Badge, Military
Object number2015.42.15
Date1939-1945
MediumMetal/Sterling silver
Credit LineGift of Susan Muir
DescriptionSterling silver metal marksmanship qualification badge. Patee cross at top with pinback on back. Two rectangular clasps (bars) are suspended below cross by rings.Dimensions2 x 1.063 x 0.25 in. (5.1 x 2.7 x 0.6 cm)InscriptionsBoth suspended clasps have raised text: top clasp "CARBINE" and bottom clasp "RIFLE".
MarksBack of cross has raised text at bottom center "STERLING".
Back of each clasp has imprinted text at center "STERLING".
Historical NotesMarksman marksmanship qualification badge with "Carbine" and "Rifle" Army weapon qualification clasps. Part of a collection of WWII-related artifacts from the military service of Gabe Torisky of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who served with the 99th “Checkerboard” Infantry Division during the Ardennes campaign in Belgium. Martin Gabriel "Gabe" Torisky was of Slovak ancestry and was born on November 11, 1911, in Uniontown, PA. He moved to Pittsburgh in the 1920s and was drafted and sent to 99th Division during World War II. The 99th Division is especially important in relation to Pittsburgh, as the Division was originally headquartered in the city in 1942, and the unit insignia, a black shield with a checkerboard band of nine alternating white and blue squares (for “99”) was derived from the coat of arms for William Pitt and thus, also the city seal of Pittsburgh, on which the checkerboard also appears. Donor Susan Muir is Gabe Torisky's daughter.
Previous owner
Martin Gabriel Torisky
(born 1911)
Related institution
United States Army
Related institution
99th Infantry Division
On View
Not on view
1939-1945
1941-1953
c. 1945
1960-1965
1939-1945
