716th Tank Battalion

Discussion in 'US Units' started by 716_Grandson, Aug 1, 2008.

  1. 716thresearcher

    716thresearcher Junior Member

  2. 3yes

    3yes Member

    Thank you very much....Company C and Company D of the 716 tank battalion was sent to Bacolod City , Negros Occidental, will search if “coming home” is from Company D, Company C’s logo is the Wolfs head and named “Classy Peg”,hope my reasearch is right also, thanks for the help again,....
     
  3. 3yes

    3yes Member

    I think the caption on the first picture is correct...”mud at negros “,those two tsnks are sporting wolf head logo,thanks very much
     
  4. 3yes

    3yes Member

    Ooh. Yes ,the 2nd picture is also sporting a wolfs head logo ,i think the captions are correct...
     
  5. Richelieu

    Richelieu Well-Known Member

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  6. 3yes

    3yes Member

  7. 3yes

    3yes Member

  8. Mike Walker

    Mike Walker New Member

    Greetings All. I am fresh off the google search and this is my first post. I am having trouble finding any info on my Grandpa's activity in the Pacific. His discharge papers say he was in 716th tank battalion HQ & HQ company as a recon car commander Luzon, New Guinea, Southern Philippines. I was never in the service and looking at his discharge papers, I unfortunately have no idea what all the abbreviations mean... His name was Melvin Czapanskiy discharged as a Sgt. Any info on Recon cars, or HQ&HQ's role in any of these battles would be amazing.
     
  9. 716thresearcher

    716thresearcher Junior Member

    I just wanted to post a brief general note here.

    Whether we refer to it as Armistice Day or Veteran's Day, today reminds us that we should never forget the debt of gratitude we owe to past and present veterans. Thanks.
    Hello Mike, welcome aboard.
    I would suggest three steps as a start. First, begin with this entire forum thread, starting with page one. There is a wealth of information provided by the members of this forum, including photos, which will furnish you with many leads.
    The second step is to read the unit history by utilizing the links the post above. This will also point you at other potential leads to follow up. In my case, it resulted in a search for my uncle's "official existence", i.e., his service record, which is the third step.
    The third step, as mentioned above, is to initiate a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) to obtain copies of your relative's full service record. Go the National Archives and Records (NARA) website for information about how to obtain that and other documents. Note that a disastrous fire in the early seventies at the St. Louis facility unfortunately destroyed a great many records. However you may be in luck, as I believe (if I recall correctly) that due to the system of alphabetized organization, the fire affected mostly records of personnel whose last names began later in the alphabet. (But please verify this!). Even if his records were affected, get what you can; other private researchers can be contracted to help fill in the gaps. I haven't resorted to this latter option as yet (I'm not convinced that I've exhausted all other options), but it is a possibility for you.
    You will probably also end up doing more general historical research to layer some context onto the more specific personal details, which is a good thing, as more ideas will undoubtedly emerge for you to pursue. At any rate, good luck in your research.
    Any
     
  10. Mike Walker

    Mike Walker New Member

    Thank You! I did the first part and I found him listed on the roster for the Bronze Arrowhead awards, on like page 8 of this thread..the main issue I have is, with the exception of the page that I found here last night with his name on it, there doesn't seem to be any info on HQ&HQ company anywhere...I was so excited to actually see his name on a page I called and woke my Mom up to tell her. I will start the process for the other ideas ASAP.

    Again Thank you, and I have enjoyed reading this thread very much. Seeing that there are other people trying to piece together their families involvement in WWII. My G-Pa came back with zero pictures, and only received christmas cards from a few guys he was with over the years, My mom was able to recognize some of the names on the roster, but they never talked, or talked about his time in the war. I have come to realize that there were three types of returning soldiers, ones that could talk about it, ones that couldn't talk about it and ones that had a bottle for a crutch and wouldn't talk about it. Grandpa was in category 3...we have very little to go on, besides the two stories he did tell, with were short on details...his platoon was cut to ribbons in a battle and he a 3-4 others made it out, and that he would never play cribbage again...He was a farmer that was tougher than cast iron and could hit a coyote on a dead run at 400 yrd with his Garand, and open sights.
     
  11. 716_Grandson

    716_Grandson 716th Tank Battalion Fact Finder

  12. Harlock

    Harlock Junior Member

    Thank you for the share. My wife's Grandfather Leo E. Smith also was in Company B. and also died Jan 22, 1945
     

    Attached Files:

  13. Barry Fuller

    Barry Fuller New Member

    A brief history: My father, Alonzoe Fuller, WOJG, was activated from the AL National Guard, trained with the 31st (Dixie Divison) at Camp Blanding, FL.Then trained at Camp Shelby, MS, then Camp Chaffee, AR. The Army did a reorganization and he was assigned to Tanks and was trained at Camp Howie, TX. From there to San Francisco then New Guinea then the Philippine re invasion to Manila. He was assigned to the Services Company of the 716th as seen in Maj. Hunt's report.

    If I posted this correctly, I will be uploading some in country photos. I could not find where to start a new post, only reply.
    Barry
     
  14. Barry Fuller

    Barry Fuller New Member

    WOJG with the triangle 716th patch 716th.jpg
     
  15. bkasten

    bkasten New Member

    Sorry for my late participation here. I see my grandfather Archie C. Kasten was mentioned upthread. He was a litter bearer, medic, and surgical technician in the medical detachment of the 716th Tk Bn. He was active from Dec 42 thru Oct 45, and was overseas (New Guinea, Southern Philippines, Luzon) from July 44 thru Oct 45. Fortunately I have his uniform and his service record. I have some in-country photographs that I will post.
     
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  16. bkasten

    bkasten New Member

    I do not know details about this picture, but I assume it is the medical detachment of the 716th Tk Bn. My grandfather Arch Kasten is standing on the far left. He was 38 years old at the time.
     

    Attached Files:

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  17. 716thresearcher

    716thresearcher Junior Member

    Here is some additional information that, while still very general, can hopefully assist other individuals by providing context for where their relatives probably were on Day 1 on Luzon. Moreover, it provides some insight into the monumental task it must have been to plan an invasion of this size and complexity.

    The Excel table summarizes the 716th Tank Battalion’s transit to Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippines for the Jan. 9, 1945 landings. That said, a lot of questions remain, largely because despite the common belief that the armed forces plan and record every tiny item and process in minute detail, this is far from the case in practice. While there were (and still are) prescribed standards for recording objects/people/actions and their current/planned dispositions/allocations/movements, there is nonetheless a surprising amount of both interservice and intraservice variability in what gets recorded and transcribed in official records. Oftentimes it devolves right down to the small unit command level, i.e., ship, company, etc. Couple that with the “fog of war” phenomenon, and the fact that people make on-the-spot decisions when they run into problems, the result is a considerable amount of ambiguity and even obvious conflicts in accounts of what transpired. (Any other veterans out there will definitely understand what I’m talking about.)

    All that by way of lengthy introduction to the summary Excel table of information about the 716th Tank Battalion landings, attached. I have added Comments and the more obvious outstanding Issues yet to be resolved. In addition to the table, I have added source documents containing the original data along with some other clarifying information. I hope you find it interesting. Good luck further researching your relatives!

    Information sources: Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Digital Library and Fold3. Thanks to them.
     

    Attached Files:

  18. 716thresearcher

    716thresearcher Junior Member

    It looks like the Excel file won't open. I will convert it to a Word table. Sorry for any confusion.
     
  19. bkasten

    bkasten New Member

    This is outstanding! Thank you!
     
  20. 716thresearcher

    716thresearcher Junior Member

    Thanks for your kind words. Here is the table that is the bare bones summary of the docs above.
     

    Attached Files:

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