I've often thought he may have been attached to the 75th after they were sent south to the Colmar Pocket, and when that was over, and the 75th went back north, Dad was transferred out to - my best guess at the time - the 3rd Division. TheDivision was pulled off the line for rest and training. They took part in intense fighting during the invasion of Sicily and the attack on Salerno in the 1943 Italian Campaign. To access these records for the 1940s, you will need to either make an appointment to visit the National Archives at St. Louis or hire a researcher. [39] The division had great difficulty moving across the rivers and through the mountainous terrain, and the advance was slow. I think that means he would have been in one of the artillery units for the 45th Infantry Division, but I don't know where to find a roster to check. 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. ", It appears that most of the regiment remained in the Dachau vicinity until, 20 July, when the regiment embarked by train for Camp St. Louis. Error: You don't have JavaScript enabled. [15] Its men immediately began basic combat training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. [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. Inside this website you will find over 100 pages of Maps History and Photographs of the World War Two Thunderbirds. Please check NARAs web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information. "Train, No. It had left Buchenwald four weeks earlier on April 7 filled with more than 5,000 prisoners. A non-commissioned officer, Sergeant Horace T. West, 33 years old, later confessed to the crimes in the first incident and was found guilty. These brigades would see no major deployments or events, and were inactivated five years later in 1968. Lucas sent famed U.S. Army Ranger leader Colonel William Orlando Darby to assume command of the 157th Infantry, and the Germans were repulsed. For more information about these records, please contact the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL) at stl.archives@nara.gov. 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division | American Battle Monuments Commission Cemeteries & Memorials Burial Search Education About Us News Data Multimedia Contact Us 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division Home 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division Legacy ID 27959 Legacy Alias Washington, DC 20024-2126 The division received seven distinguished unit citations and eight campaign streamers during the conflict. Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division: Rome-Arno. Devers. 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. 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 According to the regimental After Action Report of May 1945. the 1st and 2nd Battalions were assigned to guard duty at KZ Dachau. In many cases where personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire, proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders, and a certificate of military service will be issued. His name was Donald E. Thompson, PFC. Ray, John F Company, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division 482. I had to show them his records, with our unit to prove that he was nowhere near Normandy in June 1944. 42nd Infantry Division - "The Rainbow Division" 43rd Infantry Division "Winged Victory Division" 44th Infantry Division 45th Infantry Division "Thunderbird" 63rd Infantry Division "Blood and fire" 65th Infantry Division - "The Battle-Axe Division" 66th Infantry Division -"Black Panther Division" & 01.04.1945-10.05.1945, 636th TD Battalion (SP) (less C Company These cars were an assortment of odd boxcars, some of which were locked, and some were coal-car type. 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. The division was organized in 1923, and Oklahoma members camped together for the first time at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1924. [125], As of 1 August 1950, the division consisted of 698. Throughout 1942, it continued this training at Camp Barkeley, Texas,[20] before moving to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, to undergo amphibious assault training in preparation for an invasion of Italy. [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. He described often witnessing similar behavior by fellow, Orders from unit commanders during a mission. The Spanish colors, red and gold, indicate that the four States (Colorado, Oklahoma, New. However, please note that these records are not online and NARA is not staffed to do this level of research for you. [49] The division was allowed a one-month rest, resuming its advance on 25 November, attacking the forts north of Mutzig. The U.S. Each of the four sides of the patch represents one of those four states. [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. [111], In the division's first few months on the line, Chinese forces conducted three raids in its sector. Markham. After investigating the incident, the Army considered court-martialling several officers involved, but Patton successfully intervened. However, everyone at that time had heard of Dachu so it is what stuck in people's minds. 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. It's like a window back in time. [39] The division was then reassigned to V Corps, under the command of Major General Leonard T. Gerow, for its next advance. forces. This tool uses JavaScript and much of it will not work correctly without it enabled. 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. Ray, E. D. 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron 914. 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. [6] The division was formed and federally recognized as a National Guard unit on 3 August 1923 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 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. [80] Instead of comprising units from several states, the post-war 45th was an all-Oklahoma organization. [80] Its colors were returned to Oklahoma on 25 September of that year, formally ending the division's presence in Korea. [64] Some veterans of the 45th Infantry Division have said that only 30 to 50 German soldiers were killed and that very few were killed trying to surrender, while others have admitted to killing or refusing to treat wounded German guards.[65]. It will take considerably longer to eliminate the backlog on other types of requests, such as genealogical requests for complete copies of records. Sheeran later joked that they did so without complaint, likely hoping that he and his buddies would change their minds. They worked their way up the East coast in their quest to reach Messina. Mortar Battalion, 2nd Battalion, 36th Engineer Combat 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. 45th Infantry Division. However, everyone at that time had heard of Dachu so it is what stuck in people's minds. [26] Nine soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during their service with the 45th Infantry Division: Van T. Barfoot,[72] Ernest Childers,[73] Almond E. Fisher,[74] William J. Johnston,[75] Salvador J. Lara,[76] Jack C. Montgomery,[77] James D. Slaton,[73] Jack Treadwell,[78] and Edward G. During World War I, Colonel A. W. Bloor, commander of the 142nd Infantry, 36th Division, tested and deployed a code, using the Choctaw language in place of regular military code. 1st Cavalry . Group, 36th Engineer Combat Group (less 2nd After advancing up the Italian peninsula, the 45th landed at Anzio in February 1944, where it withstood repeated German assaults against its positions. [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. [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. Army Unit Rosters and Unit Photos. Nonetheless, I do have a roster of the 45th Infantry Division for 1945. These pages are built and maintained by the World War II Recreation Association with membership in Northern Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Casualty figures for the 45th Infantry Division, European theater of operations: The 45th Infantry Division gained its nickname, "Thunderbird" division, from the gold thunderbird. [34] Italian and German forces resisted fiercely at Motta Hill on 26 July, however, and for four days the 45th Division was held up there. I have his army serial # as well if that would help. & 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 I checked the 1944 and 1945 Division rosters (45th Div. [39] The 45th Infantry Division landed its 157th and 180th regimental combat teams and captured the heights of the Chaines de Mar before meeting with the 1st Special Service Force. 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW 9, commanded by Major Kirk A. Meaders, and carrying personnel of, our Third Battalion and five Officers and 95 Enlisted Men of the 120th, When I have time, Jon, I will look through the General Orders of the 180th. [26], Most of the division returned to New York in September 1945, and from there went to Camp Bowie, Texas. Headquartered mostly in Oklahoma City, the guardsmen fought in both World War II and the Korean War. 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. 45th ID in World War II. After brief inactivation and subsequent reorganization as a unit restricted to Oklahomans, the division returned to duty in 1951 for the Korean War. [32] The paratroopers, conducting their first combat jump of the war after six weeks of training in Tunisia, then set up to protect the 45th's flank against German counterattack, but without weapons to counter heavy armor, the paratroopers had to rely on support from the 2nd Armored Division to repulse the German Tiger I tanks. Based in Oklahoma City and one of the first National Guard units to be activated for World War II, from the shores of France and all the way to Berlin liberating Dachau along the way, they later served in the brutal Korean War. [63] Accounts conflict over what happened and over how many German troops were killed. Several units were activated to replace the division and carry on its lineage. So he might have actually meant one of the subcamps which would increase the number of possible units. The 45th Infantry Division in World War II: An Unofficial Guide to Resources Visit the 45th Infantry Museum. [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. [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. 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 [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. [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. In January 1943 it moved to Fort Pickett, Virginia, for its final training. That's the most information, all in one place, nailing things down to a specific place and time, that I've seen on Dad. Some of the victims apparently had died only hours before the 45th Division entered the camp, while many others lay where they had died in states of decomposition that overwhelmed the soldiers' senses. Please turn JavaScript back on and reload this page. Division, 2nd Battalion, 411th Infantry Regiment, [10] In 1937, the division's troops were once again called up, this time to help manage a locust plague affecting Colorado. Each car was loaded with emaciated human corpses . 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