Canteen
Identified to T/5 James H. Parsons - XVIII Airborn Corps
I picked this nice Model M1910 canteen up at the militairy fair of La Gleize, Ardennes, Belgium. Dated 1918 by B.A.C.O. I bought this canteen because of the interesting inscriptions on the front, back and bottom. Following a quick search the Laundry number combined with the initials corresponded to James Henry Parsons, who served with the XVIII Airborne Corps during WW2.
This Relic Canteen was found on the former battle grounds of the Battle of the Bulge.
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T/5 James H. Parsons
Tech 5
James H. Parsons
T/5 James H. Parsons
James Henry Parsons - was born on July 30, 1908 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Susie P. Booth (1879-1948) and James M. Parsons (1881-1945). Before joining the army he was working as a carpenter.
James Parsons (#20424816) joined the National Guard on November 25, 1940 at Columbus Army Air Field, Mississippi. After the US entry into WW2 he was assigned for some period to the 137th Field Artillery Battalion. At a point before April 1944 he then transferred to the 18th Corps Artillery continuing his training with this unit. This unit was then send overseas in August 1944 and upon arrival in England was promptly renamed as the 18th Airborne Corps. It is likely during this time James Parsons became qualified as a glider.
First assignment for the 18th Airborne Corps Artillery was during the airborne operation at Market Garden and later the unit came into action during the Battle of the Bulge. The Corps headquarters went with the 82nd Airborne to the Werbomont area which is likely the area where James saw action. The final action of the war for the 18th Corps was the airborne drop at Wesel during Operation Varsity. In total James served 13 months overseas during and was awarded the Glider Wing, the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal with two clusters and the European African Middle-Eastern Campaign Medal with three Campaign Stars for the Rhineland Campaign, the Ardennes-Alsace Campaign and the Central Europe Campaign.
James Parsons died on September 28, 1974 in Columbus, Mississippi and buried at the Big Creek Cemetery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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