A shame. The 45th Infantry Division World War II in Germany. & 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 However, everyone at that time had heard of Dachu so it is what stuck in people's minds. 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. [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. Anzio - Operation Shingle, 22 January- 24 May, 1944: The 45th began landing at Anzio on 22 January, 1944, with the 179th Regiment seeing the Division's first action of the campaign at Aprilia, also known as "the factory" on 27 January. The terrain was difficult and the weather was poor in the region. B Company, 325th Engineer Combat Visit the 45th Infantry Museum. [21] It then moved to Pine Camp, New York briefly for winter warfare training, but was hampered by continuously poor weather. [125], As of 1 August 1950, the division consisted of 698. Battles & Campaigns of World War II Combat load of Infantry SoldierSicily His discharge of course just general information, various theaters served in, listing him attached to HQ CO 290 INF, 75th DIV, but that didn't explain the 3rd DIV patch on his uniform. [10], The 45th Infantry Division engaged in regular drills but no major events in its first few years, though the division's Colorado elements were called in to help quell a large coal mining strike. Malnutrition and disease were rampant, and corpses lay unburied. Lucas then moved the rest of the 45th Division to the left-center of the perimeter, at Aprilia and along the west branch of the Mussolini Canal. [102] Additionally, in an effort to reduce the burden on the National Guard,[n 2] troops from the division were often replaced by enlisted and drafted soldiers from the active duty force. [47] On 4 June the 45th Division crossed the Tiber River below Rome, and entered the city along with other VI Corps troops. 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. Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans also may use eVetRecs to request records. These were the 7th Infantry Division, the 1st Cavalry Division, the 24th Infantry Division, and the 25th Infantry Division, which were all under the control of the Eighth United States Army. After brief inactivation and subsequent reorganization as a unit restricted to Oklahomans, the division returned to duty in 1951 for the Korean War. We have every reason to believe him, because he was not the kind to tell stories just to make himself look good. By the time the 45th Infantry Division made it into Germany, the German army was in bad shape. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located Morning Reports, ca. [39] The division was then reassigned to V Corps, under the command of Major General Leonard T. Gerow, for its next advance. [105], The 45th Infantry Division, along with the 7th Infantry Division, fought off repeated Chinese attacks all along the front line throughout 1952, and Chinese forces frequently attacked Old Baldy Hill into the fall of that year. [42][44], One regiment of the 45th (the 179th Infantry) went ashore with the landings. The 816 surviving prisoners were taken to barracks within the camp. A Company), A Company, 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion, C Company, 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion, B Company, 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion, D Company, 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion, 3rd Chemical Mortar Battalion (less The division was organized in 1923, and Oklahoma members camped together for the first time at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1924. I'm trying to find information on my great grandfather's service in WWII. Rosters. 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. According to the regimental After Action Report of May 1945. the 1st and 2nd Battalions were assigned to guard duty at KZ Dachau. For more information about these records, please contact the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL) at stl.archives@nara.gov. By 12 September, the Seventh Army linked up with Lieutenant General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army, advancing from Normandy, joining the two forces at Dijon. The 45th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army, most associated with the Oklahoma Army National Guard, from 1920 to 1968. [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. [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. [39] The division crossed the Danube River on 27 April, and liberated 32,000 captives of the Dachau concentration camp on 29 April 1945. In 1940, the "Thunderbird" division was reactivated and deployed in late June 1943 to North Africa. Attachments We have placed this here so that you can get to see the faces of the men behind the history. Below is a list of colors and symbols, and what they mean. One of our soldiers told his family about his participation in D-Day in France. [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. They took part in intense fighting during the invasion of Sicily and the attack on Salerno in the 1943 Italian Campaign. This explains the book he had on the 180th Regiment. 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. Divisional information Circumstance may have prevented that. [86], At the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the U.S. Army looked to expand its force again to prepare for major conflict. Courtesy of the 45th Infantry Division Museum. & 01.11.1944-10.11.1944 & 01.12.1944-14.02.1945 & 05.03.1945-22.03.1945 A non-commissioned officer, Sergeant Horace T. West, 33 years old, later confessed to the crimes in the first incident and was found guilty. 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. [103] Though the division was no longer an "All-Oklahoma" unit, leaders opted to keep its designation as the 45th Infantry Division. The thunderbird is a symbol of the Southwestern Indians meaning sacred bearer of unlimited happiness. 1st Cavalry . His name was Donald E. Thompson, PFC. In conjunction with the reenacting unit is a Venturing Crew of the Boy Scouts of America, allowing members of the unit who are under 18 years of age to participate in events. However, with the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany, with its infamous swastika symbol, the 45th Division stopped using the insignia. Please check NARAs web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information. Check out the people who helped make it possible! . In some of these cars there were more than enough to cover the floors. The reenacting unit attends living history displays and tactical events throughout the region. This tool uses JavaScript and much of it will not work correctly without it enabled. The soldiers of the 45th Division who liberated the camp were outraged at the malnourishment and maltreatment of the 32,000 prisoners they liberated, some barely alive, and all victims of the Holocaust. In company with the British 1st Infantry Division, they advanced north along the Anzio-Albano road and captured the Aprilia "factory", but encountered ingrained resistance from German armored units a few miles further on. The division then defended the hill against a series of Chinese assaults from the Chinese 38th Army. 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". [39] The division had great difficulty moving across the rivers and through the mountainous terrain, and the advance was slow. Headquartered mostly in Oklahoma City, the guardsmen fought in both World War II and the Korean War. The local townspeople were brought in to give the dead prisoners a proper burial. The 45th Infantry Museum honors not just their service, but that of all Oklahomans. By mid-February, the 45th was positioned astride the "Via Anziate," the road leading to Rome. I have been trying to find out more about my grandfathers service and think he might have been a part of the 45th and was hoping you might see this and be able to check for me. [22] The division, now commanded by Major General Troy H. Middleton, a Regular Army soldier and highly distinguished World War I veteran, moved to the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation's Camp Patrick Henry to await combat loading on the transports. If you havent already done so, we suggest that you request a copy of his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). It had left Buchenwald four weeks earlier on April 7 filled with more than 5,000 prisoners. AAA Group, 31.08.1944-10.11.1944 & 23.11.1944 &18.02.1945 [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. Welcome to our 45th Infantry Division photo Galleries. The 45th Infantry Division was formed in 1924 from National Guard units in the southwestern United States. [80] Instead of comprising units from several states, the post-war 45th was an all-Oklahoma organization. Raymond, Allen D. 1st Battalion, 272nd Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division 200. 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. [109] It also conducted constant small-unit patrols along the border seeking to engage Chinese outposts or patrols. Please type your message and try again. It arrived on December 2, 1920 and redesignated as a Philippine Scout regiment the next day. 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. His discharge papers list him as part of HQ & HQ Company 290 Infantry, which, if I'm right was part of the 75th Division, but they were farther to the north, involved in the Bulge. In September of 1940, the War Department called the 45th Infantry to federal service and began training for a possible war with Germany and Japan. Hoping to occupy as much of the country as humanly possible before the German Army could react, the U.S. Fifth Army prepared to attack Salerno. Nevertheless, the Army officials in charge of this camp advised us that there were 50 of these cars in this 1 train and that at least 100 of these civilians had been jammed into each car . You can not post a blank message. I came on this site hoping to find a clue to Dad's whereabouts in Germany after crossing the Rhine, but I have to say I don't appreciate him being dismissed as every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Red is a symbol of bravery and valor. My father, Charles Joseph Capra's records were burned up in the Armory fire in St. Louis. The 45th Infantry Division, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico National Guards, the Thunderbirds, were a group of citizen soldiers who fought long and hard during World War II (Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe Campaigns), and still do today, as a Seperate Infantry Brigade. His old dress uniform has a 3rd Infantry Division shoulder patch. Best of luck with your family research! I also examined the lists of names in the History of the Third Infantry Division without success. 1912 - 1946 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. Up till now everything was basically small scattered pieces to the puzzle. In World War II, following stateside training at Camp Barkley, Fort Sill, Camp Devens, the 45th Infantry Division landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943. [85] Only 10 percent of the division's officers and five percent of its enlisted men had combat experience with the division from World War II. [94] The division was awarded four campaign streamers and one Presidential Unit Citation. Raymer, Joe US Navy 419. Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division: Central Europe. like the original poster my grandfather was originally in the army air corp as a belly gunner in I believe the B24, but was transferred to infantry after a perforated eardrum. 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. If you havent already done so, we suggest that you request a copy of his, . Like Our Web page? Dad was not given to bragging about his three years in Europe. They assumed he meant the more well known D-Day in Northern France in June 1944, but what he was actually talking about was the D-Day in Southern France in August 1944. Army Unit Rosters and Unit Photos. [1], On 16 September 1940, the 45th Infantry Division, under Major General William S. Key, was federalized from state control. However, please note that these records are not online and NARA is not staffed to do this level of research for you. The 36th Infantry Division is a possible candidate for your father. I have to wonder why he would have that particular book. Headquarters & Headquarters Battery, 105th 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. . [39] The division was then slated to move to the Pacific theater of operations to participate in the invasion of mainland Japan on the island of Honshu, but these plans were scrubbed before the division could depart after the surrender of Japan, on V-J Day. Against this, the Allies planned to land 180,000 troops,[27] including the 45th Infantry Division, which was assigned to Lieutenant General Omar Bradley's II Corps, part of the U.S. If you provide your dad's name, I can check it. I have two rosters of the 45th Division plus several Excel worksheets of men who served in the division. Yellow is a symbol of warmth or energy. [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. [104], The division remained as a unit of the Oklahoma National Guard, and participated in no major actions throughout the rest of the 1950s save regular weekend and summer training exercises. & 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 [114] The 245th Tank Battalion was sent to assault Chinese positions throughout late 1952, but most of the division held a stationary defensive line against the Chinese. They took part in intense fighting during the invasion of Sicily and the attack on Salerno in the 1943 Italian Campaign. [55] On 17 February the division was pulled off the line for rest and training. 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. Anyways if you see this his name was Clarence LaHayne and he was enlisted. Major General Roy Hoffman took command in 1931, followed by Alexander M. Tuthill, Alexander E. McPherren in 1935, and William S. Key in 1936. Please be aware that NPRC is prioritizing the requests for separation documents needed by veterans and their dependents to prove eligibility for a variety of benefits. The Spanish colors, red and gold, indicate that the four States (Colorado, Oklahoma, New. The following month, the division landed in Sicily, where it engaged Axis troops in combat. Rosters for units serving in World War II from 1944 - 1946 were destroyed in accordance with Army disposition authorities. The 45th in this time was regarded as one of the better-trained National Guard divisions. In addition to burying the dead, the Allied forces attempted to help and comfort the survivors with food, clothing and medical assistance. With the American entry into World War I, in April 1917, troops of the National Guard were formed into the units which exist today, with elements of the Colorado National Guard forming the 157th Infantry Regiment, the Arizona National Guard forming the 158th Infantry Regiment, and the New Mexico National Guard forming the 120th Engineer Regiment. Please check NARAs web page about, The U.S. In later interviews with Charles Brandt, he divided such massacres into four categories: During World War II, the 45th Division fought in 511 days of combat. Re: Seeking roster for 45th Infantry Division Dave Kerr Nov 30, 2022 12:50 PM ( in response to Katie Geuin ) Katie, I checked the 29 June 1945 Division Roster as well as my General Orders' Worksheet and did not find your dad's name. When the three units arrived at Dachau, they discovered more than 30,000 prisoners in the overcrowded camp. [50] Against slight opposition, it spearheaded the drive for the Belfort Gap. PFC Donald E. Thompson, member of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 180th Infantry Regiment, per the 29 June 1945 Roster of the. 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. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Weeks earlier on April 7 filled with more than 5,000 prisoners fighting during the invasion of Sicily and the was. However, please contact the National Archives Catalog and located Morning Reports,.! The rivers and through the mountainous terrain, and the attack on Salerno in the Armory fire St.... Survivors with food, clothing and medical assistance small-unit patrols along the border seeking to engage outposts. 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