family WW2 pics

I'm not sure if I have posted these before, I thought some might find them interesting.


The first is a larger version of my avatar. It's a pic sent home by my grandfather to his parents. The inscription reads "To the best parents in the world. Love, Buck"
The second is another of "Buck". The third is of "Buck" and his lovely bride (my paternal grandparents) probably right after the war. One of my all-time favorite family pics.

(If this is the wrong forum for this, please feel free to move them)

 

Excuse my ignorance of the US Military but what are those medals on Grandad's chest in the right hand picture?


Not at all, thanks for asking.

They are weapons qualifications badges (fairly certain anyways). I think the left one is an "Expert" bagde (the highest level of proficiency), and the right one is a "Sharpshooter" badge ( the 2nd highest level).


Not sure which weapons he rated the highest in. I'll try to zoom in on the original scan and read the bar. Good question, thanks!

 

Wonder if the other one is this one with the additional rung?
U.S. Marine Corps Weapons Qualification Badges (Model #:1603 MCPST-EX)



I think you have it! I stand corrected. Good find!

 

As he was pretty handy with fire-arms , did he use them much Post-War?

Within a year of war's end, he became a carpenter, got married, and they had my dad. Grandad was known to be an avid hunter, so I'm sure his hunting rifles and shotguns were put to frequent use.

 

Fantastic pictures Nolan and indeed the resemblance is definitely there! Where did he serve in the Pacific?

 

Fantastic pictures Nolan and indeed the resemblance is definitely there! Where did he serve in the Pacific?

I wish I knew for sure. As most vets, he talked very little about his war experiences afterward. My dad remembers him saying he was on Bouganville and Okinawa, but I have no way of knowing if it was first wave or garrison duty. Nothing in the papers he left behind tells us for sure, and his letters would have been censored if he'd tried to give a hint there.

You have piqued my interest though, I will have to find out. I have been meaning to send for his official military records for years but never got around to it.

 

Now that would be an avenue to follow up. I shall have to look up bougainville and Okinawa again to brush up my knowledge on the battles.

 

Fine photos, thanks. It's unlikely that your grandfather served on Bougainville and Okinawa, but possible. The former was taken by the Third Marine Division along with the Army's 37th Division, while the First, Second, and Sixth marine divisions fought at Okinawa.
JT

 

Fine photos, thanks. It's unlikely that your grandfather served on Bougainville and Okinawa, but possible. The former was taken by the Third Marine Division along with the Army's 37th Division, while the First, Second, and Sixth marine divisions fought at Okinawa.
JT

Good info, thanks. The locations are 3rd hand recollection, so it's very likely I have it wrong. However, I'm not sure if he was saying he participated in the original invasion, or was there on garrision duty later. I will definitely have to look into it further to sort fact from error.

 

Wonder if the other one is this one with the additional rung?
U.S. Marine Corps Weapons Qualification Badges (Model #:1603 MCPST-EX)



I rescanned the original photo to zoom in on the badges:

Still hard to say on the left badge, almost looks like a "Marksman" badge in wreaths.

Since noone is completely sick of my little family album yet, here's a couple of shots of grandad's eldest brother, Jack, who was a US paratrooper in the 82nd. (the family resemblance is strong, eh?)

The first (completely guessing here due to the lack of rank insignia) is at the jump school at Ft. Bragg, NC. As for the second pic, I have no idea other than that is Jack on the right (corrected). Can anyone ID the service of the gent in the center? He's wearing wings (para?) but I'm not sure what branch or even nationality he represents.
Uncle Jack was wounded in action in Italy and evac'd to a hospital ship, where he died just days later.

 

The one on the left, I'm not familiar with. It looks more like the Army weapons qualification badge. There were tabs (much like the upper part of the right badge) for different weapons you qualified in. I've never noticed a Marine wearing one of those, but things were different in the "Old Corps!"

The rifle and pistol badges are fairly similar. Each comes in three grades:
Expert: Crossed rifles or pistols
Sharpshooter: The Maltese Cross
Marksman: A target face

Of course, that was what I received. That's not written in stone for WWII, but I always thought it was that way.

 

The one on the left, I'm not familiar with. It looks more like the Army weapons qualification badge. There were tabs (much like the upper part of the right badge) for different weapons you qualified in. I've never noticed a Marine wearing one of those, but things were different in the "Old Corps!"

The rifle and pistol badges are fairly similar. Each comes in three grades:
Expert: Crossed rifles or pistols
Sharpshooter: The Maltese Cross
Marksman: A target face

Of course, that was what I received. That's not written in stone for WWII, but I always thought it was that way.

Thanks for the info, Tom! I posted the wrong pic in the post you quoted, does this pic help any to ID the left-hand badge? (Zoom-in of the actual photo in question...)

Again, thanks!

 

I posted the wrong pic in the post you quoted, does this pic help any to ID the left-hand badge? (Zoom-in of the actual photo in question...)

That it does! It's a Rifle Marksman Badge for certain!

Just for the record, there is a bar that is worn with the Expert badges. When you earn the Expert Badge, Rifle or Pistol, repeatedly, you get to wear a bar (and only one) with the number of times you've earned it. That bar is NOT worn with the Sharpshooter/Marksman Badges.

 

I rescanned the original photo to zoom in on the badges:

Still hard to say on the left badge, almost looks like a "Marksman" badge in wreaths.

Since noone is completely sick of my little family album yet, here's a couple of shots of grandad's eldest brother, Jack, who was a US paratrooper in the 82nd. (the family resemblance is strong, eh?)

The first (completely guessing here due to the lack of rank insignia) is at the jump school at Ft. Bragg, NC. As for the second pic, I have no idea other than that is Jack on the left. Can anyone ID the service of the gent in the center? He's wearing wings (para?) but I'm not sure what branch or even nationality he represents.
Uncle Jack was wounded in action in Italy and evac'd to a hospital ship, where he died just days later.
Nolan, could he be an Italian from the Badoglio Government side. That hat looks like an Italian one. Although the uniform is dark I dont think he's a blackshirt, due to the Boots and the trousers, wrong color.

 

But why has Grandad's got a wreath?
Every badge I can find on the internet has only the square target?
U.S. Marine Corps Weapons Qualification Badges


When the Expert badge with wreath has crossed rifles?


Are these modern badges and the WW2 ones were different?

Good question! And why does he have two bars for a Marksman badge? Two weapons qualified at that level?

I spoke to my dad about these badges, he's fairly certain they are still in the immediate family and will try to get them or a photo of the actual articles. Hopefully that will shed some light...stay tuned.

Nolan, could he be an Italian from the Badoglio Government side. That hat looks like an Italian one. Although the uniform is dark I dont think he's a blackshirt, due to the Boots and the trousers, wrong color.

Brilliant! I wondered if he was Italian, but I had no way of knowing where the pic was taken, except that with Jack being an E-6 it must have been late in his war service. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I'll keep digging. BTW, big error on my part, I meant to say Jack was the man on the right. I do not know the man on the left.