Greetings,
I am attempting to trace the history of my grandfather's service during WW2. Unfortunately, he never talked about his experiences when he returned, and all the information I have is limited. His name was Albert E. Keppel and he served in the 14th Armored Division, here is a photo of him in uniform, Grandpa Keppel on Flickr - Photo Sharing! as a radio operator. He was either a tech 4 or tech 5 in rank. We have recently moved, and currently can not locate his discharge papers. From what I remember of his discharge paper he participated in the Middle Eastern, African, European, and Pacific theaters. Other than the Victory medals and theater medals I know that he received a bronze star cluster, along with at least 2 purple hearts. He got malaria while in the pacific theater, and his medals were stolen from him on the sick boat. Because of this he had no interest in regaining his medals, although his brother got copies of them upon my grandfather's death and he was buried with them. Other then participating in D-Day, I can't say that I know much about his service, other than my father remembering that he had a large scar on his shoulder which appeared to be from a shrapnel wound. I would greatly appreciate any information about his unit, and am seeking to find how he got his medals. If it is of any use his enlistment information is here NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)
Once again I look forward to any help or information as I have been attempting to research this missing link in my family's history for quite some years now, with only limited results.
Sincerely,
Richard S. Keppel