THE UNIFORM

Chapter 1

THE RESEARCH BEHIND EACH PATCH AND PIECE OF MY GRANDFATHER’S UNIFORM WAS LITERALLY THE START OF A NEW HISTORY LESSON FOR ME.

So where do I even start? Let’s start somewhere safe, way before we even get close to the rabbit hole. A few months ago my friends and I were setting up a trip to the Battleship New Jersey for our annual car show. This year, we wanted to dress up in World War II era uniforms and attire. That is what actually got me thinking about my grandfather’s history in the Army. I wanted to replicate his uniform. As I thought more and more about it, I decided why not do some investigative work and find out about his service.

At first, I just started with random information trying to figure out the basics of my grandfather’s military service. I had my mom send me pictures of everything she had in storage and anything she could find from his military locker. She sent me pictures of my grandfather’s military uniform, letters that were sent to my grandmother while they were dating during the war, and photos that my grandmother kept in her scrap book. With the pictures of his military uniform, I was able to start to research the history behind each patch, each ribbon, and each piece of regalia. With the letters and pictures from the scrap book I was able to at least get a general timeframe of events and locations.

The research behind each patch and piece of my grandfather’s uniform was literally the start of a new history lesson for me. Within only an hour, I was already getting this feeling that once I start, there was no turning back. Right away I noticed patches for both the “Mighty 8th” and the 9th Army Air Force, a diamond shaped patch over the right breast pocket with a golden eagle with a circle around it, and four gold bars on the bottom of the left sleeve. I also noticed a gold wreath patch and various ribbons. The research on the patches and ribbons alone made my head spin with excitement to learn what they actually meant.

For example, my grandfather having both the “Mighty 8th” and the 9th Army Air Force patches meant that he was a part of both. Before the Air Force split and became a separate entity, the Army was known as the United States Army Air Force (USAAF). With these patches, he must have been involved in the European campaign, really did spend time in Europe like he said, and who knows, maybe he was at the infamous Normandy invasion that we always watched movies about. Later on, my research found that my grandfather was under the “Mighty 8th” USAAF while in England and once he left

England, he became a part of the 9th under the Air Force. Thanks to my grandmother’s letters, I found out he was a part of a detachment unit called Detachment A of the 2487th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation).

Moving on to the golden eagle with a circle around it, my research shows that this patch is known as the “Ruptured Duck” and was only issued to those who were honorably discharged. Meaning my grandfather completed his time in the military and fulfilled his obligations with honor. The four gold bars on the bottom left sleeve were very interesting to see. It turns out that they represent four six-month tours overseas. It looks like my grandfather spent at least two years in the European Campaign. Using letters and dates from my grandmother’s scrapbook helped to verify a lot of the data that I found later in my research.

Next up, the gold wreath. This thing looked official. Looks like the gold wreath was a Meritorious Unit Commendation Award and was awarded to units for exceptionally meritous conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least six continuous months during a period of military operations against an armed enemy on or after January 1, 1944. According to the research, although service in a combat zone is not required, the unit’s accomplishments must be directly related to the larger combat effort. The unit must display such outstanding devotion and superior performance of exceptionally difficult tasks as to set it apart from and above other units with similar missions. The degree of achievement required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Legion of Merit to an individual. Only in rare cases will a unit larger than a battalion qualify for this award. For services performed during