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Re: Seeking to identify unit -- Mech. 41st Btry, 5th A.A. Sec.
Jason AtkinsonJan 23, 2020 11:15 AM (in response to Mark Thickpenny)
1 person found this helpfulDear Mr. Thickpenny,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
"MECH" is an abbreviation for the rank of “Mechanic” that was used by the Coastal Artillery Corps (to include anti-aircraft units) and the Field Artillery Corps during World War I. “41st Btry” refers to the 41st Anti-Aircraft Battery that received this designation in General Headquarters, A.E.F. General Order No. 204, Paragraph V, dated November 14, 1918. The battery was previously the Headquarters and Supply Company, 5th Anti-Aircraft Battalion. “5th A.A. Sec.” is the 5th Anti-Aircraft Sector, the unit to which the battery was assigned. The 5th Anti-Aircraft Sector was also created under the same order and was previously designated as the 5th Anti-Aircraft Battalion.We searched the National Archives Catalog and located two series titled Records of the 1st - 6th Anti-Aircraft Battalions, 1918 - 1918 and Records of the 1st - 19th Anti-Aircraft Sectors, 1917 - 1919 in the Records of the American Expeditionary Forces (World War I) (Record Group 120). We also located the record series Card File of Military Engagements of American Organizations, 1918 - 1918 in the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs (Record Group 165) which includes a file for Anti-Aircraft. For access to and/or copies of these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at Archives2reference@nara.gov.
Also, you may be interested in Archie in the A.E.F.: The Creation of the Antiaircraft Service of the United States Army, 1917-1918 by Charles Edward Kirkpatrick.
We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
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Re: Seeking to identify unit -- Mech. 41st Btry, 5th A.A. Sec.
Mark Thickpenny Jan 24, 2020 4:23 PM (in response to Jason Atkinson)Dear Mr. Atkinson,
Heartfelt thanks for your response. I very much appreciate the reference locations you shared. Over a month ago I had sent a Standard Form 180 to NARA's customer service group requesting feedback on my unit identification query and was informed on my telephone call this week to them that they had no record of my request. Frustratingly I looked back into Google Search and came across the History Hub website and joined immediately. You have generously provided me with much of the information I was seeking. Results from earlier search efforts had placed the only 41st Battery mentioned in any military roster had been in Fort Monroe, a Coastal Battery location. Mark
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