Original Items: Only One Set Available. This uniform set is attributed to Lieutenant General Harry Kinnard! While we cannot find his name on the uniform items, we are confident that the previous owners at the AAF Tank Museum had it identified properly. Harry William Osborne Kinnard II was a senior United States Army officer who, during the Vietnam War, pioneered the airmobile concept of sending troops into battle using helicopters. Kinnard retired from the military as a lieutenant general.

On December 7, 1941, Kinnard was stationed at Pearl Harbor, and manned a machine gun to defend the base on the morning of the Japanese attack. He parachuted into France in the early hours of the Normandy Landings in June 1944, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism during Operation Market Garden, as part of the Allied airborne attack against German forces in the Netherlands in September 1944.

This came to us from the American Armoured Foundation, Inc. Tank and Ordnance Memorial Museum. The AAF Tank Museum was a living memorial dedicated to the Tank and Cavalry soldiers of the world. Before 1981 some of the artifacts that make up the AAF Tank Museum was a private collection belonging to Mr. William Gasser. Mr. Gasser felt that his collection would be beneficial in educating present and future generations to the sacrifices made and the technologies gained during war. Therefore, in 1981 the AAF Tank Museum was established as a non-profit charitable organization, and Mr. Gasser donated his private collection to the Tank Museum. Mr. Gasser is still active as Volunteer Director and Curator of the Tank Museum and his knowledge of military history has been a great asset to the museum. Unfortunately after 20 years of operation it had to close its doors, which is when this was acquired.

Features on the uniform:
Left Shoulder: 101st Airborne Division Patched Insignia With Rocker.
Right Shoulder: 82nd Airborne Division Patched Insignia With Rocker
Left and Right Shoulder Straps: A single silver bullion embroidered star, sewn on NOT direct embroidered.
Left Chest: Theater made (Japanese Post War Style) Embroidered Ribbon Rack featuring 12 ribbons.
Right Chest: Presidential Unit Citation
Lower Right Sleeve: 7 Bullion Embroidered overseas service bars, signifying 3.5 years spent overseas.

The overall condition of the uniform items are quite nice. It does appear that the tank museum had added the issued long sleeve shirt and trousers to complete the display as they bear multiple names in them. There is staining present which is expected on the khaki uniforms. There are minor holes present but nothing too noticeable or damaging.

A fantastic attributed uniform set that comes more than ready for further research and display.

Approximate Measurements:
Jacket:
Collar to shoulder: 9"
Shoulder to sleeve: 24.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17”
Chest width: 21"
Waist width: 20.5"
Hip width: 22"
Front length: 29.5"

Shirt:
Collar to shoulder: 9"
Shoulder to sleeve: 23.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17”
Chest width: 22.5"
Waist width: 22"
Hip width: 21"
Front length: 29"

Pants:
Waist: 15"
Inseam: 31"

Harry Kinnard
Kinnard grew up in Dallas, Texas. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1939, he entered military service.

On December 7, 1941, Kinnard was stationed at Pearl Harbor, and manned a machine gun to defend the base on the morning of the Japanese attack. He parachuted into France in the early hours of the Normandy Landings in June 1944, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism during Operation Market Garden, as part of the Allied airborne attack against German forces in the Netherlands in September 1944.

In December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, German forces surrounded the town of Bastogne, a town in Belgium then held by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division and located at a crossroads that could have allowed the Germans to break through the American lines and reach their goal of retaking the port city of Antwerp. With the American forces surrounded, short on supplies and suffering the effects of the bitter cold weather, two German officers approached the American lines with a demand that the U.S. forces surrender or face destruction.

Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe was acting division commander when he was handed the German demand. Lieutenant Colonel Kinnard, the division's operations officer, recounted later that McAuliffe had laughed and said "Us surrender? Aw, nuts." After considering the German demand, McAuliffe said he did not know what to say in response, to which Kinnard replied, "That first remark of yours would be hard to beat." As recounted by The New York Times in his 2009 obituary, "McAuliffe said, 'What do you mean?' I answered, 'Sir, you said, 'Nuts.' All members of the staff enthusiastically agreed. McAuliffe then wrote down: 'To the German Commander, Nuts! The American Commander.'"

McAuliffe's response was passed on to the two German officers who did not understand its meaning. Colonel Joseph H. Harper, commanding the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, who had delivered the message, explained to the Germans, "If you don’t know what 'nuts' means, in plain English it is the same as 'go to hell.'"

McAuliffe asked Kinnard to compose a message that he delivered to the troops in Bastogne on Christmas Day, 1944. The message has been variously recorded as:

What's merry about all this, you ask? Just this: We have stopped cold everything that has been thrown at us from the North, East, South and West. We have identifications from four German Panzer divisions and one German parachute division. The Germans surround us, their radios blare our doom. Their commander demanded our surrender, and received the following reply... 'NUTS!' We are giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Christmas present, and, being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms, are truly making for ourselves a Merry Christmas.

With improving weather allowing air support to assist the troops, the American forces were able to hold Bastogne. "Nuts" came to symbolize the American determination to overcome against the odds.

After the war, William Wellman's film Battleground, based on the experiences of the 101st, was filmed and released in 1950. The script was written by Robert Pirosh, a veteran of the battle, and Kinnard served as the Technical Advisor.

Twenty years after the Battle of the Bulge, Kinnard drew criticism from members of the 101st Airborne Division for his comments in a newspaper interview where he said, "We never felt we would be overrun. We were beating back everything they threw at us. We had the houses, and we were warm. They were outside the town, in the snow and cold". Many members of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry sent military historian Stephen Ambrose, the author of "Band of Brothers", the article containing the comments with their own opinion, the mildest comment by an E Company member being, "What battle was he in?".