Item Description
Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. This is the gorgeous WWII Officer’s uniform Attributed to Captain William W. Boyles, Commander of Company C, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. The jacket bears a gorgeous and incredibly scarce British-made Type B-4 Bullion Screaming eagle patch, purchased at an Army Navy shop in Paddington Station, London at a wartime price of 1 pound each. This set came from the collection of the renowned Airborne Historian & Collector Mark Bando, and comes with a small sheet of comments from Bando. The uniform comes with Boyles’ overseas cap, shirt, and tie.
Both the uniform and overseas cap bear distinctive insignia for the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, which Boyles was transferred to following the end of the war, which is why there is an 82nd Airborne Division patch on his left shoulder, and his 101st Airborne patch on the right shoulder. Mark Bando mentions in his comments on the uniform, As I recall, Boyles did come in as a replacement, maybe just before Bastogne.
The uniform jacket bears Captains’ bars & 325th Glider DIs on the shoulders, 82nd & 101st Airborne patches on the shoulders, two overseas stripes on the right cuff, and US & Infantry Officer’s collar insignia. On the right shoulder is a French Fourragere cord which has faded heavily. Above the right breast pocket is a Presidential Unit Citation with one oak leaf cluster, and the left breast pocket bears a gorgeous bullion Combat Infantryman Badge, with a great set of Bullion Glider wings over the 3-place ribbon bar with the Soldier’s Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal with one campaign star, and the U.S. WWII Victory Medal. The interior of the jacket bears a maker’s tag for Hart Schaffner & Marx of New York & Chicago.
Boyles’ overseas cap has the correct Officer’s black and gold piping, with Captain’s bars on one side and the 325th Glider DI on the other side. The interior has a tag with the initials A.S.H., which do not match the initials of Boyles. In Mark Bando’s comments, he notes Property of ASH doesn’t match Captain William Boyles, but I think that might be his jacket. He was company commander of C/327th. That glider wing looks exactly as I remember the one on Boyles’ jacket. I haven’t seen another bullion Brit glider wing quite like that in all the decades since. I owned that jacket back around 1977.
His original officer’s shirt has a size tag, 15, under the collar. The tie is unmarked.
William Warren Boyles was born on August 22nd, 1915 in Flora, Illinois. He first enlisted in the Army on April 29th, 1943, reenlisted as an officer on December 5th, 1944. He arrived overseas shortly after, being attached as Company Commander of Company C, 327th Glider Regiment, 101st Airborne Division right before Bastogne, around December 1944. After the combat was over, he was transferred to the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, which is why his uniform bears 325th DIs. He wasn’t discharged until March 30th, 1946, so he likely returned from Europe around September-December 1945. Boyles moved to Detroit after the war and helped build the first Blue Shield plan in the U.S. where he worked until retiring. He passed away on October 12th, 1990.
According to Mark Bando’s comments, Bill Boyles had a daughter named Peggy who went to high school with me. He liberated an Eva Braun grouping at the Berghof, which I still own. He was also a member of the Detroit “Nuts” club.
This is an outstanding uniform to a company commander of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, with some absolutely outstanding insignia. Comes ready for further research and display.
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