About half way there all of a sudden they heard hobnailed boots coming down the stone road from the other direction. Some fun? He could see where some German MG sites were located and see our artillery try to quiet them. The G.I. John remembered a twin set of Colt cap and ball revolvers with engraved actions and sculptured grips complete with bullet redid, powder measure and cleaning tools all in velvet lined feted case. literally swam out from under in the muddy roadway and joined them in the cellar. Only the roar of XX Corps and the 82nd German Corps Artillery that bellowed empty threats at each other across the Saar River broke winter silence. ... 106th Infantry Division. MILITARY UNITS - 301st Infantry 94th division VetFriends Veteran ID Card Quick Links. If you have any data on units and those who served we would be interested in adding it to our digital project-library; please Contact Us. They both agreed that once you hear the bullets snap and zing past you that you are never the same. Infantry casualties in this one-quarter used up more men as replacements. ABMC Headquarters 2300 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: 703-584-1501 After Ludwigshafen the whole outfit was tired, tattered and torn so they were pulled back to let fresh troops through. His medical records were lost and it was after the war he had to prove his wound to get a government disability pension John remembered back to Camp McCain when Eddie had his first foot problem. They always made sure there were leftovers for the children. The 94th Infantry Division, 301st Infantry Regiment arrived in Europe in August of 1944 and, like many of the "green" late war divisions, cut its teeth especially in the winter fighting. After fifty years memories are not too clear about that period in their lives. 301st 302nd 376th. 94th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) Band. A guard on the ration train was yelling and finally fired off a round. Major General Malony was their only commanding officer during their war time service stepping down following the German surrender. A Captain outranks a Mess Sergeant so they never reported the intruders. The Head was literally at the head of the ship and had holes in the covers for toilets. To reinforce its own ranks, the 94th trained and equipped 29 battalions of French troops, who later, with the 66th Division, took over many of the division’s responsibilities. So they borrowed some bicycles and electric carts and went looking for snipers. John was pinned down during that day with 50 lbs. 3d Bn, 101st Inf (26th Div) 23 Feb 45-24 Feb 45 12th FA Obsn Bn 23 Sep 44-12 Oct 44 The 94th would arrive in the ETO on 11 August 1944 under the command of Major General Harry J. Malony. Lunch was honey and peanut butter sandwiches, cheese, and lemonade that would not dissolve. Many of the replacements were dead within two days. Then the 94th ran into the Siegfried Switch Line, a series of strong buffer defenses on the Moselle and east of the Saar River. A laundry truck came by and washed their uniforms. Some had no idea of how to use their weapons and most were wounded or killed right away. The flavoring made the powdered milk drinkable. Just as important, their 1st Sergeant replaced the first platoon leader Lieutenant Shoush by battlefield promotion. The bouncing did not sober them because the next morning their shoes were mixed up and they had roaring hangovers. Pinned down, John stayed there all day till dark the next night (that is where he froze his feet, in spite of what Patton said). Then the 94th drove forward and forced a bridgehead across the Saar, at times paddling furiously against a 7-mile-an-hour current which gave the German defenders additional time to hurl steel at the oncoming Doughs. He learned his lesson; he hid anything he wanted to keep. John did not speak any French so he tried to pantomime a soldier; he walked back and forth as if he was on sentry duty and the barmaid finally showed comprehension. Headquarters Company It is so efficient as a danger. John tried to talk the "powers that be" to spare the sets but no luck." Do you have items such as papers, photos, uniforms, gear, guns, weapons and other artifacts? Another attack was launched at 17:55 hours just before dark but again the Americans came up against mines, booby traps, machine guns, rifle fire and accurate enemy artillery fire. They marched all night with men and equipment slipping and sliding on the frozen ground and snow. was near by and he dove under their truck. When someone feels there is a good chance they may not survive, it is the only way to leave some of themselves to the world, even if only in the memories of their buddies. The American Medics could not save many of the prisoners because they were beyond any help. 11 Aug 44 Lt. Col. William H. Patterson, Jr. 11 Aug 44 Lt. Col. Robert L. Love Nature is not friendly, it’s an adversary, and yet you must admire the beauty of it and also you must admire the danger. Eddie completed Morris High School in the Bronx, in 1943. They were located in Dusseldorf when the V-E Day arrived. Chesterfield was an abandoned German airfield in France. We would be having a beer and Eddie would tell me. By March the division crossed the Saar via a bridgehead at Serrig and established allied lines through Zerf, Lampaden, and  Ollmuth and were moving toward the Rhine. He didn't know what had happened to Eddie with "A" Company. This difference did not keep them from bonding because the training was a life experience so different than the one they just left behind. Another time after Orsholz, they were back in the rear area getting replacements when the Mess Sergeant went to Eddie and John and ordered them to sleep in the building used for a kitchen that night because someone was breaking in and stealing food. and turn them loose. After daylight on the 21st John was pinned down by machine gun fire and laid in the snow all day until dark and could not get out. 377th 378th 379th. See more ideas about infantry, wwii, world war ii. View some pictures of recent Exhibits. The 94th Division departed England on September 8, 1944, 94 days after the D- Day invasion. Now it was time for Eddie and John to go into action as they had the explosives. The "B" and "A" companies tried to make their approach towards Orsholz. Harry Green They were loaded with ammo and cloth bandoleers for the attacking line company infantrymen. Brave stretcher man attempted to venture out to bring back wounded, but were repeatedly driven by heavy enemy firepower. From Czechoslovakia, they were put on trucks, and then trains to go to one of the cigarette camps set up, in France to process the troops being sent home. It is possible that the guides became lost. One guy with a BAR started running towards the village, firing as he ran, but only got a few steps before he was cut down. From there they boarded small landing craft and went ashore twelve miles from the intended landing zone so they had to hike back the 12 miles. Rhineland The released Displaced Persons (DP's) all had one thought before going home, to kill Germans. The poor soldier left holding the automatic was ordered to stand court martial but it was found that the shooting was accidental. They soldiers kept looking, but none of girls ever slipped. The best that Eddie could do then was to stay quietly in place during the day and night of the 20th and day of the 21st, almost 2 days, Iaying and freezing in the snow. One fellow fell down with hysterical paralysis, no wounds or injury, but just fell down limp and could not move any part of his body. Combat was often like that. The 94th would arrive in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on 11 August 1944 under the command of Major General Harry J. Malony. 704th TD Bn (SP) 23 Jan 45-4 Mar 45 1 Jan 45 Lt. Col. William K. St. Claire, 11 Aug 44 Col. Harold H. McClune The Russians would strip them of all weapons, uniforms, watches, etc. Maybe the English thought the G.I. John realized quickly that Eddie was more "worldly," maybe because he grew up in the more rough and tumble streets of New York City. One night in Kremze Eddie put a young porcupine in the bottom of John's bed sack. Captain McKee, Company Commander, was a West Point graduate and a fine leader. In an empty town! When I put down the phone I was almost in tears. Three squads plus a weapons squad (light machine guns and mortars) made up a platoon with a Lieutenant, and a Staff Sergeant. Eddie was standing in a flash and when his wounded foot hit the floor he collapsed. 's ran into anti personnel mines. An Army corps is made up of two or more divisions. All surprise for the 301st was gone. Co A, 607th TD Bn (T) 21 Jan 45-23 Jan 45 was made up with extra ammo, uniforms, shoes, rations or equipment such as machine gun barrels, mortar tubes and other equipment that would be expendable. Modern combat was mostly done on small squad or platoon level even though the generals had fine maps with marks showing larger combat units, but did they really know what was going on in these small units? After "B" company was cut off the rest of the Battalion tried to force their way through and ran into the minefields and heavy machine gun fire from the town. John got his Bronze Star Medal before Eddie. 's in the open during the day who had not frozen to death or been riddled by the almost constant machine gun and artillery fire, crawled back into the woods. Eddie and John stuck out their heads and out and yelled, "Get out from under the truck it's loaded with ammo". They never found the rifle company either or where they went wrong and ended up behind German lines. John would have probably run too if he had not been paralyzed by fear. Eddie and John would go to one of closed theaters and stand in front of the door, hiding the closed signs. Another surprise and a village captured with no casualties. 301st Infantry. I searched for John Meacham's name in the California phone directory and found him. They had better food the rest of the railroad trip. Slim and a red face Irish Sergeant were buddies, both were big and physically very strong. The night of the 19th, the weather was bitter cold, 5 degrees F., and snow, already a foot deep, coming down so thickly they could not see familiar landmarks. John saw him wiggle and was able to get him out before getting stuck by a quiver. Bonding was an imperative, without a friend, who else could you depend on for help? Wearing white camouflage was a must. The grass in the pastures was starting to grow and the trees buds were blooming, and above were blue skies and puffy clouds. The bullet had traveled under the skin and flesh and messed up a lot of the small bones in the foot. During this drive they captured a large castle, called the Schloss Bubingen. There were still a few German soldiers in the city that were sniping at us. I remember our combat as a series of movie "stills" with no connecting time line to put them in the right order. The closest thing to a bathroom was the slit trench with a nearby roll of paper on a stick. The A&P squad rode to Lorient standing in the back of a cable's truck (windshield down), suddenly the truck slowed, someone yelled 'look out!' Before John met Eddie at Camp McCain, he was in a communications platoon where he used radio procedures. Eddie and John were riding in two trucks with big stars on the hood and all of a sudden all the Gls around us were wearing gray uniforms and coal scuttle helmets. At the end there were just those that lost their lives. Apr 14, 2019 - Explore Philip Barnett's board "U.S. 94th Infantry Division", followed by 1090 people on Pinterest. They stayed in an abandoned schoolhouse for a couple of weeks and then trained the new replacements as best they could. (They had not had anything but powdered milk for almost three years. Eddie and John went to camp Chesterfield; others went to Lucky Strike, Camel, etc. The only problem was that the East side of the river, except for the two bridgeheads, was still in German hands. They were paying hundreds of dollars for a watch and $100 for a carton of cigarettes. CC A (8th Armd Div) 19 Jan 45-28 Jan 45 If you could shoot a rifle and walk, you went to the infantry. After 10 days, they finally saw the lights of New York City and in landing were surprisingly greeted by the Red Cross with of all things, fresh milk. Eddie finally agreed they should leave, so he got off the bar stool and headed for the door, he missed the door and walked into the wall and bounced backwards. Overhead they could see what they thought were American P-47's circling around. They tossed about for 10 hours with no power and almost everyone onboard was seasick and scared. The M.P. There they stored their ammo in an air raid bunker. Young Czechs girls who swam in the river amazed them. The word was passed among soldiers that the house wife's volunteered their bed linens to help the American troops, that the sheets were given to them by the people of Belgium to help with the liberation of their little nation. John was riding in one trucks and Eddie the other. This counted for discharge points. The 94th Infantry Division, 301st The 94th at the Siegfried Line Regiment, at Orscholz The 188th Infantry Brigade The German [Video] The Hammelburg Raid The Enigma Machines and their Code The Lorraine Campaign The List The Loss of the USS Indianapolis The Saar-Moselle Triangle The Story of the 66th Infantry Division The Third Army in World War II Before permanent ports were established, army supplies were carried-in by soldiers. 356th Field Artillery Battalion (105mm Howitzer) At their new base the army issued new equipment and a M 1 carbine. Having not bathed for several months they were somewhat ripe with itchy fungus in groins, armpits, etc. The ships hold had bunks stacked five high, but they did not know how many men were on board. The actions of that 106-day period consisted of reconnaissance and combat patrols rather than large-scale assaults. Fire them?). On 9 February 2002, I telephoned John Meachem. Anyway no shots were fired and they got through okay. We did not have any food with us and were bumming meals from other outfits passing through. Eddie was quiet and observing of people and surroundings. For a while he was guarding German prisoners in Kansas. The DP's stole guns, knives and clubs and used them on the German civilians. While they moved to the frontlines they existed on "D", rations, a high calorie, high energy chocolate bar that tasted terrible and gave them diarrhea. Luck was with them, there few personnel casualties, but many shot up trucks. Being on a ship did not get them out of guard duty, they had to guard the fresh water points to see that no one filled their canteen except during authorized water times. The Red Cross was there to give each soldier a small bag with a bar of soap, a toothbrush, and a new razor. February would bring victories at Campholz Woods, Sinz and Munzingen Ridge. Eddie was taken to an army field hospital. or "I was in clerk school to become a company clerk." Sometimes breakfast was powdered eggs, canned bacon and toast. German speaking Harry Behnke was from New Jersey, but was born in Hamburg, Germany and came to the U.S. as a child with his parents. Combat boots were made of "inside out" leather, rubber soles, and cuffs with two buckles on top of the shoe to replace the old style leggings. From they were they were enroute to Sedlice (12 miles North of Strakonice) Czech Republic and 36 miles Northwest of their next stop, Kremze. The 11th Panzer Division was moving from a rest area in the vicinity of Bitburg in der Eifel, when it was ordered into the Saar-Moselle-Triangle with orders to reestablish the position of the German 416th Division immediately. So they went down the river and crossed and started back up stream to Serrig. 14 Apr 45 Lt. Col. John W. Gaddis, 473d AAA AW Bn (SP) 17 Sep 44-27 Nov 44 The patrol slipped into the deep forest and was never heard from again. The problem was that all they had were the two bridgeheads so as they drove up the East bank they noticed that all the "GIs" standing around had German helmets. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II, active from 1942 to 1944 in two separate instances.. Soon the rear echelon troops started moving in around them. The 94th Infantry Division was raised in September 1939 as part of the fifth wave from men of Military District number 4 ( Wehrkreis 4 ), which comprised Saxony and Thuringia. Seawater ran in the troughs all the time. Instantly it took me back many years to World War II." blocks for destroying bunkers and blowing holes in the frozen ground if needed. They just could not go on and stopped and lay down. Harry tried to tell them that they were all prisoners of war and they would not believe that he was an American. Unfortunately, the sharp end of the bayonet was not on the ground but on the toe of Eddie's boot. 94th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) 319th Engineer Combat Battalion. Fortunately the .25's did not have much power so the bullet entered above the toes and went up to the ankle and stopped. Lots of rumors in the service. Shell fragment wounds are more destructive than bullet wounds as shell fragments tear-off irregular chunks of flesh. 256th FA Bn (8" Gun) 23 Sep 44-7 Oct 44 As you know he did get to visit Eddie one time and John's Mom and Dad visited them also. The core composition of the Division would be the 301st, 302nd and 376th Infantry Regiments. Three companies and a Headquarters Company (HQ), made a battalion (about 800 plus men), three battalions a regiment and three regiments in a division commanded by a general. The reason I had to ask John about Eddie in the war was that when we were together he rarely talked about the war. This incident was kept secret for 50 years. Essen was destroyed, but the suburbs survived pretty well. So one G.l. Eddie and John did think up interesting amusements while they were in France waiting to go home. It seemed if you develop a "combat sense" after a while; while the replacements did not have this "feeling" of what and where the safer places were located. Sad to send men to there death without a chance of surviving. The Americans were still in their white makeshift snowsuits, no one had been able to recover the bodies because of the frozen snow and the mines. Boom, Wolffrank was wounded and the replacement killed. Calvados from the still that was just cool was considered aged and ready to drink. To help guarantee a safe passage, ships were blacked out at night, open portholes were closed, and there was no smoking on deck after dark. John replied, "Edmund, I miss him too, and still see and talk to him in my dreams at times. I think most of the guys in the building were from Co "A". The A&P platoon men were keeping close to the hedgerows when they moved, but Eddie and John decided to walk across a field. The core composition of the Division was comprised of the 301st, 302nd and 376th Infantry Regiments. The lieutenant was yelling, "You men stop right now, I'm going to tell the Colonel."

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