Page 285 - Demo

LOT 412
Two Airborne
Reconnaissance Patches
and a Scarce Patch for
the Alamo Scouts of the
Sixth Army - Three patches
are in this lot. The first, for
the Alamo Scouts, is round
with “ALAMO SCOUTS/SIXTH
ARMY” in green text on a
white circle surrounding
a Native American head
backed by the titular
building. The other two bear
ribbons marked “AIRBORNE/
RECONNAISSANCE” above
and below an eagle bearing
a scroll and a winged
parachute motif. One of the
patches is on orange felt
with gold bullion accents,
the other is on rayon with a
ribbon “VDEMUS(sic)/OMNIA”
(appears to be a misspelling of Videmus Omnia, Latin, “We See Everything”) in the eagle’s beak. The Alamo Scouts were formed within the Sixth Army to serve as an organic reconnaissance and search and rescue element within the 6th. Tasked with everything from advanced scouting to targeted killing of Japanese VIPs, the Scouts earned their greatest fame for participating in the “Great Raid” on the Cabanatuan POW Camp, and members of the unit would receive a retroactive award of the Special Forces Tab in the 1980s. The Airborne Reconnaissance patches are in a style associated with a detachment of the 11th Airborne Division put
together for the Los Banos Raid. Launched the month after the Cabanatuan Raid, Los Banos was a school turned internment camp housing 2,147 prisoners (chiefly civilians), and was targeted for a raid out of fear that the Japanese would liquidate the prisoners if forced to abandon the camp. Mounted by the Army and Filipino guerrilla forces, the raid involved a detailed recon by the guerrillas, a waterborne infiltration by guerrillas and 11th Airborne men (with one assault team coincidentally led by a graduate of the Alamo Scouts Training Center), and a mixed amphibious/parachute/glider landing of the main force, followed by a diversionary assault on the closest major Japanese formation and a convoy of amphibious tractors to haul out
the captives. While the plan was intricate, it was executed nigh-perfectly, with the casualty ratio heavily skewed against the captors and the prisoners brought to safety. Much like the Scouts at Cabanatuan, the 11th’s operation could be seen as a prototype Special Operations activity, utilizing heavy intelligence gathering and local buy-in, and achieving objectives using a combination of speed, surprise, and intensely concentrated firepower. CONDITION: All are very good, with minor
wear and handling.
Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection.
Estimate: 8,000 - 12,000
LOT 413
Fine Grouping of U.S. Military Patches, Chiefly Airborne Themed - The grouping includes two patches from the 11th Airborne, two from the 188th Airborne, two from the 511th, one each from the 187th and 503rd, an
“A in six-pointed star” patch for the 6th U.S. Army, and a red pentagon patch. Also included is a small pair of silver jump wings accented with the “winged 11” logo of the 11th Airborne. The units represented in this grouping were chiefly engaged in the Pacific Theater, where Airborne units were often called upon to retrain
for amphibious warfare.
CONDITION: Very good, with some mild staining
and handling marks.
Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection. Estimate: 3,000 - 6,000
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