Usually guard duty, listening posts and observations posts on perimeter defense could be manned by any available soldier. Armor, artillery and aviation spotters were more specialized with heavy weapons, maps and grids. Recon and Patrols would be conducted by infantry and units. The Battle of the bulge was Operation Watch on the Rhine which began in 1944.
All I know is he enlisted 1/16/1943 and was released 8/29 1945- I have photos when his unit liberated Buchenwald and wa told he was in the battle of the bulge but do not have his vet papers-
how can I get those? Thanks for your interest and help!
Thanks for reaching out on History Hub. It is difficult to say exactly what your uncle did as a Tech 4. As Mr. Tomko lists above, there are several jobs that fall within Tech 4. You may, however, request his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) by completing a SF180 and sending it to the listed address. His OMPF can detail his specific jobs and any change in title, position, or assignment during service. Unfortunately, his service does fall within the records the most impacted by the 1973 fire and it is possible there is limited information remaining. The best way to find this out is to request his OMPF. I hope this helps you on your search!
The 3rd Army, 6th Armored Division liberated that area. Some veterans also had copies of their discharge papers entered at the county court house. An Armored Division had elements of tanks, infantry, signal, logistics and medical support. In some cases units could be temporarily attached or detached to other units.
Great site thank you for your help and suggestions I was able to pull up his serial number through this web site and would some day love to see if I could track where he served in the war- Julia
Technician Fourth Grade ( T/4 or TEC4) was one of three United States Army technician ranks established on January 8, 1942, during World War II. Those who held this rank were often addressed as Sergeant. Technicians possessed specialized skills that were rewarded with a higher pay grade. These skills could be directly related to combat, such as those skills possessed by a tank driver or combat engineer, or skills possessed by those in support functions such as cooks or mechanics. Depending on his or her function, he or she might be called upon by an officer to command a group of men for a specific task. They were non-commissioned officers, as were sergeants. Initially, they shared the same insignia but on September 4, 1942, the three technician ranks were distinguished by a block "T" imprinted below the standard chevrons. Unofficial insignia using a technical specialty symbol instead of the T was used in some units.
I know it's been a long time since this question was raised, but it occurs to me that it might help either Julia or someone else to think about something. Each respondent is correct in what they said, but I would have taken a different approach. Julia, you said the following words: "I have photos when his unit liberated Buchenwald..." Maybe you aren't aware of it, but there might be a TON of clues in those photos. (Uniform patches, vehicle markings, etc.) If you see this and haven't ever received a good answer, or someone else is in a similar situation, you might consider sharing the photos you have. A high-resolution scan could tell an expert exactly how to answer your question or at least point you in a likely direction. I hope that's useful to someone : )
This is not correct, due to confusing the World War II era US Army grade numbers with the postwar paygrades (E-1, E-2, etc.). The World War II era system was numbered 1-7. Unlike the postwar system (higher the number, higher rank), in World War II it was 1st grade (master sergeant) that was the highest and 7th grade (private) was the lowest. Sergeant was 4th grade, corporal was 5th grade, and private 1st class was 6th grade. (Private was not split into two paygrades). The technician grades were in parallel to those contemporary paygrades. So, technician 4th grade was actually equivalent to sergeant, not corporal.
Incidentally, it would seem that only technician 5th grade (same paygrade as corporal), technician 4th grade (same paygrade as sergeant), and technician 3rd grade (same paygrade as staff sergeant) were actually implemented. I've never seen a reference to anyone actually being promoted to technician 2nd grade or technician 1st grade, although perhaps at one point that was planned.
