Unknown WWII DUI. Assistance please.

[mmerc20]

I posted this on the USMF facebook page but didn't get any resolution so I wanted to post here.

 

Can anyone identify the DUI this WWII soldier is wearing? This individual was in Panama and eventually Europe.

 

 

As for a backstory if you're interested, our museum had a volunteer dig day in April and a pair of his dog tags were dug up by our youngest volunteer, a 13yo boy. A little detective work helped me track down his son and daughter and they recently sent me this photo. They don't know much about his service and we will be returning the tags to the family soon.

 

Mike

[dan]

Looks like the 72nd Coast Artillery.

 

Dan

[Rakkasan187]

I concur with Dan,,

 

And the motto is "Whatever the Task"

 

Leigh

[aznation]

Kinda of funny, but I sent the picture of the DUI to the Army Institute of Heraldry and got the following response.

 

Unfortunately, the image is too low resolution to identify the exact DUI. If the motto was visible we might be able to determine its origin.

 

TIOH Webmaster

 

so, I sent them this in repsonse:

 

If there was a motto visible, I could’ve probably identified the DUI.

 

Can’t you identify the DUI by the design?

 

Thanks…

 

and they sent back this in response:

 

Unfortunately, the picture does not show enough detail to identify by design or colors.

 

TIOH Webmaster

 

so I sent back this in response:

 

Update: Some military forum members looking at the same exact picture I sent you have identified the DUI.

 

72nd Coast Artillery

Motto is “Whatever the Task"

 

Perhaps you should have some of those forum people working for you. I thought you all were the experts.

 

Thanks anyway…Have a great day!

 

 

 

Anyway, I'm glad it was identified by members on here.

[mmerc20]

That is excellent! Thank you all so very much for your help.

 

I am only doing a brief search but it appears the 72nd was activated in Panama in 1939 and served in the Atlantic Sector up to 1943 when it was deactivated and personnel reassigned.

 

Mike

[dan]

Not surprising about the people at TIOH. They are good at what they do but I wouldn't expect them to know a lot about obsolete insignia. The real experts on uniforms and insignia are the collectors on this forum and others like it. I'm sure you will agree that we study this stuff for the love of history and our hobby. I would bet that many of us have been collecting longer than some of the people at TIOH have been alive. At the end of the day they leave their job and do whatever their passion is. We go home from our jobs and pursue our collecting hobby. I have fell asleep more than once in my chair with a reference book on my chest researching some uniform, piece of insignia or military unit in some war.

 

This one was easy for me because of my love for Coast Artillery (my dad was Coast Art). The people at TIOH do a great job with Army lineage. They would probably know more about insignia of active units in today's Army. Not so much with insignia of days gone by.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

Dan