Thanks for looking...

My Grandfather was a Sgt. First Class and served during WWII in the South Pacific with the US Army, Dixie Division.

After Hurricane Katrina, I managed to salvage the American Flag that was laid over his casket at his funeral. I have made a shadow box for the folded flag and would like to put a plaque underneath it and give it to my Dad for Christmas.

The only picture and memory I have of my Grandfather is one of him with his buddies in the South Pacific. My Grandmother wrote on the back of it, "{name}Sgt First Class, U S Army, Dixie Division DD, New Guinea South Pacific"

I am assuming that "DD" is Dixie Division??

My question is this:

What (if any) abbreviations should I use, and what is the correct order to put them?

ie. name, branch, division, area, etc???

The way we do things in the Fire Department is a little different than military from what I remember.

Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance for your help and THANK YOU for what YOU do.

 

Sorry I have no answers for ya. I just had to say that pup in your sig is awesome.

 

Dixie Division was the nickname.
The official designation was 31st Infantry Division

Lacking any further info, I'd recommend

SFC John Smith 31st Infantry Division

The patch is illustrated in the upper left...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/31st_In...(United_States)

It would easy enough to have this patch reproduced as part of your tribute.

 

DD could be the company designation. Delta company. Maybe (and this is a stretch) he was in delta platoon of delta company.

But then again, I was ARMOR, so the crunchies way of doing things don't make sense to me.

For me, it would be 2/198th Armor... but most often we were referred to by our affiliation... the 155 SAB (seperate armor brigade). I've also been part of the 1/108th and I did my last two years with the 3/116th INF, but I never MOSQ as a ground pounder. I'll always be 19D.

You can always request a copy of his military service record. There's a few sites out there, but I don't believe you have to pay for anything. My dad did this for my Grandfather (his dad). Try Research in Military Records. I don't remember if this is the site my dad used or not. I do know that they sent my dad the service record and all the medals my Grandfather was awarded.


SCOUTS OUT!!!!

 

That would be a stretch. DD could mean a lot of things. D-Day (campaign?) Dixie Div. Location etc.

 

You can call or visit your local VFW post and they will be happy to help you.

 

Delta wasnt started till 1977.

 

Pretty sure DD is 'Dixie Division'.

The patch is two Ds back to back in a circle.

'Dixie Division' is a nickname like the 'Big Red One' or the 'Screaming Eagles' or the 'Leaning ****house' (mine).

 

It was just a suggestion. Pony Driver is right, DD could stand for almost anything. I just thought it odd that his grandmother put "..."{name}Sgt First Class, U S Army, Dixie Division DD, New Guinea South Pacific"..." on the back of the photo. Maybe she was just being redundant.

By the way: here is some information on the Dixie Division and the deployment to New Guinea.

Could you elaborate a little? True, in 1944, it would be "DOG", not Delta. Delta is part of the NATO phonetic alphabet which was adopted in 1956.

 

delta force wasnt founded until 1977 by Col. Beckwith, its now known as (1st SFOD-D). It was moddled after the SAS

 

X2.

Perhaps, as already suggested, you have the patch of the Dixie Div. and his rank insignia (from the era, not current) in the shadow box.

I know that'd choke me up if I received something like that from my son. Nice thought, great idea!

Semper Fi!

 

This would make a nice accompanying gift if your dad likes to read. ($55)

http://www.military.cibmedia.com/mai...uctcode=BP-31d

 

Also, the 31st is having a reunion in San Antonio April 08.
Not many remain at this age but, a Division was around 15,000 men.
The fact that your granddad was an SFC would possibly mean a greater number of guys may know of him.

I don't remember a lot of people until I hear their name.

 

LOTS of good info and ideas here fellas. Thanks for taking the time to research and help me.

I never had a chance to meet either one of my grandfathers, so this tribute to them is pretty special to me. Ever since I was a little kid I've asked questions about them both. It's amazing what you can find and read on the web.

Thanks again!

 

He was talking about a platoon in a company, not SFOD-D. There were most certainly "delta" platoons in existence during that time... Easy Company in Band of Brothers = Echo company. FWIW