need help finding what unit my Uncle was in the Battle of Bulge, POW Stalag IX-B

Im trying to find out what Unit my Great Uncle served in and the circumstances around his capture. I always knew he was wounded and captured in the Battle of the Bulge and through some research found his info on a list of POW camp: Stalag IX-B. Through brief reserach I suspect he could be part of the 422nd or 423rd Infantry Regiment of the 106th Infantry Division which were captured and sent there. However, his NARA POW record provides the following information:

T SG - Technical Sergeant,
Type: 740: Branch Immaterial/Infantry Division Band/Dental Corps/Medical Department
Parent Unit Number: 0397
Parent Unit Type: 06 Group/Regiment/Commands/System

I thought the parent unit Type: 06 may be the 106th, but can't find out what parent unit Number 0397 is.

I do not have any idea whether he was a medic or what as the Type: 740 indicates. I know he receieved a Purple Heart as well as a Bronze Star, however, we never saw the Bronze Star or heard what it was received for.

I wonder if someone could give me some guidance. Also, if it helps, on his NARA ''Display Full records" (enlistment record?) lists him as ''Branch Immaterial-Warrant Officers, USA"

Thanks

 

Was he a draftee? and if so was he living in WA, OR, CA, ID, MT, NV, UT, AK at the time he was inducted?

 

Thank you gentlemen. I am not sure whether he was drafted, but his Army serial number begins with 3 which I have heard indicates he was drafted.. He was from Westchester County, NY and enlisted in NYC Dec 10 1942. There he is listed as Private.

Also, on his NARA POW record, his Arm of Service and/or Code is INF: Infantry.
Area: France

The "Date Report" is Jan 9, 1945. (Is this the date he was formally reported as a POW?)
The "Latest Report Date" is Mar 6, 1946 (I don't know what the significance of this date is.. could this be discharge from the Army? He should have be libereated from Stalag 9B approx April 2, 1945)

Im not sure what the timeline is for being put in a unit... If he entered the Army essentially the begining of '43, how long would Basic take.. specialized training.. Nearly two years would pass before the Battle of Bulge would begin in December of '44. I know they would have been staged in England for a while.. maybe these times make some sense.

 

That's exactly what that date is

Good luck.....but you might be chasing your tail. Pictures or an APO number would be good. Any Battles besides the Bulge ?

 

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately I do not have any photos or much other information. He passed away in the early 90's and never spoke of his experiences at that time of his life. The info I got was through my grandmother who has passed away as well.
The only info I can remember hearing was that he was wounded, captured, placed on boxcar and sent to POW camp. Through NARA I found him on the list of Stalag 9B. Reading some 1st person accounts of captures in the first few days of the Battle, many sound like this. Large parts of the 422nd and 423rd were captured and sent by boxcar to Stalag 9B.. His NARA POW record lists a date of Jan 9, '45; which seems a little late but I would expect there would be some delay between the time of capture and the reporting.
Also, one question I have regards his rank Technical Sergeant on the POW record and initial placement in the 'Warrant Officers, USA' on his NARA enlistment record. And again, the 'unit type' listed on the record is 'Branch Immaterial/Band/Medical/Dental corps'. I wonder how one would become a Technical Sergeant, could this be a medic? A brief description I have heard regarding these unit were they were non-combat units. He was wounded(I dont know how) and supposedly received a Bronze Star(He never talked so much as bragged about his service so I do believe he received this medal).

 

The notation on Warrant Officer is common to all enlisted records of the period and essentially meaningless. It sounds like he was probably assigned to a battalion aid station or regimential medical unit rather than a front line medic. That would be more compatable with his rank.

 

I think you are confusing "Technical Sergeant" or T/Sgt. with "Technician" or T/3/4/5. T/Sgt would typically be in charge of an Infantry platoon or a weapons section in the Army. The current equivelant is Sergeant First Class.


T/Sgt

As far as the "Branch Immaterial/Band/Medical/Detal Corps: that just means that he is medically fit for duty in all areas. My dad's has the same classification and he was Infantry.
As for the Branch Immaterial/ Warrant Officers: That means he did not have a significant criminal past think of it as being Morally fit for duty in all areas.

 

[QUOTE;=formerjughead551882]T/Sgt

As far as the "Branch Immaterial/Band/Medical/Detal Corps: that just means that he is medically fit for duty in all areas. My dad's has the same classification and he was Infantry.
As for the Branch Immaterial/ Warrant Officers: That means he did not have a significant criminal past think of it as being Morally fit for duty in all areas.[/QUOTE]

I've seen that a lot of times and always wondered what the true meaning was. No wonder you get the big bucks

 

Thank you to everyone who has given input here and a sincere thanks to all veterans out there...
I believe I have succeeded in locating the unit my great Uncle was in, partially by pure luck. I was simply trying to get an estimate of the backgrounds of prisoners at Stalag IX-B. I searched "axpow, stalag 9B" in google which provided me with a list of biographies/stories of POWS from the American ex-POW.org website.
By chance, one of the first couple biographies I read was of a man from Company F, 397th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division; who was captured on the same day as my Uncle. I suspect the 397th Regiment could correspond to the 'Parent Unit Number 0397' that I found on my Uncles NARA POW record. I have just begin to research the 397th Reg and found that Company F and Company E were overrun by the Germans at Rimling, on Jan 9, 1945. It appears they held out for some time before becoming captured and as a result many were wounded and many medals were awarded..
I quickly searched through some rosters/lists of Purple Heart Recipients from the 397th, however, I could not find him on the list.. so more homework to do. I greatly look forward to searching and learning more about the circumstances and appreciate any and all advice. Thanks again to all who have served.

 

I just stumbled across this thread looking for something else. Thought I'd add a couple of links that have to do with Stalag IX-b:

44th Infantry Division - Liberation of Stalag IX-b

Indianamilitary.org - History of Stalag IX-b POW Camp, Bad Orb, Germany

Lone Sentry - Photographs of Stalag IX-b in Bad Orb, Germany

USHMM Spielberg Film & Video Archive - POW Camp (Stalag IX-b) near Bad Orb...

 

Hello there! I am looking for the same information you are! My grandfather was in the 100th Infantry Division, 397th Regiment, and was captured on January 9, 1945, in France, and sent to Stalag IX-B in Bad Orb. I do not know what company he was in. Do you know how I can find out? Have you found out any other information about your uncle? Members of my family think my grandfather was captured near Malmédy, Belgium, but the telegram from the Department of War says only France.

 

If you are lucky, you can search here with his name.

Sons of Biche - 100th Infantry Division Roster, 1944-1945

Good luck, let us know if that helps, otherwise we have other tricks.

 

Welcome to the Forum, jmr! If your grandfather was with the 397th and was captured on 9 Jan 1945, it was likely in the vicinity of Rimling, France. The Marshall Foundation has 397th Infantry's WWII combat history as downloadable PDFs. If you download the Rimling section and jump to PDF page 19, you can read about the German attack on Rimling which began on 8 Jan 1945. It doesn't specifically mention anyone being taken prisoner, but it does mention that the positions of Companies E & F were overrun.

Have you tried requesting your grandfather's records?

 

Great suggestion, Lou. By the way, your link is for the 397th Infantry's HQ Company history, which is a great find! It looks like it has the name and individual photo for just about everybody in the company.

 

Rimling is the last village in Lorraine until the German border. It is east of Metz and south east of Malmedy, Belgium. In fact if you follow the luxemburg border you will trace a line between Malmedy and Rimling. Both places are about 120 km from another. During the war both places had been incorporated into the Reich and were returned to France (Rimling) and Belgium (Malmedy ) in 1945.

 

Wow, thank you, everyone, for all the great information! I did find out (from discharge papers) that my grandfather was in Company F, and then I checked the Sons of Biche list referenced above and it said the same thing for my grandfather. It is exciting to piece all of this together. Thanks so much for your help, and if any other recommendations come to mind, please let me know!