Hello everybody! My name is Amanda Swan and I've always been fascinated with WWII. My degree is in Art History and most of my study has been in relation to WWII, primarily Hitler's declaration of Degenerate Art and looting of cultural institutions and private collections. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime with questions or to request assistance with research! Personally, I am here in hopes of finding out more information about my family's service in WWII. My grandfather and three of my great uncles all served. I'm not a novice when it comes to research, but it seems researching military matters is a whole other animal and finding anything beyond their draft cards has proven quite difficult. This has been compounded by the loss of my grandmother's home (and all the family records) in the Tubbs Fire in 2017. All of my family who served have passed and I want to do all I can to honor them, their memory, and their service. Family who served: Robert 'Dennie' Swan, Navy Gerald Rodgers, Navy Coleman 'Clay' Rodgers, Branch unverified Cecil 'Wayne' Rodgers, Army My grandfather, Dennie, never saw combat. He was a welder and worked on submarines. I know he was stationed in Farragut in Northern Idaho for a bit and then in New York/New Jersey training other welders. My Uncle Gerald was a Coxswain in the Navy and introduced my grandpa to his youngest sister who became my grandma. All I have for my Uncle Clay is his draft card and I'm uncertain if he was Army or Navy. My Uncle Wayne was in the 550th Field Artillery Battalion, Battery C. I think this was part of the 30th Field Artillery but am uncertain. Uncle Wayne never married or had children. He made it home from the war but the war never left him and he tragically ended his life in 1951. His story is where my research is currently directed and I've made a post asking for help in the "Those Who Served" forum. Again, please feel free to reach out if there is anything I can assist with in regards to what happened in the world of art during WWII. Happy to help!
Welcome Amanda! The 550th Field Artillery Battalion was originally the 2d Battalion, 30th Field Artillery Regiment. The regiment was originally activated 4 June 1941 at Camp Roberts, California. The 30th FA Regiment Headquarters was redesignated as the 30th Field Artillery Brigade on 18 May 1944 and the two battalions as the 521st and 550th at Camp Pickett, Virginia.The 550th departed New York on27 February 1945 and landed in Le Havre, France on 11 March 1945, then moved to Dieppe. AFAIK they saw no combat and after the end of the war moved to Simmern, Germany were they provided security and military government for St. Goar, Bad Kreutznach, and Birkenfeld, Germany. In July 1945 the Battalion was redeployed and arrived in New York on 6 August 1945 and then went to Camp Swift, Texas. The battalion was inactivated there effective 8 February 1946.
One posting does not make you the king, so try harder. The first time was quite poor, sorry. We want to talk about ww2, not your automobile.
