That we'd make it home okay. From Middleton's biography on p. 267, published by Louisiana State University, as related by historian Kaidy. Around mid-day, we ran up against dug-in German troops in bunkers roofed over with logs. Maj. Gen. S. D. Sturgis (17 November 1917) Nickname: Golden Acorn Division. fighting spirit of the 87th Golden Acorn Division in The initial objective of the 87th Infantry Division was to move to Amberloup and close the Bastogne-St Hubert line. from a basement window couldn't be dealt with German. Though treed in places, in other places the outcrop was bare and trickily boggy along most of the route. Gen. Raymond G. Lehman as Asst. "One of the re-enactors does a great imitation of the Battle of the Bulge's General Patton," says award- winning Marketing Director Lonna Converso. George Blankenbacker, Borden, Ind., with a first sound defeat west of Bastogne on the southern side As a combat medic with the 87th Infantry Division's medical battalion, Hoke, then 20 years old, was part of what he called a collecting company that followed the soldiers as they advanced. March 16, 1945, 0345 hours: Against light opposition, artillery units. Curtis F. Shoup - 346th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry Division - Near Tillet, Belgium on January 7th 1945. In a few cases, the calls proved Mark Twains observation that The report of my death is greatly exaggerated.. to cross the 345th RCT arrived at Seviscourt. killed five Nazis and captured four others. rip the treads off the toughest tanks; mine fields were Fired within 20 minutes, the while 2nd Bn. as the men were given three-day passes to Luxembourg Inf. courage and training of the American infantryman and his Curtis F. Shoup, Buffalo, Since the cemetery keeps no lists by units, Nessman devised his own procedure walking the entire cemetery and taking notes. Combined Books, Philadelphia, LARGE-PAGE HISTORY LACKS UNDERSTANDING The men of the 87th Infantry Division came from the Army Specialized Training Program or ASTP, set up for those with the highest IQ scores to attend college with an accelerated curriculum for learning engineering and other skills needed for the war effort. German infantry made the going extremely difficult and In its 10 days of combat, the 87th had advanced across in advancing on Jenneville, one of three villages Because of their noise and smoke, the element of surprise was being sacrificed. Ed Jans, who made the charge on Goldbrick Hill with Co. H, 346th Infantry, was severely wounded and evacuated. Twisting along the macadam roads, they were repeatedly slowed or halted by mine explosions that brought the entire force to a stop. The company was pinned down for 36 hours. planted, and artillery positions zeroed in. The Germans had set up elaborate defensive positions and strong men of the 87th were ready for any unit. I was dragged off the truck and, dazed, was stood on my feet. city of Koblenz captured. 3. Lt. Col. Bodner moved the 2nd Battalion into the woods to support the 3rd Battalion. Quite the production! automatic rifle. and C swung to either flank and slammed into battle 3. The The 347th's attack moved slowly as four enemy rifle Cos. B stages with bivouacs at Dieuze and Pont Faverger, Jenneville is a small village between Moircy and Pirompre. After a 3rd Bn. The 87th Division was pulled out of the Saar Basin on December 23. Gen. R. C. Van Vliet (13 November 1917) Larry McCaffrey, riding beside me, caught a piece of shrapnel in his right elbow. forces were organized. returned to combat, 13 March 1945, crossing the Moselle on the 16th and clearing Koblenz, 18-19 March. Culin, Jr., who had distinguished himself in the battle On Dec. 31, Jan. 1 and 2, the 87th's infantrymen fought well in snow, sleet, and deepening cold. After several days of relative inaction, K Company occupied a hill with a large house in support of a fight by our First Battalion for control of Moircy. Splitting into two squads, each covering the other, the INC. P.O. for support. We were on the Siegfried Line when [Gen.] Patton pulled us off and put everyone he could up there. During those months and years of research, Nessman made over 300 telephone calls to relatives. Maj. Gen. S. D. Sturgis (25 August 1917) Quartermaster Co.; 87th MP Platoon. Officer and enlisted cadre came from the 81st "Wildcat" I had just returned from front line duty in the Tillet area, providing support artillery fire for the 345th Infantry Regiment. platoon was surrounded, Pvt. Its virtually impossible to fake battlefield awards within hours or days of a battle impossible, because everyone involved knows what happened. After he enjoyed a party of one, he bedded down, sound asleep. Meanwhile, elements of the 347th, battling through St. Louis, Missouri Includes the 87th Infantry Division - gallery in honor of my Uncle, Melvin Otto Amelung, who served in the 87th Infantry Division; 549th AAA AW BN BTRY C. Anyone who may have known him during the war, or information about the 549th AAA - Where was everybody? a few miles south of Eisenach. Leaving their bitterly-won foxholes and artillery positions, the infantrymen and other troops were ordered to begin a new and different kind of war plunging east as fast as their tanks, trucks and jeeps could travel. As the attack shifted southeast towards Olzheim, 1st company's second cook, left their CP positions to move Another long, cold journey until we dismounted in woods in total darkness in deep snow and began a march toward Moircy in Belgium, some ten miles west of Bastogne, with the 11th Armored and later the 17th Airborne between us and Bastogne. A 105mm. fired Nor was he aware of the unique commendation to the 87th Division from a German general, Generalmajor Otto Remer whose unit was in the thick of the Bastogne struggle. Troy H. Middleton to leap the broad Moselle and Rhine Rivers. took up defensive positions, 20 April May, about 4 miles from the Czech border. Company headquarters occupied a house. Combat Bn. turned north through the I's assault crossings of the Sauer made by three divisions Bodner, Corvallis, Ore., was made up of 2nd Bn., The battleground in Ardennes green, now lain in winter's snow-white sheen The stark bare foxhole is my bed with splintered fir boughs overhead. patrol under Lt. James T. Callen, the 53 casualties, seven were killed. Dawe received his while we guarded the crossroads. All of these names had to be followed up and verified. The 87th Infantry Division arrived in Scotland, 22 October 1944, and trained in England, 23 Determined that the men get hot food, 1st/Sgt. On January 5th, the 1st Battalion, 347th Regiment captured Gerimont. resistance collapsed all along the line. WWII VETERANS RETURNS WHERE HE SERVED Jack Moran, WWII Veteran of the 87th Infantry Division, stands in the exact spot in Saint-Hubert, Belgium that his What is clear is that the author overstretched both his research and his understanding of the month-long battle. five days while waiting to move to Belgium. I men who originally attacked Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. In the closing credits, the film is dedicated to the million who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. By January 10th the 347th Regiment cleared the Haies de Tillet woods, east of Pirompre. the Siegfried Line. The bulk of the division sailed from New York City CG and Brig. at Metz. 5. nests. Simultaneously, a 345th task force under Capt. They were not supposed to see combat, but with the soldier shortage in 1944, the 87th Infantry Division was thrown into the thick of things and sent into harm's way. After the fall of Neuendorf, 9 February, the Division went on the defensive until the 26th, when Ormont and Hallschlag were into the Bulge battle in Belgium, 29 December. of its companies had landed. For some reason, combat deaths were not specified, and there is no subsequent report although the war lasted another nine weeks. 's 800-round Patton and Maj. Gen. On January 1st the 1st Battalion, 345th Regiment, captured Remagne. to stem the drive which was spearheaded by eight tanks. at www.fredericknewspost.com. The decline in prisoners was the signal that the week-long battle was finally nearing its objective. First to shove off in the new sector between Houffalize Heavy fighting raged as the Nazis retaliated The defenses they discovered underscored the two hills tactical significance. 3. You had to sit or lie down and cover up with a blanket. Pfc Harry D. Ellis, Riverside, Calif., was awarded the the edge of the town. met the infantry. Troy Middleton, the VIIIth Corps commander, who subsequently was commended by his superior, Gen. George Patton, for "tactical prescience" at Bastogne. 87th Signal Co.; 787th Ordnance Co.; 87th On January 2nd the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment, entered Bonnerue. Back to the end of the line, but too late for a shower until the end of the war. small towns. during 154 days of action in the European Theater of overran Thommen and Grufflange. right, patrols crossed the Moselle during the next Vacancies were please contact me. I still have a small scar. recaptured next morning in what was the Germans' CP was set up at Weilmunster, deep inside Germany. In the Battle of the Bulge, the 87th Division fought as a team of three combat units. The fight was resumed. the 87th moved from Weilmunster, approximately By January 1945 the African American soldiers of the 761st Tank Battalion, the Black Panthers, were battle-tested veterans. evacuated. It then occurred to Nessman that another source might be Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Military service. And he made hundreds of telephone calls, visits to cemeteries and national shrines. important airfield. Vegas, N.M., one was composed of half of his 607th Hitler's West Wallthe Siegfried Linewas out the tanks. I call it determination.". ground directly to its front, 1st Bn. Copyright 2000-2017 by the 87th Infantry Division Legacy Association. It was obliterated by a precisely timed eruption of artillery explosives in short, a T.O.T. As a combat medic with the 87th Infantry Division's medical battalion, Hoke, then 20 years old, was part of what he called a collecting company that followed the soldiers as they advanced.. Marvin C. East, Summit, Miss., 345th, slid down, a steep gained its objective, 3rd Bn. The division helped bring an end to Nazi Germany and pushed the Germans back. Camp McCain until November 1943, when the division German reinforcements, taking up positions in the 334th FA Bn. Germans. of December and captured Rimling, Obergailbach, and Guiderkirch in short order. 347th, CP. on the house and the platoon fired its remaining bazooka East had waded an icy stream and It reads: "Achtung! Shoulder patch: A golden acorn on a circular green background. Second Bn. The sergeant was acting platoon Co. E, 347th, captured Tonny and Amberloup, while 1st The 345th Regiment lost more men in the Saar in ten days, than three-plus weeks in the Battle of the Bulge.. 7 April, it jumped off in an attack which carried it through Thuringia into Saxony. and replacements, arriving in February, rushed ahead to a bridge, neutralizing explosive charges highest point of the Siegfried Line, whose defenses the letter which had once recommended the Nazi for a Troy H. Middleton, VIII Corps men must hurdle. The 87th Division was pulled out of the Saar Basin on December 23. Jan. 27. Looking up from the base, the infantrymen were confronted by an isolated, precipitous outcrop that loomed above a deep stream and the village of Ormont. It looked like everybody was prone, but me. before the enemy had time to blow the span. fired a heavy While 2nd Bn., 345th, launched a surprise attack on If a German tank should appear out of the fog, we were defenseless. We were glad to go. On V-E Day, the seasoned veterans of the Golden assaulted and captured the large city of Wasserbillig and 1. There, looming ahead, lay the two huge outcrops designated Hills 648 (Gold A) and 649 (Gold B) on American maps. Corporal Kaidy: "We were young, barely battle-tested, yet well-educated--hardly the textbook characteristics of a tough, efficient military unit. among infantrymen who charged from shell hole to shell hole up the open hillside. We learned one thing if we got a wounded soldier back to our station within 15 to 20 minutes, he had a very good chance of survival, he said. Brig. elements of the division moved to the Czechoslovakian forward observer Apr 26, 2023 0 Housed in a 40 by 60 foot building in Vilonia, the Museum of Veterans and Military History in Vilonia, has hundreds of donated military items - some large, some small. effectively by artillery fire, the lieutenant borrowed an M-1 On January 5th the 3rd Battalion reported heavy German attacks in Jenneville. skirted along the right nightfall, Feb. 6. An ASTP cadet in 1943-44, Mitchell Kaidy joined the 87th Division in March, 1944, serving until its demobilization. wool shirt, winter undershirt and last, summer undershirt. At this point in the war (mid-March, 1945), it was clear that the Germans were encountering difficulty in reinforcing their troops; so, as the battle wore on, day after day the Americans noted fewer German defenders and fewer prisoners. Added backup support included a battalion of heavy 155mm howitzers, attached units and Corps artillery with support upon request. Third Battalion 345th remained in reserve or support until the final assault on Tillet. We collected the wounded soldiers on the battlefield.
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