Description
Original Items: One-of-a-kind. This is an excellent condition size 42 WW2 cut down service coat converted to IK jacket which was featured in the excellent book Heroes In Our Midst, Volume 3: Uniforms & Insignia, Airborne Commands, Specific Insignia by John R. Angolia. The description in the book reads; “This cut down enlisted man’s service jacket retains its original buttons. It was worn by an OSS member. Note the 1st Allied Airborne Army shoulder patch and the DIs on the lapel.
From the time of its creation until the end of World War II, the formation commanded the Allied airborne forces that participated in the Allied advance through North-West Europe, including Operation Market-Garden in September 1944, repelling the German counter-offensive launched during the Battle of the Bulge between December 1944 and January 1945, and Operation Varsity in March 1945. The formation was then officially deactivated on 20 May 1945, with the British units under its command returning to the United Kingdom and the American units being renamed as First Airborne Army and taking over command of the American Sector of Occupation in Berlin.
