New here and searching

If you are curious about my interest in your family's story it is the opportunity to explore the war from another perspective. Another experience that highlights things I have not yet encountered or even thought of.


An excerpt from the US Army history has this on the 1st Division's preparation for North Africa.

"The complex requirements of successful landings on hostile shores had for several years been studied in a series of exercises employing elements of the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Army. Joint training forces, uniting the 1st Infantry Division with the 1st Marine Division on the Atlantic coast and the 3d Infantry Division with the 2d Marine Division on the Pacific coast, provided in 1941 some advanced training for units of two Army divisions which were later to participate in Operation TORCH. An elaborate full-scale exercise at New River, North Carolina, with air and naval support had been planned for December 1941. The U-boat menace caused it to be abruptly transferred to the southern shores of Chesapeake Bay, where the many deficiencies revealed by the exercise made apparent the necessity of improved and amplified training. The 9th Infantry Division began amphibious training early in 1942, taking the place formerly held by the 1st Infantry Division, which soon afterward moved to the United Kingdom."

HyperWar: US Army in WWII: Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative In the West


The US Army's histories also have great maps that occasionally allow one to follow a unit closely. This crop includes the 18th Infantry from landing on North Africa on 8 Nov 1942 to seizing Oran on 10 Nov 1942. The separate battalions are indicated with 1/18, 2/18, or 3/18.

 

Earthican, Doen't bother me one bit. Thank you for the info. That is really neat.........Now my question is, if that is possibly what he was doing then why was his name in this muster list sailing from New York. Maybe they were headed to NC. It didn't say what the desination was just to sea.

 

I feel like I should always offer factual information in each exchange. Here are the locations of the 1st ID headquarters prior to going overseas, the infantry regiments may have been at different locations.

Arrived
4 Feb 1941 - Ft Devens, Mass
16 Oct 1941 - Samarcand, NC (North Carolina Manuevers, Oct and Nov)
6 Dec 1941 - Ft Devens, Mass
21 Feb 1942 - Camp Blanding, Fla
22 May 1942 - Ft Benning, Ga
21 June 1942 - Indiantown Gap Mil. Res., Pa
7 Aug 1942 - England (departed New York POE)

I agree it is hard to see how boarding a ship in New York in Jan 1942 fits into any of the above but it might. Between Dec 1941 and Feb 1942 the division was moving from Devens to Blanding so they are in the right area. Usually movements were by train but because the 1st ID was training for amphibious operations they may have done something unusual.

The other possibility is that your grandfather was part of an advance group that went to England before the the rest of the division. Although that seems too far in advance. The discharge document could have mistakes but it would take some strong evidence to cause me to question it.

I wouldn't put too much weight on individual pieces of information until it is confirmed by other information or fits into the known and hard facts. You have plenty to learn about the 18th Infantry so don't get hung up on the pieces that don't quite fit. Set them aside while looking for more information and see if they eventually fall into place.

You might want to try writing time-lines for your father and the 18th Infantry and see how they mesh you might find something overlooked. It will take time to uncover all there is. If you have to put this aside for now be sure to pick it up later, somebody will be here waiting to help.

[Hopefully you don't feel like I am stalking you, I am working on other things today:
german after action report - Page 4 - World War 2 Talk
]

 

Very good point. I don't think that at all. Its a lot of info and research and I'm new to this. I've learned a lot from you guys here already. I know to get to the point with this where I'll be satisfied is not going to be a quick deal. But i'm patient and want stop till its done.

 

Internet research is very hit-and-miss and should always be taken with a grain of salt, but sometimes you hit a home run. Check this out from the history of the 70th Tank Battalion:

"Company A participated in maneuver training at Ft. Devons and later joined the 1st Infantry Division at the New York harbor for sea maneuvers and amphibious training off the coast of North Carolina. Meanwhile, the rest of the battalion performed maneuver training at Camp Forest in Tennessee. By December 7, the 70th Tank was the only combat-ready tank battalion in the Army. On January 4, 1942, the 70th joined the Big Red One at Brooklyn Army Base where they boarded ships bound for the island of Martinique, controlled then by the pro-Nazi Vichy French government. Martinique capitulated as the convoy circled the island, and the invasion force made a practice landing at Norfolk, Virginia. After a brief return to Ft. Meade, the battalion deployed to Ft. Bragg on March 11, 1942 where they were attached to the 9th Infantry Division. The battalion was outfitted with the new M5 light tank with a better engine and an improved stabilized turret. On September 4, 1942, the battalion listened as General Patton delivered his "Blood and Guts" speech. In late September and early October, the invasion force boarded ships in secrecy, bound for North Africa."

2nd Battalion, 70th Armor

You might want to open a thread in the Information Request section. I suspect there are a few 1st ID experts on this forum, but not everyone checks the new member introductions.

Boy this feels good!!!

 

Ah Earthican, NICE FIND!!!!!! That kinda fills in the blank. How did you find that? Thanks, i'll post a request in that section also. Thanks buddy.

 

Months ago I had done some searches for the 16th Infantry and its commanders and found some interesting sites so I was trying to re-find those. I failed at that but started searching "1st infantry division" "amphibious training" "big red one" and it came up.

Here's some small confirmation, the wording is different so that's a positive sign. I couldn't find anything in the official US Army history on the Martinique operation in 1942. There were major preparations in 1940 and another brouhaha in 1943, but nothing about sailing in Jan 1942. Puzzling.


American Army on AFRICA AXIS-ALLIED

"Because it was not always possible to foresee needs, an infantry division and its attached tank battalion often had little or no prior joint training. This could lead to a lack of coordination. Combat is a poor place for one unit to get to know the ways, styles, and idiosyncrasies of the other. In preparation for invasions, however, the infantry that would lead an assault and their tank support usually trained together. As the first independent tank battalion, the 70th was selected to be the first to undergo amphibious training with an infantry division, the 1st. Training was still in progress when Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941.

As the only tank battalion and infantry division with joint amphibious training, the 70th, the 1st, along with the 1st Marine Raider Battalion, were sent on a mission to Martinique on January 9, 1942. Control of this Caribbean island in our own backyard by pro- Nazi, Vichy France was intolerable. Seeing the force against him, the Vichy governor capitulated without a shot being fired. In early March, the 70th and the 9th Infantry Division began training for "Operation Torch," the invasion of French North Africa. On November 8, 1942, B Company and the 47th Infantry Regiment landed at Safi, French Morocco, C Company and the 60th at Port Lyautey, French Morocco, and A Company and the 39th at Algiers, Algeria. Combat was over in a day except at Port Lyautey where it lasted three days."

 

Welcom Mike. Others have already given you general information, so I hope this is not repetitive as I did find a link to this information on the 18th. World War II unit histories & officers

 

I wanted to thank you all for your help on this. After doing a couple of weeks of research I decided that will all my Grandfather did in WW2 I wanted to go at this 100% to get everything that was available for him. So I decided to hire a researcher that I found that will go to the archives for me and copy everything available on microfish and anything else he could find. The cost was low enough I felt like if he comes up with info I can't get online researching that is would be well worth it. I know after what I realize my grandfather went through and what he did for our country I know its worth it for him. He is starting on this tomorrow and hopefully would be done in a couple of days. I'll keep you guys updated and let you know whats found.

Mike

 

I agree 100% I did find a 936th Medical Detachment which was part of the 142nd Field Artillery Regiment / 936th Field Artillery Battalion : 142nd Field Artillery Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The only place this unit has in common is Algiers 1943. After that it looks as if this unit was part of the 5th Army through Italy and the 7th Army through Southern France Campaign.

On the bright side it looks as though the dates the 936th was in Algiers makes it a plausible destination for evacuation for someone wounded in Tunisia.

 

The important thing is to recover the story that might have been lost to your family forever. Hiring a professional is something I have been contemplating to learn about my uncle's wartime service.

I was hoping your museum contact would find your grandfather's infantry company and then you would have the option of making requests to NARA yourself.


Regarding the shadow box, you might want to search the forum for some guidance in the "proper" arrangement of medals or ribbons.

One issue you might encounter is the practice used during the war versus the practice that evolved after the war. During the war uniforms were more plain and understated but had some inconsistencies. After the war things became standard but slightly more elaborate.

One area that I am just learning about is the "Assault Landing" credits and the use of the "Arrowhead" device on the campaign ribbon. This seems to be a post-war practice and I am not sure about all the rules that apply.

Another change is the addition of the "V Device" on the Bronze Star for a specific act of valor versus a BS earned with the Combat Infantrymen Badge and such.

If you have his original ribbons I would recommend keeping them in the "WWII style". If you are working from scratch then it is a choice of "historic period" versus "completeness".

Hope to hear what you find out. Good Luck!

 

Earthican......Yeah me to but I happen to come across this guy and I hadn't heard anything. I hope to find out the results tomorrow.

On a good note, my aunt told my mom today that the day we got the discharge papers she contact I guess St. Louis or where ever you request replacement medels which was 2 weeks ago. She said she had a package delivered today fed ex. They had sent my grandfathers medels. There were 11 that they sent, my aunt had 2 different ones already. They were both in tears. I hope to get a pics of all of them in the next day or so. Not sure if she got the 2 from the French. I'm really getting excited now. Hope this researcher comes up big. This will make my whole year!!!!!!! More to come. Oh yeah, they had also ingraved my grandfathers name on the back of all the medals. Is that normal? I know the 2 weeks is quick but ingraved too.

 

Mike G. welcome to this forum.

In my opinion the "Arrowhead" is a special medal. That means you were an "Amphibious Invasion Force", landing in enemy territory.

With a true dedicated effort, you can find as much info on your brave Grandpa that a paid researcher will. There are many good folks on this forum and other websites that are just as good.

 

Hi Mike,

Your Grand Father liberated my town in Sept 1944 . I leave in the MONS pocket Area exactly in FRAMERIES . One 18th soldier was awarded with the MOH during this battle Gino J. Merli - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . I wrote a letter to the 1st Inf Div association because I search to find a KIA from the 18th ...
Your Grand Father is still in our heart .
Domi

 

Domi, that is an amazing story. Thanks for sharing it. Thank you very much for the comment about my grandfather. He passed away from Infazema in 1976 at the age of 58. Way to young and I've missed him a lot. Thanks for the post.

 

Thank you for the welcome.

I have no dault about the. The people have been amazing. My problem is I'm not the most intellengen person in the world especially when it comes to WW2. But I'm learning.

 

I found this on the internet and included it in my paper on the WWII separtion document.

"Another device that was allowed to be placed on the CampaignMedal was called the arrowhead device. It was a bronze replica of an Indian arrowhead 1/4 inch (.64cm) high. It denotes participationin a combat parachute jump, combat glider landing, or amphibious assault landing, while assigned or attached as a member of an organized force carryingout an assigned tactical mission. A soldier must actually exit the aircraft orwatercraft to receive assault credit. It is worn on the service ribbon andsuspension ribbons of the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign and European-Africa-MiddleEastern Campaign Medal. Only one arrowhead device was allowed on a campaignMedal regardless how many combat assaults were made."

Mike, this was a WWII attachment and will already be attached to your grandfather's EAME Campaign Medal along with a silver star representing 5 campaigns. Please send us a picture of his awards--very interested.
Dave

 

Not trying to minimize Mr Sloan's service, he is truly decorated hero, but he wasn't able to get to Belgium with the 18th Infantry Regiment because he was severerly wounded in France and sent to the states after three months in the hospital in France.

 

The thought occurred to me that you might narrow down which battalion he served with in 1942 if one of the battalion commanders also appeared on the manifest of the Heywood (AP-12).

It's a long shot, and hopefully unnecessary, but always interesting to find these connections.

Eley P Denson 1939–1941
* 1–18 = LTC John N. Hopkins
* 2–18 = LTC Charles W. Yuill
* 3–18 = LTC John C. Blizzard, Jr.
Edward G. Sherburn 1941–1942
Frank U. Greer 1 Jul 1942 – 23 May 1943
* 1–18 = MAJ Richard C. Parker
* 2–18 = MAJ John L. Powers
* 3–18 = LTC Courtney P. Brown

18th Infantry Regiment (United States) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.