US Army Attack Helicopter Unit Patches (2001-2021) is a book with 101 pages of photos and illustrations that detail the various unit patches that have been or are currently in use by Attack Helicopter units in the United States Army.
This collection was compiled by the author (a US Army aviator) and various contributors over the past 20 years. This volume (the 2nd in a series detailing unit patches used by US Army Aviation) will be extremely useful to the historian and collector.
Ralph De Coste was one of five children born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and times were challenging. His father was a WWI veteran and struggled as a binge drinker. His mother was a loving woman who tried to keep her siblings together. She married Ralph's father at age 16. From an early age Ralph delivered morning papers, became a telegraph messenger and a clerk. As a boy he was an altar server in the Catholic Church, an army cadet, and quit school in grade 10.
Heading to the bea
He joined the British Territorial Army in April, 1939. In September, Britain declares war on Germany and he is called up to active duty with the Royal Army Service Corps. He rises up through the ranks: Driver, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, Second Lieutenant, Full Lieutenant, Captain and ultimately Major. Along the way he serves a stint with the British Commandos, but when he is wounded in the course of a raid on Norway, he is returned to duty with the R.A.S.C. and ships off to North Afric