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Help with pins in picture of paratrooper


stratasfan
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That was my second thought it could be rocket artillery.

Check in Emerson's or Laframbois' books. The Artillery Branch of Service wore the disk with the missile as a whole for a while before Air Defense Artillery was split off as a separate branch. It did not matter whether the unit was armed with tube or missile weapons, they all wore the crossed cannon with missile collar disk.
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Well, that picture of a collar disc certainly looks like it could be. I was assuming it was the light, but it does look like the pin has something vertical in the center. What is rocket artillery? Would they have been paratroopers? This is certainly interesting! All my Gramma remembers is him saying he served in the 101. His son doesn't know anything but the photo. -sigh-

Yes all Airborne Divisions like Infantry and Armored Divisions have an Artillery component, the modes are different, Airborne and Infantry will be truck towed, with the artillery of airborne divisions having the extra capability to be air dropped with their crews parachuting along with their pieces, and armored divisions have theirs as Self Propelled Armored pieces.

 

This explains the change in Artillery in the late 50s.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/246969-infantry-officer-collar-insignia/

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Check in Emerson's or Laframbois' books. The Artillery Branch of Service wore the disk with the missile as a whole for a while before Air Defense Artillery was split off as a separate branch. It did not matter whether the unit was armed with tube or missile weapons, they all wore the crossed cannon with missile collar disk.

yes...I have a buddy who was an officer in Vietnam with the 329th FA and assigned to the 173rd Abn.He wore the officers version with rocket.Also talks about shooting and traing out at WHITE SANDS prior to his tour in VN.He made the combat jump with the 173rd.

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  • 1 month later...

That was my second thought it could be rocket artillery.

I believe that the rocket was added to all artillery branch insignias sometime in the 1950s. It wasn't until (IIRC) the early 1960's that ADA was split from artillery and artillery went back to the old "crossed cannons" without the rocket. So even if he was in cannon artillery (which would have been appropriate for an airborne unit) I believe he would have worn the insignia with the rocket.

 

EDIT: WHOOPS, looks like I'm late to the party as ATB already said what I just did. So disregard. :D

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As far as the expert badge with no weapon bar underneath, I've never seen that. Could it be that the bar just fell off? That happened sometimes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi, All! I just received some information back from writing for his records. Here are pictures of the two pages I got.

 

 

post-151812-0-50849600-1484758451_thumb.jpg

 

post-151812-0-58535500-1484758464_thumb.jpg

 

A couple of questions, for someone who might understand all of this! ;) What does the "Dates of Service" mean, with a 1966 date, but only active service through 1961, and the second paper even shows only through 1961?

 

Also, what does the info under "Military Education" mean?

 

Thanks for everyone who has been helping! This is fabulous to find out. :)

 

 

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Confusing as heck right, lets see, he takes Basic at Ft Knox, we see Field Arty School Ft Sill for AIT goes to the 101st Airborne Division, he's an Artilleryman yet he turns up in the 502nd Inf?? Hmm 502nd, as this was the PENTOMIC Era, he most likely was in the Artillery Battery of Battle Group of the era as a 4.2 Heavy Mortarman, the unit in full, 1st Battle Group 502nd Infantry (Airborne), these were Artillery guys.

 

He goes back to the 101st Replacement Det and then goes overseas, overseas where??? kinda incomplete.

 

On his dates, I'm gathering for some reason after a little over a year passed into the inactive reserve? I say this as the standard for draftees was two years of service, for enlistees, three or four years of service, not one year.

 

Military Education you ask, these are invariably extra courses soldiers take apart from their usual training, like officers in example will have the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth listed in their Military Education.

 

But in this case ATP 21-114 Army Training Program 21-114, from what I could find was the standard guide for Basic Training starting i think in the mid 1950s, Mil Justice, read Military Justice is just an extra course one apparently took in basic in the 1950s-60s, covering the code of conduct and articles of war (If any other members can clarify on this by all means do, as info, it's kinda muddled)

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