WAAAAY OT: Need army research help

[Guest guest]

I sent this a couple days ago and haven't seen it so I'm posting

again......

 

 

Butch (and any others in the know),

 

I just came back from vacation spent with my dad for his 85th

birthday. I learned so much that I didn't already know about his

years in the service. But (being 65+ years ago) he can't remember

quite a few of the details. I would like to do some research for him

(and for me) about the campaigns he was in as well as any other

information I can find. So my question is: Where do I start? He

was in the 145 Field Artillery Battalion, that, for most of his time,

was called the Little Orphan Annie Unit because it wasn't attached to

a division. This unit would just go where it was needed. They

received many commendations and were known for their accuracy. He

served in the pacific, on the islands of Kwajalein, Tinnian, Saipan,

and eventually on Okinawa. He received the Bronze star for his work

in developing a system of communication between the gunner sergeant

and the gunners as well as " fixing " the radio system on the

observation planes to extend past 1 mile up to 12 miles. (Excuse me

if I use any of the words wrong, because of my Dad's service—and

many others'-- I live(d) in a time when all these words weren't used

very often, at least outside of the military) I know you are

supposed to tell which campaign a person was in by the ribbons, so is

there a way for non-military personnel to research this out? Anyway,

ANY direction you could point me would be appreciated.

 

 

 

Karen J

[Guest guest]

Here ya go Karen,

 

Must've missed Butch's response

 

Happy b-day to your dad!

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

 

 

 

Butch Owen [butchbsi]

Wednesday, December 03, 2003 7:34 PM

 

WAAAAY OT: Need Army Research Help

 

 

Hey Karen,

 

> Butch (and any others in the know),

>

> I just came back from vacation spent with my dad for his 85th

birthday.

 

Happy birthday to the old soldier. :-P

 

> I learned so much that I didn't already know about his years in the

> service. But (being 65+ years ago) he can't remember quite a few of

> the details. I would like to do some research for him (and for me)

> about the campaigns he was in as well as any other information I can

> find. So my question is: Where do I start? He was in the 145 Field

> Artillery Battalion, that, for most of his time, was called the Little

> Orphan Annie Unit because it wasn't attached to a division. This unit

 

> would just go where it was needed. They received many commendations

> and were known for their accuracy. He served in the pacific, on the

> islands of Kwajalein, Tinnian, Saipan, and eventually on Okinawa. He

> received the Bronze star for his work in developing a system of

> communication between the gunner sergeant and the gunners as well as

> " fixing " the radio system on the observation planes to extend past 1

> miile up to 12 miles. (Excuse me if I use any of the words wrong,

> because of my Dad's service-and many others'-- I live(d) in a time

> when all these words weren't used very often, at least outside of the

> military) I know you are supposed to tell which campaign a person was

> in by the ribbons, so is there a way for non-military personnel to

> research this out? Anyway, ANY directionyou could point me would be

> appreciated.

 

First .. I am sure his Bronze Star was awarded for combat heroism .. not

for meritorious achievement .. maybe he has forgotten this.

 

Second .. do a google search .. and start here ..

 

http://www.google.com.tr/search?q=145+Field+Artillery+Battalion

<http://www.google.com.tr/search?q=145+Field+Artillery+Battalion & ie=ISO-

8859-9 & hl=tr & btnG=Google%27da+Ara & meta=>

& ie=ISO-8859-9 & hl=tr & btnG=Google%27da+Ara & meta=

 

You gotta highlight and paste if you want to use it .. but you can also

just go to http://www.google.com and type in 145 Artillery Battalion.

 

And finally .. tell your Pappy I salute him. :-)

 

> Karen J

 

Y'all keep smiling. Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thanks Chris and Butch. I guess I'm not getting all my mail.

 

First .. I am sure his Bronze Star was awarded for combat heroism .. not

for meritorious achievement .. maybe he has forgotten this.

 

I don't really know anything about this except the letter of citation

says

" For meritorious service in connection with military operations against

the enemy from 2 April 1945 to 22 June 1945, at Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.

As communications chief of an artillery battalion Sergeant Nielson

displayed unusual resourcefulness and ingenuity in establishing and

maintaining signal communications under extremely difficult and trying

conditions throughout the campaign. He kept abreast of the tactical

situation at all times and correctly evaluated and anticipated the need

for additional wire circuits to meet changes in the situation. He

cleverly utilized abandoned lines along the axis of signal communication

and installed alternate lines to adjacent units, thus making available a

more flexible and more reliable system of wire communications. On one

occasion when his battalion was given a new mission of supporting an

infantry division on short notice, his foresight in planning and his

forceful leadership resulted in the establishment of a six-mile wire

system over difficult terrain in less than two hours. His outstanding

performance of duty during the entire operation was a constant source of

inspiration to his men and contributed materially to the successful

employment of the battalion in the campaign. "

 

I have already done a search on google and didn't come up with much,

most of it was linked with the Korean war. I was looking for places

non-internet related (or at least something that wouldn't come up in a

regular search).

 

And maybe more interesting to me right now is how to figure out which

campaigns a person was in by looking at his ribbons.

Thanks for all your help!!

Karen J