SGM 173rd Airborne DCU combat jump

[Roby]

Baron,

 

Just wanted to point out that earliest DCUs have baggy lower pockets while later DCUs have flat pockets.

 

So in this case, I dont believe shops really intended to make all sleeve pockets flat. They just move pockets. Note that DCU appears to be early heavy cotton type. Need to see date tag on that DCU to be certain.

There you go with the label, looks like 90 contract date

[Roby]

Close up of chest patches

[BagmanL6]

Not a stitch expert by any means. An older DCU that he may have had from an earlier go around. When the combat jump / CIB was earned he replaced / added at same time. Looks like the air assault badge was on longer and sewn on by a different hand so to speak. Would be interesting to see if any evidence of rank being updated. Maybe a picture of back of collar where stitched might help. Just one man's opinion.

[32sbct]

Just a few thoughts. Many are looking to the jump back in Vietnam in 1967 for the combat jump wings which is very unlikely for someone wearing a DCU. However we had several Soldiers in my unit in Iraq that jumped in Panama with the 82nd in 1989. A senior NCO would have served in many units by the time they hit E9. Just because they jumped with the 82nd doesn't mean they have to wear that as their combat patch. In Iraq, at that time, most units were having a combat patch ceremony at around the 90 day mark of a deployment. At that point you could wear the combat patch of the unit you were currently assigned to, or one that you were awarded previously. Many on this forum always assume the combat patch signifies a uint you were previously assigned to. That was not the case in Iraq. It could be a previous assignment, your current unit, or a higher unit your unit was assigned to, or you were under their operational control. Its was not unusual to leave theatre with documentation for multiple combat patches. I was there in 2004 and was awarded four. After the DCU was no longer being worn, the rules for which combat patch you wore were tightened up, but they were pretty loose in the DCU era (2001 till around late 2005).

[12A54]

Like 32sbct says, could have been another jump (Grenada, Panama) not necessarily with the 173d. Lots of guys have multiple combat patches to choose from and a lot choose to double patch for their current unit. He might have done this earlier in his career as an infantryman (basic wings and a CIB) then went on to a different MOS where jumpmaster wasnt a thing.

[RedLegGI]

Just a few thoughts. Many are looking to the jump back in Vietnam in 1967 for the combat jump wings which is very unlikely for someone wearing a DCU. However we had several Soldiers in my unit in Iraq that jumped in Panama with the 82nd in 1989. A senior NCO would have served in many units by the time they hit E9. Just because they jumped with the 82nd doesn't mean they have to wear that as their combat patch. In Iraq, at that time, most units were having a combat patch ceremony at around the 90 day mark of a deployment. At that point you could wear the combat patch of the unit you were currently assigned to, or one that you were awarded previously. Many on this forum always assume the combat patch signifies a uint you were previously assigned to. That was not the case in Iraq. It could be a previous assignment, your current unit, or a higher unit your unit was assigned to, or you were under their operational control. Its was not unusual to leave theatre with documentation for multiple combat patches. I was there in 2004 and was awarded four. After the DCU was no longer being worn, the rules for which combat patch you wore were tightened up, but they were pretty loose in the DCU era (2001 till around late 2005).

 

 

Like 32sbct says, could have been another jump (Grenada, Panama) not necessarily with the 173d. Lots of guys have multiple combat patches to choose from and a lot choose to double patch for their current unit. He might have done this earlier in his career as an infantryman (basic wings and a CIB) then went on to a different MOS where jumpmaster wasnt a thing.

While earning multiple combat patches from a single deployment is possible, most Paratroopers who have combat jumps that I've encountered, always rock their combat patch from that jump. If they have multiple jumps, it seems to hold true as well that they keep that first jump as their preferred combat patch. I've got a DCU in my collection from a guy who jumped both in Panama and Iraq, and he kept his 82nd patch on his combat side after. Another uniform I have is to a paratrooper from B Company, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, who jumped in Afghanistan in February 2003. He served multiple tours after his time in the 82nd, but always kept the 82nd patch as his combat patch. Of course these are some my observations and "your experience may vary", however it does seem to be a common thing amongst those with mustard stains.

 

[Paratrooper_82_173]

On 3/18/2020 at 1:20 PM, RedLegGI said:

Here is my top. Baron and I were discussing a few subtleties on the top posted and he asked me to post some of my pics.

 

 

Talk about memories flooding back seeing this top.  I knew him back on Ederle, he was one of our BN medics and a highly squared away guy. It's been almost 20 years now since that set of deployments but I am 99.99% sure he received a Purple Heart having been wounded in the face. Our battalion commander was ambushed one day in Iraq on the '03 deployment, and I want to say it was Fitz who saved his life.  Pretty legendary medic actually, now that I think about it. 

[RedLegGI]

On 3/7/2023 at 3:22 PM, Paratrooper_82_173 said:

Talk about memories flooding back seeing this top.  I knew him back on Ederle, he was one of our BN medics and a highly squared away guy. It's been almost 20 years now since that set of deployments but I am 99.99% sure he received a Purple Heart having been wounded in the face. Our battalion commander was ambushed one day in Iraq on the '03 deployment, and I want to say it was Fitz who saved his life.  Pretty legendary medic actually, now that I think about it. 

That is pretty wild that you knew him.  Thank you for relaying some of his story.