WWII Parachute Caterpillar Pin sterling w gold plate

One of the most famous of the unofficial badges of WWII was the Caterpillar Club. Actually it was founded by Irvin Airchute Company of Canada in 1922. The name “Caterpillar Club” makes reference to the silk threads that made the original parachutes thus recognising the debt owed to the silk worm and the fact that the caterpillar lets itself down to earth by a silken thread. “Life depends on a silken thread” is the club’s motto. In 1922, Leslie Irvin agreed to give a gold pin to every person whose life was saved by one of his parachutes. Other parachute manufacturers also had honors for those saved by their products. The Pioneer Parachute Co. in Skokie, Ill., donated plaques to people who packed parachutes that saved their lives, and The Switlik Parachute Company of Trenton, N.J. issued both gold and silver pins.