331 infantry regiment, 83rd division
June 28, 1944: Carentan He had brown hair and brown eyes, and a ruddy complexion attributable to his Scotch-Irish ancestry. They arrived in Liverpool, England on 15 June, and entrained . On the coast near Mont St. Michel, Pontorson, and Dol-de-Bretagne they received orders to capture the port towns of St. Malo and Dinard. Included in this collection of medals and documents are the following items:- Original WWII Cased . The sound of all those bombs exploding at the same time was the most terrible sound that he had ever heard. Again, it will be clearer once I start integrating information from the various reports (I hope). Deaths, the division's report continued, reached 500 per month. Unit: 83rd Infantry Division, 331st Infantry Regiment, Company C; Service Number: 35519259; Date of Birth: October 2, 1918; Entered the Military: October 28, 1942; Date of Death: July 26, 1944; . You will notice, maybe, there are more points than labels; for this map I wanted to only identify what related to the end-of-day situation since that was what bothoverlays were all about The unidentified points refer to either earlier in the day, or have no time information, though I did include a few of these latter if there was room. U.S. Intelligence estimated between 3,000 and 6,000 German troops occupied St. Malo. The 331st sped along not far behind on the flank. 44106-7107. The 9th Army had also been slowly advancing north of Aachen towards the Roer. *The quote near the top of this page is from a letter written by Pfc. The 83rd Infantry Division, commanded by Major General Robert C. Macon, arrived in England on 16 April 1944 with its first divisional headquarters at Keele Hall in Staffordshire. In its one year of existence, the camp's population greatly expanded from 214 prisoners in April 1944 to about 5,400 in March 1945. Next page: 322nd Field Artillery Bn. Although he was a young man, my father was ancient by Army standards. From one point of high ground to another, with the support of tanks, artillery, and engineers, they moved forward through enemy anti-personnel mine fields in rain, ankle-deep mud, and snow. At a height of 5 ft. 7.5 in., he probably didn't have an ounce of fat on his body. Overall, the division had 170.2 percent replacements. The process had reduced two more divisions, the 4th and 8th, to tatters. 83rd Infantry Division shoulder sleeve insignia, U.S. Army Reserve Readiness Training Center. Demobilized 18 February 1919 at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky. First a nudge, then a sign-- Still on 12 July, I assume end of day, we have a regimental plan for outposts on the 83rdsside of the Taute River and marsh. Tous droits rservs, 453rd AAA AW Battalion (Mbl), from July 1st, 1944 to July 9th, 1945. The two squads were ambushed and pinned down on the ground. Every house was an arsenal with ammunition supplies stacked at each window, and every basement was reinforced with double walls of cement and steel. serving as Platoon Sgt. The 83rd Infantry Division was first activated to fight in World War I, the "War to End All Wars" in 1917, fought in 1918 and was deactivated in 1919. I see a time-based spread sheet being necessary. ", December 6"Tell people not to mention 'good luck.' 335th Regiment Lineage. The 83rd entered France on the 21st through 24th of June 1944. The 83rd Division then assembled near Feugeres, and on 3 through 5 August they moved out of the Cotentin Peninsula and turned west into Brittany. The post-war operations reports contains information on the activities of the unit such as movements, tasks and training. Then there are those who are quitting their jobs and going to better-paying ones. "TDC, November 19"I just got my ballot the other day, so threw it away. They fought in the Rhineland, and were the first to reach the Rhine. The journey took them through the thick forests of the highland country east of Verdun. In late December 1944, the 83rd took part in the Allied effort to stop the German offensive in the Battle of the Bulge. -- We fired 6,974,050 rounds of Written in May 1945, six months after my father was killed in action in Gey, Germany, the letter has a simple honesty that touches the heart. My worst nightmares are still in those rows.". They fought in the Ardennes, facing the point of the German Bulge. It shows a bit of all three 83rd ID regiments. This list is as it appeared in the history of the 331st Infantry His unit had been engaged in battle with German forces near Strass, Germany, in the Hrtgen Forest, when he was reported missing in action on Dec. 16. Frederick Phisterer. The 83rd spent Thanksgiving in that tiny country. Operation COBRA began the morning of 25 July. On Memorial Day weekend 2000 my family had reunited for my sister's long . S/Sgt. The 83d Infantry Division arrived in England. Social Media. Engineers picked their way through mine fields and booby traps to clear the way. A few days before Thanksgiving, Company F moved from a school house in Luxembourg City north to the town of Wecker. 1 platoon from 513th Engr Light Pon Co, from August 6th to 15th, 1944 He knew an irony, or a contradiction, when it bit hard enough. was in all five ETO campaigns, (Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes . Most of them were in tears. We believe that Pfc. 908th Field Artillery Battalion (105 Howitzer) The Drive To the Elbe Fays was finally secured, along with Ferme de Menil, on January 15. Richard E. Chipps was also a First Sergeant--of L Company. First overlay for 12 July has more to do with the 331st Infantry Regiment; Imthinkingit was in with the papers for the 330th Infantry Regiment because it also locates the 331st, I Company. They moved out of the Loire Valley in France, and traveled two days and nights through cities and towns, many of which brought memories of their fathers and WWI. This would seem to indicate a pretty good advance on the 12th then. June 26, 1944: Bricqueville To date, 36 divisions, including the 83rd Infantry Division, have been recognized as liberating units. rounds of 155 mm shells. George Terhanko never wanted to be First Sergeant of F Company. A Lieutenant of a supply company of the 329th Infantry Regiment/83rd Infantry-Division (Thunderbolt Division) with the company's mascot, goat Willie at Schevenhutte near Aachen/Germany. Then they raced through Germany. 324th Field Artillery Battalion (155 Howitzer), Anti-aircraft artillery On a Red metal shield is a black pile behind a gold Lorraine cross. The only Germans encountered were patrols. got badly handled on 04 July. mortar. Others in this group that went to F Company were William T. Oliver, Hubert L. Smith, James Stansell Jr., Archie Swindle, John M. Tarnowksi, Earl Tillman, Augustine Toya, Paul Tweed, James Vanden, Lee R. Weeks, John W. Phillips, Albert Popik, Raymond H. Heiber, Donald Palmatier, David W. Parrish, Angelo Patricola, Jospeph Pavek, Joseph T. Pawlowski, Benjamin B. Peluso, Norman Perez, Charles Petritis, John J. Petrizzo, Donald P. Smith, Perry D. Johnston, Walter P. Kowal, Ralph R. McDowell, Thomas K. McKee, Henry L. McManus, Raymond J. Miller, Dominick Salierno, Willard H. Strauss, James F. Varley, George H. Harrell, Michael Harris, Alfred L. Hinchey, Albert K. Jeffries, Earnest C. Goates, Joseph A. Gonzales, Raphael E. Duvall, Alois Dzieweczynski, Clifford E. Olson, Raymond J. Travers, Ovid K. Seville, Francis Soucie, and Max A. Rubin. 83rd Infantry Division - storm - hedgerow (bocage) - unloading jeeps and trucks - getting ashore - release 101th Airborne in Carentan - planes - bombing - Avranches - Saint-Malo - fighting in the streets - Chteauneuf -. The unit reported that the prisoners had been forced to work 16 hours a day in nearby mines and that the SS had murdered those prisoners who became too weak to work. the official history of the 331st Infantry, 83rd Division. Near Cherbourg. S/Sgt Joseph Arnaldo at the Battle of the Bulge. German guns in the Siegfried Line east of the Moselle poured salvos into the lines, resulting in 30 casualties, the heaviest losses in over a month. To see it through again. 1/330 *83rd Infantry Division * Normandy * Brittany * Ardennes * Rhineland * Central Europe * 83rd Infantry Division * Rolland Joseph Gustave Despres is the man that started this project, and to tell his story I must also tell the the story of the 83rd infantry division. 196th FA Group, from August 7th to 16th, 1944 We still have a lot to be thankful for; some of the things that happen over here don't seem possibleThe mail situation is bad again, probably due to the Christmas rush. On June 18, 1944, less than two weeks after the Allied D-Day invasion of western Europe, the "Thunderbolt" division landed on Omaha Beach and began advancing into France. Infantry 331st Infantry 83rd Infantry Division Sector, 1945 (Source: The Thunderbolt across Europe) The first area occupied and governed by the 83rd Infantry Divisionfor any length of time was located in northern Germany and included Landkreis BRAUNSCHWEIG. Click here to see a photo of the 2nd platoon taken in September 44, when it was at full strength. of gasoline. E Company: Captain Raymond E. Poore, wounded on July 4, 1944 at Mautis 3rd Platoon : lieutenant Virgil M. McClintic, wounded on July 4, 1944 at Mautis Click on the First Sergeant stripes to read his story. FULL. C Company The DPAA said that in December 1944, Bernard Sweeney was assigned to Company 1, 330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division. August 7, 1944: Chteauneuf "When I Joined VetFriends, I read about the email locator service, and sent an email to my old friend. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Regiment, 83rd Infantry (Incredibly, both Charles Mobley and Sarge were born on Cotton Avenue in Birmingham.) 24th Cav Rcn Sq, from July 18th to 19th, 1944 Whilst he was a prisoner of war, he was tried by the Reich War Court in Nazi Germany, in his absence, and condemned to death. We hardly ever hear anything except rumors, and some of these are fantastic. I see by the returns that the election didn't amount to much this time. Later, a German counterattack, supported by machine guns and mortars struck from high ground southeast of Greveldange, but the men of the 331st quickly turned back the attempted disruption of their lines. Composed almost entirely of Clevelanders ages 21-31 who had been drafted into the army, the regiment included companies A, B, C, D, H, and L and a supply company. OH P.E. I guess the people must be used to voting for F.D.R. Oliver and view many of the photos by clicking here. By 15 July, the 83rd had regrouped along the Ays River. July 14, 1944: Hotat Home | 83rd Thunderbolt Division Family Bringing together veterans, relatives and friends from all over the world Research Helping you learn more about your veteran Family Bringing together veterans, relatives and friends from all over the world Research Helping you learn more about your veteran Legacy Remembering those who served Family Damn these eyes, they've seen too much It shows my fathers company, F, and we are approaching the day he was seriously wounded and shipped the the States. Well see if it gets any better once Ive read the reports and compare it tothe 08 July Morning Reports. France 52140 "Pershing" Donors. "Thank You Eddie Hart" Documentary Website (Company G, 329th Infantry) After action reports He said they were "so clean looking, with a full compliment of men in each unit. They captured Greveldange with little opposition. var sc_invisible=1. Cafes were opened where the GIs could enjoy good Luxembourg beer, music, and dancing.