This uniform group is an exceptional offering to a member of the famed ‘Devil’s Brigade’, the First Special Service Force.  John P. Grantz was a member of 5-3 and is listed as such in the roster in the official First Special Service Force unit history, written by Robert D. Burhans (p. 343).

The WWII era Ike jacket shows minor wear, with a few tiny rub spots and holes, but they are small and can hardly be seen.  All insignia is original to the jacket and has never been removed.  The 3 place ribbon bar includes: EAME (European-African-Middle Eastern) campaign ribbon with an invasion arrowhead plus 4 campaign stars, a Pacific campaign ribbon with one star (for the assault on Kiska), and a Good Conduct ribbon.  The red/white/blue Force shoulder cord is magnificent along with the enlisted crossed arrows disc.  The FSSF shoulder patch is a known variant that was made and purchased in Nice, France.

Both the jacket and cap are named to Grantz.  The O/S cap is textbook with the correct FSSF braid and tape to the piping.

Another stunning part of this group (aside from the theater made patch), is Grantz’s V-42 knife.  This knife is in superb condition as is its leather sheath.  He must have sent this knife home rather than bringing it overseas.  The scabbard shows some minor rust on the rivet heads, but is otherwise excellent.  It still retains its original length, as many of these were cut down.

You would be hard pressed to find another named Force group with its original V-42 knife!

Price: SOLD

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 6:29 pm and is filed under Recently Sold Militaria, WWII US Militaria. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.