1st Infantry Ike Jacket

[Luftwaffe 1941]

The other day while browsing eBay I found quite the gem of an Ike jacket. The jacket had just been uploaded when I found it, and luckily for me I had the cash on hand to buy it instantly. This example is patched from the renown 1st infantry division. It’s in an amazing condition, and it has a wide array of colorful insignia.

Insignia includes-

Screw back infantry collar brass
Screw back 18th regiment DUIs
Good conduct, ETO, WWII victory, and Army of occupation ribbons
French fourragere
2 overseas service bars
1st infantry division patch
Presidential unit citation with 2 oak leave clusters

I was told by the seller that he had recently found this jacket at a Goodwill in Virginia. The jacket came with an original garrison cap, and I was told that it was also found with the jacket at goodwill. By looking at the overseas service bars and occupation ribbon, I’d assume this man didn’t accumulate enough points to be discharged after the war; and had to continue to serve during the occupation period.

Interestingly there are two rows of the same ribbons. The bottom row is sewn directly to the uniform, while the upper row is simply pinned on. I know this is incorrect, but I decided to leave it as found for now. 1st infantry division stuff has a special place for me personally. My own grandfather served with the 1st during the early days of the occupation of Germany in 1946 as a vehicle driver. Given that this man also served in the early occupation days with the first infantry, there’s a slim chance my grandfather could have actually known this man.

Just thought I would share this cool new addition with you guys. I find this jacket very interesting as the Nuremberg trials were taking place during this period, and some men of the 1st were actually tasked with guarding the trials.



A display I put together to honor my own grandfather’s service. I used the few pieces he brought back to make it.

[Adravor]

Nice find! And well conditioned, like it!

[Luftwaffe 1941]

I forgot to mention this

Unfortunately I could find no name or laundry number anywhere on this jacket. It's a bit of a disappointment considering how awesome this particular example is. I did find four numbers '6222' written inside the cap on the size tag. I assume its the last four digits of his ASN, but sadly there isn't a letter written before the numbers. I can at least narrow my search to vets from Virginia who have an ASN ending in 6222.

[RH1941]

Very nice always liked big Red 1 stuff after watching the movie as a kid . Gary

[huntssurplus]

Nice Ike, I like the look of this one! I would leave the extra row of ribbons, not unheard of that the vet might have actually worn it like that.

Cheers,
Hunt

[WTolleson1940]

Nice looking Ike Jacket, the 1st Infantry Division is one of the coolest units ever.

Cal

[AZPhil]

Excellent Ike.
I like the DUI's that are on it.
Congrats on adding that beauty to your collection

Semper Fi
Phil

[Martin C]

Well Done!


Mart

[Kohima]

I think it unlikely that a double set of ribbons would have been worn in service..
It seems more like a convenient way to store a duplicate set during the post-war decades in the wardrobe (though you could just as easily slip them into a pocket, of course)!

Incidentally, and I’m sure you already know this; All the men who guarded the IMT at Nuremberg were deliberately chosen, decorated combat veterans - with plenty of ‘fruit salad’ (certainly in the courtroom itself), all of whom wore the CIB.

A very nice, honest example of an 18th Regiment Ike, you have there Luftwaffe!
I love the slightly wonky overseas bars, too! Collectors too often expect insignia to be perfectly positioned, in accordance with regulations. Not every soldier was a qualified tailor..

Splendid find and well done.
All the best and stay well,
Bob

[huntssurplus]

Is the bottom layer of ribbons 1/2"?

You'd be suprised. I have seen ikes with ribbons out of order, with duplicate ribbons, with ribbons they were not entitled to have, with ribbons from different eras that make no sense as to why they would be on there, but what do they all share in common? Their originality.

I have a 77th ID uniform with the bottom layer of ribbons being 1/2" and the top layer a 3/8" made up of 3 duplicates. I would say that most likely the different sized ribbons were found in the pocket and added on later, but still finding these jackets with all sorts of ribbon combinations is not out of the ordinary.

What do the cluthbacks on the ribbon bars look like? Do they have clutchbacks or not?

Hunt