Greeting all! Dad was Wisconsin farmer WWII with Battery A, 32nd Field Artillery Battalion

It's been a long, twisty road of discovery... I may have some useful advice for others as time progresses.
My main goal is to discover what unit(s) my dad was assigned to along his long trail through WWII.
One question I'm stuck on right now is how my dad, MOS 844 - Gun Crewman Light Artillery, ended up with the Combat Infantryman Badge?
(the 321st Field Artillery Battalion listed on his WD AGO 53-55 is most likely just the unit he "hitched a ride with" when returning CONUS... more on that at another time ;-)
Anyway, it's late... will be back online tomorrow.
Greeting,
John

 

Welcome John and enjoy your stay.

There could be many reasons why your dad "ended up" as an infantryman. The most reasonable trail being the fact he applied for it, considering there were more infantry units and he'd have a bigger possibility to get assigned to a reguested unit, rather than being imposed one (possibly linked to a base near Wisconsin? ).

 

Welcome to the forums, John!

 

This a mystery.

First some facts(?)

The 321st FA Bn was actually the 321st Glider Field Artillery Bn assigned 101st Airborne Div.

According to Stanton the 321st GFAB was inactivated 3 Nov 1945 in Germany, so it does not seem likely he only traveled home with them.

Other information from his discharge:

His campaign record is impressive: Sicily, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe.

Arrived NATO (North Africa) 11 May 1943, Arrived MTO (Sicily) 10 Jul 1943, Arrived ETO (England) 5 Nov 1943

Assuming he came to NATO as a replacement, the best match to his timeline is the 1st Infantry Division. By Stanton the 1st ID returned to England o/a 11 November 1943. The 2d AD, 9th ID and 82d A/B Div have later November arrival dates. But those are Division HQ's, it's possible some units of those divisions shipped earlier. And if he was FA at this time, there should be some Corps units that shipped from the MTO to England.

I thought service with the 82d A/B Division possible but neither the 82d nor the 101st have a campaign credit for Northern France. So if he went to the the 321st, it was after August/September 1944.

Barring a full service record (many lost in the 1973 fire) your best lead seems to be the Bronze Star medal "GO # 86 - 44"
That may be : War Department General Order # 86 - 1944 ----OR----- it could be: some Division General Order # 86 - 1944

I could come up with plausible explanations for starting as FA and ending as Infantry ----OR---- starting as Infantry and ending as FA. Hard to tell at this point.

 

One of the requirments to receive the CIB is to have the MOS as Rifleman-745. My guess is that he was assigned as rifleman to the 1st Infantry Division as Earthican suggested (the timeling is close) long enough to earn the CIB. The Bronze Arrowhead could be for Sicily or Normandy or both (only one is allowed regardless of the number of invasions involved--and the 1st was in both). At some point later he changed his MOS to 844 light artillery crewman.
I thought the 321st FA BN might have been a seperation unit but they wouldn't have changed his MOS. Usually they include the division number the GO was issued for - ie GO# 86 1 Inf. Div. 44- but they didn't bother. One could check if the 1st Inf. Division issued a GO#86 in 1944 and a GO#90 in 1945.
His record is impressive.

 

Welcome aboard

 

I thought that the CIB was given to all Airborne individuals regardless of MOS if they jumped on D-Day. This was done about the same time as the Bronze Star for all who jumped. My Dad had a Communications MOS (Linesman) and he got both after jumping in Normandy.

 

Thanks for this additionnal detail Dale.

 

I don't doubt your father received the CIB and Bronze Star--I praise him for his service, (anybody who jumped into Normandy deserves a MOH) but I don't know the details of his awards.
Everything I can find states that "AR 672-5-1 Clearly outlines the requirments for awarding the CIB. First and formost, a recipient must have an Infantry military occupation speciality (MOS). This includes not only infantry regulars, but also tactical infantry advisors, Rangers, Special Forces and airborn troops with the requisite MOS" The selected phrase was a direct quote from the VFW magazine, April 1998. The addition of the Rangers and Special Forces must have been an addition in the 1960's since they the Special Forces didn't exist in WWII. Most airborn troops were infantrymen by MOS and would have been elgable for the CIB.
My one brother served as a heavy mortorman with the 334th Infantry Regiment and didn't get the CIB because of his MOS--he did qualify for the other two requirments by being assigned to a Regiment or smaller sized unit while involved in active ground combat.

I'm not trying to say that exceptions didn't happen but the Army regards this badge very highly and wouldn't give it unless it was earned. I also notice PFC Hopkins didn't qualify for airborne wings or glider training, so that wouldn't be a reason for the CIB anyway.

I read through a paper regarding a a guy who was trying to get a CIB for his service in WWII. The board refused because "
9. Evidence of record shows the applicant served during World War II as a military intelligence noncommissioned officer and an interpreter. He did not serve as and was not an infantryman. Therefore, he was not at the time in questioneligible for award of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

If there is an Army Regulation or anything to show all Airborne personnel in WWII were elgable for the CIB I'd love to see it. It is a good question.

 

Wow, completely lost this website in the myriad of sites I've been to.
The attached file clears up the Bronze Star and unit assigned at the time - (Ft. Knox was even kind enough to send me a photocopy of thier copy of the original GO; GO 86, HQ 1st ID, 16 Sep 44... Battery A, 32nd Field Artillery Batallion.
Also, in a response from a Tech at Army War College, Carlisle:
"The award of the CIB is reflective of his having been assigned in the role of an Infantryman during the conflict. Not an uncommon event especially near the end of the conflict. I suspect he was temporarily assigned to one of the Infantry Regiments that were part of the 1st ID. The CIB qualification and award would have been determined and approved by the commander of an Infantry Regiment." (I had written them, with all the details I knew, simply to ask what was the lowest command level that could approve award of the CIB)
This confirms what I had been told by other sources, including a WWII vet; at this point, I'm guessing 18th IR... after the NATO campaign, command tried to "join at the hip" Artillery Batallions with specific Infantry Regiments... and I believe the 18th and the 32nd worked together during Husky/Sicily (18th RCT and the 32nd did work together during Overlord).
The Tech also theorized that my dad was transfered to the 321st GFAB for rotation back to the States in '45... 321st deactivated in Nov. '45, most of the troops could have rotated the couple of weeks prior - dad rotated CONUS 16-27 Sep 45.
What I'm still scratchin' my head about is the Distinguished Service Badge "GO 90 - 45"... the DSM?
It's not the War Department GO from '45... all those DSMs are Stars and Thunderchickens... a Pfc gets a DSM? Hmmm...
Anyway, glad I found you again...
Look forward to any feedback (hope this pops up on someone's radar),
John
p.s. I have received a couple of photos of my dad since:
One says "Boot Camp, Ft. Bragg, Sep. '42" the other says "John, France '45"

 

Re: DSM - Distinguished Service Medal... aka Presidential Unit Citation (blue, gold frame) included in replacement set of awards and decs.

General Order 90-45: Units awarded PUC with that GO... (list?)
Bronze Star "V" at Normandy Batt A, 32nd FAB (1stID).
May have been in Hurtgen (pre Bastogne/Bulge)
May have passed nearby Paderborn, crossed the Weser and ended up in Harz (in that timeframe x- over to Infantry?).
Any ideas what time/area 321st GFAB marshaled/departed from?

"Twenty Five (25) days lost under AW 107" (disciplinary?) may explain Pfc @ DOS.