Which AAA Unit?

Regarding the GCM, notice your father entered service in August 1942 so it was likely that a GCM was almost automatic after one year service -- barring other marks on his record. The criteria has changed since.


Entering in August 1942 and shipping overseas in December 1942 leaves little time for getting into trouble. Although the discharge document is not clear (EAMETO - Europe, Africa, Middle East Theater of Operations) it seems likely he shipped directly to North Africa and joined the 209th Coast Artillery (AA) as an individual replacement sometime after they arrived in January 1943.

Individuals and units going to the Mediterranean staged at Camp Patrick Henry VA for shipment out of Hampton Roads, Port of Embarkation.

I have seen that individual replacements, as late as early 1943, arrive at Casablanca and stayed a few weeks there before riding the rails by "French 40 or 8's" to a major Replacement Depot in Oran.

It is a little surprising to see a unit that participated in the Tunisia campaign return to the area of Algiers by the summer of 1943. Ports in Tunisia may have supported the Sicily operation while units slated for later operations staged near Algiers. Although air defense of Algiers may have counted as credit for the Tunisia campaign and the 209th CA (AA) may not have actually entered Tunisia.


APO 512 is listed in Algiers, Algeria starting 25 Nov 1942 and then Caserta, Italy starting 20 July 1944 so the time frame fits.


This page appears to support your father's Dachau story and seems creditable. More support would be better. Read page or Page Find: "72nd AAA".
http://www.chgs.umn.edu/histories/minnesotans/andHolocaust/dachau/administration.html



This may be premature but I found this when I searched "209th Coast Artillery" and randomly clicked the 7th or 8th Google page result. My Google foo feels strong again.

http://bulletin.kenyon.edu/x4058.xml

 

The Google-Force is strong with this one.

 

I have sent a request to NARA for info on the 209th. I plan on sending another request for info on the 72nd. Still looking while I wait on a response. May look for Colonel Townson, 209th commander. May the Google-Foo....Force be with us all.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Russell

 

No try, do or do not. Seriously, Good Luck in your search!

I've seen a small history of the 209th CA (AA) on WorldCat but it's hard to say what it covers since they did not stay together until the end of the war. It would be fortunate to have their history up to the break-up but it might only have their stateside training.


Back to this...

Link to post with attachment:
http://www.ww2f.com/topic/51600-which-aaa-unit/#entry568793

Assuming it has anything to do with the Army or GI's of that era, and given its small size, my second thought was an end-piece for some sort of uniform lanyard (I wont bore you [or embarrass me] with my first thought).

Perhaps not a lanyard for the dress uniform but maybe a tradition in the Coast Artillery on the field uniform. You might want to post on the militeria section to get the attention of the experts in those matters.

Peaceful Holidays to all.

 

I got a response from NARA today. They have some records available for the 209th CA (AA) Regt. but not much.

History Sep 1940-Dec 41
Diaries 1 Feb 1942- 18 Mar 44
General Orders 1943-44
History- Battery A Sep 1940-May 42

I will order the Diaries and General Orders but I don't think the history before 1943 would be relevant to my Dad's service or history of Battery A as Dad was in Battery B.

One more step in the right direction.

Russell

 

Today I got a reply from NARA on the 72nd AAA. WOW, they have operations reports from 1940-48 and want $400.00 for the 500 pages. A little too much for me especially not knowing for sure if Dad was in that unit and I would rather only buy the years he was there. They also have 24 pages of General Orders from 44-45 and I will order that for $19.20.

Russell

 

Eight-cents a page adds up fast. Would be nice if the NARA folks were adding a copy of the digital scans they do to the given files. It would save future wear and tear on the records, speed up the process and they wouldn't need to charge so much.

I'm not optimistic that's happening though.

Does anyone have any insight into this?

 

They didn't give a phone number to ask. The original request I sent asked for info between March 44 and October 45.

Eighty Cents a page, $0.80

One other thing I forgot to mention, they said "Rosters for units serving in World War II from1944-46 were destroyed in accordance with Army disposition authorities." It is a shame that important rosters were destroyed. I wonder why??

Russell

 

Thanks for catching my mistake on "Eighty".

I've heard/read the same thing about the WW II rosters being destroyed. I too would like to know the story behind this. They would've been worth their weight in gold now!

 

Actually, the option of digital copies on a CD or DVD has been available for some time. I prefer hard copies, which I will then scan at 300 dpi and convert to pdf in Adobe Acrobat. College Park scans at a lower resolution.

Regarding the cost, the NARA, like most of the Executive Branch, has a very tight budget. $0.80 per copy is not unreasonable. The alternative is hiring a researcher or going to College Park yourself. Fortunately, I am only 2 1/4 hours away.


Dave

 

I read somewhere that these records (below Bn level) were destroyed in the 1950s because of a lack of storage space.


Dave

 

College Park..... I just don't think I can get there from here! Do they have roads that cross the Mason-Dixon?

 

I've gotten digital copies of records for 6-8 different TD Bn's over the last several years and have been satisfied with the quality. All of them have been posted on our website and they're quite legible.

I'm sure they operate on a shoestring budget, always assumed they are under-budgeted, understaffed and over worked.

I just can't get my head around the National Archives destroying records, for any reason. It's an oxymoron!

I appreciate your insight, Dave. You're lucky to be close to College Park. I've made several visits to the Eisenhower Library, copying TD records, and enjoyed every bit of the time. Plan to return in the future and get into Divisional files.

Steve