Forums - Thread Details
  • State Selected Answer
  • Replies 6 replies
  • Answers 2 answers
  • Subscribers 16 subscribers
  • Views 3696 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Thread Options
Options
Related

african american infantry divisions in wwii

Dale Nunnery

How can I find out the african american infantry divisions in wwii that my Father served under? Thank you and I await your response.

  • 0

    Hello Dale, I am one of the volunteers here. There were only two infantry divisions that were mostly composed of African American soldiers. They were the 92nd that fought in Italy and the 93rd sent to New Guinea.  However, there were many smaller units, including the 366th and 369th infantry battalions.  Many inductees were assigned to lower-echelon Companies of men attached to "mixed" regiments and battalions, and a few individuals were assigned as aides to high-ranking officers. However, the majority of African Americans were utilized as non-combat service troops (supply, transportation, construction, laundry, etc) instead of being employed in combat organizations. Finding out exactly which unit(s) your father served with will require a lot of effort on your part. Your search should begin with personnel records archived in St. Louis. Here is an information page: https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/military-personnel Good luck with your qest.  

  • +1

    Do you have a picture of him in his dress uniform, by any chance? Both had distinctive shoulder patches--and if he had a shoulder patch from one of the field armies, it would help narrow things down as well. Or if you have his ribbons, etc.

  • 0 in reply to Donald Hall

    Thank you for your response and invaluable information. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo (but will keep searching and asking Family members).

    What I do have is the following

    [his name]
    was a Private First Class, in the U.S. Army,
    Where he served from July 26, 1943  to  March 18, 1946 
    He received Infantry Basic Training and became a Duty Soldier III, then Handler and separated as a Salvage Technician.
    He served in the European and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters of Operations
    He separated from the Army at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas
  • 0 in reply to Donald Hall
    Thank you for your response and invaluable information. Unfortunately, I do not have a photo.
    What I do have is from his Discharge document:
    [name]
    was a Private First Class, in the U.S. Army,
    Where he served from July 26, 1943  to  March 18, 1946 
    He received Infantry Basic Training and became a Duty Soldier III, then Handler and separated as a Salvage Technician.
    He served in the European and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters of Operations
    He separated from the Army at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas
  • 0

    Hello  

    Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!

    To get started with your research, we would recommend that you request his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). In general, OMPFs for military personnel who were separated from the service between 1912 and 1999 are serviced by NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. In many cases where personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire, proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders.

    Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. Please note that next of kin of a deceased veteran must provide proof of death of the veteran such as a copy of death certificate, letter from funeral home, or published obituary. For more information see Request Military Service Records.

    You may also complete a GSA Standard Form 180 and mail it to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002.  If there is any information requested by the form that you do not know, you may omit it or provide estimates (such as for dates), but the more information you provide, the easier it will be to locate the correct file. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF).

    Archival OMPFs, those that are 62 years and older, may also be requested by visiting the Archival Research Room at the National Archives at St. Louis. Please email stlarr.archives@nara.gov for further assistance prior to making an appointment.

    We hope this helps with your research!

  • 0 in reply to Dale Nunnery

    Sorry, I must have missed your post four months ago. If you have his discharge papers, what dates did he serve overseas, and what campaigns did he participate in? The 92nd fought in Italy, for example, so if he has campaigns that show he served in France, then we know he didn't serve in the 92nd at all.

    The 92d Infantry Division served in Europe and the 93d served in the Pacific, but as was noted earlier, he may not have served in either of them--or even as an infantryman, unless one of his awards is a Combat Infantryman Badge.

    Even the unit he was serving in when he was discharged could provide some useful information, if we can trace its lineage. It's possible he deployed to Europe with it, then deployed to the Pacific in preparation for the invasion of Japan. The dates and campaigns he participated in will tell us that.