130th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Co. & Patches?

My father passed away 10 years ago.

His DD214 says that he was with the 130th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company.

I have been able to find almost no information on that unit.

From what I found, the unit got credit for Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. For some reason, his DD214 also gives him credit for Ardennes.

He was a low-speed radio operator and often seemed to be driving either officers around or trucks.

His right shoulder patch is for the First Army. But, his left shoulder patch is the HQ ETO Communications Zone 1944.

He arrived in England on 19 Feb 44 and arrived back in the US on 5 Jan 46.

My main questions are:
1. Why would he have the HQ ETO patch?
2. What units did his unit (130th Ord. Medium Maintenance) support?
3. Was he likely with the 130th Ord. Medium Maintenance during most of the time from Normandy until Germany surrendered?

Why would he have gotten credit for Ardennes when his unit did not?

Thanks for any insights you have.

 

My grandfather Frank W. Dupont was in the same company as your father. I have a lot of stuff from him. He was with the 9th and 1st Army but was in the 130th Medium Maintenance....he told me he was in the Ardennes and it was cold as hell

 

Sample of the discharge papers, would like to find where his company went, specially the towns the unit went to. Would like help finding UNIT records. I can't believe how challenging it has been since his records were lost in a fire in the national archives. On another note, my wife's grandfather Tulio also fought in Italy and africa, drove a tank documented everything and he brought back maps pictures with notes. It is going to take me some time to scan this stuff.

 

Records for Separate Companies, Platoons, and Detachments vary from scanty to nonexistent and often consist of copies of General and Special Orders generated by higher organizations.

The 130th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company was assigned to the ETOUSA and was attached to First U.S. Army for NEPTUNE. It probably reverted to Advance Section, Communications Zone (COMZ), ETOUSA (ADSEC) about D+15 to 20.

The Communications Zone was the logistical side of ETOUSA, answering to the Services of Supply (Army Service Forces). ADSEC was its forward element supporting First Army in the invasion, which expanded as troop strength increased, until eventually HQ, COMZ itself moved to the Continent.

A Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company was responsible for third echelon maintenance. First and second echelon maintenance was organization maintenance, done by the using organization, and was considered "light" maintenance. Second echelon maintenance in the division was done by the divisional Ordnance Light Maintenance Company, first echelon by the actual unit. Fourth echelon maintenance was done by the Heavy Maintenance Company. First through fourth maintenance units were essentially mobile. Fifth echelon was done by base depots in semi-permanent shops and often involved complete rebuilding of damaged items.

Typically, there was at least one Medium Company assigned or attached to an army or corps for each division as a back-up for the divisional light company. There were also MM Companies specialized for repair of antiaircraft equipment (especially optics, selsyns, predictors, and other such) and specialzed HM Companies for Tank and Field Artillery repair.

I suspect that the Ardennes credit may have come about simply by clerical error, which is fairly common. OTOH, he may have been part of a detachment attached to another unit that entitled him to such credit.

 

Nafziger shows the 130 Ord MM Co assigned to 48th Ordnance Battalion, XIX Corps, 9th U.S. Army in Dec 44.

Here's a link to a brief mention of the 48th in the Army Green Books (pgs. 321-22):

Chapter 17: Lessons of the Roer and the Ardennes

A while back I helped a friend figure out how to get the records of his father's unit. This unit was an Ord Light Maint Co. These records consisted of 3-5 page monthly histories that contained much useful info on activities and locations. Service unit records tend to vary widely in content, but it might be worth a shot to email NARA and ask for a quote on copying the records of the 130th. Might cost you $50 if they're as detailed as the other ord company I described, but you are unlikely to find better info elsewhere.

Good luck.

 

To clarify, most of what I track is for NEPTUNE, the organization of FUSAG, FUSA, and other elements c. 1 June 1944. I hesitate to use Nafziger anymore, given his sketchy sourcing and some of the errors I have found, but this seems correct. As of 1 June 1944, planners assigned the 48th Ordnance Bn HQ & HQ Det to XIX Corps as corps troops, with the 503d Ord HM Co (Tk) and 3442d Ord MAM Co(I about forgot the Medium Automotive Maintenance Company), which makes sense since as of that date the divisions attached to the corps were 2d and 3d AD and 30th ID. As of that date, the 130th MM Company was part of a large pool of Ordnance units attached to FUSA from ETOUSA, COMZ.

Exactly, the records of company-sized separate units can vary considerably in what they tell you and can be sometimes very frustrating. The most annoying, for me at least, has always been the Separate Tank companies...the 602d and 603d are fairly well established, but they imply a 601st, which may never have existed.

 

You're not alone there. Many of us have been in the same situation. Most unit records are held at the NARA in College Park, Maryland. I suggest you first read the thread Unit Operational Records (especially post #2) which explains how to get an index (or listing) of the records they hold for the 130th Ord MM Co. That should be provided for no charge and will give you an idea of what types of records are available.

For tracking when & where your father was during the War, the best records are Company Morning Reports which are held at the NARA in St. Louis, MO. Unlike other records, the NARA does not fulfill requests for Morning Reports. They can be obtained either by going there in person, or by hiring a researcher to obtain them for you.

Do you know what his tank unit was?

 

My father was also in the 130th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company during WWII.
He was Sergeant Willard C. Marsh, and he was the ordnance parts clerk of the unit.

I would be more than happy to share with you any information and photos that I have. And I hope you feel the same regarding your grandfather (Tech 3 Frank W. Dupont) and your father (radio operator James "Jim" William Weese ?????).
I have been trying for several years to piece my father's time in the military together and to learn more about the unit itself and its members' names and ranks, etc. It's slow going though.
I have very few unit member names, but it's more than I had last year.

James "Jim" William WEESE ( This name is just a researched educated guess; but I need your verification. )
Technician Grade 3 Frank W. DUPONT
Captain William Chapman SOUTHER (Bronze Star Medal recipient)
Technician Grade 4 Meyer KWITKIN (Bronze Star Medal recipient)
Master Sergeant George BUCHKO

I just became a member of this forum the other day, so I am not totally familiar with things here.
I will try to address some of the questions above later as I find time.
Feel free to contact me any time.

-Bill

 

Bill I have everything and where they went- call my cell 401-835-0597 I also have it in a list and all mapped out.

 

That sounds fantastic Mark. It sounds like you have been busy and successful with research.
My father entered some things in a small "SERVICE RECORD" booklet that came standard with his leather binder and separation papers. He also jotted down a list on a separate piece of paper with a small calendar. We will have to see how your information and my information marry up.

Have you ever thought of trying to establish a Website or Facebook site or something for the 130th Ordnance MM Company? There is one for the111th Ordnance MM Company, and it was in the same 48th Ordnance Group as the 130th --- at least some of the time it was.
WWII Tracings

Hopefully we will also some day be able to hear from Mr. Weese above who started this thread.

-Bill

 

I hope Mark does. I hope Mr. Weese does as well.
I will be glad to post things here once I can figure some of the ins and outs of how to do so.
For instance, I do not know the proper way to add a photo yet and any size and file type restrictions for it, etc.

-Bill

 

In the Morning Reports for the 130th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company, his MOS is listed as 521.

1. I don't know the answer to that one.

2. In the little 3" x 6-5/8" SERVICE RECORD booklet that came with that gold embossed blue leather envelope containing my dad's Honorable Discharge papers, my dad jotted down "England", and under that he jotted down other things, including "Assigned XIXth Corps Art. of 1st Army."
In the unit's Morning Reports on 26 February 1944 they reported "This orgn asgnd to First U.S. Army eff as of 19 Feb 44."
About every 10 days they reported that the unit was servicing, supporting or providing maintenance for Corps Artillery or sometimes even more specifically XIX Corps Artillery.

3. In the Morning Report of 17 October 1944 while in Maastricht, Netherlands is this following entry about your father:
"Fr DS.52nd Ord Gp. to trfd in gr and departed to 484th Ord Evac Co (Coll)."
I take it to mean that he was transferred from the 130th Ord.MM Co to the 484th Ord. Evacuation Company that day.
The 130th moved to Heerlen, Netherlands two days later on Oct. 19th.
There is no further mention of your father in any 130th Morning Reports after that. So, I assume that his transfer from the 130th was permanent. The 484th Ord Evac Co was still a part of the XIXth Corps though. I have no idea where your father may have been sent from there though.
And also, the XIXth Corps was transferred to the command of the U.S. Ninth Army from the U.S. First Army effective 22 October 1944.

I don't know. Maybe he was transferred once again to another unit that was in that area.

Anyway, does this help make more sense to some of you who have commented on those questions?

-Bill Marsh

 

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Yes, that is what I have found.
Before that, the 130th Ord MM Co was assigned to 48th Ordnance Battalion, XIX Corps, 1st Army.
And from what I can determine, the 130th was assigned to the XIX Corps Artillery under each of those armies. The unit's Morning Reports often report that they supported, serviced or provided maintenance to the Corps Artillery, or sometimes more specifically to the XIX Corps Artillery.

SO WHICH SHOULDER PATCH?
My dad's IKE service jacket has no patches and badges on it. He took everything off of the jacket after the war, and I have not been able to find any patches in his effects yet. He saved the collar badges from the jacket though.
So I have a question regarding these assignments.
Which shoulder patch would 130th members have worn? The XIX Corps patch, or one of the Army patches?

Also, my dad was given one of those "XIX CORPS IN ACTION" maps at the end of the war. So that makes me wonder if his unit would have worn the XIXth Corps patch instead of the First Army or Ninth Army should patches.
Knowing would also help determine what the vehicle bumper numbers would have been.

Any assistance would be great.

-Bill

 

Does that mean that the 130th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company was considered XIX Corps troops then?

The 130th was part of the 48th Ord Bn for a lot of the war in Europe. According to the Morning Reports, it sometimes was attached to other battalions or ordnance groups though. But it seems like it always followed the XIX Corps Artillery.
Would the 130th Ord MM Co have worn a XIX Corps shoulder patch or a First Army shoulder patch?
And the same question regarding vehicle bumper numbers.

This shoulder patch issue and vehicle bumper number issue have always been rather confusing for me regarding my dad's unit. The patches are missing from my dad's IKE service jacket. He took everything off of his service jacket sometime after the war.

-Bill Marsh

 

Its a good question Bill. If the 130th spent most of its time attached to the 48th Ord Bn, then likely they may have considered themselves corps troops. However, a lot of separate combat and service units simply wore the distinctive insignia of their branch or department. They may have worn the XIX Corps patch or the Ordnance "Bomb", it is difficult to tell. Vehicle bumper codes likely would have been XIX Corps, 48th Ord Bn, 130th ORD MAM with a vehicle number.

 

Thank you very much Richard.
I am finding that the 130th Ord MM Co was most often part of the 48th Ordnance Battalion from England to the Elbe on VE Day.
The 52nd Ordnance Group of the First Army arrived in Normandy on June 28th 1944, and on July 12th the 48th Ord Bn was put under the 52nd Ord Grp.
A First Army Ordnance organizational chart shows solid lines connecting the 48th Ord Bn to the 52nd Ord Grp, but also shows a dotted line connecting the 48th Ord Bn to the XIX Corps. It shows no line at all going from the 52nd Ord Grp to the XIX Corps. (see attachment)

On October 22, 1944 the XIX Corps was transferred from the First Army to the Ninth Army. On October 25th the 48th Ord Bn along with the 130th Ord MM Co was transferred from the 52nd Ord Grp of the First Army to the 59th Ord Grp of the Ninth Army. According to the Morning Reports the 130th Ord MM Co still provided maintenance for the XIX Corps Artillery after that.

The only time that the 130th Ord MM Co was not part of the 48th Ord Bn was from March 15 to March 29, 1945. General Simpson of the Ninth Army transferred his XIX Corps Artillery to his XVI Corps to provide artillery support for the Rhine River Crossing. The 130th Ord MM Co was put under the 187th Ord Bn of the 79th Ord Grp of the XVI Corps and provided maintenance for the XIX Corps Artillery during this tactical situation.

This is why it is all very confusing for me to know exactly which shoulder patch (Corps or Army patch) that the 130th men would have worn.
Does any of that information help better determine which shoulder patch would have been worn?
If not, is there a more definitive way to find out which shoulder patch they would have worn?

By the way, I only have two photos of my father in the field on the European continent, and neither he nor men with him are wearing any shoulder patches, rank patches or collar pins. My dad said they didn't wear rank, because they didn't want to be shot at for being an officer or NCO. But his IKE dress jacket that I have shows evidence where shoulder patches, rank patches, time in service patches, time overseas patches, and "ruptured duck" patch were once sewn. He said he saved those patches, but I have never yet been able to find them in his effects. However I do have his two round metal collar badges that were probably once on his IKE jacket collars. One is the round brass U.S. collar badge and the other is the round brass ordnance flaming bomb collar badge. The patch "shadows" on the shoulders of his IKE jacket suggest round patches, but still difficult to tell precisely. An actual Ninth Army shoulder patch appears round, but is more of a nine-sided circular patch instead of being a perfect circle.

Thank you all for any more assistance and direction you can offer.

-Bill