Needing Okinawa Info - US Army 106th Inf

Hey all. I'm new here and, to be honest, haven't heard of this forum. But, my grandfather was there and I'm trying to find out all the information I can. I've searched pretty extensively but have found little information. Any help would be appreciated.

 

For those with a clue (as is the case with the OP), 106th Infantry refers to an infantry regiment, not a division.

In April, 1945, the 106th Infantry Division was about 6,000 miles from Okinawa.

 

The 106th Infantry would be a unit of the 27th Infantry Division, which fought on Okinawa.

Army numbering allowed for four regiments per infantry division, which had been the WWI "square" organization, but by WWII they had converted to a "triangular" setup with three regiments. Division numbers up to 25 and regiments up to 100 were Regular Army, though not all were used. Higher numbers were for the National Guard and for units activated in wartime, and four regimental numbers were assigned to each division in sequence: the 26th Division would have the 101st, 102nd, 103rd, and 104th (4 x 26) regiments; the 27th the 105th, 106th, 107th, and 108th; and so on. The system was not always perfectly followed, especially when the change from square to triangular separated some regiments from their original divisions. No doubt some of our members can provide further detail.

 

To be fair to OP, he is a Navy type so the esoterica of Army nomenclature is likely confusing.

No, the 106th Infantry of World War II was never a part of the 27th Infantry Division NYNG. That unit was actually organized interwar by the redesignation of the 23d New York Infantry. When it was federalized in 1940 the regiment was broken up to form the 186th Field Artillery and 101st MP Battalion.

A new 106th Infantry was then formed from the 10th New York of the non-divisional 93d Infantry Brigade, which was federalized as a separate infantry regiment.

It would help if the OP would let us know what information he has and what information he is missing.

 

Hey all. Like I said, new to the forum and also just realized I don't get notified when someone responds. Anyway, as Carronade said, the 106th Infantry was part of the 27th Infantry on Okinawa. I found another thread on this forum discussing the 105th and was hoping to have similar luck with the 106th. My grandfather very nearly lived 90 years but could rarely talk more than 3 or 4 minutes, for obvious reasons, about his experiences there.

So, 78 years later, I'm trying to piece together as much as I can. I wish I had more information to share but I really don't. I know the stories he told but none of them include specific names, places, etc. One story I can offer, though, is that he was a good poker player. While aboard a troop ship he hit a hot streak and apparently won a large of money. Once they received orders to hit the beach he realized he didn't have a safe place to stash his winnings. He said that cargo pockets on both legs were stuffed with bills and silver coins. Anyway, once ashore, he realized the weight was slowing him down. He buried the loot at the base of a prominent tree thinking that, if he survived, he'd dig it up on his way off the island. He survived but never went back to that part of the island! He always told us that if the Army ever took us Okinawa he would be able to direct us to the tree! Haha. Uncle Sam had other plans and, no doubt, it would have been nearly impossible to find anyway. It's fun to think about, if it was ever discovered, what the lucky person thought when they found a sizeable stash of US money buried on the beach!

I have his Army issue bible that he kept with him through the fighting. We also found a map that shows the general movements of the 2/106th during the battle. Again, I'm just hoping someone out there has more information.

Thanks.

 

You should probably reach out to the New York State Military Museum to see what they may be able to find for you. Otherwise, you can request copies of the regimental AAR's from NARA II, College Park and get copies of the unit Morning Reports for the periods you are interested in from the St. Louis National Personnel Records Center. I use Geoff of Golden Arrow for that. Again it depends on what you are trying to find. If it is specific mention of him, you will likely only find mention in the Morning Report and that would be for any change in his status.

 

Wow. Thank you Rich. That could be tremendously helpful. I didn't realize AARs were accessible like that. I have heard of Golden Arrow but know nothing about it. I just submitted a request to them.

 

Well, I should have said you probably will need a professional researcher to copy the relevant AAR's - NARA will not do it for you.

 

Note the 96th Inf Div AAR for Okinawa is available at World War II Operational Documents and that for the 27th Inf Div is World War II Operational Documents

As are those for Tenth Army World War II Operational Documents and World War II Operational Documents

The 106th Infantry AAR for Saipan is at World War II Operational Documents

Unfortunately, CARL has not digitized the 106th AAR for Okinawa. There are also a couple of Infantry School papers from postwar that cover the 106th Infantry on Saipan. You may want to reach out to the Donovan Research Library at the Maneuver Center of Excellence, Fort Moore (Benning) as well to see what material they might have on the 106th on Okinawa. They are very helpful.