Archive by category 'Militaria Articles by Era'
This was the first named WWII Airborne group I acquired for my collection and it remains one of my favorites.
The veteran served in WWII from 6-10-1944 to 6-4-1946. He completed jump school in time to make a combat jump with the 507th PIR during Operation Varsity (Rhine River Crossing). Being a late war replacement, Benson did not have enough points to return to the states and was transferred to the 508th PIR for occupation duty in Germany.
This group consists of:
• Ike Jacket with 17th and 82nd Airborne SSIs, Belgian fourragère, sterling jump wings with star (for his combat jump), three-place ribbon bar (GCM, ETO w/ invasion arrowhead and two campaign stars, WWII Victory Medal), Sterling Combat Infantry Badge, PUC, Ruptured Duck, EM Inf collar devices (domed), and three overseas stripes.
• Two infantry piped overseas caps (one with Para/Glider patch)
• M42 Jump Jacket and Trousers
• Wool shirt, trousers, and waist belt with a brass roller buckle
• Army soap case
• Colorized portrait in period frame
• Framed jump certificate
• Army Song Book and Soldiers Handbook
• Spare buttons with drawstring bag
• German Heer buckle, dress bayonet, and leather frog
• Two place ribbon bar (GCM, ETO w/ Arrowhead and two campaign stars)
• Good Conduct Medal and two lapel pins
• Marksman badge with rifle tab
• PUC ribbon
• Tie bar
• 8 period snapshots during Occupation
• 2nd Bn HQ Mess Pass
• ID Discharge Certificate
• 508 PIR HQ 2nd Bn Class B Pass
• Soldier Pay Book
• Capture Document for a German 9mm pistol (Serial # 8478)
Posted in Airborne, WWII US Militaria | 2 Comments »
Archive by category 'Militaria Articles by Era'
This is a very complete group for a Special Forces veteran that served two tours in Vietnam and was killed on 16 July, 1970 at camp A-236 (Bu Prang) while patrolling the camp perimeter. Prior to assignment at Camp A-236, he was with 1st Special Forces Group and TDY’d to FOB-3, (Command and Control North MACV-SOG) on a Snakebite Team and served on a Hatchet Force. This vet is listed in Sherman’s Who Who in SOG on page 132. Some of his awards include: US and Philippine Jump Wings, Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medals, Vietnamese Gross of Gallantry w/ Palm, PUB, and Navy PUC.
I purchased everything in this group from a person who lives in the same town as the veteran’s parents. He purchased the items directly from the family.
The items in this group include:
1. CISO made PJs. CISO (Counter Insurgency Support Office) was located on Okinawa and headed by Ben Baker. They made “sterile” untraceable weapons, equipment, and garments to be used by CIA, Special Forces, and Indigenous personnel in Vietnam and denied areas like Laos and Cambodia. There is ample photographic evidence of CISO PJs being worn by SOG Hatchet Teams in cross border operations.
This Set of PJs have been worn but are in excellent condition. They have the CISO silk size tags marked “M” for medium. The trousers have the vet’s initials in white laundry marker.
2. Tiger stripe camouflage shirt in “Tadpole Sparse” pattern. Size tag in neck is marked “A-L” for Asian Large. The shirt has strong color and all buttons with original thread. There is one pea-sized hole in the chest. Otherwise, the shirt is in excellent condition.
3. 1968 dated Jungle jacket in excellent condition. This must have been the soldier’s garrison jacket because it is crisp with nicely sewn insignia. The shoulder has early twill subdued Special Forces SSI. The breast has US and Philippine jump wings.
4. 1968 dated OG-107 Utility shirt with early twill subdued Special Forces SSI on the shoulder, a Combat Infantry Badge, and US Jump Wings. There are period repairs to both armpits that are not visible when displayed. The collar has a laundry tag with the last 4 digits of the vet’s Army serial number.
5. Rare and unique tiger stripe Okinawa-made apron with “SP/5 WEAVER, CAMP HARDY, COMBAT TRAINING CENTER” machine embroidered on the front. The vet’s MOS was Demolitions and I would assume that he wore this apron when working with and advising on explosives.
6. 1965 dated OG-107 Dive Shorts. The soldier’s nametape is sewn across the leg and his laundry ID is in the waist. These were commonly worn while scuba diving.
7. Green Class A Blouse with SSGT Chevrons and cut-edge color Special Forces SSI. The blouse has several moth nips, but still could display decently. Loose insignia is listed in number 17.
8. Black leather jump boots in excellent condition.
9. Theater-made camouflage ascot
10. Theater-made pillow cover with hand embroidered tiger and “Viet-Nam”.
11. Interesting rigger-made Airborne M1-C helmet web chin cup
12. Vietnam souvenir ceramic ashtray
13. The vet’s Basic Training yearbook from Fort Knox, Kentucky
14. Two Special Forces transfer decals
15. Training Manuals with Weaver’s Name on them
16. Spiral notebook with demolition notes and a letter to a girlfriend that he never finished…
17. Insignia including 8 nametapes, Army tape, two cloth jump wings, two cloth CIBs, two Special Forces para ovals, two subdued SF SSIs, two color SF SSIs, 1 color airborne tab, 5th Group flash, 1st Group flash, 10th Group flash, SF DI (with 1 prong missing), Vietnamese-made Playboy Bunny patch, Vietnamese made three place ribbon bar, EM garrison cap badge with blue infantry disk.
18. Montagnard carving of a Huey Helicopter
19. Copies of general orders and citations for Weaver’s Army Commendation Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Award Document.
20. Detailed NARA records containing undeleted sheets of Weaver’s awards received, assignments, and achievements.
Price: SOLD
Posted in Recently Sold Militaria, Vietnam War Militaria, Vietnam War Militaria | 6 Comments »
Archive by category 'Militaria Articles by Era'
I was excited to obtain a copy of SOG: Team History and Insignia of a Clandestine Army, the much-anticipated book written by SOG authority Jason Hardy (www.thedogtag.com) with help from author/dealer Mike Tucker (www.authenticmilitaria.com). Jason is well known in the militaria collecting community as a specialty dealer focused on SOG and Special Forces memorabilia from the Vietnam War. In fact, several of my favorite SOG pieces in my collection have come from Jason. Mike Tucker is known for his excellent self-published books on Third Reich insignia, but he is also an advanced Special Forces collector.
For those not familiar, SOG (Studies and Observations Group) was an elite Special Forces unit during the Vietnam War created for the purpose of reconnaissance. SOG teams were inserted into denied areas (primarily Laos) to monitor enemy activity along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This small unit reported directly to the White House and their activities remained classified until recently.
SOG teams varied in size, but were typically comprised of three US members and three indigenous members. The indigenous members came from various groups including Chinese Nungs, Cambodes, Montagnards, Ex North Vietnamese Soldiers (Chieu Hoi’s), or South Vietnamese personnel. Positions on a SOG team were experience-based, not rank-based. A team leader was called a “1-0” (One Zero). Assistant team members were 1-1, and 1-2 respectively. Indigenous team members were the inverse (0-1, 0-2, 0-3, etc).
This book focuses on the history of seven SOG Recon Teams from CCN (Command and Control North) and CCC (Command and Control Central). The authors intend to cover additional teams in subsequent volumes. The recon teams in this volume include:
1. RT Asp
2. RT Colorado
3. RT Hawaii
4. RT Idaho
5. RT Indigo
6. RT Montana
7. RT Rattler
Each chapter provides a chart containing names of the American recon team members in chronological order along with their position. The pages of the book are comprised of never published SOG images from each team along with brief captions. The photo quality is superior to all other SOG books and the book itself is well made with high quality pages and binding.
There are many beautiful scans of authentic SOG recon patches. Many of the pieces are directly attributed to the vet with solid provenance. These insignia images are superior quality to all preexisting SOG and Special Forces books. Additional highlights include an appendix in the back providing a reference section of all the recon team patch variations from Vietnam, Thailand, Okinawa, and elsewhere. There is also a chapter explaining the history of the notorious “Cheap Charlie” patches. This information has never been published before and is a real asset to Vietnam insignia collectors. The book is on par with Shelby Stanton’s long out of print Special Forces at War: An Illustrated History, Southeast Asia 1957-1975, in that the images are so amazing, you can pick this book up 1000 times and discover something new in a photo that you overlooked before.
The only disappointment I have with this book is that it lacks images of the amazing uniforms and equipment Jason Hardy has collected directly from SOG vets. I hope he will consider including these in his next book. Overall, SOG: Team History and Insignia of a Clandestine Army is a must have for any military historian or collectors’ library.
Posted in Military Book Reviews, Vietnam War Militaria | No Comments »
Archive by category 'Militaria Articles by Era'
I’ve been visiting Peter Oosterman’s site (www.m-1helmet.com) for a while because, in my opinion, it is the nicest looking militaria-related site on the web. When I heard he was publishing a book on M1 helmets, I was eager to purchase a copy. My expectations were high because the book cost $119.90 (including international postage), but it ended up being money well spent.
M1 Helmets is hard cover with nice binding, excellent quality paper, and top-notch printing. The layout and photography are exceptional. It is written in French and English and easy to follow with 319 pages.
The first half of the book provides details and history about the M1 helmet shell, liner, and components without being text heavy. The second half is called “museum” and features amazing examples of WWII M1 headgear. Most of the helmets are well researched with excellent provenance. I value this book because it is a go to reference that consolidates details that have been discussed and published elsewhere. The museum portion of the book is a wonderful bonus in that you have multiple-view images of helmets most of us will never own in our collections. These are cream of the crop WWII M1 helmets including camos, unit marks, and airborne configurations.
Overall the book is excellent, but I was disappointed the author only discussed fixed bale helmets and left out swivel bales. He also did not weigh in on the ongoing front seam / rear seam debate regarding when the changeover took place, etc. The author did an excellent job verifying contract dates for many other helmet features that I assumed he would have insight to provide for this. Hopefully, his book will be successful enough to merit a follow up that includes these missing subjects and more.
M1 Helmet of the WW2 US GI is available for purchase at www.m-1helmet.com.
Posted in Military Book Reviews, WWII US Militaria | No Comments »
Archive by category 'Militaria Articles by Era'
A few months ago, I made a post about a recently acquired M42 Jump Jacket that was reinforced and CC2 impregnated. Initially, I made the assumption that it was a Normandy/D-Day jacket, but when I was able to ID the vet, my hypothesis was wrong. The jacket belonged to a 504th PIR vet.
The 504th fought hard in Italy, but were unable to make the Normandy jump because once they arrived in England to prepare for Operation Overlord, it was determined that there were not enough men in the regiment to make the jump. A little known fact is that 504th used their reinforced M42 jump suits during the Holland jump (Operation Market Garden). So, although this jacket wasn’t used in Normandy, it was likely used on the Holland jump.
I wrote to NARA and requested service information for the paratrooper who wore this reinforced jump jacket. Here are my findings:
- He served from 25 November 1940 to 23 September 1945
- He was in the following units:
- Company L 156th Infantry, Parachute Battalion
- 504th Parachute Infantry
- HQ & HQ 504th Infantry, 82nd Division
- HQ & HQ Co 507 Parachute Infantry
- He served in the following Campaigns:
- Sicily
- Naples-Foggia
- Rome-Arno
- Rhineland (Invasion Arrowhead)
- Ardennes
- Central Europe
- He is credited with the following awards , but may have more according to a note on the NARA document:
- ETO Campaign Medal w/ a silver star, bronze star, and one invasion arrowhead
- Good ConductMedal
- American Defense Service Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Combat Infantry Badge
- Bronze Star Medal
- WWII Victory Medal
Since this veteran was never wounded, it is likely he made the Sicily, Salerno, and Holland jumps. I checked Pay’s book Thunder From Heaven to see if he made the Varsity jump when he was with the 507th, but he was not listed. His participation in six campaigns gave him enough points to go home after Germany surrendered. He must have been transferred to the 507th just before being sent home.
Posted in WWII US Militaria | 1 Comment »
