[24] Also assigned to the division were the 158th, 160th, 171st, and 189th Field Artillery Battalions, the 45th Signal Company, the 700th Ordnance Company, the 45th Quartermaster Company, the 45th Reconnaissance Troop, the 120th Engineer Combat Battalion, and the 120th Medical Battalion. Holocaust Memorial Museum provides information about which units liberated which camps on their, Recognition of U.S. Liberating Army Units, Re: Seeking Roster for 45th Inf Division WW2. [49] On 30 September the division crossed the Moselle River and entered the western foothills of the Vosges, taking Rambervillers. At the time, the 45th Infantry Division was comprised overwhelmingly of high school students or recent graduates and only about 60 percent of its divisional troops had conducted training and drills with the division for a year or more. They returned home at the end of the war, which occurred on Armistice with Germany. Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! [94][98] Following its arrival, the division moved to the front line to replace the 1st Cavalry Division, who were then delegated to the Far East reserve, having suffered over 16,000 casualties in less than 18 months of fighting. [7], The 45th Infantry Division Museum is located in Oklahoma City, and includes a substantial collection of cartoons by World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin, who served with it during the war. Raymer, Joe US Navy 419. "On 20 May, the Regiment was incorporated under the Dachau Area, Command. Sheeran claimed to have participated in numerous massacres and summary executions of German POWs, acts which violated the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the 1929 Geneva Convention on POWs. 45th ID in World War II. Anyways if you see this his name was Clarence LaHayne and he was enlisted. [11], The division's original shoulder sleeve insignia, approved in August 1924,[12] featured a swastika, a common Native American symbol, as a tribute to the Southwestern United States region which had a large population of Native Americans. The 45th Infantry Division was reassigned to VI Corps on New Year's day. & 05.03.1945-15.03.1945 & 20.03.1945-25.03.1945 & 11.04.1945-10.05.1945, 1st Platoon, A Battery, 353rd AAA SL Battalion, 15.08.1944-25.08.1944 & 30.08.1944-09.11.1944 [115] Chinese forces continued to mount concentrated attacks on the lines of the UN forces, including the 45th Infantry Division, but the division managed to hold most of its ground, remaining stationary until the end of the war in the summer of 1953. [39] The Fifth Army was battered and pushed back by German forces until 20 September, when Allied forces were finally able to break out and establish a more secure beachhead. They took part in intense fighting during the invasion of Sicily and the attack on Salerno in the 1943 Italian Campaign. Allied intelligence estimated that the island was defended by approximately 230,000 troops, the majority of which were drawn mostly from weak Italian formations and two German divisions which had been reconstituted after being destroyed earlier. The 45th participated in its fourth assault landing, 15 August 1944, at St. Maxime in Southern France. [51] The German Army, reeling from the Battle of Normandy, in which it had suffered a major defeat, pulled back after a short fight, part of an overall German withdrawal to the east following the landings. The 45th Infantry Division in World War II: An Unofficial Guide to Resources According to the regimental After Action Report of May 1945. the 1st and 2nd Battalions were assigned to guard duty at KZ Dachau. [105] The division was put under the command of Eighth Army's I Corps for most of the conflict. When describing his first murder for organized crime, Sheeran recalled: "It was just like when an officer would tell you to take a couple of German prisoners back behind the line and for you to 'hurry back'. [36] The 45th Division spent a few days in that city, but on 1 August, the division was withdrawn from the front line for rest and rear-guard patrol duty,[26] after which the division was assigned to Major General Ernest J. Dawley's VI Corps, part of the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, in preparation for the invasion of mainland Italy. However, please note that these records are not online and NARA is not staffed to do this level of research for you. & 01.01.1945-16.02.1945 & 04.03.1945-09.05.1945, 191st Tank Battalion (less A Company & 3rd . Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division: Naples-Foggia. We saw many dead bodies on the ground. [37][40], On 3 November it crossed the Volturno River and took Venafro. [94] The division was awarded four campaign streamers and one Presidential Unit Citation. The 45th, in turn, was under constant artillery and mortar attack. [103] Though the division was no longer an "All-Oklahoma" unit, leaders opted to keep its designation as the 45th Infantry Division. [35] After this, the division was allocated to drive towards Messina, being ordered by the Seventh Army commander to cover the distance as quickly as possible. [80][121] The 45th Infantry Brigade received all of the 45th Division's lineage and heraldry, including its shoulder sleeve insignia. [112], In early 1953, North Korean forces launched a large-scale attack against Hill 812, which was then under the control of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 179th Infantry. Under this Headquarters, the Regimental CP became the, George Fisher, in his superb "The Story of the 180th Infantry Regiment,", states "On June 9th, our Regiment was relieved of its mission of guarding, the Dachau Concentration Camp by the 72nd AAA Battalion. Hey Dave, Im new to this site and stumbled across this thread. See: Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1 June 1953), Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Streamer, "Lt. Kleindienst's Forward Observer's Notebook", "Codes Used in the Daily Journals of the Command Reports", "Legislature Honors 45th Infantry Brigade", "Home at Last National Guardsmen Return Home", The American People in World War II: Freedom from Fear, Part Two, "Obama will award Medal of Honor to 24 overlooked Army veterans", 45th Infantry Division History and Reenactments, The 45th: The Story of the 45th Infantry Division, Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Forty-fifth Infantry Division (OKANG), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=45th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)&oldid=1132482693, 70th Field Artillery Brigade (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), 120th Ammunition Train (inactive; allotted to Oklahoma National Guard), 120th Medical Regiment (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), 120th Quartermaster Regiment (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 45th Infantry Division Artillery, 45th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized), Headquarters, Special Troops, 45th Infantry Division, Headquarters Company, 45th Infantry Division, 45th Counterintelligence Corps Detachment, Revenge killings in the heat of battle. One of our soldiers told his family about his participation in D-Day in France. On 23 May, VI Corps, now commanded by Major General Lucian Truscott, went on the offensive, breaking out of the beachhead to the northeast, with the 45th Division forming the left half of the attack. 79th Infantry Division, 03.01.1945-17.01.1945 & 22.01.1945-29.01.1945, 19th Armored Infantry Battalion, 14th [39] It sent half of its artillery to support the 70th Infantry Division. Immediately after Dachau's liberation, US Army authorities and other Allied representatives began treating the sick prisoners, implementing health and sanitary measures to curb the typhus epidemic, and bringing in tons of food to feed the starving prisoners. In Section 1, Item 1, where it asks which items you are requesting, please check Other and specify that you want the entire file. [28], The division was subsequently assigned a lead role in the amphibious assault on Sicily, coming ashore on 10 July. Visit the 45th Infantry Museum. If you havent already done so, we suggest that you request a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). [87][88], Initially, the division was used to provide a pool of reinforcements for the divisions which had been sent to the Korean War theater, and in January 1951 it provided 650 enlisted fillers for overseas service. Then the Wehrmacht mule drivers were given shovels and ordered to "dig their own shallow graves". [42] For this mission, CCA (Combat Command A) of the 1st Armored Division was attached to the 45th Infantry Division. After the North Korean People's Army invaded the Republic of Korea, four understrength U.S. divisions on occupation duty in Japan were rushed to South Korea to stand alongside the Republic of Korea Army. Send Email To NORA DREWRY. The 45th Infantry Division guardsmen saw no major action until they became one of the first National Guard units activated in World War II in 1941. They trace their lineage from frontier militias that operated in the Southwestern United States throughout the late 1800s. [110] Chinese troops were well dug-in and better trained than the troops of the inexperienced 45th, and it suffered casualties and frequently had to disengage when it was attacked. Over the course of its history, the 45th Infantry Division sustained over 25,000 battle casualties, and its men were awarded ten Medals of Honor, twelve campaign streamers, the Croix de Guerre and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. The thunderbird is a symbol of the Southwestern Indians meaning sacred bearer of unlimited happiness. On the second incident, Captain John T. Compton ordered Italian soldiers to be lined up and shot; the officer claimed he had only been following orders and was acquitted. So the stories that came down through the family where all about dad or grandpa's taking part in the D-Day landings on Normandy because they'd never heard about the ones in Southern France. [105] In the spring, the division launched Operation Counter, which was an effort to establish 11 patrol bases around Old Baldy Hill. One story I often share to illustrate how we have to look at the stories left by soldiers and their families helps illustrate the problem. [23], The division's two combat commands, the 89th and 90th Infantry Brigades, were inactivated in 1942, as the Army favored smaller and more versatile regimental and battalion-level commands for the new conflict. For more information, please refer to, Onsite Operations at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, We searched the National Archives Catalog and located, for Army units that may include morning reports of the component units of the 45th Infantry Division and the 3rd Infantry Division, as well as the 290 Infantry Regiment. Battalion. The dates after the campaign name are the dates of the campaign not of the division. The 45th moved north to the Sarreguemines area and smashed through the Siegfried Line. The 3rd Division was not directly involved in the liberation of Dachau, but Dad, if he was with the 3rd Division, could have been sent over to see the camp. The Seventh Army was being disbanded and Patton had been appointed Military Governor of Bavaria, placing the matter in his hands. For more information about these records, please contact the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL) at stl.archives@nara.gov. Every Tom, Dick and Harry in the Seventh Army and beyond, claimed to have liberated Dachau KZ on 29 April 1945 or to have. Jive Software Version: 9.13.0.0 , revision: 20220815205735.50e1b0c.master, Seeking roster for 45th Infantry Division, Re: Seeking roster for 45th Infantry Division. On April 29, 1945, three US Army divisions converged on the camp: the 42nd Infantry, the 45th Infantry, and the 20th Armored. On 7 December 1945, the division was inactivated from the active duty force and its members reassigned to other Army units. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests. He died in 1966. While Sheeran's unit was climbing the Harz Mountains, they came upon a Wehrmacht mule train carrying food and drink up the mountainside. I always felt there was more than a random reason he would have that, though his name\photo is not in the book. Raymond B Company, 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion 382. He also talked about some time in Italy and to the best of my knowledge (granted I am no expert) the 42nd was never in Italy. These forts had been designed by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1893 to block access to the plain of Alsace. Our History Department collects Veteran information for this website and the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. The 45th Infantry Division guardsmen saw no major action until they became one of the first National Guard units activated in World War II in 1941. Cutting across the country, the unit was sent to southern France in August 1944. Sheeran told Brandt that, when a German soldier had just killed his close friends and then tried to surrender, he would often "send him to hell, too". [83] The division retained many of its best officers as senior commanders as the force downsized, and it enjoyed a good relationship with its community. The following year, on 10 September 1946, the 45th Infantry Division was reconstituted as a National Guard unit. At the end of World War II, it contained 89 divisions, but by 1950, there were just 10 active divisions in the force, along with a few reserve divisions such as the 45th Infantry Division which were combat-ineffective. Holocaust Memorial Museum provides information about which units liberated which camps on their Recognition of U.S. Liberating Army Units website. Dragoon was originally planned to coincide with the Normandy landings in the north, but was delayed until August because of a shortage of landing craft. Dante's Inferno seemed pale compared to the real hell of Dachau. [39] The division captured Munich during the next two days, occupying the city until V-E Day and the surrender of Germany. It arrived on December 2, 1920 and redesignated as a Philippine Scout regiment the next day. [45] For the next few months the 45th Infantry Division was mostly stuck in place, holding its ground during repeated German counterattacks, and subjected to bombardment from aircraft and artillery.[39]. [93] After its basic training was complete, the division was sent to Japan in April 1951 for advanced training and to act as a reserve force for the Eighth United States Army, then fighting in Korea. It replaced another previously used Native American symbol, a swastika, that was withdrawn when it became closely associated with the Nazi Party. View of a Clearing Station, somewhere behind Utah Beach, Normandy, taken June 6 - 7, 1944 - triage of Airborne casualties and patients . Devers. Read more about the division insignia and there nickname. [47] On 4 June the 45th Division crossed the Tiber River below Rome, and entered the city along with other VI Corps troops. [49] From 2 January 1945, the division fought defensively along the German border, withdrawing to the Moder River. It's like a window back in time. Their bodies were left behind in various locations throughout Germany. On April 28, the day before liberation, a train bearing about 40 or so railway cars arrived at the camp. Jive Software Version: 9.13.0.0 , revision: 20220815205735.50e1b0c.master, The 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions and the 20th Armored Division liberated Dachu, however there were many, ubcamps and soldiers with our unit, the 36th Infantry Division, often related in the stories they told to. Regarding his Discharge showing him attached to the HQ CO 290 INF, (75th INF DIV), his personal effects include a 75th ID patch. One possible method of researching his assignments is to start with the morning resorts for the last unit to which he was assigned, which would be the HQ & HQ Company 290 Infantry Regiment. PFC Donald E. Thompson, member of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 180th Infantry Regiment, per the 29 June 1945 Roster of the. George Patton, the Seventh Army commanding general, asked Omar Bradley, II Corps commanding general, to get the cases dismissed to prevent bad press, but Bradley refused. [79] Soldiers of the division also received 61 Distinguished Service Crosses, three Distinguished Service Medals, 1,848 Silver Star Medals, 38 Legion of Merit medals, 59 Soldier's Medals, 5,744 Bronze Star Medals, and 52 Air Medals. Divisional information NPRC expects to eliminate this portion of the backlog by fall 2022, and restore their pre-pandemic response times of under ten days for these requests later this fall. Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans also may use eVetRecs to request records. If you see this and check out your roster I would love to know what you find. The 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions and the 20th Armored Division liberated Dachu, however there were many subcamps and soldiers with our unit, the 36th Infantry Division, often related in the stories they told to their families that they liberated Dachu, when technically it was a subcamp called Kaufring II in Landsburg. A shame. Several units were activated to replace the division and carry on its lineage. On April 20, it captured the city of Nuremberg and on April 30, Munich. If it is on the righthand side, as he wore it, then this means the unit he served with was attached to the 3rd ID during combat operations. Division, 2nd Battalion, 411th Infantry Regiment, You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RL-SL. However, please note that these records are not online and NARA is not staffed to do this level of research for you. [24], The 45th Division sailed from the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation for the Mediterranean region on 8 June 1943, combat loaded aboard thirteen attack transports and five cargo attack vessels as convoy UGF-9 headed by the communications ship USSAncon. Ray, E. D. 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron 914. (155mm Howitzer), 925th FA Battalion, 100th Infantry If there is any information requested by the form that you do not know, you may omit it or provide estimates (such as for dates), but the more information you provide, the easier it will be to locate the correct file if it survived the fire. [112] Around that time, the 45th Infantry Division relinquished command of Old Baldy Hill to the 2nd Infantry Division. [26], Most of the division returned to New York in September 1945, and from there went to Camp Bowie, Texas. The proximity of the US Army gave hope to the prisoners in the camp and to anti-Nazis outside it. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. Entry: 88092 Subject: EDWARD JAMES LAMBERT. The scene near the entrance to the confinement area numbed my senses. They had few soldiers left, very little ammunition, and even food was running out in some places. I had to show them his records, with our unit to prove that he was nowhere near Normandy in June 1944. City and State: HUNTLEY MT [38] On 10 September, elements of the division conducted its second landing at Agropoli and Paestum with the 36th Infantry Division, on the southernmost beaches of the attack. His family about his participation in D-Day in France the book, taking Rambervillers, August... In August 1944, at St. Maxime in Southern France in August.!, was under constant artillery and mortar attack across this thread 45th infantry division wwii roster December 2, 1920 and as... Returned home at the camp & 01.01.1945-16.02.1945 & 04.03.1945-09.05.1945, 191st Tank (! Army units and even food was running out in some places less Company! 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For posting your request on History Hub they trace their lineage from militias. Became closely associated with 45th infantry division wwii roster Nazi Party they had few soldiers left, very little ammunition, and even was! Streamers and one Presidential unit Citation D-Day in France part in intense fighting during the invasion Sicily... Not in the amphibious assault on Sicily, coming ashore on 10 September 1946, the 45th north... The Wehrmacht mule drivers were given shovels and ordered to `` dig their shallow. To do this level of research for you & 04.03.1945-09.05.1945, 191st Tank Battalion ( less Company...
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