Behind the ‘Force’ Part II: A history of the insignia and regalia of the Army Special Forces

The process to adopt an insignia for the first U.S. Army Special Forces unit, the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), was initiated by Colonel Aaron Bank on Oct. 20, 1952. He felt that the resurrection of the concept of the 1st Special Service Force also required a resurrection of their gold crossed arrow branch of service insignia which had been rescinded back in 1946. The crossed arrows was formerly the insignia of the United States Indian Scouts. “This request is based on the fact that officers of the First Special Service Force, which was organized during WWII, were authorized to wear the crossed arrows insignia in lieu of their branch insignia,” Bank noted. “This unit has officers assigned from the various arms and services who perform identical duties in the field of special force’s operations.” 

Since the other organizations that influenced the creation of a post-WWII Special Forces capability had no suitable heraldic lineage to draw from, i.e. Branch Insignia, Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (SSI) or Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), Bank felt that a precedent existed for the authority of his new unit to wear the Branch Insignia of the 1st SSF.  The commander of the Psychological Warfare Center, Colonel C.H. Karlstad, agreed. 

Bank also felt confident in requesting that the Adjutant General authorize enlisted personnel “to wear crossed arrow insignia superimposed on a disc background in lieu of the insignia of their assigned branch, red white and blue shoulder cord and red, white and blue piping for garrison caps.” The Commanding General of Fort Bragg also forwarded his approval to the Commanding General of Third Army under which the 10th and 77th Groups operated. 

Unfortunately for Bank, one of the original arguments against the 1stSSF adopting insignia back on Aug. 5, 1942 would resurface again when Colonel M.G. White of the General Staff Corps contacted the Personnel Division, Services of Supply to question the logic of going to all the trouble and expense to adopt special insignia for an organization that was not only supposed to be temporary, but also secret. In December 1952, the Chief of the Army Field Forces not only agreed with White, but added that “The recommendation appears to be inconsistent with the mission which has been tentatively assigned to the organization. The reference to the First Special Service Force relates to a Combat Unit of Regimental or larger size, with a mission not including organization of indigenous guerrilla forces. It would appear that the absence of distinctive insignia or other uniform accoutrements would be the rule rather than the exception for the proposed 10th Special Forces Group.”  

What the Chief of the Army Field Forces neglected to understand was that one of the major factors in accepting the myriad of insignia for 1st SSF during the war was its propaganda value as part of an Allied deception strategy aimed at Norway. This is why, from Aug. 6, 1942 until January 1943, the formation and training of the supposedly secret 1st SSF and its colorful unorthodox insignia was splashed all over the front pages of Western newspapers.   

Continuing on where the Chief of the Army Field Forces left off, Colonel Glenn Cole, who was Chief of the Personnel Services Branch, explained on in April 1953 that the policy of the Department of the Army was only to award a coat of arms and DUI to units classified as “color bearing.” Therefore, the smallest units that could request research into a Coat of Arms and therefore adopt a DUI could be no smaller than a Regiment or Separate Battalion. In addition, after a careful study, Cole eluded to the “physical impossibility of conducting the necessary historical and heraldic research, and preparing the designs for the thousands of units smaller than a separate battalion.” Therefore, technically, Bank did not have the authority to request a DUI, let alone the reinstatement of what amounted to a branch insignia. 

Although Bank continued in his efforts, he left the 10th Group and was replaced by Colonel William Emmett Ekman in December 1954. However in continuing the crusade to procure insignia, Ekman and his officers realized they could not fight entrenched regulations so they circumvented officialdom by designing and authorizing their own regalia at the unit level. All this really meant was that they could not get the government to flip the bill. Hearing of this decision, Colonel Edson Raff’s 77th Group at Bragg followed suit. 

This has led to conflicting stories as to which group adopted the famous green beret first. It is claimed in an online article titled, “Where it Began” by Colonel John W. Frye that it was the 77th Group that came up with the beret concept. However a few of the men that were serving in the 10th and 77th Groups had worn berets or had seen them being worn while they were with the 509th or OSS in Southern France during WWII. 

Frye stated that it was Captain Miguel de la Pena, a member of the 77th Group, who utilized his personal collection of military berets to come up with a suitable unique headdress.  One example that particularly caught the eye of Colonel Raff was the green beret of the British Royal Marine Commandos. He liked the beret concept and his Executive Officer Captain Frank Dallas went ahead and purchased examples to be sold at the Fort Bragg Post Exchange. It is likely that these berets were either sourced from Dorothea Knitting Mills of Toronto, Canada, who had manufactured a rifle green beret for the Canadian Infantry since 1952, or a British company. As far as the author is aware, no manufacturer existed in the U.S. at that time making military style berets. 

The 77th Group is first recorded as wearing green berets during a retirement ceremony for Major-General Joseph P. Cleland on June 12, 1955 at Fort Bragg. He was the Commanding General of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Post Commander of Bragg. However, after Cleland was replaced by Brigadier-General Ridgley Gaither, the wearing of these berets quickly came under fire. 

Subsequently, after Gaither went on to become U.S. Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, or G-2, Brigadier-General Paul D. Adams took over at Fort Bragg in August of 1955. Adams had been Colonel Frederick’s Executive Officer in the 1st SSF. He made his disapproval known and considered the beret a foreign military headdress. Defiantly, when Colonel Raff took over command of the Psychological Warfare Center, he still carried on the fight to gain official authorization for the Special Forces to wear the green beret. 

While this might explain the story behind the wearing of the green beret by the 77th Group, they were not the first to come up with the green beret concept, nor were they the first to wear one. This is because Frye states that the 77th Group did not begin thinking about wearing a beret for a headdress until the summer of 1954.   

On Nov. 5, 1955 the 10th Group in Germany gathered for their weekly staff conference. One of the topics on the agenda was the green beret. A headquarters document recording the conference records that their green beret “was originally designed in 1953 by SF Major Herbert Brucker, a veteran of the OSS. Later that year, First Lieutenant Roger Pezelle [Pezelli] adopted it as the unofficial headgear for his A-Team, Operational Detachment FA32. They wore it whenever they went to the field for prolonged exercises. Soon, it spread throughout all of SF, although the Army refused to authorize its official use.” When the decision was made to authorize and pay for their own regalia, Brucker’s green beret was on the top of their list. “The 10th Special Forces Group Airborne will adopt the green beret as standard headgear for training and for wear during such other formations as may be prescribed by the Group Commander,” Ekman said a memorandum to his unit commanders.

The conference further stipulated that “The green beret which was presented at the weekly staff conference on Saturday 5 November 1955 is the standard and only acceptable model for wear by members of this organization.” The beret and its insignia were to be pre-purchased by members of the unit and once sufficient orders were received, arrangements were to be made with the manufacturers for delivery. 

The “Special Forces beret”, as it was called in the Headquarters document, was procured by Brucker from the company Müller Mütze in Bad Tölz. It is not certain whether this was the only location for the company or if it was a branch. The cost of each beret was 7 Deutsche Marks and there was no limit to how many each individual could purchase. The estimated delivery date for the initial order of berets was between Dec. 20, 1955 and Jan. 20, 1956.  

The design of the badge for the beret was based on artwork submitted by the aforementioned officers Brucker and Pezelle. They based their idea on the Trojan horse of Greek mythology. Brucker and Pezelle added a lightning bolt and a set of wings to their rendition of the Trojan horse. This was supposed signify the ability of the 10th SGF (A) to strike stealthily from the sky. 

A sample badge was ordered from Eichmann & Sohn Uhrmachermeister & Juwelier located in Bad Tölz. After rejecting one design, Ekan informed his commanders they “will adopt the silver emblem (Trojan horse mounted on a winged shield) for wear on the green beret,” and that the “silver emblem presented at the weekly staff conference on 5 November 1955 and modified to give the horse and wings a three-dimensional appearance is the only authorized item for wear on the green beret.” The new design made the badge slightly thicker and stronger. 

The price Eichmann & Sohn quoted for each badge was 6.80 Deutsche Marks with an estimated delivery date of Jan. 20, 1956. The badge was struck from three separate dies, producing three separate pieces in .800 German silver. The Trojan horse with platform and wheels is soldered over the loose ends of the lightning bolts with the wheels soldered to either side of the shield just before it converges into a point. The wings were soldered to the bottom of the shield at five points. 

Initially, according to examples collected from veterans, the badge had a simple spring pin and loop catch on the back. The backs of the various badge parts were not finished and left rough after leaving the mold. Some, but not all of the badges, are found with a guaranteed standard mark of .800 hammered on the back. When the mark is present it is always found somewhere on the back of the shield portion of the badge. 

Badges found in the possession of veterans can vary in quality. The badges originally purchased directly from Eichmann & Sohn are of good quality with sharp details. There can be a defect or two on the back of the badge, but overall the badges are very well made.  

That leads us to other examples that have been found in the possession of veterans. Although they look reasonably OK from the front, the badges are thicker and the backs appear very rough with many defects to include pock marks and very rough edges. On close examination, it is evident that one of the original three piece badges was used to create a mold so that castings of it could be made in one piece. They are found with different types of fasteners to include a spring pin and loop catch, clutch posts and screw posts which suggests that some were intended to be worn on the beret while others were intended for other purposes. Both original and cast examples have been found used as crests on beer steins, plaques or affixed to the leather jackets of the 10th Group motorcycle club. 

The cast badges also have the .800 mark. Initially it was thought that they were the handiwork of a profiteer, possibly someone in the 10th Group, and the mark was simply transferred as part of the casting. However, an example of a casting exists with the mark on the back of the horse. Since this has not yet been found on an original three piece badge, it suggests that Eichmann & Sohn may have also made and marked these castings. Therefore, at some point between 1955 and 1962, the three-piece die set used by Eichmann & Sohn no longer existed. Rather than go through all the trouble of making a new die set, they resorted to making a casting of an original.  

Although the generic 1st Special Forces DUI branch insignia was worn by the 10th Group when it arrived in Germany sometime in 1960-61, photographic evidence suggests that the Trojan horse beret badge continued to be worn while the unofficial 10th Group DUI was replaced by the new authorized DUI on the epaulettes. It is possible the Trojan horse badge was not replaced by the new DUI as a beret badge until details for a beret flash had been worked out.  These were not authorized until a Department of the Army message was circulated in 1961. So it is possible the Trojan horse badge was not replaced on the beret until 1961 or, at the latest, early 1962. 

After the 1st Special Force’s DUI replaced the Trojan horse badge on the beret, it was reinstated as a unit award for exceptional service in the spring of 1966. It was not worn on the beret, but pinned to the right breast pocket. Documents suggest the first badge was awarded in June.

Eichmann also made these awarded badges. Although the basic design remained the same, they were different than the earlier beret badges. It is obvious from the quality that Eichmann & Sohn produced an entirely new die and like the cast badges, the pocket awards were made in one piece. The details and edges are sharper with the feather details in the wings being more pointed. The edges of the shield were also sharper and more pointed unlike the more rounded edges on the earlier badges. The thicker badge is evident on the reverse having a slight concave appearance. After the badge was removed from the die, it was plated or frosted in silver giving it a very bright appearance. The fastener applied was also stronger, doing away with the spring pin and loop and replacing it with a hinged pin and locking catch assembly. It is not certain how long the awarding of the “Trojan Horse Crest” continued. However, there is no evidence to suggest that it continued after the 1960s.  

Finally, after Eichmann died, his son Hans continued the family business in Bad Tölz. Although he continued to make the badge in the form of the pocket badge award, it is presumed these were for former members of the group or for collectors. The only example that could be found that matches the award badge is a stamped example that has the exact same hinged pin and catch assembly.  

There have been several reproductions of the badge, including one based on examples of the cast badges. A defect on the eye of the horse in this cast badge resulted in the reproductions being made with a circle embossed around the eye. There are stamped reproductions based on the pocket award with a similar hinged pin and rolling lock catch. They were sold through a catalogue distributed by the Fox Military Equipment Co. back in the 1990s.  

In addition to the Trojan horse beret badge and the beret, the 10th Group designed its own DUI. It consisted of the same design as the beret badge, but without the lightning bolt and wings. Instead, a scroll in black and white enamel with the Latin motto DE OPPRESSO LIBER in gold lettering was added. Loosely translated it means “To Free the Oppressed”. It was to be worn on both shoulders, either fastened directly to the epaulette or the green Combat Leader slip-on. 

The 10th Group DUI was made by the Carl Poellath Company of Schrobenhausen, Germany and the Kalka Company of Augsburg, Germany. These German-made examples exist both marked and unmarked. There are also unmarked examples presumed to have been made later in the U.S. They have the typical U.S.-style clutch posts. After the authorized 1st Special Forces DUI appeared in 1960-61, the 10th Group DUI was replaced. Kalka remained in business after the 1950s and continued to make a version of the DUI for collectors. 

Finally, with a beret, cap badge and DUI, the 10th Group also had a parachute badge trimming/oval made to wear behind their parachute badge on the left breast. This consisted of an oval of twill alpine green cloth with a thick embroidered maroon border. 

It is presumed that while the 10th Group was ordering these dress items in Germany, Colonel Edson Raff’s 77th Group in the U.S. was doing likewise. They will also design their own DUI in teal blue, white and gold that featured an eagle over a shield. Within the shield were three arrows darting on a 45 degree angle towards a depiction of planet earth. At the bottom of the shield was a scroll with the motto “ANYTHING, ANY TIME, ANY PLACE, ANY HOW”. Examples were made by Denmark’s Military Equipment Corp. of New York, N.Y. and marked on the back in raised relief Denmark over NY with the early manufacturer’s code 6D. 

Although they did not experience any trouble wearing the DUI, they were not based far away in Germany, so Raff and the men of the 77th Group had to make sure that when they wore their green berets it was out of the sight of hostile authorities like Adams. Since they did not have a cap badge, they are seen in period photos wearing their DUI or various standards of U.S. Army Parachute Badge on their berets. Like their counterparts in the 10th Group, officers also pinned on their rank insignia. 

Shortly after, the 77th Group also purchased a parachute badge trimming/oval. It consisted of a teal blue twill material embroidered with a thin yellow border. Running diagonally from left to right was a thick yellow stripe. Once the 77th Group received these they also wore them under the parachute badge as a cap badge on the beret. Like the 10th Group, once the generic 1st Special Forces DUI appeared in 1960-61 it replaced the 77th Group DUI. 

Originally, men of the 10th and 77th Groups wore the U.S. Airborne Command Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or SSI. However, sometime in 1955, the COs of the 10th and 77th Groups were authorized to wear their own SSI. They submitted artwork by Captain John W. Frye of the 10th Group to the OQMG. He used the spearhead design of the wartime SSI of the 1st Special Service Force. However, rather than a crimson color, it was rendered in teal blue. In the center is a vertical yellow sword crossed by three yellow lightning bolts. The lightning bolts symbolized the ability of Special Forces to strike by air, land or sea. The design was approved by the Chief of the Heraldic Branch, Arthur E. Dubois for the Quartermaster General in August 1955. 

Originally, the SSI was worn in 1955 under an AIRBORNE tab/arc of identical colors with the lettering in yellow and the background in teal blue. That was replaced in November 1958. The updated lettering remained yellow, but the background was now in black. It is presumed this was done to maintain some symbolic connection to the identical tab/arc they previously wore with the Airborne Command SSI. 

{Editors Note: This is the second installment of a three-part series from author Ken Joyce detailing the history and collectibles of the U.S. Special Forces}. 

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