Hi Guys being a history nut this one got my attention. So I did some re-reading and for the Invasion of Southern France and the Invasion of Italy and found the following:
Operation Dragoon.
The assault troops were formed of three American divisions of the VI Corps, reinforced with a French armoured division. The 3rd Infantry Division landed on the left at Alpha Beach (Cavalaire-sur-Mer), the 45th Infantry Division landed in the centre at Delta Beach (Saint-Tropez), and the 36th Infantry Division landed on the right at Camel Beach (Saint-Raphaël). At Cap Negre, on the western flank of the main invasion, a large group of French commandos landed to destroy German artillery emplacements (Operation Romeo). These were supported by other French commando groups landing on both flanks, and by Rugby Force, a parachute assault in the LeMuy-Le Luc area by the 1st Airborne Task Force: British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade, the U.S. 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, (eventually was absorbed by the 13th Airborne Division and a composite U.S. airborne glider regimental combat team formed from the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion Which was an independent Battalion thoughout the war, the 550th Glider Infantry Battalion, and the 1st Battalion, 551st Parachute Infantry Regiment(Operation Dove). The 1st Special Service Force took two offshore islands to protect the beachhead (Operation Sitka). Operation Span, a deception plan, was carried out to shield the main invasion.
For Italy I have the following on the 82d:
On August 15, 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division became the first airborne division in the U.S. Army, and was redesignated the 82nd Airborne Division. In April 1943, paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division deployed to North Africa under the command of Major General Matthew B. Ridgway to participate in the campaign to invade Italy. The Division's first two combat operations were parachute and glider assaults into Sicily on July 9 and Salerno on September 13, 1943. The initial assault on Sicily, by the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was the first regimental sized combat parachute assault conducted by the United States Army.
In January 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was temporarily detached from the division to fight at Anzio, adopted the nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants," taken from an entry in a German officer's diary. While the 504th was detached, the remainder of the 82nd was pulled out of Italy in November 1943 and moved to the United Kingdom to prepare for the liberation of Europe.
So there is a good possibility that soldiers wearing the 82d patch and the 3rd Infantry Patch would have been seen or even photographed together during this sideshow invasion. Or that a photo from Italy could have been mismarked and labeled as one from the South of France. Either way I think these units would have seen a lot of each other during the fight for Europe.
Take Care
Dave