Good evening. My name is Terry Coffman. I am the 57 year old son of Charles (Chuck) Osborne Coffman, a B-17 crewman who flew 42 bomb missions over Germany. He physically survived the war but died of a heart attack in 1974. He had 2 cases of medals that were stolen from my mother's home. I contacted the War Dept. trying to retrieve his medals. The sent me the American Campaign medal. He may have been stationed in Texas early on. He told me stories about swimming the Rio Grande River. They sent the European Campaign medal and his Honorable Service Pin, but said any further records were destroyed by fire. I know that he had a Presidential Unit Citation ribbon and at least 2 or more Purple Hearts. The wings on the picture I have are Gunners wings but I remember 2 sets of wings. One lapel pin appears a flying eagle or duck. The other is some sort of bushy headed dog or wolf. I don't know his bomp group or squadren. I would be deeply grateful for any advice or guidance as to how to obtain this information. The war caused him to beat my mother and I bloody in drunken rages for 10 years, but to this day, sober, he was the most honest man I've ever known. Thank you.
Hi Terry, There are two Charles O. Coffmans listed as enlisting in the US Army between 1938 and 1946. NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records) NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records) One enlisted in Evansville, Indiana on 3 November 1942, was married and born in 1918, apparently in Kentucky. The other enlisted at Ft Leavenworth, Kansas on 28 January, 1944 and was born in 1908, apparently in Missouri. Either of these two men ringing any bells? Regards, Dave
Dave: Thank you for responding. I do have this info from Ancestry.com. My father enlisted in Evansville, Ind. It's also where I was born after the war. Where do I go from here?
Terry, Pay a visit to WW2f.com, a sister site to this one. It is more focused on the US involvement in the war and you might get some leads there.
Jeff: Thank you, Southern Boy. I'm in Orlando, FL but my happiest years growing up were in Paducah, KY, Birmingham, AL and the hills of Tennessee. I've got a 10" cast iron skillet and a can of Crisco, and my favorite meal is fried chicken with bacon grease flavored pinto beans and skillet corn bread. I'm broke and may have cancer but you are right - by the grace of God. Going to the sister site now. Thank you, again.
Good luck with the research . We have a few US members but as Jeff says you'll get more help on ww2f. Did he ever mention any places in the UK where he may have been based?
Terry, Are you able to scan and post the photograph? I'm intrigued to find out what the lapel pins you mention are. Completely random, but as you mentioned Paducah, I have an old friend who lived there! Chris.
Chris: I've already scanned the photo but have no clue as to how to post it to this site. Guide me or let me send you my personal e-mail address.
Instructions on how to add photos to your posts here. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/network-information/12816-how-insert-pictures-videos-into-your-posts.html
Terry, Are you able to scan and post the photograph? I'm intrigued to find out what the lapel pins you mention are. Completely random, but as you mentioned Paducah, I have an old friend who lived there! Chris. I have a suspicion that it is the Ruptured Duck.
Chris: After a crash course in URL function I'm attempting to send the photo. I'm in no wise computer savy. My profession was in water treatmhttp://img19.imageshack.us/img19/3329/scan0008pw.jpg-Windows Internet Explorent. At any rate, here goes.
Chris: I tried twice to upload the photo and couldn't. My e-mail address is xxx Please contact me and I'll send you the photo.
sounds like the file size is too big to upload. send the photo to the ww2talk admin email address I'll add it to the thread if you like. cheers O
Hooray you got it. By the way I've moved this thread out of 'user intro' to the 'military genealogy' part of the forum as it fits better there & your posts now go to your post count .
Terry, The lapel pin on the right simply the Army Air Force unit badge, the 'winged prop'. Any soldier in the AAF would have worn it. The one on the left, although unclear is almost certainly the 'US' badge that all US Army troops would have worn. Examples of both: One other thing I notice is that he has an oak leaf on his unit citation (meaning his group was awarded it twice). I'm trying to ID the medals, but it's tricky. The middle I think is the US Victory medal, and on the right probably the European theatre campaign medal. The one on the left I'm struggling with. My first thoughts being either a DFC or a Berlin Airlift medal, but neither are quite right.
Hmm I started compiling a list of heavy bomb groups that received a PUC twice but I only seem to be able to find Mediterranean based groups. Below are confirmed, but there are others I know that aren't listed. For example, the group I represent (381st) received 2 citations. I do have a listing of 3 Coffmans flying for the 381st but all were officers. Terry, do you happen to know if he was stationed in England (8th AAF) or Italy (15th AAF) 2nd Bomb Group (15th AAF Italy B-17) 484th Bomb Group (15th AAF Italy B-24) 450th Bomb Group (15th AAF Italy B-24)