Re: [MV] RE: White Star on US vehicles.
William R. Benson (Benson@plg.com)
Wed, 8 Sep 1999 08:27:02 -0700
There wasn't a large presence of the USMC in Europe during WW2. (Some day
it's because the Army was worried about cross town rivals getting the best
French girls, after the USMC saved Paris at the Battle of Bellou Woods, but
really because the Mairnes were Naval Expeditionary Forces, and not geared
for the extended mass offensives that the Army was able to field.) Most of
the Marines who served in Europe either served as observers or with the
OSS, and if they had vehicles, chances are those vehicles were wearing Iron
Crosses after having been "liberated" from their former owners (via
ambush).
Most USMC vehicles seved in the Pacific Theater, and I suppose that they
wouldn't need to put insignia on their trucks to tell who belonged to what
(or vice versa). If a Marine didn't recognize a truck, he shot at it,
because it HAD to be Japanese...
Did we carry on with the trend after WW2, or, because the USMC is subject
to the rules and regulations governing Naval Forces (no, we ain't part of
the Navy, we're part of the Department of the Navy, which is a different
animal), we follow a different set of rules regarding the marking of our
vehicles?
And finally, who the heck devised the upside down "v" as the Coalition
insignia for Desert Storm?
Bill
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