ID10T
Sr Member
It’s starting to thaw around here, so I dig out my Apollo jacket. The story is a bit long, so if you are having trouble sleeping, you found the right thread!
Once upon a time, I saw a movie you may have heard of: Top Gun. In that the hero wears a navy flight jacket covered in patches. Cool idea, but I want to do it differently.
My best friends older brother was way into the space program, and had a magazine with an ad for A-B emblem. Cool I thought, I can get some shuttle patches!
Well, there’s a lot, so I decided the Apollo program was the way to go. Plus, the Saturn V is way cooler than the shuttle anyway.
I ordered all the mission patches, an American flag, the meatball and the large (10”) program patch.
Then I ordered an LL Bean flying tiger jacket, and had a local tailor stitch them all on.
Fast forward a few years of near constant wear, and I had worn a hole in the collar. LL Bean still had a lifetime warranty at the time, so they offered to repair or replace. I went with replace, so all my patches had to come off.
I eventually gifted the new jacket to a friend and had the patches loose.
Then I saw an ad in the paper that Tom Stafford (Apollo 10) was going to be at a jewelry store (Omega watch ambassador). That was an awesome visit. He was very gracious and signed all the copies of NASA official photos I had, that he took while orbiting the moon to find a suitable landing site for 11. I had the Apollo 10 mission patch with me and he asked where I got it. It was well weathered from being on my jacket for years, and he thought it was from one of the other guys’ flight suits or something.
You asleep yet? No? Well that’s about it. I came across this cotton jacket at some point. It has a leather collar and other details. I put the program patch on the back and the mission patch on the left breast and meatball on the right breast. Flag is on the left shoulder.
Once upon a time, I saw a movie you may have heard of: Top Gun. In that the hero wears a navy flight jacket covered in patches. Cool idea, but I want to do it differently.
My best friends older brother was way into the space program, and had a magazine with an ad for A-B emblem. Cool I thought, I can get some shuttle patches!
Well, there’s a lot, so I decided the Apollo program was the way to go. Plus, the Saturn V is way cooler than the shuttle anyway.
I ordered all the mission patches, an American flag, the meatball and the large (10”) program patch.
Then I ordered an LL Bean flying tiger jacket, and had a local tailor stitch them all on.
Fast forward a few years of near constant wear, and I had worn a hole in the collar. LL Bean still had a lifetime warranty at the time, so they offered to repair or replace. I went with replace, so all my patches had to come off.
I eventually gifted the new jacket to a friend and had the patches loose.
Then I saw an ad in the paper that Tom Stafford (Apollo 10) was going to be at a jewelry store (Omega watch ambassador). That was an awesome visit. He was very gracious and signed all the copies of NASA official photos I had, that he took while orbiting the moon to find a suitable landing site for 11. I had the Apollo 10 mission patch with me and he asked where I got it. It was well weathered from being on my jacket for years, and he thought it was from one of the other guys’ flight suits or something.
You asleep yet? No? Well that’s about it. I came across this cotton jacket at some point. It has a leather collar and other details. I put the program patch on the back and the mission patch on the left breast and meatball on the right breast. Flag is on the left shoulder.
