Original Item. Only One Available. During April 1943, Lt. Col. Courtney Whitney made a tour of the First and Second Filipino Infantry Regiments then training in the United States at Camp Beale and Camp Cooke, in California (now known as Beale AFB and Vandenburg AFB respectively). Whitney picked 700 men to be trained in Australia for secret missions behind Japanese lines in the Philippines. They were to become known as "Mission Men". The selected personnel were sent to the Allied Intelligence Bureau's secret camp known as Camp "X" or Camp Tabragalba, near Beaudesert south of Brisbane in southern Queensland. The first group of these men arrived in Australia on 11 May 1943.

On 8 October 1943, the 5217 Reconnaissance Battalion (Provisional) was formed at Camp Tabragalba by authority of General Orders #58 Hq USAFFE APO 510, 1943. It comprised Filipinos and Filipino-American men whose mission was intelligence and commando operations on the Philippine Islands.

This is an extremely scarce example of a theater-made patch for the 5217th Recon. Battalion, one of the rarest WWII patches to find. It features a bull’s head over a red backing on a blue shield background with a yellow border and five stars representing Australia, where the battalion was based. The patch measures 3⅛ x 2⅜” and is in great shape with normal wear consummate with age.

An extremely scarce example, the first we have offered, ready for further research and display!