hhbooker2

Am not really as knowledgeable as I'd like to be on insignia of Vietnam. My mother served there as a male nurse in the U.S. Army, but I never got a chance to go there also. I had friends there who shipped me Vietnamese insignia from both sides, however I gave it all away to young collectors for free. After the war ended in World War Two, as a young person, service men and women gave me loads of insignia and uniforms. I recall several books on on the medals, insignia and uniforms of the South Vietnamese military, but cannot recall much on then North Vietnam? As I recall from photographs, there were two armies affiliated with North Vietnam, one being the Viet Cong who probably did not wear much insignia? The N.V.A. I believe the others was called, were pictured with insignia, seems like most were their officers? I wish I could answer your question! Maybe you can write to the Vietnamese Government's Military Attache, have gotten free books and insignia from military attaches as they get less mail than a consulate or an embassy it seems? Good luck!

Phoenix Military had a three part series on the badges of the Indian Army that I illustrated for the now defunct magazine. Go to either http://www.archive.org or to http://www.scribd.com and look under Sarge Booker or Herbert Hillary Booker 2nd or under Indian Army Badges. You can use whatever I have done for free however you wish. Also please see my website http://picasaweb.google.com/booker1942 and find it there and over 1,900 albums free for downloading at Booker's Free Web Library. H.H.Booker II (booker1942@yahoo.com) of Tujunga. :D

"GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS!" See: http://picasaweb.google.com/booker1942?feat=email (Booker's Free Web Library), over one thousand albums of pictures of badges, coins, flags, insignia, medals, uniforms, etc., U.S. and foreign from 1809 to 1967, most of the U.S.Navy uniform regulations from 1841 to 1941, many U.S.Marine Corps uniform regs and U.S.P.H.S. as well! I scan my library of booklets, books, brochures, catalogues, manuals, etc., all are out-of-print and many cannot be found easily and are often quite expensive, but mine ar FREE! You can make CDs and give them away, use them for trade or sell them and keep all you get, I do not want anything in return as I have more old insignia, medals, uniforms, etc., than I can use and when I scan a book, I get rid of it as I no longer need it! Having it all on CD disks is the way to go! See my websites at: http://community.webshots.com/user/hhbooker2 and http://community.webshots.user/eneryhodge and go to http://www.archive.org/ ("WayBackMachine") and type in http://www.militarybadges.info/ and see the now defunct website that was oart of http://www.diggerhistory.info/ Every day, rain or shine, I am at my computer scanning more than eight hours a day and maintain non-profit websites hoping that collectors and researchers will save what I have put there so when I "buy the farm," you will have access to all this reference material. (booker1942@yahoo.com) Respectfully yours, Sarge Booker of Tujunga, California :Cat-Scratch:

NOTA BENE: A sample page! :catjava:

DAN: Please go to http://picasaweb.google.com/booker1942?feat=email (Booker's Free Web Library) and see the complete 1928 issue of the BB&B booklet/catalogue! Sarge Booker of Tujunga :Cat-Scratch:

Greetings & Salutations! Obverse side of the WW1 Victory Medal with possible repro bars? Sarge of Tujunga :catjava:

GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS! Someone asked me if these were reproduction bars for the Victory Medal and I said I did not really know? Did the ever have "FRANCE" on the reverse side of these bars? Respectfully yours, Sarge Booker of Tujunga (booker1942@yahoo.com) :Cat-Scratch:

TIM: Yes, the other websites like FACEBOOK do things to make life difficult unless you join them, however I do not require anyone join or even sign up as friends unless they want to do so on their own. Everything I have is for others to use and enjoy without all those strings attached. I've got quite a lot of BB&B including an almost rare book on medals of military socities. eBay sellers sell information they got from me or from my website, however it does not matter to me if someone wants to sell CDs, they probably need the money what with inflation! Here I am pictured with my tomcat named Clovis Lee Booker II, he is not at all happy wearing the Christmas cap, if you were a cat, would you like for others to see you like this? http://picasaweb.google.com/booker1942?feat=email Sarge Booker of Tujunga

ED: You're welcome! Sarge Booker of Tujunga

ARCHER: I make the time and am at my computer either scanning my extensive library of insignia, medal, and uniform books or I am adding scans to http://picasaweb.google.com/booker1942?feat=email and right now there are 817 albums at the Booker's Free Web Library. If I do not do it, who will, Archer? Respectfully yours, Sarge Booker of Tujunga ( booker1942@yahoo.com ) :catjava:

Dear Archer: Quite correct, but! Someone somewhere listed them that way in one place and in another used proper titles, what can I say? I've never been to Australia or England, but have been to Canada, did not see the members of the Saint John's Ambulance Brigade. Have had to scrounge for the pictures I did manage to acquire. Malaysia appears to use some sort of crown in place of the Maltese cross and scroll below for rank insignia along with pips? Hardest to find were the warrant officer rank insignia, did not locate the highest grade? I bought three books from the Saint John's Ambulance Brigade in Australia and see some sellers want a pound of flesh for them, but I show the scans free of charge! I'll try to correct errors unfortunately bound to happen and greatly appreciate your letting me know, Archer! Respectfully yours, Sarge Booker of Tujunga (booker1942@yahoo.com) :catjava:

"GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS!" Have many of the booklets/catalogues of BB&B at http://picasaweb.google.com/booker1942?feat=email (Booker's Free Web Library) you can download for free and use however you wish! Respectfully yours, Sarge Booker of Tujunga (booker1942@yahoo.com) :catjava:

Stuart: When I get mine, will try scanning it for you! Sarge Booker of Tujunga :Cat-Scratch:

Dear Stuart: All of the books I scan are usually no later than 1945, except government printed books to 1967, public domain on those! Speaking of copyrights, someone I gave a copy of my on book was copyrighted later by the recipient of my book, needless to say, someone will take a book long past copyright and add a page or two of their own and call it their's. Bannerman Catalogue was reprinted by many different printers and all claim copyright, but which one is legitimate? If you do not advertise a copy and you give them away, probably shant get on the radar screen? What with anarchy all around us and laws being ignored worldwide and a breakdown in enforcement or too people there to take on each case? In my case I get social security benefits and only the government can take it, not the other agencies of private and local government. I am 68 years old in poor health due to type II disbetes and on borrowed time, incarceration in a penal institution or a nursing home, about the same! I do not scan anything that is under sixty years old or was public domain like government documents except for restricted, of course! Gave away at least 350 CD disks of scans of pictures of insignia and uniforms and paid postage myself, of course don't get mail asking for these now? Still have unclaimed boxes of uniforms, equipment, militaria books, etc., no one asks for it now? Collectors favour paying dealers and sellers I reckon? But, for me its hard to comprehend how a public domain book by the British Government can be copyrighted, can you explain how that is possible, Stuart? Thanks! Respectfully yours, Sarge Booker in Tujunga :Cat-Scratch:

STUART: Greetings & Salutations! Went to half.com and got a copy for under Ten U.S. Dollars and will probaboy have no trouble scanning it. Reprint copyrights are questionablr at best and if you are not trying to sell copies and its seen only here, not a lot to worry over, Stuart! See my website: http://picasaweb.google.com/booker1942?feat=email (Booker's Free Web Library) and download whatever you want there for free! Got the other years very low priced, they're out there if you keep looking! I paid by PayPal! Books from the U.K. have a higher postal rate, sometimes they ship a gross of them to a branch in the U.S.A. to reduce excessive postage from an East Coast address. See http://www.archive.org and see http://www.scribd.com for free PDF books you can download free that have no copyright. Respectfully yours, Sarge Booker of Tujunga (booker1942@yahoo.com) :catjava:

Greetings! 24th Observation (USAAC/USAAF).

Greetings! 15th Fighter (USAAC/USSAF).

"GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS!" Not being a collector of United States Army Air Corps/United States Army Air Force squadron patches, wonder what i'd do with these? The problem was solved when a collector said he needed them for his USAAC/USAAF collections of squadron patches, so I posted them and mailed them by registered mail with a return receipt to have someone sign for the package, just in case he was unable to write, turned out he never wrote, but someone signed for them! Had he stayed in touch, would have given him some free USAAC/USAAF uniforms that I also did not need and there too I would have shipped and insured tham out-of-pocket. As I am not a dealer/seller, I do not sell! If I let someone pay the postage, it would constitute a "token payment" and they might brag about a deal they got for almost nothing, better it be a 100% free -bee, yes? Collectors pay often more than they should, so someone like myself should cut them a break now and then. I do not mind if they give it away or sell it, but no one needs to tell me what became of it, just let me know they got it - period! Anyway, here is one of those items I surrendered! Sarge Booker of Tujunga

TIME STAMP: Well, I have collected just about everything except 3rd Reich! Prices tend to rise over the years after wars are done and over with and people start hoarding and then hoping their investments will bring them profits. Truth is, as money inflates and value of the U.S. Dollar drops, the investor only knows he or she paid X-number of dollars and cents and do not take into account the old money is not on par with new currency. If you paid One U.S. Dollar (US$1.00) in 1940, that would be the same as Sixteen U.S. Dollars (US$16.00) today! Believe it or not? There are actually more decorations, medals, and orders available now than during the war because more former North Vietnamese and former Viet-Cong want to sell them. Quite high amounts of cash does not mean the seller will ever get that? Someone else will under-sell them, count on it, Time Stamp!

Greetings & Salutations! Here is a pilot badge for Class 1 in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Air Force.

Greetings & Salutations! Dave S. as in my friend, David Melvin Shores of Maryland? After Dave Shores died, got a letter from his two daughters and they were trying to sell his collection, he wanted the United States Navy to get it, last time he mentioned it? That is probably a dragon's head, the fire-breathing type? Actually the least popular troops worked for "Grave's Registration" which is under the Quarter Master Corps, often non-white soldiers tasked for the job of picking up bodies. Navy Corpsmen are the people who scrape the bulkheads of ship's that an enemy torpedo or bomb killed men when it entered the vessell, not a fun job! Permanent Latine Orderly like "Commando" Kelly who held off a platoon of Waffen-SS men in Italy had a very terrbiile job digging slit treaches and filling in the old ones. After they executed the nazi war criminals and created them, they threw their ashes in a slit-trench to be filled in, hard to find the graves of folks like Herman Goering? Sarge Booker of Tujunga

BRIAN: Thank you for your kind words of encouragement! Would you believe it was hard to find takers for the original artwork, Brian? One collector in England asked I illustrated some drawings of British Regimental Insignia, that is, until his wife told him no more framed drawings were allowed on the wall. Drew for a few would-be publishers and a few who published books on insignia, but photography has really taken over graphic art. I bought a large number of "Popular Science" and "Popular Mechanics" magazines so as to enjoy the artwork of the old-time graphic artists even for their advertising vintage automobiles, locomotives, horse-carriages, etc., and of course pictures of soldiers and sailors in 1914 to 1918 too! Here is a variation for C.E.C. as full Admiral, ADM Ben Morrell, "Father of the See-Bees." Sarge Booker of Tujunga, California (hhbooker2@yahoo.com)