How can I find WWII info on what Company and Division my grandfather was in?

Some information from the Army interwar order of battle, published by the Army University Press.

K Company would have been in the 3d Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment. Although the Regiment was stationed at Fort Benning, the 3d Battalion was stationed at Fort Sill. It was a separate infantry regiment (not assigned to a division) and served as the demonstration regiment for the Infantry School at Fort Benning (now Fort Moore).

The 38th Infantry Regiment (less 1st Battalion) was stationed at Fort Douglas Utah, with only a 2d and 3d Battalion. The 1st Battalion was activated at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on 1 May 1939 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Company B would have been part of the 1st Battalion, and typically when they activate a new battalion, they will assign personnel from other units on the installation to serve as cadre for the new unit. I suspect that both battalions were understrength until the peacetime draft started in September 1940. Oh, and the 38th Infantry Regiment was part of the 3d Infantry Division. On 12 October 1939 The Regiment was reassigned form the 3d Infantry Division to the 2d Infantry Division, which was headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

On 9 November 1939 the Regiment was transferred to Camp Bullis, Texas, which was a sub-installation of Fort Sam Houston. At the time it was "in the boonies;" it's now surrounded by expensive housing on three sides. Living conditions were probably miserable there--they are now. I've spend my fair share of time there. It's hot and dusty in the summer and cold and dusty in the winter.

On 24 February 1941 the Regiment moved from Camp Bullis to Fort Sam Houston.

As for the change between armies:

In World War II, the field armies provided logistical support to the divisions (not, as was stated, the corps--that change came in the 1970s--in World War II the corps were tactical headquarters only).

When the Normandy landings were made, the two US Corps that landed--the V and VII Corps--fell under the Control of Omar Bradley's First Army. Once the beachhead expanded, more divisions were landed, then more corps headquarters, and then the Third Army under Patton. He was in charge of the breakout from the beachhead. The British also had the Eighth Army under Montgomery, and once we got a large enough force, Courtney Hodges took command of the First Army and Bradley stood up the Twelfth Army Group. The Ninth Army landed after the Third Army did, and was generally on Patton's flank.

So an army-level support unit, like the one your grandfather was in, could easily have been under the control of the First Army early on in the landing, then been moved under Third Army, then under the Ninth Army. And if they were in support of a specific division or corps, and that division or corps was moved from one army back to another, his company could have moved back and forth as well.

So why did he go from infantryman to truck driver to air force person?

Two thoughts:

First, he might not have. Every company has people assigned to it who aren't infantry. Company clerks, the company supply clerk, etc. So he could have been one of those, and then just been reassigned. And then when he joined the Army Air Forces, he could have still been in the same specialty, just with better living conditions. Although he could have reenlisted and been retrained for something else.

Or maybe he was just so bad a shot they figured it best for all that they let him drive a truck . . . :-)

If you want to understand what his campaigns were, go to Wikipedia and look up the "European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal" and it will explain all of them. But basically:

"Normandy" was the initial landings and the fighting in the hedgerow country. That's where Cherbourg comes in. It was critical to the overall plan and took much longer to capture than they expected. And when they did capture it, the Germans had destroyed the port, which was NOT part of the plan.

"Northern France" was the Breakout and Pursuit.

"Rhineland" was the approach to the German border

"Ardennes" was the Battle of the Bulge

"Central Europe" was the fight for Germany

Eash of these campaigns covered large areas. So, for example, if your dad was in the Ninth Army during the Battle of the Bulge, he may have been holding the shoulder of the Bulge and the rest of the front line while Patton wheeled the Third Army 90 degrees to launch a counterattack.

Some information from the Army interwar order of battle, published by the Army University Press.

K Company would have been in the 3d Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment. Although the Regiment was stationed at Fort Benning, the 3d Battalion was stationed at Fort Sill. It was a separate infantry regiment (not assigned to a division) and served as the demonstration regiment for the Infantry School at Fort Benning (now Fort Moore).

The 38th Infantry Regiment (less 1st Battalion) was stationed at Fort Douglas Utah, with only a 2d and 3d Battalion. The 1st Battalion was activated at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on 1 May 1939 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Company B would have been part of the 1st Battalion, and typically when they activate a new battalion, they will assign personnel from other units on the installation to serve as cadre for the new unit. I suspect that both battalions were understrength until the peacetime draft started in September 1940. Oh, and the 38th Infantry Regiment was part of the 3d Infantry Division. On 12 October 1939 The Regiment was reassigned form the 3d Infantry Division to the 2d Infantry Division, which was headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

On 9 November 1939 the Regiment was transferred to Camp Bullis, Texas, which was a sub-installation of Fort Sam Houston. At the time it was "in the boonies;" it's now surrounded by expensive housing on three sides. Living conditions were probably miserable there--they are now. I've spend my fair share of time there. It's hot and dusty in the summer and cold and dusty in the winter.

On 24 February 1941 the Regiment moved from Camp Bullis to Fort Sam Houston.

As for the change between armies:

In World War II, the field armies provided logistical support to the divisions (not, as was stated, the corps--that change came in the 1970s--in World War II the corps were tactical headquarters only).

When the Normandy landings were made, the two US Corps that landed--the V and VII Corps--fell under the Control of Omar Bradley's First Army. Once the beachhead expanded, more divisions were landed, then more corps headquarters, and then the Third Army under Patton. He was in charge of the breakout from the beachhead. The British also had the Eighth Army under Montgomery, and once we got a large enough force, Courtney Hodges took command of the First Army and Bradley stood up the Twelfth Army Group. The Ninth Army landed after the Third Army did, and was generally on Patton's flank.

So an army-level support unit, like the one your grandfather was in, could easily have been under the control of the First Army early on in the landing, then been moved under Third Army, then under the Ninth Army. And if they were in support of a specific division or corps, and that division or corps was moved from one army back to another, his company could have moved back and forth as well.

So why did he go from infantryman to truck driver to air force person?

Two thoughts:

First, he might not have. Every company has people assigned to it who aren't infantry. Company clerks, the company supply clerk, etc. So he could have been one of those, and then just been reassigned. And then when he joined the Army Air Forces, he could have still been in the same specialty, just with better living conditions. Although he could have reenlisted and been retrained for something else.

Or maybe he was just so bad a shot they figured it best for all that they let him drive a truck . . . :-)

If you want to understand what his campaigns were, go to Wikipedia and look up the "European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal" and it will explain all of them. But basically:

"Normandy" was the initial landings and the fighting in the hedgerow country. That's where Cherbourg comes in. It was critical to the overall plan and took much longer to capture than they expected. And when they did capture it, the Germans had destroyed the port, which was NOT part of the plan.

"Northern France" was the Breakout and Pursuit.

"Rhineland" was the approach to the German border

"Ardennes" was the Battle of the Bulge

"Central Europe" was the fight for Germany

Eash of these campaigns covered large areas. So, for example, if your dad was in the Ninth Army during the Battle of the Bulge, he may have been holding the shoulder of the Bulge and the rest of the front line while Patton wheeled the Third Army 90 degrees to launch a counterattack.