I have been trying to glean information from my father's WWII possessions. Not having much luck so far. Here is a breif synopsis of what I do know: Waeren J McNabb Drafted Allentown, PA in July 16, 1942 Reported to Fort Meade, MD Sent to Camp Barkeley, Texas for medical training Sent to Camp Breckinridge, KY to join the 25th Field Hospital Sent to Camp Camp Anza California Shipped out on the USS George Washington September 7, 1943 Landed Bombay, India on October 20, 1943 Traveled to Ledo, Assam by train and riverboat. Unknown Activities September 7, 1945, left Lashie, Burma and traveled by truck to Ledo, Assam arriving on September 10, 1945 September 12, 1945 left Ledo, Assam by train and arrived on Karachi, Sind, India September 19, 1945 September 30, 1945 boarded the USS C.G. Morton October 1, 1945 Left Karachi, Sind, India October 4, 1945 Passed Aden, Arabia October 8, 1945 Arrived Suez, Egypt October 8 1945 entered Suez Canal October 8, 1945 Arrived Port Said, Egypt and refuled overnight October 11, 1945 passed Sicely and Mout Etna October 12, 1945 Passed Bisrata, North Africa October 14, 1945 Passed Gibralter October 22, 1945 Arrived New York City Pier 88, North River October 22, 1945 left Pier 88 and arrived at Camp Kilmer, NJ on October 22, 1945 October 23, 1945 Left Camp Kilmer, NJ and traveled to Indiantown Gap, PA on October 23, 1945 Arrived Allentown, PA I have lots of photos from the time on unknown activities, as well as several orders from the Mytikyina Task Force and the 25th Field Hospital and promotions. I have numerous references from newspapers and even his discharge papers that refer to the Merrill's Marauders, but I can not find any reference to him in the rosters. I have several pictures of him with groups of Kachin Rangers and British troops. I have a baggage tag with his name on it to be delivered to V Force in Shingbwiyang. I do know that he served as a medic and surgical technician while with the Kachin Rangers. I could not find any reference to his name in Detachment 101 of the OSS. While he was probably associated with the 25th Field Hospital for most of his stay, in the CBI, I believe that he was "loaned out" for much of the time he was in the CBI I have ordered his military records from St. Louis and anticipate receiving them in October. I will make a follow-up post of the locations of the photos that I have.
Greetings. Welcome to the forum. That is a very interesting question you're asking. It sounds like you have a lot of info, but I can see the analysis is the problem. The CBI was a world unto itself, and the assets were stretched thin. The 25th may have been who he was attached to the whole time, and he was temporarily assigned where he was needed the most. Was he awarded the Combat Medic's Badge? It sounds like he should have been. If the 25th had a unit history that might provide a general history of their activities.
This could (just maybe) turn into one awesome thread. I have not seen anything like it here or on our sister forum: http://ww2talk.com/ (ww2talk is very British focused, while ww2f.com is more focused on Commonwealth and US Forces, fyi.) So post anything and everything, no matter how trivial. OK FLScott? It is very common here on ww2f for input to be added - years and years from now from viewers that drop in. Hint: If you ever get a chance to retrace your father's footsteps, some of the most popular posts on this forum have "Before and After Photos."
Fred is right. Post anything that you have. You never know what will strike a chord with others. Keep us apprised on what NARA sends you. Again, there is no telling what may happen. Good luck.
1. Please choose "More Reply Options" in your original post and retitle the thread to capture more specfic google searches. - Aka - Kachin Rangers, 25th Field Hospital CBI Theater. 2. (Men, Brains, Oxymoron...) Failed to mention that you should keep an eye on our sister forum's CBI section at: http://ww2talk.com/forums/forum/53-burma-india/ - Noting that ww2talk.com is very British orientated, whilst our ww2f.com is the Commonwealth and USA orientated part of the pair.