Is this a id tag from soldier?

[PierreN]

This was found today with a metal detector in belgium. Complete silver. The number makes me think some kind of military number. It was found in french part of Belgium, called terwagne.

Any ideas?

[KatManDude]

that could be a US pilots ID bracelet with his service number....O would indicate an officer....someone with access to on-line files should be able to get some data for you on that individual

[PierreN]

you write online files. Have some idea where i can search those ?

[KatManDude]

I looked around a little but could not find anything but I am limited to the usual available sources(Ancestry.com etc)....I could not find any draft registration but since I think he was an officer and likely pre-war I think that is not unusual.....I think it is definitely of US origin and according the serial number range likely dates between 1935 to 1942...I am no expert but that is what it seems to be to me

[MilitariaOne]

Greetings,

Failing did not show up in Fold3.com, which is primarily military service related (behind a paywall) information website. Usually, an Army Service Number will populate data, however there was quite a bit of data loss due to a fire at the records site in 1973. Likely, his records were one of the millions destroyed/lost See that story here: The 1973 Fire, National Personnel Records Center | National Archives

He is in Ancestry.com, but none of his military service data appears to be linked with his listing. He died in 1968 due to a stroke after which he was hospitalized and passed away several days later due to complications.

He did show up in Newspapers.com and that's where the newspaper articles below have originated.

Best Regards,

V/r Lance


The Oregonian Aug 16, 1942


The Oregonian Dec 2, 1943

[PierreN]

thankyou. so if it is this one it is not ww1 but a ww2 tag. Makes me wonder how then ( if it is this one ) the tag is lost in Terwagne , Belgium

[MilitariaOne]

My guess, would be the shared object was once part of a bracelet. Though, he clearly served in the Mediterranean Theater with the 7th Army; by the end of the war, the 7th Army was in Germany/Austria. I'd suppose when he was shipped back Stateside, he likely passed through Belgium. And too, he may of simply given his bracelet to a charming local as a keepsake who he had met along the way. That said, it may have broken from its chain and he simply tossed it as with the war over identifying his body (from being shot down) was no longer the concern it once had been.

Best,

V/r Lance

[PierreN]

Thank you, that would mean that the 7th army was shipped back home via the coast from Belgium or north of France, if he past that spot. That i maybe can find somewhere. Could be a way to trace him. I am going to see if i can find this somewhere.

[PierreN]

My guess, would be the shared object was once part of a bracelet. Though, he clearly served in the Mediterranean Theater with the 7th Army; by the end of the war, the 7th Army was in Germany/Austria.

on the website of the 7th army . ( Our History ) they write the following :

During the Battle of the Bulge, the Seventh Army extended its flanks to take over much of the Third Army area which allowed the Third to relieve surrounded U.S. forces at Bastogne. Along with the French First Army, the Seventh went on the offensive in February of 1945 and eliminated the enemy pocket in the Colmar area. The Seventh then went into the Saar, crossed the Rhine, captured Nürnberg and Munich, crossed the Brenner Pass, and made contact with the Fifth Army – once again on Italian soil. In less than nine months of continuous fighting, the Seventh had advanced over 1,000 miles and for varying times had commanded 24 American and Allied Divisions.

Bastogne is only 65 km ( 42 miles ) from Terwagne where this was found. So that makes it more possible that he indeed was there...