Army Airborne Glider Badge (World War II), current made

The Glider Badge was a qualification badge of the United States Army. According to the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, the badge was awarded to personnel who had "been assigned or attached to a glider or airborne unit or to the Airborne Department of the Infantry School; satisfactorily completed a course of instruction, or participated in at least one combat glider mission into enemy-held territory. The badge was authorized on 22 July 1944.
In the post-World War II years, the US Army converted its remaining glider units to parachute.
By 1949 glider training still took place but was included in the basic Airborne course, which was then five weeks long. The first week of the course covered air transportability training, which included glider training. During late summer of that year, a glider crashed, killing many of those on board, and glider training came to an end.