WW2 USMC EXPERT RIFLEMAN Badge (“H-H / IMPERIAL”) 2-piece. Locking-catch. Mint.

Description

WW2 USMC
EXPERT
RIFLEMAN
Qualification Badge Award.
2-Piece construction! The
Crossed
M1903 Springfields
are welded atop the detailed
Wreath
for
deep relief!
Hallmarks (“
H-H / IMPERIAL”
) Locking-catch Pin-back.
This is the Large
RIFLE
Qualification Badge.
This was made by the famed supplier of
USMC
insignia.
HILTON
-
HAMBURGERS
“logos” with the ‘
H
-
H
’ inside the stylized Eagle signifying 1940s wartime manufacture!
*****
History
:
HILTON
-
HAMBURGER
, Inc. of New York City, New York was founded in 1926 by Jerome M. Hilborn and Jacob M. Hamburger, both formerly executives with
N.S. MEYER Inc.
, also of New York, N.Y.
Information from Timothy F. Klie's outstanding reference work,
United States Marine Corps EAGLE, GLOBE, and ANCHOR EMBLEM: 1868-1963, Pictorial Guide,
( pp. 69-75):
Manufacturer's development timeline:
1920-1940s - Letters '
H-H'
outside the body of the Eagle logos.
1940s - Letters '
H-H
' placed inside body of the Eagle logos.
1942 -
H-H
acquires assets of the "Imperial Insignia Mfg. Co."
1942 - Eagle logos and the word '
IMPERIAL
' appear together on EGA's for the first time.
1943 -
H-H
acquires assets of "
Viking
" and "
Metalcraft
."
1950-1955 - Numbers instead of the Eagle logos appear on the EGAs.
H
-
H
served as a jobber for other insignia companies manufacturing EGAs.
*****
At Parris Island, young Marines will pick up a rifle and learn to be a rifleman. Some will be taking a lifetime of hunting and shooting guns into the test and many will pick up their first weapon ever. Here, the Marine Corps recruits are tested on their marksmanship and can earn one of three levels of expertise:
“Marksmen” is the lowest score obtained, with a scoring range of 250-279
“Sharpshooter” is obtained with a combined score falling between 280-304
“Expert” is obtained with a combined score falling between 305-350
*****
According to the Marine Corps History Division, the Marine Corps used to award three different styles/types of marksmanship qualification badges. Starting in 1912, the Marine Corps began awarding the Army Rifle Marksmanship Badges to Marines who qualified with the service rifle. As with the U.S. Army, the Marine Corps awarded these rifle badges at three qualification levels (highest to lowest): expert, sharpshooter, and marksman. Just like the U.S. Army, year clasps were added to the Expert Rifle Marksmanship Badge and Sharpshooter Rifle Marksmanship Badge to indicate the year(s) a Marine requalified at that level. The former Army Expert Rifle Marksmanship Badge is almost identical to the current version of the Marine Corps Expert Rifle Qualification Badge, but uses crossed M1903 Springfield Rifles vs. M1 Garands with slings. In 1924, the Marine Corps replaced these badges with the Army Marksmanship Qualification Badges, which are still in use by the U.S. Army. However, the Marine Corps decided to bring back the older Army Rifle Marksmanship Badges in 1937. That same year, the Marine Corps introduced the Marine Corps Basic Badge for marksmanship qualifications with other weapon systems. Clasps were hung from the Marine Corps Basic Badge's brooch indicating the type of weapon and level of qualification. The clasps indicated the degree of proficiency by using the letters "SS" for sharpshooter or "EX" for expert, followed by the name of the weapon.