Vintage 1958 Air Force USAF Senior Master Sergeant SMSgt Stripes One Pair [#723]

Description: USAF SMSgt Senior Master Sergeant Stripes Rank Stripes Uniform Chevrons - One Pair From my father's personal effects; these patches were acquired in 1958.OBSOLETE insignia5.5" height4.0" widthIt was not until late 1958 that the title "senior master sergeant" and the accompanying rank insignia were adopted. My father was among the first to be promoted to SMSgt. Provenance... As many young men did with the outbreak of WWII, my father enlisted and entered the Navy. In 1943, not long after completing Naval Air Tactical Training, he was assigned to the Pacific Theater, primarily as a tail gunner and navigator on a Douglas SBD Dauntless, for dive bombing and naval scout missions. At the close of the war, he was aboard the USS Cumberland Sound when it entered Tokyo Bay on August 28, 1945, several days prior to the formal surrender signing by Emperor Hirohito. In 1946, my father re-enlisted entering the Army, specifically the Army Air Force (USAAF). Then in 1947, USAAF became known as the Air Force (USAF), where he spent the remainder of his military service. His USAF career focused on cryptographic communications and long range photography. He had numerous assignments and duty stations, including the harsh cold weather environments of Alaska and Greenland, along with the heat and humidity extremes in Central America and the Caribbean. Prior to his retirement in 1967, my father was the senior NCO at Offutt AFB -- Strategic Air Command Headquarters, responsible for secured communications with classified operational flights worldwide, in addition to "Looking Glass" -- the airborne backup SAC headquarters.

Price: 5.5 USD

Location: Brandon, Florida

End Time: 2024-12-04T23:53:39.000Z

Shipping Cost: 4 USD