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82ND AIRBORNE DRESS JACKET OF GEORGE CAMPBELL, 456TH

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD
82ND AIRBORNE DRESS JACKET OF GEORGE CAMPBELL, 456TH
82ND AIRBORNE DRESS JACKET OF GEORGE CAMPBELL, 456TH PARACHUTE ARTILLERY BATTALION
Published dress uniform jacket once owned and worn by Pvt. George Campbell, 456th Parachute Artillery Battalion, 82nd Airborne. Campbell was assigned to the 82nd on Feb. 10, 1943 and later in the war, to the 17th Airborne. The jacket bears the orange lanyard of the Royal Netherlands Army on the left shoulder (Holland Campaign), just above a two-piece 82nd Airborne patch, while the right sleeve displays a 17th Airborne patch beneath the Belgian Fourragere. Insignia include artillery crossed-cannon D.I., jump wings on red artillery background, and ribbon bar showing three battle stars in Europe. A Presidential Unit Citation ribbon and "ruptured duck" are also affixed to the jacket. The back of the garment bears a single seam, and two tabs adjust the fit. Buttons close the sleeves; one is broken. Campbell's name and serial number are boldly written across the lining. Also present is Campbell's overseas cap with glider patch, piped in red for artillery. The cap likewise bears Campbell's name within. The uniform, in superb condition, appears in the excellent reference book "Geronimo! U.S. Airborne Uniforms, Insignia, & Equipment in World War II" by Bill Rentz (Atglen, Pa.: Schiffer Military History), 1999 on page 19. A copy of the book is included with the uniform. The battalion's first combat jump was in Sicily on P.I.R. While with the 17th Airborne, Campbell would have participated in the Battle of the Bulge and jumped in Operation Varsity.