WW2 Grouping- wife's grandpa SSGT Harold Bosh

[dan_the_hun84]

Been wanting to share this for a while, figured with the recent birth if the mans great-granddaughter last week worth doing

 

This group belonged to my wife’s grandfather S SGT Harold Bosh. Who served from 1941-45 in the QMC, MOS 252 Warehouse Foreman. He saw service in the US, UK and Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns. His most significant duty assignment was Detachment A, 1180^th QM Svc Company.

 

Harold was a native of Marion, OH and enlisted in Jun 1941- he was a railroad worker with the Erie Lackawanna RR, he knew that war was likely going to happen and his thoughts were “if I enlist- maybe I will wind up in something other than the Infantry” After basic he was posted to Dayton Army Air Field where we earned a set of Sgt stripes and met his future wife, my wife’s grandmother Lynn who was a secretary there. He then was transferred to Robbins AAF in Georgia (after they were married) where he made T/3 . He was posted there when re-assigned in Aug 43 to his beloved 1180^th.

 

The 1180^th shipped overseas in Dec 43 and arrived in Liverpool. They crossed the channel and landed at Utah beach not long after D-Day(My father in law recalls Harold saying the landed in France “A couple weeks after D-Day”) At some point they became attached to the 9^th AAF and the 1180^th was responsible for supplying everything from shirts, ammunition, aircraft parts, medical equipment back from the depots and ports to forward operating units. He recalled that although he wasn’t often in the thick of it, but sometimes “it could get a little hairy” in Normandy as they often were taking supplies on trucks onto roads and areas still under enemy observation and artillery and occasionally small arms fire.

 

The 1180^th spent the winter of 44-45 in relative quiet in Belgium, then participated in the drive through Germany. Harold recalled the “utter devastation” of Aachen and Cologne, saw the Ludendorff Bridge before it collapsed and wound up somewhere on the German/Czech border on V-E day He got back home in Oct 45 and went back to work on the railroad until retiring in the mid-1980s

 

I have his Ike jacket, cap, tie, dog tags, discharge papers, also had a photo album made from aircraft aluminum with about 500 pics with just about everything in it. He was partial to pics of enemy equipment (PAK guns, German Me 163, He 162 Volksjagers, etc.) plus the normal pics with his buddies, wrecked towns etc. My favorite though are those of him wearing a tanker jacket, 1911 in a holster on Army Harley Davidson while chomping on a cigar. He also brought back a few captured German items including a Kreigsmarine shipboard painted M35 helmet, and a 19^th century French heavy cavalry sabre made by the St Etienne arsenal (my father in law still has those).

 

He passed away in 2002 after suffering a series of strokes, his wife passed away in 2012 aged 92.

[dan_the_hun84]

accessories

[dan_the_hun84]

Discharge paper

[dan_the_hun84]

the album- its a bit wonky from age- working on putting it back together

[dan_the_hun84]

few random pics

[dan_the_hun84]

wearing the same Ike jacket I have

[dan_the_hun84]

1180th QMC before going overseas

[dan_the_hun84]

close up of him from group pic

[dan_the_hun84]

M35 Kreigsmarine helmet he brough back- has a clear "stacked" decal and shipboard use paint- was told it came from when he was in Antwerp which would make sense

[bbmilitaria]

It's nice to see a great grouping like this stay in the family. Love the photo of him in the same uniform with the chain beaded 9th patch. Thanks for posting.

[WWIIinterviews]

Fantastic grouping, thank you for sharing. Great jacket and photo album. Did he write anything about his time in the 9th or do any interviews?

[dan_the_hun84]

Fantastic grouping, thank you for sharing. Great jacket and photo album. Did he write anything about his time in the 9th or do any interviews?

 

 

He was the type of guy who lived in the moment and took the attitude of "we just did what we had to do" and didn't really say a great deal unless asked, But he was also very proud of his service- he held reunions up until the 80s at his farm in Ohio and even had custom license plates made up with his outfit's number (my wife has those hung up in her office)

 

 

I didn't meet my wife until after he passed away, he wrote a few notes down later in life, but mostly we have what he did tell others like my wife, father in law and her aunts, or whats in the paperwork in his file (he had copies of most of what was in his personnel file)

[dan_the_hun84]

I also have been told there is another box of stuff as well of items from his service- I will post more pics once I can see them

[doyler]

Awesome group Dan.

 

Thanks for posting.

 

I will also 2nd that the group staying in the family is great.

[huntssurplus]

Great grouping! Thanks for sharing!

Hunt

[M24 Chaffee]

Great grouping and thread!

 

 

Frank