Today would be my Daddy's 96th birthday.I learned about his WWII experiences from his Army jacket:
The yellow ribbon is the Army Defense Medal Ribbon
The red Ribbon is the Good Conduct Medal Ribbon
The green and brown ribbon is the European - African - Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Ribbon
The European - African - Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Ribbon has 5 battle stars for being in these 5 major engagements in the ETO during WWII:
Normandy
Northern France
Rhineland
Ardennes-Alsace
Central Europe
Old Hickory -The 30th Infantry Division(represented by the patch on his upper left sleeve)
The green and red crest represents the 113th Field Artillery Batallion.
<snip>
On 12 February 1944, the 30th Infantry Division sailed for Europe, and settled on the south coast of England to participate in further training for the coming invasion of the Continent "at some time in the future".
In June of 1944, after being fully trained and prepared for the greatest invasion of all times, the 30th Infantry Division started crossing the English Channel to France on 6 June, D-Day, to replace some of the units of the 29th Infantry Division which had become almost immediately lost during the initial attack of the invasion, and then the balance of the Division went into the beaches of Normandy, Omaha Beach on D plus 4, the 10th of June and up through the 15th, and was almost immediately committed into combat against the experienced German Army.
During combat, the 30th Infantry Division was known as the "Workhorse of the Western Front". It was also familiarly known as "Roosevelt's SS Troops", so named by the German High Command because of the consistent vigor and terrific pressure the 30th Infantry Division brought to bear on Hitler's 'elite' 1st SS Division. The German 'elite' 1st SS Division was the main force of resistance just prior to the breakthrough at St. LO, and again at Mortain, which the 30th Infantry Division literally tore to shreds, thereby allowing Gen. George Patton's armored forces of the U.S. Third Army to go forward and race across France, thereby shortening the war by many months. The German 1st SS Division was then reorganized over the next few months, and was again faced by the 30th Infantry Division in the "Battle of the Bulge", during the great Ardennes-Alsace Offensive, near Malmedy, Belgium, during the winter of 1944-45. Again the 30th Infantry Division tore to shreds this 'elite' enemy division, which was never again to return to battle.
<snip>
http://www.30thinfantry.org/history.shtml
I learned one other thing from his jacket. It fit me perfectly in my senior year of high school. From that, I realized how small many of the service members were then.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Service records aren't too chatty, but they can help fill in some blanks and point you in new directions. I hope they do that for you. 
Mom would have been 97 last Tuesday - time flies and we sure remember them.
He too was a WW II veteran in the European theater. I had to look at the display case containing his flag and decorations. His original European - African - Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Ribbon has 4 battle stars but I think he would have all 5 as he landed on the beach D+3 or 4 and met the Soviets with Patton. The DOD unless the sequester has taken all their money for such things will send you, as a survivor, a complete set of his medals and decorations as well as his service record.
Edited to add: Dad would've been 99 this coming Dec 14- How he would've love that. Every year on his birthday he was so proud to make another year of life. I think it was he came so close to death so many times- begining with an auto accident when he was 14, the war and other stuff.
I noticed you did not mention the patch above the right pocket of his blouse. The slang name for it is "the Ruptured Duck" (the Honorable Discharge award).
That patch allowed returning service people to wear their uniforms as civilians for a time until they could get civilian clothes.
The award served several purposes. It served as proof that the wearer was an honorable discharged veteran returning from duty. Unofficially, it was also used as an identifier to railroad, bus, and other transportation companies who offered free or subsidized transportation to returning veterans.
During World War II, members of the armed forces (unless under orders) were forbidden to possess civilian clothing. This not only made desertion more difficult but also insured that any captured service member would be treated as a prisoner of war under the rules of war (soldiers captured in a combat zones in possession of civilian clothing were liable to be treated as spies and summarily put to death). In pre-war conditions, discharged veterans typically donned civilian clothing when returning home, but this was logistically difficult during wartime and immediate post-war America. Approximately 16 million men and women served in the uniformed services during the crisis, most of whom were scheduled to be discharged within a short period of time during the general demobilization at the end of the war. Clothing was already in short supply due to cloth rationing, and the immediate clothing needs of millions of returning veterans threatened to crash an already overtaxed system. Federal law however prevented civilians, even veterans, from wearing military uniforms under most circumstances. The Honorable Service Lapel Button was created to allow returning veterans to legally continue to wear their military uniforms while at the same time identifying that they were no longer active duty personnel.
