Help with WW2 CIB China Burma India HUMP veterinary units Clarence Clayton Hoff Zoologist Doctor of philosophy in Zoology University Illinois in 1941

[historyfixer]

I picked this up a few weeks ago at an estate sale China Burma India CBI medical corps uniform. The estate sale was for Clarence Clayton Hoff. He was a Zoologist I also got his master theses and PHD theses. He earned his Doctor of philosophy in Zoology from the University of Illinois in 1941. I have not been able to find anything about his service online and his records was part of the records destroyed in the archive fire. I think because of his education background that he might have been in the veterinary Corp in the HUMP. Does anyone have any rosters of the China Burma India veterinary units?

 

 

[historyfixer]

The shirt

[historyfixer]

The Ike Jacket I think that it is a 4 pocket cut down.

 

[historyfixer]

The coat

[historyfixer]

master theses and PHD theses

[historyfixer]

Here is his Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Clayton_Hoff

I did not buy the crate because I know my wife would kill me so I just took a photo of it.

 

[124cav]

http://us-census.mooseroots.com/l/50069890/Clayton-C-Hoff

 

 

Same bloke?

 

I collect Veterinary Corps with a serious interest in the CBI and the IB theatres.

 

The info is so scarce but at home i have a roster to the Ramgargh veterinary detachment.

[Timberwolf]

Not trying to sound negative but are we sure these uniforms belonged to Hoff? The laundry mark in the uniform is doesn't match the last name. I would also think a zoologist would be an officer as opposed to an enlisted man. Just some thoughts.

[Baron3-6]

Not trying to sound negative but are we sure these uniforms belonged to Hoff? The laundry mark in the uniform is doesn't match the last name. I would also think a zoologist would be an officer as opposed to an enlisted man. Just some thoughts.

 

The Medical Specialty branches were strange sometimes with commissions. Many people with degrees were not commissioned, for instance Optometrists were not, at least initially made officers. A Zoologist would know about animals, however, he was not a full fledged DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)....which is what he needed to be commissioned. He might have gotten a commission in the the Sanitary Corps (SnC), which had Zoologists and Entomologists (Insect study) in order to combat public health issues. In the CBI, Malaria control was a serious problem, as well as typhus. There were small "Mosquito Control" detachments and Sanitary Detachments stationed all over - most of which are very poorly documented. I've gotten a real education on this because my wife did this job in the current army, and thus became interested in this aspect of WWII history. They pulled a lot of serious talent from the civilian world for the Sanitary Corps and made great accomplishments. Another interesting footnote is that due to a shortage of SnC officers in the ETO, Eisenhower authorized direct commissions for enlisted WACs with degrees in Biology, etc. Thus, the SnC became only the 3rd branch women could serve as officers in apart from the Nurse Corps and WAC.

 

As for this fellow, if he was in a Vetrinary Detachment he likely did one of two things or both:

1. Care of US Government animals as a Vet tech

2. Ensure that locally procured food (produce and meat) was fit for consumption by US troops, aka disease free.

 

For more info about the SnC, check out this excellent .pdf book (free).

 

http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/030/30-19-1/index.html

[R Michael]

Cannot add to the Questions you are asking but I do like the cut-down IKE and what looks like a locally made shirt! Very nice pickups.

 

 

Mike

[historyfixer]

First thank you all for your comments.

124cav this is Tim Malone and if it is not too much trouble would you take a look at the roster when you have time and see if his name is on it.

Timberwolf I had the same concern about the laundry mark that is why I am trying to find a roster so hopefully it has his service number. I have gone to every estate sale of this company since moving to Salt Lake City and they do not add stuff from what I have seen and they are very nice unlike some companies and tell me as much as they know about the former owner.

Also I have meet many men that would normally have been sent to OCS because they were highly educated but were not because they came straight out of college with a degree that needed expectations. The most memorial one was a man that got his law degree from SMU in August of 1941 and was drafted. He spent the war as a corporal in a laundromat in the ETO sewing up the field uniforms for them to be re-issued.

Baron3-6 Thank you for the information it is very helpful.

One of the World War II veterans that I interviewed for my book his brother was in the 104^th Division in World War II as a First Sergeant, after the war he became a Butcher, and when Korea started up they called him back to service and he served in the Veterinary Corp inspecting the cows and picking the ones that the army wanted for food.

Mike thank you I was very excited when I found them and I got them on the last day of the sale because I was out of town. I was surprised that they were not picked up quicker.

[Longbranch]

One thing you could do is check for publications from Hoff to see what he was doing during WW2. A quick search popped some papers of his indicating he was in Arkansas in the spring of 1942, Illinois in 1943, Dominica in 1944, and he published a paper from 1945 about newly identified pseudoscorpion species in the West Indies (I believe around Trinidad). Also, this wasn't just some freshly-out-of-college zoologist… Hoff appears to have been fairly experienced in his field, and would have held a PhD if when/if he entered service with the Army. I find it odd that an accomplished zoologist with a doctorate wouldn't have held a higher rank than Technician 4th Grade. Judging by how prolific Hoff was in his studies and publications, I don't see how he would have been able to serve with the Army in the CBI for 18-24 months late in WW2. Factoring in all of this, and considering that the uniform has a different and non-matching laundry mark, I don't believe this uniform truly did belong to C.C. Hoff.

 

Unfortunately, the crate doesn't prove much, as Ft. Collins is simply the hometown of Colorado State University (formerly Colorado A&M). I would imagine Hoff performed some research in Colorado, and as based at this college at some point.