I recently obtained my father's final pay voucher, apparently his only record that survived the 1973 records fire. When he left for England, he was with the 570th AAA Bn, but his final pay record shows the 495th AAA Gun Bn. I know the 570th was disbanded on 30 Jun 1944, so he was transferred to the 495th sometime before. I know the 495th AAA Gun Bn (SM) landed at Omaha Beach on 23 June and participated in Antwerp X from early November 1944 till 15 April 1945. I do not know much about their time before Antwerp, nor their time after Antwerp. Any help in filling out the missing information would be greatly appreciated.
The 495th AAA Gun Bn was attached to the IX Air Defense Command from the first week of August 1944 until it was inactivated on 30 October 1945. As of 1 June 1944, it was attached to the 55th AAA Brigade (part of the AAA V-1 Defense gun belt in southeastern England and earmarked for Ninth U.S. Army on the Continent) and I believe it landed in Normandy still attached to them and may have remained with them until it was attached to the IX ADC as well in the first week of August. However, in mid-August the 55th AAA Brigade joined the Ninth Army, which was about to go operational in Brittany, while the 495th AAA remained attached to the IX ADC. Antwerp X was initially organized by the 80th AA Brigade RA (British) until the American 30th AAA Group took over in mid-October with the 125th and 126th AAA Gun Bn (Mbl). The 56th AAA Brigade took over on 22 October and by mid-November it consisted of two brigades (the 56th was joined by the 50th), twelve gun, and two AW battalions. Mote that the 570th AAA Bn (SP) was inactivated 30 June 1944 at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, so he was likely sent to England as a AAA replacement - he could not have left for England as part of that battalion. Do you know when he departed the States and/or arrived in England?
