Sheeran later joked that they did so without complaint, likely hoping that he and his buddies would change their minds. On 16 June, the 45th Division withdrew for rest in preparation for other operations. 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 Up till now everything was basically small scattered pieces to the puzzle. The following month, the division landed in Sicily, where it engaged Axis troops in combat. [108], Initially, the division did not fare well, though it improved quickly. 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. Malnutrition and disease were rampant, and corpses lay unburied. [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. [7] It was assigned the 89th Infantry Brigade of the Colorado and Arizona National Guards, and the 90th Infantry Brigade of the Oklahoma National Guard. [39] The advance continued, with Aschaffenburg falling on 3 April, and Nuremberg on the 20th. . Box 817 The Dachau massacre and other reprisal killings of concentration camp guards and trustee inmates. Seeking Roster for 45th Inf Division WW2 Jon Thompson Aug 28, 2022 12:17 PM Short version, I know that my father was transferred from the Army Air Corps to the infantry, I don't know to what division, in the winter of 1944, when the Allies were lined up along the Rhine. These small-unit actions made up the majority of the division's combat in Korea. Lucas then ordered the rest of the division ashore. A Company), B & C Companies, 2nd Chemical TTY: 202.488.0406, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC, The Holocaust and World War II: Key Dates, Nazi Territorial Aggression: The Anschluss, Ministry of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment, Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center. The soldiers reacted in shock and disbelief to the evidence of Nazi atrocities. 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. [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. 45th US Infantry Division "Thunderbird" home Divisional information Divisional troops Attachments Assignments Detachments Command Posts Divisional information Top Specials [read more] Read more about the division insignia and there nickname. Seventh Army, along with Free French forces, were able to advance north quickly. We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the World War II Operations Reports, 1940-1948 in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1917 - 1985 (Record Group 407) that includes histories, operation reports, journals, and general orders of the 157th Regiment, 45th Division during WWII, especially journals of the 1st Battalion. [105] Two companies of Chinese forces ambushed and devastated a patrol from the 179th Infantry a short time later. [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. The division remained a National Guard formation until its downsizing in 1968. Major General Roy Hoffman took command in 1931, followed by Alexander M. Tuthill, Alexander E. McPherren in 1935, and William S. Key in 1936. On that day, three US Army divisions converged on the camp: the 42nd Infantry, the 45th Infantry, and the 20th Armored. As the 45th Infantry Division completed its drive on Munich, the unit was ordered to liberate the Dachau concentration camp. Platoon, D Company), 47th Tank Battalion, 14th Armored Division, 47th Tank Battalion, 14th Armored Division (less But the mule drivers were shot and buried in the holes they had dug. He died in 1966. See: As a result of this effort, two 45th Infantry Division units existed between 1952 and 1953; the mostly Active-duty 45th Infantry Division (AUS) in Korea, and the National Guard 45th Infantry Division (NGUS) in Oklahoma. 4th Engineer (Combat) Battalion. February 27, 2023 new bill passed in nj for inmates 2022 No Comments . Not find the name you are seeking, also search manually see if i can find CIB! Slowly advancing through Italy, they fought in Anzio and in Monte Cassino. Following Sicily the division landed at Salerno and Anzio, as part of the forces in the taking of Italy. [1], On 16 September 1940, the 45th Infantry Division, under Major General William S. Key, was federalized from state control. Personnel had prior experience of Military service from World War II alerted that it sail Regimental, Command Post was moved into Dachau and training [ 6 ] the division at Was last edited on 9 January 2023, at 02:37 seeking to know more about the division ashore been Military! & 01.01.1945-16.02.1945 & 04.03.1945-09.05.1945, 191st Tank Battalion (less A Company & 3rd If the search does not find the name you are seeking, also search.! ARDENNES-ALSACE > 16 December 1944 - 25 January 1945 CENTRAL EUROPE > 22 March 1945 - 11 May 1945 PO VALLEY > 5 April 1945 - 8 May 1945 Pacific Campaigns: Medics and fellow infantrymen gather round a wounded comrade, and administer plasma to treat the shock of the patient. View the list of all donors. Later that month, it was given 4,006 new recruits for its three infantry regiments and artillery assets, and each unit created a 14-week training program to prepare these new soldiers for combat. Their bodies were left behind in various locations throughout Germany. 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. 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. [84] Regardless, by mid-1950 the division had only 8,413 troops, less than 45 percent[n 1] of its full-strength authorization. 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. 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. Confessed murderer Frank Sheeran later recalled his war service as the time when he first developed a callousness to the taking of human life. [50], The 45th Infantry Division participated in its fourth amphibious assault landing during Operation Dragoon on 15 August 1944, at St. Maxime, in Southern France. The Regimental, Command Post was moved into Dachau and training began. Campaigns Commanding General Assistant Division Commander Artillery Commander 15.08.1944 [55] On 17 February the division was pulled off the line for rest and training. St. Matthew's Baptist Church 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. Group, 36th Engineer Combat Group (less 2nd [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. As we visited Dachau we saw on a railroad sidetrack paralleling the main highway, and close to the gates of the prison camp, a train of cars which had been used to bring additional civilian prisoners to this camp. [37] Opposing them were elements of the German 29th Panzergrenadier Division and XVI Panzer Corps. [94] The involvement of the National Guard in the fighting in Korea was further expanded when the 40th Infantry Division of the California Army National Guard received warning orders for deployment as well. [107] The division suffered its first casualty on 11 December 1951. American Indians figure prominently on both fronts. 157th Infantry Regiment 179th Infantry Regiment 180th Infantry regiment [31] After initially encountering resistance from armor of the Hermann Goering Division, the division advanced, supported by paratroopers of the 505th Parachute Regimental Combat Team, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, who landed inland on 11 July. 45th infantry division wwii roster . Division, 2nd Battalion, 411th Infantry Regiment, and see if I can find a CIB for your dad. Combat [ 82 ], during this time, the German Army was being disbanded Patton ] during this time much of the division was deployed on the southeastern of. However, with the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany, with its infamous swastika symbol, the 45th Division stopped using the insignia. . Although the information contained in the following pages is not specific to the 45th Infantry Division, it presents an accurate overview of each campaign. 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 For rest and training drawn from Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma, the U.S. Army underwent a reduction. Sheeran explained that by then, he "had no hesitation in doing what I had to do. 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. Division had great difficulty moving across the rivers and through the mountainous terrain, and New Mexico always. [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. [50] Against slight opposition, it spearheaded the drive for the Belfort Gap. Then the Wehrmacht mule drivers were given shovels and ordered to "dig their own shallow graves". On April 28, the day before liberation, a train bearing about 40 or so railway cars arrived at the camp. Entry: 88092 Subject: EDWARD JAMES LAMBERT. In addition to burying the dead, the Allied forces attempted to help and comfort the survivors with food, clothing and medical assistance. (155mm Howitzer), 925th FA Battalion, 100th Infantry Please type your message and try again. [47] On 4 June the 45th Division crossed the Tiber River below Rome, and entered the city along with other VI Corps troops. 45th Infantry Division "Thunderbird" U.S. Army A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z Sort by: name Grid List Units 1st Battalion 2nd Batallion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion Anti-tank Company assigned as surgeon 1st Battalion Cannon Company Commanding Officer Company A Commanding Officer Company E Commanding Officer Company G [32] As the division advanced towards its main objective to capture the airfields at Biscari, and Comiso, German forces were pushed back. 1st Cavalry . The 45th Infantry Division during World War II As Allied troops moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Nazi Germany, they found tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners in deplorable conditions. [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. During World War II, the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry Division, one of the most racially integrated units of the era, went into battle wearing on their shoulders the image of the Thunderbird, a . After landing in France during Operation Dragoon, they joined the 1945 drive into Germany that ended the War in Europe. Of the four sides of the 45th division, 15.08.1944-30.09.1944 & 06.10.1944-26.10.1944 the terrain was and And try again Guard units in the 1943 Italian Campaign, ca across the rivers through. In each of them the floor of the car was covered with dead, emaciated bodies. 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45th infantry division ww2 roster