Posted on 03/25/2012 6:40:17 PM PDT by gop4lyf
I went to a family reunion today and came away with some pictures and an artifact of my granddad's WWII service. If at all possible, I would like some help identifying the following two things...
Don’t know why but I assumed it was a “W”. To another question above, I think it is strange that if it is WWI trench art then how did my grandad come across it in WWII?
I have a son who studies Greek, so my first thought was Sigma. The cross is also in a common Eastern Christian shape. It’s just a thought ... but troops were moved around a lot in WW2, and your father might have picked up an artifact from the eastern Mediterranean theater in Western Europe, if a unit had been in both.
As to the possibility of its being a WWI piece, perhaps he found it in a shop in France, or crossed paths with a French veteran of the Great War, or another American who was a collector. I was surprised, in some recent reading about the Normandy invasion, at how much contact individual American troops had with French civilians.
.I think it is the 1st Cav division recon troop under the recon brigade.....see here....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cavalry_Division_1_November_1940.jpg
1st cav div was in the pacific
“Waffen”? [but I believe the Waffen was the SS, not related (other than national origina) to the Iron Cross
“Wehrmacht”?
Tell you what, if you got hit with that piece of shrapnel it would rip your insides out with extreme prejudice.
“Waffen’’ simply means ‘’weapon’’ in German. The Waffen SS were fully functioning fighting divisions in WW2 formed always as panzer(tank) units.
Or, perhaps, he got it from a German veteran of WWI who later fought in WWII, either alive,or not. No way of really knowing...
the infowarrior
Possibly. There were some on both sides who fought in both wars. The historian Michael Burleigh considers the two World Wars to be a single unit, "The Second 40-Years War."
Sort of my thought except the use is the tip of a flag staff, guideon
The letter is a "W" representing Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia.
The Royal Cypher of the King of Prussia was used on the 1815, 1870 and 1914 versions of the Iron Cross:
1813 version with the Royal Cypher of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia:
1870 Version with the Royal Cypher of King Wilhelm I of Prussia (Later also the German Emperor):
1914 Version with the Imperial and Royal Cypher of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia:
I saw some of those when trying to figure out what the “W” meant, but the “font” if you will is totally different. I think that it is an incredibly interesting piece.
Just wondering if anyone had come up with any further info.
I stopped when I saw the trench art (Google search shows a lot of similar items)...
It was a fun and educational search though.. These are some of the more enjoyable FR threads.
Do you have a copy or the original service record of your grandfathers? That would show what unit he served with and where he saw combat/and/or service. If you don’t do you have any info on what unit he served with? That would go a long way to helping get the info you want.
good point....1st ID was in the European theater no?
No, but I have found a number that is identified as his serial number. Serial to what, I don’t know. It’s 38137940, but I have no idea how military ID numbers work.
I now think it is the 1st Infantry Divisions cav recon troop guidon.
I heard recently that DD214’s are now available online?
Go to the link provided to me by ‘’Superfries’’. Your grandfathers serial number is the key to finding out who and what unit he served with— it’s the ‘’key to the kingdom’’ as it were.
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