December Uniform of the Month - The Battle for Elsenborn Ridge

Private Sill and Sergeant Rowe head into the woods around Elsenborn Ridge.  We started working on our positions around 1500 hours.

Sgt. Rowe begins work on our foxhole.  The initial inch or two of ground was frozen solid and took quite a bit of effort to break through.

Pvt. Sill and Pfc. Green working on their position.  The larger pick mattock came in handy.

Sgt. Rowe and I decided to go with the classic slit trench.  Our hole ended up about 7 feet long and about 30 inches wide.

Private First Class Krelle using a folding shovel on the foxhole.  We were actually quite proud of our work.

Pfc. Green tests out his foxhole.  You can get pretty warm while digging, so a field jacket isn't always necessary. 

Heating up a can of K-Ration ham on our campfire.  Warm food always tastes better on a cold night.

A night shot of Pvt. Sill preparing to move out.

This is the only known photo of our night patrol.  We worked our way down the creek bed as far as we could go.

My helmet with the 2nd Division's "Indianhead" insignia on the front and a gas mask bag used to carry supplies.

Hunkered down in our foxhole, Sgt. Rowe is heating up some water on our little alcohol stove. 

The sergeant gets a call from the other foxhole on one of our field telephones.

A great photo of Private Sill trying to warm up by the fire after our patrol.  It got down to 14 degrees overnight.

This one is just funny... checking my photos on an iPhone in my foxhole.  Well, we were authenticity minded most of the time.

November Uniform of the Month - Battle of Ia Drang Valley 1965

Proudly wearing the OG-107s, the uniform that the U.S. Army went to Vietnam with in 1965.

The Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle between regulars of the United States Army and regulars of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN/NVA) of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The two-part battle took place between November 14 and November 18, 1965, at two landing zones (LZs) northwest of Plei Me in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam as part of the U.S. airmobile offensive codenamed Operation Silver Bayonet. The battle derives its name from the Drang River which runs through the valley northwest of Plei Me, in which the engagement took place. Ia means "river" in the local Montagnard language.

Representing the American forces were elements of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division: the 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, facing elements of the B3 Front of the PAVN (including the 304 Division) and Viet Cong. The battle involved close air support by U.S. aircraft and a strategic bombing strike by B-52s. The initial Vietnamese assault against the landing 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at LZ X-Ray was repulsed after two days and nights of heavy fighting on November 14-16. However, the follow-up surprise attack on November 17 that overran the marching column of 7th Cavalry 2nd Battalion near the LZ Albany was the deadliest ambush of a U.S. unit during the course of the entire war. About half of some 300 American deaths in the 35-day Operation Silver Bayonet happened in just this one fight that lasted 16 hours. 

The battle was documented in the CBS special report Battle of Ia Drang Valley by Morley Safer and the critically acclaimed book We Were Soldiers Once... And Young by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway. In 2002, Randall Wallace depicted the first part of the battle in the film We Were Soldiers starring Mel Gibson and as Col. Hal Moore.

This has been one of my all-time favorite uniforms for many years now.  It is a sharp looking uniform with a very smart military appearance.  Once I built my M-16A1 replica, I was finally able to put this impression together.  Thankfully, our friends' backyard served as a very nice substitute for the Central Highlands of Vietnam in mid-November.  It is an extreme honor to wear the same uniform that the 1st Air Cavalry went into combat with for the first time in Vietnam.  Garry Owen!

The MX-911/U angle-head flashlight is attached to the front of my suspenders.  This is a good view of the M1956 Universal Small Arms Pouch.

The distinctive patch of the 1st Cavalry Division is the largest patch in the U.S. Army.  Also seen here is an M18 Red Smoke Grenade - a replica that I made myself.

Back view showing the M1961 Combat Field Pack (Butt Pack) and a good view of the M1956 Suspenders.

A crouching trooper ready for combat.  Note the Mitchell Pattern camouflage helmet cover.

The OG-107 jacket features the gold-on-black US ARMY tape and the black-on-white name tape.  Headgear is the "baseball" utility cap.

Footwear for Airmobile units in 1965 was the 10" black leather Jump Boots.  These are Corcoran boots.

My full assortment of field gear for this impression.  The rifle features the original three-pronged "duck bill" flash supressor.

Another shot of me in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.  Note the chincup of the M1-C  Parachutist's Helmet.

The real Colonel Hal Moore (left) and Sergeant Major Basil Plumley (right) of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley.

October Uniform of the Month - Merrill's Marauders

Each Marauder styled his Daisy Mae HBT Cap in a unique shape to fit their own personal tastes.

Merrill’s Marauders, named after Frank Merrill, was officially named the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional).  It was a United States Army long range penetration special operations jungle warfare unit, which fought in the China Burma India Theater of World War II, or CBI. The unit became famous for its deep-penetration missions behind Japanese lines, often engaging Japanese forces superior in number.  In slightly more than five months of combat, the Marauders advanced 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) through some of the harshest jungle terrain in the world, fought in 5 major engagements (Walawbum, Shaduzup, Inkangahtawng, Nhpum Ga, and Myitkyina) and engaged in combat with the Japanese Army on thirty-two separate occasions, including two conventional defensive battles with enemy forces for which the force had not been intended nor equipped. Battling Japanese soldiers, hunger, fevers, and disease, they traversed more jungle terrain on their long-range missions than any other U.S. Army formation during World War II. The men of the Merrill's Marauders enjoyed the rare distinction of having each soldier awarded the Bronze Star. In June 1944, the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional) was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. On August 10, 1944 the Marauders were consolidated into the 475th Infantry. On June 21, 1954 the 475th Infantry was re-designated as the 75th Infantry; thus Merrill's Marauders is the parent of the 75th Infantry Regiment, from which descended the 75th Ranger Regiment.

This was a pretty exciting uniform to assemble for October.  I am leaving on a business trip to China on October 14, so I thought it was a timely impression to pull together and one that I could assemble quickly.  The only October reference I could find for the unit was that the men were sent to India arriving in Bombay on October 31, 1943 for training.  The unique components of this uniform are the HBT Daisy Mae Hat, the HBT uniform with leggings worn under the trousers, the Jungle First Aid Kit and a Machete. Upon seeing the photos of myself there is quite a bit of swagger associated with this unit and its uniform.  I think that the manner in which each soldier in the 5307th customized his uniform, especially the way they wore their HBT caps, gave them a very distinctive look.

The Jungle First Aid Pouch hangs from the right side of the cartridge belt.

Attached to the Haversack is an M1 Bayonet in an M7 Scabbard.

On my left hip is the canvas Machete Sheath and a 1942 Machete. 

This Machete is ready for business.  Hanging from my chest pocket is a MK-II Fragmentation Grenade.

Marauders frequently affixed their steel M1 Helmet to the back of their Haversacks.

A smiling Marauder in the jungles of Burma.

The real Merrill's Marauders resting outside of Nhpum Ga in Northern Burma, circa late March or early April 1944.

September Uniform of the Month - 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment

Stationed on the plains of western Nebraska... September, 1943.

The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) was activated on July 20, 1942 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Lieutenant Colonel George V. Millett Jr. was given command of the regiment. After jump-training at Fort Benning the regiment deployed to the Army Air Base at Alliance, Nebraska and became part of the 1st Airborne Brigade. The 507th was stationed at Alliance from March through October 1943 making demonstration jumps at Denver, Omaha and the Black Hills of South Dakota. The 507th shipped out in November and arrived in North Ireland in December, 1943. As part of the 2nd Airborne Infantry Brigade, the 507th was assigned to the 82d Airborne Division to replace the 504th Parachute Infantry regiment that had suffered many casualties in Italy. The 507th moved to Nottingham, England in March, 1944 to prepare for the Allied invasion of Europe. Their D-Day objective was to help secure the Merderet River crossings. Although their target was supposed to be in Drop Zone T, north of Amfreville, the confusion caused by clouds and flak resulted in a wide scattering of the unit. Men from the 507th fought with distinction in several crucial engagements including battles at Graignes, Chef-Du-Pont and La Fière. Noted military historian S.L.A. Marshall called the battle at La Fière "probably the bloodiest small-unit struggle in the experience of American arms." After returning to England, the 507th was permanently assigned to the 17th Airborne Division, because another of the 82nd's regiments, the 504th, had returned by then from Anzio. As part of the 17th, the 507th was not utilized in Operation Market Garden and was still in England training with the new division when the Battle of the Bulge began. The unit redeployed to France on 25 December 1944, and was used in the counter-attacks against the Germans in January and early February 1945. Finally, the regiment dropped near Wesel, Germany on 24 March to spearhead the division's assault during Operation Varsity.

This is a pretty straightforward uniform this month with no flashy weapons or equipment.  I pulled together the cap patch, jump wing oval and the Airborne Command patch over the past few weeks.  And I purchased my own pair of authentic brown Corcoran jump boots. They're still going to take some time to break-in, but they're so worth it.  This was a fun and quick uniform to put together.  I plan on doing at least two more 507th PIR uniforms in the coming year - a field training uniform from their time at Alliance and a D-Day combat uniform.

Sunset was a great time to take these photos.  This is a pretty sharp-looking uniform if I do say so myself.

Close-up view of the Airborne cap patch.  This is the darker blue version, just one of many variants.

The 507th's jump wing oval was black with an orange border.  Each Airborne regiment had its own color scheme.

Here are a pair of the highly prized Corcoran jump boots.  I can foresee hours of boot shining in my future!

Another shot of the full uniform at sunset.  Airborne all the Way!!!

Company H of the 507th PIR at Alliance Army Air Base.  Note the 507th's "Jumping Spider" mascot in the back.

August Uniform of the Month - Operation Starlite

The M-14 was the standard Marine service rifle in 1965.

Operation Starlite began on August 18, 1965.  It was the first major offensive regimental size action conducted by a strictly U.S. military unit during the Vietnam War. The operation was launched based on intelligence provided by Major General Nguyen Chanh Thi, the commander of the South Vietnamese forces in northern I Corps area. Lieutenant General Lewis W. Walt devised a plan to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Viet Cong regiment to nullify the threat on the vital Chu Lai base and ensure its powerful communication tower remained intact. The operation was conducted as a combined arms assault involving ground, air and naval units. U.S. Marines were deployed by helicopter insertion into the designated landing zone while an amphibious landing was used to deploy other Marines. 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment – both stationed at Chu Lai – were chosen to move on Van Tuong, as well as 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, from the Special Landing Force, which made haste from the Philippines. Forty-eight years later, the lessons learned from Operation Starlite still echo through military operation manuals and the Marines who laid their lives on the line are recognized for their heroism. The engagement showed the Marine Corps to be a prime fighting force 190 years after its birth, even when faced with an enemy of relatively unknown capabilities in conditions less than ideal. Also the combination of amphibious assault and helicopter-borne forces used in Operation Starlite showed the Marines to be masters of their chosen crafts: amphibious assault and assault via helicopter. With success in Operation Starlite the Marines passed their first big test in Vietnam. Moreover, they tested on the battlefield the combined helicopter and amphibious doctrine that they had studied for more than a decade.

This is the first post that I plan on presenting as part of an ongoing "Uniform of the Month" series.  Each month I will spotlight a particular uniform from a time and place in U.S. military history.  Because of my background and interests, these will mostly be focused on World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.  This uniform was pulled together over several months as my interest in the Marine Corps of the Vietnam War has grown.  Everything in the photos is original except for the Utility Cover and the OG-107 Trousers, both reproductions from Moore Militaria.  I don't currently own an M-14 rifle but I held my M-1 in the photos and then added in an M-14 later.

A canteen break wearing the Marine Corps Utility Cover.

Back view of the famous Marine Corps' 782 gear.  On my right hip is a World War II era Ka-Bar Knife.

The full layout of my field gear for this unform.  Each pouch held one 20 round magazine for the M-14 rifle.

These boots are 1951 dated USMC Roughout Combat Boots... and pretty hard to find in this condition and my size.

A famous photo from the real Operation Starlite on August 18, 1965.

D-Day at Ft. Atkinson

Scott, Matt and I headed up to Ft. Atkinson on Saturday, June 1 to participate in the monthly living history weekend at the fort.  We dressed in D-Day inspired uniforms representing the 325th Glider Infantry of the 82nd Airborne, the 8th Infantry Regiment which landed at Utah Beach with the 4th Division, and the 23rd Infantry Regiment with the 2nd Division, landing on D+1.  We set up a shelter half tent filled with some equipment and spent the day talking with a number of the fort's 1820's living historians.  We were treated to a nice meal for lunch, compliments of the fort's cooks.  The highlight of the day was taking part in a Memorial Day ceremony to honor the fallen.  The three of us represented World War II alongside Ft. Atkinson's 1820's reenactors and some local VFW members.  It was a nice event for us and we always enjoy getting out the special D-Day uniforms and equipment.

Pvt. Hazard in his 325th Glider Infantryman impression. 

We set up a lonely two-man shelter with some field gear inside. 

Hazard trusts the M1 Rifle to do his talking!

My new 4th Infantry Division D-Day impression.

Slung over my left shoulder is a demolition satchel bag.

Just smiling in the rain. 

Hazard takes to the field. 

Zeroing in on a target... 

Our hosts provided us with a great noontime meal. 

Scott and Matt enjoying their chow.