dd214 please help with decoding the codes

Hello all, I need a little help decoding my grand fathers DD214.

First help question is It says "Silver star metal GO42 HQ1st AB 21Nov42"

My question is The (GO42) what does that mean? the (HQ1st) I'm assuming it means Head Quarters 1st Airbourne?

Second the "Item 33: Medal GO#94 HQ 550th Inf.A/B 24Nov44 Purple heart medal GO32 HQ43re GenHosp 21Nov44"

My question is The (GO#94) and (GO32) what does that mean? Could the metals have codes listing them like all silver stars start out GO42, (which stands for silver star), and all purple hearts start out GO#94?

Any help will be great, been researching this for over 5 years now, so if anyone needs some information on the 550th Inf A/B let me know I might have your answers.

 

GO are "General Orders", sometimes referred to as Combat General Orders, and usually pertain to the issuing of medals and awards. Each unit would issue it's own General Orders, and here, you have three different units you would have to look up to find their respective General Orders - the 1st Airborne HQ, the 550th Airborne Infantry HQ, and the (I presume) 43rd General Hospital HQ.

As an example, here are some General Orders from the HQ of the 7th Armored Division
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDAQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.7tharmddiv.org%2Fdocrep%2FN-7AD-GO-1944b.doc&ei=GZtYUoaoCNan4AOt5IHgCA&usg=AFQjCNFEpELfjXVVPWU2UFxwazpBmX3Fvw&bvm=bv.53899372,d.dmg&cad=rja

 

First, I'd like to welcome you to the Forum phacue. I hope you will make a formal introduction over in our New Member area so you can receive a proper welcome from the other members.

Second, I'll address your last comment by encouraging you to go ahead and start a thread to share what you have learned in you research on the 550th. As far as I can tell, we do not yet have a thread on that unit. It would be a great addition to the Forum!

I see Takao has addressed your question regarding the General Orders. It looks to me like there may be a typo on the GO for the Silver Star medal. I suspect it should be 21 Nov 44 which would put it in line with the other GOs. It wouldn't make sense to be 1942 given that the 550th wasn't sent to Europe until 1944.

Do you know the circumstances regarding your grandfather receiving those medals? From what I understand, the 550th was in Southern France at the time.

 

I was thinking it was a typo, he always said that he was in europe and he took out two machine gun nest to get his medals, on some ski hill. Thanks all for the help!

 

Try this site and see if your grandfather is listed. Should solve the typo if he's listed.
http://www.homeofheroes.com/members/04_SS/2_WWII/indexes/army/Army-A.html

I'm a little confused with the 1st Airborne. The 550th I can find, but is the 1st a Battalion-- It's not a Division.

 

1st Airborne Task Force assembled for ANVIL, the invasion of southern France.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Airborne_Task_Force_%28Allied%29

 

Thanks Earthican, now it all makes sense. The date on the SS Medal must be a typo.

 

That would make sense given this brief history of the 550th.

So, presumably, it was during the mountain fighting that he took out the machine gun nests resulting in the Silver Star medal. It's interesting that all of the GOs are dated within days of the 1st Airborne TF being disbanded. The dates would not indicate when the action took place. Rather they are the dates the GOs were issued.

Hopefully, you will find your grandfather listed on the website that Buten42 mentioned earlier. If he's not listed, that's not unusual as it is not a complete listing. They have instructions on how to add a SS recipient to their website if you are interested.