Gulf War Veteran Patch

An eagle and a camel stare each other down across the top of this patch, and anyone who spent the winter of 1990 in the Saudi desert knows exactly what that matchup means. Below them the Stars and Stripes runs straight into the red, white and black of the Iraqi flag of that era, three green stars on its white band. GULF WAR VETERAN rings the border in heavy black letters on desert tan. It is a patch for everyone who deployed for Desert Shield and Desert Storm, from every branch.

Iraq invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990, and the first American units were headed for Saudi Arabia within days under Operation Desert Shield. The buildup ran for more than five months and put roughly half a million U.S. troops in the theater. The Desert Storm air campaign opened on 17 January 1991, with carriers in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf launching strikes from the first night. The ground war kicked off on 24 February, M1A1 Abrams tanks led the swing west of Kuwait, and a ceasefire took hold on 28 February, about 100 hours later. The Southwest Asia Service Medal, established on 12 March 1991, covers service in the theater from 2 August 1990 on.

The patch is a 4 inch circle with a tan merrowed border and a tan twill face. The eagle on the left has a white head, a gold beak open in a scream and dark brown shoulders. The camel on the right is stitched in rust brown with one hard white eye fixed on the eagle. A rifle silhouette in black stands on each side of the ring, flanking the two flags in the lower half. It reads at arm's length, and it looks like the desert those units lived in.

The war itself was short, but the deployment was not. Many units spent months in the sand before a shot was fired, through Scud alerts, MOPP gear drills and long nights on watch. On 25 February 1991 a Scud struck a barracks near Dhahran and killed 28 American soldiers, the worst single loss of the war. Those who came home brought a hard-won reputation for a joint force that worked. The campaign set the pattern the U.S. military has trained to ever since.

It fits a shadow box next to a Southwest Asia Service Medal and a photo from the deployment, or the vest you wear to the VFW post. It also makes a good gift for a son or daughter who has heard the stories. The patch has an iron-on backing and can be sewn on for a permanent hold. Put it where the people who were there will see it.