Hell on wheels and hell to research! Researching a WWII 2nd Armored helmet with laundry number
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 เม.ย. 2023
- An American helmet was forgotten by a soldier of the 2nd Armored Division in a wood near Contoire Hamel, France, on September 1st 1944, during the rapid Allied advance towards Belgium. The helmet was preserved as a souvenir by a local girl. This video explains what can be deduced from the caracteristics of the helmet and the village it it was found in, and also tries to identify its original owner based on the laundry number painted inside the helmet.
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researchww2.blogspot.com/
A Crocodile Tear productions documentary.
This list of remaning potential soldiers this helmet could have belonged to is:
20740757 Cagle, Thomas J. 1915
37410757 Calton, Wayne P. San Diego, California 1921
14110757 Cannon, John Jefferson, Alabama 1911
32120757 Carl, Clifford J. Kings, New York 1915
32090757 Carpenter, Charles T. New York, New York 1915
34040757 Carroll, Thomas L. Chester, Tennessee 1919
12020757 Cartagena, Henry New York, New York 1920
11120757 Cayer, Charles F. Middlesex, Massachusetts 1932
32890757 Chant, Charles B. Orange, New York 1907
35150757 Childester, Forrest St Joseph, Indiana 1904
32220757 Chu, Charles Y. Kings, New York 1920
20260757 Ciaburri, Enrico J. Kings, New York 1931
11140757 Clements, George F Jr Barnstable, Massachusetts 1925
32490757 Clements, Robert E. Warren, New York 1921
42000757 Cobb, Odis B. Passaic, New Jersey 1921
35920757 Colangelo, Louis J. Ashtabula, Ohio 1914
36410757 Cole, Verle D. Calhoun, Michigan 1921
39290757 Collett, Paul R. San Diego, California 1910
18170757 Colvin, Archie C. Lincoln, Louisiana 1882
11000757 Conall, Agne R District Of Columbia 1903
35570757 Conn, Otto L Jr U.s. At Large 1917
18220757 Cordova, Maxzss Szus Colfax, New Mexico 1923
11090757 Correia, Jose Barnstable, Massachusetts 1905
32850757 Cotton, Harold O. Montgomery, New York 1908
12140757 Coven, Harold A. Kings, New York 1932
39330757 Covington, Norman O. Klamath, Oregon 1921
06550757 Crawley, Paul W K Marin, California 1918
38170757 Crawley, Thomas Bienville, Louisiana 1920
33090757 Crosby, Leroy Russell, Virginia 1918
19100757 Cross, Richard W. Los Angeles, California 1922
20360757 Crowder, Arthur H. Henrico, Virginia 1920
39560757 Cruz, Ramon Los Angeles, California 1924
37520757 Cunningham, George E. Buchanan, Missouri 1923
31250757 Curtis, Stephen P. Litchfield, Connecticut 1907
32880757 Cutrone, Samuel T. Kings, New York 1922
31120757 Czeczot, Ernest J. Providence, Rhode Island 1908
37610757 Czsuvw/vo, Pvznz S. Missouri 1854
The "unidentified soldier" dog tag shown in the video belonged to Thomas B Armstrong 37569837, if you have any information about him, please contact me.
2nd Armored Division - 66th Armored Regiment - 67th Armored Regiment - 41st Armored Infantry Regiment - General George S Patton - Libération de Montdidier - Libération de Contoire Hamel - August 31st 1944 - Operation Overlord - Operation Cobra - Somme - Normandy Invasion - Army Serial Number - ASN - Laundry number research - how to research a laundry number - World War II - US army - M1 helmet - chinstrap - helmet insignia - unit marked - helmet collection - militaria collector -Sherman - tanks - 1939 - 1945 - Hell on Wheels - บันเทิง
I'm addicted to your content. Ty for posting.
Makes quality content, too bad it has to be censored, because youtoob is corporate junk
@@BrownEyePinch Being politically correct ? Who knows ?
Dude, you are the king. I am sad the lady never responded. I would of cared if it was my grandfather or if I could help someone have their grandfathers helmet back.
Now that I have made the video, the family got back in touch with me and found some documents showing that Cunningham is almost certainly not the right person.
The Archives suffered a huge fire in the 70's and so much of our WW2 history was lost that day....
Certainly not boring, Jean-loup. You do excellent work, and it is much appreciated.
Content is outstanding
Thank you for all your research and work. As a side note, in 2004 I had the incredibly good luck to travel to Europe with some members of the famed 101st 506th PIR Co. E. 'The Band of Brothers'. It was a small group of WWII vets, including a few from the 506th. We started out in Philadelphia, flew to London, and crossed the English Channel, landing near Utah Beach in Normandy. We were guests of honor at Sainte-Mère-Église where the town officials treated us like welcome royalty. We then spent two weeks traveling throughout Western Europe going to every place that the 506th served during that period.. It was the adventure of a lifetime. We stopped along the way to honor the fallen in numerous areas. These men are all gone now, but I want to say that they were all great gentlemen. The Greatest Generation for sure.
They told me that the Germans were good soldiers as were the British. That period in history truly changed the world. For what it's worth......
Your work is extremely interesting and worthwhile. Thank you so much.
Other complications for research is that kit often gets passed on or ‘found’ and used by other soldiers from other units. As in family research nothing is easy but that’s what makes research so compelling and addictive.
Exactly, as I say in the video it is common to find items witz several different laundry numbers.
I'm pretty sure you've found the person. The family probably got freaked out that it was a scam. Lots of those over here in the USA coming from overseas. If you were to email the family (all of them) again, and encourage them to look up the title of this video at TH-cam (not a direct link, as links scare people, too), they might see that you're legit.
I was planning on sending them the link, but will instead do as you say because it makes good sense.
Yes, I thought the same, she was fearful of a scam
Another great video, such a shame that the end result was disappointing thanks for your hard work, 👍
Regardless of them being Leary of your inquiry, that was still very rude of the ladie to ghost you in the middle of your information inquiry . I mean for her sounding so intrigued by your find/quest she sure did abruptly vanish. Love the video. Most people now days could care less about history or ww2 let alone the sacrifice those men paid for there freedom.
Very rude, yes, I agree.
I did this type of research but backwards to try and find my great grandfathers ww1 uniform from his days in France. I actually found it. The person lives 2 hours from me but after bragging about it on a forum in 2007 that he had it l, he got all sheepish when I asked if he still had it. He knows I’m kin but won’t acknowledge he has it. He’s a collector. I never even told him I wanted it. Just want the opportunity to buy it from his estate when he departs. Guy is quite old.
He doesnt want to risk losing "his precious"
@@CrocodileTear He has from what I see 30+ uniforms, garrison hats, helmets. I just want my blood relatives uniform. I don't care if I had General Patton's. I would do all I could to return it to the family member that earned it. The family DNA that bled in it. Literally went through hell in it. To keep it in your basement on a manikin? I'd even pay the bloke whatever money he wanted. My grandfather, his son was a naval officer in WW2. They would look incredible side by side in frames above the mantel. Is what it is. My great uncles fault for not asking anyone if they wanted it when he gave it away.
That’s better than my situation. My Great grandfather’s WW1 uniform with Purple Heart is located at a historical society that won’t give it up
@@ryansharpe3564 thankfully I have one of his Purple Hearts. The only thing I tell myself is that it’s not their uniform they fought for their lives and country in. That was discarded and burned at the infirmary. Was soaked in blood, mud, who knows what else from absolute chaos. It was the jacket that was given to them when they came back home. What I tell myself anyhow. We can be thankful they’re at least being cared for and not used as shop rags.
Love the meticulous work you do
About 20 years ago, around 2002 in Minneapolis Minnesota, at Historic Fort Snelling, during a WW2 Round Table subject lecture, a panel attende stated that a veteran member of the 2nd Armed Division had several file cabinets worth of photos and 1st hand accounts from surviving members in units. After the curating veteran passed away, the family members, not knowing what the stuff really was or finding value in any of it, had the collected history of the 2nd Armed Division throughout into dumpsters. When this was told to the audience, a cry and gasp went into the air....😢
My ex wife did the same with all my uncles ww2 stuff...he was in the navy from 1943 to 1945 and had all his correspondence and photos....she just threw it all away when he died....what could I do when I came home from work, chase it down at the dump???
Good vid on the variables involved with research.
I picked up a USAAF AN-5734 clock, that had the last four digits (not the serial number), painted on the dial.
Using the Fiscal Year date - and after much reading through all the serials ending in the last four digits, I managed to track it down to a P-51D, transferred from USAAF to RAF service (as Mustang IV), and scrapped in 1946, which fitted with the A/c history.
Lucky, I guess!
Laundry number, known and used to this day in the British Army as a Zap Number. Great content, yours...L3979
While watching this video I remembered I had a German WW2 P38 holster with a GI's name and serial number scratched on the inner flap. I went to the first website you mentioned and it came up on the first try. The soldier was in the National Guard and enlisted in 1941 at age 29 in Boston, MA. Thank you for your time and hard work.
At least 80% of the guys can be found in 10 seconds if you have their full serial number.
Now if you look your man up on some other websites, such as findagrave.com, perhaps you can find his obituary, and names of children, etc.
@@wyomarine6341 If you have the weapon's serial number, you can always try a google search and perhaps with a lot of luck you will find it being auctioned somewhere, etc.
Thank you for your content! It's always so fascinating.
That little girl was from the Somme region, it seems. I can only imagine the scars of WWI just 30 years earlier, both societal and geographical.
The Somme yes, and Manfred von Richtofen was also shot down just a few km away.
Always enjoy your videos. Thank you for posting even when your research takes you to a dead end.
Better a live dead end, than a dead dead end.
Very interesting. Researching individuals who served in the US Army between 1912 and 1960 is very difficult. There was a huge fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973, which destroyed the personnel and medical files of approximately 80 percent of Army personnel. Even if you have the soldier's name, date of birth, and serial number, most of the time all they can give you is his dates of service. You can also try contacting the Department of Veterans Affairs, provide as much info as you can, and they can run it through their system to determine if the veteran ever filed a claim with the VA. If he did file a claim, most of the time his case file will have a copy of his discharge documents, and if he had filed a disability claim based on injuries received in service, his medical records will also be in his VA file if the claim was filed prior to the 1973 fire.
The government has a lot of employees even today 50 years later trying to piece together scorched or partially burned service records.
I do so enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work. This type of research keeps the names of the brave soldiers alive that would otherwise fade into obscurity.
I’m a WW2 history buff. I find this fascinating!
Your content is fantastic, because you're fantastic - I appreciate being able to watch your videos!
What an amazing story...and so meticulously researched. It's unfortunate you couldn't obtain a roster for the 66th Armored Regiment. To get down to 35 candidate soldiers and not be able to progress any further has to be very frustrating. Anyway, thank you for the excellent research/video.
I'm not sure if you would come across to this message but I really thank you for your great effort in doing these stuffs. MAY GOD FURTHER BLESS YOUR ENDEAVORS!
Yes I read this message, and thank you to you for it 😄
I feel like even if research still ends in a dead end, its still extremely important to document it all, so perhaps someone later can easily pick up where you left off without having to re-do all of the research. That's one thing I struggle with. I go on minor little research rabbit holes, usually trying to geo-locate footage from documentaries to put on a map, but I don't share it or anything. And while it isn't ground breaking research, usually the hard work is already done, I just mark a map, it still could be interesting to someone else. And, if something happens to me, since it isn't shared, all that info, however minor, will be completely lost with me.
I guess I'm just saying thanks for posting even your dead ends!
You can always share your results on a blog or something similar.
As a history buff, amateur historian and militaria collector I find your content fascinating, amazing work. Thanks for posting!
I checked the database as You did for My father and 3 uncles that served in WW2. The search only returned My dad and one uncle. So if this is any indication, then their records are incomplete. Another big problem was the records center in St. Louis Mo. had a major fire that destroyed (mid 1970's I think) and most of the paper records of WW2 service personnel. Good luck on Your quest!
Every story is more interesting than the previous…. They are ALL interesting..
Thank you Sir for all your research and bringing us along 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Christoph
Great work. I'm unsure if you know this, but the 66th is still in existence. Though it's no longer in the 2nd armored division. Perhaps a letter to that unit directly may help. Just a suggestion. Love the videos
I think I tried reaching out to them a couple of years ago. At the end of the day, no WWII unit roster exists for them...
its wild to think that there are people still alive with bits of history like this! keep up the great work!
This is so interesting. By far my most favourite TH-cam channel. Looking forward to every single video you put out. Don't ever stop doing what you do, we don't have enough of you. :-)
Wonderful efforts again Jean-Loup, thanks again for you interesting videos. Really enjoy them. Regards, John from New Zealand. =)
Time flies while watching your videos, really mesmerizing. One thing I noticed, maybe it says "0751", cause to me the first 7 looks different than the last digit, maybe it's the angle of the picture taken and/or the radius of the inner side of the helmet that distorts the digits.
Great theory! So I have to start all over again with twice as many candidates 😄
its never boring but very interesting, such a shame they did not reply. thank you for your time
They did reply when I sent them the video, but it turned out not being the right person.
I love this channel. You must have a very nice collection of helmets and memories from Ww2. Id love to see all your collection.
I just started collecting the M1 helmets and I have other WW2 things that are very old, brought home from war.
My mother has a lot of my grandfather's war stuff he brought back home. Im just waiting for it to get passed on to me. I love collecting
Watching your investigation videos feel like Sherlock Holmes mystery solving stories!
Excellent work restoring the history, Doc. Keep it up.
Also, I am really enjoying the book you recommended by Leutnant Gottlob Bidermann... Honestly the book continues to humble me with how little I know about the realities of the Eastern Front... So thanks for the recommendation, sir...
Also interesting is the fact that some of the book occurs in Ukrain, and you see that the strategic areas of 1941 and 1942 remain the same today.
@@CrocodileTear Yes! Very well pointed out
Thanks for your research on this particular case, very interesting to view pity there was no definitive outcome from your point of View.
I find your videos fascinating sir,then again I am a collector/researcher of WW2 military equipment/history of the war.
Your hard work and research is very, very much appreciated by those of us in the community.
Thank you for high quality document zoom and email zoom which I all read through very carefully hehe
Love your videos and the step-by-step explanations of how you go about researching. Thanks for the history.
Many thanks for another superb presentation.
Wonderful video. So interesting. It's so satisfying when long hard work pays off, but take heed in the fact that you are now much more experienced in this aspect of research. Love from Canada.
Wow this is very interesting what a good video, my grandpa served in the 2nd Armor division in the war.
Your videos are NEVER boring! 👏👏
Another wonderful video by you. That ending is not what I expected!
I don't like long videos, but so far I have never found anything you do to be boring. I wished you could have
had a contact in the same town where the granddaughter lived. Maybe they could have gone by and spoken
with her.
I know that must have been very disappointing, but I still found it interesting.
I send the video to the familly, who became interested again and managed to find several documents about George Cunningham, that show he was in the anti aircraft artillery. This, added to the rank discrepancy, pretty much eliminate him from being the same George Cunningham as that listed on the roster.
2nd US armored division known from the warseries "Band of Brothers". Nice video!
In what episode do you see the 2nd Armored?
@@CrocodileTear
In the episode of "Carentan" with Blyth. (Episode 3).
@@TellySavalas-or5hf OK thanks, I will watch it as I am now "in the mood".
It seems the 2nd Armored wore a lot of camouflage uniforms, I wasnt aware of that until preparing my video. They certainly look very cool and would look good in a film.
And in "Fury" (2014) is this US 2nd Armoured division also.
@@CrocodileTear those camo uniforms are called camo HBTs. Only the 2nd Armored, 2nd Infantry, and 30th Infantry division received these camo HBTs at the time of the breakout from Normandy. They were quickly used up and you don’t see any in photographs after September 1944
Thank you for all your videos.
During my wartime service 50 years later we had medics attached to other units 300 miles away. If someone lost a helmet he may well have picked up a discarded helmet. Maybe ripped off the patch. For accounting of soldiers he would not have been on their official roster. Hate to throw more questions into the mix.
You have some of the most detailed and well researched videos i have ever seen, its insane you onlu have 68k subs. Been following for a few years now
Thanks. I only used to make a digging video per year. Now I am trying to make one per month on more varied WWII research topics.
@@CrocodileTear Keep it up i will be supporting!
We used numbers like that in Iraq that were our units roster number. We we a small battalion so instead of using names in radio communication for troop lists we used that number. For instance after a rocket attack we could call in all the numbers that were safe with us in our bunker.
Thank you! Your research is greatly appreciated!!
Outstanding content Jean-Loup.
I really appreciate your Hard work and I m lucky that I have found your channel coincidentally I was randomly watching videos and boom found your hard work though sometimes it's goes to dead end but still love your content and channel. Always eager to find new video on your channel.....
Always interesting. I look forward to your new posts.
It was Not boring. I have learned a lot. Thank you for your work.
Danke Oliver. Die Video über die Helmen von Marvin Moles und Kurt Günther sind mehr interessant.
I was in the 1st and then the 4th Armored Division in the early 1970s.
Awesome effort, shame the relative did not get back to you but I suppose that’s how research can be. I hope you can one day verify the owner of the helmet and you can tell us all about it😊
I am so impressed with your work.
J'écoute tes vidéos depuis quelques temps et je dois dire que je suis impressionné à chaque fois par tes démarches pour retrouver l'information que tu as besoin. Bravo.
Merci.
Fantastic video. Great work!
Sorry she lost contact or for the depressing outcome. I have been watching your content nonstop this past week. Great work !!
She got back in touch once I made the video, but he turns out probably not being the right person.
A million thanks for your what you do! It’s fascinating. Just wondering how much might be learned about, The lost Woman. Like what happened after the war to her. From, St. Paul, Minnesota.
I remember your comment from last time. I research things that I am personally involved in. People or things that are my responsibility because I found them myself. It seems that a lot of people have already looked into the lost woman. I personally have no connection to her.
@@CrocodileTear Very nice of you to reply. Thanks a million. St.Paul.
Another great video ....I wish I had your determination for research, keep the videos coming 😊
Thank you for more great content. Respect from New Mexico USA.
I always enjoy your videos.
Interesting... may you find success in your search. Great video. Love your content 👌🏻
Greetings from Los Angeles, California, USA, My European and French Friends!! I love your channel Jean-Loup!!
Thanks. Greetings from Europe.
Just love your research! Recently my cousin gave me one of my fathers dog tags he found in the family jewelry box Ive been asking about these since he passed 35 yrs ago, to bad you did not get a reply.
George S. Patton's "Hell on Wheels" was no joke of a division!! Where ever they went, they were there to kick Nazi Ass and take no prisoners!! This is a great channel, Jean-Loup!!
They definitely earned & lived up to their title!:) My Grandpa was a Hell on Wheels tank gunner & Seargeant and was one hell of a great man! Grandma sure had her hands full with him haha
The email didn’t read like a
scam, however, I recognize a fellow lunatic when I see one 🤠
Great video as always.
Same laundry # system is still used today except last name initial and last four of SSN # . Also used to ID individual issue items like your helmet.
My grandfather was in WWII and his serial number started with a 6 because he was in before the war started
Great work - keep it up.
God that must be horribly frustrating to get an excited email reply and then nothing after that.
Yes exactly. In real life I was rather..... PISSED OFF!!
Oh, one more comment, just a fact from American army WW2. When men enlisted, my dad included, they had their full name given and nicknames like my dad was James Clifford Leverette and was called Cliff and Jack (a nickname for James) but the Army would only call a man by his first given name, so he became James and kept that for the rest of his life. Similarly, his best friend, them living in a small town with only 6 males in their highschool class, his brother included, was named Jerome Talmadge Caffey. Dad and Talmadge went off to enlist after graduation to the Army Air Corps education center in Memphis, Tennessee. There, they went separate ways, dad to flight engineer school (his dad owned an auto repair shop so dad knew a lot about engines) and Talmadge went off to Aerial Gunner's School in Minnesota. Talmadge became Jerome. After the war dad returned home. Of the six boys in his class, he and his brother made it home but Talmadge and two others were killed. Dad learned from Mrs. Caffey that he had been killed and that he had been shot down in a B24 Liberator on a mission to Germany but the flight took them over Caen where on June 7th there were many German Antiaircraft guns and that is where he was shot down.
Dad looked in vain for anything about Talmadge and as far as he knew Talmadge had died without getting married or having children, so when I first got internet in the 90s there were many Army, Navy and Marine websites commemorating individual units and the guestbooks asked that you leave a memorial for the fallen. I actually found Talmadge's bomber unit with a photo of the crew and plane. I left a message and memorial because I thought it would be nice to do since there were no children to do it for him. But I was wrong. A day later I received an email from a woman who's father had been a B24 pilot and when the crews formed up in Minnesota, he and Talmadge became best friends, even though they were assigned to different planes. The fact that the pilot was a captain and Talmadge was a non-com, that rank difference made not matter when crews came together and had to rely upon each other. The pilot's daughter told me that Talmadge was known to her dad as Jerome. The day that Talmadge was shot down, his own bomber was not working properly so they borrowed another, the one belonging to his pilot friend. The next day, the pilot and his crew had to borrow another bomber and they bombed Berlin but as they veered north to exit to the North Sea they were shot down. All parachuted to safety and my lady friend's pilot father was put in the same Luftwaffe POW camp where the Great Escape took place.
In getting to know her she found a clipping of a funeral notice for Jerome Talmadge Caffey from Minnesota and learned that he married and had a son whom he never saw. We worked together to track the son, Jerry, down and I called him, and I learned that he had nothing of his dad's so I had copies made of his dad's yearbook pictures, playing basketball and track, and the large class photo, and of my dad and his together.
Ironically, my dad never found out anything about Talmadge but I was able to learn that his remains had been brought home and he is buried in the small town cemetery that my dad's parents and brothers and nephews are buried in. While most of the graves have upright stone markers, Veteran's Affairs provided Talmadge's grave marker, a bronze flat laying marker. I guess my dad never noticed it because it is within 100 feet from his parent's graves. Sadly, dad died in 2004, Christmas night, and because of his dementia, I did not want to further confuse him by telling him what I knew about his best friend. Oh, dad was in a training accident before he could go over seas and his right wrist was broken. It was put in a cast and developed gangrene and so they repaired the wrist by scraping out the necrotic tissue and wiring his remaining carlidge and bone together so that he kept his hand which worked but without wrist movement. This was considered a 25% disability and instead of discharging him, they retrained him to work in the U-boat war off the Atlantic coast, where he kept up with the ordinance loaded aboard various bombers doing anti submarine patrol. He worked in the control tower to keep up with what planes were returning with which kind of ordinance still aboard so that the ordinance ground crews could be ready to remove the bombs as soon as the planes landed.
I forget the year - 1969 maybe when the U.S. military abolished serial numbers and switched to social security numbers. The same practice using using the first initial of the last name combined with the last four of the now social security number was used to mark personal items. Mine was J2750, and was used on more things than just laundry, although uniform items were a favorite target of the stamp which we were all issued. When I saw the lettering inside the helmet, I knew exactly what it was.
Yep I still have my stamp used to mark uniforms and laundry bag!
Nice job. Keep up the good work!!!!!
Astonishing work.
Je me rappel enfant, dans mon petit village en Normandie, Riton, l'ancien du village utilisait des casques Allemands comme pots de fleurs en suspension sur sa chaumière à la sortie du village. Ce n'est pas faute d'avoir essayé de récupérer un des 4 trophées de l'ancien, mais il tirait vite pour un vieux normand ( sérieusement).
Malheureusement j'y suis retourné. Le temps est passé, la chaumière à été revendu et les casques ont disparus.
Merci à cette dame d'avoir transmis ce casque et son histoire. Merci à vous de la partager et d'approfondir les recherches sur celle-ci .
Bonjour. Ces histoires sont familières dans tout la France 😄. Vous avez pu voir la video avec des sous titres francais?
Fabulous work 👏
At 4:18 mark, this appears to be Lt General Maurice Rose pinning a medal on the Sgt. I worked with General Rose's son
on the San Antonio Police Dept. Just thought I'd pass that along to you.
Hi Jean nice work. It's just a shame the research is not yet complete. Maybe there will be someone in the USA who can help with this.
Thanks. I have decided to put my money where my mouth is and ordered copies of George Cunningham's file since his relatives are too stuck up to respond to an email. We will see what's in the file.
wow! great work
interesting awesome content thanks Jean-loup
Yes, very interesting... Godspeed, Jean. Godspeed!
You are a master detective. 🙂
Well, in this case the mission is a failure so far.
Very interesting video. Your methodology in following leads, working off hunches etc is so similar to genealogy research. Oh yes and just as frustrating with missing documents, unreadable handwriting, mis-spelled names, wrong information etc x100. But when I do confirm a family legend that is immensely satisfying. Then discover a promiscuous grandmother from the 1830s thru 1840s who had 4 kids and none had a father.!! Not a paperwork error as all the other babies on the same page of the town register had fathers.
My most challenging search was to locate Army records for a great uncle who was in WW1. Until the last 8 years or very little military documentation was online for WW1. After years of part-time searching I concluded we know more about the dark side of the moon than soldiers/units in the WW1 US military. Uncle Ted claimed he was a machine gunner. I actually have his uniform jacket with a handmade 37th Division patch. But the collar medallion was missing that shows whether you're infantry, artillery, etc.
One day on Ancestry I decided to try a common misspelling of the last name and BINGO.!! Turns out he was in the 135th Machinegun Battalion attached to the 37th Div. The Div became the Ohio Natl Guard a few years later. I was able to find enough rabbit trails that I could retrace his travels in France from August 1918 to 11Nov1918. He was part of the big Meuse-Argonne offensive at the end. I discovered Ted tried to get out of the draft. On his registration card he listed a weak left knee AND he farmed his own farm by himself.
The bad knee was total baloney. The farm excuse was also. He lived with his parents and farmed with them. He did not have a farm of his own at the time. Ted lived until 1983 so I was around him occasionally almost 25 years. He was a character and laugh every time I think of his draft evasion excuses. When you live by a town of 600 at the time, everyone knows you very well......including the draft board.!!!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣
I wouldnt blame anybody for not wanting to get sent to one of the most horrible meat grinders of all time, on the other side of the world, to help out countries who had been more then happy to start a war for no good reason
great work
It would be interesting to know the backstory on how this helmet was lost. There was no mention of fighting having taken place just that the GIs spent the night/rested in the town. Hard to imagine a soldier just forgetting or losing his helmet in a non combat situation
Americans were known in WWII for being rather wasteful of their equipment when compared for example with British or Germans.
Think the soldier was using it to wash things in, and just left it. It has no helmet liner, or chinstrap
@@davidmoser3535 The helmet has its chinstrap, and it also used to have a liner, though the lady who gave it to me said that since the helmet had been used as a toy, the liner ended up getting lost.
Merci Jean-loup!
He shall be found!!!!
66th Armor Regiment, 2AD, 94-96
Thank you
my great great grandpa was in hell on wheels!
2nd AD Fwd Garlstedt Germany 1986-1988
I would agree that laundry numbers on a helmet could be anybody's laundry number but I would guess that laundry numbers on a soldier's uniform would almost always be his laundry number. Anybody could pick up a helmet in the middle of a artillery bombardment and end up wearing somebody else's helmet for the next few months but they're not going to do that with somebody else's clothes.
That actually isnt really correct, because clothes from wash outs, KIA and WIA were redistributed. It is common for example for uniforms to have 2 or 3 different laundry numbers inside.
As a one time storeman, we would collect and re-issue what was known as 'PWS' kit, 'part worn, serviceable', and so sometimes uniform would have someone else's name in, the other thing is that if you had a mate killed or wounded badly enough that he was sent away from the unit, bits of his kit would be 'redistributed'.
Is this where the term "Laundry list of possibilities" comes from?
Laundry list of impossibilities
very good work, shame you couldnt get your answers.
Why did the helmet get abandoned?
Soldiers serving in combat would be loathe to lose their helmet, especially if there was a chance that they would be going into action in the near future. This suggests, to me at least, that the owner of the helmet was injured or killed at or near the town where it was found.
No soldier would go out on a march or drive without his helmet. A helmet isn't like a pair or socks or a pocketknife. Something happened to the soldier that was wearing that helmet during the time they were near that town. Do any of the regimental war diaries record casualties on the dates they were in the region?
The Americans left behind lots of helmets even when they were neither killed or wounded. Soldiers had to be ordered to wear there helmets, many did not like doing so.
I recognized that number format before you said anything! Now its the first letter of your last name and the last four digits of your social security number (SSN). As a SSN is considered private, I wonder how much harder a historians job will be in the future?