons holding the chin strap – which is of the same width as those found on standard U.S. Navy officer hat.
USN Technician.
Breast cloth badge; obverse & reverse.
Circa 1950.
As previously mentioned, a great majority of U.S. Navy Technicians worked in the field of RADAR & ASDIC (SONAR), computational devices and propulsion systems newly adopted by the U.S. Navy over the course of the Second World War and continued to do so after the close of hostilities.
However, researchers and collectors oftentimes come across “emergency rates” or other insignia worn by sailors during this period who worked with the same technologies. The lower rates were hand-picked as evidenced by special aptitude during seamen training. The others were directly recruited by the U.S. Navy based upon prior civilian experience or training – they often became Petty Officer First Class or Chief Petty Officer after having completed boot camp; at the time, these CPOs were derisively called “Slick Sleeve Chiefs” due to the lack of service hash-marks. Directly-inducted Warrant Officers and newly-minted junior officers out of V-7 training with specialized knowledge were placed into special trade and officer corps groups (former and later). However, U.S. Technicians were another class entirely, they “belonged” to their corporations, had no military training and were “lent” for the duration to train or advise the later, repair or install their equipment or simply to operate it.
A means to determine a wartime and post-war U.S. Technician patch is the lack of a border on the former.
USN Technician.
Breast cloth badge; obverse.
From the collection of David Collar.
Note: The eagle is clutching arrows as opposed to a wrench.
USN Technician.
Khaki Coat
circa Second World War
Despite regulations stating otherwise, this belted khaki coat has U.S. Navy officer gold buttons. The main difference between this jacket and its naval and maritime counterparts is the fact that it lacks loops for shoulder boards. It was also an expediently tailored piece as it not only lacks an interior liner, but also interior pockets – this common to other period pieces. The buttons are removable for coat cleaning in ship’s laundry.
Note: The eagle is clutching a wrench (of sorts) and a hammer.
USAAF Technician.
Silver plate; motto: U.S. TECHNICIAN.
Silver plate; lettering: A.S.C..
device: 15mm x 19mm.
Reverse: non-rotating points.
manu: no hallmarks or silver content noted.
Circa Second World War through 1947 (n.b. ASC became AMC in Dec. 1947).
from the collection of Joe Weingarten.
Rarely seen, these silver collar devices were worn by civilian technicians attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces Air Service Command at installations such as Wright Field – from 1948, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. These technicians began working at Wright-Patterson from the Second World War through the Vietnam war when they were replaced by civilian civil service employees of the U.S. Air Force Material Command. They performed tasks much like their U.S. Navy counterparts; if such insignia is still worn or used, I am unaware.
Korean War Period, U.S.A.F. Technician shirt patch.
More on the USAAFASC activities at Wright-Patterson, may be found here.
U.S. Navy commissioned officer cap badge, pre-May 1941
Two piece construction; 65mm (l) x 55mm (h).
H & H (Hilborn & Hamburg) hallmark on eagle wing. Viking hallmark on the anchor.
Eagle and shield sterling (marked); anchor gold-filled (1/10 14K GF).
Circa pre-Second World War era; late 1930s.
Following the Revolutionary War and dissolution of the Articles of Confederation, the early American republic decidedly wished to break with the aristocratic traditions of old Europe – if not in practice, then in symbolic language. Crowns were removed from coinage, royal was dropped from place names, and liberty became the byword of the era. With the birth the Federal government, the American bald eagle emblazoned with a shield representative of the first thirteen states, and clutching arrows in one claw and an olive branch in the other – not so subtle visual metaphors of both the defense and peace-providing nature of the young republic – cropped up on government seals and on military uniform buttons. Despite the desire to promote a democratic and egalitarian society, removing holdovers of rank titles and uniform clothing of a recent hierarchical and aristocratic past from the military proved exceedingly difficult – tradition dies hard, even when trying to supplant it with another (case and point: it was only after numerous bureaucratic and social changes wherein the naval rank of Admiral was finally allowed decades after independence).
The Navy, in particular, was (and still is) an organization requiring strict discipline and order in its ranks. Reticence to ape European traditions spurred the U.S. Navy to create its own socially relevant native American symbols of rank and hierarchy. Nevertheless, it fell in line with the prevailing tradition of leaves and lace. One of the more curious phenomena illustrating this is the permutations that U.S. Navy officer’s cap badge has gone through over time; these also offer insight as to contemporary concerns of the U.S. Navy establishment and can be used to date items to a specific time period. Early on, the cap device denoted rank or rate through color and arrangement of woven images of live oak leaves, acorns, olive branches and other devices such as old-English letters. These show that in the period immediately preceding the Civil War, concern revolved around an officer’s job aboard ship: Navy uniform regulations outlined differences in line or specialties of officers, e.g. engineers, surgeons, chaplains or deck. With the close of the Civil War, Federalism was the rule in the governance of the United States, and the strength of the Union was represented even more so than before on naval insignia. The elaborate differences once found on commissioned officers headgear gave way to an elegant and uniform means of identification: an eagle-anchor device worn on a uniform cap centered above the visor. This device served as a potent visual statement of how officers were in the service of the government, and not merely members of a ship – those indicators found themselves on the sleeve and epaulets. Plates in the 1869 regulations illustrated a gaunt republican eagle facing the wearer’s left and surmounting a large United States shield in silver with embroidered gold anchors underneath. A definitive statement on the device’s construction was published in 1889; afterward, it went through small manufacturer design changes until the publication of the Uniform Regulations of May 31, 1941. Previously, as stated before, the eagle faced to the left whereas the new regulations stated that the eagle face right. A memorandum from the Director of Naval History to Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe of 13 December 1963 states that:
The shift of the eagle’s aspect to right-facing from left-facing is logical from the perspective of heraldic tradition, since the right side (dexter) is the honor side of the shield and the left side (sinister) indicates dishonor or illegitimacy.
I am sure the original configuration was nothing that serious. It was most probably due to a manufacturer creating a product, it selling at the right price and the design continuing to be used without anyone thinking about the possible sinister repercussions or undertones. I imagine the subject was brought up at a garden party and later memos were typed and decisions were made…
The stamped metal eagle accompanying this entry is from the period immediately preceding the entry of the United States into the Second World War; it is also during this period that Hilborn-Hamburger began hallmarking insignia with the distinctive H-H in a stylized eagle-star device, and also when Viking began producing anchors for officers’ insignia. Unlike other times of earlier uniform change, personnel of Navy during mid-twentieth century quickly adopted insignia as dictated by new regulations and few sailors found themselves contrary to regulation. This eagle was not worn during the war; it found its way into a cigar box and was secreted away for decades. Although, regarding the expedient change of insignia… apparently flag officers were exempt or just very slow to change as seen in these LIFE snippets from 1941 and 1942:
Adm. King is detailed on 24 November 1941 (p 92).
J. Auld is curious about the cap badge on 15 December 1941 (pg 2).
Adm. Leahy apparently hasn’t updated his wardrobe by 28 September 1941 (cover).
Some design notes: this cap badge is convex and has two screw posts; one small, behind the eagle’s breast, and another, larger holding the shield and anchors together. Toward mid-war, the former screw all but disappeared and was replaced by two pins near the wing tips – as can be discerned here. This eagle’s body is similar in design to the U.S. Army Transportation Corps – Water Division cap badge which appeared in 1944. The aforementioned eagle was almost exclusively manufactured by Gemsco. This anchor design continued to be employed until the Korean War by jewelers and private-purchase insignia houses.
U.S. Navy commissioned officer.
Cap badge, obverse.
U.S. Navy commissioned officer.
Cap badge, reverse.
U.S. Navy commissioned officer.
Cap badge, reverse detail.
Some details of note are the notches on the shield for the flush placement of the anchor stock and chain, and the presence of the convex washer. Later varieties lack notches, and the anchors are placed behind the eagle-shield device; at times slightly bending the anchors. The washer has also changed through time and has become flat – which it is at present.
U.S. Navy commissioned officer.
Cap badge, reverse hallmark detail.
Note the H-H hallmark on the reverse of the right wing and Sterling on the left. The Viking hallmark is on the left anchor stock; in later designs, Viking placed hallmarks on the anchor shank and sometimes on the arms. I have yet to determine an adequate chronology for Viking hallmark placement.
Faint H & H (Hilborn & Hamburg) hallmark on eagle wing. Gemsco hallmark on flag. Eagle and shield sterling plate over copper; wreath brass/gold-plate. Second World War era. badge: 60mm x 65mm flag: 25mm x 22mm
As follows is an essay on the history of the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. Collecting the data on this specific company is somewhat responsible for the prolonged hiatus in blog postings. I hope that the history behind the badge warrants the absence of images. More images will follow in a couple of weeks… I’m going on vacation for a spell.
American-Hawaiian Steamship Company (A-H SS Co.), 1899-1956.
The story of the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company mirrors the fates of several large steamship houses in the United States: scramble for capital, a flowering of activity, failed business models, take-over by a large conglomerate, and final dissolution. A-H SS Co. is unique in the fact that at one point it had the largest U.S.-flag merchant fleet and then dwindled to nothing.
A-H SS Co. was engaged in intercoastal (U.S. Atlantic-to-U.S. Pacific coast) and foreign trade – although, as it name implied, it originally provided the majority of the steamship freight service between the mainland United States and the Hawaiian Islands. After the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands by the United States on 7 July 1898, George S. Dearborn, who owned a fleet of sailing vessels, decided to establish a modern steamship service between New York and Hawaii. In order to finance this venture, he sold his fleet of sailing ships and raised additional capital from investors – notably his brother-in-law, Lewis Henry Lapham. Almost a year later, on 7 March 1899, Dearborn organized the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. Dearborn served as president of the company, with Captain William D. Burnham as general manager – Dearborn was president until his death in 1920; Burnham held his appointed post until 1914.
Immediately after incorporation, A-H SS Co. ordered new steamships from the local New York and New Jersey shipyards, with Dearborn securing contracts to bring sugar to the U.S. mainland from the Big Five (the main business conglomerates in the islands). Service was to begin in 1900, however, A-H SS Co. found its ships requisitioned by the U.S. Navy for emergency duty to counter the Boxer Rebellion in China. Only in January 1901 did the promised service begin. For the next 14 years, under the protective umbrella of U.S. cabotage laws, the relationship that A-H had forged with the Big Five proved mutually beneficial and was the source of prosperity to the company’s U.S.-flag ships.
Of the of several innovations A-H SS Co. ushered into the steamship trade, starting with their first voyage, A-H SS Co. steamships used the Straits of Magellan rather than the longer route followed by sailing vessels around Cape Horn. A problem that faced steamships in the long voyage from New York to Hawaii was the logistic problem of coaling. Although Chile was a natural stop-off point for re-supply, Chilean coal was of low quality and quickly exhausted. This very problem vexed the great powers of the period, and colonial history is rife with seemingly far-flung islands annexed for the very purpose of servicing navies. A-H SS Co. did not have the luxury of arms, therefore resorted to innovation. Alternatively, A-H SS Co. supported the efforts of Valdemar Frederick Lassoe, its chief engineer, to develop an oil burner for the company’s steamships. The oil burner was first fitted in the S.S. Nebraskan, which completed its first voyage from the Pacific to New York in 1904; the results so impressed the U.S. Navy that it launched a program to convert warships from coal to oil.
In January 1907 A-H SS Co. took advantage of the opening of the Tehuantepec Railroad across Mexico to divide its ships into two fleets: one operated on the Pacific Ocean, while the other fleet handled the cargo on the Atlantic between New York and Tehuantepec. This arrangement lasted until 1914, when revolutionary turmoil in Mexico shut down the Tehuantepec Railroad; while the opening of the Panama Canal on 15 August 1914 provided an economic alternative. However, landslides closed the Panama Canal between 13 September 1915 and 15 April 1916, thus forcing A-H SS Co. to use the Straits of Magellan one last time – albeit under oil power.
The company’s heyday was in this early period. With its offices at 8 Bridge Street Maritime Building in New York, A-H SS Co. steamers sailed from the renovated Pier 56, Bush Terminal, South Brooklyn, every six days laden with freight for Pacific Coast Ports and the Hawaiian Islands. Through bills of lading, cargo was accepted for Puerto Mexico and all points along the Tehuantepec National Railway, Vera Cruz & Isthmus Railway, Pan-American Railway, and ports along the west coast of Mexico and Central America. From Hawaii and San Francisco, steamers left for New York every twelve days. The company used San Francisco and Puget Sound as a way station for freight destined for Vera Cruz and New York. Commerce was good.
The positioning of the company in the Hawaiian trade could not have been more secure, yet when the First World War began in 1914, Dearborn gradually succumbed to the temptation of chartering out most of his fleet in order to profit from the record-high freight rates in the North Atlantic. In 1916 A-H SS Co. announced that it would suspend handling the sugar crop of the Islands; not surprisingly the Big Five and the Territorial Government of Hawaii felt betrayed. As a reprisal, the Big Five vowed that A-H SS Co. would never be able to return. Henceforth, the Matson Navigation Company, enjoying the full support of the Big Five, emerged as the principal ocean carrier of the Islands. Once the wartime profits evaporated, A-H SS Co. realized it had foolishly abandoned long-term stability for the sake of short-term gains – the company did keep its original name, in the hope of returning one day to Hawaii, but more as a reminder of the prosperous days when it had been the largest U.S.-flag merchant fleet.
In 1920, after the government returned the vessels requisitioned during the war, A-H SS Co. decided to dedicate its fleet in intercoastal trade, mainly between New York and California. After Dearborn died on 28 May 1920, W. Averell Harriman became the principal stockholder of the company and assigned the management of the company to his United American Lines; all of this he affected in April 1920. The attempted merger proved more complex than expected, and soon Harriman realized that the financially troubled A-H SS Co. required its own separate organization, and to that end, he appointed Cary W. Cook as its president on 20 March 1923. As a condition for accepting the job, Cook had specified that the company’s headquarters be moved from New York City to San Francisco – not only because this was where he lived, but also because he felt the future of the company was in the Pacific. Cook put A-H SS Co. back on solid footing and also began the negotiations with the Grace Line – which was keen to sell its six vessels on the unprofitable intercoastal service. The purchase of the ships was concluded in June 1925 by Roger D. Lapham – who succeeded Cook as president that same month. The intercoastal route sailed every five days. As a further step to consolidate A-H SS Co.’s position as the leading intercoastal carrier, Lapham acquired one of its competitors, the Williams Line, in early 1929.
Unfortunately, the intercoastal trade was proving to be rather unstable and subject to sharp rate wars, so Lapham correctly concluded that the company needed to enter into other trade routes. His most important move was the creation of the Oceanic & Oriental Navigation Company in 1928 to take over a line of U.S. Shipping Board vessels (USSB); A-H SS Co. and Matson each had a 50% stake in the venture, with Matson managing the government ships on the Australia/New Zealand route, and A-H SS Co. managing those sailing to China, Indochina, Japan, and the Philippines. When the Great Depression struck, A-H SS Co. was in an especially difficult state as the intercoastal trade so closely reflected the collapse of the American economy; Lapham considered a merger with the Dollar Line in 1930, but the negotiators failed to find a satisfactory arrangement. Ever the opportunist, in 1936, did Lapham purchase four steamers from the Dollar Line for A-H SS Co. as Dollar was desperately trying to remain solvent and not slip into bankruptcy.
In 1942, the U.S. government requisitioned the ships of A-H SS Co. and of all other lines for the duration of the Second World War. The company received a War Shipping Pennant in 1944 with four stars – “4 Star Companies” were assigned anywhere from 75-100 vessels of Victory Fleet during the Second World War. Once the war was over, the company did not want the surviving ships back, which in any case were overage, and instead preferred to bareboat charter government vessels for the intercoastal trade and for service to the Far East, at least until the post-war shipping situation became clearer. After the war, these cast-off ships ended up as troopships for the MSTS or found service in the U.S. Navy. Despite not wishing to have its assets returned, A-H SS Co. did engage in litigation to recoup perceived losses at the hands of the U.S. Government. A particularly visible case was of the Alaskan, the Federal Courts upheld the Government’s payment to A-H SS Co., claiming the A-H SS Co. was attempting to profit from war.
With the ascension of Roger Lapham’s son, Lewis A. Lapham – who became the president of the company in 1947 – the company’s headquarters moved back to New York City from San Francisco; this was the younger Lapham’s first action as company president. The company was wisely keeping its options open, but the Korean War panicked A-H SS Co. into buying six surplus ships on the mistaken assumption that high freight rates would continue indefinitely (obviously lessons were not learned from previous of the same sort). The ships had barely been brought when the intercoastal service took a downward plunge, and with each voyage piling up losses, the company had no choice but to suspend the intercoastal service in March 1953. For all intents and purposes, A-H SS Co. was no longer sailing.
The question of what to do with the idle fleet vexed the stockholders, who reached the conclusion that the hope left was to shift to a foreign flag of convenience. Because the company had exclusively operated under the U.S. flag, the stockholders decided to bring in as an investor the billionaire Daniel Ludwig, whose experience with foreign-flag operations was renowned. Ludwig decided to use the company for his own plans, and in 1955, after a bitter takeover battle, he gained full control and sold off the ships and most of the assets of A-H SS Co., whose steamship career ended at this point.
Ludwig, however, for purposes of tax advantages, kept A-H SS Co. as a paper company and involved it in real estate ventures. For the next ten years the company became embroiled in sundry schemes: first to build Roll-On/Roll-Off vessels, then container ships, and finally nuclear-powered vessels. By 1968 the last of these schemes had failed, and Ludwig proceeded to liquidate A-H SS Co. as a first step toward making an extremely lucrative deal with Sea-Land.
Principal Executives George S. Dearborn : 1899-1920 William D. Burnham : 1899-1914 Cary W. Cook : 1923-1925 Roger D. Lapham: 1925-1944 John E. Cushing : 1938-1947 Edward P. Farley : 1944-1955 Lewis A. Lapham : 1947-1953
House Flag: The A-H SS Co. house flag first appeared in publications in 1926; the flag was simply the white initials A-H on a blue field. After the takeover, the flag was never flown again as American-Hawaiian Steamship Company became a paper company; and in the 1970s, nevermore.
Note: In 1937 A-H SS Co. issued a double-spread page outlining its corporate history complete with ship purchases and an executive summary.
References: Thomas C. Cochran and Ray Ginger, “The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, 1899-1919,” Business History Review (Boston: The President and Fellows of Harvard College) 28 (December 1954): 342-365
U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, Merchant Marine House Flags and Stack Insignia: H.O. Pub. No. 100, Washington D.C., 1961. Facsimile edition available here: https://amzn.to/3HroQFw
Legal cases: American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. v. the United States. the Alaskan United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit. – 191 F.2d 26 Argued May 8, 1951. Decided August 13, 1951
Marvyn Gould, Executor of the Estate of J. Donald Rogasner, et al., Appellants in No. 75-1338. v. American-Hawaiian Steamship Company et al., Cross-appellants United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. – 535 F.2d 761 Argued Oct. 3, 1975. Decided April 8, 1976
Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. 331-352.
illustrates one of the most exquisite pieces of headgear worn by U.S. forces in the Second World War – that of the U.S. Technician attached to the U.S. Navy. A passing glance could mistake it for something out of Fascist Italy: these hats have elaborate devices composed of a silver embroidered spread eagle. It faces dexter with a stylized wrench clutched in the left claw and an olive branch in the right. The lettering “U.S. TECHNICIAN” is centered on a brass or gold-plate device on the eagle’s chest. The hat’s chin-strap changed from gilt to black-braid by end of the war, and finally black leather. The last U.S. Technician hat Tonelli details on page 198 is from 1950 and presumably one in contemporary use.
