Help ID brother's vehicle markings

[mutt and jeff]

A little offf the rails here, but looking for all the help I can get. Just picked up a 67 M715 Kaiser and want to mark it for my deceased Brothers military service. He was Army 68-70 in Korea at the DMZ. He was a M114 APC driver and since we are from Detroit, it was named the Motowner. Attached are the only pics I have from that time period of him. His APC appears to be marked 12AA48 which is a little out of my wheelhouse restoring WWII and Korea era military vehicles. I was expecting to see an Army, a Division then a star and then a vehicle number. The 12AA does not fit in with anything in Korea during that time frame. We will send away for his VA records but it will take months or years to hear back from what I have read.
So, in the meantime, any assistance with the meaning of 12AA or by looking at his uniform patches, any insight into his unit would be greatly appreciated.

Bill 1.jpeg

Bill 2.jpeg

Bill 4.jpeg

Bill3.jpeg

[rickf]

Says 12 AF 80 on the first vehicle and 12 AA 48 on the second vehicle. I don't have a clue but have you tried on Steel Soldiers? In their tracked section? You might find some answers there. Mr Recovery here may know, I think he did some track work in that period.

[D Pizzoferrato]

Those letter/number combinations are the vehicle identifier. Unit and order of march markings would be on the front and rear corners. The ARs concerning Painting and Marking are pretty consistent regarding all rolling stock over the years.

[mutt and jeff]

So, this would be more of a "registration" number rather than divisions or units? That is making some sense as the number 12 is not falling into anything related to his service or the Korean units. I'm not optimistic on the VA records getting that much detail, but perhaps some old letters from him in his familys possession might give us some insight..
Thanks for the response.

[rickf]

You could also check with Korean war veterans sites and mention your brothers name and that he was in an armored division. That might turn up something. If he had a nick name mention that, most guys used nick names in the service. A lot of those names would not be politically acceptable in today's world, that is for sure! I don't know if you will find anything about location in the letters since that was probably all redacted out but if there is a town in there that would help. Don't wait too long if you go the veterans site route, they are headed the way of the WWII vets sadly. They are in their 80's and up by now.

[D Pizzoferrato]

There are very few round division patches related to Korea. The color is distorted in the photo making the insignia look orange. My guess is the 7th Infantry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:7th_ ... -2015).svg

[Mr. Recovery]

So, this would be more of a "registration" number rather than divisions or units? That is making some sense as the number 12 is not falling into anything related to his service or the Korean units. I'm not optimistic on the VA records getting that much detail, but perhaps some old letters from him in his familys possession might give us some insight..
Thanks for the response.

Yes, as stated that would be the registration number, the unit info would be on the front and back. These photos are from 1963/64 in Germany and they also start with the number 12.

068 From Dragoon Base.jpg

069 From Dragoon Base.jpg

070 From Dragoon Base.jpg

dan-2beers.jpg

[mutt and jeff]

Hey, guys this is great stuff. I'll research vehicle classification numbers to see if the 12 is a class for APC's like a 2 is a jeep, etc. Just want to clear up one item that I may have mislead anyone, Bill served with the US Army from 1968 to 1970 in Korea at the DMZ, but was not in the Korean War, per se. He was offered the opportunity to volunteer for the draft by a local judge and prosecutor. He did so and got his GED through the Army and said it was the best thing that could have happened to him. Came home and worked in the HVAC industry for a while and then with Ford Motor Co. Two sisters, but Bill was my only brother and an older one at that.
While we are researching his service record, I'm ordering a flag to present to his only daughter who is now in her 50's.

None of us are getting any younger. Got the Kaiser started today, so I'm getting excited about doing this vehicle for Bill.

Thanks again. I've got to figure out how to get on the M715 Zone Facebook site to get some hand holding on the restoration.

[rickf]

It would still be a good idea to check the Korean veterans sites. Anyone that served in Korea at any point is a Korea veteran. When trying to track someone down like this you check all avenues.