U.S. Park Warden Badge, 1940. The plating is starting to peel on this badge showing the base metal to be German silver. Courtesy of Deryl Stone

The 1940 uniform regulations called for another badge to be added to the cadre. This one was to be used by the junior park wardens. This badge was to be the same curved design as those of the rangers with the substitution of "WARDEN" for "RANGER". The plating on the example of the "warden" badge examined is starting to peel off revealing the base metal to be nickel-silver.

With the establishment of guide positions at Carlsbad Caverns and Mammoth Cave National Parks in the middle of 1941, the need for a guide badge arose. Acting Director Hillory A. Tolson wrote to the Uniform Committee chairman, Superintendent John C. Preston of Lassen Volcanic National Park: "The Uniform Regulations do not now provide for a badge for guides, although they do cover badges of similar design for "park ranger", "park warden" and "park guard". It is believed that we should have a badge with the words "Park Guide" included in the Uniform Regulations." [19]

The Uniform Committee took this suggestion under advisement and recommended "that a badge of similar design with the words "Park Guide" be included in the Uniform Regulations." [20] There are no known examples of the Model 1941 Park guide badge, so it is not known whether these badges were ever made and issued, or whether the events of World War II simply overtook them.

By 1941, the National Park Service had grown to the point that it was no longer feasible to have the usual two or three-man Uniform Committee. Consequently, the Uniform Committee was expanded to include two representatives from each of the four NPS regions. Lemuel A. Garrison, superintendent of Hopewell Village National Historic Site, and Benjamin L. Hadley, assistant superintendent of Acadia National Park, were selected from Region One. In reply to the customary uniform change suggestion request, several suggestions related to badges, a couple of them somewhat prophetic. One thought that all of the uniformed personnel should wear the same badge. Another suggested that the badges be reduced to two, one for rangers, the other to have "National Park Service" across the top for all others required to wear a badge. The war precluded any changes at that time.

After hostilities ceased, new badges were obtained by the NPS in 1946. There were five different badges in this series: chief and assistant chief ranger, park ranger, park guard, park warden, and park guide. These were of the same basic design as the 1936 issue. The chief and assistant chief ranger badges remained the same as the park ranger badge, only gold plated as before. Although the regulations called for the other badges to be nickel plated, all the examples in the NPSHC are silver-plated brass with an oxidized finish. The plating was evidently thin, for the majority of these specimens show considerable wear. The superintendents and assistant superintendents still wore the small round badges in gold and silver, respectively. The majority of these badges appear to have been made by the American Emblem Company of Utica, New York. (A.E. Co., Utica, N.Y. backstamp) although some came from GEMSCO, the General Embroidery & Military Supply Company, New York, NY (GEM Co. Back stamp). There are no examples of badges with back stamps prior to the Model 1946, so it is impossible to identify the manufacturer.

Also at this time, new badges were authorized for the fire guards, now called Fire Control Aids. The initial order for these badges spelled "AIDE" with an "E". but all subsequent orders changed the spelling on the badge to "Fire Control Aid." While not covered in the uniform regulations, there are a number of silver-plated fire control aid badges extant that are purported to have been issued to supervisors.

Fire Control Aid badge, 1947. Fire Guards were renamed Fire Control Aids in 1947 and a new badge was issued. NPSHC/HFC