A Trip to the Patch Shop
After learning about a patch-making store that almost every Marine aviation unit has used during their time on Okinawa, I knew there had to be some nice old patches from HMH-363. Most of the Crew Chiefs and Mechanics that taught me when I was a boot in 363 had deployed to Oki with the squadron once or twice, and fellow Kaneohe Bay 53D squadrons 362 and 463 had been there several times. In fact the store, called Tiger Embroidery, is apparently the “go to” place for all military units (American, Japanese, and other foreign nations) to make ‘det’ patches. They keep stacks of previously printed patches as what I assume were extras. Some patches were pretty old; I noticed one 363 patch referencing being on Okinawa in 1991 when Desert Storm was taking place elsewhere, I refrained from buying it though. I did not, however, refrain from buying all the other HMH-363 and CH-53D patches I could find. For me, it was like being a kid in a candy store.
Here are some of the patches I found, and if any old 363 people want me to pick up a patch for them send me an e-mail: drtorrellas@gmail.com
Kinda cool, but too big and awkward of a shape to actually wear
A strange ‘blacked out’ version of the standard HMH-363 patch
I believe this one is from the 1980’s
My favorite patches, something tells me this is from 363’s 2002 or 2004 deployment to Okinawa
Also a good one
