431st AA Artillery... at least partly

If anyone can help me piece together a bit more of my grandfather's time (or timeline) while he served in WWII, it would be incredibly appreciated. It's for my grandma, who I may possibly be visiting this weekend. If there's more to share than what I already have, it'll all be icing

What I know from family: my grandpa didn't speak much of his experiences - what he did share has been relayed to me by my mom and aunts/uncles. The main piece of info being that he was in Germany and Normandy (by extension, but less frequently mentioned, that he was present at D Day). Also that his unit frequently had to make/use foxholes for shelter and that he ate way too many shrimp and never ate them after he got back.

What I've learned in the past few months: (see pictures)

• Appt picture: In August of 1942, Private lol(?) Herman D. Mathews was at Camp Davis and appointed a Technician 5th Grade 345 Temp(?) Ng(?) A(?) Hg(?) Btry (Battery?) 1st B/Dn 514th CA (AA). The type on this is difficult even with upping contrast/lowering shadows and what not.
  • From what I've found, the 345 means he was a truck driver, light (US Army World War II Military Occupational Specialties (By Job Area)) so he could have been transporting materials, or wounded soldiers?

• Discharge paper: confirms he was Technician 5th grade (which I understand is below 4th and 3rd grades?) and he was last serving in Battery D of the 431st AA Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion when discharged in October 1945. That was the same unit given on a brick with his name that became a part of a veteran's memorial in fall 2017. That led me to...
• http://ww2f.com/threads/431st-aaa-aw-bn-battery-d-please-help.5311/ this thread, which was incredibly helpful last fall. From this I learned…
  • someone possibly from my grandpa’s battery was alive! (I then saw it started in 2003… but went all the way until 2015)
  • AAA units moved around a lot, so tracking them was difficult
  • there might be a book about his experiences, even if he wasn’t directly referenced! also, checking libraries and local newspapers could be helpful... (have not tried tracking down booklet yet since I'm unsure of how much time he spent in the 431st)
  • there was a roster someone attached as PDFs! but my grandpa wasn’t listed on it as far as I could see...

• Color picture: confirms he was in Normandy, though I feel like if he were involved in D-Day that would somehow be noted? Anyways, he obviously got moved around as his branch is listed as 217th AA Artillery, but instead of 431st, he is listed as be in the D battery of 432 st (typo? or possibly he just spent so little time there at the end that they listed him in 431st for his discharge? or… the discharge is wrong?)
  • other notes are that he apparently became a rifle marksman at some point, which he has a medal for at the bottom, along with the EAME medal, good conduct, WWII victory, and the medal half on the picture I presume is the American campaign medal
  • also says he got 5 bronze stars, which in some places I’ve read means it should have been converted to a silver star? but then in others I’ve heard of just getting 5 bronze stars. Also, I think the #30/45 refer to the campaigns he was involved in, but memory (and links) escape me right now as to what those refer to.

So that is what I have gleaned thus far. Any and all links, suggestions, confirmations, and personal experiences are welcome!

 

Not directly relevant but a lot of AA links here:
Skylighters, The Web Site of the 225th AAA Searchlight Battalion: History
And this is a should read for anyone interested in the history of AA artillery in WWII particularly in Europe:
The Hammer of Hell
The 431st is mentioned in chapter3

Should be someone along with more relevant help shortly. Good luck on your searches.

 

Took me a minute as I thought the PFC, Corporal, and Tec5 were all referring to one (woops) but now I see! Thank you for that Lou! And thank you lwd for the links, I'll definitely take some time to poke around through those - the more context the better!

 

Okay, the first document is his appointment at the end of training to the rank of Technician 5th Grade (345) (Temp). "345" was his MOS and the "Temp" indicates it was a temporary rank and MOS...it was probably intended for him to train for another rank and/or position. His appointment was in the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 514th CA Regiment (AA). That occurred on 19 August 1942, but here is the catch, on 26 May 1943 that unit was redesignated as the 217th CA Battalion (AA) and then later the 217th AA Gun Battalion, Mobile. It was as the last that he served in Normandy. It was assigned to Third Army, but attached to First Army and VII Corps for D-Day, landing, probably on UTAH Beach, on 25 June 1944,

 

Thank you so much Richard Anderson! That makes me curious as to where that unit was between August of '42 and May of '43 - were they hanging out at Camp Davis for half or more of it? Or deployed in that time frame? And then between it's assigned CA Battalion (AA) and the AA Gun Battalion, Mobile. I'm starting to understand how frequently these units were reassigned as I've begun reading the Hammer of Hell link suggested above - that actually, it seems their purpose was to go where called (new to me!). Which also makes them very difficult for anyone later on to try and track haha.

 

I think you may be misunderstanding what I wrote. The 514th CA Regiment (AA) was activated at Camp Davis on 1 March 1942. It remained there, aside from probably traveling to various Army field exercises, until 26 May 1943 when it was redesignated. The headquarters battery became the Headquarters, 108th AA Group, the 1st Battalion became the 217th CA Battalion, the 2d Battalion became the 639th CA Battalion, and the 3d Battalion became the 363d CA Battalion. The reason was that Army Ground Forces had decided that fixed regimental organizations for combat support units such as AA, Engineers, and Artillery was not flexible enough for modern war, so they substituted group headquarters which could have attached a variable number of separate battalions. The 217th CA Battalion was redesignated again on 20 January 1943 as the 217th AAA Gun Battalion (mobile), while still based at Camp Davis. It remained training there until March 1944 when it prepared for overseas movement, embarking at Boston on 7 April 1944 and arriving England on 17 April. It arrived on the Continent on 25 June, was at Stubenag (a corruption, probably Stubenberg ib Bavaria on the Inn near Braunau) Germany c. 1 August 1945, and returned to the US via Hampton Roads 2 January 1946 where it was officially deactivated at Camp Patrick Henry on the same date. From that I suspect it remained with Third Army, probably from around 1 August 1944.