Talk:HMM-268

Squadron Insignia

"HMM-268's unit insignia was designed by Captain John L. Tuck and Corporal Jean Montes. The background of half blue and half black signifies the squadron's day and night capabilities. The Red Dragon is a legendary monster conceived to possess both protective and terror inspiring qualities and has been used as a military emblem since ancient times. The dragon represents the medical evacuation and logistic support missions of the squadron as well its offensive troop assault and reconnaissance insert missions. The dragon is clutching a pearl in its right hand signifying its striving for perfection. His alert posture symbolizes HMM-268's readiness to perform all missions assigned."

the above is from the HMM-268 WestPac 1982 cruise book

The first HMM-268 Red Dragon patches were made in Okinawa in the summer of 1980, with all of the stitching done on a light blue backing cloth.

I can provide a scanned image of the original patch, which quite frankly, looks a helluva lot better than that horribly devolved dragon on the current patch (is it even gripping a pearl? And all the detail is gone!)

Corporal Jean Montes was not credited in the book, and was a personal addition. I have first hand knowledge of his participation in the drawing of the dragon, which was later stylized by Captain Tuck; and I can actually provide an early rendering of said dragon, which actually appears in the squadron's 1980 "cruise book."

Also - only as a note to you, the editor - that the reformation of the squadron meant that nearly every other squadron provided men to the effort. Squadrons do not regularly give up their best personnel. HMM-268 was soon populated with the air wing's "problem children." Some had attitude problems, others had alcohol problems, while still others had drug abuse problems. Now, this being the spring of 1979, LSD tabs with a red dragon printed on them were popular. The suggestion - and ultimately the adoption - of the Red Dragon being the squadron's symbol is more than mere coincidence.

Jollie Ollie (talk) 05:12, 6 February 2008 (UTC)