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187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms

Article about: I wanted to start a thread to show some of my 187th/11th Airborne uniforms in my collection. I served in the 187th and I have relatives that also served in the regiment, one making both comb

  1. #1

    Default 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms

    I wanted to start a thread to show some of my 187th/11th Airborne uniforms in my collection. I served in the 187th and I have relatives that also served in the regiment, one making both combat jumps in Korea. I am proud to be a member of the Rakkasan Association and one of my main collecting interests for US Militaria is the 187th and the 502nd Infantry, both units I served in during my 22 year career as an Infantryman. I have been asked by a few forum members to post some of the uniforms I have. Most of these are named, but to respect their privacy I will not mention them here. I take great pride in owning these uniforms and honoring the requests of these veterans. I have several that I will be posting as I take them out of storage and photograph them I will post them.

    I will also add that these uniforms have not been altered or touched since they have been given to me, so many of the uniform police may see some items that are incorrect as far as placement of ribbons, awards, etc. The last person to touch this uniform prior to me receiving it was the veteran himself. I do not want to alter their history by making corrections to the uniforms..

    The first uniform belonged to a paratrooper assigned to the 11th Airborne Medical Battalion. The trooper has a Korean made 187th patch as a combat patch (right sleeve) The wings are Sterling LGB (Lloyd Garfield Balfour) pin back wings. The ribbons are the Army good conduct ribbon, the National Defense Ribbon and the United Nations Ribbon. The trooper also was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

    The green shoulder epaulets indicate that he was a combat leader, and these may have been authorized for wear by the Corporal in a July 1948 DA Circular authorizing the wear to members assigned to Infantry, Airborne, Armor, Cavalry, and Artillery units.

    The Garrison cap has the enlisted glider/parachute patch and the piping is crimson/white for the medical branch of service.

    Smitty
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  


  2. #2

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    Gidday Smitty

    Thanks for taking time out and showing myself and the forum an extremely rare named Ike uniform of an exceptional veteran. Normally we see Airborne Infantry but rarely a medic!!

    I do like the Theatre made 187th SSI is that Japanese silk or German made?

    Also for forum members, it wasn't uncommon for US personnel at the end of WWII/Korea, to have ribbons in wrong precedent order , upside down and wearing unauthorized theatre made insignia and hence many novice/ uniform police collectors start pointing out what's wrong.

    Also note that during the Korean war (1948-55?), US army had used several chevron design changes ,the infamous 2 inch wide "Goldenlite series 48-51" chevrons (Inf-Blue on Yellow, specialist yellow on Blue) then back to normal large size olive green on Blue twill 51-55(?) chevrons.He is wearing WWII era Corporal stripes (1941-48) , which is why it can be confusing for new collectors hence Smitty put in the "uniform police" comment-Smiity I won't go into the Sergeant's extra rocker change of the time!!

    As with what has been mentioned the uniform is unaltered , the way it should be!

    I have always liked the history of the 187th, its organizational changes and campaigns over the last 70 odd years.

    Thanks for the education Smitty and also for your service to the US please keep posting when you have time.

    Phill

  3. #3

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    Phill,

    Many thanks for the additional information that will only add more information to this topic as I add more uniforms and items from the 187th. Thank you very much for your informed knowledge and for taking the time to also educate myself. I am looking forward to a long friendship on what I believe is one of the great forums for sharing information..

    I am sure you will be very excited to see what future uniforms I will be posting.

    The 11th Airborne Division as well as the 187th Infantry trace it's roots back to WW2 when the 187th started as a Glider Infantry Regiment. Until a few years ago, this unit had been overshadowed, mainly due to the combat records of the 82nd Airborne Division, first serving in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and then the European Theater and the 101st Airborne Division. The combat operations of the 11th Airborne in the Pacific Theater were known but not as famously publicized or written about as the aforementioned divisions have no less than 100 books apiece written about them.

    The 187th Infantry has been in every major conflict since WW2. WW2, Korea, Lebanon, Vietnam, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq II.

    The collecting of 187th Infantry items has just recently started to take off within the past 15-20 years, and will soon be as collectible as 82nd and 101st items..

    Thanks to all who have clicked on this topic to see and learn about one of the US Army's greatest units..

    For those who have 187th items in their collection, please feel free to contribute to this topic as well as the 187th Insignia topic that was started by Phill Lockett

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Rakkasan


    Smitty

  4. #4

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    Phil,

    The 187th Patch I believe is to be Korean made, however it may be Japanese made. It is cloth, not silk, and my reasoning for it being "Asian made" is the lettering of AIRBORNE. It has a very distinct Asian pattern that I have seen on several other insignia made in the Far East..

    Smitty

  5. #5

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    This thread is off to a good start! Thank you Smitty for sharing these testaments to the men that wore them. I agree with you about altering the uniforms, unless the "scavengers" have stripped it, then I would do my best to restore it.
    Thank you for your service!
    I look forward to seeing more of your collection. After my recent uniform purchase, I have become rather fond of this aspect of collecting!
    Last edited by carpediem; 08-02-2017 at 11:07 PM.

  6. #6

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    Uniform #2

    Here is the next uniform in the collection. This uniform has one of the variation 187th shoulder patches. This shows a light or sky blue color and 187 added to the wings. You will also notice the soldier did some very impressive cross stitching to sew the patch on the shoulder. Not uncommon to NOT have a combat patch on the right side, as this trooper's uniform does not have one.

    You will also notice this trooper has the first approved and authorized Airborne oval for the 187th, which was an orange center and blue outlining trim. Later the oval colors were changed to red inner circle, white outer ring and blue outline. Tic marks were then later added to the ovals to identify the 3 battalions (now 4)..You may also notice that the oval is crooked. Some of the troopers did not bother sewing the oval to the uniform but instead pinned their wings through the oval to attach it to the uniform..

    The trooper is wearing a three place ribbon bar with the Purple Heart, the Korean Service ribbon with Bronze Arrowhead device for amphibious or airborne assault and the United Nations ribbon. The jump wings are also adorned with a bronze star to indicate a combat parachute assault. This is a large style bronze star attachment, but again, whatever was available at the time was utilized. On the troopers pocket he wears the coveted Combat Infantryman's Badge.

    You will also notice that the trooper removed the usual buttons and added a zipper for simplicity. Many tailor alterations were done by Soldiers to add flair and comfort to their uniforms. Although never officially approved, many including officers modified their IKE jackets and uniforms..

    Enjoy this next installment while I get another uniform out and pictures taken..

    Smitty
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

  7. #7

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    Hi Smitty

    What I have been told is that ,patches made in Korea during the war , were very very crude and almost all good quality theatre made cloth patches originated from Japan, which this is a high quality SSI , of course were mainly done with silk weave.

    I must confess , I love my Shoulder Sleeve Insignia!!

    Phill

  8. #8

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    Hi Smitty

    Another piece of US airborne history.The cross stitching ,for forum members, this is typical for US personnel during and at the end wars (Ike jackets) to embellish their uniforms, labour was cheap and plentiful , take your uniform down to the seamstress and voila. Originally that was hard for me to fathom , why would they do that!!! Well these are why and are great examples to study.

    Its always amazing to see what is out there in collections and we are seeing as good as you can get

    I do have to get me a 187th oval which are fairly easy to come by , if you know what your looking for.

    Appreciate all the additional info Smitty.

    Phill

  9. #9

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    Phill,

    I will defer to your extensive knowledge of Shoulder patches and 100% agree with your assessment about the quality of insignia.. Thank you very much for your insight and input on this topic and I look forward to future revealing and informative information...

    Well done my friend... Well done..

    Smitty

  10. #10

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    Uniform # 3

    Here is another enlisted uniform for a 187th trooper. This uniform lacks the combat patch (right sleeve) but once again it was not uncommon to see uniforms without all authorized insignia. What is unique about this uniform is that the DUI (Distinctive Unit Insignia) also know as a Unit Crest is present. There have been many uniforms I have had over the years that were complete minus one or both or the unit crests. The crests are Japanese made by NBI co. This in the Nippon Badge and Insignia Company. This company made many different insignia and badges for the Occupation Forces and many of the insignia today is difficult to find and some are rare..

    The oval is sewn to the uniform as you can see in the close-up the stitching. Wings are standard sterling pin back wings from the period. The ribbon bar has the National Defense Service, Korean Service with 2 campaign stars and United Nations service ribbons. The collar brass on this particular uniform is the domed type. This was a type of collar brass that was often seen during this time period in the 50s. The stamped one piece collar brass from World War Two was getting a face lift with the more common 2 piece brass which started to become more common.

    The 187th shoulder patch has a khaki border which was a manufacturers variation and you will also see that the parachute static lines are solid where as in some of the other variations they are dotted lines. The parachute on this example is also short and stubby compared to some of the other parachutes with are longer and narrower.

    The Garrison cap has the enlisted glider/parachute insignia on the cap and it is piped with Infantry blue piping to identify this trooper as a Infantryman. There are also several variations of the glider and parachute insignia worn on the garrison caps. This example has a long slender fuselage to the glider and it lacks the landing skids which you will see on other variations. You may also notice that the static lines above the glider are 5 separate lines, but when you look under the glider where the static lines meet, there are only 4...

    In another topic I will post some of the other variations of the glider/parachute patches. I have about 20 different variations.

    So.. Once again, enjoy the pictures and I will get another uniform out and take some pictures..

    Smitty
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms   187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  

    187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team Uniforms  
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