Service Usr Officers
World War 1 uniform, aviator –insignia in photo?
I’m trying to find out the meaning of some of the items on my grandfather’s WWI uniform (see photo below).
I assume the “USR” stands for United States Reserves (so guess this uniform would be after he served), but there is also a pin of crossed-flags with a vertical “sceptre”? between them on his stand-up collar, and a pair of wings above his pocket that I’d like to know about.
(I know he was an aviator and was “attached to the intelligence service of the army… a member of the Intelligence Officers Association, Sixth Army Corps area” but don’t know exactly what that means). Thanks for any additional info!
PHOTO:
http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3robtoblacksruniformca1gm9.jpg
That pin of “crossed-flags with a vertical ‘sceptre’ ” is the pin of the Signal Corps.
Those cross-flags are signal flags waved by signal men (both in the Army & the Navy) to send morse code long distances.
The U.S. Army Signal Corps was responsible for all communications of an Army in combat, most signals sent in combat were in top secret code.