Question: Where does one go to trace the actions of a given unit during WW2?

2,068 Views | 14 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Aggie63
Squadron7
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AG
I have a friend whose now-deceased father fought in Europe and was (as far he knows) attached to

"the 1595 Ord S&M Co for a while and then the 917 Air Engineers and then 915 Air Engineers"

Where does one go to trace the day to day ops of various outfits like these?

Thanks for any guidance.

JABQ04
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AG
Squadron7 said:

I have a friend whose now-deceased father fought in Europe and was (as far he knows) attached to

"the 1595 Ord S&M Co for a while and then the 917 Air Engineers and then 915 Air Engineers"

Where does one go to trace the day to day ops of various outfits like these?

Thanks for any guidance.




What was his MOS? I love these posts because I like looking up different units from WWII that don't get a lot of the fame and accolades that other units get. Try starting with WW2 forums, lots of good info there. http://ww2f.com/threads/917th-air-engineer-squadron-air-corps.24445/
Squadron7
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AG
JABQ04 said:

Squadron7 said:

I have a friend whose now-deceased father fought in Europe and was (as far he knows) attached to

"the 1595 Ord S&M Co for a while and then the 917 Air Engineers and then 915 Air Engineers"

Where does one go to trace the day to day ops of various outfits like these?

Thanks for any guidance.




What was his MOS? I love these posts because I like looking up different units from WWII that don't get a lot of the fame and accolades that other units get. Try starting with WW2 forums, lots of good info there. http://ww2f.com/threads/917th-air-engineer-squadron-air-corps.24445/

MOS?
JABQ04
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AG
What was his job?
Squadron7
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AG
JABQ04 said:

What was his job?

He told them he fixed armaments. Made it sound like he was just a mechanic.

Pretty closed mouth about it all like so many were.

Here's the thing: Only after he died and the family went to documenting his eligibility to be buried in the Military cemetery in Arlington (TX, not VA) did they find out he won a Silver Star. He never told them.

Some mechanic.
JABQ04
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AG
I'd love to hear the back story of the Silver Star as a mechanic.
Rabid Cougar
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AG
Squadron7 said:

I have a friend whose now-deceased father fought in Europe and was (as far he knows) attached to

"the 1595 Ord S&M Co for a while and then the 917 Air Engineers and then 915 Air Engineers"

Where does one go to trace the day to day ops of various outfits like these?

Thanks for any guidance.


Well he wasn't in Europe. He was in Australia.

USAAF 1535th Ord S&M Company.

According to JABQ04's site, 917 and 915 were apparently in Europe. (Units that closely numbered are generally in the same Group/Division)

The mystery gets interesting.....

If he earned the Silver Star you will find him in here.
Silver Star Role
Squadron7
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AG
Rabid Cougar said:

Squadron7 said:

I have a friend whose now-deceased father fought in Europe and was (as far he knows) attached to

"the 1595 Ord S&M Co for a while and then the 917 Air Engineers and then 915 Air Engineers"

Where does one go to trace the day to day ops of various outfits like these?

Thanks for any guidance.


Well he wasn't in Europe. He was in Australia.

USAAF 1535th Ord S&M Company.

According to JABQ04's site, 917 and 915 were apparently in Europe. (Units that closely numbered are generally in the same Group/Division)

The mystery gets interesting.....

If he earned the Silver Star you will find him in here.
Silver Star Role

That link is for the 1535. He was supposedly in the 1595. Thanks for all the additional info though.
JABQ04
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AG
Can you post his name OP?
AEK
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AG
I think your best bet for unit histories is to contact NARA (College Park, MD not St. Louis, MO) or USAHEC (Carlisle, PA). Those are the two places I found the most helpful in trying to trace steps on unit actions through things like combat diaries and oral histories. It has been a few years since I used them and I cannot really remember how I stumbled onto them. However if you use the google and search long enough I am sure you can find an email to start a more in-depth search/conversation. Good luck!
Rabid Cougar
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AG
Squadron7 said:

Rabid Cougar said:

Squadron7 said:

I have a friend whose now-deceased father fought in Europe and was (as far he knows) attached to

"the 1595 Ord S&M Co for a while and then the 917 Air Engineers and then 915 Air Engineers"

Where does one go to trace the day to day ops of various outfits like these?

Thanks for any guidance.


Well he wasn't in Europe. He was in Australia.

USAAF 1535th Ord S&M Company.

According to JABQ04's site, 917 and 915 were apparently in Europe. (Units that closely numbered are generally in the same Group/Division)

The mystery gets interesting.....

If he earned the Silver Star you will find him in here.
Silver Star Role

That link is for the 1535. He was supposedly in the 1595. Thanks for all the additional info though.
My bad. Has made me even more determined now.
Squadron7
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AG
Rabid Cougar said:

Squadron7 said:

Rabid Cougar said:

Squadron7 said:

I have a friend whose now-deceased father fought in Europe and was (as far he knows) attached to

"the 1595 Ord S&M Co for a while and then the 917 Air Engineers and then 915 Air Engineers"

Where does one go to trace the day to day ops of various outfits like these?

Thanks for any guidance.


Well he wasn't in Europe. He was in Australia.

USAAF 1535th Ord S&M Company.

According to JABQ04's site, 917 and 915 were apparently in Europe. (Units that closely numbered are generally in the same Group/Division)

The mystery gets interesting.....

If he earned the Silver Star you will find him in here.
Silver Star Role

That link is for the 1535. He was supposedly in the 1595. Thanks for all the additional info though.
My bad. Has made me even more determined now.

I was wrong about the Silver Star. It was three Bronze Stars.

Name is James Marvin Hamilton.
USAFAg
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USAFAg
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AG
https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/ww2/ww2-participation.pdf

This .pdf gives ideas on how to conduct a search for a person's WWII participation.
Trench55
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AG
There is a book titled "WWII Order of Battle" by a man named Statton or Stanton. It lists all, or almost all, of the U.S. Army units (down to battalion level) that served in WWII. It's probably out of print, but I found a copy on the bargain shelf in one of the big box book stores several years ago. If I can find a minute in the next few days, I'll check it out and see if it has any information relative to your request.

FYI, the same author also authored another book titled "Vietnam Order of Battle" that provides similar information about that war.
Aggie63
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AG
Most likely a good source is to contact the Division itself.. Most divisions have some central HQ where they have a museum or archival records of that unique division. Just do a Google search for the division and see if you can track down to a division history.
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