Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. Your eyes do not deceive you! This may look very much like an “Ike” Jacket, but it’s actually an earlier British-made battledress utilized by an American soldier. This example is made of very fuzzy wool and almost resembles a teddy bear of the period. This uniform was utilized by a member of the Ledo Road Construction crew in the CBI (China-Burma-India) Theater.

The uniform bears a gorgeous bullion theater-made CBI patch on the left shoulder, and a great unique leather patch for Ledo Road. There are Master Sergeant chevrons on both sleeves. The left breast pocket has a bunch of cedar shavings to protect the jacket from moths. There is a small tear in the back of the jacket. The underside of the shoulder straps and securing band on the bottom of the uniform are reinforced with a blue rayon fabric. The Ledo Road patch has some damage with a piece loose, but is in fair shape considering it’s a leather patch.

This is a fantastic jacket with tons of character, ready for further research and display!

Approximate Measurements
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 24”
Shoulder to shoulder: 19”
Chest width: 22”
Waist width: 20"
Hip width: 20”
Front length: 24.5"

The Ledo Road was built by U.S. Army Engineers and native labor during World War II from the tea plantation province of Assam in India, through the mountains and jungle of northern Burma, to a junction with the Burma Road.  It went over tough mountain terrain, across monsoon fed swamps and through the thickest jungle.  General Lewis A. Pick, who commanded the road building effort, called it the toughest job ever given to U.S. Army Engineers in wartime.  Its purpose was to re-establish the land supply route to China that had been blocked by the Japanese invasion of Burma in 1942.  Construction began 16 December 1942 and the completed road was officially opened 20 May 1945.  An estimated 147,000 tons of supplies were carried over the road by the end of the war.

Ledo Road

The usefulness of the Ledo Road was debated both before its construction and after its completion.  Even as it progressed into Burma, military planners had their doubts about whether it could be completed in time or even at all.  As it neared completion and until well after the war ended, many pointed out that it never lived-up to the original estimates of capacity as a supply line.

Overlooked is the fact that it was decided not to build the road to the original specification of a double-track (two-lane) road over its entire length, the fact that it was never assigned the originally planned number of truck transport companies, and the fact that it actually assisted the airlift operation over The Hump to which it was constantly compared.

As the road was built it served as a combat highway enabling the reconquest of Burma, serviced a pipeline that paralleled it to carry fuel all the way to China, and allowed safer more southerly routes for airlift flights to China. The accomplishment of building the Ledo Road stands as a testament to the men responsible and the American spirit that made it possible.

The China-Burma-India Theater

Officially established June 22, 1942, the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations (CBI) is often referred to as the Forgotten Theater of World War II. Of the 12,300,000 Americans under arms at the height of World War II mobilization, only about 250,000 (two percent) were assigned to the CBI Theater. Relatively few Americans were in combat in the theater. The 12,000 mile supply line, longest of the war, was often last in line for supplies from the United States.

Not forgotten to Allied war planners, CBI was important to the overall war strategy.  Occupation of Burma in 1942 by Japanese forces cut the last supply line of communication between China and the outside world. Keeping China in the war was important as it occupied an estimated 800,000 Japanese troops that might have been used elsewhere. A military airlift to supply China was begun although it was generally agreed that this would not be enough and a land supply route would be needed. A road from Ledo, Assam, India was begun in late 1942. Ledo was chosen because it was close to the northern terminus of a rail line from the ports of Calcutta and Karachi.  Construction of the Ledo Road was completed in early 1945.

Allied forces in CBI, mostly British, Chinese, and Indian, engaged large numbers of Japanese troops. America's role in CBI was to support China by providing war materials and the manpower to get it to where it was needed. The Flying Tigers fought the Japanese in the air over China and Burma. The Services of Supply managed supplies from the U.S. to India and on to China. Army Air Forces flew supplies Over The Hump from India to China. Merrill's Marauders and the Mars Task Force fought through the jungles of Burma. Army Engineers built the Ledo Road to open up the land supply route.