Both badges are metal construction, with a submarine underway in the center and a set of heraldic dolphins on either side resting their heads on the bow planes. One is marked "BRONZE" on the back. The other is 14k gold and is inscribed "CAPTAIN LOUIS MOUNTBATTEN,RN./QUALIFIED TO COMMAND SUBMARINES/BY ORDER OF/REAR ADMIRAL T. WITHERS., U.S.N./COMSUBSCOFOR" over "CALDWELL/14k" on the back. Rear Admiral Thomas Withers Jr. served with the U.S. Navy from 1906 through 1946, and was overall commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force at the outbreak of World War II, though his advocacy for the notoriously faulty Mark 14 torpedo would see him reassigned to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; as this incident dominates most accountings of his career/life, it is unclear when he was Commander, Submarine Scouting Force (ComSubScoFor), or if he held that title the same time as overall submarine command for the Pacific. Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma was a German prince by birth, and began his career with the Royal Navy in 1916, attaining the rank of Captain in 1937. Among other duties during World War II he would act as the Chief of the Combined Operations Headquarters where he was responsible for the Bruneval Raid to capture important components of the German Wuerzburg Radar for study, the Saint Nazaire Raid that knocked out the Normandie dry dock to deny the Kriegsmarine a critical Atlantic repair asset, and the far less successful Dieppe Raid, and later Supreme Allied Commander for the Southeast Asia Command (SEAC), where he oversaw the recapture of Burma and accepted the Japanese surrender of Singapore. In post war life, he would serve as Viceroy and later Governor-General of India, overseeing the transition of India to an independent Commonwealth nation, as well as the partition of India and Pakistan, as well as Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, NATO Commander Allied Forces Mediterranean, and First Sea Lord of the Admiralty. Retiring at the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, he also served as Governor and Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight. Mountbatten would later be assassinated by the Irish Republican Army in 1979; a 50-pound radio controlled bomb was concealed on his personal boat and detonated with him and several members of his family on board in an incident that created great friction between the IRA and the Irish-American community, who generally thought well of Mountbatten for his wartime service. It isn't known when Mountbatten and Withers crossed paths or why the badge was given; Mountbatten's career was entirely on surface ships and receiving the Submarine Warfare Badge requires extensive practical submarine experience, so presumably it was meant more as a gesture of friendship or political token between two seafaring men rather than an indicator of accomplishment. Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection

Excellent overall, with minor handling marks. The inscription on the Mountbatten Badge is clear and crisp.