Identified 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion Medals and Insignia Group

The group is comprised of the medals and insignia of Norman S. Nelson, a paratrooper who served in combat in Europe with the 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion. The group includes a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, both unnamed as awarded in the theater of operations and both having slot brooch suspensions. The group also includes a large, 4 inch jacket patch for the 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion; an Airborne Command shoulder patch; an XVIII Airborne Corps shoulder patch; a 13th Airborne Division shoulder patch; a 17th Airborne Division shoulder patch; an overseas cap patch for the airborne parachute artillery; an overseas cap patch for airborne parachute and glider troops; a British-made wool patch for the First Allied Airborne Army; and a red oval backer for the paratrooper wing of an airborne artillery paratrooper. All of the patches were pasted down on to a cardboard backer. Also present are three large ribbon bars which include the ribbon for the European Campaign Medal with five campaign stars and an arrowhead. Additionally, mounted on the cardboard are color copies of insignia, including a copy of the patch of the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team. The reverse side of the cardboard backing bears the stamp of a German art dealer (“Kunsthandlung”) who presumably mounted the materials for Nelson. The medals are pinned to cloth insignia in the display, and the cardboard backer is contained within a large folio that is approximately 11-1/4 inches by 13-3/4 inches. Also present in the folio is a photocopy of a newspaper article reporting that Corporal Nelson had been decorated with the Bronze Star, as well as a photocopy of a unit roster from the 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion that includes Nelson’s name. All of the items are in very good to excellent condition.

The 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion saw active service during World War II.  Active from 1943–1946, the battalion trained with the 17th Airborne Division; served with the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team in the Italian Campaign, Operation Dragoon, and the Battle of the Bulge; and ended the war assigned to the 13th Airborne Division before inactivation.