Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 299:
Description
Named WWII Ike Jacket & Shirt Grouping to Tec 4 John H. Housley, 5th General Hospital, 1st Infantry Division – X-Ray Technician with Algeria-French Morocco, Normandy, Northern France, and Rhineland Campaign Service, ASN 34 186 395 Offered is a well-documented WWII U.S. Army Medical Department enlisted uniform grouping named to Technician Fourth Grade John H. Housley, comprising his M-1944 OD wool field jacket ("Ike" jacket), an OD wool flannel field shirt, a khaki cotton chino shirt, and his original WD AGO Form 53-55 Enlisted Record and Report of Separation. Housley’s discharge paper confirms ASN 34 186 395, born 5 December 1919 in Stony Point, Hamblen County, Tennessee, a civilian shoe sales clerk who was inducted 22 January 1942 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, trained as an X-Ray Technician (MOS 264), and served with the 5th General Hospital before his honorable discharge on 17 September 1945. No separate published biography has been located for Housley; his service story rests entirely in this surviving paperwork and the insignia sewn to his uniform. Housley’s separation record documents departure for the European Theater of Operations on 2 August 1942 and credits participation in four campaigns: Algeria-French Morocco, Normandy, Northern France, and Rhineland, for which he was awarded the EAME Theater Ribbon with four bronze service stars per WD GO #33, together with the Army Good Conduct Ribbon. The red numeral "1" patch on the jacket’s right shoulder denotes attachment to, or campaign service alongside, the 1st Infantry Division – the storied "Big Red One" that spearheaded the North African and Normandy landings before fighting through France and into Germany – while the shoulder sleeve insignia for European Theater of Operations/Advance Section, Communications Zone reflects his Medical Department assignment supporting the advancing armies. As an X-Ray technician in a general hospital, Housley would have served in the vast rear-area medical network that received, diagnosed, and treated casualties funneled back from the front lines during these campaigns. The wool Ike jacket is fitted with brass U.S. and Medical Department (caduceus) collar discs, Tec 4 rank chevrons on each sleeve, the 1st Infantry Division combat patch to the right shoulder, and the ETO/ADSEC shoulder sleeve insignia to the left, above six gold overseas service bars denoting three years of foreign service; its ribbon bar carries the Good Conduct and EAME campaign ribbons, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button ("Ruptured Duck") is present on the left breast. Original horn-style buttons and waist-adjustment buckles remain intact. The OD wool flannel field shirt is similarly fitted with the 1st Division patch, Tec 4 chevrons, and Medical Department collar insignia. The khaki chino shirt carries matching shoulder and rank insignia and is hand-inked "Housley" with a size notation at the inner collar band. The accompanying WD AGO Form 53-55 separation record is folded with expected vintage crease lines but remains intact and fully legible, including Housley’s signature and thumbprint. The garments show honest service and storage wear consistent with age: light soiling and a small fabric tear near the front placket of the khaki shirt, with no major moth damage or fabric loss evident on the wool jacket or shirt in the photographs. A well-preserved and clearly documented Medical Department uniform grouping that ties a named X-ray technician of the 5th General Hospital to the 1st Infantry Division and four hard-fought EAME campaigns of 1942-45.
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