Category Archives: WWII 101st Airborne Division Groupings

WWII F/506 PIR 101st Airborne Division Grouping Jump Boots And Field Gear

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Jump Boots

These jump boots and field gear are more items from the huge F Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division grouping that has been subject of previous posts.  The jump boots have the brass eyelets seen on early boots.  The aviators kit bags were popular with airborne troops to carry and store their items.  There are a number of manuals in this group, but I chose to just photo one which is my favorite.  It illustrates unarmed combat techniques.

WWII F/506th PIR 101st Airborne Paratrooper Dress Uniform And Wool Shirt

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506th PIR Dress Uniform

This officers dress uniform and wool shirt is more of the F Company, 506 PIR, 101st Airborne Division grouping that has been the subject of previous posts.  When I got the dress uniform, it only had the 101st patch and bullion overseas bars on it.  There were clear outlines remaining of where the rank insignia, jump wing, and collar insignia had been on the uniform.  The Veteran had removed these before selling the uniform.

I normally do not restore or replace insignia on uniforms.  If a uniform is missing some insignia, I leave it as it was found.  But in this case, since I could clearly see exactly what insignia had been on it, I did decide to restore the uniform with correct period collar insignia and jump wing.  Additionally, there was a set of loose first lieutenants rank insignia, that belonged to this Veteran in this group, so I was able to use those for the restoration.

The wool shirt has a nice jump wing sewn on to it and is named to the Veteran inside.

WW2 F/506th PIR 101st Airborne Division Group Personal/Mess Items And Combat Field Gear

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F/506 Group Personal Gear

F/506 Group Personal Gear

Here are more items from the massive F Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division Grouping that has been the subject of four previous posts.  It is fairly hard to find WW2 groupings that retain the quantity of personal/mess type items pictured in this post.   These are the items that made the day to day existence for WW2 US combat soldiers in the field more bearable.

Additionally, pictured is some of this paratroopers combat field gear.  It is very rare to find a WWII Airborne grouping like this with all of the paratroopers original combat field gear.  This is typically stuff that was not brought home or retained after the War ended.  Most of the combat field gear is identified to the paratrooper with his name and/or laundry number.  There is more combat field gear in this grouping, but it will be the subject of future posts.

WW2 401st Glider 101st Airborne Division Purple Heart And Ike Jacket Grouping

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401st GIR Purple Heart Group Front

This WWII Ike jacket and purple heart medal grouping belonged to a member of the 101st Airborne Division.  He was severely wounded in January 1945 losing fingers from his hand and toes from one of his feet. He spent nearly 300 days in hospitals recovering from his wounds. Luckily, he did finally recover from his wounds. Although purple hearts were most often engraved with the name of the Veteran for personal killed in action during WWII, they were also sometimes engraved for those who were seriously wounded or the veteran himself could have the medal privately engraved.  I think this purple heart was privately engraved.

I have some records from him that indicate that he was a member of the 401st Glider Infantry in 1945.  By 1945, many members of the glider infantry had also been parachute qualified, which would explain his jump wings instead of glider wings.  Also, he may have transferred into the 401st from a parachute unit.

Please note that we have blurred out his last name in the photos for privacy.

G Company 506th PIR 101st Airborne Division Grouping

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G Company 506 PIR Group Front View

This WWII grouping belonged to a paratrooper of Company G, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.  It consists of his Ike jacket with 506th PIR oval, overseas cap, 506th PIR pocket patch, 506th DI, and some photos/paperwork (which are not picture).  I have posted the pocket patch and 506th oval in other posts on this blog, but I have never posted the entire group together.

This paratrooper saw action from D-Day to the end of the war with Company G.  His ribbon bar on his Ike jacket reflects his earning the bronze star and purple heart.

WWII F Company 506th PIR 101st Airborne Patch and Book Grouping

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506th PIR Patch Grouping Front View

Here is more of the massive F Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division grouping that has been the subject of my previous three posts (M42 jump pants, M43 rigger modified pants, reinforced jump jacket).  Pictured are two variations of the airborne patch designed to be sewn on the overseas cap.  There are a couple of loose WWII 101st screaming eagle patches.

The 541 crossed rifles insignia were used by the 541st Parachute Infantry Regiment.  The 541st PIR was mainly used as an airborne training unit during WWII and never saw combat as a unit.  It trained and then sent replacements to the other airborne units. At the very end of the war in 1945 it was sent to the Pacific Theater, but WWII ended before it was ready to be deployed in combat.  This Veteran was attached to the 541st for training before transferring to the 506th PIR.

Also pictured is an paratrooper jump wing on cloth and officer 2nd Lieutenant rank.  The small 101st Airborne book was produced right after the war ended and became a popular souvenir of WW2 101st Airborne Veterans.  It is a brief history of the exploits of the 101st Airborne Division during the war.

WWII US M42 Paratrooper Jump Pants That Belonged To A Member of F Company 506th PIR 101st Airborne Division

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M42 Paratrooper Jump Pants Right Side

These original World War Two airborne M42 paratrooper pants belonged to the same F Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division paratrooper that also owned the Reinforced Jump Jacket that I posted on November 11, 2013 and the rigger modified M43 pants that I posted on November 18, 2013.  They have his laundry number stamped inside of them, but we have blurred that out for privacy.

Although they are not reinforced, they are in very nice condition showing only a little use and some light age from storage.  They look really nice on display with his reinforced jump jacket.  The tag is no longer present.

WWII US 101st Airborne M43 Rigger Modified Paratrooper Pants

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M43 Rigger Made Pants Right Side Overview

M43 Rigger Made Pants

These World War Two Airborne Rigger Modified M43 pants are a hard to find Airborne item.  After the Normandy campaign, the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions (except for the 504 PIR and their attached units) phased out the M42 jump suit uniform in favor of the new M43 uniform.  Although period pictures show the M42 jump suit was still occasionally worn until the end of the war, by the time of the Holland campaign, the M43 uniform was the standard Airborne uniform.

The M43 uniform was originally designed to be used by all Army troops, not just the Airborne.  It consisted of a olive drab green field jacket and a matching pair of olive drab green pants.  The Airborne decided the pants did not meet their needs as issued, because they lacked cargo pockets.  So, parachute riggers were directed to add one large cargo pocket to each side, along with a tie down strap to each leg.

This particular pair of rigger modified pants belonged to the same paratrooper that the reinforced jump jacket belonged to, that I posted last week.  He was a member of F Company, 506th Parachute Infantry regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

WWII 101st Airborne 506th PIR Reinforced M42 Jump Jacket

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506 Reinforced Jump Jacket Front

506 Reinforced Jump Jacket Front

This original reinforced jump jacket is part of a massive grouping I own that belonged to a member of F Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, during World War Two.  This identified group includes a number of uniforms, all of his combat field equipment, personal items, manuals, and some loose insignia that all belonged to this paratrooper.

Riggers from the 101st Airborne Division added canvas reinforcements to the elbows, pockets, and knees of the standard M42 paratrooper jump suits prior to the D-Day invasion. Since these reinforced jump jackets and pants are associated with the D-Day invasion, they are highly prized by collectors today. This jacket still has these added canvas elbow and pocket reinforcements.

This reinforced jump jacket is one of my favorite pieces from this grouping.  Real reinforced jump jackets are always hard to find, but they are especially hard to find in large, identified and documented groupings.

Aiborne M2 D Bale Paratrooper Helmet from a 506th PIR 101st Airborne Division Veteran

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Bale Paratrooper Helmet Side View

M2 D Bale Paratrooper Helmet

This original World War Two M2 D Bale Paratrooper helmet came from a  Company G, 506 PIR, 101st Airborne Division Veteran.   The Veteran received this helmet during WW2, after his previous helmet had been shot off his head by a German soldier.  He wore that helmet, with the bullet hole still in it, for awhile but was later forced to turn it in and replace it with this helmet and liner, because his First Sergeant deemed a helmet with a bullet hole as unsafe.

The M2 helmet is referred to by collectors by many several names today.  In addition to M2 and D Bale, you will hear it also referred to as a C Loop or D Bail. They are a highly desired piece of militaria today.  Since they are in high demand and are fairly hard to find, they are one of the most heavily faked and/or recreated items of US WWII militaria today.

This M2 D Bale helmet exhibits all of the classic features you like to see in an original D Bale.  It has a low heat stamp number, the male snaps that snap into the liner are chromed, and it additionally has the little single indentations on the rim of the helmet, in between the bales, that these original helmets often have.   Also, the size, shape, and construction of the bales, and the feet of the bales, is correct.  The liner is a WWII correct Westinghouse paratrooper liner and was in the helmet when it was purchased from the Veteran.