Missouri to Ejpovice.Grandad's European Tour 1944-45.

Discussion in 'General' started by ProudGrandson, Oct 29, 2007.

  1. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    I do not think that this is correct.



    The 14th Cav referred to in the Form 203 in post 10 was the 14th Cavalry Regiment (Horse), part of the 2nd Cavalry Division. It was at Fort Riley on the date mentioned on the card. The 2nd Cav and it's subordinate units disbanded 15 Jul 1942 and personnel and equipment were transferred to the 14th Armored Division (AD).

    The 14th Cavalry Group was activated 12 Jul 43 at Fort Lewis, Washington, nearly two years after the card was filled out.

    I also looked at the Award of Merit to the 130th Armored Ordinance Maintenance Battalion, which was also in post 10. The 130th was part of the 8th Armored Division, which was part of the US 3rd Army during the period referenced by the award. They participated in the Roer and Rhine River crossings and the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket.

    Do you know what unit your Grandfather was in while in Europe? Was he in the 130th AOM Battalion of the 8th AD?

    Edit...If the soldier in the portrait in post 10 is your grandfather, he is wearing an 8th AD patch on his left shoulder.

    Thanks for that Jeff, I was so excited about the tank I never checked the dates. I wondered why the shoulder patch was wrong. I got my info from the always reliable Wiki...
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Armored_Cavalry_Regiment_(United_States))
    They state that they served as 14th Armored Regt of 9th Armored Div until reorganised in 1943.
     
  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Owen, looking at the 8th AD divisional history, they were were in Tidworth, Wiltshire from 1 Dec 44 to 4 Jan 45. Is that near you?

    Yes, we drove through it last week.
    I went on a Saxon Commanders course there with the Royal Hampshires.
    I've also been to the ranges there and run up and down various hills in that area.
     
  3. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Great photos Jeffrey.

    Love the photos of the guys in suits wearing the high boots! (Bodston Post #14 Photo 2)

    Those (3) may possibly be professional propaganda photos as they seem excellent quality for the time.

    Good spot on those boots. I was thinking that there wasn't much of a military presence at this event.. but all the soldiers are there in mufti. Still pre-war of course.
    I think that this may be the dedication ceremony for a huge munitions factory. A whole new industrial city was constucted from nothing called Salzgitter
    Fascinating stuff.
    Maybe Jeffreys grandfather was one of the liberators of this complex. Some of the other photographs could be labourers huts and before and after shots of a large steelworks.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  4. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  5. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

  6. ProudGrandson

    ProudGrandson Junior Member

    You all have given us such wonderful information and we cant thank you enough!!!!!!! Our son, along with us, have a lot of reading now to do!!!! We are so excited for all the knowledge that you all have shared. I cant help but think when I look at the pictures of my Grandfather on the tank, what a strong, brave, and patriotic man he really was! He did all of these amazing things, while I cant even change the oil in my car!!!!

    I am scanning many more pics now. I have to try to wrangle the pics of the ladies away from my 93 year old grandmother, she isnt too happy about that part. All she would tell me is that my Grandfather REALLY liked the european ladies, and that I probably have a couple aunts or uncles over there that we will never know about!
     
  7. ProudGrandson

    ProudGrandson Junior Member

    Also, yes that is my grandfather is the portrait, so thats means he was in the 8th AD?
     
  8. ProudGrandson

    ProudGrandson Junior Member

    Here are 2 more quick pics. The picture of the blown up place says "holzpalast" on the back. and the picture with my grandfather and the other guy next to the tank says on the back" it is all over now, but some of my boys are not with me now"
     

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  9. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    [​IMG]


    I'm loving this. I think I've tracked down who the uniformed bloke at the podium is. After looking through a lot of Nazi mugshots I reckon it is Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel who served as Plinpotentiary General for the Employment of Labor. In this capacity Sauckel was responsible for providing a workforce, and in response to the increased demand for workers, millions of forced labors were taken from occupied territories. A defendant at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremburg, he was found guilty on two counts and sentenced to death. He was hanged on October 16, 1946.
    [​IMG]
     
  10. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Here are 2 more quick pics. The picture of the blown up place says "holzpalast" on the back. and the picture with my grandfather and the other guy next to the tank says on the back" it is all over now, but some of my boys are not with me now"

    It's a pity that some of his mates never made it.
    Keep the pictures coming...

    Now typing holzpalast into Babelfish translates it as 'wood palace'. Maybe Gas works?
     
  11. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Adam, if he as a lot, what are the chances of volume posting them in the gallery?
    I'm asking if people can hold off from uploading to the gallery for the moment SD, there's a bit of work that needs doing there.
    Jeffrey, glad we could help with some info but I think it's also safe to say we're as pleased with your pictures as you seem with the response :).

    When I get the chance I'll put them up the right way (you can do this in windows image viewer if you haven't any other image programs), but in the meantime you could try Photobucket and open a free account, it's an excellent place to upload pictures to and allows you to rotate and re-size very easily, to insert the pictures in here just click on the 'IMG code' part of the photobucket page next to each image, then you can paste it into here, the forum will recognise it and automatically show the picture.

    Sorry for that slight diversion, that last tank shot combined with the inscription on the rear is another excellent, poignant thing to have relating to one's family.
    Blimey Bod, I think you might be right with Sauckel, I'd only got as far as a strangely chubby looking Himmler with a dodgy moustache.
    Don't the damage & the explosion look like deliberate demolitions?

    Cheers,
    Adam.
     
  12. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Don't the damage & the explosion look like deliberate demolitions?

    Cheers,
    Adam.

    Considering the lack of accuracy achieved with strategic bombing, probably. Notwithstanding that this place did have a lot of ordinance dropped on it.
     
  13. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    Also, yes that is my grandfather is the portrait, so thats means he was in the 8th AD?

    When that picture was taken, undoubtably he was or recently had been, by virtue of the there being a 8th AD patch on his left shoulder.
     
  14. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Jeffrey maybe it would be worth contacting the people running the Drütte concentration camp memorial site and documentation centre, here Salzgitter I think that they would be very interested in your Grandfathers photos.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  15. ProudGrandson

    ProudGrandson Junior Member

    Is that really what those two pictures are of?????? I clicked on the link you gave and read a little befpre work today, will read the rest of it later. Can I ask how you know which camp it was?

    Here are some more that I scanned. The picture with the 5 guys on the tank says "tiger tank" on the back. The rest of them are blank on the back. Thanks again or all your help, you have brought so much light to a subject that I knew little about!
     

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  16. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  17. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Just wondering if that is a Victory Parade in Plzen and if that is the Great Synagogue there?
    Great Synagogue (Plzeň) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    To be sure i'll try and locate the other church tower.
    I see the photos of Ejpovice, that they were just down the road from Plzen
    EDIT- starting to doubt if it is Plzen as can't find exact match, things not quite same on this old picture.
    http://home.att.net/~georgekrejci/Images/Plzen016-1.jpg
    ANOTHER EDIT- I'm sticking with Plzen as there are more of the parade here ,
    Picasa Web Albums - Okey - port-4
    8th Armored Division - Photos
    Link to this album from 8th Armored Div website.
    8th Armored Division - Home Page
     

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  18. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Is that really what those two pictures are of?????? I clicked on the link you gave and read a little befpre work today, will read the rest of it later. Can I ask how you know which camp it was?



    Lots more interesting pictures, including some training shots, thanks.

    There is lots to read about the Salzgitter complex by clicking on the link I gave earlier. Go to the 'History' section and then click on the map at the bottom, each highlighted section has it's own page. It was while going through these that I remembered those two specific pictures. The two figures in front of the huts and the cemetery. Something struck a chord with me that they might be the same complex. I am not sure that they are, but there is a strong possiblity that they could have been taken in one of the many slave labour camps associated with the Reichswerke AG. There is a contact address and an email link and it may be useful to them if you contacted the study group with the details of your grandfathers archive. They may even be able to identify the locations for you.
    Good luck and please keep us informed if you do contact them.
     
  19. Bodston

    Bodston Little Willy

    Training with the M3 light tank, rivited hull and welded turret, this must be quite early because the tank retains its sponson mounted .30 cal.
    [​IMG] and then on to the M3 medium tank. I can't see any unit identity markings though.

    [​IMG]
     
  20. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Some photos of 130 Ord Bn.
    8th Armored Division - Photos
    First images are of that Award Of Merit , already mentioned by Jeff.
    Also a cartoon style map of their route around Europe.
     

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