hello forum. very glad to have found this site. im hoping you may be of help to me. my grandfather was Vernon R. Coffey (berea, ky) and he served in the US 3rd Army, 11th Armored division (thunderbolt). he brought a LOT of interesting thins home from war and id love to find out more about it, abd the company he served in. all i have to guide me now is what i remember of his stories (he died last year) and these amazing artifacts.

like i said, he served with the 11th armored and ive checked a web site of theirs that has tons of info but nothing on my grandfather. (maybe im not looking in the right spot?).

there was a a letter his girlfriend at the time wrote to him, plus 2 gold pins with 390th AAA AW BN (sp) written on them. i never heard him talk of that company/division and dont really know what it means, but i assume if i find out what that is, i will find a lot more info on him. all i know from his patches and stories is he drove a half-track, was a Technician 5th grade, and Corporal. (i hope i spit that out right). i know he was also at the battle of the Bulge, among 2 other major battles

ill post pictures soon, and a list of things he had in the basement, but one thing that really caught my attention was a patch of the 1st Infantry division (big red one). how he got that im not sure at all, but my best guess is his brother was in that division. i dont think that company was anywhere near Bastonge in '44 were they? anyway, any help is greatly appreciated. ill post again soon and often

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"i dug a hole in the snow next to a log to keep warm. we were low on ammo and the Germans were across the field from us. we were trying to keep quiet; they didnt know we were there" - V. Coffey, Dec 1944, Bastonge

I don't know if you have seen this, but it is a link to the unit history of the 11th Armored. It gives a good accounting of their whereabouts and activities.
Lone Sentry: The Story of the 11th Armored Division: Thunderbolt -- WWII G.I. Stories Booklet

The 390th was an antiaircraft/automatic weapons battalion attached to the 26th Infantry. I'm not sure how it fits with the rest of your information, but I'm sure someone can give you more details on that.

Good luck with your quest, and thanks for posting.

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"Faint heart never won fair maiden", so I say "Go for it!"

Lou

Welcome, glad you stopped by.

We'd like to see the pics and know about your grandfather/

The 1st Infantry Division was on the north shoulder of the Bulge, Bastogne was in the lower 2/3rd of the Bulge. The 1st ID was in the Malmedy/Elsenborne Ridge area.

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Best Regards,
JW

Here's another site on the Battle of the Bulge that shows both the 1st Infantry and the 11th Armored as participating.

U.S. Army Divisions of World War II - Ardennes-Alsace Campaign

__________________
"Faint heart never won fair maiden", so I say "Go for it!"

Lou

thanks so much for the info guys. ill have a good look through those links

heres a list of things that are still around today (some stuff was lost in a fire long ago). maybe it will help in finding out more about him. or at least, make an interesting read

Gillette Tech razor with leather case
- 6 blue blade packs
- red "CCW hide" case

dogtag #35805615 T43 44 A

Tebe-Klien Photothek 6x9
- includes professional photos, and personal photos, sent to hhis mother
- CPL vernon coffey
BTRY C-467 AAA
AW BN (sp) APO 403

37mm auto gun "container"
"mia2, complete round shell HEM54
lot_lop packed OCT '43
container m59"

6 50mm rounds
i think half-tracks were mounted with 2 50mms

a stamp made of a block of wood
"C-5615" (dog tag number)

2 "enlisted" US pins

gold pin; "Aviation, machinist mate"
had a few aviation patches. maybe from a friend? or brother?

3 medals "for good conduct"

2 "390th AAA AW BN (sp)" pins
-has illustration of orange bug carrying 3 guns, standing on tracks

12 "army class A ovrseas" stripes

6 "technician 5th grade" patches

4 "corporal stripes"

training command patch

1st infantry patch

honorable discharge patch

HQ ETOUSA COM Z patch
us army euro theatres communications zone


SS mountain troop hat and jacket patches
http://www.soldat.com/abz%20SS%20GBJ%20Ins.jpg

SS Croation Nat. 13th Waffen-Gebrigs patch
http://militaryspecialtiesinc.com/im...2var_small.JPG

"restricted doucument"
extract from Orlando Airbase

Europe road map
1:1,000,000 AMS 6303
1st edition ams 1
france. army map service 1944

FW Holler bayonet

combination scoreboard
M1918 AZ
wrote down his scores from shooting range

FM22-5 field manuel
"leadership courtesy and drill"
feb '46

Collins and Co machette

2 Nazi chest patches? sleeves?
blue and white
white tank top shirt, with Nazi chest patch
blue shorts

German SS officer dagger
Spr wkc/solingen
http://i3.iofferphoto.com/img/item/1...oAYn47stsB.jpg

Nazi party flag
reichskriegs flagge

Nazi navy flag
kr fl 80-135
lorenz summa selmo
Oberkotzau
http://www.neaca.com/images/Nazi_Battle_Flag_1_.JPG

- he said he took the flags because "the Germans were too flag-happy"

__________________
"i dug a hole in the snow next to a log to keep warm. we were low on ammo and the Germans were across the field from us. we were trying to keep quiet; they didnt know we were there" - V. Coffey, Dec 1944, Bastonge

i was able to find this little blurb about the 390th through Google. it came from an online book about the 3rd US Army. just one more little piece of info

"between 2020 and 2030 hours, may 8th, the 390th Antiaircraft Artillery AW Battalion (self-propelled) also part of the 27th AAA, engaged three FW-190s as they flew over the 26th ID. One smoked as it burst into flames and crashed. This was the last confirmed destruction of an enemy plane in the Third Army zone"

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"i dug a hole in the snow next to a log to keep warm. we were low on ammo and the Germans were across the field from us. we were trying to keep quiet; they didnt know we were there" - V. Coffey, Dec 1944, Bastonge

heres a picture of a pin worn by the 390th. sorry for the bad quality

__________________
"i dug a hole in the snow next to a log to keep warm. we were low on ammo and the Germans were across the field from us. we were trying to keep quiet; they didnt know we were there" - V. Coffey, Dec 1944, Bastonge

heres another article about a photographer who was attatched to the 390th. the article also explains the company's pin

Untitled Document

heres a link to a website of a soldier who was in the 26th ID. very interesting stuff here
http://www.rinfret.com/ww2.html#anchor161602

__________________
"i dug a hole in the snow next to a log to keep warm. we were low on ammo and the Germans were across the field from us. we were trying to keep quiet; they didnt know we were there" - V. Coffey, Dec 1944, Bastonge

for anyone who is as interested in the 11th Armored( especially the 390thAAA) as much as i am i found this great page. ive been building this thread since i started it, slowly but surlye, i do hope to make this a huge resource on the 390th, and hopefully my grandfather especially.

Antiaircraft Command - 390th AAA AW Bn History

__________________
"i dug a hole in the snow next to a log to keep warm. we were low on ammo and the Germans were across the field from us. we were trying to keep quiet; they didnt know we were there" - V. Coffey, Dec 1944, Bastonge

ive put my skills as a graphic designer to use here. theres not very many good photos of the 390th's pin/mascot so i decided to recreate it myself. this is probably the best picture you'll find on the web. nothing i have found has accurate colors, so here it is.

__________________
"i dug a hole in the snow next to a log to keep warm. we were low on ammo and the Germans were across the field from us. we were trying to keep quiet; they didnt know we were there" - V. Coffey, Dec 1944, Bastonge

made a pretty big discovery today in the AAD archives. the info here isnt much as far as who/what he did in the Army, but at least i found a record of him

NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)

__________________
"i dug a hole in the snow next to a log to keep warm. we were low on ammo and the Germans were across the field from us. we were trying to keep quiet; they didnt know we were there" - V. Coffey, Dec 1944, Bastonge