THE ALL AMERICAN ....the mighty 82ND 6/6/1944

No bull here ,just the real deal .It was acquired straight from the vet's family 20 something years ago, long before unscrupulous EBAY dealers, were putting up "Christmas trees" to boost a sale and cheat on unsuspecting novices ......This jacket belonged to an 82nd airborne paratrooper,from the 505th parachute regiment ,who fought at ste MERE L'EGLISE in June 6th of 1944. This trooper had 3 years in the service with 2 of them being overseas,which means he was one of the "original ALL AMERICAN" and fought in the first airborne operations in Sicily too...........
Rough n' tuff ....here's what you should look for,as it will guaranty "the real deal ": a weathered set of ribbons .Here we have 4 bronze stars for combat jumps and an arrow head for amphibious operation [ D DAY] too bad the trooper's wings are missing ...........
Distinguished presidential unit citation with 2 oak leave clusters .the 505th was the only unit with such an award,the first oak leave was for bravery during the fierce fights at ste MERE L'EGLISE .......
A rare 82nd patch with its rocker still attached .........
The hard to find british made, silk on felt patch,worn for the combined allied operations of market garden....
Can you believe it !?? look at the date it's almost unreal..........
A member of the 505th pir in Sicily.......
A stick of pathfinders from the 505th PIR in front of the # 11 C47 ready to leave for Normandy......
The ultimate cowboy .....this member of the 505th PIR in ste MERE L'EGLISE looks a bit like James Dean don't you think !??.......

Enough has been said about the 101st already and one might have the tendency of forgetting that the first American paratroopers were the men of the 82nd airborne division .Today is the 66th anniversary of D DAY and i just wanted to pay my modest respects to all the brave men of the "ALL AMERICAN"who fought and died for my country .

The largest combined military operation in history,"D-Day", was to be spearheaded by the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions. Visibility was hampered by poor weather conditions as the C-47's crossed the English Channel during the first hours of the 6th of June 1944. When the troop carriers finally did made landfall on the Cherbourg Peninsula they came under heavy German flak scattering many of the troop carrier flights. It was 0300 hours on 6 June 1944, when the 505th were given the green light to jump. Some Pathfinders were able to signal their dropzones. However, many of the troop carriers missed their dropzones and the All-Americans of the 505th began landing across a large swath of the countryside around Normandy.

Nevertheless, the 505th PIR was one of the first airborne units to hit the ground and despite the subsequent confusion surrounding the landing, were able to use it to their advantage mustering enough troops under the command of the 2nd Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort to liberate the first town in France, - St. Mere-Eglise. The paratroopers jumped prior to the actual start of the invasion "H-Hour". Because of the tradition of being the first into the fight, the 505th Regimental motto is "H-MINUS". For their performance in the invasions the 505th was awarded the Presidential unit citation, the unit equivalent of the Medal of Honor awarded to individual soldiers. In the words of author Clay Blair, the paratroopers emerged from Normandy with the reputation of being a pack of jackals; the toughest, most resourceful and bloodthirsty in Europe.......