I'm looking for detailed information about my grandfathers deployment during WW2. Any info or resources that I can use would be much appreciated.
Here's the info I found.
His name was James Daniel Mullen. He served in the Army Air Corps as an engineer. 1902-d Engineer Aviation Battalion to be exact. His service was from July of 43 (drafted)/ August 43 (active) to Feb 46 (discharged). I know that he was deployed to the Pacific and mentioned Okinawa as one of the places he was stationed. I don't know much more about what he did during the war. He passed some 15 years ago so I can't ask him, nor would I be terribly comfortable even if I could.
Thanks for your help.
Corporal Mullen was a demolition tech in Third Platoon, Second Squad of Captain Max Froome's B-Company.
The 1902-d Battalion called itself "The Wild Deuces," and here is a battalion history. NSFW, mind you, due to pictures of dead bodies and a bit of cheerful 1940s racism and one very enthusiastic plane mascot.
This is a brief essay by the commander of C Company.
The battalion was bombed regularly during its occupation of Iejima (Ie Shima), a small island near Okinawa. One of the highlights of their war was assembling to watch a Japanese delegation stop at the island in August 1945 while flying to meet General MacArthur in the Philippines, where they would make the final arrangements for Japan's formal surrender.
If you want to know more about the invasion and occupation of Iejima, here is a detailed account.
As a demolition tech, your grandfather would have been one of the first ashore, to destroy beach obstacles with explosives. He would later have been called on to disarm or safely detonate suspected booby traps.
Being a family member, you (or your parents) have right to acquire his records from the NARA which can possibly tell you more info. Just to let you know (from experience), some records can take months to arrive. You can even look up basic info at the NARA website, but you already have most, if not more, than you will find at the website itself. Always worth a shot getting the records tho, as you never know what might be filed away in his!