US Army - 116th Field Artillery

Discussion in 'US Units' started by ph0ebus, Jun 26, 2009.

  1. ph0ebus

    ph0ebus Junior Member

    Hi all,

    I am a new member to this forum and look forward to many interesting discussions. My interest in joining is research into the wartime experiences of several members of my family, whose basic information is in my signature below. I was hoping by starting by asking if anyone knows where to locate a unit diary for the 116th Field Artillery, US Army? My father, Hans Stern, whose picture is my avatar, served with them in WWII in the Phillipines and i know very little about his experiences overseas. I know he volunteered, started out as a pribvate and left the service as a Sergeant, and received the Phillipines Liberation ribbon, the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, the WWII Victory Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. You can see some of his medals and such on my militaria page, here:

    ph0ebus13 - Militaria

    Any guidance for a rookie like myself would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,

    -Daniel
     
  2. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    The 114th Field Artillery Battalion was one of the artillery battalions assigned to the 31st Infantry Division, the Dixie Division. They fired 3 batteries of towed 155mm howitzers, 6 guns per battery.

    If you research the 31st ID, you will probably find a good bit of information about the 114th FA. The 31st was a National Guard division, originally made of men from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. After mobilization, draftees were brought in and transfers made such that it became less of a "Southern" division. I use their shoulder patch as my avatar. The 114th came out of Mississippi. Here is some info.

    Contact these people, they may can either connect you with the right people or have the information you are looking for.

    Be sure not to confuse the 31st Infantry Division with the 31st Infantry Regiment (The Polar Bears), they both fought in the Philipines, but at different times. The 31st IR was part of the Philipine Division that surrendered on Bataan and endured the Death March and 4 years of captivity. The 31st ID was part of the liberation of The Philipines in 1944-45.

    http://www.state.tn.us/tsla/history/manuscripts/findingaids/92-074-2.pdf

    You may find the 114th as being part of the 30th ID. This was in WWI. Between the wars, the units were redesignated and the 114th was moved to the 31st ID.
     
  3. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Hi Daniel and welcome to the forum

    Regards
    Andy
     
  4. ph0ebus

    ph0ebus Junior Member

    Hi Jeff, Andy, all...

    Thanks for the quick primer. I just put together a web page of some of my dad's pictures from his time with the 114th; you can see them here:

    ph0ebus13 - The 114th Field Artillery of the US Army

    Please keep in mind it is a work in progress, but any info on the equipment pictured would be fantastic.

    Thanks,

    -Daniel
     
  5. MLW

    MLW Senior Member

    Daniel: The original unit diary for the 114th Field Artillery should be at the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in College Park, Maryland. If you live near there you can go there find it, and then copy the unit diary. Otherwise, you can hire a professional researcher to do it for you. If you decide to do that, I can give you a recommendation on an honest, reasonably priced researcher. Cheers, Marc
     
    Slipdigit likes this.
  6. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    Hey armor wonks,

    there is an unidentified tank in the set of pics Daniel has posted on his dedication site.

    Could you tell us what it is?
     
  7. A-58

    A-58 Not so senior Member

    Hey armor wonks,

    there is an unidentified tank in the set of pics Daniel has posted on his dedication site.

    Could you tell us what it is?
    Some version of the M-2....
     
  8. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Wonk reporting in.
    Cheers for the heads-up Jeff.

    [​IMG]
    Must confess it had me staring for a bit as I couldn't quite match any M2, M3, or M5 to that picture, no matter which way the turret might be turned - Then a little light came on... I think it's probably an LVTA1 Amphibian.
    Generation 1
    LVT(A)1



    BTW, (And Hello Pheobus! ), Have you searched the FA Journal? Lots of results for 114th in there:
    FAMAG
    FAMAG
    Search Results: 114th

    ~A
     
    Slipdigit likes this.
  9. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    Thanks Adam. See what you miss when you don't look at a Yank-oriented thread.

    And look, you gave him some more links. WTG.
     
  10. ph0ebus

    ph0ebus Junior Member

    Hi fellas,

    Thanks for the feedback. I think the LVT(A)1 may be it. Now off to read more about them and if I find it, something about their use in the Phillipines. At the steep end of the learning curve here, so wish me luck.

    -Daniel
     
  11. ph0ebus

    ph0ebus Junior Member

    Hi all,

    A quick follow-up question..so, if the tank is USMC, is it odd or unusual for my dad (who was US Army) to be standing in that tank?

    I also want to get a sense of what casualties, if any, my dad's unit took between 1943, when he joined up, and Nov 1945, when he was discharged. Would this be in the Unit History, or some other source?

    Lastly, is there any way to track down any surviving men from his unit? They may have interest in seeing these pics and perhaps may have some to share. How would I go about doing that?
     
  12. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    The Marine Corps and US Army worked more closely in the Pacific than elsewhere. I would not think it odd at all that he could find time to look over Marine hardware. I would almost expect it.
     
  13. ph0ebus

    ph0ebus Junior Member

    Hi all,

    Just found out my dad was with the 116th Field Artillery, not the 114th. There was a typo on his honorable discharge document, but his Separation Qualification Record has the 116th. The reason I now know which is correct is that yesterday i came into possession of some more of my dad's military stuff, including several technical manuals; one he wrote his ID and Unit in.

    I would be very curious to know if the manuals are common or not, and would be happy to post pics if there is interest. Two are red, and are from Artillery School (?) circa 1943 and there are a few others with grayish covers on Radio equipment repair, chemical weapons and such. Sorry I cannot be more specific, but the books are in the other room with my napping toddler. :)

    I also will likely be getting his Army issue Jewish prayerbooks (Old Testament, High Holy Day book, and the like).

    -Daniel
     
  14. ph0ebus

    ph0ebus Junior Member

    Hi all,

    A bit of a while since I last posted. In case anyone is interested I found four more photos from my father's tour of duty in the South Pacific, and I have added them to the page I created, here:

    the116thfieldartilleryoftheusarmy - ph0ebus13

    They are the last four photos on the page. Trying to work out if the armored vehicle in this new set is the same one as I had previously...

    -Daniel
     
  15. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    Hey armor wonks,

    there is an unidentified tank in the set of pics Daniel has posted on his dedication site.

    Could you tell us what it is?

    Hi Jeff.

    I can't identify the tank but the howitzer in the photos looks like a towed 105 vs a 155

    Very nice page

    Dave
     

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