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What does the T stand for on this rank insignia ?


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Hello, my Great Uncle served in Europe in WWII, but I know little about his service time and there are not many family left who know about his service. I have a picture of him and am trying to piece together a little info. Can someone enlighten me as to what the "T" is for under his stripes? I thank you in advance.

Mark

post-5589-0-93642700-1400791447.jpg

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JS nailed it.

 

Think of it similiar to specialst ranks.

 

Maybe you can requst his records to fill in his story

 

Thank you both for your speedy reply. How would I go about requesting his records?

 

Mark

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Hello, my Great Uncle served in Europe in WWII, but I know little about his service time and there are not many family left who know about his service. I have a picture of him and am trying to piece together a little info. Can someone enlighten me as to what the "T" is for under his stripes? I thank you in advance.

 

Mark

 

RaymondRock.jpg

 

His rank is that of a Technican 4th Grade. From what we see so far, he was overseas between one year and a half to slighty under two years, you will note those three little gold strips on the lower sleeve, these are called overseas bars, with one "BAR" being autherized for every 6 months served overseas, this could be as far away from the Continental United States as India or as close as Puerto Rico, during the Second World War one did not neccesarly have to be in a combat zone to get overseas bars, but we see that because he has a Bronze Star Medal we know that he was in a combat zone, we see that he has no Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge this indicates he was not an infantryman or medical aid man, he does not have a Parachute or Glider Badge, indicating he was not jump or glider qualified, thus not in an Airborne unit, he might at any rate but in a support branch, where the above mentioned qualifcations where not required,he does not have Aircrew Wings indicating he was not a Aircrewman in the Air Corps,again he may have been in the Air Corps but in a support branch, but a both points I feel this is doubtful. Despite what little we know about him at first glance, it becomes a little more apparant as to what he was in the Army because of all the above mentioned which tells us quite a bit about him.

 

Having said this, barring any additional info there's little else to go on, three problems we will incounter are 1. A lack of a shoulder patch,this would be of invaulable help in seeing what unit he was in. 2. Not a clear enough view of collar discs, this would help in seeing what branch of the Army he was in, apart from the already mentioned Infantry, Medical Corps and Air Corps, he would have been in a miriad of branches, he may have been an Artilleryman, a Tank crewman a Tank Destroyer crewman or a Combat Engineer for instance, or in a combat support/support branch ( ENGINEERS are combat support, I just mentioned them with the other combat branches on the account of the great deal of front line combat Engineers seen in both Europe and the Pacific ). 3. Its certain that he was in Europe or the Mediterranean by the darkish colour of that ribbon on the right side of the three ribbons, seeing how many stars he has on the ribbon can also be a help to a small degree. Do you have or can get or find any papers on him like letters written home for instance ? preferably with them in their envelopes still.

 

Moderators is this a research topic ? as the member states he is trying to piece together a little info, which as we know translates to a lot of info .

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Very nice picture.

He is wearing Buckle boots too, btw.

I hope you will find more information on his service.

If we can help, please let us know.

 

Erwin

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Hello, my Great Uncle served in Europe in WWII, but I know little about his service time and there are not many family left who know about his service. I have a picture of him and am trying to piece together a little info. Can someone enlighten me as to what the "T" is for under his stripes? I thank you in advance.

 

Mark

If you do not have his service number or his social security number, and if you can get his exact first/middle/last name, along with his exact dates and places of birth and death, then you can request his military records from this link using form SF-180:

 

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/

 

I have been advised, and have done so myself, to use these exact words when it comes time to specify which records you are asking for:

 

“I am seeking all official pages of the official military personnel file and and supplemental pages reflecting service schooling, education, air/sea travel, duty assignments, weapons qualification, special equipment or skill qualifications, awards, medals, decorations and commendations, combat service and injuries and all other military service related entries including medical records and any and all Performance Evaluation Fitness reports.”

 

Do not be deterred if the response is that files were lost in a fire. Many many copies of all kinds of things exist - heaven knows we recall multiples of multiple copies flying around. They may have to do a hand search, in which case it will take a little more time and may cost you some money (I paid $60 to get my father's records, and was happy to do it). In other words, the papers of some kind DO exist somewhere, so keep repeating your request. They try very hard to honor these inquiries, so the more specific you are the better your chances become.

 

If he should have had common names (e.g. Joe Smith) then you could try to obtain his Social Security number (numbers, as we know, are keys to everything) from this link or similar:

 

http://www.genealogybank.com/gbnk/ssdi/

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Thank you all for your help. I will use the tips given.

Patches, he may have belonged to a tank crew, as I also have this piture of what I believe to be him on the right top of tank.

post-5589-0-38178200-1400791508.jpg

As I stated, I do appreciate all your help. Great group you all have here.

Mark

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Thank you all for your help. I will use the tips given.

 

Patches, he may have belonged to a tank crew, as I also have this piture of what I believe to be him on the right top of tank.

 

12-18-2011104417AM.jpg

 

As I stated, I do appreciate all your help. Great group you all have here.

 

Mark

 

A CHAFFEE LIGHT TANK ! He may in fact have been a Cavalrymen, the M24 Chaffee was a tank that was sent out to Cavarly Reconnaissance Squadrons to replace the older M3-M5 Stuart Light Tanks that where in these type units, the Chaffee started arriving in very small numbers in december 1944 in the ETO, the Tank was in demand in the Armored Divisions, to replace their Stuarts but it would seem that the Cavarly Reconaissance Squadrons where the only units to receive them, so Iam banking he was a member of a Cavalry Reconaissance Squadron, the photo of him would be taken some time in early 1945, January/Febuary.

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