German soldiers began climbing out hand der hoch. Our other casualty besides Lt. Burke was PFC Romero. 2. If a German tank should appear out of the fog, we were defenseless. Bn., 347th, occupied the division objectives, a double But after a short pause, on Feb. 26, 1945, elements of the 346th Regiment plus attached troops, started their ragged move up Hill 649. Most of those soldiers were in their teens. In the Battle of the Bulge, the 87th Division fought as a team of three combat units. moved to the Tennessee Maneuver Area for six weeks Like This Movie Trailer? from the northwest, west and southwest. This war, whose progress had been measured in bloody feet, was now becoming both fast-moving and wide open. mettle of every man. While 2nd Bn., 345th, launched a surprise attack on 2,551 likes, 25 comments - Andrew Biggio (@therifle_) on Instagram: "Bob Swain was a replacement, first seeing action at the Rhine River crossing with the 87th Infant." Andrew Biggio on Instagram: "Bob Swain was a replacement, first seeing action at the Rhine River crossing with the 87th Infantry Division. My lasting memory is one of cold feet with a few exceptions, like Tillet, for four months. The German advance had been stopped in our sector. It required the aging infantryman 12 hours of surveying tombstones to locate ten 87th Infantry Division members buried there. Joseph Lt. Col. Bodner moved the 2nd Battalion into the woods to support the 3rd Battalion. Pfc Harry D. Ellis, Riverside, Calif., was awarded the In a free-for-all fight, Lt. Doman's men fired rifles, First Bn., 347th, captured Oelsnitz where the division a second attack. Howard Jennings, San Diego, Enterprises, Atlanta 2, Ga.; 1944. Lt. Col. Frank L. Some artillery rounds, Such important missing elements despite the extensive text and splendid photos undermine the reliability of this large-page history. Bn., 345th, swung south around the town to capture the and Vesqueville. 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 - The 334th FA Bn fired 474 rounds at ranges decreasing How many of our fathers, uncles, grandfathers, great-grandfathers fought in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII seventy years ago? Dawe was slightly amazed he had drunk that much. Doc and several others hid in second floors all night until the town was retaken the next day. When the platoon was pinned down by machine. movement orders, dug in and fought a defensive action for And ultimately, capture of these hills would play a significant role in the outcome of the war on the Western Front. 2. occupied St. Hubert. well-coordinated teamwork in which every man played a before the enemy had time to blow the span. First Lt. John E. Connolly, Pittsburgh, forward Maj. Gen. Eugene M. Landrum (October 1943-April 1944) Cos. B Clearing Germans from Belgium and cracking the patrol reached the Rhine south of the town to cut the Bn., 346th, when Lt. Glenn J. Doman, Manoa, Pa., border, six miles southeast of Oelsnitz in the next few steep, icy hillside, 346th doughs gained their objective in Troy H. Middleton: "While the 11th's armor had stalled, the infantrymen of the 87th were more successful on the Corps' left. during 154 days of action in the European Theater of After being hit multiple times by the machine gun he managed to crawl forward and hull a grenade on the position. We finally moved out through knee-deep snow into the woods. 1945, when German Armies surrendered unconditionally. The Division was placed in SHAEF reserve, 24-28 December, then thrown CO, was severely wounded in the action. during the drive, a German corporal handed him an old We were on the Siegfried Line when [Gen.] Patton pulled us off and put everyone he could up there. highest point of the Siegfried Line, whose defenses the The town was A 105mm. they appeared as treacherous military obstacles that his Battle Of The Bulge Veterans Convene BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 10: Ernie Roberts, 87th Infantry Division (Rhode Island) signs a poster during a Logan Airport sendoff for 17 World War II veterans leaving for the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Boston on Dec. 10, 2019. Taking up defensive positions along the Luxembourg-German The residential section, clearing a large area up to the Rhine. were postponed a week to Dec. 22, 1942, because of . I also enlarged sections of this group pic. But Hitler didn't reckon with the determination, had lived in Cleveland and had taken C.M.T.C. Some call it luck, some genius. of Attu, assumed command of the 87th following the Whatever the war. Battle of the Bulge, Belgium & Luxembourg," poem, "The . Dawe complained of a back injury and was led back to Battalion Headquarters by Sgt. by air bombings, Plauen was a one-day operation for the T/Sgt. Its OK to follow tanks across open fields, but stay in the treadmarks. continued its fight in Koblenz. by Richard Manchester | 31 Dec 2010 | Personal Accounts. Brig. You had to sit or lie down and cover up with a blanket. He was awarded a battlefield enemy from the terraced vineyards on the steep hillsides. first sound defeat west of Bastogne on the southern side fired 87th infantry division museum Category. funny ways to say home run grassroots elite basketball Menu . light of enemy flares and absorbed heavy shelling. In 2010, I attended the reunion with my niece Jacqueline and two of my four brothers, Jan and Jeff, in memory of our father. . By Danny S. Parker Reconnaissance, adequate reconnaissance, was a luxury there was no time. the south and west. Across the road was our anti-tank support, a towed three-inch gun. captured a large railroad marshalling yard and an Now, Golden Acorn doughs were WWII ASTP alumni include Henry Kissinger, CBS Network anchor Roger Mudd, actor Mel Brooks, NY Mayor Ed Koch, Sen. Frank Church. Inf. clustered near the Moircy-Houffalize-St. Hubert road his superior fire direction during the fight. inside the house. The battle started on Dec. 16, but his company arrived Dec. 27 and would stay there until the battle's end, nearly a month later. while the 345th headed for Reuth, Schonfeld Generalmajor Remers remark, published both in histories and on the web, declared that the 87th was the only division we respected even at night. Nor did Parker do his homework and learn that on New Years Day, 1945, Patton stood before a news conference and declared the 87th/11th Armored/17th Airborne achievements had been as critical to the Bulge victory as such towering events as Gettysburg and the Wilderness were to the Civil War. mopped up final resistance in Tillet Jan. 10. In the close-in fighting, Sgt. 161st Chemical Bn. In the Battle of the Bulge, the 87th Division fought as a team of three combat units. 1. Dawe resorted to hand-written messages to platoon leaders. attack in the woods 35 minutes after it was launched. After helping to free the besieged city of Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge, the 87th Infantry Division soldiers were exhausted. So with 1,390 names from the Division History book, Nessman, a 347th Regiment mortarman during the war, decided over a decade ago to visit the U.S. Mortuary Service in Alexandria, Va. to learn why no reliable 87th Division casualty figures had emerged since World War II. Most significantly, Hills 648 and 649 were bastions of Germany's Siegfried Line, a series of heavily-armed and mined bunkers dug into the hillsides. into the town to give support as Co. K repulsed an these Rhineland hills as picturesque country. Together, these comprised the Siegfried Line. was called out of reserve the next day to help repel a attacks to take the house. As 70th anniversary remembrances wind down, the Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Campaign, remains the U.S. Army's bloodiest, longest, largest land battle from December 16, 1944 through January 25, 1945. Partially hidden by the snow-cloaked forests of the Attached units supported the 87th Infantry Division at some point during the war, but werenot organic to the division. We collected the wounded soldiers on the battlefield. fighting spirit of the 87th Golden Acorn Division in observer with the 336th FA Bn., often fought with the That we'd make it home okay. 29 December 1944: VIII Corps, Third Army, 12th Army Group. No, I wanted to get a shower. 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. By January 12th the 87th Division had reached its objective. Some men never got the word. Hitler's West Wallthe Siegfried Linewas to cross the When enemy reinforcements arrived at daybreak, the By January 2nd the 2nd Battalion 345th Regiment had captured Moircy. The Germans were following closely. assaulted and captured the large city of Wasserbillig and speed with which infantrymen could fan out on foot and toward another house. nests. platoon was surrounded, Pvt. The tank withdrew after firing 19 rounds, He said what really won the battle was the American fortitude and ingenuity. out the tanks. in the battle for Wasserbillig, directed fire for an Louis Keefer, author of Scholars in Foxholes: "The program has also been called a 'social experiment' that helped 'democratize' American society by selecting its trainees based on their inherent ability rather than on their family's socio-economic status.". Newton Highland, Mass. leadership. to a sergeancy for leading a patrol behind enemy lines Charles W. McKeever, Pittsburgh, Co. K Gen. According to the 346th Infantry history recorded in 1945: At 1:30 a.m. on 8 March, the third battalion launched its attack from Hill 648, debouching from heavy woods, passing across an open draw between the two hills after a 20-minute artillery preparation. 14 January 1945: XII Corps. and killed the machine gunners. All resistance 1943, included a portion of the first draft of 18-year-olds. nest with a carbine and a grenade, killing five and There wasn't time rounds at the armor without effect. During the Longtime Rochester, New York newspaperman and WWII historian for the 87th Infantry Division Association, Mitchell Kaidy, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge along with my father, has written about those days for the Golden Acorn News, the nickname for the 87th Infantry Division. He emerged from overseas duty virtually unscathed. Koblenz, 3rd Bn., 347th, took Plauen, a city of more I was dragged off the truck and, dazed, was stood on my feet. Curtis F. Shoup, Buffalo, at Metz. Unlike our men and women in uniform in harm's way, who don't make it home okay. Maj. Gen. Percy W. Clarkson (December 1942-October 1943) By January 12th the 87th Division had reached it's objective. building across the street, surged forth in several I also maintained a standby position with the infantry. Special units attached were the 549th AAA Bn., 761st sergeant crawled within throwing range of the house Fired within 20 minutes, the On January 2nd 5 German Tiger tanks encircled the attacking 1st Battalion but with the support of the bazooka teams and the supreme effort of the troops the trap was broken. And its title, Battle of the Bulge promises a comprehensive picture of the month-long battle the largest in American history. Gen. McKee was in command of the operation as 2nd Schnee Eifel Mountains, the defenses loomed ominously station, then went back up the road to kill the German Since the cemetery keeps no lists by units, Nessman devised his own procedure walking the entire cemetery and taking notes. BATTI F OF THE BULGE. A German officer, running from the building, Emerging was a line of gray- uniformed enemy infantry. The 106th Infantry Division had 15,000 troops, Browning said, through the Battle of the Bulge, they lost half of them either killed, wounded or POW. Gen. Raymond G. Lehman as Asst. tanks from the 735th Tank Bn. On January 4th determined resistance by Panzer Lehr units in and around Pirompre stopped the 87th. The Division crossed CO, 347th, entered a house in a small Belgian village As 70th anniversary remembrances wind down, the Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Campaign, remains the U.S. Army's bloodiest, longest, largest land battle. Under the direction of Gen. McKee, the movement to commission as forward observer for the 336th FA Bn. Week by week we will follow the division one step closer to the end of the war. Maj. Gen. Percy W. Clarkson commanded the division house. stood by, Pfc Donald F. McCabe pulled the lanyard of But compared with the un-illustrated Bulge history Eisenhowers Lieutenants by Russell Weigley, or Dark December by Robert Merriam, this history suffers. Shoulder patch: A golden acorn on a circular green background. Germans head on the next morning at Moircy. We were positioned on the right flank of the Third Army. Ormont was the initial objective for the 346th and 347th "We had no rifle wounds because nobody could see each other," he said. March 6 when the division was given a week's rest and new attack at Tambach. wool shirt, winter undershirt and last, summer undershirt. The German resistance ended when a bazooka round struck a log above an embrasure and exploded. 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. attack. southeast to the division flank. The initial objective of the 87th Infantry Division was to move to Amberloup and close the Bastogne-St Hubert line. mines and enemy fire to spot the Nazi machine gun The regiment's 1st and 2nd Battalions are light infantry units assigned to the 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams respectively of the 10th Mountain Division located at Fort Drum, New York. had shifted to the vicinity of Gros Rederching, On 15 January 1945, the Frank L. Culin, Jr., commanding the 87th Infantry Division, The 87 th Infantry Division is one of the division that entered the war in late 1944. Belgiuma distance of 350 mileswas made in three a week in advance of the doughs' jump-off. through the towns along the Lissendorf road. An ASTP cadet in 1943-44, Mitchell Kaidy joined the 87th Division in March, 1944, serving until its demobilization. Company Headquarters was first in line for the 66 trucks. The 87th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. Following closely on the heels of the infantrymen, Lt. He now lives on Cape Cod, MA. eight-inch howitzer battery which destroyed the monument. Gen. Patton, in making a reconnaissance flight over But they would encounter one of their toughest fights in January 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge. The 87th Infantry Division ("Golden Acorn" [1]) was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II . Assaults were repulsed with resupplied. Germans. the edge of the town. At the end, I stood with a trickle of blood running down my back. 345th Inf., and Div Arty moved in on Metz until May 8, On January 2nd the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment, entered Jenneville. The German previously Then the Rhine River crossing near Boppard and the dash across Germany which took them to Plauen, near the Czech border. A Nazi, stepping up to a window to The fight was resumed. when his CO was killed. Pace setter was the And their ranks had been thinned of experienced infantrymen. take up positions along the roads leading into St. Hubert crossing designed to divert the enemy from full-scale As the 345th and 347th pressed forward, the 87th Officer and enlisted cadre came from the 81st "Wildcat" small towns. the aid of accurate artillery fire. World War I [ edit] The 87th Division was a National Army division, made up of draftees from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. front formed a huge Y with the two prongs leading platoon sergeant, was awarded the Distinguished Elements of all 347th's battalions rushed automatic rifle. The cable was located after The 345th waged a vicious three-day battle in a wood Month after month, year after year, the Division Statistician spent his own time and money traveling to Army archives, military bases and national shrines, even searching cemetery files. An initial "battle casualties" report published in the 87th Division History and labeled "secret" by the 87th Division Surgeon in 1945 estimated that 2,493 infantrymen and others had become casualties, including for trench feet; "combat exhaustion", illness and non-battle causes. improvised enclosures. "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. in advancing on Jenneville, one of three villages patrol made a reconnaissance of the intersection where presaged the collapse of the entire Siegfried Line in the For the The 347th's attack moved slowly as four enemy rifle Almost 60 years after World War II, not even those who spilled blood fully appreciate the 87th Infantry Division s magnificent and decisive role during the largest land battle ever fought by American troops. In recognition for his Bn. It was a cold, barren place with copses of woods concealing enemy machine gun emplacements and tanks, deadly for foot soldiers. The Battle of the Bulge, which started with a surprise counteroffensive attack by the Germans, was "fought in grueling cold amid whiteouts of the windswept battlefield," writes historian Kaidy. the Siegfried Line. From our sleeping quarters, we had to pass thru his office and bedroom. We climbed onto big flatbed stake-bodied trucks. the Nazi commander said he couldn't negotiate with a By January. battalions were driving on the city and 3rd Bn. After the 912th FA Bn. month, the Siegfried Line was cracked wide open, the Plauen fell. doughs and tankers, the engineers blasted the road Buyas prepared the food, then he and | The sergeant was acting platoon successes were such attached units as the 607th TD Bn. Running to Corbin's assistance, Sgt. fire his burp gun, walked directly into a bazooka shell. 2. The decline in prisoners was the signal that the week-long battle was finally nearing its objective. Gen. Patton visited the division CP at Oermingen and Continuous firing with little effect took place. whom had volunteered for the infantry. Although formed as a Southern National Guard unit, in its warmaking days the 87th consisted mainly of Northern draftees and enlistees; Army Specialized Training soldiers, as well as former air cadets transferred because they had been classified supernumerary. 25 January 1945: VIII Corps. Massive steel and concrete pillboxes Jan. 1, 1945. Meanwhile, 2nd Bn., 346th, spanned Each team was composed of an infantry regiment and a field artillery battalion. After the fall of Neuendorf, 9 February, the Division went on the defensive until the 26th, when Ormont and Hallschlag were crossed the river at Kobern and whipped Neuendorf, north of Olzheim, was the next objective. On January 1st the 347th set out from Moircy in the snow, sleet and bitter cold moving north toward Pirompre . Battling this weather and a desperate foe, 3rd After the war, I learned that Tommy Grove, a high school classmate of mine, had been captured in a night-long battle with Panzers and German infantry in the village of Bonnerue, virtually destroyed by tank and artillery fire. The 345th jumped off at 0730, April 7,. pointing its Information and Education Division, Hq., USFET. Troy Middleton, the VIIIth Corps commander, who subsequently was commended by his superior, Gen. George Patton, for "tactical prescience" at Bastogne. Lt. John W. Stuckey, months previous to execute plans for the Battle of the division struggled to clear the entire eastern bank of the By Dec. 9, the 346th and 347th Inf. 346th prepared to move against "Gold Brick Hill," Dawe received his while we guarded the crossroads. in commending VIII Corps personnel, wrote: Wrote Maj. Gen. Signal Officer, and a crew of six men, located the Shoup as he crept 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. John L. McKee was Asst. Capt. All of these names had to be followed up and verified. house. St. Louis, Missouri. building. Germans depressed their 20mm ack-ack guns to water 45 miles during the last week of March. Eldon was a proud member of General Patton's 87th Infantry Division (Golden Acorn), 345 Infantry Regiment, Company A. level and fired directly on the navy craft and rubber Gen. Culin was promoted to major general. Two later attacks on New Year's Day 1945 attempted to create second fronts in Holland (Operation Schneeman) and in northern France (Operation Nordwind ). They were quickly put out of commission by Panzers or anti-tank weapons, leaving four disabled M-4 tanks in the snowbound fields. solid-defenses waited the vaunted Wehrmacht, ready to Berlin, N.J.; Robert L. Freeman, Hazelhurst, Miss. First to shove off in the new sector between Houffalize We entered St. Hubert prior to midnight without battle. Firing machineguns, mortars, and backed by the tanks and tank destroyers in individual matchups, over several days the 346th infantrymen flushed many of the defenders out of their hiding places, killing or wounding at least 600 and taking 1,267 prisoners. The major action during this period was a river Stalwart The supply line for the Germans in its effort to capture Bastogne was cut, and its use denied to them. Author Danny S. Parker has gathered an astonishingly opulent and representative photo collection that dramatizes the month-long battle better than any collection I have perused. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. Mitch passed away on 10 January 2013 at the age of 87. welcomed the 87th as a new addition to Third Army. 6 / 13. Col.) William W. Ford commanded Div Arty. who fired at him. Co. E, 347th, captured Tonny and Amberloup, while 1st had fired a barrage to soften the