Order of the Winged Boot (Courtesy of John Vargas)	Goldfish Club (Courtesy of John Vargas)	Order of the Winged Boot (Courtesy of John Vargas)

Sea Squatter (Courtesy of Jay Graybeal)

Several unofficial insignia existed that were presented to aviators who survived some more of the harrowing experiences all flyers faced. These were never officially approved, but were worn by U.S. Air Force personnel. Both the Order of the Winged Boot and the Gold Fish Club originated in the Royal Air Force and were adopted by U.S. personnel in the European Theater. The Order of the Winged Boot was given to flyers who were shot down behind enemy lines and evaded capture to return to their commands. The Gold Fish Club was for those who were picked up by air sea rescue after crash landing or parachuting into water. The Sea Squatter's pin was awarded to allied airman who crashed at sea and used an inflatable rubber life raft made by Walter Kiddle and Company. This particular pin was awarded to Marine pilot Robert F. Lee Sun, who was the first Chinese-American Naval aviator and flew ground support missions for the invasion of Peleliu.

Although these insignia were titled and often awarded in a light hearted and humorous way, the fact is that aviators were well aware of the experience that they represented. The patches were commonly worn on the left pocket flap of the service uniform coat below the wing badge and ribbons. Within the Royal Air Force and sometimes also by U.S. airmen they were worn under the lapel since they were not regulation. The Goldfish Club had a sponsor and the appearance of the insignia is fairly uniform (some examples are bullion embroidery). The Order of the Winged Boot insignia was made in a number of styles and shows more variation. Two different examples are above, courtesy of John Vargas. As might be expected both insignia are uncommon and have been faked. The Goodfish Club still exists and membership is awarded to current flyers, both civilian and military, who are rescued at sea.