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Son of a 5th Infantry Division vet

Discussion in '☆☆ New Recruits ☆☆' started by JCM6395, Apr 11, 2017.

  1. JCM6395

    JCM6395 New Member

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    Hello everyone....my father served in the 5th Division during WW2. He was originally in the 46th F/A serving as a forward observer with the 10th Regiment. Sometime during the war he was reassigned permanently to the 10th. He saw combat at Normandy in the Hedgerow country, the drive across France, battle of Metz, Battle of the Bulge, and drive into the heart of Germany. He was awarded 3 Purple Hearts and the Silver Star. I'm starting to dig into his service history to develop a timeline on his WW2 time.

    His records were destroyed in the 1973 St. Louis fire....but I have a copy of his discharge from 1945. Are there anything like battle reports still surviving or were they burned up also in the St. Louis fire?

    I also had German uncles that served in the army during the war also. They saw combat in Poland, Belgium, France, Yugoslavia, and Russia. Two of the three were wounded in Russia, and the third was killed there.
     
  2. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    Welcome to the Forums, JCM6395. You have probably already checked these, but there are some records on the 46th FABn and the Society of the 5th Infantry Division websites. Unfortunately, some of the links do not work on the Society website. Fortunately, some of them are from Fort Benning's Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries and can be downloaded here: www.benning.army.mil/library/content/Virtual/Donovanpapers/wwii/#. Just do a search on that webpage for the 10th Infantry or 5th Division.

    The Saint Louis NARA fire did not affect unit records as they are located at the NARA in College Park, MD. You can read more about obtaining unit records in this thread: Unit Operational Records. Post #2 by Natman specifically discusses requesting records from College Park. The thread also mentions the partial collection at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas.

    Do you know when your father was transferred to the 10th Infantry? Was he transferred to the Cannon Company or an infantry company?
     
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  3. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Nice to have you around. If you'll give his name, I'll try to research him at Fold3. It would also be helpful if you could post a picture of his discharge papers. We might be able to suss out information from that.
     
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  4. JCM6395

    JCM6395 New Member

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    Thanks TD! I will check out these links! I have checked out the Society of the 5th Division some. But the others I haven't so I will have to do a look see on them. That is great that they have the unit records safe. I will definitely check that out.

    I will have to find his discharge papers from 1945 but I remember it listing his Purple Heart occurring December 26, 1944, and he was still with the 46th F/A at that time. He told me when I was a kid that he was a Forward Observer attached to the 10th. He was in combat with them the entire time but said he was shafted on the pay. So he worked a transfer into the 10th. Does this make sense that he wouldn't be paid as much? I was a kid at the time so I might be remembering it wrong but I swear he said he wasn't getting the pay of the 10th Regiment even though he fought along with them in all their firefights. I believe he was in Co. A of the 10th when he was transferred.

    He said he was awarded the Silver Star for action near Haller, Luxembourg, during the Battle of the Bulge.
     
  5. JCM6395

    JCM6395 New Member

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    LRusso216...we did some major rearranging in the house so I will have to do a search for his discharge papers. His name was Russell Jones. He enlisted on October 6, 1939 and went to Ft. Knox for training. In 1945 the division was being sent home to Ft. Campbell for rest and then would go to the Pacific. He had enough combat points so he stayed in Europe to be discharged.
     
  6. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    I've come across numerous Russell Jones' in my search. Can you tell me where he was from? Is he still living? Any details you have will help to narrow the search. Thanks.
     
  7. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    If you look through some of the reports on the 46th FA Bn website, you will see that the 46th was frequently assigned to support the 10th Infantry which matches what you were told. It isn't unheard of that a soldier might be transferred from a non-infantry unit to an infantry unit. That was probably more likely to happen after the BotB and later in the War. This would fit with his still being with the 46th FA Bn at the end of Dec 1944. His discharge may have some clue as to when he transferred to the 10th Infantry. However, the most definitive way to find that out would be to get the Company/Battery Morning Reports. The MRs are intended to document the personnel changes in a given unit.
     
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  8. JCM6395

    JCM6395 New Member

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    I just reread his Silver Star letter for action in vicinity of Frankfurt....It was dated March 26, 1945....it lists him in Co. A of the 10th Regiment, 5th Division. So sometime between Dec 26, 1944 and March 1945 he was transferred over. So now I got a timeframe to see when he switched over. I will check out his discharge papers and see what it has.
     

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