The wearing of a cloth patch with a unique insignia on a person’s uniform is intended to show a service member’s organization, often proclaiming unit pride. The tradition of wearing patches/insignias began before World War I. They were worn on jacket sleeves or painted on helmets to identify friendly troops.

The military regulates if and how insignias should be worn. The patches are usually worn on the servicemember’s left sleeve and denote their Corps, Division, Brigade, or unit. Less formal patches, with humorous images, sometimes known as “morale patches,” have often been created by unit members.

While writing the individual stories in Berkshire Heroes of WWII-With Courage and Honor I began collecting patches for each person’s military unit. Most were found on eBay; some were vintage while others were reproductions.

My initial thought was to use the patches to supplement the photos embedded in each person’s story. I decided the bright colors and clever designs needed to be presented in color to best show them, so I put them aside until I figured out how to do that.

I continued to walk by the colorful patches carefully stored in a zip-lock bag after the book was published. They caught my eye every time. They are so varied, including images of Tom Cats (a fighter squadron), mosquitos (PT Boats), armed bumble bees (the Navy Seabees), and a number of insignias for Air Force and Army units.

Inspiration struck and I decided to turn the thirty-plus patches into a collage and have them framed, representing and honoring the people in Berkshire Heroes in WWII-With Courage and Honor.

These patches are a colorful reminder of the spirit demonstrated by the men and women who proudly served under them.