Badge is full size with pin back

In the early 1940s, the area which is now the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station was developed to train Navy aviators to fly seaplanes and carrier-based aircraft. In addition, they operated an aircraft overhaul and repair facility until June 30, 1959.

The facility sat idle for nearly two years until the Army took possession of the large hangars and other buildings located on a 15-acre tract. The Army Aeronautical Depot Maintenance Center (ARADMAC) began operations on April 21, 1961. ARADMAC was tasked with helicopter repair and maintenance for three engines and four airframes. The first Huey UH-1 helicopter was overhauled in 1962 and by 1968, the facility was in full operation, providing repair and overhaul services to approximately 400 helicopters.

During the mid-sixties, a Navy seaplane tender ship was recommissioned by the Army as the Army’s first floating helicopter maintenance facility and named the USNS Corpus Christi Bay. It operated in Southeast Asian waters during the Vietnam War and was manned by ARADMAC personnel. It was deactivated in 1975.