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Help Identifying Badges, Patches, Medals, Pins,etc

Discussion in 'Medals, Insignia, Badges & Recalls' started by dga99, May 9, 2012.

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  1. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    The Separation paper : If I'm not mistaken he was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, I'm sticking with he was Army and just passing through the AAF. I've been wrong before (many times :) It does say on the Military Occupation Rifleman 745. Next box: CIB.
    I've found that the 745 stands for a regular rifleman. Rifleman 746 would be for automatic rifleman.
     
    Biak, May 11, 2012
    #21
  2. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Follow Biak's instructions. I tried to look at them with a new Walgreen's account, and they're too small and faint to study them. (make sure you uncheck the box which says to Retrieve remote file, etc.) I look forward to seeing what you have.
     
    LRusso216, May 11, 2012
    #22
  3. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    I had to copy to my pictures and enlarge to make it out. Still a little blurry but by squinting real hard I could see the filled in parts. Didn't someone say for best text reading to scan at 200 dpi or something like that?
     
    Biak, May 11, 2012
    #23
  4. dga99

    dga99 Member

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    I hope this link works. I find that if you double-click on the document with left button and then right click on the document and select "Save picture as" to your computer then you can enlarge or zoom it to be able to read it. I'm new to all this so it might take me longer to figure it out.
    Darryl

    Walgreens Photo Center | Share:Registration

    http://photo2.walgreens.com/walgreens/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=17903644006/a=1357539006_1357539006/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=walgreens/
    http://photo2.walgreens.com/walgreens/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=17903644006/a=1357539006_1357539006/
     
    dga99, May 12, 2012
    #24
  5. dga99

    dga99 Member

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    I believe that you might be right about him passing through the AAF on discharge. This makes it more difficult to find out which unit he was with. I might have to wait to get the reconstructed records from the NPRC to see if they offer any clues. It might take up to 90 days to hear back from them.
    Thanks,
    Darryl
     
    dga99, May 12, 2012
    #25
  6. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I would tend to also strongly consider that he was just "passing through" the USAAF on his way home.

    However, I'm wondering how much intermingling there was between the USAAF and Army Ground Forces. I know the AGF and ASF mixed men readily-I just finished a book where an infantryman with the 84th ID came home as part of a forestry survey battalion. The USAAF more or less had it's own service force, due to it's differing needs from the ground forces which makes me wonder how much the two soon-to-be-divorced groups crossed service boundaries.

    I do everything at 300 dpi and things for the book were done at 600dpi.
     
    Slipdigit, May 12, 2012
    #26
  7. dga99

    dga99 Member

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    dga99, May 12, 2012
    #27
  8. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Darryl sent me what he had. I am posting pertinet parts.

    Attached is the AGO From 53, Honorable Discharge & AGO Form 100

    I do not think that he served in the AAF during the war, given the information on this document. I think that he was a rifleman in an infantry unit, and I think these two men were not necessarily in the same unit during the war.

    I reversed the photos back to the correct orientation.

    Darryl, I did not post the front side of the AGO forms, they didn't really add anything.

    I sure wished I could make out the branch insignia on his collar.

    If you open up the attachments, then right click on the photo, you can save the photo to your PC and it will be the same size as what I uploaded. You can read everything more clearly.
     

    Attached Files:

    Slipdigit, May 12, 2012
    #28
    Biak and formerjughead like this.
  9. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    It shows a very good clue as to the four qualification badges too! I couldn't see it nearly as well as your copies :) Wouldn't he also have the Bronze Star to go with the CIB, (awarded after the War)?
     
    Biak, May 13, 2012
    #29
  10. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Here's what I can discern from the DD-214:
    He won the CIB (Combat Infantryman"s Badge). This would entitle him to a Bronze Star, issued post-war.
    He wore the EAME ribbon, with 3 campaign stars; Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe.
    He won the Croix de Guerre (French valor award).
    A Purple Heart for wounds received.
    Good Conduct Award
    WW2 Victory Award
    DUI Award, but I can't see it very clearly.

    I'm not sure of his unit as I doubt his skills translated to the Army Air Corps. I'll keep looking.
     
    LRusso216, May 14, 2012
    #30
  11. dga99

    dga99 Member

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    I agree with all of the info that was provided about my father's service. I only learned a few days ago about his entitlement to the Bronze Star. Since it is impossible to determine the DUI pins from the picture I'll have to wait to get his reconstructed records from the NPRC to see if they offer any clues. I'm I correct in that the General Headquarters Reserve were not based at ony one location in the US but several locations? His records show that after his enlistment that he spent 1 year 5 months in the Continental US before going overseas. I have no idea where he was based while in the US. I have some hints that with him being from Louisiana that his basic training may have been in either Texas or Georgia. I definetly do not believe that his service was in the AAF but was in the Infantry instead.
    Thanks to all who offerred their input and suggestions. I'll respond back if I find out any new information.
    Darryl
     
    dga99, May 15, 2012
    #31
  12. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    To further bolster the contention that they were not in the same unit at the time the picture was made, I looked at their DUI closer. Mr. Andrew's pin looks to be shaped more like a shield, whereas his friend's appears to be square and bit larger.

    If we just had anything scrap of additional information, we might be able to pin down Mr. Andrew's regiment. The campaigns he participated in could give us some inkling, given that he was awarded Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe, but not Ardennes/Alsace.
    1. That omission is a typo.
    2. He was part of a unit that crossed the channel after the breakout, was wounded before Dec 16th, 1944 and did not return to his unit after the Bulge ended.
    3. He was part of a unit that crossed the channel after the breakout, then the ended up on the extreme right of the 9th Army and so did not paritcipate in the Bulge. But that asks the question, what qualified a unit for the Ardennes/Alsace campaign star? Were US units well to the north that were part of the 21st AG not eligible?
     
    Slipdigit, May 15, 2012
    #32
  13. dga99

    dga99 Member

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    I received my father's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) today. It's a lot of pages and some of them sufferred damage from the 1973 fire and are hard to read. They were copied out of order and I'm trying to learn some of the terminology. He was assigned to Company G, 300th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia shortly after becoming a PFC. The DUI pins on his cap and lapels appear to be that of the 300th Inf Reg as shown in the attached photo. I'm having a hard time finding that DUI.
    Darryl Andrews View attachment 16788
     

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    dga99, Jun 15, 2012
    #33
  14. A-58

    A-58 Cool Dude

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    The #10 crest is obviously for a bridging specialist unit. Combat Engineers in particular I'd say. Not sure about the #11 crest though. Never seen anything like that one before.
     
    A-58, Jun 17, 2012
    #34
  15. jaguwar

    jaguwar Member

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    Some information that I have found about the 300th Infantry Regiment.I think that this unit was a training unit only. It is probably his Basic Training Regiment. Like how mine was 150th Infantry Regiment.
    Activated 10 Dec 42 at Ft. Benning Ga under the Replacement & School Command and served as a crack demonstration regiment for the Infantry School. Inactivated 26 Sept 45. Company E, 300th Infantry
    The TRADOC patch was used by this Replacement and School Command unit. Military Commands Patches page 2
    Basic Combat Training Brigade leads and conducts basic combat, common military training to produce highly motivated, well disciplined, physically fit, combat skilled and values-led Army team members, who are prepared for Advanced Individual Training and ready to make a direct and positive contribution to the individual combat readiness of the Army.
    From the Army's establishment in 1775 to the beginning of World War II initial entry training was the responsibility of the TO&E unit which the enlistee was assigned. While this system was suitable for a small peacetime Army, it could not satisfy the demands of wartime conditions.In response to this shortfall, the War Department developed the Replacement Training system in 1940. These RTS consisted of training regiments normally composed of four training battalions. Each training copany had a capacity of approximately 240 soldiers. In October 1942, the Replacement and School Command established a standardized training program for all the RTCs known as the Mobilization Training Program (MTP). This program was modified during the war as a result of combat experience and a shift in emphasis from fillers to loss replacements. The training program of these branch immaterial centers was eight weeks in length and consisted of infantry rifle training. Basic Combat Training Brigade
     
    jaguwar, Jul 3, 2012
    #35
  16. Earthican

    Earthican Member

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    Hello dga99,

    I saw in another forum you learned your grandfather served in the 90th ID, 358th Infantry (IIRC). Any idea why his papers don't show a Normandy campaign credit? I would hate to think he was wounded early in the campaign and did not receive credit, but maybe that was the rules -- God help us.

    Any luck in finding the citation for the Croix de Guerre?

    From reviewing this thread I was about to suggest checking the 90th ID based on the arrival date in England but then I Google searched and found you had that information.

    Documents posted here:
    http://www.ww2f.com/medals-insignia...ges-patches-medals-pins-etc-3.html#post619468
     
    Earthican, Dec 19, 2012
    #36
  17. dga99

    dga99 Member

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    The omission of the Normandy campaign star was just sloppy and lazy typing by whoever entered the information. Fortunately about 98% of my father's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) survived the 1973 fire some with a little fire damage and it showed the award of the Bronze Arrowhead device for his amphibious assualt on Utah Beach. I was able to trace my father's military history from his enlistment date until his discharge date. He was wounded on July 4,1944 near St. Jores, France and after plastic surgery and rehabilitation in England and replacement depots he rejoined the 358th Inf Reg on September 10,1944. He developed trench foot on December 11,1944 and was unable to rejoin the infantry. He was transferred to the Army Air Corps (AAC) in March 1945 as a Duty Soldier III (MOS 590) and finished out the war with various AAC units. I was lucky in that I got an excellent Awards Analyst at the US Army Human Resources Command who worked on my father's case. She was able to provide me with copies of all the citations and General Orders showing my father's awards including the French Croix de Guerre. She even determined that he was due additional medals and awards that weren't listed on his discharge papers including Army of Occupation Medal with Germany bar and two Meritorious Unit Citations (MUC). They approved his award of the Bronze Star Medal for his CIB and sent the BSM certificate. He was with the 300th IR at Fort Benning, Ga as a crack demostration unit and although I wasn't able to find a DUI for the unit as shown on his lapels, I did find a patch of the 300th IR DUI. I completed his display shadowbox of all the medals, patches, pins, etc that he was authorized to wear or would have worn at different times during his military service. Attached is a picture of the BSM certificate and his shadowbox. Since the picture was taken I have also added the Army of Occupation Medal and MUC with one bronze oak leaf cluster.
    Thanks to all who help with my research,
    Darryl Andrews View attachment 17965
     

    Attached Files:

    dga99, Dec 19, 2012
    #37
    Earthican and LRusso216 like this.
  18. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Beautiful. The display is awesome. I have a similar certificate for my father, who was awarded a CIB during the war, and was authorized to have a Bronze Star. He was not aware of it until the VFW post that he began in Upland, CA sent for his records. Great follow-up. Thanks.
     
    LRusso216, Dec 19, 2012
    #38
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