Son of a 393d Engineer S.S. vet

[Adamitis]

I am trying to find out about my father's military service. My children and grandchildren have asked questions I cannot answer about his military duties during WW II. Dad would rarely speak of the war.

His name was James E. Phillips from San Diego California army serial number 39282202 on his separation paperwork is JAMES E. PHILLIPS 39 282 202 Technician Fourth Grade 393d Engineer Special Services Regiment. He separated at Camp Clairborne Louisiana 13 November 1945.

He is listed in the roster of the burgundy book of the 393d that I have seen on line. I also believe in the picture of Company "C" he is in the front row all the way to the end of the row on the viewer's right. I have the jacket they are all wearing hanging in my closet, it was dad's jacket. I am just starting my search so in advice or info would be appreciated.

Thank you

Jack Phillips

[buk2112]

Welcome to the forum Jack, glad to have you aboard! Here are a couple of things that might get you started. Look at box #30 on your father's discharge paper entitled "Military Occupational Specialty and No.". This would be his job title and code number for that particular job. You can look that up on the following link to get a description for what his duties would have been within the unit.

 

https://militaryyearbookproject.com/references/old-mos-codes/wwii-era/usmc-wwii-codes/artillery/596-heavy-antiaircraft-fire-control-man

 

Here is a link to a thread on this forum about the 393rd that I think you'll find some interesting reading.

 

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/engforum/index.php?showtopic=6537

 

 

Hope this has helped you some, I'm sure others will chime in with more suggestions. Good luck with your search Jack!

 

Randy

[Walt's Daughter]

Sure appreciate your help Randy!

 

Welcome to the forum, Jack. It's so cool that you still have his jacket. Wish I had my father's, but my mom got rid of a lot of his things, including his German officer's sword and his Luger, both treasured items that he brought back. I have many fond memories of them as a child and the stories that went along with them.

[itsnotyou]

Thank you for the replies. Dad was an Automotive Mechanic 014, I am trying to figure out what the second echelon part means. Dad told me he was part of the engineers because he knew about cars and was building hotrods when he went into military service.

I am trying to figure out if the 39 282 202 after his name has any real meaning.

The things I remember was, he went overseas on an English ship and ended up in "Buzz Bomb Alley".

He told me about being on the front lines and building bridges under fire. They had received orders to go to the south pacific two weeks before the war ended.

Most of these short conversations were when we were watching "World at War" and happened more than 40 years ago so I cannot fully remember.

Most of the patches that were in dads stuff have disappeared. I remember a triangular patch with a lighting bolt and a number, a round patch that reminded me of a flower then the blue patch with an eagle sitting on a machine gun that was on his jacket.

 

Jack

[buk2112]

Thank you for the replies. Dad was an Automotive Mechanic 014, I am trying to figure out what the second echelon part means. Dad told me he was part of the engineers because he knew about cars and was building hotrods when he went into military service.

I am trying to figure out if the 39 282 202 after his name has any real meaning.

The things I remember was, he went overseas on an English ship and ended up in "Buzz Bomb Alley".

He told me about being on the front lines and building bridges under fire. They had received orders to go to the south pacific two weeks before the war ended.

Most of these short conversations were when we were watching "World at War" and happened more than 40 years ago so I cannot fully remember.

Most of the patches that were in dads stuff have disappeared. I remember a triangular patch with a lighting bolt and a number, a round patch that reminded me of a flower then the blue patch with an eagle sitting on a machine gun that was on his jacket.

 

Jack

 

 

Hello Jack,

 

If the 014 is what you are referring to as the "second echelon part", that is just the code number for that particular MOS (Military Occupational Specialty). The 39282202 number you are wondering about is his Army Serial Number (ASN). The first two digits do have a specific designation.

 

The first digit means:

 

1 = Volunteer

2= National Guard

3= Draftee

4= Draftee

 

Your dad's is a 3 which means he was drafted into service. The second digit is for the enlistment zone (also referred to as "Corps Area"), the Army divided the country into 9 enlistment zones based upon population density. California was within enlistment number 9, your father's second number. The rest of the digits were just the next in sequence to be assigned. Here is a link to give you some more detail about Army Serial Numbers.

 

http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/engforum/index.php?showtopic=4555

 

The 393rd probably would have been assigned to a Division or Corps, and also to an Army. It would have been the patches from these "parent" organizations that he would have wore. I did a quick search on the 393rd but could not readily find which parent organizations it may have belonged to. The triangular patch you mention perfectly describes the patches worn by the Armored Divisions. They were all the same except for their respective division number, and some had their mottos added across the bottom.

 

2nd Armored Division patch 4th Armored Division patch

 

There are a number of circular patches with flower type designs in them, if we can determine the parent organizations, we will know which patches. The blue patch with the eagle and machine gun might take a bit more digging. Have a good one!

 

Randy

[itsnotyou]

Randy thanks for the reply.

Sometimes we just miss the obvious. That is his army serial number with spaces between the numbers. I must be getting old. The patches you show look like what I remember. I did find the blue patch with the eagle on the machine gun. It was the "Engineer Special Brigade" patch.

[itsnotyou]

We found something interesting today it Dad's stuff. It is a 8" X 10" portrait of Lieutenant Colonel James J. Kinsella sent by dads uncle, John Phillips in Ohio to Dad or my grandfather. Dad and grandpa have the same name but the address did not specify Sr. or Jr. and the postmark is missing so we are unsure of the date. On the back is James Kinsella's address in La Mesa, Ca. and his home phone number(It was a Heartland Number before area codes) James Kinsella was a WWII flying ace.

 

It just so happens that my wife went to school with his grandchildren, and they confirmed it is the same picture they have of their grandfather. But both their father and grandfather have passed away, so they have no one to ask about this.

 

I just seem to find more mysteries but few answers.

We are trying to figure out if he was a family friend, or maybe a shirt tail relative?

[Walt's Daughter]

Really interesting, but as you state, sometimes the more you discover, the more questions you have. You look at everything and say, there must be a way to tie this altogether.

 

Feel free to post any images or docs that you may have.

[itsnotyou]

Not sure how to post pictures on this site. Is there a tutorial on how to post pictures?

[Walt's Daughter]

Yup, in our help section, but it's very easy. When you start a post, look down on the lower right of said post. There's a button that says, MORE REPLY OPTIONS. That gives you the ability to upload images. It will bring up a box on the lower left of post, that says, "ATTACH FILES".