The Army Certificate of Service — the ceremonial honorable-discharge certificate issued to Constantine at the Separation Center, Fort Dix, New Jersey on March 20, 1946, marking the end of his three years in the US Army Medical Corps. Signed by W.O. Antozzi, Major, QMC (Quartermaster Corps), the document was the wallet-presentable parallel to the bureaucratic Military Record and Report of Separation issued the same day.
What the certificate records
ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES This is to certify that CONSTANTINE L. JEANNOPOULOS, CAPTAIN, Medical Corps, has honorably served in the Army of the United States from April 7, 1943 to March 20, 1946.
Issued at the Separation Center, Fort Dix, New Jersey March 20, 1946 (signed) W. O. ANTOZZI, Major, QMC
The certificate carries the standard 1946 Army crest and the formal language of honorable separation — designed to be framed and hung on a private wall.
The three years in summary
- Entry: April 7, 1943 (Bronx; address at entry 370 Fort Washington Ave)
- Service abroad: European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME) Theater, 2 years 4 months (September 5, 1943 to January 5, 1946)
- Deployment unit: 304th Station Hospital (Army Serial No. O-515595)
- Last 4 months overseas: Orthopedic Ward Officer + in charge of two medical dispensaries at HQ Patton’s Third Army in occupied Germany
- Decorations: European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal · World War II Victory Medal
- ASR Score (Sep 2, 1945): 65 — relatively low Adjusted Service Rating, delaying his demobilization
- Final rank: Captain, Medical Corps, AUS
- Place of separation: Fort Dix, NJ
- Address at separation: 2540 Cambreleng Avenue, Bronx, NY
- Number of dependents: 2 (Sophie + Peter, then ~2½ years old)
About Fort Dix
Fort Dix in central New Jersey — established as Camp Dix in 1917 and renamed Fort Dix in 1939 — was the East-Coast principal separation center for returning ETO veterans in 1945-46. Returning Liberty-Ship arrivals at the New York POE (Port of Embarkation) and Camp Kilmer NJ moved by rail to Fort Dix for the multi-day discharge process: physical exam, pay settlement, terminal-leave authorization, and the issuance of the Form WD AGO 53-55 Military Record and Report of Separation (the WWII DD-214 equivalent) plus this ceremonial Certificate of Service.
The W.O. Antozzi signature is a Quartermaster Corps officer signing on behalf of the Separation Center commander — standard Fort Dix protocol of the spring 1946 demobilization wave.
What came after
Six weeks after this discharge, Constantine filed his Bronx County Certificate of Registration as Physician (May 3, 1946; archive item 0003) on May 3, 1946 — the legal step that converted his pre-war New York State medical license (issued November 1942) into an active local practice registration. He took up residencies at VA Kingsbridge in the Bronx (1946-48) and NY Orthopedic Hospital at Columbia-Presbyterian (1948-49), eventually earning his Board of Orthopaedic Surgery certification in January 1951 — five years after this Fort Dix discharge.
Provenance
Preserved in Constantine’s personal papers (2010 Peter-Jeannopoulos scan, item 0024). The Certificate of Service was the public-facing artifact a returning veteran would frame on the wall; the parallel WD AGO 53-55 Military Record was the administrative document used for VA benefits and re-employment claims. Both came home from Fort Dix together on March 20, 1946.
