hey does anyone know any info on this uniform, i got told the soldier was a tech SGT either the 2nd or 9th Division Army Engineers. Does anyone no what the badges,Insignia on the uniform stand for? and what division Was He?

here are some pics







and did the tech SGT Army Engineers Have a important roll in WWII?



thanks

btw: vet survived WWII i beleve, and i got the uniform =)

He was an engineer.. lapel pins show it.. us on one side and the other is the engineer,,

medal from the ribbons are as follows.. top one i am not sure of...
army good conduct..
europe-africa-middle eastern
WW I OCCUPATION (looks like..)
AMERICAN CAMPAIGN
ASIATIC PACIFIC CAMPAIGN MEDAL
WORLD WAR II VICTORY
the red and white patch is 15TH ARMY PATCH
the gold duck is the RUPTURED DUCK
the crosses are shooting medals sharpshooter..

i'm still looking up the star patch.. and i think that is a tech srgt.. the other guys on here are way more up on these things.. i'm just starting..
if you want to know ore on the medals you can look them up on medals of america and then match the colors and then google them.. i 'm sure of all but the WWI occupation one..

thanks alot mate =)

If anyone else has something to add will appreciate it.

You are correct, that is a engineering jacket, you can tell by the button on upper right where medal ribbons are. some medal ribbons are Good conduct (ribbon Red & white), American Defence (not sure red one on top), and Germany occupation ribbon, European theater ribbon i believe. As for unit i can not help you i will have to look around. show a picture of the entire jacket please. The Ike jackets during war were tailored short by GI's or issued very late in war.

one way tell if it original for sure is in left side (facing it), look in inside pocket and there should be an inspector patch. it will have date when it was made, and I think (off top my head) that there should be issue.

I hope this helps you out.

Franz

just checked and the Jacket and Hat have maker tags and are dated 1944

sandy once you find the what unit patches are can you send me link to the source please. I collect these jackets

Franz

the patch with the stars is the Western Pacific Forces patch

would also like the source im starting to collect jackets and uniforms , have a original airborne Uniform that my father used in WWII, includes boots/knife/water bottle/shovel/helmet and other stuff
but sadly he passed away =(

franz i correct witht he germany occupation ribbon,, I could not tell the colors in.. Thank you franz!!

As far as links I just go to Medals of America and match the patches and so forth up.. the ribbons I just learned form the veterans service officer I am working with for my grandfather. those are on there also and all you have to do is match up the colors on the bars..

the hard but interesting part is looking up what the man was and what his orders were...

www.usmedals.com

Franz when I found the unti patch I got lucky.. it was on a uniform on www.militaryitems.com whenI went threw the patches for army..

would be awesome if i cna get the vets name some how

that i do not know.. is there a 8 digit number inthe jacket? my grandfather said that after he got in trouble for not having a button on a jacket that he took off a fallen soldier he put his number in his... This looks to be this man's class A's..

like this?

18-12473-1


'This looks to be this man's class A's.."

what you mean?

IMHO, all soldiers had an important role, even if they were not pulling a trigger. Engineers were invaluable and were often at the sharp end of the sword.
Of course he survived, the Honorable Discharge Patch (more commonly referred to as the Ruptured Duck) was only issued to men who had been discharged.

__________________
Best Regards,
JW

The patch on the his right shoulder is that of the 15th Army. He very likely was in the Headquarters & Headquarters Company of that formation.

__________________
Best Regards,
JW

Headquarters ah thats pretty cool =)

so he never shot anyone?

Couldn't answer that and to be quite honest, would not want to answer it.

Most soldiers are proud of their service and for good reason. But they may not necessarily proud that they may have had to take another's life. The fact that this man gave a portion of his time here on Earth to defend my country in whatever manner he was asked to is sufficient for me. Anything else just makes for different stories, and does not change the high opinion I have the man who may have never left the US, but nonetheless served honorably, or the man who spent his time at the very gates of hell. I am equally grateful for both of them.

__________________
Best Regards,
JW

i may not know alot bout the army and stuff but.i believe this is correct as i have read it alot of places and heard the same

"Lots of soldiers join for action to kill a terrorist or something etc, most of the soldiers wont care and give a **** if they kill a man Or take someones life"
Mainly the American soldiers i hear,


i love America dont get me wrong but that is what ive read and heard

Chris it good to hear your jacket is made in 1944. Most jackets i find are 1944 - 1943. It hard for me to find 1942 and earlier. Good to hear that you are getting in collecting uniforms. Some of the collecting is pretty high in price like ( SS Helmets, Camouflage helmets, But army and Luftwaffe are some what affordable.) If you are going to start collecting GI stuff there pretty good resource book that tells you basic of GI Gear. It called ("G.I. COLLECTORS GUIDE: Army Service Forces Catalog" There are two volumes)

Franz

O ya, if no one said it yet, the cross looking things on pocket iamarksmen badge, i think and the little panel attached to it is what he was trained to use (exp rifle).

Franz

Chris, The sholder patch worn on the left is the present unit the serviceman is attached to-in this case "the Western Pacific Forces". I can't help with much history on that unit. The patch on the right is the one he wore before during the war-In this case, the Fifteenth Army. This was Pattons Army after the fighting in the third Army. They were mostly a paper army to record and file important papers. The medals are a bit confusing. Starting at the lower right is the WWII Victory Medal indication he served at least one day in the military during WWII. The yellow is the Asiatic Pacific, means he spent at least 30 days in the Pacific theater during the war. The star is a battle star indicating he was involved in one battle in this theater. The next row looks like the Purple Heart--it should be on the top as it is the highest rank of the medals worn. The green & brown is the EAME Campaign indicates he was in Europe and served during two battles (two battle stars) The Good Conduct is next and on top is the Phillippine Liberation Medal. It is attached upside down here, and should be at the very bottom as it is a foreign decoration. This soldier has the rank of T-4 which is equivalent to a buck Sargeant. This was for a specialized service. He has a Sharpshooter shooting badge (can't read for which weapons)and a Driver/Mechanic Badge with no bar to inicate what he did. I'm guessing this guy served in Germany at the tail end of the war in Europe and was probably a mechanic for Headquarters of the 15th Army. He was transferred to the Pacific and probably served in the Phillippeans under McArthur until the end of the war in the Pacific.
As mentioned before, he was in an engineering battalion and was Honorably Discharged (Ruptured Duck). He should have a hash mark on his lower left sleve indication three years service, and at least two overseas bars above the hash mark. Each one indicates 6 months of overseas service during the war.
Can't tell if he shot anyone, but if the Purple Heart is correct, he did get wounded in combat by enemy fire. Sometime the foreign medals were sent home after the war--someone may have just pinned it on after the fact not knowing where it went or how. An Army uniform can be read like a history book if presented correctly.

chris can you take a better closer pic of the bars .. I want to see the colors better.. I don' think that one is the purple heart one becasue the purple heart when made into a bar should have been before the good conduct... we went threw the same thing with my grandfather's bar.. his was the american defense medal that we were having issues with.. so i am thinking it is not the purple heart that this man had.. but only a better pic can tell..

also... my grandfather was from the 531st engineers and they were very important.. every man that is there is important in some way or nother.. like a big wheel rollin you need all parts of that wheel for it ot work correctly. the 531st had to put thier guns down underfire to get thier job done.. to me that is hard and needed to be noticed.. they built the bridges underfire so that the infantry could get to the axiis.. Maybe he was at HQ.. maybe he fixed the trucks.. we will never know but if he was not there it would not have gotten done by him.. so he was important..

about the killing people.. it is not about that..these men came back and tried to live normal lives and everyday reliving what happen over there... my grandfather after 66 years still weaps for his friends that did make it .. the men that he had to kill or be killed.. liberating the jewish camps and seeing what happen at those camps.. i could tell stories that Pa has told me that would make you wonder about humanity there..not it's not about that.. I feel for these men from any war or combat that go threw this..

Not saying you don't respect at all.. but if you collect than make sure you reseptfully phrase things a bit easier here.. maybe asking if the man seen any combat would have been better. I know if someone said that to Pa you would have gotten a crappy answer for sure.. and he might have went home thinking about what he went threw all night.. so please remember respect..

I'm not sure if that is the man numbers.. I don't think so ..they did not have dashes in them.. and class A's means his good uniform. they had uniforms for the field and for dress..

The original commander of the 15th Army was Leonard Gerow and it did more than "record and file important papers" during the war. It was involved in the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket and oversaw the actions of the US forces besieging the Atlantic ports still in German hands. By the time Patton took command, it's mission had changed to occupational duties, but the soldier in question was long gone to the Pacific, I suspect to participate in Op. Downfall.

__________________
Best Regards,
JW

You're completely correct, with two battle stars on his EAME Campaign Medal he must have seen some action. I had questions with the looks of the Purple Heart also, but can't find anything close that would work. But if the misplaced Phillippine Libertion Medal was placed at the bottom, that would move the PH to the correct position. Need to do some research, but didn't Gen. Gerow have command of the 29th Diviion before he was assigned to the 15th Army? Thanks for the correction.