Lucky 7th Armored Posted March 26, 2012 Share #1 Posted March 26, 2012 My Dad got in touch with the other side of the family which was his Aunt. It turns out she has pictures of him in his uniform and his medals. So she forwarded us pictures of him in the 7th AD...It was a very emotional night in my household as these are pictures that were never seen before by my Father or I. Words cannot be found to describe the emotions i feel after finally seeing my Great-Great-Grandpa in uniform after all these years and piecing his story together with my Dad, (he did most of the leg work!).. It is very surreal...just imagining what he saw during his days overseas.. I will be carrying his picture with me while i walk the same grounds he did over 60 years ago in France, during my trip. Thank you to my Dad's Aunt for making this possible. Rest Easy, Soldier! First Portrait Picture was taken in France in 1944, can anyone ID his DI's? And the picture seems to be reversed as well. Anyone know what model bike that is and what the "3" in the triangle means on the front of the bike? This Portrait was taken during training in Georgia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky 7th Armored Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share #2 Posted March 26, 2012 I would love to find a pair of whatever he is wearing in the next picture with the pocket patch and sgt stripes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky 7th Armored Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share #3 Posted March 26, 2012 Sorry if the Title was misleading to you, but it holds true to me! So sorry to disappoint if you were expecting some CRAZY and PRICEY!!! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickCT Posted March 26, 2012 Share #4 Posted March 26, 2012 Great story! Really glad you finally have pics of him I would love to find a pair of whatever he is wearing in the next picture with the pocket patch and sgt stripes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky 7th Armored Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted March 26, 2012 Great story! Really glad you finally have pics of him Thanks Nick, I am just so ecstatic about finally seeing him in uniform, and just looking into his eyes and just thinking. Finally a face to go with the story. I dont know if i will get much sleep tonight thats how stoked i am about all of this!! Haydn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberwolf Posted March 26, 2012 Share #6 Posted March 26, 2012 It doesn't have to be $$$ to hit home! I remember the first time finding a pic of my grandpa in uniform it's a pretty good feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted March 26, 2012 Share #7 Posted March 26, 2012 Family stuff is the BEST!! Good for you and Dad. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted March 26, 2012 Share #8 Posted March 26, 2012 Now that is great stuff. If it weren't for men like your GGGPa I wouldn't be here today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper704 Posted March 26, 2012 Share #9 Posted March 26, 2012 Nice photos and I know what emotional value they have. Got a photo of both of my grandfathers in uniform too (one was in the Belgian Army, the other in the US Army in WWII). From the looks of it, it seems he is wearing early HBT coveralls. They're not hard to get. Interesting that he wears the 7AD patch on his chest. Btw, did he transfer to the 2nd Armored at one point? In his first photo he is wearing the DUIs of the 67th Armored regiment (2AD). Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbtcoveralls Posted March 26, 2012 Share #10 Posted March 26, 2012 HI Haydn, That's fantastic that you have these photos. They're really special. The first photo (in service dress uniform) shows him wearing the 67th AR DIs. It also looks like a pre-war photo (white shirt with black tie and early service blouse with gusseted back). I don't think it was taken in France since few GIs had portraits like this taken in France. My guess is that he was in the 2nd Armored division pre-war (1940-41) but was then transferred to be part of the cadre of the 7th Armored division before the 2nd left for north Africa. The Motocycle is a 1941 Harley WLA, Thanks for posting Great photos Tom Bowers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 26, 2012 Share #11 Posted March 26, 2012 Sorry if the Title was misleading to you, but it holds true to me! So sorry to disappoint if you were expecting some CRAZY and PRICEY!!! :thumbsup: Not misleading at all! These are the best kind of finds!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky 7th Armored Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share #12 Posted March 26, 2012 Thanks everybody, it means a lot! Ahh that would make sense! On the back of the photo it says "France 1944" says my Great Aunt.. but idk if she just mistyped it or if she meant it for another photo. He was in since atleast 1940, so that would make sense with the white and black tie, i didnt even notice the gusseted back! Learn something new everyday! I will have to tell my dad these things! He will be quite intrigued as i was. This is why i love this forum, you guys are helping piece together my grandpa's history of things that i never knew about. Is it uncommon to see the AD patch on the chest? I believe the photo is during training if that clears anything up... Thank you everyone and Erwin and Tom for helping me ID some things, it means a lot. Thanks again, Haydn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerfan Posted March 26, 2012 Share #13 Posted March 26, 2012 Thanks everybody, it means a lot! Ahh that would make sense! On the back of the photo it says "France 1944" says my Great Aunt.. but idk if she just mistyped it or if she meant it for another photo. He was in since atleast 1940, so that would make sense with the white and black tie, i didnt even notice the gusseted back! Learn something new everyday! I will have to tell my dad these things! He will be quite intrigued as i was. This is why i love this forum, you guys are helping piece together my grandpa's history of things that i never knew about. Is it uncommon to see the AD patch on the chest? I believe the photo is during training if that clears anything up... Thank you everyone and Erwin and Tom for helping me ID some things, it means a lot. Thanks again, Haydn Not real uncommon to see the AD patch on the chest and it is probably early on and during training. I posted photos of a 6th AD group that belonged to a relative of mine on the forum a while back and in one photo he has the 6th on his chest. As far as your "greatest pick up ever" I think you hit the ball out of the park on aquiring these photos. I would pass up the best of the best just to get photos like this of a close family member. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper704 Posted March 26, 2012 Share #14 Posted March 26, 2012 Well some armored units seems to have worn it on their chest more than others. I just hadn't seen one of the 7AD before, just 4AD, 5AD and 11AD. Mostly during training and mostly onb their HBTs (although there are photos of them wearing the AD patch on the chest of the "tanker jacket"). Tom's correct about the transfer from 2AD to 7AD. The photo shows indeed the early type of uniform (black tie, shirt). So that means he might have been in the Sankt Vith area during The Bulge. Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted March 26, 2012 Share #15 Posted March 26, 2012 There's a whole thread on the wearing of AD patches on the left breast rather than on the sleeve somewhere in the forum's archives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted March 26, 2012 Share #16 Posted March 26, 2012 Here it is! http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...s+worn+on+chest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laverno99 Posted June 16, 2012 Share #17 Posted June 16, 2012 Dear forummember, Could you please give me a PM. I think i have information to share My Dad got in touch with the other side of the family which was his Aunt. It turns out she has pictures of him in his uniform and his medals. So she forwarded us pictures of him in the 7th AD...It was a very emotional night in my household as these are pictures that were never seen before by my Father or I. Words cannot be found to describe the emotions i feel after finally seeing my Great-Great-Grandpa in uniform after all these years and piecing his story together with my Dad, (he did most of the leg work!).. It is very surreal...just imagining what he saw during his days overseas.. I will be carrying his picture with me while i walk the same grounds he did over 60 years ago in France, during my trip. Thank you to my Dad's Aunt for making this possible. Rest Easy, Soldier! First Portrait Picture was taken in France in 1944, can anyone ID his DI's? And the picture seems to be reversed as well. Anyone know what model bike that is and what the "3" in the triangle means on the front of the bike? This Portrait was taken during training in Georgia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelligerentBlue Posted June 16, 2012 Share #18 Posted June 16, 2012 Nothing can compare to getting family stuff. My grandfather was in the Navy during Vietnam and was only a store keeper, but when over his house I dug up in the attic to find his blues. Most valuable uniform I own in my opinion! Priceless... Some great photos by the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laverno99 Posted June 24, 2012 Share #19 Posted June 24, 2012 Hello , Could you send me his name and unit please? I preserve the history of the 7th that liberated us. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Willaert Posted June 24, 2012 Share #20 Posted June 24, 2012 The Motorcycle is a 1941 Harley WLA Indeed it is a HD 41WLA and furthermore it is a Type I 41WLA which was equipped with a buddy (2 persons saddle)... One of only 651 built... For more info on the bike (mainly the 42WLA though) please visit my website at http://www.theliberator.be Cheers, Johan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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