My dad was in the 473rd but I can’t remember what regiment he was in before. He wouldn’t discuss the war with me. He said his first regiment was all shot up so bad they had to form another one. Maybe his was one the unlucky ones at the rapido river crossing. He saw a lot of bad stuff and refused to share. Don’t know for sure if he was at rapido but I do know he was in North Africa, Rome Arno , Naples Foggia, and Po Valley. Wish I could have got more out him.Va said a lot of his and other soldiers records were destroyed in a fire at the place where records are kept.
Man, that's tough with no records. The trouble with our Replacement Depot system is that a soldier can find himself in an entirely new division or regiment among strangers. Most guys wanted to go back to their buddies. Even if a soldier is trained and assigned a regiment stateside, he could get pulled out and sent to a depleted unit and his original regiment re-raised and re-trained with fresh boot camp/advanced infantry training graduates. Most of the 473 was composed of guys in AA units but I suspect your father was from the Repo-Depo. Bet his unit was at Anzio. What a meat grinder that was. I know the some Rangers, 3rd Infantry Div, 82nd Airborne (504th Paratrooper Regt), and First British Infantry Division fought there. The Rangers walked into a trap and most didn't make it out. Maybe he was among them? The 3rd Infantry survived and was later sent to Southern France (Dragoon, Champagne Campaign, Vosges Mtns, and into Germany) with its three regiments intact. Any pictures of him?
If you haven't tried requesting his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), you should. All you need is his name & Army Serial Number (ASN). If you don't have his ASN, you may be able to get it from the VA. If you have his discharge papers, it will be on them. About the 1973 fire, 70-80% of Army personnel records were damaged or destroyed. The only way to know if his were affected is to request them. If they were affected, all is not lost! There is an alternative method to track his service.