Need help deciphering WWII grave headstone.

Hello,

I'm new to the group and I'm helping my wife find information on her father. What she knows is he served in the Army during WWII. He was a disabled veteran because he lost his lower arm and hand. My wife was only 5 years old at the time of his death in 1958, so she doesn't know much about his military career. He's buried in a private cemetery.

On his gravestone is the following

(FIRST MI LAST)
CALIFORNIA
SGT 815 AAA AW BN CAC
WORLD WAR II

We understand the rank of sergeant, but we have no idea what the remaining numbers and letter groups indicate.
If anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Randy

 

815th AntiAircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, Coast Artillery Corps.

 

To get an idea what your father-in-law might have gone thru, go here, and have a read.

Mind you, the 815th did not go into action until very late in the war.
World War II Story - Third Army - Europe - by Robert F. Gallagher

 

Welcome Aboard!

 

Thanks for the information. We will read Robert Gallagher's book. Our daughter-in-law found some additional info thru Ancestry.com. It was the request for the grave marker form. We found out that he enlisted in the Army early in 1941, before the United States entered the war. We also found out that he was discharged in November 1944 after losing his arm in a grenade training accident.

Randy Little

 

Welcome to the forums!

 

welcome