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763rd Tank Battalion info

Discussion in 'Military Service Records & Genealogical Research' started by ClintRhodes, Jun 21, 2016.

  1. ClintRhodes

    ClintRhodes New Member

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  2. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    It would be helpful it you could tell us what you do know already. That way we won't tell you things you already know. For example, how do you know he was in the 763rd Tank Battalion? From his discharge papers? Some other document or letter home mentioning the 763rd? Family oral history?
     
  3. ClintRhodes

    ClintRhodes New Member

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    Yes I've seen the discharge paper. Says Staff Sergeant Company B 763d Tank Battalion. His name is Troy Lee Bittle.
     
  4. Rantalith

    Rantalith Member

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  5. Natman

    Natman Member

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    Here are a few links to get you started, download the files at the first two:

    AAR's- Actually consists of S-3 periodic reports and journals rather than AAR's. 763rd documents start on page 16, some 701st stuff mixed in at the beginning (?). Most pages are legible. There are names scattered through the journals.
    http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p4013coll8/id/3462/rec/1

    Armor on Okinawa: http://cdm16635.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16635coll14/id/56045
    Big file, I didn't download this one.

    Visit your local library and ask them get this book through the Library-Lend program. You can then check it out.
    http://www.worldcat.org/title/okinawa-odyssey/oclc/53932719&referer=brief_results
     
  6. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    They 763rd Tank Battalion was considered a "Separate" unit. They were attached to both the 32nd Infantry Division and the 96th Infantry Division in the Pacific. They participated in landings on both Leyte in the Philippines, and on Okinawa.

    A few books you may want to pick up or check out from your library:

    The Infantry's Armor: The US Army's Separate Tank Battalions in WWII by Harry Yeide

    Rolling Thunder Against the Rising Sun by Gene Salecker

    Cutthroats: The Adventures of a Sherman Tank Driver in the Pacific by Robert C. Dick, a veteran of the 763d Tank Bn.
     
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  7. ClintRhodes

    ClintRhodes New Member

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    Thanks for all the help. Some of those books look very interesting. Looks like a great way to get a little insight into what my grandpa experienced.
     
  8. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    Even though the first two books are not exclusively about the 763rd, they may be useful in understanding how the separate tank battalions were used in WWII. Also, check the footnotes and bibliographies for sources that may apply more directly to the 763rd.
     

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