Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. Major General Lloyd B. Ramsey (29 May 1918 – 23 February 2016) was a United States Army officer who served in World War II and the Vietnam War. On 1 June 1969 he was appointed as commander of the 23rd Infantry Division. The Mỹ Lai massacre, conducted by units of the division, became public in November 1969 and he assisted the military commission headed by General William R. Peers in its investigation. On 17 March 1970 his command and control helicopter crashed into jungle approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of Chu Lai Base Area killing two onboard and wounding him and others. The survivors were eventually rescued 18 hours later. Due to his injuries he was evacuated to the U.S. and replaced as division commander by Major general Albert E. Milloy.

This is an outstanding group of items having belonged to Major General Ramsey during his time in Vietnam. They include his General Officer’s belt rig with holster & magazine pouch, along with his personal photo album from Vietnam with 38 photographs total inside. What’s more outstanding is that Ramsey is wearing this exact belt rig in a photograph in the album!

Up through WWI, all officers wore a brown belt with an interlocking eagle plate in garrison (The Model 1910 Officer’s Garrison Belt). After the war, the belt was no longer regulation. In July 1943, the Army Chief of Staff “expressed a desire” as the original memorandum states, “for a belt to be worn by all general officers when carrying sidearms, except when actually going into combat.”  The use of the belt was left to the discretion of each General Officer. It was worn with the Army Combat Uniform and also issued in conjunction with the General Officer’s Issue Colt Model 1903 Pocket Model.

This belt is in excellent condition, showing only signs of light handling and storage wear. As stated previously, it was up to each General Officer how and when they wore their belts. This example is marked on the back of the magazine pouch US / DSA100-69-C-1614 dating the set to 1969.

The album measures roughly 10 x 11” and has 38 Photos total. The first page shows a great photo of Ramsey wearing his Distinguished Flying Cross and this exact belt! Wow!

Some photos are dated 1970 or thereabouts. Some pages are tearing out of the album. There are earlier photos from when he was a Colonel. Some great photos in both black and white and in color!

An outstanding identified group, with some printed research. Ready for display!

He enlisted in the Army in May 1940. In November 1942 he was serving with the 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division when it was deployed to French North Africa in Operation Torch.

In February 1943 he was appointed as Aide-de-camp to General Harold Alexander. For performance of this role he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

In November 1943 he was reassigned to the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. In February 1944 he was appointed commander of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment at Anzio. The 3rd Infantry Division was later withdrawn from Italy and then deployed in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France in August 1944.

On 7 September 1944 his command post at Besançon was attacked by a German force. Corporal Robert D. Maxwell fell on a German hand grenade absorbing the blast with his body and saving Ramsey from serious injury. Maxwell was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

In early May 1945 his 3rd Battalion and the 1st Battalion were ordered by regimental commander Colonel John A. Heintges to capture Berchtesgaden, AH’s mountain retreat which they successfully achieved on 4 May. Ramsey initially refused to allow General Philippe Leclerc to cross a bridge into the area until he received confirmation that the 7th Regiment had captured Berchtesgaden.

He was assigned to the Infantry School as an instructor in 1946, he then served with the War Department General Staff. He attended Command and General Staff College in 1949–1950. In 1954 he was appointed as deputy, and later as Secretary, of the Joint Staff of the United Nations Command and Far East Command. In 1957 he was transferred to Fort Benning where he commanded the 14th Infantry Regiment and then the 1st Infantry Brigade. In September 1958 he became the G-1 of the U.S. Army Infantry Center. In July 1959 he was assigned to South Korea and served as the U.S. Army Advisor to the Korean National Defense College until August 1960. He returned to the Department of the Army General Staff in September 1960, serving in the Office of the Chief of Legislative Liaison. In April 1963, he became executive officer of the Office, Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development. On 1 March 1966 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Information under Brigadier General Keith L. Ware.

In December 1968 he was appointed deputy commander of 1st Logistics Command in South Vietnam.