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Ship Patches


Sailors generally wear a patch identifying the ship they are assigned to.  There were two such patches used by the USS John W. Thomason crew over the years from 1945 to 1970.  The two patches are shown below.   (Click over patch for larger view.)

patch-early-thumb patch-late-thumb
Pre "FRAM" patch Post "FRAM" patch

The early patch was used during the period from the ship's commissioning in 1945 until the John W. Thomason underwent the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) reconstruction in 1960.   Following the FRAM modification a new patch was developed that depicted the drone helicopter added to the ship's armament.   The new patch was used until the ship was decomissioned in 1970.