The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Woven white cotton patch of the USS John Young (DD-973), featuring the ship's badge and the motto 'PRENDS LA MER AVEC COURAGE' ('Set sail with courage'). The coat of arms features a tri-coloured shield, the upper portion of which is scarlet and the lower portion 'Independence Blue'. These are separated by a wavy bar of white. A golden fleur-de-lis in the upper part of the shield represents the American association with the French during the War of Independence. Four stars in the wavy bar represent the four enemy vessels captured by Captain John Young in 1780, and a golden anchor without cable in the lower section of the shield is indicative of the loss of Captain Young at sea with his entire crew in 1781. Above the shield is a mast with sail hoisted, symbolic of Captain Young's last command, the 'Saratoga'. A red rose on the sail represents the coat of arms of the Young family.
The Spruance Class Destroyer USS John Young (DD-973) was commissioned in 1978. After a lengthy and varied career, her final deployment (October 2001 - April 2002) was as part of the Maritime Interdiction fleet (which also included Australian forces) operating in the Persian Gulf against Iraqi smuggling vessels. During this time, she was engaged as a guard vessel at the 'Comiski' holding area for intercepted smugglers, carrying a pair of Seahawk helicopters from HSL-37 and later HSL-47 Det Six. The John Young was decommissioned in September 2002.
Velcro backed woven cloth patch in black, yellow, red, white and blue cotton. The badge features an image of a warrior spearing a shark, with the words 'EASYRIDERS' and 'HSL-37' in banners at top and
Oval shaped Velcro backed woven cloth patch in chocolate, brown, orange and beige cotton. The badge features a silhouette of an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter over the stylized numeral '6'. The words 'DET S
Oval shaped Velcro backed woven cloth patch in chocolate, brown, orange and beige cotton. The badge features a silhouette of an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter over the stylized numeral '6'. The words 'DET S
Yellow shield-shaped woven cloth badge with a black border. The badge features a white figure '10' in a blue irregular heptagram over which is a bow view of USS Tripoli, an alligator head and the serv
25 years commemorative woven cloth badge for the USS William H Standley. The red badge is in the shape of a shield, with a blue, gold and red border and features a golden trident head with a missile a
Velcro backed woven cloth patch in black, yellow, red, white and blue cotton. The badge features an image of a warrior spearing a shark, with the words 'EASYRIDERS' and 'HSL-37' in banners at top and
Dark blue baseball style cap with embroidered 'USS FLETCHER DD-992' on the front of the crown, alongside a heraldic emblem with crossed swords and anchor. On the back of the crown is a 10 mm high yell
Velcro backed circular woven cloth patch in red, blue, black, grey and white cotton. The badge shows a caricature of an S-70 Seahawk helicopter with the word 'NAVY' on its tail menacing a ship with th
