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Army Service history

Discussion in 'War in the Pacific' started by Wingnutz, Jul 17, 2019.

  1. Wingnutz

    Wingnutz New Member

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    I just stumbled on this site and I am amazed at the information in here and thought I would ask for some help in finding information if it’s available.

    Like others have mentioned my Grandfather was in the Army during WW2 and served in the Asiatic-Pac Theatre. My Aunt just blessed me with my Grandfathers’ service paperwork and I have been doing some research to find out information on him to see if I can figure out the places that he went or the routes he traveled. I don’t know if that information is available, but I thought I would try anyway.

    My grandfather joined the Army on October 29 1940 in Montana.

    He served as a Quarter Master with the 1358th Depot Supply Company (Aviation)

    The paperwork states that his date of Departure was May 15th 1943 but it doesn’t say from where.

    He arrived someplace in New Guinea June 15th 1943.

    As I understand it, at some point, my Grandfather and some of the others from his unit drank water from a water hole without realizing it was poisoned. I don’t know how many died from it, but my Grandfather became very sick from it.

    The paperwork shows that he departed from New Guinea on October 24th 1944. It looks like he was transferred to the 118th General Hospital in Riverwood, New South Whales, Australia based on his Toe Tag information that was dated September 25th 1944. (I was told that he was not expected to make it during transport so a Toe Tag was put on him)

    He arrived back in the USA somewhere on November 6th 1944 and ended up in a hospital in Spokane Washington where he was Honorably Discharged on March 22nd 1945.

    My biggest question is from the time that he joined, (1940) to the time he arrived in New Guinea, (1943) where was he? With the war raging in Europe and in the Pacific could he really have been state side for that long or could he have been on another island? Is there documentation available that shows the information of where he was?

    I never met my grandfather. He passed away in 1967 from complications of what the poisoned water did to his internal organs so this has been an opportunity to learn more about him.
     
  2. RichTO90

    RichTO90 Well-Known Member

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    Name and birth date would be helpful.
     
  3. Wingnutz

    Wingnutz New Member

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    His name was Donald Charles Hicks. Born October 12th 1922, serial number was 19019244
     
  4. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    Those dates are consistent with the 348th Fighter Groups arrival in Australia and again at Port Moresby New Guinea . Might be a long shot but.......
    His being in a aviation depot supply company and the dates are intriguing to say the least.
    Can you add anything more?
     
  5. Wingnutz

    Wingnutz New Member

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    That's all I have been able to get from his paperwork. Although, I only have pictures of the paperwork from my Aunt right now until I get over to see her. It’s possible that I missed something.

    He was a Private and his highest Grade was a Tec/5. His serial number also breaks down into something called the 9th Corps area.

    I was always told over the years he was a cook. I have a copied picture of the only known service picture that shows him in his apron for KP duty (front and center with feet apart) but on his paperwork his military occupation was listed as a Chauffer 245, which decodes as a truck Driver "Heavy". I'm guessing he hauled equipment, supplies or ordinance around. Maybe even drove troop transporters?

    Heck, I was surprised to learn that he was a Quarter Master. Honestly, I had never heard of the name until a few days ago. After reading up on what a Quarter Master did, I learned they wore many hats. So, it’s possible he did many things. Jack of all trades perhaps?

    I know he seen combat, my Aunt told me that my grandfather would wake up in the middle of the night sometimes yelling for Whitney. Whitney pushed my Grandfather out of the way when a grenade landed by them and he jumped on it to shield the guys. I don’t know his last name, but I'm thinking I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Whitney's sacrifice.

    20190601_182930.jpg IMG952019071495141016130.jpg IMG952019071495141049305(1).jpg IMG_20190714_140914699_BURST000_COVER.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2019
  6. Wingnutz

    Wingnutz New Member

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    Now that I'm looking around the website more, I noticed a section for "What Granddad did during the War" Would my thread be better placed in that section? Can Admin move it over?
     
  7. KMZgirl

    KMZgirl Member

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    I have noticed that men sometimes say "what they did" (cook, etc.) But it actually only refers to the noncombat part of their service. Dad, when asked, always said he was an MP (military police.) Well, according to his paperwork, he was for 6 months after he returned stateside from his overseas service. I think men who do this have no desire to speak of combat. It's safe to comment this way. Good luck on your search.
     
  8. RichTO90

    RichTO90 Well-Known Member

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    He enlisted in the Regular Army in the zone of the 9th Corps Area, which was headquartered at the Presidio of San Fransisco and included Alaska, Idaho, Montana, California, Wyoming, Washington, Utah, Nevada and Oregon. The 1359th was the final unit he was discharged from, but was also probably the unit he served with in New Guinea. Since that was a USAAF component I suspect when he enlisted it was in one of the Army Air Force units in 9th Corps Area. He was not necessarily a "Quartermaster" (one word), but was rather a part of a Quartermaster unit, the 1359th Quartermaster Depot Supply Company (Aviation) was part of the Quartermaster Corps of the Army Service Forces, assigned to support USAAF aviation units. They provided supplies in the field to those units and were based at airfields, supporting the units that flew out of the airfields. He could have acted as a supply clerk, driver, or other roles. His MOS indicates that he was a chauffeur or driver, so it was something associated with driving vehicles from the depot to base units.
     
  9. Wingnutz

    Wingnutz New Member

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    Thank You for clarifying that. It's starting to paint a picture of the larger picture for me.
     

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