One of the most exclusive "clubs" of the US fighting man in World War II was a unique award to the paratroopers who had been forced to use their reserve parachutes during a parachute jump.
The club was called the "4,000 Club" and was only awarded in the earlist days of the airborne. The growth of the airborne forces from mere battalions to a total of five fully outfitted airborne divisions caused the club to go by the wayside.
The pin is small, a little smaller than a dime and depicts a four leaf clover with the number 4,000 in the center. The number represented the jump command upon bailing out of the aircraft to count to three- one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, and then to check your canopy to ensure that it deployed. A count of four thousand without feeling the opening jolt of the opening chute required that the jumper pull the rip cord on his reserve.
These pins are clutchback and manufactured by the LG Balfour Company.
The club was called the "4,000 Club" and was only awarded in the earlist days of the airborne. The growth of the airborne forces from mere battalions to a total of five fully outfitted airborne divisions caused the club to go by the wayside.
The pin is small, a little smaller than a dime and depicts a four leaf clover with the number 4,000 in the center. The number represented the jump command upon bailing out of the aircraft to count to three- one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, and then to check your canopy to ensure that it deployed. A count of four thousand without feeling the opening jolt of the opening chute required that the jumper pull the rip cord on his reserve.
These pins are clutchback and manufactured by the LG Balfour Company.
How rare is it? In your collecting career, how many have you seen? What is the ballpark figure for such an item? 
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