The Insignia of World War II’sArmy Engineer Fire Fighting Platoons
In twenty five years of researching, writing, publishing and creating several websites I have received numerous requests for insignia (patches, badges, etc.) unique to these Platoons. In all instances I was forced to reply that no such insignia existed other than a few locally designed and produced patches. These patches were not Army approved or authorized for wear.
In World War II (WW II) two basic uniforms existed:
1. The Wool Olive Drab Dress consisting of Coat and Slacks and the Summer Dress of Khaki Shirt and Slacks.
2. The Fatigue (work) that consisted of:
a. The Green Herringbone Twill Shirt/Jacket and matching Trousers
b. The Green Herringbone Twill one piece Coverall.
On 1 above there would be worn on the left shoulder the Organizational patch of a current Division or an Army or a Base Section or in the US a Service Command. An earlier Command patch could be worn on the right shoulder. Rank stripes would also be worn. Other items of wear were authorized, but are not applicable to this discussion.
On 2 above only Rank stripes were to be worn.
When in 1996 I wrote and published “Fire Fighters in Fatigues”, the history of the 1204th Army Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon, it seemed desirable that logo defining who and what the Platoon was and did be created. The creative mind and talented fingers of my now deceased son – in – law created the logo you see on this page in Black on White. The logo was printed on red paper (the color that designates a soldier as an Engineer) for the cover page of the book.
When business cards became a desirable item recently I had the logo colorized. It occurred to me that the logo’s concept defined the Army Engineer fire Fighting Platoon and its Army Engineer soldier/fire fighter well enough to create my idea of a patch. The patches were created and sent to a variety of interested people. And now appear as you see it in “A Bridge Too Far”.
An explanation of the logo is in order
Red – the fire and its flames.
Blue – the encircling water, always and ultimately victorious in the battle with the Red Demon.
The Castle – the insignia of the United States Army Engineers.
The Maltese Cross – the universal symbol of the Fire Fighter.
In summary the Army Engineer fire fighter is encircled by fire and water battling for the defeat of the fire.
This patch is not recognized by the Army; it is not authorized for wear by AE FFs and is not known to the Army.
Having said this, at a date unknown to me but possibly the mid-1950s, the Departments of the Army and Air Force allowed the creation of both patches and badges for issue and wear by their fire fighters.
To summarize, while distinctive shoulder patches and fireman’s badge adorn the uniforms of today’s military FFs their WW II predecessors had neither.
