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Finance Support Units in Europe
US Army, Europe
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.

History

USAREUR Fin & Acct Cen

Central Fin & Acct Cen

266th Theater Finance Cen

Finance Gp
V Corps Regional Finance Cen
VII Corps Regional Finance Cen

5th Finance Gp
7th Finance Gp
21st / 9th Finance Gp

Finance Sections

Finance Spt Units

Related Links







History
 
(Source: USAREUR Station List, November 1980)
FINANCE SUPPORT UNITS IN THEATER (Nov 1980):

UNIT DESIGNATION

DUTY STATION HIGHER HQS
US Army Finance & Accounting Center, Europe Frankfurt HQ USAREUR
3rd Finance Co Würzburg 3rd Inf Div (Mech)
8th Finance Co Baumholder 8th Inf Div (Mech)
501st Finance Co Nürnberg 1st Armd Div
503rd Finance Co Giessen 3rd Armd Div
2nd Finance Sec Fulda  
5th Finance Sec Worms  
7th Finance Sec Wiesbaden  
8th Finance Sec Landstuhl  
13th Finance Sec Neu Ulm  
14th Finance Sec Bamberg  
17th Finance Sec Ansbach  
18th Finance Sec Frankfurt  
27th Finance Sec SHAPE, Belgium  
38th Finance Sec Heilbronn  
39th Finance Sec Hanau  
42nd Finance Sec Aschaffenburg  
44th Finance Sec Karlsruhe  
45th Finance Sec Kaiserslautern  
78th Finance Sec Schweinfurt  
105th Finance Sec Augsburg  
106th Finance Sec Ludwigsburg  
 
If your unit is missing from the above list or you want to provide additional information on Finance Units in Europe, please contact me, please contact me .
266th Theater Finance Center
 
266th Theater Finance Center DUI
 

Herald-Post article on 266th TFC (Webmaster's collection)
 
(Source: HERALD-POST (Heidelberg Military Community newspaper) March 12, 1987)
On January 16 1987, the U.S. Army Finance and Accounting Center, Europe (USAFACEUR) was inactivated and the 266th Theater Finance Center (266th TFC) activated. The 266th assumed the former command's peacetime and wartme missions.

Concurrent with the above activation, the 5th and 7th Corps Finance Groups were activated in Frankfurt and Stuttgart, respectively.
5th Finance Group
 
5th Finance Group DUI
 
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Aug 26, 1990)
The 5th Corps Finance Group was activated on January 16 1987 in Frankfurt. It was later redesignated as 5th Finance Group.

Headquarters of the Group is adjacent to the C.W. Abrams Complex (formerly known as the IG Farben Building).

At the time of activation, the Group was comprised of the following subordinate units:
ORGANIZATION (1987):

UNIT DESIGNATION

DUTY STATION COMMENTS
5th Regional Finance & Accounting Office Frankfurt  
8th Finance Support Unit Baumholder  
22nd Finance Support Unit Fulda  
39th Finance Support Unit Hanau  
117th Finance Support Unit Wiesbaden  
201st Finance Support Unit Frankfurt  
503rd Finance Support Unit Giessen  
 
In addition, the 5th Fin Gp has Forward Support Teams located in Aschaffenburg, Bad Kreuznach, Darmstadt, Mainz and Wildflecken, as well as Mobile Pay Teams located in Babenhausen, Bad Hersfeld, Büdingen, Butzbach, Friedberg, Gelnhausen and Spangdahlem.

The mission of the 5th Fin Gp is to provide timely and accurate finance and accounting support to all commands, units, soldiers and civilians within the V Corps area in peacetime and during war.

This suport includes: military pay services; local procurement payments; military and civilian travel payments; cashing negotiable instruments; issuing treasury chelcs; providing currency conversion services; funding of agents; reimbursing imprest funds and receiving cash collections for the US Government.
7th Finance Group
 
7th Finance Group DUI
 
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Aug 26, 1990)
Webmaster Note: So far I have not found a reliable source for the activation date of the 7th Corps Finance Group. Can anyone provide details on activation date and home station?

The predecessor, VII Corps Regional Finance Center, was located at Wallace Barracks, Bad Cannstatt. It stands to reason that the 7th CFG would also have been located there.

In 1991, the Group was comprised of the following subordinate units:
ORGANIZATION (1991):

UNIT DESIGNATION

DUTY STATION COMMENTS
7th Regional Finance & Accounting Office Stuttgart  
3rd Finance Support Unit Würzburg  
14th Finance Support Unit Bamberg  
17th Finance Support Unit Ansbach  
78th Finance Support Unit Schweinfurt  
105th Finance Support Unit Augsburg  
106th Finance Support Unit Ludwigsburg  
501st Finance Support Unit Fürth  
7th ATC Finance Office 1) Grafenwoehr  
1) Webmaster Note: Not sure if that was the official designation.

In addition to the above units, the 7th Fin Gp had Forward Support Teams located in Bad Cannstatt, Göppingen, Heilbronn, Munich, Nellingen, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Vaihingen and Vilseck, as well as Mobile Pay Teams located in Bad Kissingen, Bad Tölz and Hohenfels.
21st Finance Group / 9th Finance Group
 
21st / 9th Finance Group DUI (Can anyone provide a good scan/pic of the unit crest?)
 
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Aug 15, 1987)
The 21st Finance Group (Prov) of the 21st Support Command will be activated on August 27, 1987 at Daenner Kaserne, Kaiserslautern.

The five Finance Offices that have been under the control of several military communities, will now fall under the command of the 21st/9th Fin Gp.
 
ORGANIZATION (1987):

UNIT DESIGNATION

DUTY STATION COMMENTS
11th Finance Support Unit Rheinberg  
45th Finance Support Unit Kaiserslautern  
59th Finance Support Unit Bremerhaven  
63rd Finance Support Unit Pirmasens  
127th Finance Support Unit SHAPE, Belgium  
 
The new Gp will be a major subordinate command under the 21st Support Command.
 
(Source: SUPPORT SENTINEL, June 28, 1989)
The 21st Finance Group was recently redesignated as the 9th Finance Group.

The group provides command and control over five finance support units located in Germany and Belgium (the same as listed above).
38th Finance Section
 
1956
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, June 20, 1956)

The 38th Finance Disbursing Section, 7th Army, with headquarters at Wiley Barracks, Ulm, Germany, pays more than 10,000 troops monthly.

Commanding officer of the unit is Capt Estel J. Jeffrey. Besides the CO, the 38th Finance has a total staff of 31, including six German employees. Jeffrey has three lieutenants and two warrant officers assisting him in managing the unit's operations. (The five officers are: 1st Lt Warren L. Farris, 1st Lt John T. Pattilo, 2d Lt Guy Courtney, CWO Wesley Capinski and CWO Ralph B. Weston)

The office pays the 47th Inf Regt, with headquarters at Ulm; the 802d FA Bn; 273rd FA Bn; 616th Aircraft Control and Warning Sq (AC&WS); 709th Ordnance Bn; 104th Truck Co, 61st Tank Bn (Leipheim), 22d Medical Det, 27th Army Postal Unit and a platoon of the 508th Military Police Bn and the 769th Dental Service Det. That covers the immediate area of the Ulm office and includes 7,500 personnel. A second office of the 38th is located at Schwaebisch Hall and services another 3,500 personnel.

Disbursements run around $1,500,000 monthly -- often more. The disbursements are troop payments primarily, but one must not forget that there are travel payments, too. Jeffrey's office normally processes 800 per diem travel vouchers monthly.

But paying out is not the complete task of the section. It is also an accounting agency for many collection points, such as collecting receipts from commissaries, clothing pickup points, clothing and shoe repair and from sales services.

While the staff works the normal eight hours daily, there are at least 10 days every month when the staff puts in 10 hours daily. No one likes to wait for his pay. Checks must appear on time and if extra hours are necessary to get the checks out the staff puts them in without complaint.

The disbursing office works in close cooperation with personnel representatives of the various units serviced. Naturally, there are sometimes errors. The percentage of mistakes for closeouts for the last six months when records are sent to the Army Finance Center in Indianapolis, Ind., was 0.81 per cent, a remarkably low average, considering the number of troops serviced monthly.

Wharton Barracks gate area, early 1970s (Dewey Berkhalter)
 

Heilbronn Officers Club and BOQ area (Webmaster's collection)
 

Heilbronn Housing area (Webmaster's collection)
 
1975
(Source: Email from Wayne Hays)
I served as Deputy Finance Officer with the 38th Finance Section at Wharton Barracks, Heilbronn (APO 09176), 1975-76.

The "gate area" photo above shows the main gate with Building 1 in the foreground and Building 2 in the background.

Building #2 in the mid-1970s contained 38th Finance Section and the DIO. On the first floor was the office for the Finance Officer/Unit Commander, the unit clerk and first sergeant on the front side. On the back side contained the area for the cashiers (directly across from the entrance), the vault, the office for the Disbursing Officer and Disbursing NCOIC, and an office for the accounting clerks.

The second floor contained Military Pay. Which included in/out processing, travel, file room for pay records, rooms for document coding and quality assurance and offices for Chief Military Pay and NCOIC of Military Pay. The room for the key punch machines was on the third floor which also housed the DIO offices. The unity supply and arms rooms were in the basement.

The enlisted single troops for 38th Finance were housed in Building number 30, which also housed the Education Center.

Re Building #1. On the north end next to the main gate was the MP desk. Also on the first floor was the American Express (Military Bank) in the mid-1970s. Also located in the building was RPAC.

Your photos of the "Heilbronn Officers Club and BOQ area" and "Heilbronn Housing area" show building number 204 which was one of two BOQs. You can see in both photos a set of 3 windows to the left of the stairwell on the far end which marks the lounge area for the building.

Out of the photos to the right would be the small building which housed the DYA and then further right (back toward Wharton Bks) was another building like 204 which was the second BOQ. It was laid out like 204 except the lounge area was on west end of the building instead of east end. Each BOQ contained 34 sets of quarters.
 

Partial 1968 aerial photo of the area around Wharton Bks (LEO-BW)
 
Regarding the parial aerial photo of the area around Wharton Barracks (1968) shown above:

The two buildings labeled "BOQ?" were in fact BOQs in 1975-76. The one on the right was Bldg 204 and the one on the left was Bldg 201 (where I was quartered on 1st Fl. east end next). Bldg 204 had its common lounge on the right or east end and Bldg 201 had its common lounge on the left or west end (both on 1st FL).

The building labeled "DYA?" was the DYA.

The building labeled "Dependents School?" was the Elementary School for dependents in 1975-76. High school students attendented high school in Ludwigsburg which was in the Pattonville housing area.

Buildings labeled "Sr. Housing Quarters" was just that in 1975-76. The two buildings located just below Bldg 204 were also government quarters. The longer one was three stories and I think it had 12 units, while the smaller one to its right was three stories and contained 6 units.

Building to right of BOQs and above SR. Officers Quarters were dependent housing that continued to the right (east) and then north to form the housing area in the form of a circle. As I recall all sets (buildings) of family housing in this area were 4 stories. While the ones across the north south street to the west (north across the street for Wharton Bks) were 3 stories.

As I recall the buildings labeled A, B, C and D were not related to the Army but contained german businesses. I seem to recall that the labeled B was an auto dealership.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
I finally found the short unit history for 38th Finance Section.

38th Finance Section (Dated 17 February 1971)
The 38th Finance Seciion participated in the Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, Normandy, Norther France and Rhineland campaigns (WWII).

It served on occupation duty in Germany during the period 9 May to 31 October 1945.

After a period of inactivation, it was reactivated on 20 December 1951, as a unit of the 7th Army with station at Augsburg Military Post, Augsburg, Germany.

The 38th FS moved to Ulm, Germany on 22 December 1952 where it occupied office space on Wiley Barracks and was quartered at Bleidorn Kaserne.

On 11 June 1959, the 38th FS moved to Wharton Barracks, Heilbronn, Germany.

The section maintained a Class B Agent Office at Schwaebisch Hall, Germany until 5 November 1960 when it (B Office) was deactivated and consolidated with the parent office. The Class B Office served troops in Schwaebisch Hall and Schwaebisch Gmuend immediately prior to closing.

Service in the Schwaebisch Gmuend area was assumed by the Finance Officer, 4th Armored Division in Goeppingen and service of troops in the Schwaebisch Hall area was retained by the 38th FS.

Strength of the unit has fluctuated from 3 officers, 1 warrant officer and 25 enlisted personnel authorized in 1951 to a current (1971) authorization of 5 officers and 84 enlisted men by General Orders 283, USAREUR, dated 9 April 1969, effective 1 May 1969.

This section maintains a Class B Agent Office at Flak Kaserne, Ludwigsburg, Germany. Office was activated 8 February 1965 with an authorized strength of 1 officer and 13 enlisted men to provide service to the Ludwigsburg area that had formally been serviced by tri-weekly and payday service runs from Wharton Barracks, Heilbronn, Germany. Present strength of Class B Office is 1 Officer and 31 enlisted personnel.

As of 1975 - 76. the Class B Office had 2 officers assigned and the Wharton Bks Office had 4 officers assigned with a 5th officer to oversee the central accounting function for the enlisted and officer clubs, which had previously been under the control of the senior club manager.

Also as of 1975-76, 38th FS at Wharton Bks served non divisional units in the Heilbronn, Schwaebisch Hall and Crailsheim communities. While the B Agent Office at Flak Kaserne continued to serve the non divisional units in the Ludswigburg community.

38th Finance Section, Wharton Bks: As of September 1976 CPT Butler was Commander / Finance Officer, SGM Dennis was senior NCO, CPT Minshew was OIC Military Pay, SFC Allen was NCOIC Mililitary Pay, 2LT Plesha was OIC Finance Service (Pay Inquiries, In /Out Processing, Travel Pay), CPT Hays was Chief of Disbursing, SSG Atchison was NCOIC of Disbursing. Total strength was still between 75 and 90 personnel.

Schwaebisch Gmuend Finance Section (Prov): CPT W. A. Rogers established (and served as the initial Finance Officer / Commander) the Finance Office in Schwaebisch Gmuend (Bismarck Kaserne) in March 1976 with initial source of just over $100,000 in US and German currancy. Source of funds was from the 78th Finance Section, Nellingen Bks. Commander / Finance Officer of 78th FS at the time was MAJ F. Hinshaw.
 
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