Need to find regiment and unit

My father-in-law John W. Hall 15045736 served in WWII in the 4th Armored Division/ Patton's Third Army in Normandy (Breakthrough), Bastogne, Liberated Ohrdruf on April 4, and ended up in Czechoslovakia (Susice). He has Alzheimers and has been tormented by visions of German Disarmed Enemy Forces ("thousands of them in a field") that they had to turn over to the Russians. I am trying to find out his exact regiment and unit in order to trace exactly where he was after Ohrdruf. I realize that we have unique pictures from April 4 at Ohrdruf that are not on the Holocaust Museum website. I am trying to establish PTSD at this late date because he needs to go into a nursing home. My own father who served in the Pacific died in a VA hospital and was treated like a hero. I want the same thing for my father-in-law. I have been taking care of him for 10 years and all he talks about are those prisoners. His enlistment and separation papers don't have the information I need to track his whereabouts.

 

Alison, was your father in law collecting any VA benefits especially before 1973? I ask because if so, a copy of his discharge papers would have to be kept handy for verification purposes (his unit would be listed on the discharge). I mention 1973, because that is when a terrible fire destroyed many records at the Military Personnel Records Center at St. Louis. Here is their web site: Military Personnel Records

The 4th Armored Division in 1944/45:

Division Headquarters (HQ)
Division Headquarters Company
HQ & Headquarters Company Combat Command A (CCA)
HQ & Headquarters Company CCB
HQ & Headquarters Company Reserve Command (called CCR)
8th Tank Battalion
35th Tank Battalion
37th Tank Battalion
10th Armored Infantry Battalion
51st Armored Infantry Battalion
53d Armored Infantry Battalion
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery Division Artillery
22d Armored Field Artillery Battalion
66th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
94th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
25th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized
504th Counter-Intelligence Corps Detachment
489th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Automatic Weapons Battalion (att. 19 June '44-19 May 1945)
HQ & Headquarters Company Division Supply Trains
46th Medical Battalion, Armored
126th Armored Ordnance Maintenance Battalion
Military Police Platoon
24th Armored Engineer Battalion
144th Armored Signal Company

Two units were attached in the spring of 1945 that most likely have no bearing on your father in law:
704th Tank Destroyer Battalion (25 April - past 9 May 1945)
811th Tank Destroyer Battalion (3 March - 11 March '45)
[Source: Stanton, Order of Battle World War II, p.52]

Hope this helps,
Greg C.

 

On May 27, 1945 the 4th Armored Division was rerouted to an "occupational zone" roughly south-east of Nurnberg, north/north-east of Munich astride the Danube River. CCA was at Neumarkt; CCR at Kelheim; and Div. HQ and CCB at Landshut, Germany. It is possible that the handing over of German POWs to the Russians occured while in Czechoslovakia.

Greg C.

 

This article on Ohrduf Ohrdruf, also called Ohrdruf-Nord, a sub-camp of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp specifically mentions these units of the 4th Armored Division being there on April 4, 1945:
"- 345th Infantry Regiment of the 89th Infantry Division
- a member of the I & R platoon attached to the Headquarters company of the 354th Infantry Regiment of the 89th Infantry Division, Third US Army
- a member of Company K, 355th Infantry Regiment, 89th Infantry Division
- an American of the 37th Tank Battalion Medical section, 10 a.m. April 4, 1945"

Perhaps you could try looking as well for where these units served.

 

Thank you so much Slipdigit, Greg Canellis, and Macrusk! I am overcome with gratitude for your help and so glad I joined the WWII forum. Maybe someday I will be able to help someone like me who has an urgent need or just wants to find out about their Veteran relative's service.

My GUESS is that he would have been in the infantry (10th, 51st or 53rd), because he was a practically illiterate coal miner. But based on Macrusk's post, maybe he was in the 37th Tank Battalion Medical section, which she says was at Ohrdruf at 10am, April 4, 1945.

He said that being able to dig a deep enough trench to sleep in saved his life on more than one occasion. He was wounded with shrapnel but doesn't have a purple heart. He has 5 bronze stars and a distinguished unit citation. He entered as a Private and then became a Staff Sargent. His enlistment papers say Co C 2nd Armd Med Bn/ medical badge/ truck master 014. I know that he taught men to ride motorcycles and was a bit of a daredevil. I found his record at NARA and it said enlistment for the Philippines, but that has to be wrong. His separation papers say Normandy; Northern France; Ardennes; Rhineland; Central Europe. I know he trained at Pine Camp (now Ft. Drum) and went with 4th Division to England for training, landed at Normandy on July 11th, was in Bastogne, and then was in the group that first came upon Ohrdruf. I went to the 89th Recon Battalion website (which is great) and learned that the 89th came in to occupy it immediately AFTER it was stumbled upon by the 4th Division. This makes me think that he may have been in a forward group that was searching outside of Gotha that April 4. One of the entries in the 89th said that the man with the brownie camera from their unit was named [FONT=&quot] Warren G.H. Reed. I think I might have a photo of him taking his photos that day, and I have other photos (not the same ones) that were obviously taken that day. President [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Obama's uncle was in that group & who knows, I may have a photo of him too. I have taken the photos to be professionally scanned and will donate the scrapbook to the Holocaust Museum or other archive.

Thanks in advance for your help. I feel like I am getting closer.
[/FONT]

 

At the site I mentioned as one of the individuals quoted is Pres. Obama's uncle -

"Among the soldiers who helped to liberate Ohrdruf was Charles T. Payne, who is Senator Barak Obama's great uncle, the brother of his maternal grandmother. Charles T. Payne was a member of Company K, 355th Infantry Regiment, 89th Infantry Division.

According to an Associated Press story, published on June 4, 2009, Charles T. Payne's unit arrived at the Ohrdruf camp on April 6, 1945.

The following is an excerpt from the Associated Press story:"

 

I found this:
Lone Sentry: Rolling Ahead!: The Story of the 89th Infantry Division -- WWII G.I. Stories Booklet

"Meanwhile, Combat Team 5 slashed forward with the 4th Armd. Div. to Ohrdruf, liberated a large concentration camp. Several hours previous, SS guards had shot all prisoners too weak to move.


A search disclosed nearly 3000 bodies burned and buried in pits north of the camp. A group of German citizens, by order of Army authorities, were made to witness these horrors -- the whipping block, gallows, crematorium. No member of the 89th doubted Nazi barbarism after Stalag Ohrdruf.


Kicking off between Waltershausen and Friedrichroda, the 89th paced Third Army infantry in the final dash toward Czechoslovakia beginning April 10. The 355th pounded Crawinkel, the blasted the enemy from Grafenhaim and Georgenthal. Next night, riflemen ripped into Arnstadt and seized two bridges over the Gera River."

"....In the rear, the regiments mopped up swiftly, On April 14, the 353rd and 355th swept across the Saale on a wide front in assault boats, ferries and over footbridges.

The 89th prisoner count passed 15,000. Two notorious Germans surrendered near Kahla, convinced the war was all but over. They were Dr. Manfred Zapp, former Nazi chief propagandist in the U.S., and Richard Walter Darre, Hitler's Minister of Agriculture."

"Capture of Zwickau, an industrial city of 100,000 astride the Zwick-Mulde River, was the 89th's last major engagement in the ETO.


On April 17, the 355th, supported by tanks, moved up behind the artillery. Hundreds of hastily-mobilized Volkssturm troops, backed up by the SS and the Wehrmacht, met the thrust with heavy panzerfaust and machine gun fire from a network of trenches.

A task force of three motorized platoons -- units of the 89th Recon, 602nd TD Bn. and the 355th I & R -- was formed on the spot. Guided by two liberated British paratroopers, the task force swooped ahead of the infantry at 50 miles an hour and seized two bridges over the river in the heart of the city.


Fast action saved both bridges. The spans had been mined for demolition, but the 89ers located and cut all the wires that were found. The task force stood pat until infantry drove through to the river bank and cleared the city."

"One enemy attack in force was smashed by the 355th late April 27. Small local actions continued. Early May 7, the 89th suffered its last combat casualty, just before the "cease fire" order at 0830.

The division's daily newspaper, The Rolling W, printed on a captured German press, heralded the Nazis' unconditional surrender. All ranks shared a feeling of thanksgiving, of satisfaction of a job well done and a sober realization that victory was but half won. The road to peace leads through the Pacific.


The division set up temporary headquarters in Gotha May 12, 100 miles west of the Mulde River, and for the remainder of the month, occupied a large area in Thuringia, maintaining order, patrolling roads and guarding installations. Retracing its steps across Europe, the 89th then moved to Rouen, June 1."

 

Also found this: History of 93rd Cml Mortar Bn This is the site of the history of the 93rd Chemical Mortar Battalion in US & Central Europt during World War II and it contains history of the 355th Regiment of the 89th Infantry Division and the 4th Armoured, including April 1945 up to Czechoslovakia.

Chronology

25 March – In U.S. Third Army area, VIII Corps begins attack across the Rhine.

26 March – In U.S. Third Army area, VIII Corps expands and strengthens Rhine bridgehead. At 0200, 89th Div starts across the Rhine in Wellmich-Oberwesel region under intense fire; on left 354th Inf (-) secures Weyer, Nockern, Lierscheid, Patersberg , and St Goorshausen; 353rd, reinf by bn of 355th, captures Dorscheid, Kaub, Bornich, and Weisel; TF Johnson (motorized bn of 355th Inf plus supporting weapons and engineers) crosses at Boppard and moves along east bank, capturing Kestert; TF Engel (89th Rcn Tr and TD Co) follows TF Johnson, mopping up.

27 March – In U.S. Third Army area, VIII Corps continues to enlarge and strengthen Rhine bridgehead. 89th Div crosses the last of its combat elements over the Rhine and expands bridgehead toward Wiesbaden; forward units take Bogel on north, Streuth in center, and reach Lorch on south.

28 March – In U.S. Army's VIII Corps area, 89th Div moves southeast against spotty resistance: TF Johnson reaches Bad Schwalbach and halts; 354th Inf moves forward behind TF Johnson; 353rd, clearing Hinter Wald, is strongly opposed in vicinty of Nieder and Ober Gladbach; 355th, reinf by components of TF Engel as that TF is dissolved, overcomes severe resistance at Lorch.

29 March – In U.S. Army's VIII area, 354th Inf, 89th Div, reaches Bad Schwalbach and relieves TF Johnson, which is dissolved, then continues toward corps boundary; 353rd clears resistance in vicinity of Ober and Nieder Gladbach and takes Hausen; 355th and Rcn Tr clear Rhine bend W of Wiesbaden.

30 March – In U.S. Third Army area, 89th Div reaches corps boundary from Neuhof to Eltville and begins mopping up bypassed pockets.

3 April – In U.S. Third Army area, VIII Corps continues concentration in new zone for attack to limiting line Mulhausen-Langensalza- Gotha. 89th Div, concentrating in Hersfield area, releases RCT355 to 4th Armd Div. In U.S. Third Army's XX area, in center of corps, 89th Div, less RCT355, shuttles E to forward assembly area; 353rd Inf moves to Berka-Lauchroeden region and relieves elements of 90th Div (XII Corps).

5 April – In U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, CCA and CCB of 6th Armd Div clear Mulhausen by 0905. CCB then moves to Schlotheim area. CCA drives southest and advance elements begin assault on Langensalza from the northwest as elements of 65th Div (VIII Corps) push to same objective from the southwest. 80th Div begins attack east from Kassel but is halted by change of orders and relieved by 69th Div (V Corps). 76th Div continues eastward toward Werra and Wehre Rivers: RCT 385th begins attack on Grosselmerode;RCT 304, to right, reaches the Wehre at Niederhone, west of Eschwege, and takes bridge, VIII boundaries are altered to give Corps former XII Corps zone, 65th Div continues toward line Muhlhausen-Langensalza by nightfall. Elements of 353rd Inf, 89 Div, move into Eisenach after enemy agrees to surrender it, but pulls back upon learning that Germans are returning, Against light resistance, 354th Inf advances east on div left to line Henningsleben-Warza, south of Langensalza, and halts to await relief by XX Corps.

6 April – In U.S. Third Army's area XX Corps area, 6th Armd Div's mission is concluded as Langemensalza, under assault by elements of CGA and VIII Coprs' 65th Div, capitulates. 80th Div begins move from Kassel area to Gotha. RCT 385, 76th Div, reaches the Werra, capturing Grossalmerode, Trubenhausen, and Bad Sooden; crosses the Wehre at Niederhone to reach Eschwege area. RCT 304 speeds east from the Wehre by motor to vicinity of Schonstedt. 3rd Cav Gp assembles S of Kassel when boundary change places it within IV Corps zone. In VIII Corps area, 65th Div completes capture of Langensalza by 0745 and is disposed along restraining line Muhlhausen-Langensalza before noon. 353rd Inf, 89th Div, overcomes strong opposition at Eisenach; 354th moves around 353rd to vicinity of Waltershausen; RCT 355 reverts to div and moves to Ohrdruf area to screen right flank of div.

7 April – In VIII Corps area, enemy counterattack overruns 3rd Bn of 261st Inf, 65th Div, in Struth, but situation is restored with assistance of elements of XX Corps and aircraft. Elements of 65th Div relieve 87th Div forces at Gerstungen. 353rd Inf, 89th Div, clears region southeast of Eisenach to line Wutha-Ruhla; 354th drives south across right front of div, entering Friedrichoroda; 355th screens div right from Seebergen to Wollfis.

8 April – In VIII Corps area, 65th Div, whose zone on left flank of corps is being uncovered by XX Corps, passes into reserve. 89th and 87th Divs continue clearing Thuringer Wald against scattered but determined opposition.

9 April – In VIII Corps area, 89th and 87th Divs continue attack abreast, reaching positions generally along corps remaining line; are ordered to make limited attacks eastward from there on the 10th. 353rd Inf finishes clearing 89th Div left flank; 354th, reinf by bn of 355th continues to protect right flank of div and overruns Grafenhain.

10 April – In VIII Corps area, 89th and 87th Divs continue east abreast. 89th Div, with 355th Inf on left and 354th on right, drive to Gera R at Rudisleben, Arnstadt, and east of Espenfeld. 87th Div's 345th Inf takes Stuzhaus and continues vicinity of Crawinkel; 347th, to right, reaches edge of Geraberg. Div forms TF Sundt (Div Rcn Tr, Co k of 346th Inf, and supporting units) to spearhead drive to Saale on 11th, followed by 3d Bn of 346th Inf, motorized; rest of 346th Inf prepares to attack through 345th. 65th Div closes in assembly area in vicinity of Berka.

11 April – In VIII Corps area, 89th Div reaches line Gutendorf-Tonndorf-kranichfeld-Wizleben; forms TF Crater (motorized elements of 1st Bn of 353 Inf, 89th Rcn Tr, and supporting units) for dash to the Saaleon 12th. 87th Div proceeds quickly toward Stadtilm on left and Bad Blankenburg on right. 65th Div starts to new assembly area at Waltershausen.

12 April – In U.S. Third Army's area, VIII Corps drive east to the Saale against decreasing resistance. On left, TF Crater spearheads attack of 89th Div, moving through Bad Berka to the Saale in Rothenstein area; 355th Inf mops up resistance bypassed by TF Crater and seizes Tannroda; 354th progresses slowly south of Kranichfeld. TF Sundt of 87th Div reaches the Saale near Rudolstadt. 346th Inf assists TF Sundt and takes Ehrenstein and Altremda. 347th overruns Bad Blankenburg.

13 April – In U. S. Third Army's area, VIII Corps mops up west of the Saale, over which all vehicular bridges are destroyed and establishes bridgehead on right. 89th Div, with 355th and 353rd Regts abreast, clears Rothenstein-Beutelsdorf sector west of the Saale and dissolves TF Crater. 87th Div, with 346th and 347th Regts abreast, clears its sector to the Saale; crosses elements at Etzelbach, Schwarza, and Saalfeld by ford and foot bridges and establishes firm bridgehead. 65th Div starts toward Arnstadt to mop up stragglers.

14 April – In U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, VIII Corps sets restraining line extending north from boundary south along Zwick Mulde R to Wilkau, thence southwest along autobahn to south boundary. 355th and 353rd Regts, 89 Div, speed east from the Saale to the general line Moeckern-Zwaukau-Arnshagen. Upon completion of bridge near Saalfeld, TF Sundt heads 87th Div advance, reaching Peuschen: 346th Inf drives about 3 miles east from Ettelbach crossing site, and 347th gets elements to Schmorda.

15 April – In U.S. Third Army's area, VIII Corps directs 89th Div to establish bridgehead over Zwick Mulde R in vicinity of Wickau and to make contact with XX Corps. Committing 354th Inf between 355th and 353rd, 89th Div drives to line of Weisse-Elster and Weida Rivers between Gera and Zeulenroda and begins crossing after nightfall. 6th Cav Gp crosses Weisse-Elster R on left flank of corps and moves east and southeast in zone of 89th Div. Thrusting southeast toward Weisse-Elster R, 87th Div's 346th Inf reaches Kleinwelschendorf, just west of Zeulenroda; TF Sundt drives to Pausa area; 347th Inf reaches Langebach. 65th Div is notified that it will be returned to XX Corps.

16 April – In U.S. Third Army's area, VIII Corps pushes east and southeast against scattered resistance. 6th Cav Gp, developing enemy positions ahead of 89th Div, takes Weisse-Elster bridges at Berga and Knottengrund and turns them over to 89th Div; pushes east to north-south rail line running through Werdau. 89th Div reaches Pleese R and begins assault on Werdau on left, in center drives into Werdauer Wald, and on right reaches Weisse-Elster R in vicinity of Greiz. Assault forces of 87th Div cross Weisse-Elster R on right flank of corps and forward elements reach positions beyond corps restraining line, the autobahn. On left, 346th Inf captures Zeulenroda, crosses the Weisse-Elster, and drives to vicinity of Brockau. TF Sundt drives southeast across Weisse-Elster R to Mechelgruen, east of limiting line. 347 Inf overruns Plauen and reaches autobahn to east on left and drives to Oelsnitz, beyond restraining line on right.

17 April – In U. S. Third Army's area, in VIII Corps area, 89th Div completes capture of Werdau and establishes bridgehead across Zwick Mulde R in vicinity of Zwickau; on right clears Greiz and takes Reichenbach after aerial softening of city. 87th Div closes along limiting line on corps right flank and gains additional ground beyond it. 346th Inf pushes beyond the autobahn to Bergen area. Elements of 347th Inf occupy Theuma.

18 April – U.S. Third Army regroups extensively and starts side slipping southward for final drive southeast to Austria and Czechoslovakia. VIII Corps clears to corps restraining line and takes control of XX Corps 4th and 6th Armd and 76th Inf Divs in place. 6th Armd and 76th Inf Divs maintain current positions along restraining line and patrol; 76th Div begins relief of 4th Armd Div. 89th Div attains all its objectives: 355th and 354th Regts expand Zwick Mulde bridgehead toward Oelsnitz, overrunning Zwickau, Wilkau, and many other towns; makes contact with 76th Div on left; 353d Inf takes a number of towns east of the autobahn on right flank of div. XX Corps turn over its sector and 3 divs to VIII Corps and starts to Bamberg area. 80th Div releases positions overlooking Chemnitz to 76th Inf and 4th Armd Divs.76th Div relieves 4th Armd Div in line.

19 April – In U.S. Third Army area, VIII Corps consolidates along restraining line and patrols eastward.

20 April – In U.S. Third Army area, VIII maintains current position and patrols actively.

22 April – In U.S. First Army's XVIII Corps (A/B) area, VIII Corps is transferred from Third to First Army control as Third Army attack veers from east to south. Its mission is to defend current front, protect south flank of First Army, and maintain contact with Third Army. 4th Armd Div passes to direct control of First Army.

6 May – Western Europe, 12th Army Group: U.S. Ninth Army takes control of VII and VIII Corps from First Army at 1800.

 

Thank you so much. I am going to study this carefully when I get home from work. I heard from someone else not on the WWII Forum that of the 4th Armored Division it was the 8th Tank Bn and the 53rd Armored Infantry Bn who arrived at Ohrdruf on April 4. I found a picture of the 53rd, all sitting together for a photo probably taken before they left the US, but I couldn't enlarge it to try to locate my father-in-law. How can I find out what the 8th and the 53rd did after Ohrdruf on April 4? And, are there any lists of names now that I am narrowing it down?

 

At the same site I found the 355th, there was mention of the 53rd Armored...

"On 19 April the enemy remained generally nonaggressive while improving his positions and directing automatic weapons, nebelwerfer and artillery fire on our patrols and forward elements. All divisions except the 4th Armored consolidated their positions along the restraining line and patrolled to the east.

In the 6th Armored zone CCR completed relief of CCB at 0700, after which CCB closed near Zeitz(K0881) with the mission of establishing security in the division rear area and protecting the Corps left flank. The 87th and 89th Divsions and the 6th Calvary Group extended patrols 3 kilometers east of the restraining line. In some cases against strong opposition, and the 6th Calvary maintained contact with the XII Corps to the south.

The 76th Division, with elements of three regiments in line, improved defensive positions and patrolled to the east. When the 1st Battalion of the 385th Infantry was uncovered by elements of the 89th Division, the battalion assembled near Hohenstein (K5086). In the 4th Armored CCB closed in assembly near Schmollen (K2465) and 53rd Armored Infantry Battalion closed in assembly 2 kilometers east of Crimmitschau (K2756).

Operations Memorandum Number 46, issued on the 19th, changed boundaries to be effective immediately. The Corps right boundary was to run along the northern boundary of Bavaria to the Czechoslovakian border. The boundary between the 6th Armored and the 76th Division was extended west as follows: old boundary at Polzig (K1370) - Hueckewalde (K1072) - Rosenenthal (J9772) - Gosen (J9074) - Poppendorf (J8575) - Wichmar (J7777), all inclusive to the 76th Division."

I would do Google searches for the various units you think may be the ones - try various ways of searching so that you drill down to the most likely combinations. The problem with numeric unit designations is that it brings up a lot of things unrelated to WWII, so do a search for World War II first to narrow the scope. Hope this helps.

The units may have been written about or have their own sites which give some chronology or detail about their actions and even names of individuals. Perhaps there may be photos which correlate to the ones you have. From their sites you may find a contact name whom you can write. I would also check with the US National Archives as just because there was the fire in St. Louis which destroyed so many records, there were also files that were offsite at the time which may still exist.

 

Re above -the latter part of this article describes where the 4th Armoured was in Czechoslovakia, and the ramifications on the troops, liberated, and Germans surrendering because of political agreements between SHAEF and the Soviets.

Military History Online - The Liberation of Western Czechoslovakia 1945

I found this re the 8th Tank Battalion:

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp-stories/loc.natlib.afc2001001.02978/narrative?ID=pn0001
Personal Narrative of Bruce Donald Fenchel

" The Fourth Armored used the March days to smash deep into Germany's vitals from Bitburg to Hersfeld . We were taking prisoners at the rate of 1,000 a day. During the month of March the Fourth Armored had been farther east than any other outfit on the western front.

On April 1st we crossed the Werra River bypassing Eisenback to the north and thus avoiding the autobahn and the main roads. On the way to Gotha, the tanks overran a Wehrmacht Panzer tank school and two huge airfields concealed in the dense woods. Gotha surrendered at 1030 April 4th. Prior to Gotha surrendering, in the early hours of the morning, the 8th Tank Battalion drove south. A detached unit of five reconnaissance tanks was sent out to observe the area immediately to our front. While sitting still and looking through my binoculars, I noticed several soldiers running in a ditch. I said, "If we are the forward echelon, who in the hell are they?" We noticed them cross the road. The tank commander yelled, "Kick her in the ass". This, of course, meant full speed ahead. As we moved from our field position onto the road we soon heard the machine gun and small arms fire. We then came upon some large steel gates that were locked. The command came down, "Ram them!" We were liberating the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp, the first German concentration camp encountered in Germany."

http://webplaza.pt.lu/public/gries/page22/page21/page21.html#Concentration%20Camp,%20Gotha,%20Jena also see here re the memoire of a Tech Sgt with the 4th Armoured

As Jeff (aka Slipdigit) mentioned one time I'm a little like a dog with a bone when I get me teeth into something to research. I hope you don't mind, but I'm particularly interested in finding information for you, Alison, because of the reason you want it.

 

Michelle, you are amazing. One of my friends once described me in the same way, like a little dog with a bone. This was about something completely unrelated to this project! Since we are two peas in a pod, I would also like to know more about you!

 

In one of the sources Michelle provided I found that the prisoners who were east of the stop line were the ones that had to be turned over to the Soviets, so my father-in-law was east of the stop line. I don't find any mention of the 53rd Armored Infantry Battalion, but lots of references to the 4th Armored Division's activities (I am thinking at present that he was in the 53rd which was part of the 4th Armored Division). The source describes hundreds of thousands of surrendering Germans.

 

If I could figure out how you posted that picture, I could post a picture of my father-in-law at Berghof. When I get the Ohrdruf pictures scanned I will upload them too. I wonder if Pres Obama's uncle is in one of them.

 

Here is my attempt to post the picture as an attachment.

 

Here is my mother. She wasn't a Veteran, but she was a typist for FDR.

 

Jeff, I started howling when I saw the photo...hmm, perhaps a poor choice of words - insert laughing heartily.... It's nice to find a like minded person, Alison!

I'll see what else I can trip over -it's amazing what is now on the Internet and sometimes buried within the histories of other units. Do you have the citations that go with his bronze stars? It would be interesting to know the stories. There is a website that is trying to collect the information about the individuals who won the various awards for Valor.

I love the photos of your parents. Your Mom was beautiful and her smile is so open and friendly!

A little about me and my WWII connection: My avatar at the moment is a photo of my mother, she worked for the War Department in London, England. My Dad was a Gunner with the 3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Artillery of the 2nd Cdn Division; he was also attached from Sept 44 to May 45 to 21 Army Group HQ as a signaller. I have a small album of them on my user page and copies of some of their documents on a thread sharing WWII documents.

I'm trying to write their story, but keep finding gaps in my knowledge of them early in the 1940s that make it difficult -as even in a work of creative non-fiction, I need the framework of their reality to keep it well anchored and for me to stay inspired and not feeling like I am creating a fabrication of who they were. I'm hoping that following my Dad's footsteps in Europe this spring and getting a full set of his records, versus the genealogical version, that it will help with him. Mum will be a challenge as she said she took a lifetime secrecy oath and said very little, so it is hard to know how to obtain any civilian records. Being born when they were in their late 30s, when they were older I heard a bit more than my brothers of what they intentionally shared - but didn't get to hear conversations they had with people who knew them during the war years.

 

Your mom was a "dish," as they would have said in the 1940s

Greg C.