22:  Date of order telling him he needs to report for duty

24:  Date Dad reported to Jefferson Barracks (Wow!  From June 27 to July 11, 1942, I'm sure Dad said lots of goodbyes to his friends and family.  What a trying time!)

25:  Jefferson Barracks is located near St. Louis, MO.  

27:  1 = Fit for military service (More Info)

30:  Auto Mechanic 2nd Echelon (014 is the code).  This is what Dad did at his last organization (#6 above)

• Second Echelon (Division); medical service consisting of collecting casualties from the dispensaries or Aid Stations operated by the first echelon, rendering emergency treatment in Collecting Stations and evacuating the patients to one or more Clearing Stations for further emergency treatment. 

32:  Campaigns Dad participated in, but not specific battles

33:  Dad earned the following honors:

• Two Bronze stars for campaigns listed in #32 per War Department General Orders 33-40 in 1945 (Need to learn more!)  Reads:  “General Order 33 and General Order 40 published by the War Department in 1945.”  Note: General Orders are the highest form of orders issued by the Army and supersede all other forms of orders. 

• Good Conduct medal

• Bronze star medal General Order #133 Head Quarter 71st Infantry Division, August 21, 1945 (Need to learn more!)

35:  I still need to figure out what BT A stands for. Does anyone reading this know?

36:  January 26, 1945, Dad was shipped to the European Theater, arriving February 6, 1945.  On December 22, 1945, he departed to return home, actually arriving January 1, 1946.  He was officially discharged from the Army on January 7, 1946.

• Depart: = Date ship left loading port Destination

• ETO = European Theater of Operations, APT = Asiatic Pacific Theater; MTO = Mediteranian Theater of Operations. 

• Arrive: Date ship arrived at port of destination 

37:  Dad served the Army from the continental US for 2 years, 6 months, and 5 days.  He served overseas for 11 months and 6 days.

38:  Dad's highest rank was 1st Sergeant.

40:  AR 615 - 365 RR 1-1 Demobilization, is the Army Regulation concerning Army forces reduction after the war. 

42:  Dad completed 8th grade.  I believe I have a report card for him that shows he started 9th grade, even though he always told us he had an 8th grade education

43:  Total Service (Continental and overseas combined)

44:  The Mustering-out Payment Act is a United States federal law passed in 1944. It provided money to servicemen, returning from the Second World War, to help them restart their lives as civilians.

46: Amount of money received to get home

47:  I'd like to learn more about this person

48-53:  Insurance information.  He had to pay a monthly premium of $6.97 to continue his National Insurance.  Need to learn more....

55.  Explanations Below

• AW 107 refers to the Articles of War number 107. It was under this authority that a service man was honorably discharged from the army/navy/etc during or after WW2. AW 107 authorized the the issue and permissions to wear on his a lapel a pin for up to 30 days on his uniform and then later on his civilian clothes signifying his honorable discharge. This pin later became known as the "ruptured duck." The pin was first issued in a metal version, but because of material shortages it was later issued in gilded plastic and a cloth version.  No days lost means that Dad never had an absence from duty that was not covered by "official leave."

• Lapel Pin:  ASR Score is the number of 'points' earned which determined when a soldier was shipped home. Lapel Pin was a small round pin issued at discharge, commonly called the "Ruptured Duck" box.  (I need to clarify this information.) 

• American Theatre Campaign Ribbon:  The medal is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces who served in the American Theater of Operations during the period from December 7, 1941 to March 2, 1946 or was awarded a combat decoration while in combat against the enemy. The service must have been an aggregate of one year within the continental United States, or thirty consecutive days outside the continental United States, or sixty nonconsecutive days outside the continental United States, but within the American Theater of Operations.

• European African Middle East Theatre Campaign Ribbon:  The European - African - Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (EAMECM) is a military award that recognizes the service of U.S. Armed Forces personnel who preformed military duty in the European Theater during World War II. Created on November 6th, 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9265 it was originally just a ribbon and there was not a full sized medal until 1947. The first recipient of the medal was General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower.  There are 19 approved campaigns for the award. Multiple campaign awards are denoted with a bronze star device.

• Overseas Bar:  Army Overseas Service Bars are worn on the Army Service Uniform to represent the cumulative amount of time spent overseas, with each stripe representing 6 months. Multiple Overseas Service Bars are worn simultaneously, extending vertically on the sleeve of the uniform.  The Overseas Service Bar is worn centered on the outside bottom half of the right sleeve of the Army Service Uniform coat. The lower edge of the overseas service bar is placed 1/4 inch above the sleeve braid of the coat for officer personnel, and 4 inches above and parallel to the bottom of the sleeve for enlisted personnel. Each additional bar is spaced 1/16 inch above, and parallel to the first bar.

• Enlisted Reserve Corp (ERC):  ERC stands for "Enlisted Reserve Corps". Time in ERC is from the date Dad took the induction oath until the day he entered active service, June 27-July 11, 1942.  

• Victory Ribbon:  Authorized by an Act of Congress on July 6, 1945 and awarded to all members of the Armed Forces who served at least one day of honorable, active federal service between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946, inclusive.

• ASR Score is the number of 'points' earned which determined when a soldier was shipped home. The ASR score system was revamped again in September 1945 because too many experienced veterans were going home and leaving the younger soldiers to wind down the operations in Europe after the end of World War II. All European units were re-designated as Occupational, Redeployment or Liquidation Forces. Occupational Forces consisted of volunteers and the troops with the lowest scores. According to the WWII point system, troops with scores between 60 and 79 ASR points were classified as Liquidation Forces. Those with the highest scores and troops designated for return to the U.S. were considered Redeployment Forces. 

• Central Europe Information

• Another 71st Infantry Division Website

• More information...

• The 71st Came to Gunskirchen Lager

FASCINATING!

The first step to organizing photos is probably the hardest—getting all of your photos in one location.  This means taking photo frames apart to see every photo you stacked on top of each other through the years.  Also, if you have pictures in magnetic photo albums, remove them immediately.  If they are stuck to the album, try sticking the entire page in the freezer for a few minutes.  Sometimes, this makes it easier to pop the photo off the page.  If worse comes to worse, cut the picture out, leaving the magnetic backing in place.  

I began by sorting and organizing school portraits and other portraits.  After getting all your school photos in one place, start organizing photos that are the same together.  For each portrait of someone, you might have an 8x10, 5x7, 4x6, or small wallet or trading photos.  Pile similar photos together. This step may take a while, but it is a very important step!  If you don't get all your portraits in one place and sort them into similar photos, you may be almost finished with this step when you suddenly find another portrait!  Then, you will find yourself repeating steps.

Along with this step, make a school year chart similar to the one above.  I used the chart primarily to help me figure out school photos.  Mom would write 1978 on the photo, but sometimes, she would write Sophomore.  Using this chart, you can match the grade level and year, which will help in the long run.  Making this chart will save you a ton of time and energy not only while you are organizing your school portraits but also as you organize other photos and memorabilia. Make the first date the year your first child started school, whether kindergarten or preschool. Continue your years through the graduation of your youngest child, even if they haven't graduated yet.  I kept this chart on a bulletin board in my scrapbooking room.  Mom's chart looked very different as I started adding birthdays, anniversaries, etc., to give me a complete picture of the photos I was organizing.

Look for Part 2 of this process in a future newsletter.  For now, start getting all your photos in one location.  It takes a lot longer than you might imagine!