Which AAA Unit?

Hello all,
My first post here. I am searching for the AAA unit my Father, Richard Charles Jones, service number 34 354 347, served in. Here is what I know.
1. He was in Battery A, 7th Antiaircraft Training Battalion, Fort Eustis Va., September 1942. I have a photo with names listed.

2. His discharge papers list, B Battery 124th AAA GN BN.
Note: Battles and Campaigns list, Rome-Arno, Naples-Foggia, Tunisian, Southern France, Rhineland, Central Europe. The 124th did not serve in North Africa, Tuninisa. What unit did?

3. My Father told some stories of North Africa, Italy, and being a guard after Dauchau was liberated. I have a photo of him on a donkey, I believe in North Africa, read somewhere about donkeys used to move equipment up the mountians. I have a photo also in a MP helmet and armband.

4. Dad said there were 4 small anti-aircraft guns placed around the big gun in the middle. Their job was to keep the aircraft away from the big gun.

I have about 80 photos of his WWII service, some of locations that I would like to identify. His records were in the section that burned.

Thanks
Russell

 

Attached discharge papers.

 

Hi Russell

Could you please post some of your photos up so we may help with the locations?
My father was in North Africa and Italy too.

In Italy the winter weather was so atrocious they used mules to get supplies up the mountains to the men.

Lesley

 

Welcome

By doing a "goggle" search (my eyes scanning a book), I found one unit that might fit.

The 72nd Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion (Mobile) has
Anzio
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe
Rhineland
Rome-Arno
Southern France

Then as 1st Battalion of the 209th Coast Artillery Regiment (Antiaircraft)(Semimobile)
Tunisia
Naples-Foggia
Rome-Arno

It was the only CAR I spotted with Tunsia but not Sicily and all the others.

I believe campaigns for Anzio and, the Alsace part of, Ardennes were approved later (~1946) and may not have made it to your father's record.

This is just a possibility, something to get you started. Hopefully you can find confirming evidence and then solid documentation.

 

Thanks for the leads. Here are a few of the photos.

I also have photos of Dad's ID card,

Russell

 

Testing my Google foo, I took on the challenge of identifying the cathedral pictured with the German troops.

My prejudice led me to look in France but I soon learned few French cathedrals have that style. Nancy was the closest with a few of the elements.


Poland was my next choice and it looked promising. The cathedral in Opola has all the elements but the wrong shades (colors change) and the wrong proportions (not likely to change). Still I think it is worth researching further.

Kościół katedralny Świętego Krzyża w Opolu
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/9072882

This one in Poland has similar elements but the wrong spires
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazylika_katedralna_Opieki_Naj%C5%9Bwi%C4%99tszej_Maryi_Panny_w_Radomiu

Of course cathedrals in Poland could have been destroyed in the battles of 1945.


I am convinced if a modern picture were found the identification would be definite. So I checked Germany too and only found that the cathedral in Fulda had similar capitals on the spires.

I fail.

 

I encourage you to continue following the leads offered by Earthican and Slipdigit. However, if you are willing to spend some money, you can look at hiring a researcher who specializes in WWII service records. They will probably be able to track his service through morning reports and other records which were not destroyed in the 1973 fire.

 

Thanks to all for the pointers and leads. I will try to sort through and see what I can find. As for morning reports, where would those be stored, National Archives?

I remember one story Dad told about North Africa. He said they were in a bunker, might have been a dug in gun position, and a bomb landed close by and caved in the sandbag wall. One soldier was covered up with the sand and everyone was down on hands and knees pulling the sand back from the face of the soldier so he could breathe, with more sand pouring in. They were all digging and crying trying to save that soldier and they did save him. The Sargent got a Bronze Star and the rest got nothing, but they were all there digging and crying.

 

They are stored at the NARA in Saint Louis, MO.

 

I went over to my Mother's today and asked a few more questions about Dad's service. She went in the back room and came back with a small didi bag and in side was a few foreign coins tied up in a tan sock and a box with a U.S. Army North, or 5th Army patch and an overseas service patch with 6 gold bars. It also had a fragile and tattered paper. I was able to read the date of August 1943 and Hq 209th CA (AA) General Order 12 for the award of the Good Conduct medal. I will have to increase the humidity so I can get it to lay flat and piece it back together before I can read the rest. The pieces are falling in place.

View attachment 20029

Russell

 

The attached photo and 2 pieces of paper script money is the only other thing in the box. I have no idea what this might be. It has the number 26 stamped on both sides, copper or maybe bronze, 1 5/8 inch long. Anybody have an idea what it might be?

 

So I can say for sure that my Father was in the 209th CA (AA) August 16, 1943. His name is mostly gone on the attachment but his service number, 34 354 347, is there. The orders state Good Conduct ribbon for the previous 12 months. Only problem is my Father did not depart U.S until Dec 10, 1942 and arrived overseas at what ever location Dec 26, 1942, for just over 8 months of service. The APO 512 is located in Algiers, Algeria and was established Nov., 25, 1942, based on this link. http://www.trailblazersww2.org/pdf/APOS.pdf

The location may be in error as I saw 2 other locations for APO 512

I have a few very small pieces that I will try to place on the document, but I may not be able to.

 

The way I read it he was in B Battery.

 

Jeff, have you overlooked the Southern France campaign credit on the discharge document?

Assuming the CA regiments were lettered as other US Army regiments, B Battery should be 1st Battalion therefore after re-organization -> 72d AAA Gun Bn. That would also match the Southern France campaign credit.

Still just evidence until other documents are found.

 

Man oh man ya'll are a wealth of knowledge. I am looking into ordering info from NARA on the 209th CA (AA) from Jan 43 until re-organization. Do ya'll know if someone already has that info and whether they would share?

Russell