I read the post about the "US" pin and the question about was it an officer or enlisted. Rank insignia's don't always tell the story. I had just got to Germany and was 19 years old. The shop I worked in had a long coat rack that everyone hung there field jackets on. I was in a hurry to go to lunch and on the way out I grabbed the jacket that was on my hook and headed out. I went to the post office, commissary and stopped by the local roach truck to get a bite to eat. Everywhere I went I kept getting really strange looks and a few salutes. After an hour of running all over the base I returned back to the shop only to be greeted by our Lt. Colonel who wanted his field jacket back. At that moment I looked at my jacket sleeve and noticed that there where no stripes on it, I only had two to start with. As I took it off and noticed the cluster on the collar, a gigantic knot over took my stomach. As I handed the colonel back his jacket, he must have seen that there was no color left in my face. He ask if the colonel had a good lunch with a sly grin? I stated if was good up to this point. Nothing was ever said about it again but I can say that I NEVER picked up and put on another field jacket without looking at it again.
