Today in World War II History—July 9, 1943
Sunday, July 9, 2023 by Sarah Sundin
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.
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.
Fascinating! Thank you for this.