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Shoulder Cords


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Combat veteran of the 9th Infantry Division wearing the fourragere of the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross Unit Citation indicating he had served in a unit that was twice cited for that award. But note that he is also wearing the framed ribbon of the Gallantry Cross Unit Citation. It seems like the wear of the ribbon would be superseded by the wear of the fourragere.

 

 

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Medic of the 2nd Battalion 60th Infantry 9th Infantry Division wearing Infantry blue shoulder cord and disc backings behind his Medical Corps branch insignia

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Medic of the 2nd Battalion 60th Infantry 9th Infantry Division wearing Infantry blue shoulder cord and disc backings behind his Medical Corps branch insignia

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Is this photo from the early 60s when the division was a Ft Carson before its inactivation n 1962? I ask this cause in the 1962 4th Inf Div Yearbook which I think you have too, in this PENTOMIC period, at least within the 4th Inf Div, non infantryman assigned to the HHCs of Battle Groups wear the Blue stuff, Eng, Med, Sigs etc.

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An Engineer Branch Rope on Spec 4 Richard D. Hovland, Hovand was actually an Adjutant General Corps 71B Clerk Typist in HHC 69th Engineer Battalion and was killed by a enemy bullet on the opening day of the Tet Offensive, January 31 1968 at or near Can Tho.

 

http://www.moorej.org/discuss-engr/_disc/00000106.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here's an 11B Corporal of Troop D 2nd Squadron 17th Cavalry 101st Airborne Division. He served in that unit between 1977 and 1980. Note he is wearing the Air Assault Badge but no jump wings but also wearing the Airborne patch on his overseas cap. Note that he is also wearing the Vietnamese unit awards his unti was entitled to. I don't believe that is authorized any more.

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Yet again we see the Blue Rope on a Vietnam era Medic, a highly decorated one, Micheal Ackerman, he was in one of the battalions of the 502nd Inf 101st Abn Div (Ambl)  1970-71 I guess. Ackerman passes unfortunately in 1990 when he's only 39.

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Here's a confusing one. The soldier is assigned to the 194th Armored Brigade and is wearing the DUI of the 1st Cavalry Regiment. He appears to be wearing an Infantry blue shoulder cord and backing discs, but not he is wearing enlisted Ordnance Corps branch insignia on his collars and officer Cavalry branch insignia on his Stetson hat. He served 1969 to 1977 and had an 11B MOS, so this is definitely one of those crazy mid-70's uniform/insignia combinations.    

Shoulder Cord.Ordnance.2.jpg

 

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Lots of knowledge here so perhaps you can help me identify this shoulder device.  This is a picture of my grandfather from some point 1943-45.  He served in a Corps asset artillery battalion, at this time the 12th Corps as you can see from his shoulder patch.  But what I can find no reference anywhere is the double white lanyard on his left shoulder.  Although there are sepia tones, I know they are white as the should patch blue and yellow colors are recognizable.  Any invites would be greatly appreciated.

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As this is a Stateside portrait, best first guess it was some kind of Inter Unit Award Cord, either for an indivdual acheviement or a Battery and or Battalion performance type.

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One might be tempted to say its a Whistle Lanyard, but it seems to go right under the arm rather that towards the pocket, under the pocket flap itself.

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Pretty sure it’s not stateside, my grandfather only held 2 ranks while in the states, regular pvt when he enlisted and PFC when he was discharged so my guess is in the ETO somewhere.  He’s not wearing any of the medals/ribbons he would Mmmm have earned for a post war picture if his intent was to “look sharp” for a photo.  But as to what the cords are you are probably correct, someone said wear these cause of blah blah blah in combat so they did.  But obviously not an official regular Army item, so we’ll never know.  I was hoping it would better narrow down his combat and other movements during the war.

 

thanks so much for your insights.  Greatly appreciate it.

 

scott

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3 hours ago, Scott13 said:

Pretty sure it’s not stateside, my grandfather only held 2 ranks while in the states, regular pvt when he enlisted and PFC when he was discharged so my guess is in the ETO somewhere.  He’s not wearing any of the medals/ribbons he would Mmmm have earned for a post war picture if his intent was to “look sharp” for a photo.  But as to what the cords are you are probably correct, someone said wear these cause of blah blah blah in combat so they did.  But obviously not an official regular Army item, so we’ll never know.  I was hoping it would better narrow down his combat and other movements during the war.

 

thanks so much for your insights.  Greatly appreciate it.

 

scott

You say he was a Pfc when he was discharged, yet we see him as a Sgt, so there's some confusion there.

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3 hours ago, patches said:

You say he was a Pfc when he was discharged, yet we see him as a Sgt, so there's some confusion there.

Scott I was wondering that he was in fact a Sergeant when he sat for this photo, say in the summer of 1945 on occupation in Germamy?

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Right so I remember in taking to him that he refused to be responsible for other men’s lives so every time they’d promote him he’d get himself busted back down.  It could be in Germany, he was discharged in Oct ‘45  We have some pics from his time in Germany and also his medals from the 9th Div track meets.  But this is the only picture that exists of him with stripes on his sleeve and we know by the time he returned to the states he was a PFC again lol.  We know he immediately enlisted in the Navy as soon as he was discharged and served as an able seaman 2nd Class until 1947.

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Right so I remember in taking to him that he refused to be responsible for other men’s lives so every time they’d promote him he’d get himself busted back down.  It could be in Germany, he was discharged in Oct ‘45  We have some pics from his time in Germany and also his medals from the 9th Div track meets.  But this is the only picture that exists of him with stripes on his sleeve and we know by the time he returned to the states he was a PFC again lol.  We know he immediately enlisted in the Navy as soon as he was discharged and served as an able seaman 2nd Class until 1947.

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There are issues with that.  

He enlisted in Aug ‘42

We have a post card from North Africa that is addressed from Btry C 194th 96th Bn in ‘43
we have medals from track events with the 9th Inf Div in Germany ‘45

He was discharged in Oct ‘45 from Btry C 84th FA Bn

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3 hours ago, Scott13 said:

There are issues with that.  

He enlisted in Aug ‘42

We have a post card from North Africa that is addressed from Btry C 194th 96th Bn in ‘43
we have medals from track events with the 9th Inf Div in Germany ‘45

He was discharged in Oct ‘45 from Btry C 84th FA Bn

Seeing this now brings me back to my first observation, that portrait of him was taken stateside and was at tat time a Sergeant, he may of been in a different unit at that time, or he may have been in the 194th Field Artillery Battalion (There was NO 96th Field Artillery Battalion in WWII). The 194th Field Artillery Battalion was at Fort Bragg North Carolina (Formed February 1943) before it went overseas to Africa, in September 1943 (It did not fight in the campaign, that ended in May 1943) it probably fell under at that time XII Corps, which commanded and controlled many units in that general region, it was HQed at Columbia South Carolina/Fort Jackson South Carolina, when the XII Corps receives an overseas assignment and ships out for England in April 1944, many of the units under it were no longer present, they just being reassigned overseas, the 194th FA Bn was one of them. 

 

Whether he remained with the 194th FA Bn? this unit sees action for the first time in Italy, it leaves Africa in November 1943 and goes into action north of Naples initially as a II Corps Artillery unit,, it transfers over to VI Corps and participated in the invasion Southern France in August 1944, and then participated in the rest of the campaigns of 7th Army. So if he shows up in the 84th Field Artillery Battalion, which indeed was in the 9th Infantry Division, it would have to have been after September 1944 that he's transferred out.

 

Is there any way we could see his award citations?

 

 

 

 

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although you claim there was no 96th Bn, that’s where he addressed his postcard from...so it existed somehow.  The image has not notes on it but it couldn’t have been stateside OR as I’ve said it was taken between a promotion and demotion.  He enlisted 8/42 as a PVT and by Nov/43 in Africa he’s only a PFC as indicated on the address.  I’ve tracked the 194ths movements but they aren’t always clear.  Plus I’ve been told it was a Corps or divisional asset.  But he’s in the 12th Corps in the pic and 9th Div didn’t serve with 12th Corps that I can see.  I do know he HATED Patton so knowing the 12th Corps was part of 3rd Army explain that.  I have pictures of him in Rome but not Paris.  So was the 194th moved to 12th Corps for or immediately after the invasions of Southern France?  I know he was wounded and I know the repple depple system didn’t send troops back to their original units so perhaps that’s how he ended up in the 84th in the end?  No award citations.  I have his ribbons and his discharge papers.

 

included is image of the post card address

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No disrespect intended.  Just pointing out that the unit has to exist.  I have had multiple eyes on that address and all agree those are numbers not letters.  FA would fit better I agree but it doesn’t look that way.

 

and I’ve appreciated all input, there is very little unit info and with the archive fire, can’t get anything from there.

 

as for rank, it just doesn’t fit anywhere and again without his service record to see his ups and downs there’s no use guessing.

 

again thanks for sharing your knowledge

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10 hours ago, Scott13 said:

No disrespect intended.  Just pointing out that the unit has to exist.  I have had multiple eyes on that address and all agree those are numbers not letters.  FA would fit better I agree but it doesn’t look that way.

 

and I’ve appreciated all input, there is very little unit info and with the archive fire, can’t get anything from there.

 

as for rank, it just doesn’t fit anywhere and again without his service record to see his ups and downs there’s no use guessing.

 

again thanks for sharing your knowledge

Sorry, but it's clearly the 194th FA Bn. What you are calling a "6" in "96" is identical to the "A" in APO in the same line which refers to Army Post Office. The nomenclature 194th 96 Bn makes zero sense.

 

I'm also going to go out on a limb and say the photo was taken before he deployed overseas. He is wearing a four pocket dress uniform jacket. While these were certainly worn in Europe after VE-Day, they were rare by that point and he would most likely have been wearing an Ike jacket at that point. Also, he has no ribbons but only a Marksman badge. If it was taken after VE-Day, he would almost certainly be wearing, at a minimum, the ribbon for the Eurooean-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal along with any mother decorations he may have earned. 

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Man you guys are great, and I really didn’t mean to ruffle anyone’s feathers.  We never know what that “first letter” was before PO, we all thought it was a 6 also.  As I said that makes so much more sense.

 

hey limbs work, you all have a way better shot than I do of catching little details.  But it adds more to the confusion since he’s back to PFC in his postcard from Africa.  That means between 8/42 enlistment as a regular PVT In coastal Atry and 10/43 In Africa he was promoted to SGT and busted back to PFC.  but I guess that goes with his insistence that he not be responsible for other guys.  His ribbon bar includes the Purple Heart, ETO-Africa-MidEast with 5 stars, Asia-Pacific, WWII Victory and American Defense.

 

i really appreciate helping to clarify this stuff.  Unfortunately no one asked my grandfather a lot of questions about his service.  

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