History Civilian Workers Aircraft Industry
| The War Industries Board
produced these pins from August 1917 to November 1918 and gave them to
workers in the aviation industry. Throughout WWI, men between 18 and 35
but who were not obviously in the armed services were called slackers and
were occasionally subject to violent attack. As a result, the government
issued a variety of lapel pins to indicate that the wearer was involved in
the war effort. These pins were among them.
These Aircraft Industries pins were the most attractive of the government issued pins, and were the most expensive to make. Each pin was serial numbered, but the numbers were not referenced back to a particular employee. The numbers simply indicate the number of pins produced to that point. These pins are numbered 2717 and 110171. They are brass with enamel and have a screw-post attachment. |