I am looking for information on Staff Sergeant Mariano Sierras Ferra born in Tucson on April 29, 1915. He participated in the operation in Normandy with the 326 aeb where he was wounded. And then reappears during the Battle of the Bulge where he was killed on December 23, 1944. He is known for the photos taken with the Filthy Thirteen on June 5, 1944. But I am mainly looking for period documents on his admission to the hospital to find the date of his injuries or any other document where he could appear which could make it possible to retrace his war. From his enlistment to his death.
As this website is primarily concerned with British & Commonwealth forces in WW2, it is unlikely that we can help. We have a "cousin" site in the USA: WWII Forums If you need more help try: WW2 Casualties Database | Military Records Research | WW2 Research Inc
First name(s) Mariano S M Last name Ferra Race White Birth year 1915 Marital status Single, without dependents Enlistment year 1941 Enlistment month Jun Enlistment day 03 Enlistment place Los Angeles California Branch Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers Grade Private Soldier Number 39158844 Occupation Carpenters apprentices Education Fourth Year of High School Resident county - Resident state California Country United States Source Civil Life Record set World War II Army Enlistment Records Category Military, armed forces & conflict Subcategory Second World War Collections from Americas, United States No other information available.
There is reason to doubt that the photos and the movie reel were made on June 5th. The scenes were obviously staged for publicity and this may have been done on the previous day. Faces were daubed with wet paint taken from the black and white invasion stripes on the C-47 transport. It seems unlikely that stripes were applied to the aircraft on the same day of the jump. None of the men that appear in the pictures had the high visibility neckties that were seen in the staging areas on the day of the jump. It was normal for paratroopers to blacken faces for a night jump, and if the Filthy Thirteen did that it would have marred and covered their face paint. Four years ago I posted some of the relevant pictures in the sister forum, although I have no documents to add. http://www.ww2f.com/threads/326th-airborne-engineers-101st-airborne-in-normandy.72085/#post-835371
