>This is an
original Cat Patch, its provenance being from a 503d veteran. Not
many of these patches, being felt, have survived the years. |
|
|
< Although the
embroidery is identical to the cat above, the color of the backing
felt is clearly a variation. |
>This is the patch from Jim
Mullaney's A-2 leather
jacket. Jim writes..."I
was issued this jacket in June or July
1942 at Fort
Bragg. Everyone didn’t
get one and there was some grumbling when yours truly - a lowly
2nd Lt. - received his. Seems
I had a close friend in supply who made these decisions.
His name is Elden Campbell and he presently
lives in Virginia. After
arriving in Aussieland, Elden was in charge of the parachute
packing and drying sheds in Gordonvale.
After all these years I still remember him as if it were
yesterday…" |
|
|
<
Occasionally a patch will appear on eBay.com and will
get sold for some hideous price. This was one of them. I don't
want to say what it sold for, I might want to buy one some day.
|
> This is a modern version which I obtained at the
Fayetteville Reunion, and it is beautifully detailed fully embroidered
example. It is particularly difficult to get a golden thread
effect without golden thread, though the light brown background does
come close. It's a beautiful patch any way you judge it. |
|
|
<
A genuine fully embroidered disc
version, with an embroidered olive drab border. For provenance, see
article above.
(Photo
courtesy Les Hughes)
|
> Though
faded, this is a beautiful example. It illustrates the difficulty of
reproducing a golden background. I have seen some so-called
'authority' on the internet describe the 503d PIR patch as an 'angry
bee', which sounds like a good way to start a fight if ever there
was one. |
|