My pleasure Robert! I didnt note the measuring stick and overlooked the size!
Also Matt, thank you for the link, I hadnt realized the story nor the term 'ruptured duck' applying to this. I did think that this was some sort of patch though as I had one or two.....WWII was less than a decade before and as a kid always living near air bases, medals and WWII items were all over the place. Thats how I got started on edged weapons...buying bayonets out of barrels for a quarter apiece!
The ruptured duck term also reminded me of the B-25 flown by Lawson in the famed Doolittle raid in 1942, and as a kid, the name of course intrigued me.
Always loved the B-25's and in early days working at the airport, back in 69, I heard roaring radials rattling the windows, ran outside and saw a line of Mitchells waiting to take off!!! They were filming "Catch 22" and I think there were five in line....a sight I'll never forget
The patch with eagle was worn by those about to be discharged in the interim period and permitted the uniform being worn. Apparantly the name of Lawson's plane must have been tongue in cheek referring to this...I thought it was referring to the ungainly attitude of these bombers as they barely made it off the carrier deck.....absolutely incredible flying!!!! and the story of thier heroism told in "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo".
Best regards,
Jim