GENUINE US MILITARY ISSUE

VINTAGE WWII ERA

US ARMY

   UNIT PATCH  

SHOULDER INSIGNA

EMBROIDERED, FULL COLOR

 ITEM:                         1 SHOULDER INSIGNIA / UNIT PATCH

CONDITION:               VERY GOOD to LIKE NEW CONDITION FOR AGE – GENUINE VINTAGE US MILITARY ITEM, THIS IS A PIECE of HISTORY NOT A REPRO OR CHEAP KNOCK-OFF

SYMBOLISM:    

BLOCK STYLE ARABIC NUMBER TWO (2) IN RED & WHITE ON DARK KHAKI BACKGROUND. 

ABOUT US ARMY SHOULDER PATCH:

THE CORRECT TERM FOR US ARMY SHOULDER PATCH IS: SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA, OFTEN ABBREVIATED SSI, IS AN EMBROIDERED PATCH WORN ON SOME UNIFORMS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.  IT IS USED BY MAJOR AND MINOR FORMATIONS OF THE US ARMY.  SSI’s FORMATIONS RANGE FROM BATALLION, BRIGADE, DIVISION, CORP to ARMY WITH EACH FORMATION HAVING IT’S OWN UNIQUE PATCH or INSIGNIA.

BRIEF HISTORY of UNIT: 

THE SECOND ARMY, AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES (AEF), WAS ESTABLISHED IN OCTOBER 1918 DURING WORLD WAR I AND DEMOBILIZED IN APRIL 1919. A NEW SECOND ARMY OPERATED FROM 1933 TO 1966, AND 1983 TO 1995, AS A TRAINING ARMY IN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES.

WORLD WAR II:

SECOND ARMY EARNED DISTINCTION AS A TRAINING ARMY DURING WORLD WAR II, PREPARING NEARLY ONE MILLION MEN TO FIGHT.  THE US ARMY ACTIVATED THE SECOND ARMY IN OCTOBER 1933, WITH HEADQUARTERS AT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AS ONE OF FOUR FIELD ARMIES THAT WOULD HELP MOBILIZE FORCES IN EVENT OF A NATIONAL EMERGENCY.  IN DECEMBER 1940, THE ARMY MOVED SECOND ARMY’S HEADQUARTERS TO MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, AND DESIGNATED IT AS A TRAINING ARMY, WHICH CONDUCTED TRAINING IN 24 STATES.  IN JUNE 1944, THE ARMY RECONSTITUTED THE WORLD WAR I SECOND ARMY, AEF, AND CONSOLIDATED IT WITH THE EXISTING SECOND ARMY IN ORDER TO PERPETUATE THE LINEAGE AND HONORS OF THE WORLD WAR I UNIT.  DURING WORLD WAR II, SECOND ARMY TRAINED 11 CORPS, 55 DIVISIONS, AND 2,000 SMALLER UNITS OF ALL ARMS AND SERVICES, COMPOSED OF ALMOST A MILLION MEN, FOR EMPLOYMENT IN ALL THEATERS OF OPERATION DURING WWII.