In January 2024 I stopped by the 1^st Bn / 145^th Avn Regt to drop off some newsletters and meet the new XO. He gave me one of the reproduction 1963-64 patches he had made. They look great. We talked about some of the history of the 45th Trans and 145^th CAB and the Bn pocket patch and crest.

The 45^th Trans Bn patch was a red V with silver 45 in the center with white wings on the numbers. The V shape was for Vertical lift, a really big deal in the 1950's. The 45^th Trans Bn became the 145^th Combat Avn Bn on 24 Sept 1963.

The first 145^th CAB patch was an updated 45^th Trans Bn patch with a 1 added in front of the 45. The 145 was light blue with white highlights and light blue wings with white highlighting. It still had the red V shape for vertical lift. This patch dated Sept 1963 and only lasted a short while.

The next 145^th patch was a complete redesign. Basic shape was round, as in the path of a rotor system, with a black strip at about a sixty degree angle from lower left to upper right. Upper left of patch in red and lower right in blue. A standing sword in the center (silver with yellow handle), 145 across the middle (yellow) with AVN BN (white letters) under the 145. Across the outer top going left to right and across the bottom going right to left there was white design as in rotor wash. The black strip represents a Helicopter rotor blade in motion.

When I posted a picture of it on facebook 23 Jan 2024 I got a lot of comments mostly about the blades going the wrong way. I contacted some members who were there at the time and got their input. What I didn't realize was the setting, "1963", most were flying H-21 with the back blade going the other direction from the front blade. The other fact was they were all transitioning to the UH-1 but still love flying the H-21. I think the blade going in the direction of the back H-21 rotor blade was just their way of putting their mark on the patch. From the pictures I have of the Battalion area the patch design lasted a year or more.

The next patch redesign was to the shape of a shield. It was like they cut off the round patch to the shape of a shield. This eliminated the rotor system shape and direction of the blade. This basic design would be the base for the rest of the design changes for the remainder of the 145^th CAB's time in Vietnam. One of the design changes was the addition of "FIRST IN VIETNAM" across the top, (black letters with yellow background). Another addition was the word "COMBAT' in white letters.

The Department of Heraldry of the Pentagon would not accept these designs, so they sent one that was their design. DESCRIPTION: A gold metal and enameled colored device on a 1 1/8 inch overall measurement, consisting of a golden pheon (i.e., an heraldic arrowhead) point downward, on the neck of which is surmounted a complete blue arrow. I reread that a few times but just can't seam to picture that in my mind. My description would a waffle ice cream cone dipped in blue chocolate with an upper ward arrow on it.

SYMBOLISM: A basis of the design revolves around the number 145. The blue arrow represents the number 1 (one); the blue arrow and the pheon together represents the number 4 (four); and the pheon on its own the number 5 (five). The pheon and the arrow also represent the swiftness and sureness in flight of aircraft, and the blue above symbolizes the shy. To me the arrow is a 1; the four feathers represents the 4 and the V shape represent the Roman numeral 5.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this and any other topics of history or history (sort of)