Beginning to research grandfather

I had a chance to browse the Army Register and found the best information came from the list of retiring officers. Unfortunately the amount of information in each entry decreased considerably sometime between 1960 - 1968.

As an example of the information that was available I attached an entry that seemed interesting from an early 1960's register.

 

My father was in the 69th Armored Field Artillery Battalion during WW II. He received the puple Heart and Bronze Star. I am very interested if you have any information or pictures of him. He was a forward oberservor. I am also very interested in connecting with other family members or veterans of the 69th AFAB, Thanks!

 

My Father was in the 69th Armored Field Artillery Battalion during WW II. He was a forward observor and recieved the Puple Heart and Bronze Star, I know he was in North Africa, Italy (ANZIO) France and Germany, I am reading this with much interest. I would like to connect with family members of veterans of Anzio. Maybe I can find someone who knew my father. I am interested if you have any picutre of him ww2grandson. Thanks!

 

Hi guys. I'm back. I've been busy with other things this last year but I think I am about to start getting back into this grandfather project. I just wanted to make a post and let you all know.

 

Welcome back, look forward to your inquires and anything you wish to share.

You might be interested in these photos from a Field Artillery officer with the US 80th Infantry Division.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wararchive/page1/

 

My dad, Marshall "Bill" Cusic, was with 69 AFA Bn from Ft Knox to Sept 1945 and served as CO "C" Battery and Bn S-3 (ops, I think). ROTC Purdue, he entered service Oct 1941 as 1LT (i think), left in August 1943 for Africa as Captain and came home Major. Received Bronze I don't know where or why. I have photos of Fort Smith wives group (color), a few B/W of operations mostly in Germany, and some of Italy. Great book on 69AFA, "Granddaddy Tell us About the War" by Kenneth K. Gowen written from combat diary by youngest Bn member. It was of great interest to me since it details day-to-day activity of the unit all the way through. It's almost like living the deployment. I was born in Ft Smith at Camp Chaffee 2 weeks after Bn deployed and didn't see dad until i was 2 years old. Still have contact with Fort Smith relatives, but I live in Wisconsin.

 

My dad, Marshall "Bill" Cusic, was with 69 AFA Bn from Ft Knox to Sept 1945 and served as CO "C" Battery and Bn S-3 (ops, I think). ROTC Purdue, he entered service Oct 1941 as 1LT (i think), left in August 1943 for Africa as Captain and came home Major. Received Bronze I don't know where or why. I have photos of Fort Smith wives group (color), a few B/W of operations mostly in Germany, and some of Italy. Great book on 69AFA, "Granddaddy Tell us About the War" by Kenneth K. Gowen written from combat diary by youngest Bn member. It was a great read since it details day-to-day activity of the unit all the way through. It's almost like living the deployment. I was born in Ft Smith at Camp Chaffee 2 weeks after Bn deployed and didn't see dad until i was 2 years old. I have same name with "Jr" at the end presumably since they didn't know whether he would come back. Still have contact with Fort Smith relatives, but I live in Wisconsin.

 

Hello and Welcome WW2 Grandson . Wow I think someone should tell this lad that he has in his possession what amounts to the equivalent of the holy grail . Someone needs to take him under their wing and guide him for the preservation of all that amazing material he has . Oops I have just done that but you guys and ladies know what I mean . This is so exciting I hope this thread does not dry up. Elsie

 

Excellent contribution on your first post, mecusic (so nice it appears twice).

To have a personal dairy from a battalion member is priceless. Like you said, it can be like re-living the experience with all the uncertainties and confusion. And then combine that with the photos from ww2grandson --that would be a unique record.

After that it is nice to have a unit history and learn what headquarters thought was going-on.

Welcome, mecusic (don't rest on your laurels)

 

Every few months, I search for Anzio 69th AFA or 69th armored field artillery. That is where my father served.
If you are interested in the 69th Armored, you'll be doubly interested in a book by Kenneth K Gowan. Granddaddy, Tell Us About the War.
Among other thing you might be interested in, the 69th saw more days of continuous combat than any unit in military history prior to Viet Nam. They marched into Rome on June 4, 1944 two days before the DDay landings at Normandy.

The 69th went from Camp Shanks, NY to Africa (Algiers I believe) on the Dorthea L Dix. Many years later, I took my father who must have been in his late 60's to see the USS Texas at San Jacinto, Texas. He seemed to enjoy the trip and many years later, he confided in me that he had seen her before. The Dorthea L Dix was the first ship in the convoy behind the Texas when she entered the Straits of Gibraltar. He said the only time he wasn't sea sick was when the Dix was in the wake of the Texas. Said it was smooth as glass.

I hope you find the book and that it is useful to you.

Anzio_don

 

Hello,
I hope this post is still active. My great grandfather served in the 69th AFAB and is a Silver Star recipient. I was blessed to come across his combat diary when he passed. He is also mentioned in the book "Granddaddy Tell Us About the War" I am hoping that I can connect with more descendants of this unit and gather more photos and information. Thank you