USMC Rank Chevrons through the ages..since 1917 - Page 2
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  1. #16
    Quartermaster Sergeant



    SgtMaj



    All images courtesy of HH Booker and the US Militaria forum.


  2. #17
    Speaking of pay, I was just looking at my DD 214 total payment on separation: $151.30 (19 FEB 1960 when I left active duty). $104.10 of that was for mileage from El Toro to Baytown, TX (home of record). I was paid two days lump sum for leave settlement. Now, if my math is correct, that means I was making $28.60 per day as a buck Sergeant in 1960. Nice wages for the dark ages. LMAO


  3. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Sgt Leprechaun


    Courtesy of HH Booker. Love the pay scale. This is a pocket chart, BTW which is why it's so small. Dated 1939.

    This is why they also call MSgt "TOP", Top of the enlisted chain.

    I went through this also , meeting Marines from this era.

    Charles Nelson (RIP) was one.

    S/F<
    CEYA!


  4. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by bucksgted
    Speaking of pay, I was just looking at my DD 214 total payment on separation: $151.30 (19 FEB 1960 when I left active duty). $104.10 of that was for mileage from El Toro to Baytown, TX (home of record). I was paid two days lump sum for leave settlement. Now, if my math is correct, that means I was making $28.60 per day as a buck Sergeant in 1960. Nice wages for the dark ages. LMAO
    Ed
    I only went 2 miles to school but I think you should chech your math

    280.60 a day comes to $858.00 a month
    I think I was still a Cpl then and my base pay was only 120.00 a month

    Ed


  5. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Palmer
    Ed
    I only went 2 miles to school but I think you should chech your math

    280.60 a day comes to $858.00 a month
    I think I was still a Cpl then and my base pay was only 120.00 a month

    Ed
    SSgt,

    He states 28.60.

    S/F,
    CEYA!
    81s


  6. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Ceya
    SSgt,

    He states 28.60.

    S/F,
    CEYA!
    81s
    was making $28.60 per day

    Ed
    28.60 times 30 days equals 858.00 a month I put in an extra 0 and didn't catch it sorry bout that


  7. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Palmer
    was making $28.60 per day

    Ed
    28.60 times 30 days equals 858.00 a month I put in an extra 0 and didn't catch it sorry bout that
    Not to worry, Ed. I only brought up the salary thing since we were discussing "old" stuff and I can relate. I guess $10,296.00 per year base pay wasn't too bad in 1960, though.


  8. #23
    AWESOME! I have few questions though:

    1. Who came up with the current upward pointing chevron and rocker like we have today? The Marine Corps or army? (Remember that they used to be pointing down until about WWI.)

    2. Do they still have left and right chevrons in todays USMC?

    Story: Once upon a time (in DI School in 1982) I thought I was A.J. and a Squad Instructor (The DI student's DI) came to me in inspection and gigged me for one of my chevrons being on the wrong sleeve. (HUH?) Well, I asked someone who I thought was "in the know about such things i.e. the Chief Instructor of the PISC DI School who educated me that, although rarely enforced, there was a left and right chevron (or used to be). The difference is the crossed rifles. Evidently, if you look really close, one of the rifles is embroidered on top of the other one, and the top rifle should be pointing forward. Of course I just had to look at the 65+ sets of chevrons that my classmates had on their shirts and sure enough. Some had it right! Some had it wrong like me. This was the first time I had heard of this little tid-bit of Marine Corps Trivia info. I never did look it up since, as far as I was concerned, if the Chief Instructor of the Parris Island DI School said it was so, then that was good enough for me. Since then, each time I got new chevrons, I made sure that the rifles were pointing in the correct direction, even if I had to tear open the packages in the PX and get what I wanted. Sometimes they were packaged correctly, but most of the time they weren't.

    Comments??????

    Semper Fi and have fun checking your chevrons! :-)


  9. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by bucksgted
    Speaking of pay, I was just looking at my DD 214 total payment on separation: $151.30 (19 FEB 1960 when I left active duty). $104.10 of that was for mileage from El Toro to Baytown, TX (home of record). I was paid two days lump sum for leave settlement. Now, if my math is correct, that means I was making $28.60 per day as a buck Sergeant in 1960. Nice wages for the dark ages. LMAO
    According to this pay chart (effective 1June1958) http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/mili...rates/1958.pdf as a Sgt E-4 over three, you were making $160 per month or $5.33 per day for a 30 day month. Considering you had "free" housing, food and transportation, that was a pretty good wage for 1958.

    At that time, my dad was supporting a family of four on the same pay (a dollar an hour) and paid for his own housing, food and transportation.

    The Few. The Proud.
    Jerry D.


  10. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by bucksgted
    Not to worry, Ed. I only brought up the salary thing since we were discussing "old" stuff and I can relate. I guess $10,296.00 per year base pay wasn't too bad in 1960, though.
    How did that work you made more than I did in the middle 70's?


  11. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by ExPISCDI83
    AWESOME! I have few questions though:

    1. Who came up with the current upward pointing chevron and rocker like we have today? The Marine Corps or army? (Remember that they used to be pointing down until about WWI.)

    2. Do they still have left and right chevrons in todays USMC?

    Story: Once upon a time (in DI School in 1982) I thought I was A.J. and a Squad Instructor (The DI student's DI) came to me in inspection and gigged me for one of my chevrons being on the wrong sleeve. (HUH?) Well, I asked someone who I thought was "in the know about such things i.e. the Chief Instructor of the PISC DI School who educated me that, although rarely enforced, there was a left and right chevron (or used to be). The difference is the crossed rifles. Evidently, if you look really close, one of the rifles is embroidered on top of the other one, and the top rifle should be pointing forward. Of course I just had to look at the 65+ sets of chevrons that my classmates had on their shirts and sure enough. Some had it right! Some had it wrong like me. This was the first time I had heard of this little tid-bit of Marine Corps Trivia info. I never did look it up since, as far as I was concerned, if the Chief Instructor of the Parris Island DI School said it was so, then that was good enough for me. Since then, each time I got new chevrons, I made sure that the rifles were pointing in the correct direction, even if I had to tear open the packages in the PX and get what I wanted. Sometimes they were packaged correctly, but most of the time they weren't.

    Comments??????

    Semper Fi and have fun checking your chevrons! :-)
    I just got some chevrons for the dress blues and they are the same.


  12. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by ExPISCDI83
    AWESOME! I have few questions though:

    1. Who came up with the current upward pointing chevron and rocker like we have today? The Marine Corps or army? (Remember that they used to be pointing down until about WWI.)

    2. Do they still have left and right chevrons in todays USMC?

    Story: Once upon a time (in DI School in 1982) I thought I was A.J. and a Squad Instructor (The DI student's DI) came to me in inspection and gigged me for one of my chevrons being on the wrong sleeve. (HUH?) Well, I asked someone who I thought was "in the know about such things i.e. the Chief Instructor of the PISC DI School who educated me that, although rarely enforced, there was a left and right chevron (or used to be). The difference is the crossed rifles. Evidently, if you look really close, one of the rifles is embroidered on top of the other one, and the top rifle should be pointing forward. Of course I just had to look at the 65+ sets of chevrons that my classmates had on their shirts and sure enough. Some had it right! Some had it wrong like me. This was the first time I had heard of this little tid-bit of Marine Corps Trivia info. I never did look it up since, as far as I was concerned, if the Chief Instructor of the Parris Island DI School said it was so, then that was good enough for me. Since then, each time I got new chevrons, I made sure that the rifles were pointing in the correct direction, even if I had to tear open the packages in the PX and get what I wanted. Sometimes they were packaged correctly, but most of the time they weren't.

    Comments??????

    Semper Fi and have fun checking your chevrons! :-)

    An interesting question to be sure.

    Chevrons went to the 'up' posistion basically by 'custom' and for several reasons:

    1: Economy. It's cheaper and easier to make the smaller chevrons than the large ones.

    2: Large chevrons make you a nice target.

    **
    As to the 'different arms', I have NEVER heard that one. While in WWI chevrons that carried a specific designator did go on different arms (so that eagles or emblems faced the wearers front), modern day chevrons with the crossed rifles were never intended to go on different arms. While the rifles may overlap differently, dollars will get you donuts the 'different arms' question/idea was something that someone came up with in order to 'look more uniform' or something else.

    That having been said, I'm willing to eat crow here if someone can show me a Marine Corps Order stating otherwise.


  13. #28

  14. #29
    I just sold a set of Dress Blues with the cooks staff sergeant chevrons 3 up with a flat bottom rocker. Inside pocet was marked Kanahoe Bay 1937. But I could not find a name. The legion was gonna throw them out!!!! Stooopid azoles. I held onto them for 15 years. Very nice condition. The person that got them is also a Marine.


  15. #30
    Interesting area of research. Perusing the casualty list at Pearl I found Marines with , what was to me, wierd rank designatiions. THANKS FOR POSTING!!


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