kilgarvan Posted December 16, 2015 Share #1 Posted December 16, 2015 My wife's uncle gave me a bunch of her grandfathers stuff I'm trying to ID and find out more on. Looks like he was in the First Army and Tech 5th grade? He served in WW2. These came in a box with a bunch of other stuff. Are these patches all WW2? Also, thoughts on the 13 field artillery pin? I looked up the 13th and it didn't appear they were attached to the first army so that doesn't make sense? Any thoughts and help welcomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgarvan Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted December 16, 2015 Pic 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgarvan Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted December 16, 2015 Pic 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgarvan Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share #4 Posted December 16, 2015 Pic 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgarvan Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted December 16, 2015 Here is a pic of him. Looking at the binoculars seems like they are appropriate for field artillery but again was the 13th attached to the First Army? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swmdo Posted December 16, 2015 Share #6 Posted December 16, 2015 Yes all patches WWII. Typical army rank patches had black background. Also overseas stripe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted December 16, 2015 Share #7 Posted December 16, 2015 Based on how thin the case is, I think it is a camera, likely one of the folding Kodak Brownies, something like this: The rounded bottom is also charateristic of the folding camera cases: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tredhed2 Posted December 16, 2015 Share #8 Posted December 16, 2015 Hard to tell from pic, but 13th FA brass appears to be darkened bronze, which would make it 1904-1922 or so. 13th FA insignia is also for an officer; the battalion was part of the 24th Infantry Div in WW 2, which fought in the Pacific, which rules out 1st Army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgarvan Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share #9 Posted December 16, 2015 Thanks for the help guys! Wow, didn't think of a camera, thought it would be a set of binoculars as I originally thought he might have been in the field artillery. Your pictures of the camera case are a close match. I was also confused on the 13th artillery and the first army. I have pictures of him with his buddies during WW2 and you can see the first army patches. So I'm fairly certain he was in the first army. Its unfortunate the family doesn't know more about his service record. His name was Herbert Striffler from New Jersey. I know little else other than what I have been posting. Totally confused on the 13th artillery pin then. Yes, it seems to be a discolored old bronze and Striffler wasn't an officer as seen with the Tech patches. So maybe it was a momento of some sort. I'll try and post additional pics on that. Just trying to piece together his story and these items are all I have to go on. I did post in another forum a "laundry" pin that has a number on it. I'll repost a link here. Maybe somebody out there with his name and laundry number could help me find some sort of record for him in the first army? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgarvan Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share #10 Posted December 16, 2015 Link to thread with pic of laundry pin with number: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/256449-what-is-this-military-or-not/ I did also see that the 13th was only in the pacific. I have a collection of unlabled pictures as well that was in with his stuff. there are a few that have palm trees....so, maybe he was re assigned to the 13th? but that doesnt explain the early officers pin WW1 era..... I'm really trying to figure this out. Any help would be great. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted December 16, 2015 Share #11 Posted December 16, 2015 It looks like he was in a New York National Guard Coast Artillery Unit beginning in 1925: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted December 16, 2015 Share #12 Posted December 16, 2015 He was in the Pacific for some reason: he returned from Honolulu on the USS West Point in November 1943. It looks like his brother was with him: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted December 16, 2015 Share #13 Posted December 16, 2015 In 1946 he left southern France to return to the US as part of the 113th AAA Bn: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgarvan Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share #14 Posted December 16, 2015 Bob, awesome! Thank you. So I assume then it's possible the 13th artillery pin could have been his? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted December 16, 2015 Share #15 Posted December 16, 2015 So I assume then it's possible the 13th artillery pin could have been his? It's possible he was a civilian in Hawaii and may have picked that up as a souvenir. He was with an similar unit in the NY National Guard so he may have visited the 13th at Schofield while in the Islands. I looked up some of the other men named on the USS West Point manifest for that Nov. 1943 voyage from Honolulu. I had thought they were soldiers, and that the manifest heading calling them "civilians" was wrong. But after looking up some of them I think they were indeed civilians heading back to the mainland. The guy listed after Herbert is, I believe, his younger brother John, who enlisted in January 1944: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted December 16, 2015 Share #16 Posted December 16, 2015 Okay, here's Herbert enlisting in 1943, just after his return from Hawaii. This would confirm he was a civilian in Hawaii. Doing what, who knows? In the 1940 census it looks like younger brother John was living in New York with Herbert and his wife Eva. Was that your wife's grandmother or do I have the wrong Strifflers there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgarvan Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share #17 Posted December 17, 2015 Yes, you have the correct Striffler! Eva was his wife. Just looked at their Mass cards. Herbert did indeed die on 5 Sept 1973. Eva died 17 April 1989. Thanks again for all your help. Any other insights welcomed as I don't have access to this data. Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT247 Posted December 17, 2015 Share #18 Posted December 17, 2015 You could get his records from the national archives also. I would recommend going through golden arrow research as they would be way faster and probably cheaper. You may find things like enlistment and discharge records, service records among other things. Worth a shot. I did this for my wife's grandfather. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tredhed2 Posted December 17, 2015 Share #19 Posted December 17, 2015 The officer collar brass for the 13th FA may have belonged to his father. It may be a memento. I carry my dad's dogtag as well as my uncle's on my key ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilgarvan Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share #20 Posted December 17, 2015 Found this: http://www.criba.be/fr/stories/detail/the-battery-d-639th-aaa-bn-in-the-battle-of-the-bulge-333-1 Mentions a Herbert L. Striffler as a part of Company D 639th AAA. Might it be possible he was then moved to the 113th AAA when he was shipped home in 1946? I think we are getting closer to figuring out what he did in WW2! Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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