Figure 3.—Badges for qualification in use of weapons.
Other bars to be attached to basic badges are as follows:
MACHINE RIFLE
SMALL BORE M. G.
AUTO. RIFLE
SUBMACHINE GUN
SMALL BORE RIFLE
GRENADE
BAYONET
COAST ARTY.
PISTOL-D
FIELD ARTY.
PISTOL-M
C. W. S. WEAPONS
SMALL BORE PISTOL
MINES
MECHANIZED VEHICLE
AERIAL GUNNER
WEAPONS
AERIAL BOMBER
INF. HOWITZER
ANTIAIRCRAFT WEAPONS
MACHINE GUN
click image to enlarge
Figure 4.—Insignia of rank for officers (worn on shoulder loops).
click image to enlarge
Figure 5.—Chevrons (insignia of grade) for noncommissioned officers and privates, first class (worn on sleeves).
CHAPTER 3 (Basic Field Manual & Soldier's Handbook)
INSIGNIA
Paragraphs
SECTION, I. Arms and Services___________________________________
35-41
II. Officers and noncommissioned officers_______________
42-45
SECTION I
ARMS AND SERVICES
35. INSIGNIA.—Each of the various arms and services in our Army has a particular "mark" of its own, which is worn by all of its members. It serves to distinguish those members from all other soldiers of the Army and is a part of the uniform. These various marks are called insignia and usually consist of two types: the metal insignia which you will wear on the lapel of your coat, and the colored hat cord which you will wear on your service hat.
36. To assist you in becoming quickly familiar with the various types of insignia and so that you can tell at a glance to which arm or service a soldier may belong, they are shown in figure 1.
37. HAT CORD.—At a distance it will be easier to recognize the arm or service to which a soldier belongs by the color of his hat cord. You should be familiar with the following colors and the arm or service which they identify. Where two colors are given, the cord is of the first color and the acorns and keeper are the color of the piping.
a. Air Corps—Ultramarine blue piped with golden orange. b. Cavalry—Yellow. c. Chemical Warfare Service—Cobalt blue piped with golden orange. d. Coast Artillery Corps—Scarlet. e. Corps of Engineers—Scarlet piped with white. f. Field Artillery—Scarlet. g. Finance Department—Silver-grey piped with golden yellow. h. Infantry and tanks—Blue. i. Medical Department—Maroon piped with white. j. Military Police—Yellow piped with green. k. Ordnance Department—Crimson piped with yellow. l. Quartermaster Corps—Buff. m. Signal Corps—Orange piped with white.
38. ARM BAND.—In addition to the identification marks de-scribed above, sometimes you will see certain soldiers wearing arm bands to show the particular type of work they are doing. These arm bands are called "brassards" and are worn on the left sleeve above the elbow. You will want to know the following brassards and what they mean:
a. Blue, with the letters, "MP" in white—Military Police. b. Red, with the word "Fire" in white—Members of fire departments. c. White, with red cross in center—Geneva Convention Red Cross. d. White with green cross in center—Veterinary Green Cross.
39. SERVICE STRIPE.—Each enlisted man who has served honorably in the military service for 3 years wears the service stripe. This stripe is worn 4 inches from the end of the left sleeve of the service coat. For each additional period of 3 years, another service stripe is worn.
40. Wound and war service chevrons are worn only by those entitled to them. They are worn only on the woolen service coat, with the wound chevrons on the right sleeve and the service chevrons on the left sleeve. They are worn point down. When service stripes are worn the war service chevron is above the uppermost service stripe. (See fig. 2.)
41. BADGE.—Soldiers are classified according to the quali-fications attained in the use of weapons. The different classifications are: expert, sharpshooter or 1st class gunner, and marksman or 2d class gunner. Should you attain one of these classifications you will be entitled to wear a badge (fig. 3) which is issued by the War Department. A bar, attached to the bottom of the badge, shows the weapon with which you have qualified. Should you qualify with more than one weapon, you will be entitled to wear an additional bar for each weapon.
SECTION II
OFFICERS AND NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS
42. Commissioned officers and noncommissioned officers also wear the insignia of the arm or service to which they belong and in addition certain other distinguishing marks which show their grade or authority in the Army. The insignia of grade worn by all officers on each shoulder loop of the coat, overcoat, or olive-drab shirt when worn without the coat, are shown in figure 4.
43. A general officer wears two bands of black braid just above the lower edge of each sleeve of the overcoat.
44. Officers of the General Staff Corps wear a band of black braid 3 inches from the end of each sleeve of the service coat. All other officers wear a similar band of brown braid. All warrant officers and enlisted men who served hon-orably as officers in the World War wear a similar band of forest green braid.
45. Noncommissioned officers wear chevrons of olive-drab material on a dark blue background. They are worn, on the sleeve between the elbow and the shoulder of the olive-drab shirt, the coat, the overcoat, and the fatigue uniform. The chevrons for the different grades are shown in figure 5.
click image to enlarge
