Please help me narrow down the search. If this soldier had this insignia in 1945 I assume that means he was a SERGEANT in the US ARMY. Is it possible that he was in the AIR FORCE? I understand the airforce was part of the army at that time. Also, is it possible that a later obituary would read any other rank? In other words, can a sergeant become a T SGT? SSGT? M SGT? LT? etc. Lastly, does the insignia tell me anything about his association with air corps, infantry, warrant officer, signal corps, ordnance, field artillery, quartermaster, coast artillery? These are all "branches" listed under the enlistment records for the person I am searching for. Thank you View attachment 22577
This is a list of the enlisted rank insignia. From the looks of it he has three chevrons which is the rank of sergeant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_enlisted_rank_insignia
Thank you Smiley - I agree he is a sergeant in this picture. There are so many Lloyd Millers that I am trying to narrow down my search. So - my question is if this means he is US ARMY or if he could have been in the AIR CORPS? Also, being a sergeant in 1946 (time of this pic) doesn't mean he was always a sergeant. What other ranks could he have been promoted to (so I can cross check with obituaries)? Thanks
Looks like Army. Who is this guy? Do you have any information other than this picture? A name and birthdate? You are correct, he may have received further promotions. But I think that route will be difficult to use as a means to identify him or uncover his service history. Your best bet is to get the name and any biographical info (like a birthdate and hometown) and check with the National Archives to see if they have a match. From there, you can request copies of his records. His hometown county office might also have a copy of his Report of Separation. There are extremely informative posts here at ww2f that you can use to help guide you in your search. Start with the Military Service Records & Genealogical Research sub-forum.
McCabe- Thanks - I posted more information yesterday under the thread "Lloyd Miller Pilsen 1945" The basic story is that he was helpful to my mother and her family after she was liberated at age 10 from Terezin/Theresienstadt. They met up at an airfield outside of Pilsen CZ in June 1945. I have been trying to "find" him. I have pictures, name, the date and location. That's it. I have checked enlistment records and there are over 150 Lloyd Millers I have been trying to narrow it down by cross checking with graves/obits. Some of the records list ranks and I figure that is another way to narrow the search - but I am not very fluent in "army" so I keep getting stuck. Thanks
The horizontal bar would indicate that not only is he in the Army Ground Forces, but he is an infantryman. In some units NCOs had such a stripe while officers had a vertical stripe. These were useful to the men they commanded since they could easily identify their leaders. Alas, this also helped the enemy spot leaders. The convention did not survive the war.