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"MEDDIIIC!!"Part Deux: ID'd 29th Div Combat Medic BSM/PH Uniform Grouping!


carbinephalen
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carbinephalen

Some time ago, I was lucky enough to have my inlaws stumble upon a officer's uniform jacket ID'd to a 29th D-Day Lieutenant!

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...howtopic=138950

 

That uniform has since left my collection for greener pastures (To a collector we all know and love in Belgium :lol:) but the bug had already bitten me

 

I've collected strictly 76th Division items for 4 years now and decided to put some of the fundage towards an item from a new Division. So naturally, I was on the hunt for something 29th. Items from that unit are fun to research because there are so many resources available! So anyways, when this grouping was presented to me from one of my favorite East Coast dealers I had to pounce. The dealer is well trusted and travels estate/garage sales in the Connecticut/Massachusetts area and has provided me in the past with one of my most epic 385th Document/Ephemera groupings. Anyways...I digress. I always have them keep their eyes out for me when hunting for military items. Well it really paid off this time!

 

This group came from the veteran's family and consists of his uniform jacket, Purple heart and case, BSM/PH/ETO/GCM/AC Wolf Brown ribbon bars (3 Campaign stars on the EAME. No arrowhead sadly, but heck they all couldn't be D-Day boys!) Pinback Combat Medic Badge, a small scrap of old paper with what looks to be a Medal General Order on it, 2 photos of the vet with the photographers stamp and "1942" written on each one. The collar discs were not in the medal case with the rest of the items and have been on the jacket for ages. There are slight traces of where the WB ribbons bar were on the jacket before they were removed.

 

The family said that his name was "Al" Francini and that he had passed away a few years back. These items were kept by his sister whose children (or grandchildren maybe? The seller was a bit unclear on that) sold them.

 

Albert J Francini (ASN 31190853) Was born in 1921 in Connecticut and enlisted on 9/21/1942. Because of this later enlistment date I'm pretty sure that he WASN'T sent over to the ETO with the 29th when they departed in October of 1942. My guess would be that he was sent over as a replacement medic after the D-Day invasion (which would explain the missing arrowhead and only 3 campaign stars) I have already sent off for his records so fingers crossed that the Nat. Archives can turn something up on him! If not I may just have to search through the 29th's morning reports on my next trip to the NPRC. Fingers crossed everyone! If anybody can find anything on him (I already checked the 2 29th rosters available online) please let me know!

 

So I'll let the photos do the talking about the rest of it :D I'm pretty happy with it.

post-14217-1336427163.jpg

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carbinephalen

This patch has been there for quite a while IMHO. Cotton thread that passes the burn test

post-14217-1336427549.jpg

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carbinephalen

Ol' Al's Mug.

 

Looks to be the same uniform! Hard to tell though. 1942 is written on the reverse of both

post-14217-1336427601.jpg

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carbinephalen

I just couldn't go without putting everything back on the jacket! I don't feel guilty about that at all!

post-14217-1336427659.jpg

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carbinephalen

I sure do wish this uniform could talk! Atleast I know how the PH was awarded! The WWII Registry is one of the most underused resources in this hobby! You guys try to track down some of your boys in there.

 

I also always enjoy seeing how the family (or friends) try to describe their loved ones wartime experiences. Heck atleast this person got pretty close!

post-14217-1336427893.jpg

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carbinephalen

The small strip of paper is in very frail condition from being folded up in the case. I almost missed it when going through it all and it even fell on the floor before I noticed it!! :pinch: I put the protective plastic cover on it. Maybe somebody can get to the bottom of decoding it?

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carbinephalen

Thanks Ben!

 

If nothing else it will make for a great 76th trade item someday (hopefully) I got it for a pretty good price. Medic Al looks a little out of place in the room of

 

76th%20Infantry%20Division%20patch.jpg

 

but I'm enjoying it!

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CNY Militaria

The little paper looks like the GO Number for his PH or BSM, for the 26th division?

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carbinephalen

Justin,

 

The GO 26 is the only part in it I do understand (I think) In dealing with 76th Citations all of the time, I'm pretty sure that it mean's it's the 26th General order submitted from whatever the unit (the rest of that jumble after " GO 26) is or maybe it is a field hospital of some sort

 

Edit- USGH I just found out means US General Hospital. So this one is definitely for his PH I'm guessing! Cool! Maybe it came in the heart box originally!

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Looks like GO 26, 52nd US General Hospital - which is probably where he was awarded his Purple Heart.

 

Kyle

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seanmc1114

I agree with you that your guy was probably a replacement sent to the 29th after D-Day. Let's face it, with all of the casualties the division suffered on D-Day and the days after, there had to have been hundreds if not thousands of replacements sent to the division who did not qualify for the arrowhead device for Omaha Beach. Additionally, his 1942 enlistment date and the American Campaign Medal kind of give it away. As you mentioned, the 29th had been in Scotland and England before the Normandy Invasion since October 1942, so very few if any of the original members of the division would have served a full year in the U.S. after Pearl Harbor to have been entitled to the American Campaign Medal.

 

Also, you may yet find a 76th Division connection for your guy. According to wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/76th_Infantry...nited_States%29, 7,000 troops were taken from the 76th Division to build up forces for D-Day during April 1944. Maybe your guy was one of them.

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carbinephalen

Thanks to all for the kind words and assistance!

 

The 76th was (for lack of a better term) raped of its enlistedmen multiple times since its activation in June of 1942, leaving only a cadre of officers and non-coms to train the next batch of new recruits. First as replacements for the North African Theater and then later for the D-Day build up. Even ol' Audie Murphy was one of these men to have trained with the Onaway Division!

 

I didn't even think about the American Campaign ribbon being a tell-tale sign of an original unit besides the 29th. If I am able to get his discharge intact it will tell us with 100% accuracy which batch of men he fell under.

 

Here's a question for you guys...say a person was with the 29th in England, got sick, wasn't able to actually wade ashore on June 6th, 1944 but still participated in the Normandy Campaign in the days following, would they be entitled to wear the arrowhead device or not?

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seanmc1114
Here's a question for you guys...say a person was with the 29th in England, got sick, wasn't able to actually wade ashore on June 6th, 1944 but still participated in the Normandy Campaign in the days following, would they be entitled to wear the arrowhead device or not?

Even if a soldier's unit received combat assault credit, the soldier had to not only be assigned but also physically present and actually leave the landing craft or jump from the airplane to be eligible to wear the arrowhead device.

 

Since the 29th participated in four named campaigns during WWII (Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe), and assuming the ribbon on your uniform reflects the soldier's authorized number of campaign stars, he either missed the Normandy Campaign (June 6, 1944 - July 24, 1944) before being assigned to the 29th or perhaps missed one of the later campaigns in a hospital recovering from his wounds.

 

Also, notice that even though the uniform has the Ruptured Duck discharge emblem affixed, there is no ribbon for the WWII Victory Medal.

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