Trying to understand Dad's Discharge papers

My dad's (George Woodrow Lindeman Army serial No. 36 672 921) discharge papers are confusing to say the least. They have confusing dates and information. His unit from what I can make out was SV CO 323D ENGR BN. He was a Craftman 070 and a expert infantryman. It shows date of induction for 22 Jun 43. He was a TEC 4 CE AUS. His length of service for Domestic is 10 months and 11 days. His foreign service is 1 year, 8 months, and 4 days. On prior service it has Army United States 11 months 10 Days and then National Guard 8 years, 5 months, and 18 Days. Then it says reason and authority for separation Convn of Govt RR1-1 (Demobilization) AR 615-365 15 Dec 44 but he is not discharged until 31 Jan 1946. He had lapel button issued, ASR score(2 Sep 45) 66, Inactive Service ERC from 22 Jun 43 to 5 Jul 43. He was give WWII Victory Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal AP, Theater Ribbon.


What does most of this mean? How would I find out about his National Guard Service? I know he was in the Pacific Theater. My dad died in 1977. When I try to find anything out from the Army, I get told about the fire in St. Louis. I would love for any help you can give me. I am trying to get a better insight into my dad's service. He is buried at Fort Gibson National Cemetery.

Respectfully,
Kimberley

 

Google shows that 070 was for Draftsman. Not to me confused with 071 Draftsman, Mechanical.

DRAFTSMAN (070)

 

15 December 1944 is the date Army Regulation (AR) 615-365 was effective, not the date of discharge, which was 31 January 1946.

 

The date 15 Dec 44 refers to the date of the regulation being cited, not the date of his discharge. The "lapel button" (aka Honorable Discharge pin) was issued to personnel who were honorably discharged. The ASR Score was a points system which was used to prioritize who would be discharged. ERC is Enlisted Reserve Corps. The awards he received should read: WWII Victory Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, AP Theater Ribbon. The latter is the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon.

the 323rd Engineer Combat Battalion was an element of the 98th Infantry Division. The 98th ID arrived in Hawaii in April 1944 where it relieved the 33rd ID of the island's defense. They were never deployed to an active war zone, but were to be used in the invasion of Japan. However, Japan's surrender in August 1945 changed their mission from invasion to the Occupation Duty in Japan.

 

Indeed, but it is a bit peculiar that he was not eligible for the Army of Occupation, Japan, medal? Unless he was left behind in Hawaii for some reason?

I also don't follow the previous service? If he inducted 22 June 1943 and he had prior service in the AUS...what with? A National Guard unit? Which one? All were federalized by July 1942. Still some oddities here so posting his actual documents might help.

 

It's also possible that the Occupation medal was omitted inadvertently. The 98th ID was deactivated in on 16 Feb 1946 at Honshu, Japan. That was a couple weeks after his discharge date.

The dates are difficult to make sense of without additional info. The 98th ID was not a NG division and was activated on 15 Sept 1942. If he was in a NG unit, he would have been transferred to the 98th at some point. Another thought that occurred to me is that he may have left the NG pre-Dec 1941 and later enlisted or was drafted/inducted. That could explain the enlistment date. A lot of if's and suppositions.

I did find something interesting. He is on a passenger list attached to the 11 Dec 1944 Muster Roll from the USS SANDOVAL. He is listed as being in HQ & HQ Company, 390th Infantry, 98th Division. They were aboard for a training exercise. Here are the passenger list and the page of the War Diary covering the date of the MR:



He is listed in the bottom grouping on the passenger list. He may have been assigned to the 323rd Engineering Combat Bn while on Occupation duty in Japan, or maybe just to be processed for discharge.