Established in 1941, the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion would gain the distinction of being the first American paratrooper unit to perform a live combat jump, dropping into North Africa as part of the joint U.S./British opening of Operation Torch. The drop was, to be polite, a learning experience; after a long-haul flight from England to Africa, only about a quarter of the passengers actually jumped, the remainder dismounting after an improvised landing on a dry lake, though even the 509th still reached the target by marching the old fashioned way. Later, the 509th would deploy for the invasions of Italy and Southern France, the former leading to an incident where a 46-man Pathfinder detachment bluffed the Germans into surrendering an entire island, which would later be documented in John Steinbeck's article collection "Once There Was A War". During these actions the 509th would make air drops and also act as an amphibious assault and mountain warfare unit. They also saw combat during the Battle of the Bulge in the vicinity of Sadzot during the initial German counteroffensive, eventually fighting their way forward to retake St. Vith. While successful, the Bulge was effectively the end of the war for the 509th, having been left with around 7% of the unit still effective; they would be disbanded in March of 1945, with the remaining men rolled into the 82nd Airborne Division as replacements. The unit would be reactivated after World War II, and remains on the Army rolls as the 509th Infantry Regiment to this day. The contents include a pair of silver finished 1st Lieutenant bars, a "509/crossed rifles" collar insignia, a set of jump wings with 3 brass stars added, three shoulder patches for the 5th Army (two machine made, one with bullion wire embroidery), three hand-made "PARACHUTE" tabs, two hand-made "A Co 509" tabs, and a bullion embroidered "Man in the Door"/"Gingerbread Man" insignia patch, featuring a simplified rendering of a paratrooper about to jump with "509" above and "Geronimo" below. Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection

Fine overall. the pins show a mixed aged patina, and the patches mild wear and stains concentrated around the edges. The Gingerbread Man shows some wear and a few breaks in the embroidery.