Original U.S. WWII 81st Infantry Division “Wildcats” Officer’s Uniform Group with Bronze Star & Invasion Arrowhead Ribbon Bars - Two Jackets & Shirt
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Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is an excellent assembled uniform group belonging to a First Lieutenant associated with the 81st Infantry Division, the celebrated “Wildcat Division” that fought at Angaur and Peleliu before later serving in the Philippines and occupation duty in Japan. The grouping consists of two officers service coats and one shirt, with both coats carrying matching 81st Infantry Division insignia, Infantry branch devices, First Lieutenant rank, Combat Infantryman Badges, and nearly identical six-place ribbon bars. The presence of a National Defense Service Medal ribbon indicates that the officer appears to have continued serving after World War II and updated his decorations during the early Cold War period.
The first jacket is a “Regulation Army Officer’s Uniform” and has an 81st Infantry Division patch on the left shoulder. There are US & Infantry officer collar insignia, 1st Lieutenant bars on the shoulders, and a Combat Infantryman Badge over the left breast pocket. Under this is a six-place ribbon bar with the Bronze Star Medal, The National Defense Medal, the American Campaign medal, the Asiatic Campaign Medal with two campaign stars and an invasion arrowhead, the WWII Victory Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal with star. In this jacket is a contract tag for August 11th, 1942, for the Philadelphia QM Depot, with a size marked as 36 SHORT.
The second jacket has a label inside for “E-Zee Action-Back” and has a nametag which is marked 4003 and 84119, likely not related to the soldier. This jacket has a laundry number inscribed on the interior, H-2434, an enlisted man’s number. The jacket has an 81st Infantry Division patch on the left shoulder, US & Infantry officer collar insignia, 1st Lieutenant bars on the shoulders, and a Combat Infantryman Badge over the left breast pocket. Under this is a six-place ribbon bar with the Bronze Star Medal, The National Defense Medal, the American Campaign medal, the Asiatic Campaign Medal with two campaign stars and an invasion arrowhead, the WWII Victory Medal, and the Philippine Liberation Medal with star.
The included uniform shirt retains a heavily washed-out original label and remains in good overall condition. Although the label is no longer sufficiently legible to extract meaningful manufacturing information, the shirt completes the three-piece uniform grouping and presents well with the two officer coats.
The 81st Infantry Division was ordered into active military service on June 15, 1942 at Camp Rucker, Alabama. After extensive stateside training and further amphibious and jungle preparation in the Pacific, the division entered combat during the Palau operation in September 1944. The assault on Angaur on September 17 marked its first major combat operation, with the 321st and 322nd Infantry Regiments landing against Japanese defenses while supporting engineers, artillery, armor, naval gunfire, and aircraft assisted the advance.
The division soon became deeply involved in the much more difficult fighting on nearby Peleliu. Elements of the 321st Infantry were transferred there beginning September 22 to reinforce the heavily engaged 1st Marine Division, and the 81st progressively assumed a larger role in eliminating the Japanese defenses. Army historical accounts emphasize that organized resistance on Peleliu continued well into late November 1944 despite earlier announcements that the principal assault phase had ended.
The 81st later moved to the Philippines, where its components received campaign credit associated with the concluding operations against Japan. Official Army lineage records for 81st Division organizations document Western Pacific and Leyte campaign participation credit. After the Japanese surrender, the division moved to northern Japan as part of the occupation force and was inactivated there in January 1946.
This grouping is particularly interesting because it appears to document more than the officer’s World War II service alone. The matching 81st Infantry Division insignia, First Lieutenant rank, Combat Infantryman Badges, Bronze Star ribbons, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbons with two campaign stars and assault arrowheads, Philippine Liberation ribbons, and later National Defense Service Medal ribbons suggest a combat veteran of the Pacific who subsequently remained in military service into the Korean War era. The 1942-dated 36 Short officer’s coat, second E-Zee Action-Back jacket with earlier laundry marking, and accompanying shirt further illustrate the reuse and updating of uniform garments over an extended military career. Although the officer has not yet been identified, the combination of combat and postwar decorations makes this a particularly strong research project centered on an 81st Infantry Division officer whose service evidently continued beyond the end of World War II.
Approximate Measurements:
Jackets
Collar to shoulder: 8.5
Shoulder to sleeve: 23
Shoulder to shoulder: 15.5
Chest width: 18
Waist: 16
Hip: 21
Front length: 31
Shirt
Collar to shoulder: 11
Shoulder to sleeve: 22
Shoulder to shoulder: 18
Chest width: 18
Waist: 18
Hip: 18
Front length: 29
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