World War II (WWII)

World War II (WWII)

My Dad was drafted right after he turned 18; he was inducted into the army January 23, 1945 from Shreveport, Louisiana- The family had moved from Greensville, Hunt County, Texas to Shreveport around 1939 or 1940.

His orders stated that he departed the US July 8, 1945 for Luzon, PI but there are no records showing whether or not he arrived there. Dad rarely spoke of his experiences in the military, but he did mention that he was in the Philippines. His discharge papers indicate he was discharged January 24, 1946 in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan as a Staff Sargent with the 156th Quartermaster Bakery Company. His military occupational specialty was Cook - 060. His decorations and citations: Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, World War II Victory Medal, and Medal of Service.

He `re-upped' in Japan on January 25, 1946 and was in Japan for an additional 10 months, 8 days; returning to the States around December, 1946 (this is a guess as his papers show he arrived in the U.S. on March 22, 1947). He eventually returned to Texas where he was honorably discharged from the regular army as a Staff Sargent (Mess Sargent) on July 22, 1947.

These pictures are some of the pictures my Dad brought back from his army experience along with many service ribbons. Dad was a "detainee" (would now be considered a POW) in Japan for about a month, his sister believes.
	Joe Coffman & Yen (the dog) in Japan. He has an eighth army patch on his arm.
	On the back of this photo - "Left to Right. Brady, myself (Joe Coffman), Cookie, Chuck." I noticed that Chuck has an eighth army patch on his shoulder. I am assuming this was taken in Japan, 1946. If you can help identify anyone in the picture, please let me know--I would like to piece together my Dad's military history. Megalore.org@gmail.com If you would like to have a higher quality copy of any of the picture or if I can help you with your search, please email me.


I have written to the National Records and several senators, but Dad's records were involved in a fire and a flood and no longer exist. I actually supplied the records room with a copy of his discharge papers!