The 45th Infantry Division in World War II: An Unofficial Guide to Resources Some of those photos match the area where Operation Dragoon was executed. It will take considerably longer to eliminate the backlog on other types of requests, such as genealogical requests for complete copies of records. Primarily I'm looking for a roster of the 45th Division, but also interested in the same for the 3rd Division. Below is a list of colors and symbols, and what they mean. By 31 May, the German defenses were shattered, and the 45th Division turned northwest, toward the Alban Hills and Rome. & 1st Platoon, Recon Company). 79th Infantry Division, 03.01.1945-17.01.1945 & 22.01.1945-29.01.1945, 19th Armored Infantry Battalion, 14th On April 20, it captured the city of Nuremberg and on April 30, Munich. On April 29, 1945, three US Army divisions converged on the camp: the 42nd Infantry, the 45th Infantry, and the 20th Armored. Two regiments of the 45th (the 179th and 157th Infantry) were sent to the Aprilia sector to reinforce the British. After landing in France during Operation Dragoon, they joined the 1945 drive into Germany that ended the War in Europe. Raymer, Joe US Navy 419. I have a newspaper clipping from the local paper that he had informed his parents that he had been transferred to the infantry - from the Air Corp/Air Force - of course there would be no mention of what unit he was transferred to, and this was during the winter of '44, when they were pulling men from all branches to fill the line. [citation needed]. I can count on one hand the stories - harmless stories - we know of his time over there. Company Morning Reports. In the 45th Division Bill Mauldin 45th Division NewsAngelo Casertano UnknownWilson Kale UnknownHerb Alexander 120th QuartermasterEloy Bacca C/ 120th EngineersErnesto Padilla F/ 120th EngineersAllan Osbourne Sr UnknownHistory B Company 120th Medical Bn. Armored Division, 409th Infantry Regiment, 103rd Infantry 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. By mid-February, the 45th was positioned astride the "Via Anziate," the road leading to Rome. 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. These offensives were conducted largely in order to secure a better position during the ongoing truce negotiations. Then the Wehrmacht mule drivers were given shovels and ordered to "dig their own shallow graves". He also claimed to have been at Dachau and talked about it to some detail when I was younger. Our officials advised us that many of the others who had survived the trip had died since in the camp, and many more, although still alive, were starved beyond redemption. So he might have actually meant one of the subcamps which would increase the number of possible units. If you provide your dad's name, I can check it. Documents. 45th ID in World War II. These small-unit actions made up the majority of the division's combat in Korea. & 24.11.1944-14.02.1945 & 05.03.1945-15.03.1945 & 20.03.1945-22.03.1945, 15.08.1944-28.11.1944 & 22.12.1944-27.12.1944 Airborne Anti-Aircraft Artillery Armored Division Army's 1st - 15th Army Air Corps Artillery Band Cavalry Chaplain Corps Chemical Coast Artillery Corps Engineers Finance Corps General Staff Infantry Division Inspector General Department Intelligence Corps Judge Advocate General Corps Medical Corps Military . This tool uses JavaScript and much of it will not work correctly without it enabled. Regarding his Discharge showing him attached to the HQ CO 290 INF, (75th INF DIV), his personal effects include a 75th ID patch. After entering the camp, the soldiers found boxcars filled with dead bodies of prisoners who had succumbed to starvation or last-minute executions, and in rooms adjacent to gas chambers they found naked bodies piled from the floor to the ceiling. AAA Group, 31.08.1944-10.11.1944 & 23.11.1944 &18.02.1945 Seventh Army under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, for the operation. Since its inception, Native Americans from the tribes of Oklahoma have served in the National Guard with pride and honor. Division, 2nd Battalion, 411th Infantry Regiment, The 3rd Div patch is on the left shoulder. A row of small cement structures near the prison entrance contained a coal-fired crematorium, a gas chamber, and rooms piled high with naked and emaciated human corpses. The delegations of journalists and congressmen who had been viewing the Buchenwald concentration camp were quickly diverted to Dachau to see the camp. Lucas then ordered the rest of the division ashore. After linking up with the British Eighth Army, which had advanced from the south, the combined force, under the 15th Army Group, commanded by British General Sir Harold Alexander, was stalled when it reached the Gustav Line. Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! After advancing up the Italian peninsula, the 45th landed at Anzio in February 1944, where it withstood repeated German assaults against its positions. [115] The ensuing Battle of Hill Eerie was one of a series of larger attacks by Chinese and North Korean forces which produced heavier fighting than the previous year had seen. The first major German counterattack came in early February, was against the British 1st Division. [39] The division remained on the line with the U.S. 6th Army Group the southernmost of three army groups advancing through France. Slowly advancing through Italy, they fought in Anzio and the Beachhead breakout to the capture of Rome. In Section 1, Item 1, where it asks which items you are requesting, please check Other and specify that you want the entire file. Since all the many bodies were in various stages of decomposition, the stench of death was overpowering. You did what you had to do.". These prisoners had apparently crawled out of the cars and had died on the ground. Up till now everything was basically small scattered pieces to the puzzle. On 7 December 1945, the division was inactivated from the active duty force and its members reassigned to other Army units. forces. Please type your message and try again. Does anyone in the family have his discharge papers that confirm he was a member. I have two rosters of the 45th Division plus several Excel worksheets of men who served in the 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. In the first two cases, dubbed the Biscari massacre, occurred on 14 July 1943, American troops from C Company, 180th Infantry Regiment, were alleged to have shot 74 Italian and two German prisoners in Acate following the capture of an airfield in the area. You can not post a blank message. Division (105mm Howitzer), 01.12.1944-03.12.1944 & 20.01.1945-07.02.1945, 12.03.1945-20.03.1945 & 30.03.1945-01.04.1945, 06.11.1944-09.11.1944 & 28.11.1944-05.12.1944, 313th Infantry Regiment, 79th 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. Devers. [13] After a long process of reviewing design submissions, a design by Woody Big Bow, a Kiowa artist from Carnegie, Oklahoma, was chosen for the new shoulder sleeve insignia. Nonetheless, I do have a roster of the 45th Infantry Division for 1945. [42][44], One regiment of the 45th (the 179th Infantry) went ashore with the landings. [108], Initially, the division did not fare well, though it improved quickly. In practice, the military institutionally recognized the Korea unit as the only "official" division, and most of the returning Oklahoma guardsmen were either separated from the Guard at the end of their enlistments or remained in inactive reserve status. Fearing political ramifications, Army leaders sought to prevent large numbers of casualties from any one state, and the 45th Infantry Division was an all-Oklahoma organization at the beginning of the war. The 816 surviving prisoners were taken to barracks within the camp. Lieutenant Colonel Felix Sparks, who commanded the 45th Infantry Division troops, later recalled his first impressions of Dachau: The initial shock was experienced even before entering the camp. On Sunday, April 29th, 1945, the 3rd Battalion of the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division liberated the Dachau concentration camp, near Munich, Germany. [124], Note: Similarity of dates for General Muldrow and commanders beginning with General Ruffner is because 45th Infantry Division, AUS, was retained in Korea while twin unit, 45th Infantry Division, NGUS, was activated in Oklahoma. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located Morning Reports, ca. We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create content and resources for the Holocaust Encyclopedia. ", This page was last edited on 9 January 2023, at 02:37. [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. Keywords: Korean War, 45th Infantry Division, Thunderbirds. I'm trying to find information on my great grandfather's service in WWII. [55] The 45th Infantry Division, now commanded by Major General Robert T. Frederick, who had previously commanded the 1st Special Service Force, was reassigned to VI Corps on New Year's Day. 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. [3] The Oklahoma National Guard units that would later become the 179th Infantry Regiment and 180th Infantry Regiment were assigned to the 36th Division and would earn a combat participation credit during the MeuseArgonne offensive in France as part of the 142nd Infantry. 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. The following month, the division landed in Sicily, where it engaged Axis troops in combat. The 45th Infantry Division was recognized as a liberating unit by the US Army's Center of Military History and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1985. (155mm Howitzer), 925th FA Battalion, 100th Infantry The local townspeople were brought in to give the dead prisoners a proper burial. Major General Roy Hoffman took command in 1931, followed by Alexander M. Tuthill, Alexander E. McPherren in 1935, and William S. Key in 1936. [113] Heavy rainstorms prevented the divisions from retaking the hill for around a month, and when it was finally retaken it was heavily fortified to prevent further attacks. [42][46] VI Corps was stopped at the "Pimlott Line" (the perimeter of the beachhead), and the fight became a battle of attrition. Confessed murderer Frank Sheeran later recalled his war service as the time when he first developed a callousness to the taking of human life. 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. This explains the book he had on the 180th Regiment. 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. [29][30] Landing near Scoglitti, the southernmost U.S. objective on the island, the division advanced north on the U.S. force's eastern flank. [56] During the next month, the division remained in Munich and set up collection points and camps for the massive numbers of surrendering troops of the German armies. Campaigns Commanding General Assistant Division Commander Artillery Commander 15.08.1944 Like Our Web page? Detachments & 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 [119] That same year, due to the perceived lack of need for so many large formations in the Army National Guard, the 45th Infantry Division was inactivated, as part of a larger move to reduce the number of Army National Guard divisions from 15 to eight, while increasing the number of separate brigades from seven to 18. I have to wonder why he would have that particular book. Mortar Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 36th Engineer Combat . [48] Men of the 45th Division were the first Allied troops to reach the Vatican. Thank you so much!Katie Capra Geuin(i am new to this page and didn't see a way to send a message without replying to this one with the same subject line), [Moderation Note: Please see How To: Contact Another User], I checked the 29 June 1945 Division Roster as well as my General Orders' Worksheet and. The number of POWs taken by the 45th Division during its almost two years of fighting totalled 124,840 men. The 45th Infantry Division was reassigned to VI Corps on New Year's day. In size, these cars were of the small European type, which, when used for the movement of troops, would never accommodate more than 40 men. 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. [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. 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