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Roger M. Pezzelle Signed Photograph and 10th Special Forces Group Badge and Prototype Drawing

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:400.00 - 600.00 USD
Roger M. Pezzelle Signed Photograph and 10th Special Forces Group Badge and Prototype Drawing

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Auction Date:2022 Aug 10 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:15th Floor WeWork, Boston, Massachusetts, 02108, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Three items: a semi-glossy 5 x 7 photo of Roger M. Pezzelle wearing his Green Beret hat with 10th Special Forces Group insignia, signed and inscribed in black ink, “Rudy G., This is the original 10th SF Group green beret with the original crest, R. M. Pezzelle, ‘96”; an original 10th Special Forces Group badge with green beret flash; and an original drawing of the insignia by Pezzelle, accomplished in black ink on an off-white 8 x 11 sheet, with affixed labels marked “Prototype, Beret flash submitted for Army approval,” “10th Special Forces,” and “Final Product.” In overall very good to fine condition, with pin holes to drawing and photo.

From an article on the website THE ARSOF STORY: US Army Special Operations History: ‘Born to Italian-immigrants, Pezzelle was a WWII veteran who served with the 473rd Infantry Regiment in Northern Italy in 1945, which was commanded by Colonel William P. Yarborough. Having separated from service after the war, Pezzelle rejoined the U.S. Army in 1948 and served in the 82nd Airborne Division before joining the 10th SFG in 1952. He deployed with the 10th SFG to Germany in December of that same year. In the 10th SFG he concurrently served as an assistant S-3 and as an “A” team commander…

Pezzelle, a talented amateur artist, was inspired by the French parachutist beret badge with its winged knife. Instead of adapting the French insignia, Pezzelle chose the Trojan Horse as the badge centerpiece. On November 5, 1955, he briefed his badge design and showed Muller’s prototype beret at a 10th SFG staff meeting…

On November 17th, a memorandum was sent to the A Detachment commanders that announced that the beret was being adopted by the 10th SFG. They were told to poll their soldiers to see if they wanted to adopt the Trojan Horse insignia for wear on the beret…Having been widely accepted, the Trojan horse-in-shield emblem was approved on December 29, 1955 as the ‘only authorized item for wear on the Green Beret.’ Unit commanders were instructed to take orders from their men for ‘as many emblems as they desire.’ The cost was to be 6.8 DM (Deutsche Marks) or $1.62. The badges would be delivered by January 20, 1956. Like the winged knife insignia on the French paratrooper berets, the 10th SFG Trojan Horse was mounted on the beret above the wearer’s left temple. Officers were permitted to affix their rank devices on the beret alongside the badge.

The emblem was made by Eichmann, a local jeweler who cast the insignia out of .900 grade ‘coin silver.’ There were actually two different versions made. The first was heavier gauge with sharp corners and a flat pin. When worn it crimped the beret…The second version was a lighter gauge badge with a slightly convex frontal surface that made them easier to wear on the beret...

The badge was worn on the beret until 1962. It was then replaced by the SF Distinctive Unit Insignia when the beret flash was introduced. Afterwards, the Trojan Horse badge was used by the 10th SFG to recognize soldierly excellence. The ‘Best Soldier of the Year’ could wear the badge on his shirt pocket for one year. Although it never received official U.S. Army approval, the badge remains an honored insignia of the 10th SFG. A few years after the 10th SFG adopted the badge, Special Forces received permission from President Kennedy to wear its most distinctive identifying symbol­— the Green Beret.'