BEAST Posted March 26, 2012 Share #1 Posted March 26, 2012 I posted the helmet a few years ago, but never posted the field jacket. These came from a local estate sale, I found the M-1941 Field Jacket and the antique dealer running the sale picked up the helmet and his four pocket coat which she sold to me. There was a large pile of military items, but the daughter was having problems parting with anything, so I was lucky to get these. The veteran who wore these was 1LT Robert H. Tews. He originally enlisted October 1941 with the Coast Artillery and then was sent to OCS. From the insignia that I saw at the sale, I believe that he was assigned to the 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. On the four pocket, there is a stitch outline of a 1st ID SSI. I received limited information from St. Louis as he was in the USAR after the war. Good news is that apparently his record was destroyed, but it won't be released until 2042 (discharged 1979 + 62 years). Someone other than me will have to request it! He was awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, American Defense Medal, American Campaign Medal, ETO with two campaign stars and a CIB. I am guessing that he was a post D-Day replacement, but I don't know when he joined the Division. I would like to find out when he was wounded. Anyway, here are a few photos of his helmet and field jacket. Hope you like them as much as I do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share #2 Posted March 26, 2012 A few close-ups of the helmet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share #3 Posted March 26, 2012 Interior of the liner: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share #4 Posted March 26, 2012 Well, I guess it pays to keep researching your colelction! Decided to see what else I could find on LT Tews and lo and behold, LIFE has a photo of him! Instructor Lt. Robert H. Tews teaching an orientation class to American soldiers stationed in occupied Germany for peacekeeping purposesd just after the end of WWII. Location: Scheinfeld, Bavaria, Germany Date taken: October 1945 Photographer: David E. Scherman http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?img...8de62c0355058fd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted March 26, 2012 And I found a news release about him being wounded! The article has a hold for release date of May 14th, so I am guessing that he was wounded within a month of that date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted March 26, 2012 Share #6 Posted March 26, 2012 Glad you were able to put a face to the name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37thguy Posted March 26, 2012 Share #7 Posted March 26, 2012 Always cool to have ID'd helmets. Congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share #8 Posted March 26, 2012 One point of interest in the photo is that Tews has 4 O/S bars showing 2 years of oversears service. This is in October 1945. So, the latest he could have arrived is October 1943, the earliest would be around May 1943. However, according to his records, he "only" has two campaign stars, so where the heck was he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b jay Posted March 28, 2012 Share #9 Posted March 28, 2012 Nice grouping B Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1944 Posted March 28, 2012 Share #10 Posted March 28, 2012 Thats an Excellent Helmet Grouping you have got there Belonging to the Big Red One 18th Inf Reg Well done thats a Fantastic Piece of History you have got there :thumbsup: Very Nice Hopefully someone out there will be able to give you more info on when he was (WIA) Wounded In Action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted March 28, 2012 Share #11 Posted March 28, 2012 A Big Red One Officer field grouping :thumbsup: Very nice indeed; should make a great mannequin! Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Ragan Posted March 28, 2012 Share #12 Posted March 28, 2012 One point of interest in the photo is that Tews has 4 O/S bars showing 2 years of oversears service. This is in October 1945. So, the latest he could have arrived is October 1943, the earliest would be around May 1943. However, according to his records, he "only" has two campaign stars, so where the heck was he? I was possible to be overseas and not get any campaign stars. Depended on where you were, what your unit did and other factors. OR.. it's possible some information was omitted from his personnel records for any number of reasons. And, a GI didn't get a campaign star for any specified time, it depended on campaign credits established by the Army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share #13 Posted March 28, 2012 I was possible to be overseas and not get any campaign stars. Depended on where you were, what your unit did and other factors. OR.. it's possible some information was omitted from his personnel records for any number of reasons. And, a GI didn't get a campaign star for any specified time, it depended on campaign credits established by the Army. Thanks guys for your replies! When he was drafted in 1941, he already had 4 years of college. Now I am making an assumption that the attended OCS here in the states, but it may have been possible that he went overseas in 1943 as an enlistedman and went through OCS in England. I believe that he was assigned to the Coast Artillery before he was commissioned. It would be nice to get a look at his complete record! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Boghots Posted April 3, 2012 Share #14 Posted April 3, 2012 One point of interest in the photo is that Tews has 4 O/S bars showing 2 years of oversears service. This is in October 1945. So, the latest he could have arrived is October 1943, the earliest would be around May 1943. However, according to his records, he "only" has two campaign stars, so where the heck was he? A real nice bit of follow-up research, and a compliment to your perserverance :thumbsup: - Something about his items "spoke" to you, so you didn't just push them down the road when there was no immediate windfall after you first got them. Well done. I've seen and owned a number of groupings in which at first glance, the campaign stars didn't seem to line up with the amount of time spent overseas. But as I handled more of these groupings, listened to what I was told first-hand by veterans, compared the experiences of my own relatives, I decided that there is no accurate rule of thumb to apply. Some ETO officers and enlisted went overseas/to the UK during 1942, had the experience deemed valuable enough to send over early, but as a consequence were of greatest value in remaining in England to prepare others to go to North Africa, Mediteranian, or ETO. A Silver Star/Bronze Star/Purple Heart grouping I once owned was from a Capt. who went England in late '42 as a Sgt., but didn't go onto the European continent until September of '44. Participated in The Ardennes (sppecifically the Bulge) campaign, field commisioned a 1st Lt., and by Jan. of '45 was hospitalized back in England. Exempliary service, heroism, paid a price, and was medically retired in 1946 as a Captain. One campaign star on his ETO ribbon; 5-o/s bars on his ETO ribbon. So you've got a real nice grouping there, with lots of room for more research and further discoveries !! Great job, good luck, and best regards, Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share #15 Posted January 12, 2017 Well, thanks to Austin0, I was able to find the CIB orders for Tews which confirms he was in the 18th INF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinO Posted January 12, 2017 Share #16 Posted January 12, 2017 Hey, there we go! That site is searchable by name (through OCR) so if you enter his name in the search box you might get a few more hits. Cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kai robert Posted January 12, 2017 Share #17 Posted January 12, 2017 Hey, there we go! That site is searchable by name (through OCR) so if you enter his name in the search box you might get a few more hits. Cool! What site? I´m trying to research a 1st Inf, 18th reg, E-comp. guy. Arthur W Tupper, ASN 31390780. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share #18 Posted January 12, 2017 What site? I´m trying to research a 1st Inf, 18th reg, E-comp. guy. Arthur W Tupper, ASN 31390780. This is a link to the First Division Museum site that AustinO posted in another thread. http://firstdivisionmuseum.nmtvault.com/custom/index.jsp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kai robert Posted January 12, 2017 Share #19 Posted January 12, 2017 This is a link to the First Division Museum site that AustinO posted in another thread. http://firstdivisionmuseum.nmtvault.com/custom/index.jsp Yes, I saw that after posting this, thanks anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVYDIVISION Posted February 1, 2017 Share #20 Posted February 1, 2017 really nice grouping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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