WWII Uniform

[illibov]

Greetings,

 

I recently made a post in another area of the forum regarding the medals that my grandfather was wearing in some photos of him during his World War II service. Now I'd like to get some information about my other grandfather. He died in 2002 and never talked to anyone about his service in WWII. My mother has always told me that he was a medic in Europe and, apparently, would rather forget about the things that he saw there. He got rid of anything associated with the Army on his return from Europe so there is nothing but a couple of discharge papers left. Since I have my other grandpa's Navy uniform and medals, I thought it might be nice to recreate the Army uniform of Grandpa VanderRoest. I've attached a photograph of him to this message that shows him in his uniform of the 78th Infantry Division. I was hoping that members of this forum might be able to give me some idea as to what articles of clothing I would need to locate to recreate this uniform. Any help is greatly appreciated and I will gladly answer any questions that you might have. Again, I'm not sure when this picture was taken, but I know that Grandpa held this same rank when he was discharged, too, so I imagine it would be the same uniform. Thanks so much.

 

Blessings,

Dave Boven

[Jeeper704]

Looks like:

 

Enlisted men's visor cap

Class A uniform with 78th ID patch, T5 chevrons, "US" and "Medical Corps" collar discs and a Good Conduct ribbon.

Khaki Enlisted Men's shirt with matching tie.

Wool trousers

Enlisted Men's (dress) shoes

 

Erwin

[illibov]

Enlisted men's visor cap

Class A uniform with 78th ID patch, T5 chevrons, "US" and "Medical Corps" collar discs and a Good Conduct ribbon.

Khaki Enlisted Men's shirt with matching tie.

Wool trousers

Enlisted Men's (dress) shoes

 

Wow...thanks a lot. I'd also add the American and EAME campaign ribbons and victory ribbon because those were included in his discharge papers. The rest is most helpful, Erwin. Does anyone have any idea how much all of this would cost on the market these days? I imagine there were quite a few T5 soldiers in the 78th ID. Would it be relatively easy to find the matching uniform? Thanks again!

 

--dave--

[wildcat123]

I would suggest buying the components and putting it together yourself. It would probably take some time to locate a uniform with the correct rank and divisional patch. I recreated my Grandfather's uniform. I just bought the patches and ribbons and had someone sew them all on for me. It was a fun project. If you keep your eyes open, I'm sure you'll find all the pieces you need here on the forum for very decent prices. Good luck!

[Jeeper704]

Dave, since you are going to put on the Victory ribbon, you might want to add a "Ruptured Duck" as well.

Some soldiers wore them, others didn't bother, so you can go either way.

 

Find a nice unidentified Class A (wouldn't be too hard to find it) in a decent size.

T5 chevrons and collar discs aren't hard to find.

Just see to it that it is all WWII issue (and not Korean Conflict for example).

 

As for prices .... these things are relatively common and you can find them for a very nice price still.

The only exception might be the EM's visor cap ... it might cost a lot in good condition and size.

 

Erwin

[illibov]

Find a nice unidentified Class A (wouldn't be too hard to find it) in a decent size.

T5 chevrons and collar discs aren't hard to find. Just see to it that it is all WWII issue (and not Korean Conflict for example).

 

Thanks for the advice. I will probably try and add the Ruptured Duck. On my other grandfather's Navy uniform, this is a diamond shape piece of cloth with the symbol embroidered on, but I've read that it was actually a pin. What is the right way to go on that? This is probably covered elsewhere in the forum, but how does one ensure that items come from WWII and not Korea? Thanks a lot for the continued enlightenment, all.

 

--dave--

[Red_Nek]

Greetings,

 

I recently made a post in another area of the forum regarding the medals that my grandfather was wearing in some photos of him during his World War II service. Now I'd like to get some information about my other grandfather. He died in 2002 and never talked to anyone about his service in WWII. My mother has always told me that he was a medic in Europe and, apparently, would rather forget about the things that he saw there. He got rid of anything associated with the Army on his return from Europe so there is nothing but a couple of discharge papers left. Since I have my other grandpa's Navy uniform and medals, I thought it might be nice to recreate the Army uniform of Grandpa VanderRoest. I've attached a photograph of him to this message that shows him in his uniform of the 78th Infantry Division. I was hoping that members of this forum might be able to give me some idea as to what articles of clothing I would need to locate to recreate this uniform. Any help is greatly appreciated and I will gladly answer any questions that you might have. Again, I'm not sure when this picture was taken, but I know that Grandpa held this same rank when he was discharged, too, so I imagine it would be the same uniform. Thanks so much.

 

Blessings,

Dave Boven

 

I'm sure that eBay will have plenty of uniform jackets for you to choose from. Have you thought of doing a shadow box as well?

 

Dave

[Brian Dentino]

I'm sure that eBay will have plenty of uniform jackets for you to choose from. Have you thought of doing a shadow box as well?

 

Dave

--dave--

Have you thought of a shadow box display? I would think that you could buy all of the medals, and ribbon bars associated with them. I think that would be really cool, unless you could display the jacket on a bust and/or mannequin a box/frame is the way to go! :thumbsup:

[illibov]

Have you thought of a shadow box display? I would think that you could buy all of the medals, and ribbon bars associated with them. I think that would be really cool, unless you could display the jacket on a bust and/or mannequin a box/frame is the way to go!

 

I have thought of doing a shadowbox, too. I think that I would like to at least try to assemble the uniform as my grandfather would have worn it. If it proves too difficult to get it all together, I might just go with a shadowbox for display in our house. Thanks for the idea!

 

--dave--

[illibov]

Hey All,

 

Looking at my grandpa's discharge papers, there is a box that list badges he was awarded. This section simply states "medical." Would this be the button on his lapel that bears the caduceus, or is it some other badge? Thanks a lot.

 

--dave--

[Jeeper704]

It might be the Combat Medic Badge, yes.

 

The shadowbox is also a great idea.

 

Erwin

[tredhed2]

His dox should indicate to which infantry regiment he was assigned (309th, 310th, 311th) for his award of the CMB. Here is an example of a WW II CMB:

[illibov]

His dox should indicate to which infantry regiment he was assigned (309th, 310th, 311th) for his award of the CMB.

 

Thanks a lot. So he was in the 303d Med Bn, but he would have been assigned to one of these infantry regiments to get the CMB? All I have is his "Enlisted Record and Report of Separation and Honorable Discharge" paper. Any idea where it would give the infantry regiment on this document? I don't see it offhand, but there are quite a few sections full of meaningless (to me) abbreviations. Thanks again.

 

--dave--

[tredhed2]

This link might be helpful:

 

http://www.78thdivision.org/research.htm

 

My apologies for neglecting the 303rd Med Bn. They had a DI, but am having trouble finding a non-copyrighted version.

[illibov]

My apologies for neglecting the 303rd Med Bn. They had a DI, but am having trouble finding a non-copyrighted version.

 

Thanks for the link. I've actually been corresponding with the 78th Infantry Division's historian via e-mail. He's helping me to determine exactly what medals my grandpa would have been eligible for (such as the Army of Occupation Medal which was not authorized until after my grandpa was discharged). So are you saying that my grandpa could have earned a Combat Medical Badge while being assigned to the 303rd Medical Battalion, or would he have had to be assigned to one of the Infantry Battalions?

 

As for the 303rd, there is a small coat of arms near the corner of this map.

There is a ridiculously large version of the same map here, and it looks like the 303rd Medical Battalion is the second up from the bottom corner. Is that the DI of which you speak? Thanks a lot.

 

--dave--

[tredhed2]

That's it. If U R talking to Stan Polny, he's a great guy.

[illibov]

If U R talking to Stan Polny, he's a great guy.

 

Stan has, indeed, been most helpful. Thanks a lot.

 

--dave--

[illibov]

Well...after doing some research with Stan, the Division's historian, we've determined that my grandpa was awarded, or eligible for, the following medals:

* Bronze Star Medal

* Army Commendation Medal

* Army Good Conduct Medal

* American Campaign Medal

* EAME Campaign Medal (w/ Three Stars)

* WWII Victory Medal

* Army of Occupation Medal (w/ Germany Clasp)

I'm looking forward to sending away to St Louis to get replacement medals for display.

 

--dave--