Kadet Posted April 13, 2014 Share #1 Posted April 13, 2014 This is my favorite airborne find from the show. It belonged to T-h-ur-man L. Hick-ma-n. He served in three airborne units during the war; 509th, 82nd and ultimately the 513th PIR, 17th airborne. His overseas stripes indicate that he saw very early service in the ETO, probably with the 509th. I do know that he jumped in to Southern France with them. When I bought this jacket no real research had been done on it. I loved the patches. He had a flair for the decorative. The 17th has blood-dipped talons, feathering and even the lower half of the lettering of the arc. The 82nd patch is sewn in the normal way, with thick white stitching added as a decorative touch. I thought it a little unusual that it had no ruptured duck and two federal service stripes...until I got his record. He chose to "ship over" in to the regular Army at the end of the war, so wasn't discharged like most guys coming home. The metal insignia and ribbons were missing when I got the jacket, and I very carefully chose original insignia to restore it. The insignia matches his entitlement to the best of my ability using his service dates and record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadet Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted April 13, 2014 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadet Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted April 13, 2014 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadet Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted April 13, 2014 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadet Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted April 13, 2014 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadet Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted April 13, 2014 Original insignia, to include a Brit made ribbon bar complete the set...He was born in 1921 and enlisted in the regular army in Feb 1941 from the National Guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadet Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted April 13, 2014 Also interesting is that he was from my area here in Virginia and that his regular army enlistment coincides exactly with the date the 29th Infantry Division was federalized from the National Guard. I think he was a pre war member of the 116th Infantry Regiment of the VA National Guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Kibler Posted April 14, 2014 Share #8 Posted April 14, 2014 Andy - this is a great set up. I'm jealous... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadet Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share #9 Posted April 14, 2014 Thanks Tom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USdog Posted April 14, 2014 Share #10 Posted April 14, 2014 Awesome uniform. You have some great airborne uniforms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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