Original Item: Only One Available. This is a M41 field jacket costume piece or prop that was used by an actor during the filming of Stephen Spielberg's epic WW2 film Saving Private Ryan. It is in a size 42, has a 5th Ranger Battalion patch on left shoulder, and is ink stamped U.S. SPR under the interior left armpit. Furthermore, in the left front slash pocket it has the original maker tag which were exclusive to the production run of this film (and forgeries always lack) which reads:



It was manufactured of the highest quality standards by SM Wholesale who is a premiere company which outfits the movie industry. This jacket is offered in excellent condition and truly is a related part of WW2 history.

Interestingly, IMA supplied many of the Machine Guns, Edged Weapons and loads of other equipment for Saving Private Ryan which was released in 1998 and set the bar for the WW2 film genre.

The 5th Ranger Battalion was activated on 1 September 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. During the Battle of Normandy, the battalion landed on Omaha Beach along with companies A, B and C of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, where elements of the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division were pinned down by murderous machinegun fire and mortars from the heights above. It was there that the situation was so critical that General Omar Bradley was seriously considering abandoning the beachhead, instead of sending more men to die. And it was then and there that General Norman Cota, Assistant Division Commander of the 29th Infantry Division, gave the now famous order that has become the motto of the 75th Ranger Regiment: "Rangers, Lead The Way!"

The 5th Battalion Rangers broke across the sea wall and barbed wire entanglements, and up the pillbox-rimmed heights under intense enemy machine-gun and mortar fire and with A and B Companies of the 2nd Battalion and some elements of the 116th Infantry Regiment, advanced four miles (6 km) to the key town of Vierville-sur-Mer, thus opening the breach for supporting troops to follow up and expand the beachhead. Meanwhile, C Company of the 2nd Battalion, due to rough seas, landed west of the Vierville draw and suffered 50 percent casualties during the landing, but still scaled a 90-foot (27 m) cliff using ropes and bayonets to knock out a formidable enemy position that was sweeping the beach with deadly fire.

The 5th Battalion with elements of the 116th Regiment finally linked up with the beleaguered 2nd Battalion on D+3, although Lieutenant Charles Parker of A Company, 5th Battalion, had penetrated deep behind enemy lines on D-Day and reached the 2nd Battalion with 20 prisoners. Later, with the 2nd Battalion the unit distinguished itself in the hard-fought Battle for Brest. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sullivan, the 5th Ranger Battalion took part in the Battle of the Bulge, Battle of Huertgen Forest and other tough battles throughout central Europe, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations and the French Croix de Guerre.