The A-2 flight jacket was worn by a member of the 462nd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion patch, was manufactured by Poughkeepsie Leather Coat Co., has a Talon zipper, and is a size 36. The left chest carries a 462nd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion patch. The 462nd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion served in the Pacific Theater during World War II and was attached to the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team for the combat jump during the retaking of Corregidor in February 1945. In the months after Pearl Harbor, Corregidor, a small island at the mouth of Manila Bay, was the last Allied stronghold in the Philippines to fall to the Japanese. In October 1944, America and her allies returned, starting with the recapture of Leyte. Operation TOPSIDE was the U.S. airborne assault on Corregidor that began on the morning of February 16, 1945. The airdrops included two battalions of the 503rd Parachute Infantry that consisted of members from the 462nd Parachute Field Artillery along with their 75mm howitzers. By early March, Corregidor was officially in control by the Americans. Includes a service shirt and tie. Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection

Fine displaying overall minor wear, heavier on the cuffs and collar. Patch retains strong colors. A World War II A-2 flight jacket associated with the 462nd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, a unit that helped fulfill General Douglas MacArthur’s prophecy, “I shall return.”