Korean War Ike help needed

[NateO]

Hello! I have been working on trying to recreate my Grandfather's Ike jacket. He was a Korean War vet, and his original jacket is long gone.

 

 

 

I have a good deal of his paperwork, and from what I can tell, after entering the Army, he was sent to the Aberdeen Proving Ground. He was then sent to Korea and served in the service battery of the 38th Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry Division. He was in Korea from February 1953 to April 1954. He then has a set of orders transferring him to the "1264th SU Personnel Center" at Camp Kilmer, and he was in the reserves until 1961. I've also attached his DD214, as it probably offers a better summary than I can.

 

 

 

My goal is to try and recreate his uniform upon coming home from Korea. So far I have:

 

 

-M1950 Ike jacket with 2nd ID patch on left shoulder

 

 

 

-domed US collar disc

 

 

 

-pair of OD on blue twill Private stripes

 

 

 

-my Grandfather's medals

 

 

 

I know I still need the 2 overseas service stripes, and the other collar disc. Would artillery be the correct insignia? Is there anything else I will need?

 

 

 

My biggest question would be regarding what shoulder insignia are correct. My father remembers the jacket being double patched, with the 2nd ID on the left, and another on the right. His description of the other SSI matched the Army Service Forces patch. I know my grandfather did wear the ASF patch prior to shipping out to Korea, along with an ordnance collar disc. However, I'm not sure if the ASF patch would belong on the post war uniform.

 

 

 

My Grandfather never really spoke of his service, and he passed away when I was three. I'd be grateful if anyone could help me understand what he and the 38th FA did in Korea, or point me to some sources that might.

 

 

 

My apologies for the long winded post. I look forward to any help you all may be able to offer.

 

 

 

Nathan

 

 

 

[ww2guymandude]

I’m pretty sure he would have the Army Service Force insignia for his right shoulder SSI, as it was what he was previously affiliated with before the 2nd ID. For for other collar disk, another domed arty disk would work.

 

 

[patches]

Yes he sounds like he was Ordnance, Aberdeen is where these guys train, maybe he was either an Munitions guy, or a weapons repairman (the Arty pieces), or even a vehicle mechanic (Trucks and High Speed Tractors) all these are ORD, strange his MOS is not listed. if you want a cap, then get one with Ordnance Corps piping.

[NateO]

I knew I'd forget to mention something. He was definitely involved with vehicles. I know he served as a driver, and maybe as a mechanic as well. I'll have to see if I can find his MOS anywhere. So would he have worn an ordnance or artillery collar disc during his time with the 38th FA?

[patches]

I knew I'd forget to mention something. He was definitely involved with vehicles. I know he served as a driver, and maybe as a mechanic as well. I'll have to see if I can find his MOS anywhere. So would he have worn an ordnance or artillery collar disc during his time with the 38th FA?

Generally he would of worn either or, sometimes support troops in HQ and or Service Companies and or Batteries wore the disc of their unit, in this case Arty, now this was in WWII, Medcs on the other hand wore exclusively their Medical Corps disc and piped cap, but by Korea they tend to wear their specific branch.

[atb]

I’m pretty sure he would have the Army Service Force insignia for his right shoulder SSI, as it was what he was previously affiliated with before the 2nd ID. For for other collar disk, another domed arty disk would work.

 

For the Korean War, unless he was with a unit that wore the ASF SSI overseas in a specifically designated area, he would not wear that SSI on his right shoulder. He probably had no SSI on his right shoulder while in Korea. For his "Ike" Jacket, after his return from Korea, the 2 ID SSI moves to the right shoulder and his current unit of assignment SSI goes on the left shoulder.

 

[NateO]

I took a closer look at the paperwork I have, and his MOS is listed as 4345, so it looks like he was a Chauffeur. Kind of ironic, because that was the rank that his father held in WWI. There was also an MOS of 1443 mentioned on one document, but I couldn't find a match for that.

 

 

For the Korean War, unless he was with a unit that wore the ASF SSI overseas in a specifically designated area, he would not wear that SSI on his right shoulder. He probably had no SSI on his right shoulder while in Korea. For his "Ike" Jacket, after his return from Korea, the 2 ID SSI moves to the right shoulder and his current unit of assignment SSI goes on the left shoulder.

 

From the photos I have of him in Korea, he didn't have anything on the right sleeve. I have no idea what SSI was worn by the unit he was assigned to upon coming home, because I haven't found out anything about it. For the time being I'll leave the 2 ID SSI on the left, since I gather it would at least be somewhat correct.

[Captainofthe7th]

Hi Nathan --

 

Based on the DD214, your grandfather would most likely have been wearing his 2d Div patch on the left shoulder. If he returned from Korea in April and was discharged within a month, he was probably still wearing 2d Div as current unit assignment. Being that he was drafted and being relieved from active service, you typically see with these soldiers that they do not transfer to another unit on coming home but are quickly discharged/released to reserves. As an example, many 40th and 45th Division uniforms sport only the single SSI on the left sleeve since these men were draftees or National Guardsmen that had fulfilled their contracts on returning home and were not assigned to any subsequent units. Regular Army soldiers are more likely to have transferred to another unit to fulfill their three year commitment. If your grandfather wore a left sleeve patch at any time after coming home (he may have packed the Ike away and never worn it again, needing only ODs/OGs for drill or khakis, etc.) then my guess is it would have been a First Army patch since he falls under the NY Military District.

So an "M1950 Ike jacket with 2nd ID patch on left shoulder" is correct. You may also choose to add the 38th FA DUIs to the shoulders.

"Would artillery be the correct insignia?" Yes. Since component of the Army/Branch field lists Arty, he should be wearing the crossed cannons. As Patches said it could be different, but based on the 214 text Arty is a safe bet.

Hope that helps.

By this time, overseas bars were worn on the RIGHT sleeve cuff. The ROK PUC he earned may be worn either above the right pocket or on the left pocket below his U.S. awards.

 

 

Rob

 

P.S. The MOS 1443 is also listed on the DD214 under most significant duty assignment. I can't find it at the moment but do have an old pamphlet that should list it.

[NateO]

Hi Rob,

 

Many thanks for the detailed response. I'm glad to know I was at least on the right track with most of this. It sounds like I'm just about set, I'll just need to pick up the Artillery collar disc and the 2 overseas stripes (Thanks also for letting me know they belong on the right!). I'll also be keeping my eye out for an artillery piped overseas cap and just ordered a set of the 38th FA DUI pins. I don't know if he had them originally, but I like the look with the pins. It's a shame he didn't keep his uniform, and I'll always regret that he never really talked about his service.

 

I've attached a picture of my grandfather, which was taken before he went over to Korea. I'd like to find the hat he's wearing here as well. Is it the same type that was worn during WWII, or would changes have been made to them by the Korean War era?

 

Thanks again,

Nathan

[huntssurplus]

For the other collar disc looks like he has an ordnance disc in the photo so maybe get one of those for your uniform?

Hunt

[patches]

For the other collar disc looks like he has an ordnance disc in the photo so maybe get one of those for your uniform?

 

Hunt

Yes indeed, that's ORD.

[NateO]

Thanks! I knew he was wearing the ORD disc in this photo, but I'd always assumed he would have swapped them out after being assigned to the 38th FA. I'll acquire both discs, since I really don't have a way to know exactly what he had on his jacket.