[Godebert]

My Dad's flight jacket. The leather patches are the 376th Liberandos on the right breast, 512th squadron on the left. The back of one sleeve is burned up pretty good from a fire during a mission.

[SAMWolf]

On a blue shield bordered by yellow, in base, a stylized wing sphinx yellow, shaded orange, edged blue, resting on a terra cotta red base, in the upper right, a bomb, yellow point downward, thereon a disc and diamond, terra cotta red, a triangle, blue, a square, terra cotta red.

The blue and yellow are the colors of the Air Force. The winged sphinx in yellow is symbolic of the service in the Middle East Theater where the Group began its first historical tradition. The diamond, circle, square and triangle are for each squadron's service in Palestine. The blue of the field is also emblematic of the intense blue of the African sky at night and represents the theater where heroic missions were sucessfully accomplished.

The terra cotta red beneath the winged sphinx is symbolic of the desert around Gambut, Soluch and Benghazi. The motto "LIBERANDOS", is a romantic coining from the B-24 Liberators. The bomb in the right side of the shield is emblematic of the missions of the 376th Bombardment Group (H).

Thanks for sharing the picture of your Dad's flight jacket with us and I thank him for his service.