As the U.S. Pacific offensive draws closer to the Japanese homeland, American
soldiers may find on killed and captured Japanese a new type of collar and
sleeve insignia.
Before the war began, the Japanese were very security-conscious. Their Army planned
to discard, in wartime, not only insignia which would identify the number of the
unit to which a man belonged, but even insignia of rank and arm or service. In practice
this program proved a failure. Field commanders not only ordered the retention of
rank insignia, but even originated cloth badges of various types. These were
inscribed with the bearer's name, his unit, sometimes the name of his commander, and
even a symbol for his division.
After the Japs had been at war with the British Empire and the U.S. for two
years, the Japanese High Command finally decided to give official recognition
to the demand for clear-cut identification of rank and of command. It was
announced in October 1943 that a new type of insignia would go into effect
on 1 January 1944.
Most interesting is the institution of badges for officers in command of units
ranging from companies up through general officer commands (or a field officer
holding a command calling for a general). These badges are made of aluminum, with
silver leaves for company and field grade commanders, and gold leaves for officers
holding general officer's commands. This is comparable to the U.S. practice of
painting rank insignia on the helmet. It should aid snipers and other
personnel in singling out Japanese unit commanders.
To make rank more obvious, insignia of rank is also to be worn on the cuffs of
officer's coats and overcoats. Insignia of arm or service, hitherto worn only in
action by military police and medical units, will take the form of a narrow
colored strip beneath the usual collar insignia of rank. It is believed that
this collar insignia will be somewhat larger than the familiar patches now
generally encountered.
Since shoulder rank insignia of a type in use for some decades still are being
encountered in all the Pacific and Asiatic theaters, there is little likelihood of
the new insignia replacing the old overnight. In view of current Japanese
supply headaches, a gradual replacement of present insignia is more likely.
DON'T REMOVE INSIGNIA
When this new insignia appears, souvenir hunters must be warned again against
ripping insignia of rank from enemy uniforms—especially from officer's
uniforms. Insignia collections and souvenirs for home are of no value when
vital combat intelligence is lost. Combat troops must learn to leave
all insignia on the uniforms of captured personnel so that intelligence
officers can select, without difficulty, good prospects for interrogation. If these
intelligence officers can get hold of the right Japs at the right time, they can
learn urgently needed facts about the enemy's strength, his troop dispositions, his
weapons, and the combat practice of his command. Information of this type may
enable a U.S. commander to turn a possibly costly operation into a highly
successful campaign.