Original Items: Only One Set Available. A similar pair of 2nd pattern Paramarine jump trousers are featured on pages 150, 151, and 158 in the book United States Marine Corps: Uniforms, Insignia and Personal Items of World War II by Harlan Glenn. These trousers were purchased by IMA from the estate of collector and author Mr. Jeff Warner.

The rear of the 2nd Pattern Jump Trousers. The 1st Pattern Jump Trousers did not have this huge rear pocket, which were the predecessor to the Marine "ASS" pockets which Marines hated due to their complete impracticality, who wants to sit on their gear! Notice the eyelets on the waist band for the M1941 web SUSPENDERS, BELT. And Lord knows you'd need suspenders to hold up yer trousers if you had 'em loaded up with gear in all these pockets. (H. Glenn)

This 1943 (P43) USMC Paramarine specific, reverse camouflage combed cotton  jump trousers are offered in very condition with some pricking and repairs throughout. Camouflage vibrancy is very good. pants are undamaged, all snaps present and functional. These are not constructed of HBT, they appear to possibly be Shelter Half or purpose made cotton, but the quality of the construction is excellent meaning that we do not believe they were rigger made, and they certainly are much high quality than costume pieces.

Approximate Measurements:
WAIST: 34"
INSEAM: 32"

The first cohort of Marines paratroopers trained at NAS Lakehurst
in New Jersey in October 1940, eventually becoming the 1st Marine Parachute Battalion. They were followed by a second group in December 1940, forming the 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion. A third class trained at Camp Kearny in San Diego, California in early 1941, eventually forming the 3rd Marine Parachute Battalion. After the United States entered World War II, the training program was stepped up, and a special training camp and parachute training school was opened temporarily at Camp Elliott in San Diego in May 1942, next to Camp Kearny, moving to purpose-built accommodation nearby at Camp Gillespie in September 1942. A second training camp and parachute training school opened at Hadnot Point on the New River in North Carolina in June 1942, but closed in July 1943.

The 1st Parachute Battalion was attached to the 1st Marine Division for the invasion of Guadalcanal. On 7 August 1942 the unit conducted an amphibious assault on the small island of Gavutu and later seized the neighbouring island of Tanambogo with other Marine units. The battalion later moved to Guadalcanal fighting alongside the 1st Marine Raiders in the Tasimboko raid and the Battle of Edson's Ridge. The high casualties suffered by the Marine paratroopers led the battalion to be moved to Camp Kiser in Tontouta, New Caledonia in September. The 2nd Parachute Battalion performed a diversionary raid on Choiseul Island in October 1943 and later joined the 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalion on Bougainville.

The three parachute battalions with approximately 3,000 members, had become the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, of the I Marine Amphibious Corps. Four parachute operations were planned but never executed.

However, the need for and cost of a parachute corps in the Marines was questioned, as were other specialized elite units, such as the Marine Raiders. The Marine Corps also lacked the transport aircraft required for a massed parachute drop. On 30 December 1943, Marine Commandant Thomas Holcomb ordered the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment to be disbanded, and along with the Marine Raider units, it officially ceased to exist on 29 February 1944.

Apart from a small group including Peter Julien Ortiz who parachuted into France as part of an Office of Strategic Services team to support the French Resistance, the Paramarines never dropped by parachute into combat, but were utilized during beach raids in the Pacific campaign, including at Guadalcanal. Paramarines at San Diego were transferred to the 5th Marine Division which landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. Former Paramarines, Cpl. Harlon H. Block and Pfc. Ira H. Hayes, assisted in the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi on 23 February 1945, depicted in Joe Rosenthal's iconic photograph. A third former Paramarine, Sgt. Henry O. "Hank" Hansen, had participated in the first American flag-raising earlier that day. 4 of the 82 Marine Medal of Honor recipients in World War II, were former Paramarines who were awarded the medal for their heroic actions on Iwo Jima.