The second son
Homer Buford Hanes
Dates pending
Served in Europe. His discharge papers are held by the family, and reading them will settle whether he landed at Normandy.
The record as it stands
- Born
- PendingPending
To be taken from his DD‑214
- Died
- PendingPending
To be taken from his DD‑214
- Branch
- United States ArmyFamily account
Family account
- Conflict
- Second World War, European TheaterFamily account
Family account
- Normandy
- Open questionPending
Settled by the campaign stars and assault device on his DD‑214
- Discharge papers
- DD‑214 held by the familyPending
Read‑out scheduled; held by a granddaughter, a Foundation board member
The account
Homer served in Europe. Beyond that, almost everything the Foundation can say about him is waiting on one sheet of paper that the family already has.
The family account is that Homer and his older brother Aubrey Lee entered service together, deployed together, and that Homer served under Aubrey. It is a good story and it may be true. It is also the kind of story that families round off over eighty years, and the Foundation will not put it on a wall until two service records sit side by side and agree.
There is a second open question, and his discharge paper answers it without anyone having to remember anything. The family says “possibly Normandy.”
Notes on the record
Where sources disagree, the Foundation shows the disagreement rather than choosing quietly between them.
How Normandy gets settled
Three markers on the discharge paper answer it in writing. The European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal confirms the theater. A bronze service star on that ribbon denotes a credited campaign, and a Normandy star is the proof of the campaign. An arrowhead device on the same ribbon denotes an assault landing — that he went in with the assault rather than arriving after it. Star and arrowhead together is the strongest evidence there is. A star without an arrowhead still means he served in the Normandy campaign, which is its own considerable thing, and the Foundation will say exactly that and nothing more.
Brothers in the same command
An officer and an enlisted brother serving in the same direct command was possible, but it was sometimes discouraged, and the policy hardened after 1944. “Brothers who both served in Europe” and “brothers who served in the same unit” are different claims. Both are strong. Only one may turn out to be provable.
Open questions
What the Foundation still needs for Homer Buford
- His dates of birth and death, unit, rank at separation, and decorations.
- Whether he holds a Normandy campaign star — and whether it carries the assault landing device.
- Whether he and Aubrey Lee entered service on the same date at the same station.
- Whether he served under his brother's command, or in the same division but a different company.
If you hold a document, a photograph, or a memory that answers any of these, the Foundation would like to hear from you.
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