Original Item: Only One Available. These are extremely rare!!! This is a very nice example of the seldom-awarded "4000 Club" pin, maker marked on the back by BALFOUR. This "club" is one of the most exclusive in all of the U.S. forces, and could be though of as a club that every member was thankful they were in. To get into that club however, required for the Paratrooper to survive a terrifying ordeal which could be fatal: having your main parachute fail to open after jumping out of the aircraft. In other words, you were pretty lucky, which is probably why the design is a four leaf clover. The pin is relatively small, just over 5/8" wide.

The idea was that when a Paratrooper jumped out of the aircraft, they would count "One Thousand - Two Thousand - Three Thousand", and then check to make sure that their parachute had deployed. The jolt from the opening was unmistakable, so if the soldier got to "Four Thousand" they had to pull the rip cord on the reserve parachute. This often resulted in deployment quite a bit lower, so sometimes injuries were caused.

The club pins were awarded early in the war, when the Paratroopers were much smaller in number than the fully outfitted divisions they became later in the war. As time went on the "club" fell into semi-obscurity.

This example is in very good condition, and still retains all of the original enamel on the front, as well as the gilding. The clutch-type securing backings are unfortunately missing. Included with the pin are some printouts regarding the 4000 pin and discussion at a military forum regarding these pins.

A great chance to pick up a very nice example of a very hard to find pin. Ready to display!