504th parachute infantry

Hey-
I could use some help....after years of thinking that my grandfather was in the 101st Airborne, it turns out that he was in the 504th parachute infantry. My dad gave me a copy of a document (pension application??) which gives me that info and dates of induction, separation, date of wound received, areas of action etc etc.

What I am trying to figure out is which battalion and company my grandfather would have been in. I do know that my dad said that my grandfather said the only place he personally saw any action was in the ardennes. This makes sense, sort of because he didn't get over to Scotland from the states until D-day (ship landed in scotland on d= 6 Jun 1944) my grandfather got the Normandy patch, which is silly...but he WAS in Britain that day...LOL...anyway...he was wounded in late January 1945, so he must have missed most of the action in Germany...I want to find out so much more...like why he wouldn;t talk about it etc etc...but without knowing battalion and company, I am stuck,,.,

help please??
Thx in advance,
Hackett

 

Welcome

As far as online resources this site has a link to a 504th PIR roster, but the link actually points to the 505th PIR roster PDF. You might contact the webmaster to see if they actually have a 504th roster that covers your grandfathers service.

http://www.usairborne.be/82/82_504_us.htm


Regarding the Normandy campaign credit, I would not rule out the possibility that he served with another unit in Normandy after June the 6th. The 82d and 101st did not return to England until July 1944.

I can't think of any service in England that would qualify for Normandy campaign credit except maybe Army Air Force pilots. And if the Army made a mistake in awarding the Normandy campaign credit does not mean one should take it. An honest service record is respected however modest.

The 504th PIR was also in action for the Holland operation in September -- MARKET-GARDEN

Good Luck!

 

Not sure what a "Normandy Patch" is, but the Normandy Campaign was for action between June 6th 1944 and July 24th 1944. Like Earthican stated, if the 504th wasn't in Normandy (Stanton says the 504th didn't
participate in the assault), he probably went with another unit. He may well have gone to Normandy before that campaign ended. June 6th (D-Day) isn't all there was to the Normandy Campaign. I think the next
airborne action was Market Garden in September 1944. Sounds like he was wounded tn the Bulge in December and January.

 

This doesn't answer the question at hand, but I thought it was interesting and worth mentioning. While the 504th as a unit did not participate in the Normandy Invasion, there were members of the 504th who apparently did:

http://www.ww2-airborne.us/units/504/504.html