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Today in World War II History—July 9, 1943

Paratroopers of the US 82nd Airborne Division on a C-47 bound for Sicily, July 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)

Paratroopers of the US 82nd Airborne Division on a C-47 bound for Sicily, July 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)

80 Years Ago—July 9, 1943: Opening the invasion of Sicily before midnight, British troops land in gliders near Syracuse and paratroopers of US 82nd Airborne Division land near Gela, in the first major Allied airborne operation.

In the Solomon Islands, US 43rd Infantry Division opens the assault on Munda, New Georgia.

2 responses to “Today in World War II History—July 9, 1943”

  1. Yeoman says:

    One of the things that interesting to note in this photograph is the clearly visible chevrons on the Sergeant’s jacket on the left.

    These troops were undoubtedly wearing the M42 paratroopers uniform that would equip paratroopers through Operation Overlord. It was a good design, and is basically the model for the Vietnam era jungle fatigues, which then became the pattern for every uniform worn since, but it was a strange color. Enlisted strips were “subdued” at the time. I.e., they were green with black bordering, but everything shows up on that uniform due to its weird light green color.

    Later on, experienced troops took their chevrons off as it made them a target.

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