Original Items: One-of-a-kind set. This is a August 22nd, 1942 U.S. Army Parachute School qualified parachutist certificate named to Private Joseph N. Wright, ASN 33082114. Private Wright was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Company H. He was born in 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was discharged in September 1945.

The certificate measures 8 x 11” and is in great shape with some light fading and staining. It doesn’t appear to have ever been folded. Along with the certificate is a printed photo found online of Wright next to 4 other members of H Company.

A fantastic document, ready for further research and display.

Under the command of Colonel James M. Gavin, the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) was activated at Fort Benning, Georgia on 6 July 1942, during World War II, as part of the U.S. Airborne Command. Gavin, then just 35, was an early airborne pioneer, who led the men of the 505th through some extremely grueling training. In early 1943, for instance, he noted in his diary, "In 36 hours the regiment had marched well over 50 miles, maneuvered and seized an airhead and defended it from counterattack while carrying full combat loads and living off reserve rations". In February 1943, the 505th was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, commanded by Major General Matthew Ridgway, then stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The other two regiments serving alongside the 505th were the 504th PIR and the 325th Glider Infantry Regiments, and other supporting units. In late March the 505th was visited by many distinguished political and military leaders, including, among numerous others, General George C. Marshall, General Henry H. Arnold, British Field Marshal Sir John Dill and Anthony Eden.

In April, in preparation for the Allied invasion of Sicily (codenamed Operation Husky), the regiment was moved to Tunisia, in North Africa, where they completed six weeks of training. The 505th (organized into a regimental combat team with the addition of the 3rd Battalion of the 504th, along with the 376th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion and 'C' Company of the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion temporarily attached) made its first combat jump behind enemy lines into Gela in the early hours of 10 July 1943, which was the first regimental sized combat jump in the history of the United States Army. High winds on the 505th's drop zone caused a large number of the regiment to be scattered all over the island, with up to 100 men landing in the British Eighth Army's sector. The 505th suffered heavy losses during the relatively brief campaign, including Lieutenant Colonel Arthur F. Gorham, the 1st Battalion commander, who was killed. The regiment then returned to North Africa in August for refit to absorb replacements before taking part in the assault on Salerno, on the night of 14 September, where they made their second combat jump. The regiment continued to fight in the Italian campaign, where the 505th, aided by tanks of the British 23rd Armoured Brigade, captured the city of Naples in early October, later helping the Allies breach the Volturno Line before returning to Naples for occupation duty.