Need help reading Enlisted Record and Report of Separation

Hello All! I want to start out by saying that I am looking forward to learning from this great site.

I am having problems reading and understanding my father's Report of Separation. The first problem is the copy that was sent is blurry but I am hoping that someone who knows more can figure some of it out.

My questions are for the following:

6. Organization - I can't make out the Company

31. Miliatary Qualification - I believe it says NONE but not sure.

32. Battles and Campaigns - I don't understand the numbers at the beginning, 33 ??? 40 ?? 45 or the two words after Northern France

34. Wounds Received in Action - Can't make out the first word

38. Highest Grade Held - ?

55. What is ASR Score?

I am attaching a copy of the Separation and a picture of a shadow box with uniform pins that my sister has.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Gil

 

You might be able to run it through a Xerox and lighten it up a bit or reverse the image (Make it a negative) and that may take out the fuzzies.

What quality is the one you have is it an original or a copy ?

#32 should be : GO 33 and 40 WD 45 ALGERIA-FRENCH MOROCCO TUNISIA SICILY NORMANDY NORTHERN FRANCE ARDENNES CENTRAL EUROPE

#34 Bombers or November 12 42 AFRICA

#38 Looks like S SGT (Staff Sergeant)

#55 ASR Score is the Army Service Record Score wich are the famous rotation points

What stands out to me is that his EAM has 8 Bronze Stars!!!

Looks like he certainly got around.

Welcome aboard!!!

Obviously he stayed in the Army after WW2 or went back in at some time.
His Sgt Major insignia is upside down, the chevrons should be pointing up.

 

Gil, think I can help with a few of your questions. The separation papers are normally a lot more clear.
Item 6 looks like Company M. If you look at the "M" in Armored it looks about the same. The 19th Armored infantry Battalion was assigned to the 14 Armored Division, but their combat narrative dosen't jive with your fathers campaign history, at least the North Africa Campaigns--he may have been transferred there at some point.

Item 31 does say "None" which is strange because everybody is qualified with the M-1 rifle at least. Your father was a supply sargeant.

Item 32 Campaigns--the "GO" in front of the 33 is missing. It stands for General Order 33 and 40 WD (War Department) 45. The War Department issued GO 33 and 40 which spell out the specific Campaigns, times and parimeters. The two words after Northern France is Rhineland, and Ardennes, each a separate campaign.
Highest grade held is Staff Sargeant--three stripes up and one rocker.

The ASR score was called "points" Points were given for length of time in combat, campaigns, awards received, conduct. The guys with the highest point rating was scheduled to go home first after the war--it generally didn't work out as expected but they tried. The score 0f 116 was pretty high--so is eight Campaign stars. (one silver and three bronze)

Oh, wounds received--I'm guessing here, but they usually put down where they were received--I'm guessing Algiers, Africa in December 1942. Without getting out the books, the timing sounds about right.

I'll do some checking and see what Armored Division was involved in all those campaigns. I know the 1st, and 2nd Armored was in N. Africa , Sicily, and all the ones in France and points East. The 14th AD began in Southern France.
Dave

 

Sorry Jug, I was typing while you were posting (I type with two fingers at a not so terrific speed). Looks like we pretty much agree with everything. Thanks for pointing out the upside-down Sergeant Major rating. Sometimes I get the feeling I'm being too critical. The CIB must have been earned in Korea or Nam.

 

Not a problem.....I think the display is an amalgamation, either that or he was busted down to Spec 4.

 

I can't believe how fast I received replies. Thanks to all of you!

I did look closer at the bad copy I have (one of my sisters may have a better copy) and I was able to confirm that the Wounds Received does say November.

Also, about the shadow box. My mom gave all of the insignia's and such to my sister and they may have been mixed with my uncle and cousins. I'd appreciate if someone could tell me which ones are not WWII and what each one means. I'll also get my sister to fix the ones that are upside down.

Thanks again!

 

In WW2, there was no sergeant major's rank in the US Army. The highest enlisted rank was the 1st Sgt/Master Sergeant (Grade 1). Also the specialist's four rank (SP4), and all the specialist's ranks (SP4-SP9) were developed and instituted in 1955. The Army had the technician's rank in place from 1942 to 1948 (T/3 to T/5).

So, the two rank insignia, and that jeep pin were not GI issue in WW2. That inverted rank insignia at the bottom right of the shadow box is some sort of commercially manufactured item and not GI issue. The service ribbon that is at the 7 o'clock from the infantry disc (crossed rifles) is the National Defence Service Medal, which is not from the WW2 era. Ike created it in 1953. In the years since the creation of the National Defense Service Medal (aka the fire guard medal), and it is awarded for the following time periods:

June 27, 1950 to July 27, 1954 for service during the Korean War
January 1, 1961 to August 14, 1974 for service during the Vietnam War
August 2, 1990 to November 30, 1995 for service during the Gulf War
September 11, 2001 to a date to be announced for service during the War on Terrorism (ongoing)

Also, since you are in the process of re-vamping the shadow box, keep in mind the service ribbons should be mounted horizontally and not vertically. There is also an order of precedence to follow as well.

That jeep has a TOW (tube launched, optically tracked, wire guided) anti-tank missile system. It was developed in the 1960s, and entered into service in 1970. Seems like someone in the family was an anti-tank gunner for awhile.

 

Thanks again for all the help. I've made notes on the shadowbox photo with the comments from everyone and I want to know if I have them right. I would also like to know the names of the ones that have question marks. I'm new to this so any layman's terms would be great.

 

Gil, The only two Army Divisions that have the same eight campaigns to their credit as your father is the 1st and 9th Infantry. He was defiitely not assigned to the 19th Armored Infantry Bn during the entire war.
If you have never requested a copy of his records it would be very enlightning to learn about his war experiences. Not many WWII soldiers were involved in eight campaigns. At some point he was reduced in grade from Staff Sergeant to PFC--could have been for almost anything. If you ask NARA for a set of his records be sure to ask for a replacement set of his medals and awards. With his picture and all his awards and insigna you could put together a very nice display.

According to his WWII separation papers, the only items that belong to your father are the three ribbons (to the left).
They are in the correct order if the bottom one (Purple heart) is to the left. The other two are his Good Conduct (middle) and his Europe, Africa, Middle East Campaign Medal (should have one little silver star and three bronze stars). The US and Infantry brass could also be his. The two qualification badges (one for expert and one for marskman) could be his, but his records show "none". This is wrong because everyone must qualify with the rifle at least.
The two with the rifle and wreath are Combat Infantrymens Badges. His records doesn't show he was awarded this.

 

The 3 ribbons on the bar are:
Purple Heart-Good Conduct-Europe/Africa/Middle Eastern Campaign ribbons.
The Cross with wreat and Rifle bar is the Rifle Expert Qualification badge.
The plain Cross with the Rifle bar is the Rifle marksman Qualification Badge
The pin with the rifle in the blue rectangle and wreath is the Combat Infanty Badge and is the same as the silver badge in the corner.
The Red ribbon with the yellow stripe is the National Defense Service Medal (Ribbon)

You can 'Google' the names and see what they were awarded for.

 

I didn't think that the expert marksmanship or the bolo badge (the other marksmanship award) were of the WW2 era. After a little digging around, I found out that they were established on January 22, 1965 (source:wiki). So scratch those two from the collection. They are someone else's and not your dad's.

 

Are you talking about these?:

 

Thanks again everyone. I just filled out the form at NARA requesting info/awards and my signed copy is going in the mail today.

 

I believe wiki got this one wrong. I enlisted in 1960 and they were being used then. I don't recall ever seeing them on WWII uniforms so must have been established sometime after the war.

 

Yes, wiki and I were wrong (again). It was pointed out to me that I make boo-boo, and I apologize those who followed me down the garden path. At least it was a "teachable moment" for all. Lou, does this mean this thread will be chunked into "the stump" now?

 

I did find this:

Marksmanship Qualification Badges