Hi Lorima. We are living in difficult times and I am sorry you had to forego the reunion you were so much looking forward to. I hope that you will be able to attend his passing-out parade, which is so cherished by the troops.

Here's a photo of my own passing out parade after 6 months of "basic training" (i.e. boot camp) in 1954. As colonials, we trained under the British army. Here you see my squad under the command of our instructor sargeants, who both served in WWII and the Korean War. I was in the rear rank, so you can't see me.

I was never so fit in my whole life, and I expect your son will be able to say the same by the time you next see him. I was not a career soldier, but after my training, I was 9 years in the "territorials" (equivalent to your militia, I think). I still have my "No.1" head gear.

An ingrained memory is of the bellowed order of our Scotts Guards Sargeant Major Cameron (nickname, Rumbleguts) at the rehearsal for this parade: "Swagger, you bastards, SWAGGER!"

Your son will also have memories of his period of training to last him a lifetime.

WWII 7th Army Ike Jacket this was worn by a Private with the "Seven Steps to Hell" Patch.

The 7th Army was the first U.S. Field Army to see combat in WW II and was activated at sea when the I Armored Corps under the command of Lt. General George Patton was redesignated on July 10th, 1943.
The Seventh Army landed on several beaches in southern Sicily and captured the city of Palermo on July 22nd and along with the British Eighth Army captured Messina on August 16th. During the fighting, the elements of the Seventh Army killed or captured over 1 13,000 enemy soldiers. The Headquarters elements of the Seventh Army remained relatively inactive at Palermo, Sicily, and Algiers, North Africa, until January of 1944 when Lt. General Mark Clark was assigned as Commander and the Army began planning for the invasion of southern France.

The invasion was originally given the code name of "Operation Anvil" but was changed to "Operation Dragoon" before the landing. In March of 1944, Lt. General Alexander Patch was assigned to command the Army which moved to Naples, Italy, the following July. On August 15th, 1944, Seventh Army units assaulted the beaches of southern France in the St. Tropez and St. Raphael area. Within one month, the Army employing three American Divisions, five French Divisions, and the First Airborne Task Force had advanced 400 miles and had joined with the Normandy forces. In the process, the Seventh Army had liberated Marseilles, Lyon, Toulon, and all of Southern France.

The Army then assaulted the German forces in the Vosges Mountains, broke into the Alsatian Plain, and reached the Rhine River after capturing the city of Strasbourg. 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 Nuremberg 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.

The Seventh Army was inactivated in March of 1946, in Germany, reactivated for a short time at Atlanta, Georgia, and assigned to the Regular Army with Headquarters at Vaihingen, Germany, in November of 1950.

The shoulder patch for the Seventh Army was approved on June 23rd, 1943. The letter "A" (for "Army") is formed by seven steps indicating the numerical designation of the unit. The colors suggest the three basic combat branches which make up a field army - blue for Infantry, red for Artillery, and yellow for Armor (Cavalry).

Veterans of the Seventh Army wore a tab reading "Seven Steps to Hell" under the patch, but this tab was never officially authorized.