Challenge Coins,Honoring Navy Service Members, (5)

Join in a Long-Standing Tradition of Excellence with Five Challenge Coins Honoring US Navy Units

Challenge coins recognize outstanding service, raise morale, or unify a unit within the US military.  Often bearing the insignia or emblem of a military unit or organization, they are meaningful symbols of being a part of something bigger than themselves and are a great source of pride. 
The coins feature units within the US Navy:

• Attack Squadron 55 was established as a Torpedo Squadron in February 1943. After two redesignations, it became Attack Squadron 55 (VA-55).  In July 1943, the squadron sailed to the Hawaiian Islands.  The planes participated in raids on a number of islands and provided air support for ground forces.  In February 1945, the squadron was transferred to the USS Franklin.  The next month the carrier was hit by Japanese Bombs and all the aircraft was destroyed.
  The squadron was rebuilt and participated in the first combat strikes by carrier aircraft of the Korean War. During its combat operations, the 55th earned the nickname the Warhorses.
• Submarine Squadron 10 (SUBRON 10) served the US Navy from the bombing of Pearl Harbor until 1991. Its motto is “Find ‘em, Chase ‘em, Sink ‘em.”
  On December 7, 1941, the squadron was stationed near pearl Harbor.  Shortly after the Japanese attack, the ships of SUBRON10 began patrolling the waters of the Pacific and remained in that theater throughout the war. 
  In 1958, the Navy’s first nuclear powered subs were added to the squadron.  By the late 1960s, every sub in SUBRON10 was nuclear powered.  Submarine Squadron 10 was deactivated in 1991, ending more than five decades of service.
• The US Navy’s Reconnaissance Attack (Heavy) Squadron 9 (RVAH-9) was established as Composite Squadron 9 in 1953. Two years later, it was redesignated when its Savage bombers were replaced with the A3D Skywarrior.  The squadron was sent to the Mediterranean on several deployments.  When nuclear strike bombers, like those flown by Squadron 9, were replaced by submarine-launched missiles, the focus of the squadron became reconnaissance.  Its designation changed as well.
  In mid-1965, RVAH-9 was deployed to Vietnam to fight the war raging in that country.  It later returned to the Mediterranean to patrol its waters.  Over time, the squadron’s aircraft began to show its age, and the Navy was phasing out RVAH units.  It was inactivated in 1997 after more than 24 years of active service.
• The Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 122 (VAW-122) was part of the US Navy from 197 until 1996. It was nicknamed “Steeljaws.”  Equipped with E-2A Hawkeyes, a radar-equipped plane, it was sent to the Mediterranean in June 1967.  The next year it was sent to Vietnam, where its crews controlled bombing strikes into North Vietnam.
  Following its tour in Vietnam, it returned to the Mediterranean.  VAW-122 supported operations in the Mediterranean and Arabian Seas, as well as the North Atlantic.  In 1990, its mission changed to counter-narcotics in the Caribbean and Central America.  It continued this work until the squadron was disestablished in 1996.
• Navy Attack Squadron 15 (VA-15) was established as a torpedo squadron in January 1942. Nicknamed the Valions, it patrolled sea lanes along the East Coast aboard the USS Ranger.  The following year, Winston Churchill sailed to Quebec for a conference, and the Ranger was part of the escort convoy. 
  In 1944, the torpedo squadron was transferred to the Pacific Fleet and supported ground troops.  The unit was one of the first to strike Japan’s home islands.  The squadron remained in the Pacific until the World War II ended.  In 1948, it was changed from a Torpedo Squadron to an Attack Squadron.  In the 1950s, VA-15 focused on training pilots, and its insignia was modified.  The original one pictured a lion riding a torpedo.  The updated design replaced the torpedo with a missile.  Attack Squadron 15 was disbanded in 1969.

Challenge Coins - A Custom That Began Over 100 Years Ago

During World War I, a wealthy American lieutenant had bronze medals created for each man in his flying squadron.  When one pilot’s plane crashed and he was captured by the Germans, they took all his identification except the squad medal, carried in a pouch around his neck.  The pilot finally escaped and made it to a friendly French outpost, but had no way to prove he wasn’t an impostor.  The French were going to execute him until he showed his medallion.  Thankfully, one of the French soldiers recognized it, and the pilot’s identity was confirmed soon after.  The French gave him a bottle of wine as an apology for their mistake.
After that, every man in the pilot’s squadron carried his medal at all times.  This was enforced by the periodic issuing of a challenge.  When one man issued a challenge to another, he’d have to produce his meal immediately or else buy a drink for the challenger – giving the medallion the nickname “Challenge Coin.”
Today, Challenge Coins are awarded for major accomplishments and as recognition of membership in a military group.  They are usually presented by way of a handshake.  The coins have become a long-standing military tradition.  Even the secretary of each branch of the armed services and the President of the United States distribute the specially designed coins. 

These pieces of proud military history and tradition have become popular collector’s pieces. Order your US Navy Challenge Coins today.