Hello, I think I got lucky today. I was asked to look over some Civil war art. rounds and a somewhat rusty Cav. saber. Afterwards he pulled out some US Marine insignia from a remote relatives estate. This board was part of the group. I knew it was Japanese and an officer and told them so. It was sold to me for my help with the other items. They offered to give it to me. I believe it now to be a Generals board and Im quite thrilled. I dont have any further referance on this and thru google can only find collar insignia. Any further help appreciated. Best, Bill Bourque
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Last edited by hs132; 07-26-2008, 07:14 PM. -
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I think this might be an Army college instructor shoulder insignia but I am unsure of the rank?Comment
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Hello, thanks for the info. If that is true I was certainly given some poorly researched information. Would this be refered to as Gunzoku? Best, BillOriginally posted by zachb View PostComment
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Absolutely NOT a General or high ranking board. Besides, single boards are next to impossible to sell.Comment
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[quote=Jareth;2750865]Absolutely NOT a General or high ranking board. Besides, single boards are next to impossible to sell.[/quote
Hello Jareth, are you able to identfy this board and rank? BillComment
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1938 Full dress enlisted ranks board for leading privateComment
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I agree with Jareth that this is not a general's board, but I reiterate that I believe it is Army college insignia (some type of enlisted rank I think). If it was a regular Army board wouldn't the top be "squared" off instead of pointed? Further, wouldn't the stars be vertical? Sorry, I'm not sure what Gunzoka means.
Zach
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[quote=zachb;2752057]I agree with Jareth that this is not a general's board, but I reiterate that I believe it is Army college insignia (some type of enlisted rank I think). If it was a regular Army board wouldn't the top be "squared" off instead of pointed? Further, wouldn't the stars be vertical? Sorry, I'm not sure what Gunzoka means. Zach[/quo
Hello Zach, pardon my lack of knowledge. My expertise is Luftwaffe. Im told that Gunzoku is a term applied to civilian workers accorded rank and insignia under the command of the army. Gunzoku were used in all areas during WW2 and Im told a great many were used in prison camps and were quite brutal with a large number of them tried and executed for war crimes. They may have been used in the more instructional aspects but clearly many were used as guards.
http://cas.awm.gov.au/heraldry/REL29004.001 this site is where I aquired this info. The Australian War Memorial. It was my mistake in the spelling of Gunzoku. Best, BillLast edited by hs132; 07-28-2008, 03:58 PM.Comment
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Addendum: on further research thru the AWM site they list an exact same board as mine as Honin 3rd grade, for Major rank thru Colonel. I cant seem to paste that exact referance but it can be found thru the site listed in my above post. If you go to their search and type in Japanese shoulder board you can find it. Best, BillComment
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Hello, again I cant seem to paste up. Please go to the AWM site www.awm.gov.au then to search and type in the referance # on the search function.
REL29004.002 and it will bring up the board in question which is identified as a high ranking officer. Best, BillLast edited by hs132; 07-28-2008, 03:58 PM.Comment
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I think your boards on ebay now? http://cgi.ebay.com/Japanese-Army-WW...QQcmdZViewItemLast edited by Jareth; 07-28-2008, 06:33 PM.Comment
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Yes, the single board is on ebay. Not having any referance to price/value I felt ebay was the way to go. Best, BillOriginally posted by Jareth View PostComment
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Bill,
I think you are right about the board being Gunzoku insignia after all.
I just knew it couldn't be regular army. 
I haven't seen too many of these around. Would be curious to know how rare they are? Thanks for posting it. I think collectors have tended to overlook "army civilians", home front, militias, etc. Does anyone else have knowledge about this insignia, its use, and rarity? Thanks, Zach
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