Swiss Dress Dagger Presented to Gen. William Yarborough (Father of the Green Berets)

Serial #175799.  This is a handsome dagger that measures 13 1/4" overall, with an 8 1/4" straight, double-edged blade.  The steel has an overall dull, pewter gray patina with some minor scabbard marks on either side, and the ricasso has a "ELSENER / SCHWYZ / VICTORIA" maker’s stamp on the obverse, with serial number on the reverse.  The hilt has nickel-plated, swept-back quillons and a flared pommel with exposed capstan nut.  The nickel is in fine shape, with a few minor surface scratches here and there, and the wooden grip panels, fastened by three screws, have some small handling marks scattered about.  The attached officer’s portepee is in excellent shape, and the scabbard retains the original black painted finish.  The scabbard is engraved: "TO MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM P. YARBOROUGH / SENIOR MEMBER UNCMAC / FROM THE SWISS DELEGATION NNSC / PANMUNJOM, KOREA, AUGUST 1965."  An original belt clip is also included.  Lt. Gen. William Pelham Yarborough (1912 – 2005) was a 1936 graduate of West Point and volunteered for the fledgling US Army airborne forces while assigned to the 29th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, GA in 1940.  In 1941, Yarborough was responsible for the design of the famous paratrooper jump boot, paratrooper uniform, as well as the US Army Parachutist Badge (still in use today).  Yarborough served in North Africa and Italy during WW2, with postwar service in Occupied Germany, and the US.  In 1961 Yarborough was appointed the commandant of the US Army Special Warfare Center/School for Special Warfare at Fort Bragg, NC (now the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Liberty, NC).  Yarborough worked hard to build up the capabilities of the Special Forces, and oversaw a dramatic increase in the professional and academic standards of the school.  His most well-known contribution was the introduction of the iconic Green Beret as a distinguishing symbol of the Special Forces.  Following his time at the Special Warfare School, he became the Senior Member, UN Command Military Armistice Commission, Panmunjom, Korea, where he was the chief negotiator with the DPRK and Chinese.  It was while he was head of UNCMAC that he was presented this dagger by the Swiss members of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC).  Following that, he was posted to the Pentagon where he eventually became the top Army intelligence officer.  In 1969 he was made Deputy Commander-in-Chief, US Army Pacific, retired from Army service in 1971, passing away on December 6, 2005.  This is a fine Swiss Army dress dagger with a unique presentation to one of America’s greatest "Cold Warriors."