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7th FAB, 1st Infantry Division dog tag pair


bellasilva
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My newest acquisition, I haven't been this excited over a pair of tags for some time now.

 

Corporal William Hutnick was born in Massachusetts in 1919, and was a pre-war man, volunteering for the Army in October 1940 and serving in field artillery. As early as 1942, he joined the 7th Field Artillery Battalion, and saw 8 campaigns with them during WWII. He was awarded the Bronze Star in Tunisia in 1943, and again in France in October 1944. He made the assault landings at the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944. He went on to survive the war, passing away in 2002.

 

What is most intriguing about this set is that I'm told that this format dates between January-March 1944, making it very likely this is the pair he wore during the invasion of France. I've included a picture of his tags with a vial of sand taken from Omaha Beach. Enjoy!

post-104906-0-22298000-1484926340_thumb.jpg

post-104906-0-69007700-1484926364_thumb.jpg

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Thanks gents! Connor, I believe the previous owner said he pulled the picture from Ancestry but I'm not sure if it had a caption for it..unfortunately my Ancestry account just expired

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Thanks for double checking! It appears that he was a Corporal for quite a while- from as early as 1943 until the end of the war, so I guess that picture could've been taken anywhere, but I agree, a theater picture.

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Phil

 

Nice set of tags. Even more neat to have a sample.of sand from Omaha Beach. I was fortunate enough to have visited the Beaches back in 1999. Really gives a new perspective when you stand on the beach and look up at the bluffs they had to climb.

 

Mark

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  • 2 months later...

I'm late to reply, but thanks Mark! I've always wanted a sample of sand and was lucky enough to get a vial from Utah Beach as well

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  • 4 months later...

Thought I'd add that in further researching this man I came across the same photo of him posted above which states it was taken in June 1943 in North Africa

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