Lot#818 Airborne Jersey Battlefield Collection War Rakkasan 33...Size L

Description

Lot#818
Airborne Jersey Battlefield Collection
War Rakkasan 33
Jersey
Size L...see photos with the measuring stick
Preowned Condition: Good
The
187th Infantry Regiment
(
Rakkasans
)
[1]
:21
is a regiment of the
101st Airborne Division
. The "Rakkasans" special designation is derived from the Japanese word for
parachute
(literally "umbrella for falling", 落下傘). The name was given to the regiment during its tour in occupied Japan following World War II. When a translator dealing with local Japanese dignitaries was trying to explain what their unit was trained to do (and not knowing the Japanese word for "airborne soldiers"), he used the phrase "parachute-men" (literally "falling down umbrella men"), or
rakkasan
. Amused by the clumsy word, the locals began to call the paratroopers by that nickname; it soon stuck and became a point of pride for the unit. (Note that modern Japanese uses the English loanword パラシュート (
parashūto
) for parachute.)