504th PIR
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.
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504th PIR
- Members of I Co. 504th prior to the Holland jump. Note the reinforced M42’s being worn.
As a follow up to my research on the recently acquired reinforced M42 jump jacket, a fellow WWII Airborne collector was kind enough to run the partial Army Serial Number (H-0608) through his database of 43,000 WWII 82nd Airborne personnel and locate a perfect match!
The paratrooper was an enlisted man attached to Regimental HQ&HQ Company of the 504th PIR. It is very common for uniforms to trade owners, which explains the removed officer insignia on this jacket.
Ironically, I had the opportunity to handle a documented reinforced jump jacket at the Kansas City militaria show in May, 2007 worn by T4 Clarence W. Harper HQ&HQ/HQ 2nd Battalion 504th PIR. The jacket reinforcements were identical in construction to my modified jacket. In fact, this trooper may have even known T4 Clarence Harper, being they were both HQ of the 504th!
The 504th PIR did a lot of heavy fighting in Italy and returned to England on 04-22-1944. However, their rosters were depleted, so the 504th was not ordered to stand down and not participate in the Normandy jump. A handful of 504th personnel volunteered as Pathfinders and made the Normandy jump. However, this paratrooper was not one of them.
Since the 504th did not jump in Normandy, they were able to hold onto their reinforced M42 jump suits and subsequently used them on the Holland jump. They were the only entire regiment to wear reinforced M42’s in the Netherlands and on the Holland jump. By then, the other regiments were issued and wearing M43 field jackets and trousers. So, although the veteran did not wear this jacket on D-Day, it was more than likely worn on the Holland jump.
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504th PIR
My newest acquisition is a reinforced M42 Jump Jacket
Background: In preparation for the Normandy jump, US paratroops from the 82nd and 101st Airborne took their M42 pattern jump jackets and trousers to the riggers (personnel trained to pack, maintain, and repair parachutes and related equipment). The riggers reinforced the jump suits with heavy canvas because the soldiers knew they were going to be heavily weighted down, and they did not want their pockets to blow out when they hit the ground.
Specifically, the jackets had elbow pads added and the bottom pockets were reinforced. The trousers had the cargo pockets reinforced; tie down leg straps attached, and knee pads added.
The canvas material used for both 82nd and 101st Airborne suits is unusual and does not resemble US canvas found on duffel bags, etc. I speculate that the material is British because the 101st and 82nd Airborne were stationed in England prior to Normandy, and that is where the rigger modifications were made.
Each soldier had more than one M42 uniform reinforced, so not all rigger sets made the Normandy jump. In fact, most found today in collections are the ones that stayed in England. However, I speculate this example may have made the Normandy jump because it is CC-2 impregnated.
The United States did not know if the Germans were going to use gas like they did in WWI, so prior to D-Day, Airborne personnel were directed to have their jump suits immersed in CC-2, a chemical compound that was supposed to provide a barrier, preventing gas from making contact with skin. Airborne personnel were also issued the M5 gas mask and gas detection brassards. These brassards were designed to change color when they came in contact with gas.
Clothing treated with CC-2 added weight to the garment, left a residue that was tacky to the touch, and had a distinct odor. Surviving examples of impregnated jump jackets or trousers are 70+ years old and seldom retain this odor, especially if they’ve been on display and given the chance to air out.
This jacket no longer has an odor, but it is heavier than other reinforced jackets, and the residue is still visible, especially in the seams and on the zippers. When handling the jacket, there is still tackiness to the touch.
This jacket had been in my friend’s collection (and on my want list) for many years. Here are some of its features:
1. It’s a larger size, probably a 40 Regular.
2. It has brass colored vent grommets in the armpits (rather than stitched).
3. The main zipper is steel and marked “Crown”. The knife pocket zippers are brass and marked “Serval”.
4. The male snaps are oxidized steel (not brass).
The rigger construction at the seams and grayish green canvas material used indicate that this is an 82nd Airborne jacket. 101st Airborne jackets are sewn differently and the canvas material they used was much greener.
If there was ever shoulder sleeve insignia on this jacket, it must have been tacked on (which is common) because there is no indication of a removed patch. The epaulets had sewn on Lieutenant bars, which are now removed. You can see the darkened areas where they were, along with thick, white thread remnants crudely peaking through the material. This thick rayon based thread is identical to the thread used to crudely tack on 82nd patches on other jump jackets.
This jacket also has two large laundry stamps marked, “H 0608”. I’ve seen this same large stamp and font on another reinforced jacket that was recently posted on a popular web board.
I am beginning my needle in a haystack research to ID this jacket. I can deduce that:
1. The soldier was in the 82nd Airborne
2. The jacket had Lieutenant (or possibly a Warrant Officer) insignia at some point
3. The first letter of his last name is “H”
4. The last four digits of his Army Serial Number is “0608”
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