Well no…
Once upon a time there was a girl that loved the military and was all for supporting America’s Heroes. She happened to come across a website that sells bags and such that were made from military uniforms.
She was all excited and wanted a purse…that is until she saw the price. 😛 The bags/purses were great quality and deserving of such a price, but it wasn’t really in her budget.
“Hmmm, I wonder if I could buy one on e-bay…and make my own” she wondered. After hours and hours of going buggy eyed staring at the computer screen, she narrowed her choices to two. And since her birthday was coming up, she put them on her wish list.
She waited for her birthday to come…it came and went…but no coat. BUT! Â Don’t misunderstand her, she wasn’t mad because she had other *great* presents. There was one more present though, she was told, that was coming in the mail….what was it????!!!!!
Much to her joy the package arrived several days later, was it her coat?
Well it was and it wasn’t.
It was her coat, but it wasn’t her coat.
Time slipped by  and the one she had wanted ran off of e-bay ( 🙂 interesting way to put it huh?) before anyone could get it. So they looked for another one and found another one, a  better one! This one had most of it’s patches with it, where’s the other one that she wanted did not.
Opening the package she was  delighted to see camouflage staring back at her and ever so grateful to the giver!!!  She went and put it on and was…well, ESTATIC!!! 🙂
 ~THE END~
The girl is me, and I am loving my birthday present! 🙂 If any of you happen to know what the patches mean, I’d love to know!
I know the cross means medic, and the U.S. Army is kind of obvious, 🙂 and then the American flag, but the others I don’t know.
And since I’m on this subject, I want to share one of my favorite websites that helps our soldiers.
 http://www.greenbeanscoffee.com/coj/index.php
For only $2.00 you can send a cup of joe (coffee), to one of our soldiers and write a little note.  They are very appreciative of it and are blessed, it gives them a bit of home while they’re away. 🙂
So go on over and check it out! 🙂
-Cassia 🙂
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The patch with the eagle head is the patch of the 101st Airborne. a very special group in the Army. My father was a member of the 101st Airborne as a medic in World War 2. He would be flown into the front lines in a glider that was towed to the drop off point by another airplane and then the line was released and he would let the glider reduce speed and take him to the area he was suppose to end up at. I am sure you know a glider is a plane with no engine so you have very little control over it also no noise to warn the enemy. My dad use to say you sat in it and hung on until it finally met with the ground. At that point he would jump out, grab his medic bag and try to patch up the guys until they could evacuate them to the hospital. My father ended up with 3 Purple Hearts, 2 were from shielding wounded soldiers from getting hurt anymore than he already were and the other was from getting wounded while working on another soldier. You have a very special jacket there. Enjoy it.
WOW! Thanks for sharing that, Mrs. Johnson! I’m going to really think this through before I cut into it. 🙂 It seems such a shame to cut something that’s so special, but on the other hand I’ll get more use out of it if I do make a purse. I wasn’t planning on making it right away, so I have time to do some extra thinking!
Thanks!
-Cassia 🙂
That’s an 81st Airborne “Screamin’ Eagles” patch.
Oops, it’s 101st, not 81st.
LOL 🙂 Thanks for sharing the info! Appreciate it! 🙂 -Cassia
That’s neat Cassia! So, I’m just curious, are you going to keep your jacket, or are you going to make a purse out of it?
Hmmm, a very good question! 🙂 It sounds like this is a special coat so I don’t know yet… 🙂
-Cassia 🙂
Soooo….I wasn’t sure what that was all about. Now I know!
I’m confused, why did you buy it if you don’t know the meaning and didn’t join? I mean absolutely no offense but my husband (military) has made it very clear to me that you shouldn’t wear it if you are not a member of the armed forces.
Hi Becca, 🙂
Thank you for sharing your concern…
I will not be going in public while wearing this. I understand that wouldn’t be right…pretend to be something that others work *very* hard to represent.
I got it with the idea in mind of making a purse. I found a website that sells bags and such made out of uniforms so I wanted one too, to publicly show my support. As for the patches…even though I don’t know what they mean, I think they look neat. 🙂 And…some different friends have shared what they mean, so I’m learning. 🙂 Although from what they’ve shared it sounds like a special coat, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it yet.
Thank you for commenting and I hope you have a fantastic day! 🙂
-Cassia
Thanks for the explanation, Cassia! =)
So funny! At first I really thought she had joined the military intil I saw that last one!
You have an army issue Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) top. My husband wears one 5 days a week. You have a 101st Airborne patch (the one with the Eagle) you also have an airborne tab over the top which shows you are in an airborne unit. and a 1st infantry division patch (the Big Red One). The Red cross is not worn there, a soldier’s rank is worn in that area. Also, it is missing a name tape but I’m sure you can guess that by the empty velcro field. The final error is with the flags. Only one flag is worn on that uniform and it is on the right shoulder. The colored flag is for use in garrison and the subdued (gray tone) is for the field or deployment. The flag is worn so it “looks” like it is flying as you walk so those flags aren’t quite right.
From the way you have your patches it showes that you are currently serving in the 101st and that you have deployed in the past with the Big Red One. You wear your current unit’s patch on your left shoulder and you may wear the patch of any unit you have deployed with on the right.
I encourage you to enlist! Our army has many awesome ladies serving. 🙂 Also, if you have any more questions regarding your top feel free to email me.
Thanks so much, Heather! I’m lovin’ all the info! 🙂
-Cassia 🙂
I got back from Afghanistan two years ago and am waiting to find out if I go again next year. The patches are removable; you’ll notice that they are fastened only with Velcro. I have no less than three different combat patches because of changes in command in my one year.
I’ve never seen the Red cross patch. The combination of patches doesn’t make a lot of sense, so I’m wondering if maybe it was a random collection the seller of the jacket put together. The Red Cross is where rank would normally be worn.
Hi Stephanie, 🙂
Yeah I agree about the patches… just from what I’ve heard about the different ones, it is an interesting combination. 🙂 Oh,so the rank is worn where the Red Cross is…thanks for sharing! 🙂
And thank you for your service!!!
Have a great day!
-Cassia 🙂
FYI the red cross is not an army patch at all – possibly a red cross worker?
Hope you DO serve!
Thanks, Lisa. Actually I don’t want to join, I just really like supporting them! 🙂
Have a fantastic day!
Cassia 🙂
you should make a jumper out of some camo matereal i saw one at as for our house blog it was airforce camo