Uncle's military history Piecing Together

[captain]

I don't think it was a qual patch, at that point he was qualified for just about everything.... he had 4 years in Germany doing everything from Mountaineering to HELO jumps to nuclear ordinance to well hell you name it...

That patch has changed over time and I'm trying to just get it right....

 

[BigBSBusa]

First of all let me say this... Thank you for your service when called, I'm not going to say if it was good or bad but you served and the conditions were terrifying. So thank you for your time in country but also Thank You and your family for what you carry with you every day, men don't just come home and leave all that at the airport.

I have been struggling putting his story together to tell his story for him, his training, units he served with etc because his records were burned in the fire so IO have been piecing things together. As I mentioned in the beginning of this thread my mom threw down a picture album a few months ago with a treasure trove of pics that I was able to use of unit emblems etc, but also was some paperwork and I've been leveraging those docs too.

Last week my mom says hey you need to come up and get Jerry's trunks. I said whut? When he died the Army sent all of his stuff back in 2 military trunks, my grandparents shoved them in a closet and that's where they stayed for 40 years. When they died my mom picked them up and she moved them to her house where she shoved them into a closet for another 29 years....... I picked them up last night and man oh man... the first person to open those trunks in right at 60 years...

So I need some help,

Knowing that my uncle was one of the original LRRP's VII Corps in Nellingen Germany that was redesignated as Company C (LRP),58th Infantry (Airborne) on 5 May 1965 a few months before he deployed to Vietnam.

His class A uniforms have this patch on them, depending on the year it could be several things but from your experience what would you expect that to be Expert Parachutist, or 1st Cav or what?

View attachment 1690303

Doug - this is the VII Corps LRP Regimental Oval worn underneath the Airborne Tab on dress uniforms. When assigned to a unit that performs airborne operations, the Airborne Tab is worn embedded in this oval. When assigned to non-Airborne units, the Airborne Tab is worn without the oval. It may be the 58th Infantry Regiment, but cannot confirm.

 

[captain]

Doug - this is the VII Corps LRP Regimental Oval worn underneath the Airborne Tab on dress uniforms. When assigned to a unit that performs airborne operations, the Airborne Tab is worn embedded in this oval. When assigned to non-Airborne units, the Airborne Tab is worn without the oval. It may be the 58th Infantry Regiment, but cannot confirm.

And just like that Co. C (LRP) 58 th Inf. 1966 (LRRP CD)

 

[captain]

And just like that Co. C (LRP) 58 th Inf. 1966 (LRRP CD)

Okay so this is from the VII Corps history page... Which absolutely aligns with other patches and pictures we have of him in about 1962... There must have been a transition between the VII Corps 58th Infantry and the 173rd Airborne he was reassigned to, weird... OR they changed to that yellow patch instead of the VII Corps and he just never wore his class A with the 173rd when he was in vietnam which I would think is a pretty good likely hood.

He was a Jayhawk first

I love you guys...

 

[BigBSBusa]

On 15 May 1965, Company C, 58th Infantry was activated in Germany at Nellingen, Germany, by HQ USAREUR General Order 127, 11 May 1965, under the provisions of TOE 7-157E (Infantry Long Range Patrol Company). The order assigned the company to the Seventh Army. HQ Seventh Army General Order 87, 3 August 1965, further assigned the company to VII Corps.

 

[BigBSBusa]

From what I can find, there was no re-assignment of C-58th Infantry to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. It was likely just a personnel move from C-58th Infantry to the 173d due to personnel losses or some other human resource action.

 

[captain]

From what I can find, there was no re-assignment of C-58th Infantry to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. It was likely just a personnel move from C-58th Infantry to the 173d due to personnel losses or some other human resource action.

You are correct sir, Jerry volunteered to go to Vietnam and was reassigned to the 173rd Airborne in Aug of 1965 where he served as a radio operator in a LRRP unit.

 

[BigBSBusa]

You are correct sir, Jerry volunteered to go to Vietnam and was reassigned to the 173rd Airborne in Aug of 1965 where he served as a radio operator in a LRRP unit.

In 1965, the 173d Airborne Brigade became the first major unit of the United States Army to serve in Vietnam.

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

You are correct sir, Jerry volunteered to go to Vietnam and was reassigned to the 173rd Airborne in Aug of 1965 where he served as a radio operator in a LRRP unit.

During his first tour when my brother wore a Specialist patch (Spec4?) he was also an operator for a LRRP unit. He was an E5 when he came home in 66. Lots of folks crossed paths over there.

 

[BigBSBusa]

Would really need to see his DD214 to confirm, but it sounds like your uncle did all of the training with his home unit, C-58th Infantry (LRP), VII Corps, and volunteered to go to Vietnam which resulted in a temporary duty assignment to the 173d Airborne Brigade. In this case, C-58th Infantry would still have been his home unit and the notation of assignment to Co. C (LRP) 58 th Inf. 1966 (LRRP CD) upon his passing. Lots of things that can play into that notation.

 

[Bumblebee]

My cousin was in the 'Nam with the Wolfhounds (27th Infantry) out of Hawaii...I think he went there in '64.....

He was a character......it took him years to get covered for Agent Orange exposure and before he even got his first cheque, he died...

He told me they all had a big briefing about avoiding VD so he said as any good soldier, he went out and picked it up and got into the books as one of the first US soldiers exposed to VD.....he was pretty proud of that....

 

[captain]

Would really need to see his DD214 to confirm, but it sounds like your uncle did all of the training with his home unit, C-58th Infantry (LRP), VII Corps, and volunteered to go to Vietnam which resulted in a temporary duty assignment to the 173d Airborne Brigade. In this case, C-58th Infantry would still have been his home unit and the notation of assignment to Co. C (LRP) 58 th Inf. 1966 (LRRP CD) upon his passing. Lots of things that can play into that notation.

Well, you might think that but is listed as being with the 173rd as a Sky Soldier and in this investigation we uncovered the 173rd memorial in Georgia where he is listed there...

173rd Airborne Brigade Memorial | Sky Solders Memorial

The 173rd Airborne Brigade Memorial pays tribute to those Sky Soldiers who fell in combat while defending freedom. The Memorial is also dedicated to the families of the fallen Sky Soldiers and commemorates the distinguished and valorous record of all who have served in this Brigade.

www.173dairbornememorial.org

 

[TallTom]

My cousin was in the 'Nam with the Wolfhounds (27th Infantry) out of Hawaii...I think he went there in '64.....

He was a character......it took him years to get covered for Agent Orange exposure and before he even got his first cheque, he died...

He told me they all had a big briefing about avoiding VD so he said as any good soldier, he went out and picked it up and got into the books as one of the first US soldiers exposed to VD.....he was pretty proud of that....

I transported until he passed, an army veteran that was sent there in 63. Before we were officially there. Sent to Laos I think it was. He got exposed to AO frequently in his deployment there and like your cousin, it took him years to finally get the healthcare he needed. He got like 57 years of back pay!

None of these guys were volunteers!

 

[captain]

Super surprise last night...

I reached out a little over a week ago to someone that I was pretty confident had a connection to Jerry. That gentleman reached out to me and said yep, I knew him. He said everyone around that time in that area knew "Red". He gave me a name of another soldier that had missions with Jerry and said he had already made contact with him and I should email him. I sent a long detailed email to that contact and I will be danged if he didn't respond via email the same day. He asked for my phone number and said he would call me on the next day.

I got a call from a radio operator in the same unit my uncle was in for a short time last night, a day early! He couldn't wait........ He said he had just one other direct mission with Jerry outside of the one he was killed, but he was there. He gave me some incredible insights on March 16th. You can read about that firefight and get an idea but to hear him talk and tell his story was a lot for me to take in. We knew all the tactical details about that day, we have the maps, the hindsight of what occurred and we've heard from Alfred V. Rascon on his experience from the recordings when he got the CMH but to have a conversation with a guy that knew Jerry and was there, overwhelming to have that opportunity.

The man I spoke with was 79 now, has a SUPER HEAVY New Jersey accent but now lives in Florida, go figure , he was so welcoming and appreciative for what we are doing and so willing to share and answer questions it just took me by surprise. He told me that my letter was making it's rounds to "All the fellas" which almost made me cry, apparently that platoon of recon and commo teams still have reunions and communicate.

When I told him that we didn't know anything about Rascon or the details of the firefight, Operation Silver City or any of it until very just a few weeks ago he was shocked. I told him that for the past 60 years we have been in the dark but the light is coming and the sun is rising and the truth is revealing itself.

I think in all of this what is personally bothering me the most, in my own home I have had a 29 x 37 shadow box that was built so many years ago that my mother had made. She used the information she had at the time but the patches are wrong, medals are incomplete and the story is just wrong and that for me is just unacceptable and as his namesake I just have to fix this. His name, his memory, his service, his family will not forget who he was and what he did for us.

It's getting really good, thank you all for the input, guidance, PM's and public information you have been providing. You guys in the military are invaluable. You just understand the lingo and what is normal for you is like talking to a woman for me ( YOU HAVE TO GET THAT COMPARISON ).

More to come...

Cap

 

[BigBSBusa]

Super surprise last night...

I reached out a little over a week ago to someone that I was pretty confident had a connection to Jerry. That gentleman reached out to me and said yep, I knew him. He said everyone around that time in that area knew "Red". He gave me a name of another soldier that had missions with Jerry and said he had already made contact with him and I should email him. I sent a long detailed email to that contact and I will be danged if he didn't respond via email the same day. He asked for my phone number and said he would call me on the next day.

I got a call from a radio operator in the same unit my uncle was in for a short time last night, a day early! He couldn't wait........ He said he had just one other direct mission with Jerry outside of the one he was killed, but he was there. He gave me some incredible insights on March 16th. You can read about that firefight and get an idea but to hear him talk and tell his story was a lot for me to take in. We knew all the tactical details about that day, we have the maps, the hindsight of what occurred and we've heard from Alfred V. Rascon on his experience from the recordings when he got the CMH but to have a conversation with a guy that knew Jerry and was there, overwhelming to have that opportunity.

The man I spoke with was 79 now, has a SUPER HEAVY New Jersey accent but now lives in Florida, go figure , he was so welcoming and appreciative for what we are doing and so willing to share and answer questions it just took me by surprise. He told me that my letter was making it's rounds to "All the fellas" which almost made me cry, apparently that platoon of recon and commo teams still have reunions and communicate.

When I told him that we didn't know anything about Rascon or the details of the firefight, Operation Silver City or any of it until very just a few weeks ago he was shocked. I told him that for the past 60 years we have been in the dark but the light is coming and the sun is rising and the truth is revealing itself.

I think in all of this what is personally bothering me the most, in my own home I have had a 29 x 37 shadow box that was built so many years ago that my mother had made. She used the information she had at the time but the patches are wrong, medals are incomplete and the story is just wrong and that for me is just unacceptable and as his namesake I just have to fix this. His name, his memory, his service, his family will not forget who he was and what he did for us.

It's getting really good, thank you all for the input, guidance, PM's and public information you have been providing. You guys in the military are invaluable. You just understand the lingo and what is normal for you is like talking to a woman for me ( YOU HAVE TO GET THAT COMPARISON ).

More to come...

Cap

That's awesome, Cap! It is impossible to get the whole of any of these stories without talking to those on the ground. The echelons above do what they can to ease pain and minimize fallback. The true story always lies within.