Another WWII tribute photos & history

[geds]

still more

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a few more

[geds]

That pretty well wraps it up. I did not open and read his letters home until this year - he died in 1977 and my grandmother died in 1997. I felt I was violating their personal life until now. This has been a very cathartic experience for me getting to know a man, who died when I was in college, on a much more personal level. And I am pleased to know that I can at least pass on his story (such that I can piece it together) to my heirs.

If you have the opportunity to do something similar, I encourage you to do so! I wish I had done so sooner when men in his unit were still around to ask about him and their experiences!

For references I used:

Good Soldiers – The History of the 353rd Infantry Regiment, 89th Infantry Division, 1942-1945; Richard P. Matthews, 1st edition, 2004.

Personal letters, notes, photos, and postcards

Thanks for your patience and I hope you recognize some of the faces and places!

[geds]

Here is the photo from SSMN's thread that we think may be my grandfather. (Thanks Steve for the permission!) Grand Daddy mentioned that he had to process the "souvenir lines" as well as having to censor the mail of his men during the war - neither of these duties he enjoyed. He did bring home some nice swords and daggers - two of which I have in my gun safe as very cherished items.

Mom and I think this is him seated.

[StoneChimney]

Your German banner reads: "We all stay in a front."

I take that to be a message of unity from the factory to the war effort.

[SSMN]

Steve,
Thank you for sharing the fantastic historic photos. Great to see the WWI style uniforms and equipment.

You mentioned the town of Rhula as having been captured by your Grandfather's unit on April 8th. My uncle and the 11th Armored were not there, but I do have a connection to that town. I will post information in my thread so as to not hijack yours.

Steve (SSMN)

[geds]

I learned (and forgot to mention earlier) that the 89th was trained as an experimental light infantry unit. The did a lot of training in the Colorado Springs area and in the mountainous area of California. They actually performed battle maneuvers against another experimental group to see whether units equipped with mules could out maneuver units with light vehicles. In the end the vehicles won out!

They pulled him from west coast artillery duty to train as infantry. He tried to go into tanks, but was sent on as infantry (probably lucky for me as I might not be here if he made it into a tank battalion!). He ran into his ROTC commander during one of his training programs who worked out his final assignment.

Thanks for the comments and support!

[geds]

Originally Posted by StoneChimney

Your German banner reads: "We all stay in a front."

I take that to be a message of unity from the factory to the war effort.

I came up with a similar translation and wondered if I was reading it correctly! I figured someone with better knowledge of German would be able to set me straight!

This makes sense as the owner of the factory was the head of the local Nazi party.

[permafrost]

Geds,
Thanks so much for sharing. You know what they say, once it's on the web it's out there forever. This, I believe is a great way to archive the many personal stories and photos out there before they are lost to time,disinterest and disintegration. You do a service to future generations. Thanks, 'Frosty

[geds]

Thanks Frosty! This has been fun and a labor of love! I'm incorporating the info provided by Steve and Juker to help fill in missing pieces. I also replaced the Bronze Star citation with a version that is much easier to read.

[geds]

Updated artillery photos today. Was able to figure out the mystery "box on a tripod" as a "Director" used to site in AA targets.