WWII Uniform and Badge identification request

Hello. My name is Marla Fair and my Dad, Dale Lewis Cummins, was a veteran of WWII. That's how I came to be on this forum. Today I have a question not related to my Dad or the 37th division, and so I am starting a new thread.

My daughter runs an estate sale company. Recently I helped her empty out the house of a WWII veteran. Sadly, no one in the family wanted the two military uniform coats that were in the house, and so I brought them home, hoping to donate them to our local Veterans Museum www.theyshallnotbeforgotten.org Before I do so, I would like to see if I can find any information about the veterans they belonged to and/or their service. I am assuming they belonged to the man whose home it was. For info, I checked Ancestry.com and found out that his name was Leonard E. Hypes. He was born in 1925 and died in Troy, OH in 2013. He was a veteran and had enlisted at Fort Benjamin Harrison June 19, 1944 for the duration of the war. That's about it. There were no listings for his service, rank, etc.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me from the photos of the insignia or badges on his coat anything more about him. One of the insignias is rather unusual in that it shows a Native American man in a full headdress.

The photos in this post show the first coat. I will send the photos of the second coat through in another. The second plain coat has writing in the neck area that reads: T5464 THOLA 37685464

Thanks!
Marla

 

Here's the second coat, which is without insignia.

 

The yellow one with the duck is a Ruptured Duck patch: More formally called the Honorable Service Lapel Patch, the "Ruptured Duck" was given to those members of the U.S. military who were honorably discharged during WWII. The insignia was worn on the right chest of the uniform and was meant to identify the soldiers who had done their duty

The shoulder patch with the blue star/red lightning bolts is: HQ ETO and Communication Zone 1944 - After the formation of SHAEF, the Headquarters ETO was given responsibility for logistics and the 1944 design was approved adding the Army Service Forces insignia. The insignia was renamed Communications Zone Personnel, ETO and continued in use until 1946.

The one with the Indian head is the 2nd Infantry Division

I believe the patch on the right sleeve is his old (original?) unit and the left sleeve was his current unit. If I have this wrong, someone should be able to set me straight.

 

Strange, the second coat didn't belong to Mr. Hypes. I saw Marine uniforms that were re-issued and having more than one laundry number, but not the Army (not that they didn't re-issue some-they may have). And I don't believe they were issued two class A jackets.

Another thing is, these are older style uniforms (before the introduction of the short Ike Jacket). Means whoever they belonged to entered the Army early in the war, or just before, and more than likely was discharged after the war. If he was enlisted I don't see any rank. He may have been an officer and someone removed his rank insignia. The uniform looks old and worn, but the patches look like they were just sewed on--new looking.

 

Here is the NARA Electronic ASN File for THOLA 37685464. It has his name as THOLA ELDRVB A. That is clearly a typo and I suspect his first name is actually ELDRED. The "T5464" is obviously the first initial of his last name and the last four digits of his ASN. I found more than one Eldred A. Thola when I did an internet search.

 

Thanks, one and all, for the help so far. How interesting! Marla

 

I was contacted by the local Veterans Museum this morning and they will take the coats. Thank for the help with ID-ing the men who wore them. I will let you know if I find out anything more.

 

I'm sure I can also speak for Natman and Buten42 in saying that you're very welcome, Marla. If the coats end up on display, a few photos would be a nice addition to this thread.