Original 1952 to January 1953

US Navy

Korean War Cruise

Beautiful Tiger Themed

V-1 Division Patch

USS Bon Homme Richard CVA-31 Attack Carrier 

Flight Deck Utility Overall or Deck Jacket Patch

Extremely Rare......Don't Miss This One...!!!

The USS Bon Homme Richard was one of twenty-four Essex Class attack carriers, really the "super" carriers of their time which were designed incorporating many of the lessons learned from the darkest days of the early carrier battles during WWII in the Pacific. She was launched almost too late to to participate in WWII because of the A-bombs ending the war before an invasion of Japan could take place. The carrier was named after Revolutionary War Captain John Paul Jones' frigate of the same name. The ship, an attack aircraft carrier, the largest of its kind at that time, was launched near the end of the war, and participated in the short naval bombing campaigns against the Japanese home islands July - August of 1945, and did not see major action until the Korean war where she served five cruise tours supporting US and UN operations against North Korean aggression...... and tiny kim's grandfather... This patch is from that time period...

The best I can find so far about the V-1 Division is that it was for some types of flight deck operations, crash crews for sure and some mention about "blue" shirts and "yellow" shirts - maybe plane handlers(?). Work loads on aircraft carriers are divided by "work" divisions. Since this veteran was an AT3 on his first ship posting, the USS Badoeng Strait CVE-116, a Division V-1  posting on the "Bonnie Dick" fits with where he was at in his enlisted career from 1953-1956. The patch features a beautifully detailed roaring Tiger with noise canceling ear protectors. Practically one-of-a-kind..... I've never seen a similar example.....

This larger size US Navy patch was found with several other Navy patches in this US Navy veteran's personal collection. This patch was, like many others in the 1940s and 1950s, much larger than the patches from the mid 1960s and later, features colorful embroidery, possibly Schiffli because there appears to be no actual backing, and is just an awesomely colorful and very rare US Navy patch. The patch is larger than modern patch sizes and measures at 5" wide by 5" high and he he apparently cut the patch directly off his flight deck utility overalls(see the photos).

This veteran first enlisted in the US Navy in 1952 and he quickly became an AT3, or Aircraft Technician 3. His first shipboard assignment was on the USS Badoeng Strait - CVE-116. He later served on the USS Bon Homme Richard - CVA-31 possibly during some nuclear tests at Eniwetok in the mid 1950s. At some point in the late 1950s he obtained an officer's commission and became a navigator and then pilot. I am fairly certain he served in some flying capacity in SEA for the Navy - not sure what he was flying then. At around the same time he went through Navy SERE training and may have been with the SERE training unit later on (late 1960s - early 1970s?) for a while (hence the coffee cup and utility cover/hat I have listed in a separate listing).  He flew EC-130Gs for the Navy to support secure communications with Polaris equipped SLBM submarines. He continued to fly EC-130s in the early days of TACAMO and Silk Purse - possibly later flew the E-6A when it took over for the EC-130G/Qs. He retired as a Commander (silver oak leaf - Navy) and was said to have served at least 30 years..!! - that is all I was able to learn. He may also have flown or at least worked for American Airlines in some capacity after his military career. He absolutely loved to fly, period, and at one time owned a Piper J-3 and possibly other light aircraft, maybe a Piper Cherokee Warrior. He lived at a small air park (small airport with housing subdivision) and his home was complete with a large hangar. He could drive his Piper J-3 to the runway a couple blocks from his home - heaven for a pilot!

Condition Note: Patch is in Fair to near Good condition. The major issue is that some of the Schiffli stitching has come undone at the edge in several spots (see photos 6 and 7).  The patch does not glow under ultra-violet light. 

This patch is not a recent reproduction and is absolutely original to the period. Unfortunately, I do not have this veteran's full story - only what I have stated above. This patch was stored in a drawer for decades. If it does not sell I will just add it to my personal collection as its provenance is solid..!!

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