Another great Airborne pin in shades of blue and silver. The 173rd Airborne Brigade originally was activated in 1917 as the 173rd Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 87th Infantry. The 173rd Airborne Brigade was actually activated in Okinawa on March 26, 1963. Famous as the "Sky Soldier" the 173rd, made thousands of parachute jumps in more than a dozen different pacific area countries. The Brigade was the first Army unit sent to the republic of South Vietnam in May 1965.