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504th uniform grouping from NS Trader Show Richmond


TrenchfootJoe66
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TrenchfootJoe66

This grouping walked into the show today and fortunately it came straight to me. A friend of mine who owns a Vintage Clothing Shop happened upon it and he decided to bring it in. The rest is rather predictable. A fellow forum member helped me out re its relative value and everyone walked away happy.

ID'd to Lt Stanley R Navas 504th PIR 82nd Abn. He was awarded the Silver Star in an action that also cost him his left arm. A quick google search will bring up the citation etc. Not pictured are several VMI uniforms, also ID'd to Navas, who I believe was the Class President for Class of 41.

 

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TrenchfootJoe66

It may seem strange but I like the HBT coveralls even more than the 42. I really dig the embroidery work. The 42 is in great shape though. It was well cared for with very little wear.

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manayunkman

Very nice.

 

The overalls really are impressive.

 

How did it come into the market and is there anything else floating around ?

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TrenchfootJoe66

As far as I know this group has not been thru the Dealer/Collector mill. It came into my friends Vintage Clothing Shop right off the street. Included with the jacket and HBTs were about 6 uniform garments from VMI, several of which also are named to Navas, an unnamed overseas cap and a khaki shirt. From what I was able to gather the guy who walked into the shop with it was a wannabe picker type. No documents or photos were included. Unless that guy is holding back other items, that may well be all of it. If anybody else out there has any info on Navas, I would appreciate it.

I know he was awarded the SS in Feb 44 in Italy. He led a night raid behind enemy lines and was seriously wounded in the process. I also know he was a VMI grad but that's about it at the moment. Im just getting started researching the guy, WW2 airborne is not my area of expertise.

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The coveralls are very interesting, yours are the 3rd that I've seen. I also have a set that came from an officers airborne grouping, and there was another pair that was posted on the forum to a trooper in the 17th AB. I've included pics of my pair, just for comparison sake. I've often wondered where these originated from, you have a fantastic grouping, and thank you for sharing it with the forum. Jon

 

 

Dead links....edited 7/7/18

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TrenchfootJoe66

The coveralls are very interesting, yours are the 3rd that I've seen. I also have a set that came from an officers airborne grouping, and there was another pair that was posted on the forum to a trooper in the 17th AB. I've included pics of my pair, just for comparison sake. I've often wondered where these originated from, you have a fantastic grouping, and thank you for sharing it with the forum. Jon

 

Jon

I only took a quick look at your pics but it looks to me like the same person embroidered the names on all of these HBTs. Not being a WW2 airborne expert, I can only surmise that these were done in a shop close to a stateside training installation, that would account for guys who later served in different airborne units all having similar work done on these garments. Perhaps a shop on or near Camp Taccoa ?

 

BTW, it looks like Lt Navas was assigned to F Co when he was wounded on 27 Feb 44.

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Great find! Unfortunately the VMI Museum website doesn't have a photograph of him but I'll be in Lexington in a couple of weeks and I can photograph his yearbook entry for you. Interestingly, his father, brother, and son were all VMI alumni.

 

How about some pictures of the VMI uniforms when you get a chance?

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Great group!!! The named HBT is neat, if I remember I have one like that in a 101st grouping, when I get a chance I'll go thru that group and find it. Congrats on the addition!

 

Fritz

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TrenchfootJoe66

I don't mean to be goulish but I just noticed something about the HBTs. The right arm of both sets is waaaay more worn than the left. If you stick your hand in the pockets. the left hand pocket liner still feels stiff as if it were almost never used while the right is soft and well worn. Any right handed person will tend to put a bit more wear on their dominant side but this looks excessive to me. Maybe Im reading too much into it but I would imagine that almost all of the wear on those HBTs is post war, ie after he lost his left arm in combat.

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Championhilz

Here's a picture of Navas from the August 3, 1952, edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also found the following in an article about Navas from the Richmond Times Dispatch, March 16, 1986:

 

"Navas was born on an Army post in Puerto Rico, and from an early age he seemed destined toward a career in the service. In the mid-1920s, for example, he spent four years at West Point while his father, an Army officer, was a Spanish teacher at the academy. When it came time to choose a college, he selected Virginia Military Institute after failing to get an appointment to West Point; and it was the VMI connection, after World War II, that brought Navas to Richmond. He lost his left arm, and in effect, his military career at Anzio, Italy; but despite the memories associated with such a personal setback, Navas has a large painting of a World War II parachute drop on the Rhine River on one of the walls in his office. After being wounded, he returned to Lexington and joined the VMI faculty as an instructor of military science and tactics."

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Love those hbts too, i think i once saw gen ridgeways hbts like this come up for sale, i might have saved the pics somewhere, might have had similar embroidery?....mike

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Stan Navas was the guest speaker when I received my VMI ring. The story was that when he lost his arm he went back to retrieve his class ring from it before moving forward. I remember his to be an extremely impressive and inspirational man.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here's Navas' entry from the 1941 Bomb (the VMI yearbook). He was president of the Honor Court and the General Committee, both very high honors.

 

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TrenchfootJoe66

This grouping is now available in the forum For Sale section under Groupings

Thanks to everybody for the help and comments

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  • 4 months later...

I know this is an older topic but FINALLY dug my two pairs of overalls from my 101st guy, the embroidery is pretty much the same, my guy was 377th PFA 101st.

 

Fritz

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  • 3 years later...

As far as I know this group has not been thru the Dealer/Collector mill. It came into my friends Vintage Clothing Shop right off the street. Included with the jacket and HBTs were about 6 uniform garments from VMI, several of which also are named to Navas, an unnamed overseas cap and a khaki shirt. From what I was able to gather the guy who walked into the shop with it was a wannabe picker type. No documents or photos were included. Unless that guy is holding back other items, that may well be all of it. If anybody else out there has any info on Navas, I would appreciate it.

I know he was awarded the SS in Feb 44 in Italy. He led a night raid behind enemy lines and was seriously wounded in the process. I also know he was a VMI grad but that's about it at the moment. Im just getting started researching the guy, WW2 airborne is not my area of expertise.

have lots of Facts about Stanley R Navas. And Photos .
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