Lee Marvin WW2 USMC Photo in the 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division 1943 Yearbook

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Lee Marvin 3 watermarkHere is Lee Marvin in his USMC uniform, pictured in the 1943 produced yearbook for the members of the 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.  Most people know Lee Marvin as an actor famous for his roles in movies like The Dirty Dozen and The Big Red One.   Before he became an actor, he enlisted in the US Marines in 1942 and served with the 4th Marine Division until he was severely wounded on Saipan on June 18, 1944.

He spent the next 13 months in hospital recuperating from this wound which damaged a sciatic nerve before being discharged in 1945.  His wound was severe enough for him to receive disability payments from the military after discharge.

The entry in the year book lists him in Headquarters and Service Company, 24th Marine Regiment.  He was later transferred, and at the time he was wounded on Saipan, he was in Company I, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division.

I have the complete set of all of these 4th Marine Division yearbooks from 1943.  There are separate books for the three infantry regiments (23rd Marines, 24th Marines, 25th Marines), the artillery regiment (14th Marines), the engineer regiment (20th Marines), and also books that have special troops like the tank battalion, etc.  They are great research tools and they do turn up occasionally on eBay.

Unfortunately, they never did updated volumes of the yearbook later or at the end of the war, so if a Marine was a replacement to the 4th Marine Division after these were printed in 1943, he will not be pictured in a yearbook.

WW2 101st Airborne Division Screaming Eagle British Made Patch – Two Different Types From The Same Veteran

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World War Two 101st Airborne Division Patch British Theater Made Front

World War Two 101st Airborne Division British Made Patch Front

These original World War Two 101st Airborne Division British made patches were purchased last week directly from a WWII 101st Veteran.

I got a call last week from my one of my good friends who is a picker, and he told me that he had just met with a WW2 veteran of the 101st Airborne Division.  He had been a clerk and was a member of the 101st Airborne Division Headquarters.  He was with Division Headquarters through all of the 101st campaigns and was glider qualified.

He had contacted my friend because he was looking for a couple of medals he was awarded, but never issued, for a shadow box display he was doing.  My friend was able to provide him with those medals.  The veteran brought both of these patches with them to the meeting and sold them to my picker, because he had enough patches for his display.  He had obtained them during WWII while he was stationed in England.

I was very happy to purchase them a couple of days ago from my picker.  I love to get items directly from the Veteran because you get all of the history to go along with the item.  As an added bonus, this 101st veteran also gave my friend a photocopy of his discharge to go along with the patches.  Also, like most collectors, I like different variations of items.

The first two photos are of a British made 101st screaming eagle patch with a British made Airborne tab.  Both the tab and patch have a black back.  The second two photos are of a second British made 101st screaming eagle patch with a white back.  The Airborne tab is not British made, but it is the tab the Veteran had with this patch when my picker purchased it from him.

WWII US 101st Airborne Division Patch Type 8 Sewn on a Paratrooper 506th PIR Uniform

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WWII US 101st Airborne Division Patch Type 8

WWII US 101st Airborne Division Patch Type 8

This WW2 101st Airborne Division Patch is a style that is sometimes referred to as a Type 8 by collectors today.  It is one of the most desirable and hardest to find variations of the WWII 101st Airborne Division screaming eagle patch.

The first photo is this type of patch that was sewn on a uniform I own, that belonged to a paratrooper officer in C Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.  That uniform is part of a larger group that belonged to that 506th PIR veteran.  The second and third photos are of a different original Type 8 patch that is not sewn on a uniform.

WWII USMC M1 Fixed Bale Helmet with Marine Camouflage Cover

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WWII USMC Helmet with Camouflage Cover front view

WWII USMC Helmet with Camouflage Cover front view

This WW2 US M1 helmet is a fixed bale, front seam helmet, as was issued to both US Army and USMC troops throughout most of the war.  It has a nice original, WWII USMC camouflage helmet cover on it.  These camo covers were reversible, they had a side that was more green and a side that was more brown. They are made out of the same camouflage pattern and same US army style hbt material, as the WWII P42 and P44 USMC camouflage uniforms.

Even after the Marines generally abandoned wearing camouflage uniforms in favor of the plain green hbt P41 uniforms later in World War Two, they continued to wear these camouflage helmet covers.  It became, in my opinion, one of the iconic symbols of the WW2 Marine.

WWII US 506th PIR 101st Airborne Division Pocket Patch

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WWII US 506th PIR 101st Airborne Division Pocket Patch Front

WWII US 506th PIR 101st Airborne Division Pocket Patch Front

This WW2 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment pocket patch is a nice original WWII example.  This type of 506th P.I.R. pocket patch is the most commonly encountered wartime type.   This particular pocket patch is part of a larger grouping that I own that belonged to a member of Company G, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division.

The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment has become very well recognized among the general public in recent years because it is the regiment portrayed in HBO’s excellent miniseries Band of Brothers.

WWII US Mountain Troop Uniform Jacket

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WWII US Mountain Troop Jacket front

WWII US Mountain Troop Jacket front

This WW2 Mountain Troop Jacket is a 1942 dated mint original.  It does not look like it was ever worn or washed.  This style of jacket was extensively used by the members of the 10th Mountain Division during World War Two.  This type of jacket featured a large pocket on the back that could be used as a substitute backpack.  There are even internal suspenders in this jacket to help support the load on the back.

This type of jacket is one of the harder to find WWII Mountain Troop uniform items.  I was very happy to add one in such nice condition to my collection.

WWII USMC Paramarine Camouflage Uniform Shirt

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WWII USMC Paramarine camouflage shirt front

WWII USMC Paramarine camouflage shirt front

These Marine camouflage uniform shirts were specifically designed for the Marine paratroopers, usually referred to as Paramarines today, during World War Two.  There were not many Paramarines during WWII, so these uniforms are relatively hard to find today.

This USMC Paramarine camouflage uniform shirt was added to my collection about a year ago.  I have had a few of these over the years, but every previous one I have had was in rough shape with numerous repairs and damage.  Also, most of the ones I have seen over the years have also been in very poor shape and many were also cut down to make then shorter.  This is the nicest one I have had the opportunity to purchase for a reasonable amount, although I have a friend who has one in even better shape.

 

Paratroops in Action WW2 US AirborneToy Soldiers All Fair Game

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WWII US Airborne Paratroops Paper Toy Soldiers in Box

The image on the front of this box of WWII US Paratrooper toy soldiers is one of my favorite from WWII.  I really like just about any toy or homefront item that has to do with WWII airborne, but this one I particularly like because it has a representation of a jump wing along with the paratroopers jumping into combat.

The paper toy soldiers inside are also great.  They are wearing the early M41 style of jump suits which is usually not seen in these items, since the M41 jump suit was not used for very long during World War Two.

M1C US Paratrooper Rear Seam Helmet with Westinghouse Airborne Liner

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M1C US Airborne Rear Seam Paratrooper Helmet

This M1C paratrooper helmet is a later produced M1C than the one that was previously posted.  This is indicated by the rear seam and the olive drab colored chinstraps.  The liner is a Westinghouse paratrooper liner.

This helmet and liner was found together by a picker about a year ago.  This helmet is not identified, but I was still very happy to add this helmet to my collection. It has become very hard to find these helmets in excellent like this one is.

WWII Airborne Paratrooper M1C Helmet with Westinghouse Liner

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WW2 M1C Paratrooper Helmet

This M1C paratrooper helmet is an earlier version of the M1C, as evidenced by the front seam and the khaki colored chinstraps.  The liner is a Westinghouse factory made paratrooper liner.

This helmet is part of a larger grouping that was purchased directly from the Veteran’s family, by one of my friends, after the Veteran passed away.  The family did not know much about his service during WWII, but from the documents, paperwork, insignia, and uniform items in the grouping, it appears that he was a member of the 101st Airborne Division and probably joined the Division late in the War.  I am still researching this group, when I learn more about the wartime service of this paratrooper, I will post the rest of the grouping.

Although the 101st Airborne Division often painted their helmets and liners with markings indicating the unit on the sides, period photos indicate that sometimes they did not paint their helmets.  I have another 101st helmet, a D Bale with liner that was purchased directly from a 506 PIR Veteran, that is also not painted with any 101st unit marks.