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New grouping-5th Marine Division Vet-


FightenIrish35
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FightenIrish35

Greetings all!

I lucked out and found a few semi sleepers on ebay that were all split up into diferent auction by the same seller. All the items were 5TH Marine Div Veterans Corpral George Roy Tomaino. I was lucky enough to win 4 of the auctions that included his WW2 Tunic-Overcoat-Japanese flag-japanese ammo pouch- I was not able to win the WW2 Camo cover that went for 225 :/ or the japanese bayonet....and 2 auctioins that didnt sell that included his two belts and and EGA.

 

 

Well I recieved the items I won today and was veryyyy suprised when there was a note saying because you won most of his items here were the paper items that belonged to Tomaino and also his 2 belts and ega that didnt sell. The paper items that came are GREAT. His marine discharge papers,2 "memory books",japanese paper bringbacks such as letters and a map.

Needless to say he really made my day adding the extra items in.And im happy he did as who in the hell knows where these items would have ended up.

 

Now on the uniform it has a Navy Unit Ribbon with a star....does this represent 2 awards recieved?

Also on the pacific ribbon it has three stars....the 5th Marine division was only involved with IwoJima...but Ive read that most of the 5th was already made up of veteran marines from earlier campaigs..is there a way to figure out what unit he was in before?

 

Some of the things stated in the Book is that:

Enlisted Jan 3rd,1942 at age of 18

Arrive Parris Island for training Jan 9th,1942

Assigned to the 3rd Barrage Balloon squadron

Sailed July 6th,1942

Arrived New Zealand in South Pacific August 30,1942

President Roseivelt-Solomon Islands-May 7,1943"Gallantry Under Fire"

 

Was 50 cal AA unit on Tulagi British Solomon Island for 7 months,also first line of beach defense

 

 

Maybe someone can shed some light on some of my questions or any further information as Im just started to get into Pacific Theatre USMC items...so im new to this field :pinch:

Thanks fellas

 

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FightenIrish35

and here is the extra EGA he threw in that Im wondering if this went on a cap because its so large...its about an inch

 

 

 

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Irish,

Looks like he had 3 major campaigns(unless one star is silver?).You are correct The Unit Citation with star is for two citations.

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Kurt Barickman

NIce group, those speciality units were disbanded such as the barrage balloon group to include Raiders and Paramarines and folded into new units such as the 5th and 6th Divisions. The star on the PUC could mean one or two citations; Marines did whatever they wanted with those on the NUCs and the PUCs. Three campaigns would mean his Solomon one which you should google and see where that balloon unit was and one will be for Iwo Jima. Nice catch on Ebay, didn't see that tunic.

 

Kurt Barickman

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Kurt Barickman

Also, a .50 cal sounds like an element of a defense battalion TOE but not familiar with a barrage balloon TOE.

 

Kurt Barickman

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NEWTON FALLS - George Roy Tomaino, 83, formerly of Newton Falls, slipped peacefully into eternal rest at 6:15 p.m. Friday, March 27, 2009, in the Gillette Nursing Home in Warren with his children by his side.

 

George was born Aug. 29, 1925, in Youngstown, the firstborn son of Frank Roy and Emma Hummert Tomaino.

 

George and his brother Frank were fortunate to be fostered into the family of LeRoy and Maybelle Schisler at an early age. The Schislers provided all the love of a family the boys would ever need.

 

George married Evelyn M. St. Clair on Oct. 25, 1947, and they enjoyed 41 years of marriage together before Evelyn entered Heaven's gates on Nov. 20, 1988.

 

George had made his home in Warren for the past seven years.

 

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He worked as a burner for Wean United Inc. for 28 years before retiring in 1985. He also drove a school bus for Newton Falls for 16 years. ''Mr. T,'' as he was known by the children, thoroughly enjoyed those bus driving days.

 

George was a member of the U.S. Marines and served in the South Pacific during World War II.

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FightenIrish35

Thanks guys!

 

Thanks FS...ive already stumbled onto his obituary while the auction was going on and saw it confirmed he was in the South Pacific and that really made me go for it.

 

I did find the 3rd Barrage Balloon squadron was on Guadalcanal 8 Sep 1942 - 8 Feb 1943

...i would guess he was involved with the Tulagi Campaign and GuadalCanal before he was transfered to the 5th Division.

 

Is there an organization like NARA that I could request informtion files on a Marine?

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FightenIrish35

and is the larger EGA for a Visor Cap or an overseas cap?and what model is this type of EGA?Thanks guys

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jeremiahcable

Great grouping! You really should take that uniform in and have it laundered then pressed. Find a cleaner that does work on site and explain to them that the uniform is 65 year old wool. The condition it's in now will only lead to deterioration.

 

The large EGA is for the visor and is a 1937 model, looks like bronze. Some prewar and early war Marines wore them on their O.S. caps though.

 

NARA is where you would get access to his records.

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FightenIrish35

Thanks Jermiah!...yes I will have to stop off at a dry cleaner that actually understands that I just want it cleaned to preserve it and not to clean it with chemicals and what not....thanks on the info on the EGA...

 

Are you sure NARA has Marine info....from what Ive gathered they only have Army records.... :think:

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jeremiahcable

Yep, you'll need too look up the correct address to send the form into. It's the same for Navy and Marine Corps personnel but different than the address for Army personnel. Good luck!

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FightenIrish35
Yep, you'll need too look up the correct address to send the form into. It's the same for Navy and Marine Corps personnel but different than the address for Army personnel. Good luck!

 

 

Many thanks...about to go take a look!

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That is one nice uniform, and hat's off to you for keeping all this together.

 

Hold on to your seats boys... come March of next year (Release of "The Pacific") WWII USMC will go the way of the paratrooper....

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teufelhunde.ret

One great find, ditto Jeremiah's remarks on the cleaner, not just everyone can work with materials of this age.

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Very nice grouping. I've seen some discussion on this forum that the Marine Corps suspended the awarding of the Good Conduct Medal during WWII while this uniform clearly has that ribbon. Any thoughts on this from any of you Marine experts? Would that indicate he stayed in for some time after the war?

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Brian Dentino

Awesome grouping! Way to go and congrats on keeping it all together. You also got lucky that you had a very generous and thoughtful seller to send you these other items. Now all you need to do is contact the winners of the other 2 auctions and offer to trade out something from the collection or buy the other items and make it complete! :lol:

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FightenIrish35
Very nice grouping. I've seen some discussion on this forum that the Marine Corps suspended the awarding of the Good Conduct Medal during WWII while this uniform clearly has that ribbon. Any thoughts on this from any of you Marine experts? Would that indicate he stayed in for some time after the war?

 

 

Well Including in the papers is the discharge paper...i dont have it in front of me,but he was discharged sometime in 1946.

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I will have to stop off at a dry cleaner that actually understands that I just want it cleaned to preserve it and not to clean it with chemicals and what not

 

Michael,

 

Dry cleaning uses chemicals in the process. That's how it works.

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FightenIrish35

:pinch: doh..lol...i thought that added chemicals is bad to any old wool uniform though?

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  • 3 months later...
FightenIrish35

Well the file for George Tomaino jut arrived and i cant tell you how happy I am.....first though let me tell you some information Ive learned and also some questions i have....

 

 

George Roy Tomaino Born In PA with 2 other siblings...he only had one parent (his mother). At the young age of 5 she died and there were no family members alive or able to take care of the kids...they were all seperated and George Tomaino was sent to a foster home in Ohio....

he lived at the foster home till the age of 17 and 2 months and when he was enlisted.(There are alot of letters from the foster homes guardian and she had to write an essay of a sort on why he should be able to join as he was actually still 16 almost 17, she really cared about this "boy" and wanted to see him make it in this world). He was a Handy Man on the Dairy farm,he miled cows and drove tractors and 6 ton truck.He Enlisted Jan 3 1942 and trained at Paris Island ,training with the Balloon Barrage School... he joined the 3rd Balloon Barrage Squadron April 30th 1942

 

He fought on Tulagi---Here he was Cited for a Presidential Unit Citation...It stats: "The Officers and Men of the 1st Marine Division,Reinforced,on August 7 to 9,1942,demonstrating outstanfing gallantry and determination in succesfully executing forced landing assualts against a number of strongly defended Japanese Positions of TULAGI,Gavuti,Tanambogo,Florida,and Guadalcanal.British Solomon islands,completely routing all the enemy forces and seizing a most valuable base and airfild within the enemy zone of operations in the South Pacific Ocean.From the above period until 9 December 1942,this Reinforced Division not only held their important strategic positions despite determined and repeated Japanese Naval air and land attacks,but by a series of offensive operations against strong enemy resitance drove by the Japanese from preximity of the airfield and inflicted great loses on them by land and air attacks. The courage and determination displayed in these operations were of an inspiring order.

 

This is to certify the the 3rd Barrage Balloon Squadron was attached to the 1st Marine Division from 8 September,1942,to 5 December,1942, and participated in the Solomon Island operation from 8 September,1942 to 6 April,1943."

 

 

After Tulagi he fought on New Caledonia

 

His units were the 3rd Barrage Balloon Sqadron...then the 10th AAA Battalion...then he went back Sateside for training and was then attached to the 5th Marine Division but I believe they got there after the battle.....

 

 

I would like to know on one of the papers it says in the fiel via Mayia....what does this mean...was this a battle ive never heard of or what? Its dated May 26,1945....on a document on May 25th he gets EMERGENCY PAY?.I know he officially joined the 28th Reg 5th Div on July 25,1945.....I wonder if he ended up being attached to smoe regiment somewhere before attaching with the 5th Division in End of July?

Tomaino does have 3 stars on his uniform and it would make sense there was anotherone he participated in after Tulagi and New Caledonia.

 

 

I hope you enjoy the images and hopefully someone can fill me in on some questions! Thanks guys...and thank George Tomaino for your service!! :thumbsup:

 

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Salvage Sailor

Just a note,

 

New Caledonia was the South Pacific Force Headquarters, and it was also an R & R center and supply trans-shipping port. It was never occupied by the Japanese (though they certainly wanted it).

 

The USMC trained there between campaigns and the only fighting they did in New Caledonia was over the rare skirts and suds served up by the French Polynesians.

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FightenIrish35

Lol...thanks! It says on a pay record sheet that he is able to wear two stars on his pacific campaighn ribbon...if it wasnt for New Caledonia...what other battle would it be...the only clear battle he was in was the Solomon Campaign,part of 1ST Marine Division :think:

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