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76th ID, 417th IR uniform find from SOS


ww2guymandude
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ww2guymandude

Just picked this uniform up at the SOS! Initially did not really think much of the uniform, but upon looking at it more, I noticed several uncommon practices such as the felt backed CIB, battle star on the WWII victory ribbon, and the usage of a WWI occupation ribbon in place of a WWII issue one. The DUIs also stuck out to me as they are very high quality German made variants. Hoping to track down a positive ID on the vet, but the laundry numbers are all scratched out and the only other name in the pants is only the last name, “Hunt”. Still curious as to why the patch on the left shoulder was removed though, any opinions are appreciated!

 

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That is a nice find, lots of character to the jacket. I really like the felt backing because it makes the CIB stand out. I could not find anything searching the laundry number (which looks like A-8962 in stencil but A-8961 hand written?) Given that his laundry number starts with A (I think) then Hunt would probably be part of his first name I would guess short for Hunter. I could also be completely wrong and should be ignored in that case but I hope it helps

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Very nice 4 pocket blouse. They are much less common for ETO units than the ubiquitous Ike jacket. I believe that your 417th Infantry DUIs are US made. Maybe Carbinephelan here on the forum will comment. He's our Onaway Division expert.

 

Allan

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carbinephalen

This would be the first 76th-er Ive ever with the felt backed CIB! Very nice. Everything looks right for a 76th uniform regarding the campaign stars and other insignia. If you had a name wed have him IDd today!

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The laundry mark H9925 belongs to Albert L. Hunt and you can see A. L. Hunt crossed out on the pants.

 

Record: Albert L. Hunt – 34169925

 

Residence:

Jefferson, Alabama

 

Date of Enlistment:

7 May 1942

 

Place of Enlistment:

Ft Mcclellan Alabama

 

Component of the Army:

Selectees (Enlisted Men)

 

Branch:

Unknown

 

Source of Army Personnel:

Civil Life

 

Nativity:

White, citizen

 

Year of Birth:

1909

 

Education:

1 year of high school

 

Civilian Occupation:

Machine shop and related occupations

 

Marital Status:

Single, without dependents

 

Known Grades:

Private

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The laundry mark H9925 belongs to Albert L. Hunt and you can see A. L. Hunt crossed out on the pants.

 

Record: Albert L. Hunt – 34169925

Good find, makes sense now why I couldn't find a Hunt using the A-8962 code. I wonder if that is the guy, or if since both that and the jacket's laundry number and names are crossed out both belonged to different people and were reissued to a third guy.

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I'm not sure whether the pants and the blouse belong to the same person or not, but I did find this regarding Albert L. Hunt. The pants may not have been part of the blouse. Just not sure.

 

Source: http://380th.org/NEWS/News62-web.pdf (3rd page)

 

Barb Gotham recently received a packet of photos and letters from David Raymond, Post Commander of American Legion Post AU01 in Sydney, Australia. Mr. Raymond was contacted by an Australian family in the State of South Australia about memorabilia they have of members of the 529th Bomb Sqdrn, 380th Bomb Group, who visited their families during World War 2 (the unit was based near their home). They kept up correspondence during the war and afterwards with photos and letters from their families. These letters and photos were passed on to Mr. Raymond to see if he could contact either of the members who may still be alive or their families.

 

Some of the names mentioned in the letters with their ranks and serial numbers are Cpl. Francis (Pete) Maurer 35378943, Sgt. Steve M. Honeygosky 33265355, S/Sgt. Albert L. Hunt 34169925, Sgt. Oscar W. Johnson 39452120, S/Sgt Jacob Kaplan 31138854, Sgt Walter (Wally) Nowakowski 37329094, M/Sgt Francis (Benny) Delaney 37074454, Sgt Atlee Miller 35403818 (of Baltimore, Ohio), Sgt. E.H.S. (Zeke) Keller 35378618, Cpl. Frank Horvath 33312397 (Pottstown, PA), M/Sgt Robert N. Reagor 16018063 (Galesburg, Illinois).

 

If anyone knows any of these families, please let Barb know so she can pass them along. As space permits in future issues of this newsletter, the letters and photos will be reproduced here.

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ww2guymandude

Aznation, thanks so much for the help! Wonder if there’s any way to narrow down the results for the other laundry number.

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Hookemhorns88

It is not always successful but knowing the region that the uniform came from can start to narrow down the chances of a match.

 

Statistically a uniform purchased in the southeast has a better chance of matching a laundry number from that region versus one from a enlistment record from the west.

 

It takes a bit of triangulation of using different sources to narrow down the soldier.

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Honestly 27 might not be a high enough number to make it impossible to solve. If nothing else I would search for obituaries from the 27 results of A-8962 and see if you can find the obituary of an individual with that name from that unit. Frequently families put such information on their loved one's obituary but it may take a while and there is no guarantee it will work. However if it is important enough to put the effort into, and this case it might be, it could work. I recently did this with a 13th Airborne's uniform and got lucky with this method so it can happen.

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ww2guymandude

The uniform came from Florida so I checked the results on the list for people from bordering states and couldn’t find a matching obituary.

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Florida finds tend to be a dead zone for laundry code searches, considering how many vets retired there and later passed away. Theres no way of knowing what part of the country they previously lived in without more information from the get go.

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Strange they are saying the unit was based in South Australia, the unit was based in Darwin from what I can find and they are a long way from each other.

 

 

I'm not sure whether the pants and the blouse belong to the same person or not, but I did find this regarding Albert L. Hunt. The pants may not have been part of the blouse. Just not sure.

 

Source: http://380th.org/NEWS/News62-web.pdf (3rd page)

 

Barb Gotham recently received a packet of photos and letters from David Raymond, Post Commander of American Legion Post AU01 in Sydney, Australia. Mr. Raymond was contacted by an Australian family in the State of South Australia about memorabilia they have of members of the 529th Bomb Sqdrn, 380th Bomb Group, who visited their families during World War 2 (the unit was based near their home). They kept up correspondence during the war and afterwards with photos and letters from their families. These letters and photos were passed on to Mr. Raymond to see if he could contact either of the members who may still be alive or their families.

 

Some of the names mentioned in the letters with their ranks and serial numbers are Cpl. Francis (Pete) Maurer 35378943, Sgt. Steve M. Honeygosky 33265355, S/Sgt. Albert L. Hunt 34169925, Sgt. Oscar W. Johnson 39452120, S/Sgt Jacob Kaplan 31138854, Sgt Walter (Wally) Nowakowski 37329094, M/Sgt Francis (Benny) Delaney 37074454, Sgt Atlee Miller 35403818 (of Baltimore, Ohio), Sgt. E.H.S. (Zeke) Keller 35378618, Cpl. Frank Horvath 33312397 (Pottstown, PA), M/Sgt Robert N. Reagor 16018063 (Galesburg, Illinois).

 

If anyone knows any of these families, please let Barb know so she can pass them along. As space permits in future issues of this newsletter, the letters and photos will be reproduced here.

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