Assistance with attaching badge to balmoral hat

[48th Highlander]

Why would you wear a Seaforths badge? Pray you never run in to a Seaforth Highlander, Canadian or Scottish. Strap a USMC badge on and see what happens to you in this country. This kind of crap pisses me off. Sorry. There is no defense for it if you did not serve and you did not earn it so why do you feel you can just strap it on?

I am formally from a Highland Regiment, and there is only one day of the year I can wear the badge I earned and that is when parading with the Old Comrades on the Remembrance Day parade. It is entirely insulting that you would turn a badge that represents generations of those who lost their lives just to make a fashion statement!

[Dale-of-Cedars]

On the other hand, both the stag's head and the motto "Cuidich 'n Righ" predate the regiment, as badges of Clan MacKenzie.

If YOU were related to the MacKenzies there might be justification in wearing those two symbols, but nothing else; not the coronet nor the "L" which taken together with the stag and motto are strictly used by the Seaforths.

However you still are liable to run into current or former members of the regiment who see things... differently.

[Jock Scot]

Why would you wear a Seaforths badge? Pray you never run in to a Seaforth Highlander, Canadian or Scottish. Strap a USMC badge on and see what happens to you in this country. This kind of crap pisses me off. Sorry. There is no defense for it if you did not serve and you did not earn it so why do you feel you can just strap it on?

I am formally from a Highland Regiment, and there is only one day of the year I can wear the badge I earned and that is when parading with the Old Comrades on the Remembrance Day parade. It is entirely insulting that you would turn a badge that represents generations of those who lost their lives just to make a fashion statement!

Nothing to blush for, Sir. I just wish more people would say what you have said and more often.

[chewse]

Why would you wear a Seaforths badge? Pray you never run in to a Seaforth Highlander, Canadian or Scottish. Strap a USMC badge on and see what happens to you in this country. This kind of crap pisses me off. Sorry. There is no defense for it if you did not serve and you did not earn it so why do you feel you can just strap it on?

I am formally from a Highland Regiment, and there is only one day of the year I can wear the badge I earned and that is when parading with the Old Comrades on the Remembrance Day parade. It is entirely insulting that you would turn a badge that represents generations of those who lost their lives just to make a fashion statement!

I mean no offense to those Highlanders who served in the Seaforth regiment. I only do so because I have a distant relative who did serve in the regiment in WWI. By wearing the badge, my intent was to honor my kin.

[Jock Scot]

I mean no offense to those Highlanders who served in the Seaforth regiment. I only do so because I have a distant relative who did serve in the regiment in WWI. By wearing the badge, my intent was to honor my kin.

I cannot speak for 48th Highlander of course, but I am quite sure that you meant no offense. I think we have a difference of culture at work here, although I do know some members of US forces do go along the lines of the British and Commonwealth military traditions, which are, if you did not serve in a particular unit, then you do not wear unit insignia, or even, unit ties as a civilian. An exception would be, "sweetheart brooches" when worn by a female family member, or, a young lady with a close attachment to a serving member of our armed forces. For example, I would no more wear my father's Royal Navy tie than fly to the moon, as I did not serve in that august service. It seems that some, perhaps many, US citizens seem rather more relaxed about "honouring their ancestors military career".

[MacGumerait]

It seems that some, perhaps many, US citizens seem rather more relaxed about "honouring their ancestors military career".

Jock , I respect your opinions here on this forum and I always look forward to your advice and knowledge . However , you are dead wrong on this last statement .

There is no shortage of US citzens honoring their ancestor's military career , as a matter of fact , that honoring runs just as deep and far reaching here in the US as it does in the UK.

The majority of us ( regardless of what you see in the media ) observe the same reverence , respect and honor of our ancestor's military careers as well as the current military with great appreciation and respect for the past .

When speaking on being relaxed about respecting ancestor's military careers .... there are just as many examples of that in the UK as there are in the US .

No offense meant here at all , I will always value your input , but with all due respect , I think you are incorrect with your last statement .

[Jock Scot]

Jock , I respect your opinions here on this forum and I always look forward to your advice and knowledge . However , you are dead wrong on this last statement .

There is no shortage of US citzens honoring their ancestor's military career , as a matter of fact , that honoring runs just as deep and far reaching here in the US as it does in the UK.

The majority of us ( regardless of what you see in the media ) observe the same reverence , respect and honor of our ancestor's military careers as well as the current military with great appreciation and respect for the past .

When speaking on being relaxed about respecting ancestor's military careers .... there are just as many examples of that in the UK as there are in the US .

No offense meant here at all , I will always value your input , but with all due respect , I think you are incorrect with your last statement .

I think that you may be misunderstanding me and that is my fault for not making myself clear, for which I apologise.

Let me make it quite clear from the start that I fully understand that the military history of US forces and individual families part in that history is rightly held in high esteem by those families there is no question to doubt that. That goes for any nation in the world too, even nations that happened to be on the loosing side can have pride in their armed forces and it follows that families are indeed proud of individuals that served too.

We also, amongst that pride, have to be realistic enough to recognise that even the best of Services have less than perfect moments and individual humans are, well, human and fail too -----------, but having recognised that uncomfortable, for some, fact I shall not persue this line of thought further-------.

By saying that the US citizens seem to be " more relaxed about honouring there ancestors military career", I did not in anyway mean that Americans were any less proud of their past and present military and any one who reads some of the threads here can see that pride coming through, big style. No different to the UK.

What I meant by "relaxed" is in the use of military insignia, by members of the general US public to "celebrate" their ancestors past. We in the UK are not so "relaxed" about the use of these items here. Now in my original post I did say that some members of the US services DO have members within it that have views similar to Britain and the Commonwealth and are far from "relaxed" over these matters. So we two nations just have different ways of celebrating the very same thing and it is true we do. This thread demonstrates it perfectly. We have an American, who sees no problem in putting a cap badge in a bonnet to celebrate an ancestors part in his military service, albeit in a different country's army. We have two members who come from a different culture and service who do see problems with this action. It is just one of those things.

In passing we in the UK might put the cap badge along with the ancestors medals and perhaps a photograph in a picture frame to display proudly a family members past, or more likley, these things would be kept in a safe place in the bottom drawer to be brought out for the family to view from time to time.

However, I did not say in my post and would not ever say, to anyone, of any nation, that we in the UK are any more proud of our military and an individual families part in that history than any other nation or family. I hope, I really hope, this post clears up any of your doubts and concerns on this matter.

[John_Carrick]

My late mother once wanted me to wear my father's medals from WW2 to church on remembrance sunday (in the West of Ireland), which she felt they could be worn on the left lapel rather than on the side the veteran would display them. I revere my father's war service in N Africa, Italy and Germany with the Royal Artillery but just felt that I had not earned them and was uncomfortable wearing them for that reason.
John

[Jock Scot]

John.

I think we have all seen widows wearing their late husbands medals on the ---I think you mean right, veterans wear them on the left----- lapel at a remembrance service and that is respected by all, after all, her loss and pride is the greatest. I think your thoughts on the matter are pretty universal here in the UK and in, I think, the Commonwealth too.

[theborderer]

Why would you wear a Seaforths badge? Pray you never run in to a Seaforth Highlander, Canadian or Scottish. Strap a USMC badge on and see what happens to you in this country. This kind of crap pisses me off. Sorry. There is no defense for it if you did not serve and you did not earn it so why do you feel you can just strap it on?

I am formally from a Highland Regiment, and there is only one day of the year I can wear the badge I earned and that is when parading with the Old Comrades on the Remembrance Day parade. It is entirely insulting that you would turn a badge that represents generations of those who lost their lives just to make a fashion statement!

***
I have taken quite a while before answering this thread. You say you have the Badge and the Balmoral, (saw the photos) so I guess at some time you will wear it. If not, then you don't attach a Highland badge to a khaki bonnet, you need a ToS from the time your relative served to be really correct to display.
You mention that all the comments are opinions. However, they are not. Those against you wearing it are the honest feelings of the people concerned. Nobody is entitled to wear a Military badge of a Regiment that he did not serve in, and I am definately not buying a Vietnam, US Navy or whatever to wear.
In the words of Terry Moore in his song about the the fallen soldiers of the regiments now forming the Royal Regiment of Scotland " although the ToS and the Tartan may wither the Badge will show that you're there".
I guess you now know how to fix the Badge with its tartan patch, so question answered.