patches

Facts about the "Scout Patch".

The "OH-13, Pilot and Observer Patch" was the original name of the Patch. It was created by John "Wild Thing" Hewitt and Bob "Hoss" Potvin one night at LZ Betty in Quang Tri. The reason it was so large was a result of the #10 can that B ration hamburgers came in that was used to draw the circle. After the design was drawn, it was hand carried to Bangkok by a member of the Circus who's identity still remains a mystery. When the OH-13's went their way and were replaced by the OH-6's with their mini-guns, it became known simply as the "Scout Patch".

The exact date of the introduction of the Patch is not certain. Frank Vanatta confirms that the Patch was definitely in existence for some months before he went on R&R in October of 1968, while Ed Holmes and Bob Potvin also recall that it must have come into being about June.

The original requirement for the presentation of the Patch was that the recipient must have been credited with their first "kill", but that was later changed to the recipient having flown on an actual scouting mission, either as the pilot or the gunner.