Busy day in the shop, so maybe only one post today. My friend Bill brought this thing in and we are trying to figure it out.
It is about 3" square, curved brass background with applied cast Indian Chief head and enameled swastika in the lower right hand corner. In this case we believe this to be the historic Native American swastika not the Nazi one. The pin on the back is soldered to the plate. The patina is at least World War One vintage.
We believe it is a type of "trench art" and that the brass background plate was made from a cartridge shell. It also could have been made from an old belt buckle. We cant explain the other markings yet. Bill said that before World War One was declared by the United States, American pilots were already flying for the French and perhaps this was to identify them. A "pre" official involvement, US military uniform pin. Perhaps the Escadrille Lafayette
The Lafayette Escadrille (French: Escadrille de Lafayette) was an escadrille of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique Militaire, during World War I composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters. It was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, hero of the American and French revolutions.
It is about 3" square, curved brass background with applied cast Indian Chief head and enameled swastika in the lower right hand corner. In this case we believe this to be the historic Native American swastika not the Nazi one. The pin on the back is soldered to the plate. The patina is at least World War One vintage.We believe it is a type of "trench art" and that the brass background plate was made from a cartridge shell. It also could have been made from an old belt buckle. We cant explain the other markings yet. Bill said that before World War One was declared by the United States, American pilots were already flying for the French and perhaps this was to identify them. A "pre" official involvement, US military uniform pin. Perhaps the Escadrille LafayetteThe Lafayette Escadrille (French: Escadrille de Lafayette) was an escadrille of the French Air Service, the Aéronautique Militaire, during World War I composed largely of American volunteer pilots flying fighters. It was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, hero of the American and French revolutions.
103d Aero Squadron ensignia.
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