Named WWII Office of Strategic Services 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion Tunic

The four pocket, 1942 dated, tunic was worn by Corporal Joseph P. White, who served in the Office of Strategic Services in Europe as a paratrooper with the 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion. The tunic was acquired directly from Corporal White in 1988 by famed special forces researcher and author Les Hughes. The tunic is exceptionally clean, without holes or damage, and it is simply missing one front button. The tunic has screw back “U.S.” and infantry branch collar disks as well as wool Corporal chevrons on each sleeve. Above the left upper pocket is a pin back paratrooper wing with arrowhead device. On the left shoulder is a fully embroidered Seventh Army patch, and above this is the theater made arc of the OSS 2671st Special Reconnaissance Battalion. The interior of the tunic bears White’s handwritten name as well as his laundry mark. The lower right pocket retains the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot tag. The tunic is accompanied by a binder which contains documentation on Corporal White and his OSS service during the war. These include copies of wartime photographs as well as copies of correspondence exchanged between Corporal White and Les Hughes, before and after White gave his uniform to Hughes. The binder also contains numerous copies of documents from White’s formerly classified OSS file. Overall an exceptionally scarce American tunic of World War II with impeccable provenance.