980th FA Bn / SS soldier photos found

I need to get back to scanning now that your history is posted in it's entirety. I had this one below scanned already. It is my dad (in the corporal stripes) and another fellow from the 980th posing with some V-2 rocket segments at Nordhausen before the Russians arrived.

View attachment 18320

 

Sorry to hear about Horace. I have really enjoyed you sharing some of his stories and the unit history.

 

Grandpa recovered from his hospital stay and his daughter brought him to her house yesterday. I went over this morning to check on him and he was up and eating his breakfast. It looks like he will be staying with Pam and Ross until he gets a little stronger or for ever.

 

That's great news, TLT. Please pass on our best wishes to him as he continues to recover.

 

Hi everybody, especially 980th.

This thread is great. Found much more then I was hoping for our little reenactment group. My friend owns this superb Dodge WC-63 truck marked 3A-980-F C2. I just flew through this posts and it took me 3 hours. Decided that I will make a presentation of 980th for my band of brothers. Fascinating reading. So much respect for your grand father and all mentioned here and thank you for sharing and inspiring others to participate as well.
Search started because of new service coat for me and ike jacket for a friend and trying to get the best and most right insignia. Would love to take some advice. On shoulder patches and possibly Distinctive Unit crest.

Regards Ludvik

 

I wanted to thank all of you for posting this information and pictures about the 980th FA Bn.

My Great Uncle was with the 144th FA Battery A out of Santa Maria, Ca which was folded into the 980th. His name was Larkin V. Thornburgh and he was a big part of my life and a positive influence on me. He was a big part of my family and was like a grandfather to me in a way that mine was not. His first name is my middle name which I am proud of.

I am proud of his service and all those who served and still serve.

I will need to upload the pictures I have from his time during WW 2. The pictures all of you have posted have alot of the same guys in them as the ones I have. I will post them soon.

Thanks again it was a fun read.

William Larkin Murray

 

That sounds great, William. I look forward to seeing your photos. I hope you will consider doing a special post in honor of your great uncle in our Roll of Honor & Memories - WWII section.

 

Really looking to those pics. Regards, Ludviky

 

Last night PBS aired a documentary film titled "The Ghost Army". I thought I heard them mention the 980th FAB but because it is awkward to say (Nine hundred Eightieth or Nine Eighty or The Nine Eight Zero) I wasn't sure I heard right.

http://www.ghostarmy.org

 

My father, Fred Foster, was in A Battery 144th out of Santa Maria. Great history, my mother will be ecstatic. Here's a 1954 reunion roster. I broke it up for better quality.

Here's a link to my facebook photos from 1941 and on, Ft. Lewis and Yakima.

https://www.facebook.com/andrew.foster.750/media_set?set=a.422147617864183.97141.100002068463535&type=3

 

It took a couple days to edit the report. Very enlightening as to what my father did. Thank you for posting.

 

Look fopward to seeing them. I need to get off my butt and finish scanning the ones I have. I have posted the state side and training photos in another thread and need to add the pics from Europe.

 

980TH,

Thank you for taking the time to post these valuable pictures and the story of your Grandfather's time in Europe.

 

I have been on summer break, so today was the first time I've been back to this site. I am so glad that people are finding the 980th story! I look forward to all the pictures that will be posted. By the way Grandpa is still with us! He still reads a book a day. What an amazing man. We just love him.

 

I went to your facebook page and looked at all your photo's. Thanks! They were great.

 

View attachment 19198 980th, in your 4th comment of this post (starting with "Part 3"), you have a photo of someone from A Battery. Here's another photo of him.
Andy

 

That sure looks like the same guy. On Grandpa's photo he wrote the guys nickname "Midget". He was part of the service battery with grandpa.
Heather

 

My father died in 1967 when I was 7. I have few memories of him. Growing up going to the BBQ's I knew a few of his buddies but nothing of the war, and at that age, not really caring. My sister called me last night and we talked for a while. We got to the point of this site and this post and about dad's war time. I was explaining to her the 144th history posted here, how it went from Ft Lewis to Germany. She was happy that the information is available for what he did, as we never knew. She said he never talked about it. One time he did. When the Beatles aired on Ed Sullivan. He mentioned he'd been to Liverpool. He hated it. It was filthy. It stunk, smelled like fish, and he hated it. I said that it mentioned Liverpool. She also said when mom got out the Spam he'd say "he wasn't eating any of that. That's all they served in the army". After a while we said goodbye's and hung up the phone. So I went back and read the part about Liverpool. I good chuckle of the fact: the ship got into port at around noon. At 5pm (being Jan 8th and dark by then) they off loaded, marched to the train station, and was out of there that night. So, after spending more than a week on the Atlantic Ocean. Spending 5 hours on the ship in the harbor. Marching through town blacked out. Getting on a train and being somewhere else by the next morning. He hates Liverpool.

 

Nice story Gadget, though he was probably missing home more than hating Liverpool.


Just to help complete the information that is available online...

History and pictures of the USAT Edmund B. Alexander can be found here
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-us-cs/army-sh/usash-ag/e-alexdr.htm

I think I have identified the location of marshaling area D-8 from a spreadsheet found online. The complete entry reads:
Dorset,5,Down Wood Camp (D8),Winterborne Herringston,SY,690866,,C2,D-Day marshalling camp,334,South West p1
The actual embarkation point for the 980th FAB (minus B Bty) was probably near Weymouth.

The embarkation point for B Battery with the 4th ID / VII Corps is likely one of these:Torquay, Brixham, Dartmouth, or Salcombe

 

I am glad you are enjoying the 980th history! I searched and searched trying to find info. I finally went to the NARA and paid for the history. It took me a while and you will notice many typos but I knew I had to post the history here. I knew there were others like me searching and I wanted to share. I sent a copy to the Cal Nat Guard Museum hoping they would post it on there site. Not sure if that ever happened. If you would like a copy from my copy give me your address in an email and I will mail it to you.