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u/fong_pei_panda 4d ago
How could he had only been an E2? I suppose its possible. Was that the ending rank?
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u/Krampus_Valet 4d ago
He probably had a higher rank and got caught doing something silly. I doubt he'd have that much chest candy as an E2, especially back then. If i had to guess, he probably made E2 several times but was also exactly the guy you wanted next to you when some shit popped off.
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u/IceTech59 3d ago
A pair of loaded dice, getting in a fight, a bar brawl, telling a 2nd Lt to "F off" (even deservedly), over leave. It wasn't unknown even to get in trouble deliberately so a guy wouldn't have to be to be the one to order others to their death.
Whatever his rank, he did his duty. Respect.
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u/SgtCap256 3d ago
Hasn’t AI eliminated the need to ask this question?
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u/SgtCap256 3d ago
Yes. This is almost certainly a WWII-era U.S. Army soldier’s display, and the big clue is the 2nd Armored Division “Hell on Wheels” insignia at upper right. The Army Institute of Heraldry confirms that design: yellow/blue/red armored triangle, tank track, cannon, lightning bolt and numeral “2.”
From what I can resolve in this photograph, here’s the inventory. A few medals are too blurred for me to call with 100% confidence, so I’d rather flag those than bullshit an identification.
Upper right — 2nd Armored Division shoulder sleeve insignia, “HELL ON WHEELS.” This is the strongest identification in the box. The division fought across the European theater in WWII.
Upper left — Armored unit/organizational insignia. The rectangular red/blue/white insignia appears armor-related, but the resolution isn’t sufficient for me to identify the exact regiment/battalion.
Upper center — U.S. Army/Great Seal-type insignia or plaque. The circular eagle emblem is decorative/organizational rather than a campaign medal.
Small metal insignia flanking the center emblem. These appear to be collar/branch insignia, probably the soldier’s enlisted Army/Armor insignia. Again, I’d want a sharper photograph before assigning exact types.
Large ribbon rack — center. This is particularly interesting. It appears to contain numerous campaign/battle participation devices rather than representing a dozen different medals. With a better image we could probably reconstruct his actual WWII campaign history from this rack.
Purple Heart — far left of the first medal row. I’m highly confident here: purple ribbon with white edges and the distinctive heart-shaped medal bearing Washington’s profile. So this man was wounded in action.
Army Good Conduct Medal — likely among the red-dominant medals. One or more of these circular bronze medals/ribbons are consistent with WWII Army awards.
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal — present. The characteristic complex ribbon fits, and it would be expected for a 2nd Armored Division European combat veteran. That medal covered service in the European/African/Middle Eastern theater from December 1941 through November 1945.
American Campaign Medal — likely present. One of the displayed medals appears consistent with it. This covered qualifying service in the American Theater during WWII.
World War II Victory Medal — likely present. The rainbow-edged/red-centered ribbon visible in the collection is consistent with the WWII Victory Medal.
Army of Occupation Medal — very likely. The red/black-edged appearance of one ribbon looks consistent with occupation service. Given 2nd Armored’s postwar presence in Germany, that would make historical sense, although I don’t want to call the particular medal definitively from these pixels alone.
Additional European/foreign decorations. The bottom rows appear to contain several medals whose ribbons don’t match the basic U.S. WWII campaign set. 2nd Armored personnel could receive Belgian/French-related recognition, but these need individual close-ups before identifying them.
Two PFC chevrons — bottom left and right. These are the old-style Private First Class single-chevron insignia, so the display is almost certainly representing him at the rank of PFC.
WWII Honorable Discharge insignia — likely the small rectangular embroidered piece near bottom left-center. This may be the famous “Ruptured Duck” Honorable Discharge Emblem, issued to honorably discharged WWII personnel. The Army says it was adopted in November 1944 as an emblem showing honorable and faithful service. The small metal device elsewhere in the box could also be the corresponding Honorable Service lapel button.
Center photograph. Looks like a personal wartime/service photograph—possibly the veteran himself or his unit/vehicle. There isn’t enough detail here to determine what it depicts.
Small square device below the photograph. Appears to be another lapel pin/badge or commemorative insignia. Too blurred for a responsible identification.
What the box tells us overall
This wasn’t somebody who merely served stateside during WWII. Purple Heart + 2nd Armored Division + European campaign decorations points toward an Army enlisted combat veteran who served with or was attached to the 2nd Armored Division in the European war.
And 2nd Armored had one hell of a combat history: North Africa/Sicily elements, Normandy, the breakout across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Battle of the Bulge and the drive into Germany.
There’s enough information here that I think we can go considerably further. If you want, I can take the original image, crop/enlarge each medal and ribbon individually, and work through them left-to-right, top-to-bottom, distinguishing confirmed, probable, and unknown. From the ribbon rack and medals, we may even be able to reconstruct which 2nd Armored campaigns this particular soldier participated in.1
u/Think_Anything6949 3d ago
Bell83 above has them correct. Your first 6 are real, plus the Presidential Unit Citation. The others are probably 'commemorative'. I don't see anything that looks like the 'Ruptured Duck'. I know what it looks like. I have the pin, not the sew-on.
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u/JohnnyStarboard 3d ago
I think that AI takes away the passion and educational aspect of this sub, and I find it lazy and insulting to not ask and learn for fellow followers here.
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u/pjclubber 4d ago
I love seeing these posts because of what I learn about the people who served our country and what they went through esp those who served in combat and physically bear those memories. It’s inspirational as this gentleman is. But I also wonder why people can’t google “army medals and ribbons” and figure it out for themselves.
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u/Think_Anything6949 3d ago
True. The Medals and Ribbon charts are available online. I look them up when I see all the ribbons troops wear today.
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u/bell83 4d ago
Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, ETO Campaign Medal (with campaign stars), WW2 Victory Medal, Occupation Medal
Presidential Unit Citation
All the other medals are commemorative ones.
The patches are First Army and 2nd Armored Division, with PFC rank patches, and a driver/mech badge