459th Amphibious Truck Company - Questions!!!

I have been fortunate to obtain photos my late grandfather took while serving in the 459th Amphibious Truck Company and I have a couple of key questions about the photos. Perhaps someone here who knows a lot about the European Theatre could help me out.

In a couple photos, labeled "German Concentration Camp", there are soldiers standing in front of a building which has what "appears" to be either an Iron Cross (without the flared sides, the cross looks more like the symbol for the American Red Cross) inside a circle. The building is made of what looks like wooden planks. The soldiers (including dear old grandpa) are holding up Nazi flags. One of the flags has a square in the upper corner with some lettering inside and what looks like the number 4. The lettering looks like it might be Dukan or Bukan? Hard to make out because when I zoom in, it pixelates too much. I'm wondering if someone could tell me what concentration camp this might be.

He also has some good photos of the bridge collapse on the Rhine and the temporary bridge that was built and quite a few other really great ones.

Also wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of a good source of info on the activities of the 459th Amphibious Truck Company? I'd really like to take the photos he took and compare them to some others and see if I can match them up somehow.

Thanks so much for any tiny bit of help - anything works for me.

Patti

 

I will do that shortly. Thanks, being a brand new person here, I didn't want to overstep my bounds.

 

Well, OK then... here's a few to start.

 

The Company did land on Utah Beach and got assault landing credit for it. I guess this means they got an arrow head on the European Campaign Ribbon.
The 453rd, 458th and 459th Transportation Corps Amphibious Truck Companies were assigned to the initial assault. Their mission was to deliver their cargo, then shuttle between the beach and the ships, offloading supplies and establishing supply and ammunition dumps. Operational difficulties were encountered early. Many DUKW's were sunk or damaged during the landings when they struck enemy-laid mines or other obstacles. Some overloaded DUKW's were swamped, and others, launched too far offshore, ran out of fuel and were lost at sea. Adequate maintenance and repair proved almost impossible because of the shortage of spare parts and the round-the-clock activity. From June 6-7, 1944, the three companies lost 41 DUKWs while delivering supplies from ships to supply dumps established just behind the front lines. The ability to move vital supplies directly to the front lines, and the courage of the crews under enemy fire made the DUKW a vital, integral part of the Normandy Invasion.

Further I've found this interesting info:
Cournoyer Funeral Home, Jaffrey, NH

 

About the pictures of the building with the cross: the must have been the hospital of the camp. It is also possible that the red cross was painted on it after the arrival of the American troops.

 

Could be Dülken, a town northwest of Munchengladbach in the Rhineland? This makes some sense as this is where the US Ninth Army operated and crossed the Rhine, which required Amphibious Truck Companies.

When a GI identifies a Concentration Camp it could be any one of thousands of slave labor camps so you may not find your grandfather witnessed any of the well known camps.

The red cross with a white field was a universal symbol for hospital or other medical facility used by all sides. They were suppose to be unarmed and not targeted.

 

My father who died last week at 95 was in the 459th amphibious truck company and he landed on Omaha beach D-Day + 1. I would like to see more your photos. I have a number of his as well. The work camp picture looks similar to one he took. We need to figure out how to share more. I thinks I have about 200 pictures. His name: Staff Sargent David ("Smitty") Wilson Smith

 

Welcome to the Forums, Rodney. That is a wonderful photo of your father. Please accept my condolences for your loss. I would like to encourage to post a memorial of your father in the Roll of Honor & Memories section.

Unfortunately, Patti hasn't signed onto the Forums for about 9 months. However, I encourage you to post whatever you would like. She may come back or someone else who had a relative in the 459th may find this thread as you did.

 

Dear Mr. Smith,
My condoleances with the loss of your father. I'm greatfull for his part in the liberation of Europe and the preservation of the peace. Maybe it is not a bad idea to dedicate a website, so you can share his pictures and publish a biography. There must be a lot to tell about his life and his experiences during the war.
Another tribute could be to place his name and photo on this website: World War 2 Awards.com, to honor him amongst his camrades.

 

Hi Rodney,
My grandfather was in the 459th and I found this site while trying to find out where he was and what he did during the war. Unfortunately he died when I was 17 and I never got the chance to ask him any questions personally. All the information I have is from his discharge papers or second hand stories from my grandmother. She had once told me he had been at a concentration camp in Germany and I was shocked when I read Patti's comment above. No one else in my family seems to have heard this story before. My grandfathers name was Raymond White, he was from NH and he was a DUK boat mechanic/driver. I would be very interested to hear any stories you may be able to relate and would love to see any pictures you are willing to post. Thanks!

 

My condolences, Rodney, for your loss. You have all my respects for his memory and for the memory of what those young lads did over there all those years ago. May he rest in peace.

Judging from Patti's previous photos, that is most probably the concentration camp at Dulken, North-Rhine Westphalia. There was a concentration camp there according to records from 1943 to the end of the war when it was liberated. I couldn't find any specific info on the actual camp, but from map dissection it was probably a sub camp of Natzweiler-Sruthof in the Vosges (ran from 1941 until 1944). Hope this helps.

 

Thank you Lou. Not sure if I want to post his papers on here. What information specifically would be of help? Currently I am trying to confirm that the 459th was part of the landing on Utah Beach. I'm not finding a lot of info on the 459th.

 

They were stationed here in May 1944
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]Piddlehinton
[/TD]
[TD]459 Amphibious Truck Company
[/TD]
[TD]Dorset
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

but gone in June 1944 which verifies they went into France early.

 

Thank you all! I do know that he was at Normandy, Northeren France, Ardennes, Rhineland... I think the 459th landed at Utah Beach but trying to confirm, found this last night http://ww2lct.org/history/images/page15.pdf

 

my wife's uncle, Curtis E. Lemmons, just passed away this week and he was a truckdriver in the 459th Amphibious Truck Company. he was 90 years old and was 20 at the time they invaded at Normandy. We would like to get as much information and pictures as possible regarding this unit. Any help will be greatly appreciated. His rank was PFC. He did not like to talk about the war as did so many of these brave true American heroes.