My father passed away 10 years ago.

His DD214 says that he was with the 130th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company.

I have been able to find almost no information on that unit.

From what I found, the unit got credit for Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. For some reason, his DD214 also gives him credit for Ardennes.

He was a low-speed radio operator and often seemed to be driving either officers around or trucks.

His right shoulder patch is for the First Army. But, his left shoulder patch is the HQ ETO Communications Zone 1944.

He arrived in England on 19 Feb 44 and arrived back in the US on 5 Jan 46.

My main questions are:
1. Why would he have the HQ ETO patch?
2. What units did his unit (130th Ord. Medium Maintenance) support?
3. Was he likely with the 130th Ord. Medium Maintenance during most of the time from Normandy until Germany surrendered?

Why would he have gotten credit for Ardennes when his unit did not?

Thanks for any insights you have.

1. Indendent companies usually did not have their own patch, they wore the patch of their superior command, which in this case was HQ ETO, which did not answer to any Army, but rather to SHAEF. Their job was to provide support flexibly where ever they were needed and were not considered to be a combat arms, but rather fell under Service of Supply. Initially, after the Normandy assault, First Army controlled assets such as his company. After the breakout and drive across France, general maintenance units were transferred to the Zone of Communication command, which in this case, was HQ ETO. This could explain the 1st Army patch on the right, as prior unit patches were worn on the right, with the current on the left. First Army may have had command of your father's company for a good while during the buildup for the June 6th landings and certainly did for a good month or two during the fighting in the Lodgement and Breakout phases of the Normandy Campaign.

2. I also could not find generally what divisions he supported, but I imagine, judging by the campaigns he got credit for, it was not consistantly one division.

3. Could not begin to answer that one for you. If he was injured sufficiently to be evacuated from his unit, he very well could have found himself in another company.

4. Ardenne. I can only surmise that it was because he was there independent of his company. He could have been doing any number of things. I used to work with a surgeon who was a shore engineer during the war. On Dec 15, he and some of his men had drive south from 9th Army area to pick up some assault boats and drove back north on the 16th. After they got back, they found out that they just missed having the road they were traveling on cut by the advancing Germans. Apparently the Germans cut the road after the convoy had passed. Had my surgeon friend engaged the Germans or been captured by them, he would have gotten credit for Ardenne service, but as it was, his Shore Engineer Regiment did not see action in the Battle of the Bulge, as they were preparing for the Rhine River crossing later on.

I hope I was able to help you.

__________________
Best Regards,
JW