USMC "Q" Badge and Bars... Awards

[digi-shots]

Could someone please help interpret an "Infantry Weapons Record" for a WWII USMC veteran?

 

Under the section that lists various weapons there are a few entries that are confusing to me. The first four entries were made at Parris Island and are done with a hand stamp and not hand written.

 

- HAND GRENADE.... nothing noted in the Qualification column, but there is "Instructor" stamped in the course column.

 

- There are 2 entries that I can barely make out and neither have anything written in the "Qualification" column. One looks like "T.S.M.?" (Thompson Machine Gun?) The other entry is two words, the 2nd word looks like CARBINE. Both weapons show the term "FAM" in the course column.

 

- This one probably doesn't need an explanation... "BAYONET" .... "UNQUAL".... Can someone actually not qualify with the Bayonet?

 

The last entry was made almost 8 months later:

CARBINE.... the qualification states "familiar" - does this mean the veteran could wear the CARBINE badge?

 

Thanks!

 

[BagmanL6]

"Fam" refers to familiarization fire. That basically means the Marine fired the weapon. Possibly went through loading/unloading procedures and immediate/remedial action. He did not qualify with the weapon.

 

Hand grenade - My experience is that entries are made in mass. So its quite possible the instructor's name was stamped in all the books prior to the event. The event was cancelled, the Marine didn't participate, or the qualification column was never filled in later. There probably really is no way of knowing. Not an exact science.

 

In regards to the bayonet perhaps he didn't participate and this entry was made so that he would be qualified later down the line. Perhaps it was a timed event and he didn't make the prerequisite. Again, not an exact science.

 

Interested in hearing other's thoughts on some of this. Hope this helps.

[Allan H.]

I'll try to take a stab at this too-

There were two types of instructors with the hand grenade- the guy who gave the instructions and the guy shaped like a football linebacker who was capable of tackling and protecting a GI who froze with a live grenade or "threw short." Neither job actually required that the instructor be qualified as an expert with the grenade prior to instruction, but in this case, I would assume that the stamp would have allowed the GRENADE bar to be worn on the toilet seat Q badge.

As Bagman points out, the "FAM" stamp simply means that the marine received familiarization training and did not qualify with the weapon. T.S.M.? is undoubtedly T.S.M.G. for the Thompson Submachine Gun. The Carbine entry would most likely be M1 Carbine.

 

The Bayonet portion of the record where the marine did not qualify is most likely not because the training was cancelled- has anyone ever seen weapons training completely cancelled? I've fired in the snow, rain, and 100 plus heat. It is not bloody likely that the training was cancelled. What most people don't realize about bayonet qualification is that it wasn't a simple matter of sticking a bayonet into a dummy with precision. The bayonet course was (and still is) laid out in such a manner that the person going through the course has a number of targets (dummies) placed through the course. Each target has to be attacked correctly and there is only a certain amount of time allotted to run the course. Any number of faults would cause the participant to be a "no go" at the bayonet station. Missing a target, an improperly executed thrust, slash or butt stroke with the rifle, or running the course too slow were all grounds for failure to qualify. Finally, unlike regular weapons qualifications where you could qualify expert, sharpshooter or marksman, you could only qualify expert or nothing with the bayonet. I once heard that the course was designed so that only approximately 10 percent of those going through the training would qualify.

 

Allan

[teufelhunde.ret]

My father entered boot camp in the spring of 42, it was in transition from pre war syllabus to war time schedules and needs of the fleet. At that time, he was trained in bayonet, machine gun and grenade. The instructor gave the boots a pass or fail... that simple. There were no other words used - qual or unqual. The bars / training did change at some point, thus the use of the "ex bayonet" vice "bayonet" bars used early on. Hope this helps.

[uplandmod]

Can we get a scan of the page? Which column the info is written in can be helpful.

 

Thank you!

 

LF

[digi-shots]

Thanks for the help!

 

Here's a scan of the page... some of the entries are a little faint but you should be able to make them out.

 

 

 

 

[digi-shots]

And a close-up... a few entries are a little faint but you might be able to make them out.

 

My main question is what type of badge should this Marine be wearing? Just the "MARKSMAN" or the Basic Qualification badge with bars (and which bars) ?

 

Thanks!