John Wayne as Lt. Col. Benjamin H. Vandervoort in The Longest Day (1962)
Vitals
John Wayne as Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort, commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, U.S. Army
England to France, June 1944
Film: The Longest Day
Release Date: September 25, 1962
Directed by: Ken Annakin (British & French sequences), Andrew Marton (American sequences), and Bernhard Wicki (German sequences)
Wardrobe: John McCorry (uncredited)
Background
Eighty years ago today on June 6, 1944—a date immortalized as “D-Day”—the Allies began landing hundreds of thousands of troops in Nazi-occupied France, laying the foundation for liberating the continent and ending the European theater of World War II within the year.
D-Day often conjures images of daring Allied troops storming the beaches at Normandy under heavy German gunfire, but there were many other elements within Operation Neptune, from aerial and naval bombardments and local resistance operations to the airborne invasion preceding the famous amphibious assault.
Irish-born war correspondent Cornelius Ryan captured all of these aspects when he published The Longest Day, his definitive chronicle of D-Day pulled from his firsthand experience during World War II and his own exhaustive research to follow. Three years after the book was published in 1959, Ryan co-adapted his volume into an epic film that would pull together a wide international cast and crew, with Ken Annakin directing the sequences among the British and French, Andrew Marton directing the American sequences, and Bernhard Wicki directing the sequences from a German perspective. Actual D-Day participants from both the Allied and Axis powers served as consultants for the film, which also starred a number of World War II veterans like Eddie Albert, Henry Fonda, Kenneth More, Rod Steiger, and Richard Todd.
The Longest Day was a commercial and critical success, garnering five Academy Award nominations and setting a then-record as the highest-grossing black-and-white film to date. Among its star-studded cast was John Wayne, portraying the real-life 82nd Airborne parartooper Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. “Vandy” Vandervoort (1917-1990). Though Duke was nearly 30 years older than the real Vandervoort, his ruggedly macho screen persona instantly communicated Vandy’s reputation among no less than General Matthew B. Ridgway, who described the officer as “one of the bravest, toughest battle commanders I ever knew.”
The real Lt. Col. Benjamin H. Vandervoort during Operation Overlord in June 1944, with the broken left ankle that didn’t stop him from leading his battalion in defending Ste.-Mère-Église.
As commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the 27-year-old Vandervoort had been promoted to lieutenant colonel less than a week before the invasion. Though The Longest Day reflects the facts of Vandervoort’s heroism, the real officer demonstrated more of a quiet confidence and resilience than the swaggering charisma of Duke’s characterization.
“He had always taken his job seriously, sometimes too seriously,” writes Ryan in The Longest Day. “Unlike many another Army officer, Vandervoort had never had a popular nickname, nor had he permitted himself the kind of close, easy relationship with his men that other officers enjoyed. Normandy was to change all that—and more.”
Vandervoort broke his ankle upon landing in an apple orchard outside Ste.-Mère-Église shortly after midnight in the early hours of June 6th, but he was determined to remain at the helm of his battalion and defend the town. Ryan describes the way he subtly requested treatment from the battalion surgeon, Captain Lyle Putnam:
“He was seated with a rain cape over him, reading a map by flashlight. He recognized me and, calling me close, quietly asked that I take a look at his ankle with as little demonstration as possible. His ankle was obviously broken. He insisted on replacing his jump boot, and we laced it tightly.” Then, as Putnam watched, Vandervoort picked up his rifle and, using, it as a crutch, took a step forward. He looked at the men around him. “Well,” he said. “Let’s go.”
What’d He Wear?
When the U.S. Army activated the 82nd and 101st as its first dedicated airborne divisions in 1942, its personnel were also issued a special purpose uniform designed specifically for paratroopers. The resulting M1942 (or M42) jump suit featured plenty of pockets to give paratroopers quick access to their abundant equipment storage.
The M1942 uniform was originally made in the same olive-drab #3 (OD#3) cotton twill as other uniform pieces like the M1941 field jacket, though reports from early combat operations in North Africa in Italy demonstrated that this uniform cloth was not as hardy as those who wore it. For example, At the Front reports that the shock of hard parachute openings often “caused the contents of his pockets to literally explode through the cargo pockets” and “the single stitch in the crotch seam led to an awful lot of ‘free balling.'”
Thus, the M1942 uniforms were widely recalled ahead of the Normandy invasion, and divisional riggers set to work on reinforcing the pockets, elbows, knees, and other vulnerable areas with heavier canvas. As a result, the reinforced M1942 performed more ably when paratroopers dropped into France during the start of Operation Overlord in June 1944. However, the M1942 still didn’t receive a passing grade and was formally phased out later that summer when the M1943 combat uniform was standardized across all Army units. Some paratroopers held onto their M1942 uniforms through the end of the war, though most adopted the M1943 albeit modified for their purposes with additional pockets, as seen in last week’s Memorial Day post featuring the M1943 uniform worn by Sgt. Dohun (James Caan) for Operation Market Garden in A Bridge Too Far (1977), also adapted from a Cornelius Ryan book.
For the airborne assault ahead of D-Day on June 6, 1944, Lieutenant Colonel Vandervoort—and his cinematic counterpart portrayed by John Wayne—dropped into France wearing the olive-drab M1942 paratrooper uniform.
A color production photo from the set of The Longest Day featuring John Wayne wearing a mil-spec olive-drab M1942 paratrooper uniform and M1 helmet.
Wayne’s screen-worn jump jacket was among the costume pieces from The Longest Day sold by Heritage Auctions in October 2011, with the Western Costume Co. label describing the chest size as 47½ and sleeve length as 18¾. The actor would later wear another M1942 jump jacket the following year as the grizzled Polynesian-dwelling Navy veteran in Donovan’s Reef (1963) before again donning a full M1942 uniform as a fictional World War II major general in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966).
With its thigh-length cut and quartet of flapped pockets, the M1942 jump jacket foreshadows the standard Army field jacket that would be authorized the following year with the M1943 combat uniform, though the M1942 features many unique elements designed to meet the specific requirements of paratroopers. The straight brass-zip front is reinforced with a double-snap closure at the neck, and a unique dual-zippered placket pocket is sewn along the top for easy access to a switchblade pocketknife.
The jacket features four more prominent bellows pockets—two over the chest and two larger inverted box-pleated pockets over the hips—each with large asymmetrical flaps that close with two blackened brass snaps.
Note the four bellows pockets on Vandervoort’s M1942 jump jacket as well as the knife pocket at the top of the placket.
The jacket’s full self-belt pulls through three loops around the back and tightened through a blackened brass tall rectangular buckle in the front. To provide paratroopers with a full range of arm motion, the M1942 jacket’s “action back” includes long bi-swing vertical pleats behind each armhole and an inverted box-pleat down the center of the back, aligned with the single vent below the waist. The shoulders are detailed with epaulet straps, and the cuffs have two blackened brass snaps that close over each wrist.
M1942 jackets were often emblazoned with a gauze flag of the United States sewn onto their upper right sleeve to visually distinguish them as Americans and avoid friendly fire when landing behind enemy lines, though only the 82nd Airborne wore these during the Normand landings. Paratroopers also wore their division insignia on the upper left sleeve, so Vandervoort wears the 82nd Airborne Division’s recognizable combat service identification badge (CSIB) of two white A’s—for “All-American”—encircled in navy within a red square.
Vandervoort plans strategy with Brigadier General “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin, commanding general of the 82nd Airborne. The 27-year-old Vandervoort and 37-year-old James M. Gavin were portrayed in The Longest Day by 55-year-old John Wayne and 52-year-old Robert Ryan.
Vandervoort wears the khaki cotton summer service shirt with his jump uniform, though my understanding is that the M1942 was most commonly worn with heavier woolen flannel service shirts. Made from an 8-oz. cotton twill, the lighter khaki shirts were nearly identical for enlisted men and officers, though officers’ shirts were often equipped with shoulder straps (epaulets) to wear rank insignia. However, Wayne’s screen-worn shirt—if indeed the same as featured in the Heritage Auctions listing—lacks epaulets. Given how many commissioned officers wore “private purchase” shirts, there were often subtle details in the collar, cuffs, and pockets, though the standard design remained consistent with two flapped pockets and button cuffs.
Wayne’s screen-worn khaki service shirt as Vandervoort features six brown plastic buttons up the front placket, which also has a short pointed tuck-in tab at the base. The two chest pockets have mitred lower corners, rectangular flaps that each close through a single button, and a pen slot along the inside of the left pocket. The cuffs are gently rounded and have two stacked buttons to close. He wears collar device insignia—the silver oak leaf on the right indicate his lieutenant colonel rank and the gold crossed Springfield rifles on the left signify his belonging to an infantry regiment.
He also wears the lieutenant colonel silver oak leaf insignia pinned to the left side of his dark olive-drab wool serge side cap that he wears while the 82nd awaits their orders in England. Though some troops privately purchased rectangular “PX” side caps, Vandervoort’s cap is the standard-issue pleated-top garrison cap, braided with the black-and-gold piping reserved for commissioned officers rather than the color-specific divisional braiding worn by enlisted service members.
For the jump, Vandervoort wears the standard drab-painted steel M1 helmet that had been widely issued to U.S. Army troops since 1941. During this time, the Army had also authorized a run of 148,000 M2 helmets specifically oriented toward airborne units with extended D-shaped chinstrap rings, though the fixed rectangular chinstrap rings on Vandervoort’s helmet inform that he wears the classic M1.
Vandervoort follows his fellow paratroopers’ example of covering their helmets with netting to prevent the steel from shining too much. He also wears a first-aid kit wrapped in a light khaki waterproofed canvas pouch tied to the netting. The white oak leaf painted on the front of his helmet represents his lieutenant colonel rank insignia.
In England, Vandervoort had worn brown service trousers, likely the polyester flat-front trousers included in the Heritage Auctions listing, but he’s naturally wearing the M1942 jump pants by the time the 82nd is landing in France.
Made from the same OD#3 cotton twill as the jump jackets, M1942 trousers were distinguished by a large cargo pocket on the side of each thigh, each covered by a slanted double-snap flap like the jacket pockets. Paratroopers often secured their trousers with leg ties, with the 101st Airborne using 1″ webbing while the 82nd Airborne favored strips of olive-drab canvas. The tops of the trousers otherwise resemble the flat-front service trousers, with belt loops, quarter-top side pockets, a set-in front pocket with a slit opening under the right belt-line, and jetted back pockets with a button through the left one.
Vandervoort blousons the bottoms of his trousers over the tops of his “Corcorans”, the prized russet-brown leather jump boots originally made by the J.F. Corcoran Shoe Company and still officially available for purchase from Carolina Boots.. Following William P. Yarborough’s original design, these cap-toe boots are derby-laced through twelve sets of eyelets up to the top of each mid-calf shaft.
After he is diagnosed with a compound fracture, Wayne’s Vandervoort barks at the combat surgeon to “put the boot back on, and lace it up… tight!” to which the surgeon responds: “Don’t get mad at me, Colonel. I didn’t break it!”
Vandervoort carries his M3 trench knife in a brown leather M6 sheath secured to the outside of his left calf, tied in place under his knee and at the ankle. He also wears the 2¼”-wide eleven-wale olive-drab cotton web M-1936 pistol belt loaded with equipment, including his M1911A1 service pistol in the “U.S.”-stamped brown leather M-1916 holster looped through the right side of the belt.
The Guns
Lieutenant Colonel Vandervoort finds an unorthodox use for the Army’s venerated M1 Garand battle rifle by employing it as a crutch after breaking his leg during the rough landing in France. Designed in 1928 by the French-Canadian John C. Garand, this rifle was officially adopted by the U.S. Army and delivered to troops a decade later, replacing the bolt-action M1903 Springfield rifle. The M1 fired the same .30-06 Springfield cartridge as the earlier rifle but with a gas-operated, closed rotating bolt that established it as the first semi-automatic rifle to be issued to the American military.
Users loaded the M1 Garand with eight rounds of .30-06 in an en bloc clip placed into the internal box magazine, snapping the bolt forward as soon as pressure is removed from the top round, which is then charged and ready to fire. Though the M1 had a fine reputation to the extent that General George S. Patton referred to it as “the greatest battle implement ever devised,” users occasionally complained of “Garand thumb” if they didn’t remove their thumb quickly enough after reloading a clip and would get stung by the bolt snapping into place. After the last cartridge was fired, the rifle automatically ejected the clip (ping!) and left the bolt open and ready for reloading.
More than five million M1 rifles were built over its years of service until it was effectively replaced by the selective-fire M14 rifle in 1958, though some Garand rifles remained in front-line service at the start of the Vietnam War as well as issued to the National Guard and Army Reserve well into the 1970s.
Lt. Col. Vandervoort’s M1942 Uniform
John Wayne as Lt. Col. Benjamin H. Vandervoort in The Longest Day (1962)
- Olive drab cotton twill M1942 jump jacket with straight-zip front, four bellows pockets with double-snap slanted flaps, full self-belt with blackened brass buckle, shoulder straps (epaulets), double-snap cuffs, and inverted box-pleated back with bi-swing shoulder pleats and single vent
- U.S. flag on right upper sleeve
- 82nd Airborne CSIB on left upper sleeve
- Olive-drab cotton twill M1942 jump trousers with belt loops, quarter-top side pockets, slit-entry right-front pocket, jetted back pockets (with button-through left), cargo pockets (with double-snap slanted flaps), and blousoned bottoms
- Khaki cotton summer service shirt with point collar, six-button front placket (with pointed tuck-in tab), two mitred-corner chest pockets (with rectangular single-button flaps), and two-button barrel cuffs
- Silver oak leaf Lieutenant Colonel rank insignia collar device
- Gold crossed-rifles infantry insignia collar device
- Russet-brown leather 12-eyelet derby-laced mid-calf “Corcoran”-style cap-toe jump boots
- Olive-drab M-1936 cotton web pistol belt with brass hook-closure and flapped dark-brown leather M-1916 right-hand-draw belt holster
- Olive drab steel M1 helmet (painted with white oak leaf), covered with netting and first-aid kit
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie and Cornelius Ryan’s source book.
The Quote
Sometimes I wonder which side God’s on.
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