HISTORICAL NOTES NO.

14d
March 1996
Updated December 2000-August 2004-April 2006
By Colonel Leonard A. Blascovich, CAP National Historian

“Yo Bro’, where you from? ”

When I was returning from the 1996 Winter National Board in Atlanta GA, I realized with the
increasing number of members who are wearing the “new” USAF blue uniform a little piece of
tradition and history is slowly being lost. As so directed and is still in effect today, Wing Shoulder
Patches are still required for all uniforms, except our two dress uniforms i.e. the “new “ Service
Dress and the Mess Dress. Hey, but before we know it, someone might suggest removal of all
Wing Patches, and if that situation occurs, and they become no longer authorized, history and
tradition will be lost.

*Now it has come to my attention that there is a move a foot that some wings want to change
their historical patches for different designs and symbols. The history of shoulder patches as
used in today modern military first became official during World War One, by the United States
Army then followed quickly by the Marines. The US Army and the Marines even today still wears
them, the army on left shoulder side for current assignment right for past unit. The Big Red One
for 1st Army. 27th Division and 3rd Army all from World War I.

And the USAAF as an Army Command had them all throughout World War Two and before,
numbered from one to fifteenth and the then at the close in 1945 the twentieth Air Force’s 509th
Bomb Wing delivered the final blow..…. And there are many that still remember the ‘Mighty Eight”
with Spaatz in the European theater flying with B-17’s & B 24’s who’s efforts defeated the axis,
Hey just watch the film “12 O’clock High”…And the Generals George Kenney’s “Fifth” in the
South Pacific who developed “skip bombing” and assured island hoping victories for MacArthur’s.
And of course General Chennalt’s “Fourteenth” in CBI (China-Burma-India) better known as the
“Flying Tigers”…

th th th
Army Air Corps USAAF 8 Air Force 1942 1944 5 USAAF 14 USAAF

The current USAF stopped wearing them in the late fifties….it was a “clean business suit
approach… also too much like the Army…. was the thinking…. But as you read on you will see
why CAP had to and still proudly wears them….

Unless it’s been over looked I still believe that only National Headquarters can approve any
changes or design recommendations...otherwise look out for patch’s, cord and the likes…

Now for that reason, might I suggest, as a member of the Old Guard, Keeper of the Flame,
Guardian of the Corps can we in some way enact the “endangered species act” for them. For

Historical Note 14d Page 1 December 2000

they are historical, they are traditional, and for the wearer has meaning of respect and loyalty to
his unit. Semper Vi.........

The following are from the official records of Civil Air Patrol, Dates of approval for:

CIVIL AIR PATROL STATE SHOULDER PATCHES

Alabama
Indiana

Alaska Iowa 27 Jun. 49

Arizona 5 Feb. 53 Kansas 6 Sep. 50

Arkansas 26 Jan. 51
Kentucky 30 Oct. 50

California
Louisiana 25 Feb. 54

Colorado
Maine 26 Sep. 50

Connecticut
Maryland 21 Feb. 51
Massachusetts 10 Feb. 50
Delaware 9 Feb. 52

Florida 19 Oct. 53
Michigan 5 Dec. 49

Georgia 27 Nov. 50
Minnesota 4 Aug. 50

Hawaii 28 Oct. 53
Mississippi

Idaho 21 Jul. 52
Missouri

Illinois Montana

Historical Note 14d Page 2 December 2000

 Rhode Island 15 Mar. 49
National Capital 26 Jan 53

South Carolina
Nebraska 25 Mar 53

South Dakota
Nevada 5 Feb. 53

New Hampshire Tennessee 16 Sep. 53

New Jersey 1 Nov. 48 Texas 8 Mar. 50

New Mexico Utah

New York
Vermont 2 May 52

North Carolina
Virginia

North Dakota 5 Jul. 50 Washington

Ohio 20 Oct. 50
West Virginia 25 Jan. 54

Oklahoma 10 Mar 53
Wisconsin
Oregon 2 Dec. 53

Wyoming 28 Jul. 48
Pennsylvania 18 May 48

Puerto Rico 1 Dec. 50

Historical Note 14d Page 3 May 2006

Historical Note:
The above reflect the official dates of approval as Civil Air Patrol knows it, for the record the
first wing patch approved by National Headquarters was that of the Pennsylvania Wing on 18
May 1948 yes, there are many amongst you who will challenge them. But if one has physical
information in the form of letters, orders, official correspondence, or dateable photograph, the
above remains as true and factual.
FYI: In May of 1984 a letter went to each and every Wing Commander asking to search out and
report i.e., in the way of 1.) Research into the design of the Wing Patch, 2.) Including the
designer, and date accomplished 3.) Who if any passed the official request for approval to
National Headquarters. As to this date 1996, the author as the prime requester has never
received any documentation.

Why Wing Patches:

In 1945 at the close of hostilities in World War 2, and as CAP was directed to shut down all
operations for eventual disbanding, as so instructed by the AAF Commanding General “Hap”
Arnold (dájá vu). As history tells us, that under the valiant efforts of many, controlled by the few,
PL 476 on 1 July 1946, was signed. Thus giving Civil Air Patrol a new lease on life.

Where Worn:
The AAF brown uniform with distinctive CAP attachments and shoulder patch clearly told that we
were members of Civil Air Patrol. Like the Army the association of a shoulder patch quickly made
and told others that one was a member of a unit, and/or organization. Whereas, in CAP you just
were in Civil Air Patrol, and no Wing affiliation was shown, thus came the need for wing
recognition.

Who Suggested:
Starting in 1945 Wing Commanders asked National Headquarters whether or not if a distinctive
shoulder patch was designed that reflected one wing. Can and would NHQ approve its wearing
on the Civil. Air Patrol uniform? After a careful review, the decision was yes! But with one
caveat, that only official sanctioned patches would be allowed, and furthermore, it was to be worn
on the right shoulder only, for the left shoulder must have the official approved CAP senior or
cadet patch. So starting in 1948 various wings submitted designs for wing patches, for national
recognition and official approval.

New Blue Shade 84:

If one looks at the original approved patches 1948 - 1955 its strikes one historically and of
heraldic themes, that their design reflected its wearing primarily on the right side of the brown or
tan uniform. whereas with the new USAF blue uniform approved in 1951, which required removal
of the old CAP shoulder patch and replacing it with a distinctive breast badge, and the
requirement now called for the mandatory wearing a wing patch, and thus moving it from the
right to the left.

One will note that the original design and its placement on the left shoulder now made heraldic
changes when moved to the right shoulder.

Iowa the Eagle is facing sinister instead of Dexter (left vs. right)
Louisiana the Pelican is flying to the rear, or backwards
Nebraska the CAP seal is now on the left and the wing is to the right
Tennessee the Volunteer was facing backwards.

Historical Note 14d Page 4 May 2006

Wyoming the Horse is facing rearward

Reference:
A survey called “What’s In the CAP Shoulder Patch? Conducted and written by Major Edward
Siudzinski, CAP Hudson Valley Group, NY Wing in October 1984. And published in Volume III
Number 2, CAP’s Hysterical Newsletter, I quote....

1. Identification of Civil Air Patrol

It is striking to find that 14 patches have no indication of Civil Air Patrol. Of the other 38,
14 have the full name “Civil Air Patrol, ” four have the initials “C.A.P.,” and 20 have only the
CAP emblem without the name or initials of Civil Air Patrol.

Of the 20 patches, which are without name or the initials of CAP and only have the
emblem, 17 have the complete emblem, viz., three bladed propellers in a triangle in a circle.
Three have only parts of the emblem; these are Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania.
New York and Pennsylvania have a propeller in a circle without a triangle, and Michigan
has the propeller in a triangle without the circle. In addition to these 20 patches which only
have the CAP emblem, the emblem appears in patches of 11 other wing which also have
the name or the initials of CAP. The emblem appears, therefore, in the patches of 31 wings.

Of the 14 patches that do not have the name, or the initials, or the emblem of CAP, 6
have nothing in content of the patch to show any association with aviation. Of the remaining
8, aircraft are shown in patches for Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Ohio, birds are
shown for Illinois and Iowa, bird like wings are shown for New Jersey and Texas, and the
Wright Brothers monument is shown for North Carolina.

2. Identification of the Wing

Thirty-nine patches have the full name of the wing, nine have the abbreviation of the
name, and four have neither the name nor the abbreviation. These four without name or
abbreviation are; California, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, For Pennsylvania, the
identification is made by the “keystone” in the patch -- Pennsylvania is the “Keystone
State.” For the other three, the identification is made by the geographical outlines the states
shown in the patches.
In addition to the 3 patches where geographical outlines of the states are the primary
means of identification of the wings, the geographical outlines of the states appear in 16
other patches which do have either the full name of the Wing or a abbreviation.
Geographical outlines appear, therefore, in a total of 19 patches. The patch for Montana
Wing itself in the shape of the outline of the state of Montana.

Patches from 31 wings contains items which are associated with those states; e.g.
horses for Kentucky, pineapples for Hawaii, and Mt. Rushmore National Memorial for
South Dakota.

In 8 of the patches there still appears the 2-digit numbers from the early days of Civil Air
Patrol when the first digit of such a number indicated the U.S. Army’s Corps Area, and the
second digit the number of wing or state in the Corps Area. I.e. 3I for Pennsylvania, the first
state in the 3rd Corps. A ‘’modern day’ number appears in the patch for Alaska; it is the
number “49, “ showing that Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the union.

3. Colors Used

The most popular color is Dark Blue. It appears in all of the patches except the patch
from Maryland Wing. Two other colors having the almost the same popularity are
White/Silver and Red. White/Silver appears in all patches except those from California, New

Historical Note 14d Page 5 May 2006

 York, and West Virginia, and Red appears in all patches except those from Alaska,
California, Nevada, and the National Capital. Fourth in popularity is Gold, which is found
in patches from 31 of the Wings.

NOTE: Major Edward Siudzinski, CAP as you can see, has accomplished much, and his study
goes into the CAP patches with more depth.

Regions:
Became into being on January 1952. As a distinctive approach most adopted an arc or
semicircle, which was, called a “flash,” based upon its abbreviated design. Although some
adopted a patch, i.e. Middle East Region, and Rocky Mountain, but later on adopted a flash in
keeping with the other regions.

Experiments.
In the late 80's it was suggested by some to adopt the use of a flash with corresponding region
colors to denote wings in a region, but that was not accepted.

National and others:

Also in the late 80’s there was the addition of a National Flash for members so assigned, Under
General Barry (1990-93) regime the background color became Maroon in keeping with the newly
adopted epaulet colors. Now it's the light blue gray to match the newly adopted epaulet colors.
Whereas the maroon color is still the background colors for any replacement for the region flash’s

Changes:
Over the years many wings successfully made changes in the design or shape of shoulder
patches. The information,
Alaska Redesigned and added the flag and “49”
Illinois Total redesign, adding a eagle and new shape
Maine Deletion of words “Civil Air Patrol””
Oregon Removal of the flying beaver, on a jet plane, to blue mountains
Puerto Rico added a tab across the top with the words “Puerto Rico”
South Carolina Blue disc, white tree, quarter moon and letters SC.
Tennessee Replacement of Volunteer, by eagle CAP shield, “CAP” and shape.
Florida Removal of the Alligator to the CAP National Shield Tabbed “Florida”.
Colorado Redesigned State Flag with stylized Mountain CAP emblem and eagle.

Historical Note 14d Page 6 May 2006

Tennessee (2) Replacement of eagle CAP shield, By State Flag and “Tennessee”.

Note: There have been some recent changes, not mentioned here, if any information is available
please forward to the writer.

Addendum:

So you want to change your wing patch:

One must look at "heraldry" which is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and
blazoning arms, tracing genealogies, and determining and ruling on questions of rank or protocol,
as exercised by an officer of arms. b. A branch of knowledge dealing with the history and
description in proper terms of armorial bearings and their accessories. Then we address
"Lineage" a. Direct descent from a particular ancestor; ancestry. b. Derivation. The descendants of a
common ancestor considered to be the founder of the line. So one must ask and record the following: When
it started Why was it started, Who started it, Where was it started, and What has happen since.

To Design a Wing patch first of all it should reflect the major role and unique attributes of the
wing, and the state over all. It also should reflect its CAP history, and most of all make it
recognizable.

Its shape varies but traditionally selections are round, but pointed shields, triangles, squares, and
state outlines are also useable. Distinctive is the key, want to send the message I'm in the XYZ
Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. And proud

Unnecessary verbiage is not in the military keeping, Yes Civil Air Patrol flash with red back
ground and white letters was added to our basic World War II shoulder patch in December 1944
so as to have CAP members remove the "Red Epaulets" that made us so distinctive in but was in
fact it was the Army's way of recognition to CAP and the magnificent efforts to support the War,
Coastal, Forestry, Border, Tow Target, Search And Rescue, Southern Liaison

So try and limit things to just the words Civil Air Patrol, or letters CAP or better still try to use the
CAP emblem, which is officially, consist of the Blue Circle, the White Triangle and the three
bladed Red Propeller. But don't be redundant and use them both, its either one or the other Now
for where your from use if you can the full name of the State or 2 Letter Abbreviation or like CAP
try to included its flag, motto, or colors, or some well know and distinguishable object. Again use
one or the other but never both…
Quickies The Civil Air Patrol Seal is not practical, or is it protocol perfect, moreover it has just to
much verbiage, make it look like and City or State Emergency Service Patch, or Police. A visual
object makes it look like it belongs there, in the military sense.

Things to avoid in the design:

Rockets, Missiles, Jet Planes, Battle-Axes, Mace, Arrows, Spears, Knifes, Swords, Mailed fist
and Eagles in attack mode, Just think anything relating to warriors or battles. Why Because CAP
is a federal charted as a humanitarian Organization.

Credits:
Lt. Col. Axel I. Ostling, CAP Historical Researcher-Archivist
Lt. Col. Allan F. Pogorzelski, CAP Historical Researcher-Archivist
Lt. Col. August “Bill” Schell Jr., CAP National Curator
Major James Shaw, CAP Assistant to the National Historian
Major Andy “Ace” Browning, CAP Historian

Historical Note 14d Page 7 May 2006

Attention….. Mister and Misses America….. and all the ships at sea we go
to press: … --- …

R . I. P.
CIVIL AIR PATROL
SHOLDER –WING - PATCHES

1941 -- 2006

A large and truly important piece of Civil Air Patrol’s History was cruelly dashed against the
rocks…and now snatches from the past, current and future CAP Membership historical lineage.
This tragedy occurred at the 2006 Winter National Board, Washington, DC (3-4 March, 2006)
when the National Board voted the complete removal of Civil Air Patrol “Wing Patch” from
the United States Air Force uniform shirt, and outer garments thus removing it fro the USAF
approved Uniform. See next Page

But the National Board with some arm twisting left the door open slightly when they included wing
patches as an optional item for wear on CAP’s field Uniform...

Let me assure you that the author put up a valiant fight to have CAP retain this piece of history.
But was out numbered sixty-five (65), (one absent and one absenting)… to one (1)!

Historical Note 14d Page 8 May 2006

Fear not …….I as appointed “Keeper of the Flame’, “Guarding of the Corps”…is diligently waiting
for an opportune moment to strike! To bring Historical Harmony once again to the
Corps….Always…….Semper Vi……
Copy of the Original Action (Draft) Minutes…

Historical Note 14d Page 9 May 2006