CONTENTS
545th Military Police Company
Unit Patches and Crests
A Pictorial History
As of January 28, 2012
From the days of the units’ formation at Fort Bliss, Texas throughout the history of the 545th Military Police Company and the 545th MP Platoon, the unit has had great Espirit de Corps and the members of the unit have always come up with various ways to show their pride in the unit. From the Yellow Jeeps and motorcycles to the yellow leggings, helmets, lanyards and gloves worn in Japan to various unit crests and patches (some of them unauthorized) worn through the years. This pictorial history is a compilation of some of these patches and crests and has been documented for the viewing pleasure of our association members. Please note that the 545th MP Platoon – both in Panama and Germany was at no time assigned or attached to the 1st Cavalry Division.
Authorized Patch and Crest
1ST CAVALRY DIVISION
SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA
DISTINCTIVE UNIT INSIGNIA
SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA. Description: On a yellow triangular Norman shield with rounded corners 5 1/4 inches in height overall, a black diagonal stripe extending over the shield from upper left to lower right and in the upper right a black horse's head cut off diagonally at the neck all within a 1/8 inch green border.
Symbolism: Yellow, the traditional cavalry color, and the horse's head refer to the division's original cavalry structure. Black, symbolic of iron, alludes to the transition to tanks and armor. The black diagonal stripe represents a sword baldric and is a mark of military honor; it also implies movement "up the field" and thus symbolizes aggressive élan and attack. The one diagonal bend, as well as the one horse's head, also alludes to the division's numerical designation.
Background: The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally approved January 3, 1921 with several variations in colors of the bend and horse's head to reflect the subordinate elements of the division. The current design was authorized for wear by all subordinate elements of the division on December 11, 1934 and previous authorization for the variations was cancelled.
DISTINCTIVE UNIT INSIGNIA (Unit Crest). Description: A metal and enameled device, 1 inch in height overall, consisting of a gold colored Norman shield with a black horse's head coupled in sinister chief, and a black bend charged with two five-pointed stars.
Symbolism: The device is a miniature reproduction of the 1st Cavalry Division's shoulder sleeve insignia with the addition of two five-pointed stars. The Division Commander and the Division Staff wore the distinctive insignia design from 1922 to 1934 as a shoulder sleeve insignia.
Background: The distinctive unit insignia was approved August 25, 1965.
Authorized Crests worn by the 545th MP Co and the 545th MP Platoon
From left to right: 1st Cav Hqs Troops, 15th MP BDE, 94th MP BN, Arctic MP BN and the 793rd MP Bn.
Unauthorized Unit Crests and Devices
The last on the right was often in use and was in fact worn in both Vietnam and Ft Hood at times. The crest in the center is thought to have been worn at Fort Bliss and in Australia. There is also another version of the one in the center with the letters MP in place of the star, but there is no image available at this time.
These two were made in both patch and crest version and were worn in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The one on the right is a later version of the crest shown on the far left below that was worn in Japan in the 1950’s
These are some drawings of unauthorized unit crests that were in use by the 545th at one time or another. At the time of the writing of this document, there are no actual copies of the 3 items on the right on file with the association.
These 545th Crests were worn by members of the 545th MP Co at Camp Crawford, Japan in the 1950’s. Initially on the collar of the blouse (jacket) below the US and crossed pistols, later on the epaulettes. This particular pair was worn by CPL Floyd Schuhrke of the 545th MP Company. Note the two ways the horse faces so that if they were worn on the shoulder epaulette, they would always be facing forward
Unauthorized Patches
These two patches were worn by members of the MP Platoon at Fort Bliss and in Australia, but were not authorized and soon came out of use
The patch on the left was worn in Bien Hoa, Vietnam for a while but was unauthorized. The patch on the right was worn by MP’s at Fort Bliss and later on in Australia and was authorized by the Division CG but not by the Army
Although there are none available for photograph at this time, the writer of this document is aware of the existence of several unauthorized patches (some of which he has actually seen). Most of these patches are the standard Cavalry patch, with a banner on top (as in the photo above) with various topics such as “MP Honor Guard” “First Teams Finest” “Vietnam” “Korea” etc. As in the photo below
This patch was worn by members of the 545th MP Platoon when it was first formed up in Panama in the Canal one, but was never authorized by Com Z Command at Fort Gulick
Unauthorized Combat patch worn by many Cav MP’s in Vietnam
Authorized Patches
Very first Cav Patch worn by members of Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Bliss, Texas (Mother Dorsey’s original design)
Later on the patch was refined a bit for Hqs and Hqs Company, 1st Cavalry Division and the MP Platoon being part of this Company also wore this patch at Fort Bliss, Texas and initially in Australia
Original 1st Cavalry Patch as worn in WW II and Korea
First authorized (by local command only) 1st Cav Combat Patch
Vietnam era 1st Cav patch worn on Jungle Fatigues, Woodland Camo BDU’s and fatigues
Standard Desert Camo patch which is authorized for wear on Desert style BDU’s and also the “Chocolate Chip” uniform
This combat patch was authorized for wear (in country only) during Desert Storm by the local command
Standard Yellow, current version Cav patch – note the black border. The patch with the green border is not authorized although worn often by Cav MP’s Additionally the original Division Patch worn at Ft Bliss was blue and yellow and was changed to black and yellow sometime before going overseas.
This is the new Digital Cav Patch for wear with the new Digital Uniform. Note the reverse side and the Velcro for attaching it to the new uniform
This is the original patch issued to our Cav troopers when the ACU’s first came out, but someone noticed that the border was not black as required by regulations so it was eventually replaced by the patch shown above with the black border.
CPT Ian Townsend and 1SG Jody George accepted this Combat Patch on behalf of the 545th MP Company in a ceremony held in Baghdad, Iraq on 4 July 2004. This patch was authorized for wear in theater, but not in the states or elsewhere
These are the recognized patches authorized for wear by 1st Cavalry Division MP’s from WW II through the present day
This patch was worn officially and with approval from DA by members of the 545th MP Platoon at Fort Gulick in Panama in the 1950’s
This is the 15th MP BDE patch worn by the 545th MP Platoon in Germany while the unit was assigned to the 94th MP BN in Mainz, Germany
VII Corps patch worn by members of the 545th MP Platoon in Stuttgart, Germany
This is the patch presently worn by the 545th MP Company
2nd Engineer Brigade patches
Current Subdued version of the 2nd ENG BDE patch Two WW II variations of 2nd ENG BDE patch
The MP Brassards and arm band shown above were the authorized for wear by 1st Cavalry Division MP’s from Fort Bliss through the present day when a reflective MP Insignia was adopted for wear on the new ACU uniform. Unfortunately at this time the association does not yet have one of these new insignia
This Brassard was authorized by the Division CG and the Provost Marshal in Korea, but never authorized by DA
Should anyone viewing this document have knowledge of copies of or actual patches or crests they would like to share with the association, please send them to the writer of this document below.
Prepared By:
CPT Sam Reinert
Founder and CEO
545th MP Company Association
626 ½ South 9th Street
Richmond, Indiana 47374 USA
765 962 4627 phone & FAX
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