Information Request: WW2 Unit Patch

[Holman]

I posted the following in a thread in the CMBN forum:

My dad's father was in WW2, but he didn't see action. He died before my interest in the war was mature enough to wonder which unit was his, because he didn't have any combat stories. (My mother's father was older, and had actually joined the U.S. Navy in 1917 when he was 16 years old.)

I do know that dad's dad's uniform shirt bore the patch that you can see here as "U.S. Army Forces in Middle East," and he also had the patch you can see on that page as "European Theater of Operations." I've never known what those indicated. They aren't division insignia. Service corps? If anyone knows about them, I'd love more information.

His unit went to Tunisia, France, and eventually Germany. After the war, he was there long enough and in the right place to be in the gallery for some of the Nuremberg trials. This was quite a lot for a boy who'd never left Alabama and Mississippi.

Does anyone know anything about the patches I mention and link in this message? (The link again: here.) They seem to be theater patches, not particular units. Who wore these? What were they for?

Thanks!

[dieseltaylor]

United States Army Forces in the Middle East (USAFIME) was a unified United States Army command during World War II established in August, 1942 by order of General George Marshall to oversee the Egypt-Libya Campaign.

The small USAFIME was headquartered in Cairo—which simplified liaison with its much larger British counterpart, Middle East Command. USAFIME had command over all United States Army forces in North Africa and the Middle East, except the Army Air Forces Ferrying Command. It was composed of:

• Iran-Iraq Service Command, later renamed the Persian Gulf Service Command (PGSC) and then finally the Persian Gulf Command; this was the successor to the original US Iranian Mission and was responsible for US troops manning the Persian Corridor. It was originally commanded by Col. Don G. Shingler, who was replaced late in 1942 by Brig. Gen. Donald H. Connolly.
  
• The North African Mission.

The first commander of the USAFIME was Maj. Gen. Russell L. Maxwell. He was replaced in November 1942 by Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), and in January 1943 by Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton.

Maxwell was an army general because at the time he was appointed it was expected that the Americans would contribute ground troops to assist in the Allied Western Desert Campaign. Initially the only US combat forces which were allocated to the Middle East theater were USAAF squadrons. As plans for Operation Torch began to take shape the it became clear that the Americans would not contribute ground troops to the Western Desert Campaign. This was reflected in Maxwell's replacement by Andrews. One of Andrew's first acts was to establish the Ninth Air Force to replace USAMEAF. The non-air force administrative functions of USAFIME were taken over by the North African Theater of Operations United States Army (NATOUSA) when the Egypt-Libya campaign ended on 12 February 1943.

So not a long time to get to the theatre to get the patch. I would think the US Army should have a database where you can feed in your Dad's name to get a hit.

[Affentitten]

So basically the patches are for staff in the theater command HQ. Like the SHAEF patches for Eisenhower's staff.

[Holman]

I would swear that my grandfather's shirt had the patch on its shoulder, and he never rose above corporal. He certainly wasn't part of any top unit.

Maybe I'm misremembering? The shirt is long gone.

[Affentitten]

I would swear that my grandfather's shirt had the patch on its shoulder, and he never rose above corporal. He certainly wasn't part of any top unit.

Maybe I'm misremembering? The shirt is long gone.

You don't have to be a general to work at HQ! They still have plenty of clerks, signallers, drivers and general gophers. (Or gophers for Generals)!

[JonS]

You don't have to be a general to work at HQ! They still have plenty of clerks, signallers, drivers and general gophers. (Or gophers for Generals)!

I think they use gerbils.