digging in the closet

[Hobojo]

My wife found these digging through a relatives closet.
Is there anyone who might have an idea what these are? We think they may be WWI service pins , but we are not sure about some of them. The one's with the props and the different colors of the pins must mean something. Any thoughts ?





Thanks and HH

 

[duggap]

Those are WWII officer's pins. The gold oak leaf represents the rank of major. Some look like they may be silver, if that is the case than it is for Lt. Col. The wings are for pilots. The US pin was worn on the collar and is of the type only used by officers. Some nice stuff.

 

[diggummup]

That's a sweet collection of brass. Mainly collar devices. Based on what I see from the pin attachments, they are WW1 not WW2. This should help you out- U.S.ARMY RANK AND INSIGNIA IDENTIFICATION WW1

 

[ARC]

Many appear to be sterling as well.

 

[diggummup]

They are very collectible. Here are the wings- Flying Tiger Antiques Online Store: WWI US Air Service Officer Collar Insignia with Flat Back

 

[nhbenz]

The medal is from the Knights Templar fraternal group, Masonic rather than military, but also collectible. Fancier version here, a few years newer here: 1913 Denver Co. MONTJOIE No 53 Knights Templar Chicago Masonic Medal (11/13/2013)
The small pin with the moon and star is also Masonic

 

[nhbenz]

The one labeled as Artillery is more specifically from the Coast Artillery: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Coast_Artillery_Corps
The one with the flags is from the Signal Corps

 

[Hobojo]

Thank you very much. The info provided has helped piece toghether some rather cryptic family stories. Apparently the uncle was alot more than was pervoiusly thought. The pilot wings; we never knew. From what you guys have provided it appears he was a pilot in WWI , which is new info. We knew he flew and had made a few record flights from Chicago to LA CA, but we did not know he flew or was assigned to the air service in WWI.
Thanks again.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Can you post close ups of the US pins? Specifically the ones with the piece in the middle? The ones with the "R" on them are Reserve pins, The crossed flags is Signal Corps, and looks to be missing a piece where the two holes are....It may have originally looked like this (minus the service bar which appears to have been added later)

 

[Icewing]

Did you have permission to dig in that closet?

 

[Hobojo]

Yes as to the permisson , thanks for keeping it honest. There was a recent death in the family and it was time to clean up.
Some more photos





The back of the buttons in the cluster read, " City Button works New York "
Im still not sure as to why the wings have two different colors.
The Oak leafs appear to be plated sterling. They have a gold color to them. We did find out that the US pins have a small
"NA" in the middle , appearently for National Army. What do ya know! Did not know we had a National Army, they were the guys who were called into action to fight "Over There" in WWI, then in 1945 they became the AUS to go and kick some in the Pacific. Any how thanks for the info and for keeping it above board.