Seeking to identify what unit my father was in during World War II

Dear Adriana Rhames ,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

If you are able to share any photographs of your father and/or the other members of his unit in uniform, then it is possible that some History Hub community members may recognize the patches and insignia, which could be used to identify the specific unit or type of unit that he served in. There are a number of online resources that might also be useful for identifying the uniform, patches, medals, and more. You may also wish to review the resources available online from the Army's Institute of Heraldry, the U.S. Army Center of Military History, and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center. Please contact these organizations directly for further assistance. 

The Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been digitized and is available on Ancestry.com as the U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010. Please note that there may be a fee for using Ancestry. The BIRLS information is also available free of charge (with registration) on Fold3 as the Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File. You may also wish to check for access to Ancestry and Fold3 at your local library as many library systems subscribe to these sites, making them free for their patrons. We located one BIRLS entry for Francisco S. Riojas and are including it below for you.

In addition, as we suggested in response to your previous post Where to start with researching dad's WWII military records, you might also wish to review publications like the Army Center for Military History’s Order of Battle of the United States Army World War II European Theater of Operations Divisions to narrow down which units may have served in the campaign (e.g. Rhineland Campaign). You could also search WorldCat.org or contact your local librarian to locate additional resources related to the Rhineland or other relevant campaigns.  

Finally, we want to reiterate that since some veterans registered with their state or local veterans service agencies after they separated from service, you might also contact the state or county veterans agency where your father lived for additional assistance. Please review the NPRC web page Other Methods to Obtain Military Service Records for more information. Please note that registering discharge papers with local and state authorities was optional, so we cannot guarantee that these types of organizations will have his records.

We hope this is helpful.

Thank you, Rachel.

I am slowly getting to some of these resources and will post photos. I am working my way through the Army Center for Military History.

Much appreciated.

Here is his draft card, from Fold3.com (which is a digitized National Archives record)

Let's look at what we might be able to find out about his service to narrow things down.

The Rhineland Campaign started on 15 September 1945 with Operation Market Garden ("A Bridge too Far"), ran through the Battle of the Bulge, and ended on 21 March 1945, with the Allies having penetrated Germany. It was followed by the Central Europe Campaign, which would run until the end of the war.

You can read about the campaign here: Rhineland | U.S. Army Center of Military History

So that ties into your understanding that he fought in France, and that he departed the US in October 1944.

Now, according to a history of Camp Swift on the Texas State Historical Association website, four divisions trained at Camp Swift during the war. Thye were the 95th, 97th, and 102d Infantry Divisions and the 10th Mountain Division.

The 10th Mountain Division fought in Italy, so you can cross that off your list.

The 95th Infantry Division sailed for Europe on 10 August 1944, and arrived in England on 17 August 1944

The 97th Infantry Division, originally scheduled for the Pacific, sailed for Europe on 19 February 1945

The 102d Infantry Division sailed for Europe on 12 September 1944.

The 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion also trained at Camp Swift but deployed in April 1944.

What does this mean? Not much. There were scores of non-divisional units that also trained on these posts--everything from truck companies to hospitals. He could just be in one of those.

If you want to post pictures, what you need to post aren't pictures of people--post pictures of your father that sow his unit crests, his awards, his shoulder patches, signs outside of buildings--even vehicles that have bumper numbers on them--to a trained eye, they are all clues that can provide information as to local, or to unit designation, specialty, etc. It's unlikely that anybody on History Hub will recognize someone in a picture--unless it's a high-ranking officer pinning on an award. Which, again, can help provide context. With those sorts of things, we can take the ball and carry it forward a few yards.

Hope that helps somewhat.

Also, even if he was trained in a unit at Camp Swift, he could have been stripped out as an individual replacement, or cross-leveled from the unit he served with at Swift into another deploying unit that needed him more, or as an individual replacement.  That's why context is important.

Mr. Hall,

THANK YOU for this information.

This does narrow it down some but I'll research a bit more given discrepancies on my Dad's discharge papers.

Below is photo showing the shoulder patch for the gentleman in the middle and my Dad (right). Looking at these closely, the patches appear to be the same.

I've added the date my father had written on the back of the photo but most likely this was taken summer '45.

OK, those patches are rank insignia, specifically Technician Fifth Grade. I looked up your father on Findagrave.com, and he's listed as a T/4, so that's consistent--he obviously got another promotion before he separated from the Army.

Technician fifth grade - Wikipedia

Technician fourth grade - Wikipedia

Francisco Samaniego Riojas (1921-1998) - Find a Grave Memorial

His unit insignia would be worn on the shoulder sleeve above his rank insignia.  You'll also see in his photos that the rank insignia will change over time, as he advanced from private to private first class to T/4.

Wikipedia says they were addressed as "corporal," so the rank was roughly the equivalent of what we now call "Specialist," or what was, during Vietnam and much of the Cold War, Specialist E-4, or "Spec-4." T/4s were addressed as "Sergeant," and would have been the equivalent of what we called "Specialist E-5, or Spec-5" during Vietnam and much of the Cold War.

Donald when I saw my father's card on Ancestry last year I found out my mom was wife three not 2 as I originally was aware. Interesting to say the least