1943 U.S. Army Mule Pack, Italy PSA/DNA Type 1
Updated August 7, 2026
| Lot number | 90 |
| Auction | Investment Grade Tangible Assets 8-30-26 |
| Date | August 30, 2026 at 8:00 PM EDT |
| Auction house | Hradil Auction Company |
| Location | Timmonsville, South Carolina |
U.S. Army Mule Pack, Italy, December 12, 1943, 8" x 10" Original Signal Corps Photograph No. SC 184386. PSA/Type 1. Vintage gelatin silver glossy 8" x 10" U.S. Army Signal Corps press photograph, No. SC 184386, of American infantryman with pack mules, Italy, December 12, 1943, with caption stamp and Brown Brothers wet stamps on the verso. Although the U.S. Army was rapidly mechanizing, mules remained indispensable in the Italian campaign, where mountainous terrain made trucks and jeeps impractical. Pack mules carried rations, ammunition, medical supplies, and even disassembled artillery up steep trails and across rugged landscapes, sustaining front-line forces where no vehicles could reach. Soldiers assigned to these mule trains, known as "muleskinners," were highly skilled in handling and caring for the animals under combat conditions. The use of mule trains in Italy echoed their importance in other theaters such as Sicily, Tunisia, and Burma, where terrain was too wild even for jeeps. SC 184386 One infantryman pulling the lead rope and at least one soldier having encouragement from the rear are necessary to keep each mule in the pack train moving over the rugged and roadless country in the (sic) sector, Italy, Those mules are loaded with heavy weapons of the infantry batt, (sic) mortars. December 12, 1943.
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