Lt Col N Africa 5th Army 4th Ranger Inf dark elastique

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This was one of the finest WWII army jackets that I obtained. I found it at a church bazzar/raffle/flea market in Madison, Indiana in 1962. I was t for the Madison Regatta boat races on the Ohio River. The movie "Some Came Running" was filming t and at 18, I was more interested in meeting Shirley MacLaine, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra than any background on this jacket. I did find out that the jacket came from a consignment of unclaimed baggage, luggage and packages from a train station near New Albany and Louisville. That is all the background I know. I did get to meet Shirley MacLaine in the lobby of the Hillside Hotel when she was picking up her mail and Frank and Dean who were staying in a guest house on the grounds nearby. DESCRIPTION: This is an officer's Winter Dress jacket of dark olive elastique. On the right sleeve is a bullion patch for the North Africa Theater. On the left sleeve is what looks to be a Bevo 5th army patch with a 4th Ranger Bn arc/patch over it. On the shoulder loops are heavy bullion Lt. Col. insignia. The coat buttons are Superior Quality. On the lower left sleeve are 4 bullion overseas bars sticthed directly into the jacket fabric (not a patch). T are snaps sewn behind the upper pocket flaps and behind each side of the belt. The lower pocket flaps have the buttons sewn on top of the flaps. The US and crossed rifle insignia are all matching and marked acid test with snowflake backs and have early clutches -- four of which look like a green bakelite composition. T is an Army Presidential unit citation with flat back clutches above the right pocket. T is a raised sterling Combat Infantry Badge with sterling flat clutches above the ribbons over the left pocket. The ribbons are pinback plastic coated -- they include: Army Distinguished Service medal; Bronze Star; Purple Heart; American Defense Service medal; American Campaign medal; Europe-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal with two bronze stars and an invasion arrowhead. No size indications, stamps or Id, only union label inside R inside pocket. Approximate measurments are: shoulder-to-shoulder, 20 inches; Sleeve length, 23-24 inches; waist, 34 inches; chest, 36-37 inches. I have not and will not remove any insignia. All stiching is tight. The stitching on the unit patches does not go all the way through to the silk lining. I almost forgot, t was a nearly empty Lucky Strike green pack in the upper right pocket with two cigarettes left. One has no tobacco, the other still has tobacco. I will include if you want, or not. WWII Ranger batallions: After Tunisia, the 3rd and 4th Ranger Battalions with the 1st Batallion as cadre were activated and trained by Col. W. O. Darby for the invasion of Sicily at Nemours, Algeria in April 1943. Major Herman Dammer assumed command of the 3rd, Major Roy Murray the 4th, and Darby remaind CO of the 1st. The three Ranger units spearheaded the Seventh Army landing at Gela and Licata and played a key role in the Sicilian campaign in the capture of Messina. The three Battalions were the first Fifth Army troops to land during the Italian invasion near Salerno. All three Ranger units later fought in the winter mountain fighting near San Pietro, Venafro and Cassino. After a short period of rest, the three Ranger Battalions, reinforced with the 509th Parachute Battalion the 83rd Chemical Warfare, 4.2 Mortar Battalion and the 36th Combat Engineers, were redesignated as the 6615 Ranger Force under the command of Col. Darby. This Force spearhearded the surprise night landings at the Port off Anzio. On the night of January 30, 1944 (I would be born the next day), the 1st and 3rd Battalions infiltrated 5 miles behind the German lines while the 4th Battalion fought to clear the road toward Cisterna. The Germans had reinforced their lines the night before and both the 1st and 3rd were surrounded and greatly outnumbered. Ammunition and time ran out and all along the beachhead front supporting troops could not break through the strong German lines. The tragic loss of the 1... read more

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