New Member VT03A3 Researching Dad's WW2 Service

New information has just come to light. My dad always said that he had the same serial number as someone else in the war. He said this was rare and possibly unheard of. Now I believe him. I was just just searching the NARA ADD using the serial number on my Dad's discharge papers - 31046093. It's the same one as on his final pay voucher. One record came up, and it was for Leslie Klinefelter, who enlisted at the same place on the same day - Rutland, Vermont, 6/2/1941. I did the same search using just my Dad's name and state. It found his enlistment record, which had serial number 31046095.

Anyhow, I wonder if there's a slim chance his personnel records did survive the St. Louis fire of 1973. I'll have to contact them again with the new S/N and see what they say.

Sadly, Leslie Klinefelter went missing in a B24 ditching on 7/15/1944.

 

The first dated document I could find with his serial number (besides the induction papers) was when he added my brother as a dependent on 7/1/43, over two years after he had enlisted. This contained the incorrect serial number, ending with a 3. His dog tags also bear the incorrect number. Looks like the mistake ocurred early on. That's not surprising considering that a dirty typewriter can easily make a 5 look like a 3.

 

Hi Folks. I have uploaded my Dad's separation papers to Photobucket, along with his final pay voucher, a picture of his uniform, and his purple heart, which my nephew has.

http://s296.photobucket.com/user/vt03a3/library/KM-WW2?sort=3&page=1

I hope this link works.

My nephew also has his hat, which I thought was lost.

I did ask NARA Personnel records for his medical records too, but they had nothing. They also had nothing under his original serial number. I don't know his unit, so I can't precisely ask for morning reports around his wounding date of 11/19/1944. However, thanks to Ruud, I can see on a map where the 2nd Armored was on or about that date. I'm focusing on the German towns of [SIZE=11pt]Baesweiler, Palenberg and Ubach, searching the Web for action reports from around that date. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Once I have some suspect units, I may contact a paid researcher to look for morning reports. I have received some help from the Eisenhower Library folks. They tell me that Combat Command A of the 66th Armored Regiment, Second Armored Division, was still unloading on June 12, when my Dad landed. They also have some action reports of the 66th from November 1944. They have been helpful. [/SIZE]

 

Totally confused by the uniform--it has one engineering brass and one infantry. It has 113th Infantry Regiment DUI, (29 th Div) and of course 2nd Armored battle patch. The 29th was attached to the 2nd during the advance to the Roer River where your dad was wounded but they would have had their own patch.

His EAME Campaign ribbon has the correct number of battle stars but it looks like it also has a bronze arrowhead which the 2nd Armored wasn't awarded for Normandy--they went ashore after the invasion fleet.
There is what looks like a Tank Destroyer crest on the right pocket(?) I see no indication he was in the 702nd since they wore the tank destroyer patch and there is no indication in the papers. The American Defense ribbon should go between the EAME ribbon and the American Campaign ribbon.

The typist who filled out the separation paper got lazy and didn't include the GOs who awarded the PH and the Good Conduct medals. Because of his Combat Infantry Badge he is also eligible for the Bronze Star Medal. The CIB should also have a General Order for whoever issued it. This would have given us his unit.

Too bad the top part of the separation paper was cut off--some stuff in there that might help. I'm so sorry that I can't find one indication of what unit he was in. If he was in the 2nd AD he may have been attached to the 41st Infantry Regiment where he earned the CIB. They rode the tanks and sometime directed fire for them. Records show the first elements of the 41st went ashore on June 9th so that could work.

It shows he wa only a rifleman for 6months and drove a 21/2 ton most of the time. But he was in the states for almost 3years and he may have drove there. 6 months as a rifleman would put him as an infantryman from Normandy until he was wounded in November. He may have spent time in the hospital and was transferred to the supply unit for Occupation Duty.

He would be eligible for the Occupation Medal w/Germany Clasp and also the WWII Victory Medal. He should also be eligible for the Belgian Fourguerre (shoulder cord). If he was in the 2nd.

I would ask for the morning reports for the 41st Armored Infanty Regiment for November 19th 1944- give it a few days before and after because sometimes the guy writing them screws the dates up. Think that's the best guess going.

 

Hi. Sorry to be confusing. He was in the 132nd New Jersey Guard from the time he enlisted until he went to England in May, 1944. He did shore patrol in NJ and DE. He and my Mom were married in Georgetown. I put bought the emblems and put them on so the uniform matched his wedding photo, which also shows both the Engineer and Infantry lapel pins. That is the way I remember his uniforrm from when I was small. I begged my Mom to give me those emblems to put on my own "uniform" and of course I lost them. I have recenlty replaced those too. The TD pin I bought for myself and just parked it there for now. He never had anything like that, nor a TD badge.

He did not go with the 29th, wherever they went. Others in the 132nd were assigned to different units as well. I know this from a letter from another member to his mom that I found online. He did drive truck and was a dispatcher in NJ as well. I think his time in the 2905th was very brief. It was organized on April 20, 1944. I have the unit history from the archives. I did find mention of a 2905th truck company in an after action report online, but I don't think the two were related.

I was always told he had the Belgian Fourguerre but I don't know where it went. He probably didn't have the occupation medal because he was told to go home as soon as he crossed the Rhine. His arrowhead is original. I know he went ashore June 12, I expect with Combat Command A of the 66th Armored Regiment, as indicated by the Eisenhower Library guys. I don't know if he rode a tank or drove a tank, but he always said he drove one, at least for a time. I think he did pretty much any kind of driving they wanted. My father was a flexible guy with a lot of skills and a can-do attitude. He said he was one of the few that could drive a tank well on ice.

I'm sorry the separation papter got truncated. I will post the rest as I get time. The only thing of interest is "Truck Driver (Heavy) 7-36.250".

 

He didn't go home after crossing the Rhine. The 2nd crossed the Rhine about March 24th and he didn't leave for the states until October 2, 1945. That's why I think he was transferred to Com Z for occupation duty. Com Z had become a supply and administration outfit by that time, so suspect he went back to driving truck.

There were times, especially during and after the action at Puffendorf that they were very short of tank drivers--a 67th light tank vet said that was one battle that he didn't think he was going to live through. Your dad may well have been asked to help operate a tank sometimes.

 

You're right. I was not too observant in reading his separation document. What he actually told me was that when he crossed the Rhine, he had been in continuous combat for 180 days and they cut him loose from fighting. They told him to hitch his way back to the rear but whatever means he could find.

He said something about going through Austria and Switzerland, perhaps for R&R. There is some evidence online that our troops did R&R there after the war ended.

I have rosters for the 2905th from June 4 and June 28, 1945 and my Dad is not on them.

 

I'm guessing, given his "jack-of-all-trades" nature, your father made an MOS change at the end of the war to engineer from infantry, explaining the discharge from an engineering unit and the Corps of Engineers insignia. Men with continuous combat exposure, wounds, or possessing a certain aptitude were sometimes given these choices as a "safer" option, especially near the end of the war. He was probably assigned to the 113th Infantry during his three years of stateside service, as they are another NJ-ANG unit.

 

He was. The insignia is on his uniform in his marriage photo from 1943. He worked in the motor pool, drove truck, did dispatching, drove for a Colonel for a bit, and did shore patrol in a jeep in NJ and DE. He left the 113th when he went overseas. He was with them on the Carolina maneuvers, but didn't go out to Washington state with them when they did short patrol out there.

 

I know the engineering brass was not on his uniform in his wedding photo. Enlisted personnel always wear the US brass on the right and whatever branch they are in on the left. The 113th was infantry, so his left brass is correct. Having the engineering brass on the right jumps out as wrong, like having three eyes. You can tell the crest is infantry at first glance. Blue is infantry color, the cross is infantry.

An Army uniform is like a walking personnel file--one look and you can tell his rank, his present branch of service ((branch brass), his unit (crest) how long he was in the Army (hashmarks), how long overseas during wartime (service bars), His last combat unit (right sleeve patch), his present unit (left sleeve patch) Where he served in combat (campaign ribbons) decorations, badges, etc. They all have a place and all have a reason. You can even tell he was in the Army early in the war--that's the older type uniform. Eisenhower changed the class A uniform to the Ike Jacket about mid-war. They didn't re-issue the new class A's to the older troops--they kept their original.

 

Any references I made to the 132nd NJ Guard Infantry should have been the 113th. Sorry about that.

 

I didn't mean to come across that way, I apologize. I was just trying to give some information on decorating uniforms and why.
It's your uniform and you should decorate it any way you like. I'll butt out.

 

Not a problem. You have helped me a lot. I don't have a lot of time to spend on this right now and I get things mixed up from time to time.

I am going to see if the VA has any records that might identify his unit. Whether they do or not, I will engage a professional researcher to look for Morning Reports of the 41st Armored Infantry and the 66th Armored Regiment on or after the day he was wounded and see if we can nail down his unit and go from there.

 

I called the local VA office in Vermont. They tried to help, but said my Dad's records were transferred to St Louis when my brother moved him out there in the mid-90's. He died soon after. I called the St Louis VA and finally got a lady who told me how to request a C-file. I faxed in my request for everything they have. A couple of months later, I got a letter saying they were working on it. They said it could take a while as they might have to compile and copy records from multiple locations. They said it would be delivered on a CD, which is fine.

So now I wait, for how long I don't know. Will there be any administrative records from the war era? I am hopeful as he was treated by the VA prior to the 1973 fire, so they might have his pay records. It's a long shot, but I'll give it a while before I contact a paid researcher.