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78th Division


E4B
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So my original intent when I started collecting was to build a small display to honor my great grandfather.  He served in E/309/78th Div in the great war.  I finally tracked down what I believe to be an honest example of a helmet from the division.  I also tracked down a victory medal with the appropriate clasps for his time with the 309th Infantry.  I placed a patch in the display as well.  Now for the most difficult part of all….  Finding a collar disk for E/309.  I hope you enjoy the pictures of the modest grouping.  His name was William Bryan Brock.  I made the display stand of solid walnut for the purpose.

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Also if anyone knows where I can get one or what sites to check please let me know.  I will be looking this weekend at the Pamona show as well….  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank You.  I was actually able to track down (what I believe to be) the correct collar disks.  I am going to recess two spots in the base so they sit neatly on it.

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Thank You, he passed a few years before I was born so research is my way of getting to know him.  I have to admit that it’s prideful for me to have my kevlar from OIF on display next to something that represents his sacrifice and service.  My next display will be for my wife’s Grandfather who was an Army Medic with the 41st Infantry Division in the Pacific during WWII.  I want to make sure that my children grow up respecting what others have done to make the lives they have and it is very humbling to me when I am having a “bad day” to look at that display and think of what they must have gone through.

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  • 5 months later...
Uniforms of the Day

Those disks are fine, but the US with regimental number disks are somewhat generic. They could be worn by the 309th Inf. 309th Artillery, 309th MG, 309th Engineers, etc., etc. You can find disks that are uniquely for the 309th Infantry, Company E. They have 309 on top, the crossed rifles in the middle  and E below. The other disk would be USNA (U.S. National Army). I attached a photo of a 309th Inf. D disk as an example. I have a 309 E disk, but only one. They surface from time to time so just keep looking. 

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That is amazing!  I will keep searching, I have been looking for that style for a long time and online searches as well as the annual show have been dry holes so far.  I missed one from Griffen Militaria by a few days.  If you ever track down another please let me know.  Until then the search continues.  I am a bit curious, and perhaps you could provide some insight.  My search shows a deployment manifest on the Leviathan with my great grandfather listed as being a member of the 57th Pioneer Infantry, company G but the return manifest shows him as a member of the 309th infantry, E Company.  Would he have been a replacement for the 309th?  Thank you for any help you can provide.  Also if you ever decide to part with the 309/E disc please let me know!

 

Thank You,

Mike

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  • 2 weeks later...
Uniforms of the Day

It's very hard to say exactly why some guys transfer from one unit to another. But It is usually simply a matter of where personnel are needed. Or, where the need for a specialized skill arises. I have one group where a 78th infantry soldier just wasn't working out in that role ("idiocy" was specifically mentioned) and was reassigned to care for officers' horses in the 307th Field Artillery! I'm not familiar with the history of the 57th Pioneer Inf. but it may be that the need for Pioneers declined and some personnel were transferred to infantry units as replacements? I'll let you know if I find a disk.

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