Clarence Edward Guptill

Hello,
I am doing research on Clarence E. Guptill from Wisconsin. I was wondering if anyone could help me find, or point me in the direction to find Clarence's time line of the battles he was in. From what I have to go on, he was a mechanic on the front lines under General Patton. He enlisted in Maine. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If I find more information on him, I will add it to this post.

Thank You,
Dan

 

Dan, The 3rd Army in Europe commanded by General Patton contained over 40 divisions. Each division contained about 20,000 men.
Would there be a chance to get a bit more information?

 

No hits for that name on Ancestry.

 

Considering he enlisted before the attack of Pearl Harbor, one can imagine he served in possibly in Italy as early as 1943 and possibly North Africa in 1942-43. This has to be confirmed, but it would fit with his age and date of enlistment. A picture with medals or recalls would help a lot .

 

Thanks everyone who replied. I mainly do research for a particular bomb group in the 8th Army Air Force. This is a much larger scale I am learning. I'll be back with more info for sure,

Thanks again,
Dan

 

Ok I have a little more information on Clarence. He belonged to the 553rd Ordnance Company, Heavy Maint., Tank. APO 339

In service Sept. 9th 1941 - discharged Sept 4th? 1945. His unit was supposedly the first unit to liberate Maastricht, Holland. Sept. 14, 1944. Any help?

Thanks,
Dan

 

This thread has some interesting info about how the various maintenance units (including the 533rd) were formed: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/16349-wwii-nada-ordnance-regiments-toe/

 

Good to see the military took advantage of the skills these men had learned in private industry, another example of the "Arsenal of Democracy".

 

Thanks You guys, very interesting stuff. I've been trying to find the patches he made have worn on his uniform, but I am not sure. After Clarence had passed away, his metals and uniform were donated by his widow, so I have nothing to go on. Soon though ( about a month) I will have access to what is left of his stuff to research ( photos albums of the war, battles ect.) I told the family that if I could gather enough information on Clarence's battles he was involved in, I would write another blog on him, for them. That's where the battle time line comes into play. I would like to map the first battle he was in to the last, explaining each battle. He mentioned to his family that he had been in the Battle of the Bulge. Something interesting I learned about him/his unit. A dozer would dig a deep trench, then the tanks would drive over them and a tarp thrown over the tank. The mechanics would then climb down into the trench, under the tank and work on them through the night. Oh one more thing, He was a T/3.

Dan

 

Dan,
Have you found any additional information on the 553rd Ordnance Company? I know this is an old post but I just recently stumbled on it. I believe I know what patches they were wearing but if you have pictures you should be able to identify them. If not I can.
Regards,
CC