Seeking to identify what unit my father was in during World War II

Dear Adriana Rhames ,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

If you are able to share any photographs of your father and/or the other members of his unit in uniform, then it is possible that some History Hub community members may recognize the patches and insignia, which could be used to identify the specific unit or type of unit that he served in. There are a number of online resources that might also be useful for identifying the uniform, patches, medals, and more. You may also wish to review the resources available online from the Army's Institute of Heraldry, the U.S. Army Center of Military History, and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center. Please contact these organizations directly for further assistance. 

The Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been digitized and is available on Ancestry.com as the U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010. Please note that there may be a fee for using Ancestry. The BIRLS information is also available free of charge (with registration) on Fold3 as the Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File. You may also wish to check for access to Ancestry and Fold3 at your local library as many library systems subscribe to these sites, making them free for their patrons. We located one BIRLS entry for Francisco S. Riojas and are including it below for you.

In addition, as we suggested in response to your previous post Where to start with researching dad's WWII military records, you might also wish to review publications like the Army Center for Military History’s Order of Battle of the United States Army World War II European Theater of Operations Divisions to narrow down which units may have served in the campaign (e.g. Rhineland Campaign). You could also search WorldCat.org or contact your local librarian to locate additional resources related to the Rhineland or other relevant campaigns.  

Finally, we want to reiterate that since some veterans registered with their state or local veterans service agencies after they separated from service, you might also contact the state or county veterans agency where your father lived for additional assistance. Please review the NPRC web page Other Methods to Obtain Military Service Records for more information. Please note that registering discharge papers with local and state authorities was optional, so we cannot guarantee that these types of organizations will have his records.

We hope this is helpful.

Thank you, Rachel.

I am slowly getting to some of these resources and will post photos. I am working my way through the Army Center for Military History.

Much appreciated.

Here is his draft card, from Fold3.com (which is a digitized National Archives record)

Donald when I saw my father's card on Ancestry last year I found out my mom was wife three not 2 as I originally was aware. Interesting to say the least

Donald when I saw my father's card on Ancestry last year I found out my mom was wife three not 2 as I originally was aware. Interesting to say the least