Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:11 pm Post subject: Bumper unit markings. Yes I have read the army regs!
MASH. Please don’t roll your eyes, smack your head and think oh no not again! This is not a 4077 question! I understand jeeps were not ambulances and were not marked as such but those MASH units did have jeeps and trucks that were not ambulances so my question is how were they marked? For example 8055th - they must have had truck company so how would those trucks have been marked up? _________________ Gary
M38 - June 1952
Joined: Oct 02, 2014 Posts: 1881 Location: South Carolina, Dorchester County
Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2020 6:20 pm Post subject:
Hi Gary,
I think the only way for you to know for sure how MASH trucks were marked is to research a copy of the Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) for a MASH. It's entirely possible for you to find that general support of a MASH needing trucks to move will reveal they weren't part of the MASH but were assigned from one of many Truck Companies in a Division or Corps when necessary to move anything, including a MASH.
In other words, it wouldn't surprise me to discover that big trucks weren't part of a MASH, they just show up when needed. Maybe only ambulances and a jeep or three for staff had MASH markings. A lot of trucks sitting idle between MASH moves isn't the way the Army works, and requires way too many mechanics and drivers. When trucks weren't hauling a MASH around they were moving troops, ammo, chow, and everything else in the inventory where it was needed. Logistics.
This research can be a tricky task for Army historical documents and doctrinal publications that can either tell you exactly the information you seek, or point you to clues where you can.
For my M38, sentimentally marked for the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division during the early 1950's (post WW2 TO&E), it took some time and patience but I finally found a copy of the Infantry Regiment TO&E that gave me what I needed. It listed every motor vehicle in the Infantry Regiment, the quantity, and what Company it was assigned to (on paper anyway). From what I can tell, a lot of Army TO&E's changed after WW2 into the 1950's.
I'm guessing that a MASH may be assigned to a Division (or higher echelon, Corps, Army) so you might want to look there to begin. Here's one possible site to start your search but there are others: https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/fieldmanuals.html
The only other thing I could suggest is (with a lot of luck) finding period correct photographs. There's a lot on-line if you phrase search terms correctly.
Feel free to take the above with a grain of salt or two. I was never in the Army myself (U.S. Marine, Mustang, Retired), but I am the son of a Soldier who took a battlefield commission (2nd Lt. Infantry) at a very nasty place called the Iron Triangle in North Korea during the summer of 1951. I'm only here because he retired in one piece almost 20 years later... Sometime during late 1954 I recall going on a picnic with my Dad and coming home with my Mom.
No eye rolls here! Good luck! _________________ Ron D.
1951 M38 Unknown Serial Number
1951 M100 Dunbar Kapple 01169903 dod 5-51
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