Per an included note, the items in this lot are the former property of a Lieutenant Thomas R. Marshall of G Company, 503rd PRCT. Put together with the 503rd Parachute Battalion as the nucleus, the 503rd PRCT would see multiple actions in the Pacific, most prominently a combat drop on Corregidor in 1945 and multiple actions in support of the liberation of the Philippines. The PCRT would go inactive in December of 1945, though the unit was effectively dismantled earlier, the bulk being either sent home or ret asked to the 11th Airborne Division for occupation duty. Available records show Thomas Marshall as a resident of Buffalo, New York and a student at the University of Indiana at the time of his joining the Army, with newspaper reports placing him as part of the pre-PRCT 503rd PIR's air assault on Dutch New Guinea, the first American parachute action in the Pacific. Due to a midcrop, he was separated from his unit, hit a palm tree on the way down, and badly sprained both of his ankles, spending the better part of two whole days alone in the jungle crawling to get help. Other records verify his recovery and rejoining the unit for Corregidor. After the war, he would finish his studies in Indiana, get a masters degree from the University of Buffalo, and settle down with a lady he met in Indiana. Included with the grouping is a garrison style cap with black/gold trim, parachute patch and 1st Lieutenant bar, a silk "meatball" pattern flag, leather nametag and dog tags marked for Marshall, three crossed-rifle Infantry badges, embroidered cloth jump wings, five Lieutenant's bars (2 metal 2nd LT, 1 metal 1st LT, and one each in cloth), two 3-pence British coins, and three "ruptured duck" honorable discharge pins. Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection
Very good overall, showing minor wear.
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