Posted 8 years ago
Efesgirl
(1017 items)
I was given this patch by someone I knew in Dover, Delaware, right after I signed my USAF enlistment papers in 1974. I haven't seen another one and didn't find one on Google Images. Maybe this is the only one left in existence....LOL!!
Thanks for coming by.
Bonnie
What did it mean Bonnie back in the day??
@Judy - it meant that a person was either coming to the end of their enlistment or retiring. I just got my patch ahead of schedule, LOL!
Thanks Bonnie......I was just reading about the bottle of Vodka that had to be finished and the ribbon from it had to be worn with the uniform before the enlistment time was up!!!
Lol Bonnie...did you get to drink your bottle at the beginning of your enlistment??
Wow Bonnie... Dover, my hometown! Do you know what it stands for?
If you google for "military short timer items", you will find everything from patches to pins to tee shirts and more. In Vietnam we used a calendar to mark off the days and at the end a deck of cards. You changed the card in your helmet band every day to reflect how many days were left. Short timers have been around forever.
I was stationed in Columbus AFB, Ms from 1969-71. In 1970, my roommate was being discharged after his 4 year stint and he gave my his short timer patch. Tradition was or still is, you'd sew the patch on the back of your cap a few weeks before the end of your enlistment and then you take it off the cap on your last day and you pass it on to another soldier and he/she'd have to keep the tradition going. I forgot who i gave it to and hadn't seen a patch like that again. I even made my own art design of the boot and cap (which I think my design is much better, LOL. My minor in college was Art). Many moons ago.