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InsigniaMedals & AwardsThe 'juleswings' Collection

The Late Arrivals Club’s ‘Winged Boot’ Award

Several years ago I was fortunate enough to get hold of a couple of badges that an Australian soldier brought...
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Battlefields & MuseumsThe Indochina Wars

The Ho Chi Minh Campaign Museum – HCMC, Vietnam

The Ho Chi Minh Campaign Museum (Bảo tàng Chiến dịch Hồ Chí Minh) is a military museum in Ho Chi...
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Iraq – Task Group Taji – ANZAC Day 2016 Patch
InsigniaJuleswings Blog

Iraq – Task Group Taji – ANZAC Day 2016 Patch

. On 25 April 2016, Australian and New Zealand Defence Force personnel deployed to Iraq with Task Group Taji commemorated...
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News & Events

‘Big Things in Store’ – The Australian War Memorial Technology Centre Open Day

Coming up this weekend is the Australian War Memorial's Treloar Technology Centre - Big Things in Store 2022 open day.
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Exhibitions & DisplaysNews & Events

Japanese Shinyo Suicide Boat at the Australian War Memorial

The Shinyo (‘Ocean Shaker’ or “Sea Quaker) was a one-man suicide boat produced by the Imperial Japanese Navy as a...
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Battlefields & Museums

Museum: Recollections of War – Albany, Western Australia

Recollections of War is a military museum run by John & Kathryn Shapland near Albany in Western Australia. The museum exhibits their personal collection and presents a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary men, women and children during times of conflict.
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InsigniaThe 'juleswings' Collection

The ‘Desert Diablos’ – DoS Air Wing Afghanistan Patches

The United States Department of State (DOS), also referred to as the State Department, was established in 1789 as the...
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Battlefields & Museums

Birdwood Military Museum – Geraldton, Western Australia

The Birdwood Military Museum, Geraldton, Western Australia.
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African Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaInsigniaThe 'juleswings' Collection

African Special Operations Insignia #3 – Portuguese Mozambique’s Grupos Especiais Pára-quedistas 1971 -74

  Portugal’s presence in Africa dates back to the 15th century and their colonies (Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique) held important...
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Battlefields & Museums

The Fallschirmjäger Collection – Overloon War Museum, The Netherlands

Photographs of the German paratrooper displays at the Fallschirmjäger Collection shown in the Overloon War Museum in the Netherlands.
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African Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaThe 'juleswings' Collection

African Special Operations Insignia #2 –The Republic of Transkei 1981-94

Transkei Defence Force Special Forces and Airborne unit insignia 1981 - 1994
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African Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaBooks & ReferencesThe 'juleswings' Collection

PARABAT Vol.1 – A Guide to Collecting Insignia of the South African Airborne Units

  During the 1970’s and 80’s, South African paratroopers, affectionately called ‘Parabats’ or simply ‘Bats’ were at the forefront of...
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Battlefields & Museums

The D-Day Story Museum – Portsmouth UK

The recently refurbished D-Day Story (formerly the D-Day Museum) in Portsmouth is the only museum in the UK dedicated to Operation Overlord and the 6th of June 1944.
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Exhibitions & DisplaysMedals & AwardsThe Indochina Wars

AATTV – WO2 Jock Rutherford MM

‘Jock’ Rutherford completed two tours of Vietnam. During his first tour in 1966 he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery during Operation HOBART. His second was with the AATTV training Vietnamese RF troops as part of the MATT program.
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Australian Airborne & Special Operations Unit InsigniaInsigniaThe 'juleswings' CollectionThe Indochina Wars

Mike Force, the AATTV and the relief of Dak Seang, April 1970

. Over the years I have been fortunate to acquire a number of Australian Army Training Team Vietnam and ARVN...
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Insignia

The New South Wales State Aviation School

The New South Wales State Aviation School was a civilian organisation whose existence is directly linked to the story of the Australian Flying Corps during the First World War.
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Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City. Dan Sinh Market. 2026. Vietnam 2026- FAKE Republic of Viet Nam (RVN) Navy UDT / SEAL qualification badges for sale at Chợ Dân Sinh (also known as the War Surplus Market) in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1. Vietnam 2026- FAKE Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN) / American M1 helmet liners straight off the production line, at Chợ Dân Sinh (also known as Dan Sinh Market / the War Surplus Market) in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1. Pickups this month from my trip to Vietnam. I haven’t picked up much for my collection on this trip to Vietnam. Most of my acquisitions have been bits of (non military) ephemera for my journal / art projects. But I did find this somewhat battered old hand coloured studio portrait of an ARVN Airborne Division paratrooper. I love the degraded state it’s in and I’m unsure whether it will go into my art journal/ diary or used as a supplement my insignia collection. Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City day 1 discoveries. A mix of post French Indochina / current French badges, Drago marked restrikes and Thai made fakes being sold to unsuspecting collectors and tourists in District 1. Dien Bien Phu - a few years between drinks.  I’m revisiting Dien Bien Phu after a 17 year gap. It’s changed a lot since my previous trip, with a lot of work being done to the military related sites for the 70th anniversary in 2024. Hanoi. Today’s discoveries. I decided to explore the streets near one of the army bases to see if I could find any shops selling military stuff. I did end up locating a couple of uniform tailors, although one made it clear that I wasn’t welcome inside. The other was more friendly and we had an interesting conversation through a translator app. They also had some very unusual camouflage fabric available, although not for sale to tourists or non military personnel apparently.

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