I am the proud daughter of a WWII vet. He just passed away in October. While planning his funeral, I was asked for and found his discharge papers. He never spoke much about his service. What I do know is that he was honorably discharged, served in China,Burma, India...was taught to speak and read Chinese, has a pin on his cap that means he was an instructor at the Ramghar Training Facility...this is all I know, and unfortunately, I am ignorant when it comes to history and the meaning of any of the above stated. Oh, I do have his passport, which is difficult to read because it is not in English, lol. It is green and says "Special Passport" on the front. Were all military passports this way? I look forward to hearing from you guys. Oh, and please move this to where it needs to be to get the best responses! Please help me to understand! Thanks!!!
Howdy there and welcome to the forum. I am sorry for your loss. Ramgarh became the main training centre for Chinese troops in India. Chaing Kai-Shek gave Stilwell command of what was left of the 22nd and 38th Divisions of the Chinese Army. So it seems like Your father was part of helping train the Chinese. Now I never knew this and this is awesome. What language is your father's passport? When I was in the military, I received two passports. The normal one, and a diplomatic passport for special uses. But it was in english/French. Perhaps at the time it was for use between your father's trips to China. Here is link that briefly describes the operations in the India-Burma-Chinese theater. China Burma India Theater of World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Good luck in your search
Thank you for answering! It is a green passport that says "Special Passport" then has the United States of America written underneath the eagle. On the inside, I see that it was issued Nov. 11, 1042 and expired May 11, 1942. ( 6 months?) He must of had another one too, but this is the only one we have today. I can look at his discharge papers. I know he was in the service (army) about 3 and 1/2 years. Oh, I remember he was also an MP in Texas for a while back then too.
Ha, found something better. Google Image Result for http://cbi-theater-5.home.comcast.net/ramgarh/map2.jpg Here is an excerpt:
I re-read your response. I have his passport in front of me now. I cannot read what is stamped inside ( the places) . I will type it now and post...
Your father had an interesting role in the war. Your family should be proud of him. It is a shame that such interesting histories are being lost as our vets pass away. My best wishes to you and your family.
The first stamp looks like it may be in Iraq? I recall him telling me as a child all the places he had been. I remember Turkey was one. Isn't that close to Iraq? Pardon my ignorance! lol #1) Vu a Legation Royal de l Irak a Washington looks like Nov? #2)20 Nov 1942 Trinidad and Tobago #3)Vu a la Legation Royale d Egypte a Washington 12 November 1942 #4)Embassy of the Republic of China . Washington #5)Nov 13, 1942 Legation Im perial del l'iran . washington #6)21/11/1942 Nov, porto de belem With all these places are sentences written in foreign languages. I'm assuming it gives a little more info about when in where he was going. Could these all be embassys, clue in #4? Or just points of entry?
Thank you for your responses. I am so proud of ALL the men and women in ALL the wars. But of course, my daddy, will remain special to me, no matter how much or how little he did! He will always be my hero!
Points of entry stamped with official stamp of approving authority. So it looks like he went through Iran, Egypt, China and Port of Belem(???) The language is french which at that time was the diplomatic language.
Scanning is a great idea! Was having a blonde moment. Let me see if I can figure out my scanner. I have never used it. But I do have one!
It keeps trying to scan it to my email but it never works. It now won't give me an option to send elsewhere? I can take it to work Monday and have my secretary do it. (I'm off with a sick kid today). Sorry, I am challenged at this sort of thing. I never use it. I will try to remember to scan the cap and pin too! Any more help or responses are definitely welcome!
After you scan, does it give you an option to 'save as'? If so, save it on your desktop and then post it as a jpg or attachment.
It did the first time, and I chose email, becuase I figured I could work with it from there...well, it wouldn't work that way. and now, it doesn't automatically give me the option to change where I send it. Will try again later.
KMZ, great to have you here! Sorry for your loss. I am eagerly awainting the scans, and any further info on this great story! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Sorry for your loss KMZ. I'm glad you are making an effort to trace his past, so many veterans pass on without an afterthought. Let We Forget.
KMZ, te acompaño en el sentimento. Celebro que te hayas unido a los WW2F. ¡Bienvenida! KMZ, accompany you in the feeling. I am pleased that you have joined the WW2F. Welcome!
