99th Division, 394th Regiment, Companies K & M Information

Even if baildu01 doesn't reply to your post, I would encourage you to go ahead and post the info. Sooner or later there is bound to be someone who would love to have that type of information. Also, great photo, Christopher. Thanks for posting it.

 

This is a map kept by my dad Keith Wilson of Co M 394th 99th infantry. He "liberated" a Conti Atlas from Schloss Arenfels just after crossing the Rhine River at the Remagen Bridge. He then marked it up to show where they had been. He also marked up where he had been before acquiring the atlas so it shows where he was when the Battle of the Bulge began on Dec. 16, 1944. I have broken the map into three sections to make them small enough to post. I hope that they are not too low resolution. I also enhanced the route to make it easier to see as the original was somewhat faded.

 

Great maps! I opened each map in a new window and was able to easily read the detail. Thanks for posting them.

 

Some articles of the 99th

 

some more

 

LAST TWO

 

They fight like Hel

 

Loki's daughter was a bitch wasn't she.

 

I didnt know here but your the expert

 

Generally, at least with American English, If I see "Hel" I think Loki's daughter i.e. the ruler of Niflheimand one of the harbingers of Ragnarok as opposed to "Hell" which is the Christian land of eternal punishment for the dammed. I personally think "fight like Hel" is better worded than "fight like Hell". Your mileage may very though.

 

I am not even sure any of you gentlemen above are still active in this conversation, but you should know that there is a book written specifically about the 394th. My Dad served with the 394th and later became a writer. He wrote a book that covered the battle history of the Regiment. I am updating the book to cover the entire history of the 394th from basic to the end of WWII. I would appreciate any information that anyone might have to fill in the gaps. This is my way to honor the service of the men in the 99th ID, 394th Regiment. I will include as much as I can on both the 393rd and 395th Regiments. Perhaps best to send me E-mail directly at skipfarrar@gmail.com.

 

Little known tidbit on the 394th:

There was apparently a lack of American flags available at the front. This was Published in the Stars and Strips of the day. The 394th had fought all the way through Belgium and nearly to the Rhine and hadn't seen a single American flag. They were tired and burned up about the lack of American flags and patriotism. 1st Lt Samuel Lombardo, 2nd Platoon, I company 394th bemoaned this when he said, "If they won't give us a flag, we'll make one!" and they did.

Gathering scraps of Red White and Blue cloth as they swept through the Rhine the men sewed the scraps onto a white German surrender flag. When they crossed the Rhine at Remagen they were one of the first units across and their hand made flag, with only one side completed, was the first to cross the Rhine. The men continued to work on the flag as they fought forward and the flag was completed as they reached the Danube in April. Where ever they went their flag went with them. When they took the highly contested high ground around Honningen, up went the flag. Where ever they set up their CP, they raised their home made flag.

It was no longer a simple flag, but a representation of the spirit and patriotism of the 394th.

 

Check out Prof. Robert E. Humphrey's Once Upon A Time In War. Humphrey interviewed many vets of the 99 to write the book. Forgot where but I found Battle Babies on line.

 

Lone Sentry: Battle Babies: The Story of the 99th Infantry Division -- WWII G.I. Stories Booklet

 

Found it!

Battle Babies; The Story Of The 99th Infantry Division In World War II : Lauer, Walter E : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

 

Check out 394th Regt. Max Gendleman's A Tale of Two Soldiers.