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Help deciphering Grandfather's Army Record's serving in World War two/Sicily, Italy, North Africa ETC

BronxBull24

Grandfather's Army papers just came. Trying to find more info/specifics if there is any, in regards to what units or groupings he was with.

Name: Salvatore Ralph Canzone.
For organization it says "1262nd SCU" which I could not find much info on. He departed Fort Dix on April 3rd, 1943 for the MTO and arrived there on May 4th 1943. Left there on Aug 17th 1945 and arrived here on the 28th of August, 1945.

Says he was a medical tech 409. Battles and Campaigns: Naples-Foggia, North Appennines, Po Valley, Rome-Arno, Sicily, GO 33 WD 45 As Amended.

Crazy to me he did all this in his early 20's, (fighting in the country/area his parents were from) came home and got a regular job like so many of his generation. I compare that to my generation and being 10 years older and would very much like to learn more and while reading about the invasion of Sicily (I am a history buff but my focus as of late has been the Eastern Front) it would be nice to know more about specific units and factions and have a better idea of what the war was like for him. 

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you very much

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  • 0

    Hello,

    The 1262nd Service Command Unit (an administrative unit) was likely based in the NY, NJ or Delaware area (possibly Ft Jay, NY). My assumption is that this was the last unit that he was assigned to before discharge, but not the unit(s) he served with in the MTO/Italy. 

    Have you seen any other units mentioned in his documents?

    Dan

  • 0 in reply to DanielMcKone

    Hello Dan, I was going through photos and saw that he had a "II Corps" patch on his shoulder. This would line up with the battles listed on his discharge papers (Naples-Foggia, North Appennines, Po Valley, Rome-Arno, Sicily) 

    Beyond that, I have not been able to find any more specifics but hoping someone might have a suggestion or a way to investigate further. Thank you everyone for your time and assistance. 

  • 0 in reply to BronxBull24

    Hello,

    That lines up with what I was thinking. Because of his campaigns/locations, I think you can rule out him having been assigned to a particular infantry division’s organic medical battalion; plus, very importantly, the patch suggests that he was assigned to a corps level medical unit, e.g. the 54th Medical Battalion (Separate) or possibly a field hospital, etc.Unfortunately, it seems like detailed information on many of these units is hard to find.

    A more detailed explanation of his MOS, which seems it could have found him in a variety of medical unit types, can be found here:

    https://www.med-dept.com/articles/ww2-medical-mos-definitions/

    information on locations in the USA where he may have done his training found here:

    www.med-dept.com/.../

    I’ll see what else I can dig up.

    Dan

  • 0 in reply to DanielMcKone

    Thank you so much Sir, 

    I have been doing non stop digging and reading and actually the example you gave of the 54th Medical Battalion was something I jotted down. I have been reading about each battle that was listed on his papers, (Naples-Foggia, North Appennines, Po Valley, Rome-Arno, Sicily) and trying to find common denominator's among them just in case that leads to something. All my mom knew was and I quote "he would mention being under Patton" (she was a young when he passed) I have tried to find as much info as I could, from what troop ship may have taken him on April 3rd of 1943, and having my sons watch/read about these battles because the thought of this being forgotten made me upset. Can't imagine being 19 and leaving Brooklyn to invade Sicily, the place your parents immigrated from, come home, become a mailman. Really the greatest generation and reminds me to not be a cliché 90s baby and complain about trivial stuff. 

    Anyway

    This was in one of the 5th army files I was reading. 

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