Ist cavalry Division metallic dui question

[Joseph Sullivan]

Friends:

Going thought my cavalry stuff in detail after some period of neglect, I keep finding things I don't know about. For example, in my pile of DUI pins, I have three for the 1st Cavalry Division. Having looked on-lie, I cannot find any reference to metallic DUI pins for the 1st Cav, before 1965. There are lots of pages qt the Army sites and the 1st Cav's own site that talk about the variations in sleeve insignia, but not pins. In fact, they say the DUI was first authorized in 1965.

SO here is the thing: Of my three, two are pin-back and one is screw-back. All are made by Meyers, a good maker, and are on original Meyers cards, Supposedly the pin-back devices faded out in the 50s as the makers moved to what we now call clutch-back (two short sharp studs with the circular catches that push over them). Supposedly the screw-back pins date to the pre-WW2 period.

Adding to the confusion is that fact that my screw-back one has a single star on the bend, whereas I can't find reference to a single-star insignia.

Again, it is true that the 1st cav shoulder patches showed different colors and types by brigade, but I cant ind a reference for metallic DUIs like that.

Can anyone shed light on this/

[Joseph Sullivan]

On a certain auction site there is an identical Meyers screw-back with one star, listed as 1st Cav., 2nd Brigade, and a similar Meyers one with a single star and a red horse head listed as 1st Brigade.

Does anyone know if this is accurate. If so, what would be the approximate date that the ID was authorized?

[Todd]

https://www.militaryhorse.org/blog/cavalrydu

[Joseph Sullivan]

Goodness, how could I have forgotten; it was only 13 years ago. Good resource! Thanks.

J

[Joseph Sullivan]

Yo know, that reference is remarkably useful, but a couple of questions persist: Were DUI designs ever reassigned from dormant units to active ones; and with the areas where this reference says that the DUIs were textile, there are metallic pre-war DUIs for sale. How do we reconcile this?

[Pat Holscher]

Yo know, that reference is remarkably useful, but a couple of questions persist: Were DUI designs ever reassigned from dormant units to active ones; and with the areas where this reference says that the DUIs were textile, there are metallic pre-war DUIs for sale. How do we reconcile this?

On the first question, the DUI for the 115th Cavalry was reassigned to certain units of the Wyoming Army National Guard, but oddly not the 115th FA BDE. So, for example, the 1st and 3d Bn, 49th FA, wore the old DUI for the 115th. Basically it seems almost all of the Wyoming Army National Guard wore the former 115th DUI except for the 115th FA BDE. Quite a few units in the Wyoming Army National Guard still wear it, although none of the artillery units now do.

This may be an oddity of National Guard units, however.