picture to go with Grandpas papers

[locksly]

picture to go with Grandpas papers


http://www.tndeer.com/tndeertalk/ubb...=2#Post1303717


_________________________
Quote by
mr.big
16 Point



306 consecutive days of combat
183 seperate engaments

Grandpa said the Nazi pilot crashed landed about 80 yards from his anti aircraft gun and actually came out on the wing and drew his pistol,,bad mistake,,,
956 prisoners,and 139 planes shot down

The 455th AAA AW Battalion

Ft. Stewart, Georgia was the site of Andrew Scalf’s induction into the Army and his basic training. He was stationed at Ft. Stewart until the entire 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons group "shipped out" for Glasgow, Scotland in September of 1943. During this journey, their transport ship, the USS General George Simmonds, had to detour to Hailfax, Nova Scotia because of mechanical problems. At Nova Scotia, the entire 455th boarded the luxury liner, HMS Queen Elizabeth, and steamed into Glasgow, Scotland.
From Scotland, the 455th AAA boarded trains and traveled to installations in Watton, England. There, they would establish AAA around the airbases in East Anglia.




The 455th remained in England from September
1943 until the end of June 1944. In July, the
455th landed on Utah Beach and joined the
European mainland campaign.



ANDREW JAMES SCALF:
A TRUE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER



Andrew James Scalf was born on April 7, 1921. He grew up in the beautiful East Tennessee mountains. There were rolling fields of hay and cattle grazing all around. The Scalf family resided in a typically large American-looking white farmhouse. The family consisted in the father, (William), the mother (Vesta), a sister (Mable) and a brother (Andrew). As a young man, Andrew was called Andy. When he went into the army, his friends called him Andrew. He was six feet two inches tall and weighed around 175 pounds. Andrew had brown-black hair and very dark brown eyes. Everyone said he was so handsome that the girls stood in line for Andy just to look their way. It is also said that he made everyone feel comfortable around him.
Andrew grew up doing the typical things all boys did then. He played baseball, "ran around with the boys," had lots of girlfriends because he was extremely outgoing, teased everyone, and liked everyone he met.

He attended the Liberty Church and the Liberty School, which were located near the Scalf Farm. In 1930, Andrew’s sister became very sick. His father had bought one of the few cars in the area at that time. On the way to the doctor’s office to take his sick daughter, the car had a flat tire and Andrew’s sister, Mable, died in the car alongside the road. She was only twelve years old when she died. After Mable’s death, Vesta (Andy’s mother) worried and watched over him so very much... He was her last child and she was so careful with him.
At a very young age, Andrew married Ruth Jones, who was a neighbor girl. A daughter, Brenda, was born in 1941. In October of 1942, Andrew decided that he was needed by his country and in the true Tennessee tradition, volunteered... to go into the army. The whole world was being threatened by Hitler, and he wanted to do what he could to help.


Ft. Stewart, Georgia was the site of Andrew Scalf’s induction into the Army and his basic training. He was stationed at Ft. Stewart until the entire 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons group "shipped out" for Glasgow, Scotland in September of 1943. During this journey, their transport ship, the USS General George Simmonds, had to detour to Hailfax, Nova Scotia because of mechanical problems. At Nova Scotia, the entire 455th boarded the luxury liner, HMS Queen Elizabeth, and steamed into Glasgow, Scotland.
From Scotland, the 455th AAA boarded trains and traveled to installations in Watton, England. There, they would establish AAA around the airbases in East Anglia.

Andrew wrote many letters home.


The 455th remained in England from September
1943 until the end of June 1944. In July, the
455th landed on Utah Beach and joined the
European mainland campaign.

http://www.455thaaa.com/template.php...ame=andrew.htm


This website is dedicated to all of RABBS of the 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery. Most particularly to Andrew James Scalf, KIA in Gerderath Germany 27 Feb 1945, and to the other 455th men who now are on eternal leave in cemeteries overseas. Andrew is buried in Margraten, The Netherlands American Cemetery. View a FLASH tribute.






The 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery unit started its journey at Ft. Stewart, Georgia in 1942 and ended at the war's end in Germany in 1945. These men went overseas…… first to England where they stayed for almost a year. Much of the website comes from Norfolk, England where they spent this time. Their journey took them over the English Channel to Utah Beach…Normandy…..in July of 1944. From there, they covered many countries including France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and finally to Germany where the war ended.


http://www.455thaaa.com/

THE RABBS

http://www.455thaaa-rabbs-tribute.freeola.net/
_________________________
About WWII


AFN Radio Transcript 1945
(from the National Archives)
Three years ago, on the 1st of Sep. 1942, the 455th Antiaircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons Battalion, Mobile, was activated at Camp Stewart, Georgia. Most of its personnel were drawn from the reception centers of the South. The Battalion completed its mobilisation training during the fall and winter of 1942 and moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, early in 1943. There it was attached to the 10th Armored Division. When the 10th Armored moved off to the Tennessee Maneuvers that summer, the 455th AAA found itself detached and in the throes of "preparation for overseas movement". The staff of Camp Shanks completed the processing of the Battalion, and its embarkation with such deadly efficiency that a fair-well view of the skyline of Manhattan was all of New York that the Battalion was able to see.

After the convoy had wandered over the Atlantic for four days or so, the transport carrying the Battalion developed some internal trouble. Dropping out of the convoy, it headed for the nearest port, Halifax. In Halifax a neat trade resulted in the Battalion transfering to the Queen Elizabeth for the balance of the trip to England.

In the fall of 1943 England was packed with supplies and SOS troops, and was just beginning to receive throngs of troops, which were to stage there for the Normandy Invasion. The 455th found itself assigned to the protection of two of the airfields of the 8th Air Force. Stationed at Watton and Snetterton Heath in East Anglia near the town of Norwich, the Battalion spent eight months on long night alerts as the German Luftwaffe flared into sporadic activity. Construction of camp sites, roads, Nissen huts and hardstands at the various gun installations occupied the daylight hours. Anglo-American relationships flourished. Whole gun crews were exchanged with British Ack Ack units stationed along the North Sea coast. This exchange served to cement British friendships, and gave the men of the Battalion the opportunity to learn from men of the British Army who had fought the Luftwaffe from Malta, Egypt, Crete, and the sands of Dunkirk.

A final intensive training period brought the Battalion to a high pitch of anticipation just before D-Day broke on an expectant world. However, it was not until the first days of July that the Battalion finally landed on Utah Beach.

Their first assignment was with the VIII Corps under the US First Army. In the vicinity of La Haye Du Puits they provided AA protection for the Artillery of the VIII Corps, while the little French town was pounded by artillery and finally taken by the 90th and 79th Divisions. During the build-up for Operation "Cobra", which resulted in the Saint Lo breakthrough, the Luftwaffe was only sporadically active. However, once the Armored columns knifed these (...) and engulfed the important road of Avaranches, the Luftwaffe birst forth in full fury. The Germans, recognising the importance of Avaranches, concentrated both their ground and air forces against it in an attempt to sever the narrow supply corridor passing through this town at the base oif the Brest peninsula, from which the the columns of the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions were fanning out over the Brittany countryside. From 31 July to 4 August 1944, the VIII Corps funneled its two armored and 4 Infantry Divisions through this highly vulnerable and extremely important bottleneck. During this period the German Air Force flew 700 sorties, attacking the towns and our convoys with bombs, rockets, cannons, and machine gun fire by day and by night. The Ack Ack battalions of the VIII Corps claimed to have shot down over 90 planes during this period, 12 of these claims have been credited to the Battalion of the 455th.

Following the liberation of the Brittany peninsula, the Battalion left the vicinity fortress of St Malo and swung east to its new assignment with the 3rd US Army, and it was attached to the 3rd Amry's spearheading XX Corps. The 3rd Army's dash across France found the 455th in the columns of the 7th Armored Division and the 5th Infantry Division.

During the balance of 1944 the Luftwaffe made very few attacks against 3rd Army troops - conserving its strength, evidently, for the svage aerial attacks theat were unleashed with the German counter-offensive in December.

The 455th was deployed in the Saarlautern area during the winter along with the 5th, 90th, 95th, 94th and 65th and 26th Divisions, which were shifted in and out of the area, as the Battle of the Bulge to the north flared and subsided.

In the Saarlautern area there was a quicking of activity on the part of the Luftwaffe on Christmas Day. This served as a prelude for the all-out attack made by the German AIr Force against ground installations along the entire western front on New Year's Day 1945. The Luftwaffe threw the book at the area between Metz and Saarlautern - FW 190s, Me 109s, Ju 88s and 188s, and Me 110s were engaged by the 455th between 9 and 10 o'clock that New Year's Day. A total of 79 planes were engaged by the 455th during that single hour. The planes came in to strafe the field artillery installations from all directions at a variety of altitudes. It was the biggest day of firing the gun crews had experioenced since the landing in Normandy. An Me 109 with its motor conked out by cal. .50 fire landed intact within 500 yards of a 40 mm Bofor's position. The pilot, unhurt by the landing, climbed out of his plae and made a break for some nearby woods. There were no troops in the immediate area to capture the escaping pilot, but he wqas soon halted by a 40 mm shell bursting just ahead of him, cutting off his escape path. A second burst from the 40 mm gun convinced the German pilot, and he sat down on the ground to await the leisurely arrival of his captors. Two of his companions, buzzing the scene where their comrade had landed, were both promptly shot down. This confirmed claims resulting from this single hour's activity gave the Battalion credit for the destruction or probable destruction of more than 21 German aircraft.

As the pace of the war quickened and the months of March and April saw the Armored thrusts of the 3rd Army slashing ever deeper into Germany, gun sections of the 455th found themselves with the advanced columns of the XX COrps during the race down the Autobahns. There, forward columns were under constant harrassing attacks by the Luftwaffe. It was during the latter months of the war in Europe that the bulk of the planes credited to the Battalion were destroyed.

In one section along the Autobahn, between Gera and Chemnitz, the Motor Sergeant of "C" Battery was helping the battery cooks change a tire on the mess truck which had fallen out of a 4th Armored Division supportiung column. Looking up from his work, when one of the cooks hollered "Take cover", the Motor Sergeant saw five German planes winging their way down the Autobahn at an altitude of less than 250 feet. Hastily manning the single caliber .50 machine gun, mounted onhis wrecker, he brought the leading plane under fire, hitting its motor and causing it to crash in flame 300 yards down the Autobahn. The pilot of the next plane was hit by the second burst from the sergeant's gun, and it crashed a hundred yards or so beyond the first plane, which was now blazing on the ground. The third plane was hit in the motor and winged over to crash in a wooded area about one kilometer from the Autobahn. The fourth plane veered off from the stream of lead from this single cal. .50 machine gun. Its motor was hit and smoke poured from its cowling, but it was lost from view behind an intervening wood and can only be listed as probable. The pilot of the fifth plane, seeing the fate of his companions, managed to pull up out of range of the machine gun, and escaped unscratched. The motor sergeant, S/Sgt. James R Brown, from North Carolina, received a cluster to his Bronze Star and a personal commendation from the AA Officer of the 3rd Army for his remarkable and heroic feat of single-handedly destroying 3 German planes and probably destroying an additional one in one brief engagement, with an expenditure of less than 250 rounds of cal. .50 ammunition.

When VE Day came, the 455th AAA was in position along the Austrian-German border, defending the Inn river from Braunau to Passau There it destroyed its last German plane a brief four hours prior to the cessation of hostilities in Europe. During its march across France and Germany from the Normandy beachhead to the Austrian border, the 455th AAA AW Bn was in forward area combat with the Luftwaffe for 306 days without relief. In ground skirmishes it had captured over 950 POWs. In the performance of its primary mission of providing AA protection for ground troops and installations, it had destroyed more than 80 German aircraft and is credited with the probable destruction of 31 additional aircraft - a record unsurpassed by any other 40 mm AA unit for operations on the Continent. Of every 4 enemy planes engaged, one was shot down.

We salute the 455th AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion on the occasion of its Third Anniversary, and for the job it has done with the 3rd US Army, here in the ETO.



http://www.455thaaa.com/template.php...e_afn_1945.php


AAA Units in the ETO

Overview: AAA in WW II

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout the countless centuries of warfare the development of weapons has been characterized by an eternal duel between the offensive and the defensive, the latter historically following the former. With the introduction of each new offensive weapon affecting the strategy of warfare, these invariably follows a parallel defensive weapon to counter the potential threat to a nation's security. A historical yet contemporary example of such changes in military tactics and equipment took shape in 1914, when the airplane emerged as a powerful weapon against the Allied powers in France. On 30 August 1914, just 27 days after the war began, a single German plane bombed Paris. German air raids on London followed as early as October, and there were frequent attacks on Allied troops and supply lines in France.

Although the first military use of the airplane had occurred during the Tripolian War in 1911, the development of antiaircraft artillery did not begin until after the first bombing attacks of World War I. The United States developed and produced some artillery pieces and small arms, but the air defense weapons used by the American Expeditionary Forces were acquired in large part from France and Great Britain. On 10 October 1917, some six months after the United States entered the war, the first U. S. Army antiaircraft units began training at Langres, France, and the first tactical batteries moved to the front in April 1918. At the end of World War I, there were about 12,000 men with antiaircraft artillery forces. American units, in action less than a year, destroyed a total of 58 enemy warplanes.

In the years between the two world wars, antiaircraft artillery grew up as a part of the Coast Artillery Corps, at that time a separate branch of the Army. The War Department had assigned the new antiaircraft mission to the coast artillery rather than the field artillery largely because the coast artillerymen had training in firing on moving objects. Although handicapped by meager appropriations for research and development, Army arsenals and laboratories managed to devise some new items of equipment and to improve old ones. But very little new equipment was forthcoming for the ground combat units until after Army appropriations began to rise in 1936. The successes of Germany's Luftwaffe in the invasions of 1939 and 1940 spurred the rapid expansion of U. S. antiaircraft artillery.

It was not until 25 years after the formation of the first units that a separate organization for antiaircraft artillery was established in the United States. On 9 March 1942, three months after Pearl Harbor, the Antiaircraft Command (AAC) was organized as an element of the Army Ground Forces. The growth of antiaircraft artillery forces surpassed all other arms of the Army during the war. By the end of 1943, the peak year, there were 431,000 men in more than 550 battalions, for an increase of about 1,750 percent over the pre-war strength.

Although some antiaircraft rockets were developed during World War II, the U. S. Army continued to rely almost entirely on conventional artillery guns as its first line of defense against aerial attack. These antiaircraft weapons ranged from the .50-caliber machine gun and 37mm and 40mm guns for protection against low-flying, strafing-type planes, to 120mm guns for the defense of large areas against bombers. For defense against aircraft at considerable altitudes, the Army's mainstay was the towed 90mm gun with a maximum vertical range of 12,000 to 13,000 yards.

Near the end of the war in Europe, a new threat, the German 650-mile-per-hour (mph) jet-propelled airplanes, especially the Me163 Komet and the Me 262 Stormbird, appeared, hastening the obsolescence of the antiaircraft artillery fire-control systems based on primitive radars and searchlights that had been designed to cope with 450-mph propeller-driven aircraft.

Antiaircraft artillerymen in WW II certainly did not get the glory that the armor and the infantry did, but their courage and pivotal role in the victory was just as important. AAA men fought to the last ditch on Bataan; then, racked with malaria and dysentery, marched off to the hell holes the Japanese called prisoner-of-war camps. When enemy planes shrieked down North Africa's "Stuka Valley," scattering infantrymen to the shelter of foxholes, the antiaircraft artillerymen ran to man their 40mm guns. They could never stop V-2 rockets, but they shot down better than 80-percent of V-1 "buzz bombs" headed for Antwerp and London. Antiaircraft gunners saved the beleaguered beachhead at Anzio by shooting down so many enemy planes that the Germans suspended daytime air raids. They drove M-16 half-tracks onto Omaha Beach and shot up German pillboxes and gun emplacements. General Omar Bradley said his troops never would have made it off that bloody beach without them. They defended the seaports, airfields, and railheads that sustained Allied armies in their drive across Europe. They guided countless Allied bombers and fighters return home after raids against the Reich. When the chips were down at the Battle of the Bulge, they used their 90mm guns to stop onrushing Tiger tanks. They went "island hopping" across the Pacific with MacArthur and Nimitz, with frequent stopovers at "exotic isles" like Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, the Philippines, and Okinawa. They defeated kamikaze attacks and everything else the Japanese could throw at them. Their weapons were machine guns, 40mm cannon, and large-caliber flak guns. Their arsenal also included radars, searchlights, and barrage balloons. But most of all, it was the character and skill of the men themselves that proved the most formidable weapon of all.


AAA Units in the ETO


http://www.skylighters.org/otheraaa/index.html
AND HERE


http://www.skylighters.org/links/index.html

Edited by Locksley (Today at 01:06 AM)
_________________________
Originally Posted By: Blue5
very neat!


Very cool,


Originally Posted By: dcsoldier44
HEROS every last one of them.


YEP our Greatest Generation , they are all leaving us now and we will miss them all.
_________________________

Quote by
Irish J
4 Point



I'm not sure we will EVER be as great as that generation. They are perhaps the last self-dependent folks as a whole. God Bless Them!!!!!
Quote by
BMan
10 Point



Col. Moss is a hoot - "you gratified a Nazi pilot's desire to go down fighting."

Gotta love it!
_________________________
Quote by
mr.big
16 Point



I sure do miss him..
_________________________
DEO VENDICE
Quote by
renegade50
16 Point



they are the greatest generation
and deservedly so.
_________________________
40 MM BOFOR'S ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN
USED IN AUSTRALIA DURING WW2



visits since 6 October 2002


The 40mm Bofors light anti-aircraft automatic gun was used extensively by the military in Australia during WW2. It was developed by A.B. Bofors of Sweden in 1929. It was adopted by the British Army in 1938 and by the U.S. Army in 1941. The German Army captured and used a number of Bofors guns captured from France and Poland.

It was used to defend airfields, and other military establishments against low level enemy attack. It fired a 2lbs (1kg) high explosive shell at 2,800 ft/sec (848m/sec) at 120 rounds per minute. The Bofors maximum ceiling was 7, 151 metres but the most effective ceiling was 3,787 meters.

The standard mounting for Bofors gun was a four-wheeled trailer unit. Two wheeled versions were produced for airborne units in the United Kingdom and USA. Self-propelled mountings were also produced for the protection of mobile columns.


http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/guns/40mmbofor.htm


455th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Mobile ...
Whole gun crews were exchanged with British Ack Ack units stationed along the .... unsurpassed by any other 40 mm AA unit for operations on the Continent. ...

http://www.455thaaa.com/template.php?menu_name=include_... -

The RABBS in WWII

Pictures of Snetterton Heath AAA installations (Courtesy of Tony Brooks)

This is most likely the 481st AAA D battery, which replaced the 455th at Snetterton Heath in April 1944

http://www.455thaaa.com/template.php...n_pictures.php
_________________________

Quote by
brought Home from France and German [Re: Locksley]

Locksley Locksley
16 Point



Army
The United States Army had recently introduced a 37 mm gun of their own design, but found it to be of limited performance. Six British guns were imported for testing, along with the Kerrison Directors, and proved to be superior in all areas. In order to supply both the Army and Navy with much greater numbers of the guns, Chrysler was brought in to be a major producer. Over the lifetime of the production, their engineers introduced numerous additional changes to improve mass production, eventually reducing the overall time needed to build a gun by half. In U.S. Army service, the Bofors was known as the 40mm Automatic Gun M1. The U.S. version of the gun fired three variants of the British Mk. II high-explosive shell as well as the M18A1 armor-piercing shot, which was capable of penetrating some 50mm of homogeneous armor plate at a range of 500 yards.

http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Bofors_40_mm_gun


No Army commander doubted the need for mobile antiaircraft protection for troops on the move. Several experimental or improvised mobile mounts had been developed for AA machine guns before the standardization of the M13 and M16 multiple machine gun halftracks. However, America's rapidly expanding armored force was seeking a highly mobile antiaircraft mount that could provide more than a machine gun umbrella.

Pictures here .

http://www.antiaircraft.org/M15.htm



The 40mm Bofors antiaircraft gun was developed in the 1930s by the Swedish company of the same name, and rapidly became the firm's most successful weapon design. The Bofors product was used by both Allied and Axis forces in World War II and was the most common antiaircraft artillery gun of the war. By the beginning of the global conflict, Bofors had sold their gun (or granted production licenses for its manufacture) to 29 countries.



The British had been using the Bofors since 1937, and it was through their assistance and influence that the 40mm was brought into the United States Armed Forces. Although some in the Army may have been a little reluctant to look at the Bofors, the general lack of confidence in the 37mm automatic gun opened the door to a fair hearing for the Swedish weapon. The Bofors was impressive in testing, so the Army standardized the foreign forty in May 1941, modifying the gun's dimensions and tooling to American standards of measurement in order to facilitate mass manufacturing in U.S. factories. This design was dubbed the 40mm Automatic Gun M1 (AA).



The original M1 carriage for the gun was simply the stock Bofors mount. It was quickly replaced by an improved American version classified as the M2. The later M2A1 carriage differed from the M2 because of its higher gear ratios in the traversing mechanism. This change allowed the M2A1 mount to traverse the Bofors three times farther in azimuth in a single turn of the lateral pointer's handcrank when compared to the M2. The higher ratio of the M2A1 helped the gun to track fast-flying aircraft, even if enemy pilots dropped low and flew close-in. The rate of change in elevation was the same for both the M2 and M2A1 models. All carriages could be fired "from the wheels" when necessary.


http://www.antiaircraft.org/40mm.htm



Edited by Locksley (04-25-2009 02:27 PM)
_________________________


Sweden
Bofors 40 mm/60 (1.57") Model 1936
---
United States of America
40 mm/56 (1.57") Mark 1, Mark 2 and M1
Probably the best heavy MG AA weapon of World War II, Bofors guns of this type are still in service even today. This weapon was used on almost every major US and UK warship of World War II and was a very potent AA gun. The Germans used Norwegian-produced Bofors guns which they designated as the 4 cm/56 Flak 28 and the Japanese copied a British Army air-cooled Bofors captured at Singapore to produce their 4 cm/60 Type 5.

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_4cm-56_mk12.htm


U.S.S. LITTLE ROCK CLG-4 / CG-4

40mm/56 Gun


GENERAL INFORMATION



40 mm/56 Mark 1, Mark 2 and M1


The Bofors 40 mm/56 was probably the best anti-aircraft weapon of World War II, and was used on almost every major US warship.

The Bofors Company was partly owned by German interests until 1930. The first prototype was fired on 17 Oct 30. It was not until 10 Nov 31 that automatic salvos were successfully fired.

The US Navy's BuOrd purchased an air-cooled twin version from Bofors in early 1940, and formally obtained Swedish licenses in June 1941. However, US manufacturers made radical changes to the Swedish design and as a result the guns and mountings produced in the USA bore little resemblance the Swedish original.

http://www.usslittlerock.org/Armamen..._40mm_Gun.html

Edited by Locksley (04-25-2009 03:27 PM)
_________________________
Quote by
steven stone
16 Point



Makes me think of that song that goes something like "THATS a MAN". God Bless all the heroes of World War 2.
_________________________

[locksly]

http://www.tndeer.com/tndeertalk/ubb...=2#Post1303450

[locksly]

Very cool, man the guns boys shoot straight and true. The saying of the AAA bn attached to the 69th infantry division that my father was protected by.
The 461st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion had a brilliant battle record. Landing on Omaha Beach, France, on D-Day plus 7 – June 13, 1944 – it moved all the way to the Elbe River by April 25, 1945, distinguishing itself in many historic battles. Only that period when the battalion was attached to and supporting the Fighting 69th Infantry Division is chronicled here.
On 11 March, 1945, at Blankenheim, Germany, the 461st was attached to and spent the rest of the war with the 69th Infantry Division, and was assigned the mission of protecting the Divisional Field Artillery Battalions.


http://www.69th-infantry-division.co...ories/461.html

461st AAA AW Bn (Mbl)

*** ME 210 (German airplane)
**** ME 109's (German airplanes)



The American 90 mm family of guns served as primary heavy anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, playing a role similar to the renowned German 88 mm gun. They were the US's primary anti-aircraft guns from just prior to the opening of World War II into the 1950s when most AAA was replaced by missile systems. As a tank gun, it was the weapon featured on the 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 and Heavy Tank M26 Pershing, as well as a number of post-war tanks.

90_mm_M3_gunand here
http://www.olive-drab.com/idphoto/id...s_90mm_aaa.php


Edited by Locksley (04-25-2009 12:31 AM)
_________________________
The 455th AAA AW Battalion

Ft. Stewart, Georgia was the site of Andrew Scalf’s induction into the Army and his basic training. He was stationed at Ft. Stewart until the entire 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons group "shipped out" for Glasgow, Scotland in September of 1943. During this journey, their transport ship, the USS General George Simmonds, had to detour to Hailfax, Nova Scotia because of mechanical problems. At Nova Scotia, the entire 455th boarded the luxury liner, HMS Queen Elizabeth, and steamed into Glasgow, Scotland.
From Scotland, the 455th AAA boarded trains and traveled to installations in Watton, England. There, they would establish AAA around the airbases in East Anglia.




The 455th remained in England from September
1943 until the end of June 1944. In July, the
455th landed on Utah Beach and joined the
European mainland campaign.



ANDREW JAMES SCALF:
A TRUE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER



Andrew James Scalf was born on April 7, 1921. He grew up in the beautiful East Tennessee mountains. There were rolling fields of hay and cattle grazing all around. The Scalf family resided in a typically large American-looking white farmhouse. The family consisted in the father, (William), the mother (Vesta), a sister (Mable) and a brother (Andrew). As a young man, Andrew was called Andy. When he went into the army, his friends called him Andrew. He was six feet two inches tall and weighed around 175 pounds. Andrew had brown-black hair and very dark brown eyes. Everyone said he was so handsome that the girls stood in line for Andy just to look their way. It is also said that he made everyone feel comfortable around him.
Andrew grew up doing the typical things all boys did then. He played baseball, "ran around with the boys," had lots of girlfriends because he was extremely outgoing, teased everyone, and liked everyone he met.

He attended the Liberty Church and the Liberty School, which were located near the Scalf Farm. In 1930, Andrew’s sister became very sick. His father had bought one of the few cars in the area at that time. On the way to the doctor’s office to take his sick daughter, the car had a flat tire and Andrew’s sister, Mable, died in the car alongside the road. She was only twelve years old when she died. After Mable’s death, Vesta (Andy’s mother) worried and watched over him so very much... He was her last child and she was so careful with him.
At a very young age, Andrew married Ruth Jones, who was a neighbor girl. A daughter, Brenda, was born in 1941. In October of 1942, Andrew decided that he was needed by his country and in the true Tennessee tradition, volunteered... to go into the army. The whole world was being threatened by Hitler, and he wanted to do what he could to help.


Ft. Stewart, Georgia was the site of Andrew Scalf’s induction into the Army and his basic training. He was stationed at Ft. Stewart until the entire 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons group "shipped out" for Glasgow, Scotland in September of 1943. During this journey, their transport ship, the USS General George Simmonds, had to detour to Hailfax, Nova Scotia because of mechanical problems. At Nova Scotia, the entire 455th boarded the luxury liner, HMS Queen Elizabeth, and steamed into Glasgow, Scotland.
From Scotland, the 455th AAA boarded trains and traveled to installations in Watton, England. There, they would establish AAA around the airbases in East Anglia.

Andrew wrote many letters home.


The 455th remained in England from September
1943 until the end of June 1944. In July, the
455th landed on Utah Beach and joined the
European mainland campaign.

http://www.455thaaa.com/template.php...ame=andrew.htm


This website is dedicated to all of RABBS of the 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery. Most particularly to Andrew James Scalf, KIA in Gerderath Germany 27 Feb 1945, and to the other 455th men who now are on eternal leave in cemeteries overseas. Andrew is buried in Margraten, The Netherlands American Cemetery. View a FLASH tribute.






The 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery unit started its journey at Ft. Stewart, Georgia in 1942 and ended at the war's end in Germany in 1945. These men went overseas…… first to England where they stayed for almost a year. Much of the website comes from Norfolk, England where they spent this time. Their journey took them over the English Channel to Utah Beach…Normandy…..in July of 1944. From there, they covered many countries including France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and finally to Germany where the war ended.


http://www.455thaaa.com/

THE RABBS

http://www.455thaaa-rabbs-tribute.freeola.net/

of the war in Europe, a new threat, the German 650-mile-per-hour (mph) jet-propelled airplanes, especially the Me163 Komet and the Me 262 Stormbird, appeared, hastening the obsolescence of the antiaircraft artillery fire-control systems based on primitive radars and searchlights that had been designed to cope with 450-mph propeller-driven aircraft.

Antiaircraft artillerymen in WW II certainly did not get the glory that the armor and the infantry did, but their courage and pivotal role in the victory was just as important. AAA men fought to the last ditch on Bataan; then, racked with malaria and dysentery, marched off to the hell holes the Japanese called prisoner-of-war camps. When enemy planes shrieked down North Africa's "Stuka Valley," scattering infantrymen to the shelter of foxholes, the antiaircraft artillerymen ran to man their 40mm guns. They could never stop V-2 rockets, but they shot down better than 80-percent of V-1 "buzz bombs" headed for Antwerp and London. Antiaircraft gunners saved the beleaguered beachhead at Anzio by shooting down so many enemy planes that the Germans suspended daytime air raids. They drove M-16 half-tracks onto Omaha Beach and shot up German pillboxes and gun emplacements. General Omar Bradley said his troops never would have made it off that bloody beach without them. They defended the seaports, airfields, and railheads that sustained Allied armies in their drive across Europe. They guided countless Allied bombers and fighters return home after raids against the Reich. When the chips were down at the Battle of the Bulge, they used their 90mm guns to stop onrushing Tiger tanks. They went "island hopping" across the Pacific with MacArthur and Nimitz, with frequent stopovers at "exotic isles" like Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, the Philippines, and Okinawa. They defeated kamikaze attacks and everything else the Japanese could throw at them. Their weapons were machine guns, 40mm cannon, and large-caliber flak guns. Their arsenal also included radars, searchlights, and barrage balloons. But most of all, it was the character and skill of the men themselves that proved the most formidable weapon of all.


AAA Units in the ETO


http://www.skylighters.org/otheraaa/index.html
AND HERE


http://www.skylighters.org/links/index.html

Edited by Locksley (04-25-2009 01:06 AM)

Quote by

dcsoldier44
4 Point



HEROS every last one of them.

YEP our Greatest Generation , they are all leaving us now and we will miss them all.

Honors to the Fighting 69 TH Infantry Division U.S. Army .

http://www.69th-infantry-division.com/

My father
http://www.69th-infantry-division.co...e/photoa3.html
_________________________

Honorable dead from DAD,s Division



Search Results for 273 INF 69 DIV



Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
AMOSS HARRY C SGT 33724166 MD 18-Apr-45 O 16 4 NE
ANDERSON EUGENE PFC 34920965 TN 1-Mar-45 E 2 22 HC
AUDETTE RENE N SGT 31035730 MA 7-Apr-45 A 10 20 NE
BIGGERSTAFF HARRY W PFC 33567897 PA 18-Apr-45 B 1 1 NE
BISHOP RALPH E PFC 44050609 GA 18-Feb-45 C 12 42 HC
BORK KENNETH G TEC5 36806337 WI 6-Apr-45 J 19 4 NE
BOURASSA PAUL E PVT 31417996 MA 28-Feb-45 B 1 14 HC
BOWES RICHARD H TEC5 36631231 IL 22-Feb-45 B 1 45 HC
BRODERSON KENNETH E PFC 36651330 IL 18-May-45 E 16 8 NE
BROSEY OLIVER W SGT 13095348 PA 22-Feb-45 D 14 46 HC
BRYAN ROBERT L TEC5 39100856 OK 19-Apr-45 B 1 5 NE
BUCHANAN BOBBY R PVT 35834400 KY 22-Feb-45 D 10 7 HC
BUCKLEY FERGUS P SSGT 36161247 MI 5-Apr-45 J 18 14 NE
COPENHAVER CHARLES C PVT 36909719 IL 1-Mar-45 D 13 63 HC
COTTRELL STANLEY PVT 32917507 NJ 1-Mar-45 D 7 27 HC
DE MARCO DING A SSGT 32919605 NJ 5-Apr-45 J 18 18 NE
DOROSH THEODORE J PFC 33814673 PA 22-Feb-45 C 15 47 HC
DOUDEN WILLIAM H SGT 12198606 NY 22-Feb-45 F 7 38 HC
FLETCHER ROBERT L PVT 35793586 OH 7-Apr-45 H 10 1 NE
FOX CHRIS P JR 1LT O1824741 TX 27-Feb-45 D 11 53 HC
GALLAHER WILLIAM C TSGT 36100300 MI 15-Apr-45 A 12 25 NE
GILLILAN GEORGE M PFC 35240463 OH 18-Apr-45 A 10 2 NE
GOLDIE WILLIAM PFC 16126594 IL 28-Feb-45 H 13 2 NE
HADAWAY J C TSGT 38300774 TX 15-Apr-45 L 12 21 NE
HAVERLY JOHN JR SSGT 33466376 PA 6-Apr-45 H 17 20 NE
HILLSTROM RUDOLPH E PFC 17108757 MN 13-Apr-45 J 21 8 NE
JAMES JACKSON J PVT 39019246 CA 20-Jul-45 B 1 31 NE
JASINSKI WILLIAM J PVT 31422456 MA 18-Feb-45 A 5 22 HC
KABER BEN PFC 37363500 CO 22-Feb-45 G 12 54 HC
KARP EDWARD L 2LT O-556227 NY 13-Apr-45 J 6 10 NE
KELLEY HAROLD L PVT 36573714 MI 18-Apr-45 J 8 5 NE
KENNEDY DELBERT F PVT 35240095 OH 22-Feb-45 C 11 39 HC
LANKFORD SCOTT J PVT 33908806 MD 22-Feb-45 B 1 3 HC
LOTSPEICH NORVIN E 2LT O1325225 WA 8-Mar-45 F 1 8 HC
LUCAS DALLAS R PFC 35591893 OH 22-Feb-45 F 8 18 HC
MADDEN ALOYSIUS G PFC 31423947 MA 22-Feb-45 D 14 58 HC
MC GLOTHLIN EWELL L PVT 34936550 TN 22-Feb-45 F 6 22 HC
MERRITT JAMES A PFC 37344388 CO 22-Feb-45 A 9 20 HC
MILLER DOUGLAS E SSGT 31336608 CT 22-Feb-45 C 15 7 HC
MOLONEY EDWIN J SGT 32061048 NJ 14-Apr-45 B 4 13 NE
MONZA VINCENT J PFC 33924491 PA 19-Apr-45 D 6 32 NE
MUNSON WILLIAM W PVT 36910948 OH 22-Feb-45 D 14 13 HC
NUTTALL MERTON E JR SSGT 33779117 PA 7-Mar-45 C 8 40 HC
OGDEN EDWARD L PFC 42082843 DE 13-Apr-45 H 14 7 NE
PETERSON MARVIN R PFC 42132525 NY 15-Apr-45 I 2 3 NE
REYNOLDS CHARLES J PFC 33837865 PA 22-Feb-45 C 11 51 HC
RICHARDSON ROBERT E PFC 35899770 IN 7-Mar-45 E 5 31 HC
RUSTAD VERNON R PVT 39599217 CA 18-Apr-45 B 5 2 NE
SCHAFER MARVIN H B PFC 37741488 KS 10-Apr-45 A 31 27 EP
SEGER ROBERT R PFC 42131732 NY 7-Apr-45 B 9 25 NE
SPIEKERMAN RAMON C PFC 36975930 MI 7-Apr-45 J 1 19 NE
SPINKS KENNETH U PVT 34805714 AL 2-May-45 C 20 9 NE
STAVRU JAMES N TEC3 11047349 MA 17-May-45 J 15 7 NE
VELA EUCEBIO M PFC 38545940 TX 20-May-45 M 12 6 NE
VREELAND ARTHUR G F PFC 32919646 NJ 5-Apr-45 B 1 4 NE
WHALEY ROBERT G PFC 36832692 WI 16-Apr-45 K 7 22 NE
WILLIAMS EDWARD PFC 33766888 PA 13-Apr-45 B 18 26 NE
WILLOUGHBY RICHARD E PVT 33629873 VA 7-Apr-45 J 1 12 NE


Search Results for 272 INF 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BEASLEY JAMES H JR PFC 34839919 GA 14-Apr-45 P 14 15 NE
BEATY JOHN PFC 34731670 TN 6-Apr-45 B 8 32 NE
BLESSEN JOHN I PFC 38343262 TX 9-Apr-45 H 18 12 NE
BLOOMFIELD EDWARD K TEC5 33757898 PA 18-Apr-45 A 14 5 NE
BRADFIELD EARL SSGT 32921686 NJ 7-Apr-45 I 21 6 NE
CAMPURCIANI ALBERT J PVT 31418026 MA 4-Mar-45 A 1 31 HC
CLARE MAURICE W JR TSGT 31038593 RI 10-Apr-45 A 14 16 NE
CLARK JAMES L PFC 13092673 PA 19-Jun-45 D 10 22 NE
EDGIN DEWEY C PFC 38603241 AR 6-May-45 E 21 13 NE
FLAGG FERD C PFC 31401469 ME 21-Apr-45 K 17 11 NE
FORMOSA SILVIO G JR PFC 33815083 PA 6-May-45 E 21 4 NE
HAMILTON PAUL E PFC 36739850 IL 6-Apr-45 D 15 15 NE
JOHNSON HOLMES PVT 34566853 GA 27-Apr-45 K 9 9 NE
KELLY LOUIS J SGT 35700108 IN 18-Apr-45 A 6 14 NE
MILLER WILLIAM B PVT 36562049 MI 5-Apr-45 H 14 4 NE
PETRASEK AUGUST F JR CPL 32422802 NY 5-Jun-45 J 9 16 NE
PRATT WALTER S PVT 13143868 MD 19-Apr-45 H 3 17 NE
SAYDACK ERVIN L PFC 36973350 WI 20-Jun-45 F 16 8 NE
SCHULKE JOHN J PFC 33580744 PA 6-Apr-45 C 8 12 NE
SELL EDWARD W TEC5 36312542 IL 15-Apr-45 D 19 25 NE
SWARTZ WILLIAM C SGT 36686467 IL 8-Apr-45 H 19 6 NE
TIPTON STRAWDER H PFC 35083092 KY 9-Apr-45 I 8 4 NE
WALLY WALTER S PFC 36965521 MI 18-Apr-45 I 1 4 NE
WASHBURN ROGER E PFC 31310210 MA 8-Apr-45 A 7 23 NE
WIENKE HAROLD H PFC 39934158 MT 6-Apr-45 A 7 14 NE
WOOD ALFRED E JR SSGT 32916777 NJ 6-Mar-45 C 4 15 HC


Search Results for 271 INF 69 DIV



Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BAKER WILFRED PFC 37748920 KS 16-Apr-45 H 1 19 NE
BRASCHE JOHN M SSGT 32903102 NY 7-Mar-45 D 12 7 HC
BREMNER RONALD PFC 36598056 MI 13-Apr-45 A 2 20 NE
BRIDGES WILLIAM M PFC 44035785 GA 23-Apr-45 L 2 14 NE
BRONISZEWSKI STANLEY PVT 36733594 IL 25-Feb-45 A 1 15 HC
BROOKS JOHN M PVT 33605624 PA 23-Apr-45 O 3 16 NE
CHAMBERS ROY E PVT 36948184 IL 17-Apr-45 M 1 13 NE
CLARK JAMES F JR PVT 36899418 MI 22-Apr-45 D 17 11 NE
CONROY STEVE J PFC 42101215 NJ 22-Apr-45 M 9 3 NE
COURTNEY PERCY C PFC 33561197 MD 1-Mar-45 G 11 67 HC
DOUGHERTY ALOYSIUS F PFC 13197209 PA 16-Apr-45 J 6 17 NE
DRAA CLIFFORD S SSGT 35062201 OH 1-Mar-45 G 7 58 HC
DREES OSCAR C PFC 35623588 OH 19-Apr-45 B 12 19 NE
DURKEE JAMES O PVT 31462366 VT 19-Feb-45 E 2 76 HC
EAFRATI ANTHONY F PFC 35754374 WV 1-Mar-45 A 1 20 HC
EDWARDS DONALD S SGT 31357716 MA 7-Mar-45 D 3 43 HC
EGGERDING ALVIN T PVT 35899251 IN 16-Apr-45 J 6 8 NE
EICH LYONEL H PFC 37750744 NE 13-Apr-45 P 3 14 NE
FERGUSON PAUL SSGT 31362181 MA 17-Apr-45 B 15 25 NE
FIELD CURTIS SGT 15103592 OH 28-Feb-45 E 1 15 HC
FLEAGLE HENRY J 1LT O1014905 KS 16-Apr-45 I 1 10 NE
GAMBINO GAETANO TSGT 32065537 NJ 28-Feb-45 C 12 53 HC
GIANDOMENICO DOMINIC CPL 33622786 PA 17-Apr-45 B 20 27 NE
GOBEN JAMES L PFC 35816771 KY 7-Mar-45 C 8 6 HC
GONZALES SALOME L TSGT 38254012 TX 1-Mar-45 E 10 17 HC
GRAHAM WELDON M PVT 38582702 TX 27-Feb-45 A 8 37 HC
HAYWOOD ERNEST R PVT 44040302 TN 6-Mar-45 B 7 50 HC
HICKMAN PAUL PVT 38633601 TX 9-Mar-45 B 7 5 HC
KIRCHUE JAMES S PFC 32843386 NY 18-Apr-45 A 11 1 NE
KNUTH CHARLES J SGT 35503776 OH 27-Feb-45 C 8 48 HC
KRIEG ARTHUR R SSGT 32178864 NY 2-Jan-45 D 2 60 CA
LAWRENCE ROBERT D 1LT O1080302 DC 18-Apr-45 A 11 4 NE
MARTIN JAMES C SR PVT 33662946 VA 19-Apr-45 K 17 18 NE
MC CAWLEY BENJAMIN H SGT 35703980 MA 1-Mar-45 C 14 43 HC
MC DERMOTT JOSEPH E SGT 38618506 LA 24-Apr-45 A 3 25 NE
MIXER JOHN J TSGT 37005192 KS 16-Apr-45 B 18 29 NE
MOORE ROY R CPL 38021753 OK 18-Apr-45 A 11 21 NE
MORRIS JOHN V PFC 35239727 OH 23-Apr-45 G 5 1 NE
MOTTO ALPHONSE J PFC 42116778 NY 28-Feb-45 D 9 33 HC
MUSO RALPH PFC 32921193 NJ 20-Jan-44 E 10 48 SR
NAFZ HARRY C SGT 17019347 MO 4-May-45 E 21 9 NE
OLSON RAYDER C CPL 36047822 IL 13-Apr-45 K 2 1 NE
ORTEGA PILAR G PVT 39423704 CA 1-Mar-45 H 7 63 HC
PANKAN JOSEPH A PFC 37597609 MN 15-Apr-45 A 9 11 NE
PINION J W PVT 38633754 TX 6-Mar-45 D 3 28 HC
ROMNESS VERNON R PFC 37116602 MN 28-Mar-45 I 12 19 NE
RUNGE EDWIN D PVT 36825180 WI 28-Feb-45 D 16 22 HC
SAKYESVA NELSON PFC 38070917 AZ 22-Apr-45 A 27 16 AR
SCHELL ALBERT J PVT 36470664 MI 27-Feb-45 D 11 26 HC
SMITH DOUGLAS PVT 34949770 AL 28-Feb-45 D 16 61 HC
SNYDER JOHN W PVT 15346649 IN 9-Feb-45 C 12 36 HC
SQUIBB CLARK M PFC 37454201 NE 20-Apr-45 A 12 30 NE
TRUDELL CURTIS L CAPT O-391590 WI 8-Mar-45 G 14 39 HC
ULFENG MILTON J PVT 36845362 WI 19-Feb-45 I 10 8 NE
WELCH JOHNIE J PFC 34928645 MS 25-May-45 D 6 26 NE

Search Results for 461 AAA AW BN


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
AIKEY LEWIS O PFC 33259650 PA 20-Sep-44 H 5 4 HC
GRIFFIN SAMUEL 1SGT 33493852 PA 14-May-45 L 2 11 NE
KOWALCZYK JOHN R TEC5 36723664 IL 5-Feb-45 G 3 56 HC
NIXON LEONARD M PVT 39375344 WA 15-May-44 C 3 74 CA
PITHAN VINCENT C 2LT O1996393 CA 17-Dec-44 F 4 72 HC


Search Results for 661 TD BN



Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BARTH LEO T PFC 37590104 MN 5-Jun-45 I 2 22 NE
BURNETTE FLOYD A PFC 33648807 VA 12-Apr-45 A 9 10 NE
MAY ANDREW G TEC4 35644598 KY 5-Jun-45 G 2 26 NE
MOORE OWEN W CPL 33648939 VA 11-Apr-45 A 9 25 NE


Search Results for 569 SIG CO 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
SNEDDON THOMAS G JR CPL 35255927 IN 20-Apr-45 P 10 4 NE


Search Results for 777 TANK BN


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
FARRELL JAMES H PFC 37596542 MN 14-Apr-45 B 20 2 NE
HORNING ARTHUR F PFC 42141764 NY 14-Apr-45 P 18 11 NE
KESSLER JAMES W PFC 37606170 MO 7-Apr-45 F 9 26 NE
THOMPSON CLIFFORD J SGT 37321735 MN 16-Apr-45 I 1 9 NE

Search Results for 769 ORD CO 69 DIV



Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
MC GANN JOHN P 1SGT 35045062 OH 7-Mar-45 G 4 69 HC


Search Results for 879 FA BN 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
COBLENTZ MYRON P CAPT O1177336 KY 16-Apr-45 A 9 12 NE


Search Results for 881 FA BN 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BABINE FRANCIS E SGT 31018861 MA 5-Mar-45 B 1 21 HC

Search Results for 69 QM CO 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
DAWSON DANIEL W LTC O-319916 NY 11-Apr-45 B 13 25 NE
ROBERTS JAMES V PFC 39856060 AZ 9-Apr-45 L 13 13 NE

Search Results for 269 ENGR CMBT BN 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BROOKS B F PVT 38340960 TX 21-Jun-45 J 8 13 NE
DOWSLEY JAMES F PVT 33304307 PA 23-May-45 E 16 13 NE
FRY HARRY E PVT 33686100 PA 3-Aug-45 A 7 1 LX


Hq Co, 69th Infantry Division
Name Rank Serial No. Date of Death Cemetery
SINCLAIR KIRK L JR
_________________________
Quote by

mr.big
16 Point



very

Most of the WWII soldiers never talked about their
service in the war. They kept it to themselves and
this is how it ususally comes out.

Congrats


bout the only thing he ever told me was,,he didn`t care if he never fired another shot,,and would never lay down to sleep anywhere except in his bed in Jackson County,,,
_________________________


civilian occupation ;farm hand general

military occupation; AAA Automatic Weapons Crew 601;rifle marksmanship;

Normandy;Northern France;Rhineland;Central Europe

wounds recieved in action ;none

highest grade;PFC

3 years 3 months 7 days paid 300$ plus 16.15$ travel pay

EAME Thearter Ribbon w/4 Bronze Stars per WD GO #33/45;Good Conduct Ribbon;

no days lost under AW107 ASR score Sept 45 81 Lapel button issued

Varnie Clyde Cantor born Oct 1,1920 died Sept 16 2006
Momma has a picture of him standing at the entrance of the cave they said Hitler was hiding in,,I need to get a copy of that..
_________________________
Cool Mr. Big ,it looks like your grandfather had to do some MP duty also.
_________________________
Quote by

ROB
TnDeer Old Timer
8 Point


Registered: 01-23-2000
Posts: 1727
Loc: Murray, KY USA

Offline
By the end of the of the entire Normandy Campaign, nearly 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded, or missing.


That's almost 3 times the number of people who live in Chattanooga, just in that single campaign.

Unbelieveable carnage, incredible bravery.
_________________________

[locksly]

Very cool, man the guns boys shoot straight and true. The saying of the AAA bn attached to the 69th infantry division that my father was protected by.
The 461st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion had a brilliant battle record. Landing on Omaha Beach, France, on D-Day plus 7 – June 13, 1944 – it moved all the way to the Elbe River by April 25, 1945, distinguishing itself in many historic battles. Only that period when the battalion was attached to and supporting the Fighting 69th Infantry Division is chronicled here.
On 11 March, 1945, at Blankenheim, Germany, the 461st was attached to and spent the rest of the war with the 69th Infantry Division, and was assigned the mission of protecting the Divisional Field Artillery Battalions.


http://www.69th-infantry-division.co...ories/461.html

461st AAA AW Bn (Mbl)

*** ME 210 (German airplane)
**** ME 109's (German airplanes)



The American 90 mm family of guns served as primary heavy anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, playing a role similar to the renowned German 88 mm gun. They were the US's primary anti-aircraft guns from just prior to the opening of World War II into the 1950s when most AAA was replaced by missile systems. As a tank gun, it was the weapon featured on the 90mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 and Heavy Tank M26 Pershing, as well as a number of post-war tanks.

90_mm_M3_gunand here
http://www.olive-drab.com/idphoto/id...s_90mm_aaa.php


Edited by Locksley (04-25-2009 12:31 AM)
_________________________
The 455th AAA AW Battalion

Ft. Stewart, Georgia was the site of Andrew Scalf’s induction into the Army and his basic training. He was stationed at Ft. Stewart until the entire 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons group "shipped out" for Glasgow, Scotland in September of 1943. During this journey, their transport ship, the USS General George Simmonds, had to detour to Hailfax, Nova Scotia because of mechanical problems. At Nova Scotia, the entire 455th boarded the luxury liner, HMS Queen Elizabeth, and steamed into Glasgow, Scotland.
From Scotland, the 455th AAA boarded trains and traveled to installations in Watton, England. There, they would establish AAA around the airbases in East Anglia.




The 455th remained in England from September
1943 until the end of June 1944. In July, the
455th landed on Utah Beach and joined the
European mainland campaign.



ANDREW JAMES SCALF:
A TRUE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER



Andrew James Scalf was born on April 7, 1921. He grew up in the beautiful East Tennessee mountains. There were rolling fields of hay and cattle grazing all around. The Scalf family resided in a typically large American-looking white farmhouse. The family consisted in the father, (William), the mother (Vesta), a sister (Mable) and a brother (Andrew). As a young man, Andrew was called Andy. When he went into the army, his friends called him Andrew. He was six feet two inches tall and weighed around 175 pounds. Andrew had brown-black hair and very dark brown eyes. Everyone said he was so handsome that the girls stood in line for Andy just to look their way. It is also said that he made everyone feel comfortable around him.
Andrew grew up doing the typical things all boys did then. He played baseball, "ran around with the boys," had lots of girlfriends because he was extremely outgoing, teased everyone, and liked everyone he met.

He attended the Liberty Church and the Liberty School, which were located near the Scalf Farm. In 1930, Andrew’s sister became very sick. His father had bought one of the few cars in the area at that time. On the way to the doctor’s office to take his sick daughter, the car had a flat tire and Andrew’s sister, Mable, died in the car alongside the road. She was only twelve years old when she died. After Mable’s death, Vesta (Andy’s mother) worried and watched over him so very much... He was her last child and she was so careful with him.
At a very young age, Andrew married Ruth Jones, who was a neighbor girl. A daughter, Brenda, was born in 1941. In October of 1942, Andrew decided that he was needed by his country and in the true Tennessee tradition, volunteered... to go into the army. The whole world was being threatened by Hitler, and he wanted to do what he could to help.


Ft. Stewart, Georgia was the site of Andrew Scalf’s induction into the Army and his basic training. He was stationed at Ft. Stewart until the entire 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons group "shipped out" for Glasgow, Scotland in September of 1943. During this journey, their transport ship, the USS General George Simmonds, had to detour to Hailfax, Nova Scotia because of mechanical problems. At Nova Scotia, the entire 455th boarded the luxury liner, HMS Queen Elizabeth, and steamed into Glasgow, Scotland.
From Scotland, the 455th AAA boarded trains and traveled to installations in Watton, England. There, they would establish AAA around the airbases in East Anglia.

Andrew wrote many letters home.


The 455th remained in England from September
1943 until the end of June 1944. In July, the
455th landed on Utah Beach and joined the
European mainland campaign.

http://www.455thaaa.com/template.php...ame=andrew.htm


This website is dedicated to all of RABBS of the 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery. Most particularly to Andrew James Scalf, KIA in Gerderath Germany 27 Feb 1945, and to the other 455th men who now are on eternal leave in cemeteries overseas. Andrew is buried in Margraten, The Netherlands American Cemetery. View a FLASH tribute.






The 455th Anti Aircraft Artillery unit started its journey at Ft. Stewart, Georgia in 1942 and ended at the war's end in Germany in 1945. These men went overseas…… first to England where they stayed for almost a year. Much of the website comes from Norfolk, England where they spent this time. Their journey took them over the English Channel to Utah Beach…Normandy…..in July of 1944. From there, they covered many countries including France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and finally to Germany where the war ended.


http://www.455thaaa.com/

THE RABBS

http://www.455thaaa-rabbs-tribute.freeola.net/

of the war in Europe, a new threat, the German 650-mile-per-hour (mph) jet-propelled airplanes, especially the Me163 Komet and the Me 262 Stormbird, appeared, hastening the obsolescence of the antiaircraft artillery fire-control systems based on primitive radars and searchlights that had been designed to cope with 450-mph propeller-driven aircraft.

Antiaircraft artillerymen in WW II certainly did not get the glory that the armor and the infantry did, but their courage and pivotal role in the victory was just as important. AAA men fought to the last ditch on Bataan; then, racked with malaria and dysentery, marched off to the hell holes the Japanese called prisoner-of-war camps. When enemy planes shrieked down North Africa's "Stuka Valley," scattering infantrymen to the shelter of foxholes, the antiaircraft artillerymen ran to man their 40mm guns. They could never stop V-2 rockets, but they shot down better than 80-percent of V-1 "buzz bombs" headed for Antwerp and London. Antiaircraft gunners saved the beleaguered beachhead at Anzio by shooting down so many enemy planes that the Germans suspended daytime air raids. They drove M-16 half-tracks onto Omaha Beach and shot up German pillboxes and gun emplacements. General Omar Bradley said his troops never would have made it off that bloody beach without them. They defended the seaports, airfields, and railheads that sustained Allied armies in their drive across Europe. They guided countless Allied bombers and fighters return home after raids against the Reich. When the chips were down at the Battle of the Bulge, they used their 90mm guns to stop onrushing Tiger tanks. They went "island hopping" across the Pacific with MacArthur and Nimitz, with frequent stopovers at "exotic isles" like Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, the Philippines, and Okinawa. They defeated kamikaze attacks and everything else the Japanese could throw at them. Their weapons were machine guns, 40mm cannon, and large-caliber flak guns. Their arsenal also included radars, searchlights, and barrage balloons. But most of all, it was the character and skill of the men themselves that proved the most formidable weapon of all.


AAA Units in the ETO


http://www.skylighters.org/otheraaa/index.html
AND HERE


http://www.skylighters.org/links/index.html

Edited by Locksley (04-25-2009 01:06 AM)

Quote by

dcsoldier44
4 Point



HEROS every last one of them.

YEP our Greatest Generation , they are all leaving us now and we will miss them all.

Honors to the Fighting 69 TH Infantry Division U.S. Army .

http://www.69th-infantry-division.com/

My father
http://www.69th-infantry-division.co...e/photoa3.html
_________________________

Honorable dead from DAD,s Division



Search Results for 273 INF 69 DIV



Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
AMOSS HARRY C SGT 33724166 MD 18-Apr-45 O 16 4 NE
ANDERSON EUGENE PFC 34920965 TN 1-Mar-45 E 2 22 HC
AUDETTE RENE N SGT 31035730 MA 7-Apr-45 A 10 20 NE
BIGGERSTAFF HARRY W PFC 33567897 PA 18-Apr-45 B 1 1 NE
BISHOP RALPH E PFC 44050609 GA 18-Feb-45 C 12 42 HC
BORK KENNETH G TEC5 36806337 WI 6-Apr-45 J 19 4 NE
BOURASSA PAUL E PVT 31417996 MA 28-Feb-45 B 1 14 HC
BOWES RICHARD H TEC5 36631231 IL 22-Feb-45 B 1 45 HC
BRODERSON KENNETH E PFC 36651330 IL 18-May-45 E 16 8 NE
BROSEY OLIVER W SGT 13095348 PA 22-Feb-45 D 14 46 HC
BRYAN ROBERT L TEC5 39100856 OK 19-Apr-45 B 1 5 NE
BUCHANAN BOBBY R PVT 35834400 KY 22-Feb-45 D 10 7 HC
BUCKLEY FERGUS P SSGT 36161247 MI 5-Apr-45 J 18 14 NE
COPENHAVER CHARLES C PVT 36909719 IL 1-Mar-45 D 13 63 HC
COTTRELL STANLEY PVT 32917507 NJ 1-Mar-45 D 7 27 HC
DE MARCO DING A SSGT 32919605 NJ 5-Apr-45 J 18 18 NE
DOROSH THEODORE J PFC 33814673 PA 22-Feb-45 C 15 47 HC
DOUDEN WILLIAM H SGT 12198606 NY 22-Feb-45 F 7 38 HC
FLETCHER ROBERT L PVT 35793586 OH 7-Apr-45 H 10 1 NE
FOX CHRIS P JR 1LT O1824741 TX 27-Feb-45 D 11 53 HC
GALLAHER WILLIAM C TSGT 36100300 MI 15-Apr-45 A 12 25 NE
GILLILAN GEORGE M PFC 35240463 OH 18-Apr-45 A 10 2 NE
GOLDIE WILLIAM PFC 16126594 IL 28-Feb-45 H 13 2 NE
HADAWAY J C TSGT 38300774 TX 15-Apr-45 L 12 21 NE
HAVERLY JOHN JR SSGT 33466376 PA 6-Apr-45 H 17 20 NE
HILLSTROM RUDOLPH E PFC 17108757 MN 13-Apr-45 J 21 8 NE
JAMES JACKSON J PVT 39019246 CA 20-Jul-45 B 1 31 NE
JASINSKI WILLIAM J PVT 31422456 MA 18-Feb-45 A 5 22 HC
KABER BEN PFC 37363500 CO 22-Feb-45 G 12 54 HC
KARP EDWARD L 2LT O-556227 NY 13-Apr-45 J 6 10 NE
KELLEY HAROLD L PVT 36573714 MI 18-Apr-45 J 8 5 NE
KENNEDY DELBERT F PVT 35240095 OH 22-Feb-45 C 11 39 HC
LANKFORD SCOTT J PVT 33908806 MD 22-Feb-45 B 1 3 HC
LOTSPEICH NORVIN E 2LT O1325225 WA 8-Mar-45 F 1 8 HC
LUCAS DALLAS R PFC 35591893 OH 22-Feb-45 F 8 18 HC
MADDEN ALOYSIUS G PFC 31423947 MA 22-Feb-45 D 14 58 HC
MC GLOTHLIN EWELL L PVT 34936550 TN 22-Feb-45 F 6 22 HC
MERRITT JAMES A PFC 37344388 CO 22-Feb-45 A 9 20 HC
MILLER DOUGLAS E SSGT 31336608 CT 22-Feb-45 C 15 7 HC
MOLONEY EDWIN J SGT 32061048 NJ 14-Apr-45 B 4 13 NE
MONZA VINCENT J PFC 33924491 PA 19-Apr-45 D 6 32 NE
MUNSON WILLIAM W PVT 36910948 OH 22-Feb-45 D 14 13 HC
NUTTALL MERTON E JR SSGT 33779117 PA 7-Mar-45 C 8 40 HC
OGDEN EDWARD L PFC 42082843 DE 13-Apr-45 H 14 7 NE
PETERSON MARVIN R PFC 42132525 NY 15-Apr-45 I 2 3 NE
REYNOLDS CHARLES J PFC 33837865 PA 22-Feb-45 C 11 51 HC
RICHARDSON ROBERT E PFC 35899770 IN 7-Mar-45 E 5 31 HC
RUSTAD VERNON R PVT 39599217 CA 18-Apr-45 B 5 2 NE
SCHAFER MARVIN H B PFC 37741488 KS 10-Apr-45 A 31 27 EP
SEGER ROBERT R PFC 42131732 NY 7-Apr-45 B 9 25 NE
SPIEKERMAN RAMON C PFC 36975930 MI 7-Apr-45 J 1 19 NE
SPINKS KENNETH U PVT 34805714 AL 2-May-45 C 20 9 NE
STAVRU JAMES N TEC3 11047349 MA 17-May-45 J 15 7 NE
VELA EUCEBIO M PFC 38545940 TX 20-May-45 M 12 6 NE
VREELAND ARTHUR G F PFC 32919646 NJ 5-Apr-45 B 1 4 NE
WHALEY ROBERT G PFC 36832692 WI 16-Apr-45 K 7 22 NE
WILLIAMS EDWARD PFC 33766888 PA 13-Apr-45 B 18 26 NE
WILLOUGHBY RICHARD E PVT 33629873 VA 7-Apr-45 J 1 12 NE


Search Results for 272 INF 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BEASLEY JAMES H JR PFC 34839919 GA 14-Apr-45 P 14 15 NE
BEATY JOHN PFC 34731670 TN 6-Apr-45 B 8 32 NE
BLESSEN JOHN I PFC 38343262 TX 9-Apr-45 H 18 12 NE
BLOOMFIELD EDWARD K TEC5 33757898 PA 18-Apr-45 A 14 5 NE
BRADFIELD EARL SSGT 32921686 NJ 7-Apr-45 I 21 6 NE
CAMPURCIANI ALBERT J PVT 31418026 MA 4-Mar-45 A 1 31 HC
CLARE MAURICE W JR TSGT 31038593 RI 10-Apr-45 A 14 16 NE
CLARK JAMES L PFC 13092673 PA 19-Jun-45 D 10 22 NE
EDGIN DEWEY C PFC 38603241 AR 6-May-45 E 21 13 NE
FLAGG FERD C PFC 31401469 ME 21-Apr-45 K 17 11 NE
FORMOSA SILVIO G JR PFC 33815083 PA 6-May-45 E 21 4 NE
HAMILTON PAUL E PFC 36739850 IL 6-Apr-45 D 15 15 NE
JOHNSON HOLMES PVT 34566853 GA 27-Apr-45 K 9 9 NE
KELLY LOUIS J SGT 35700108 IN 18-Apr-45 A 6 14 NE
MILLER WILLIAM B PVT 36562049 MI 5-Apr-45 H 14 4 NE
PETRASEK AUGUST F JR CPL 32422802 NY 5-Jun-45 J 9 16 NE
PRATT WALTER S PVT 13143868 MD 19-Apr-45 H 3 17 NE
SAYDACK ERVIN L PFC 36973350 WI 20-Jun-45 F 16 8 NE
SCHULKE JOHN J PFC 33580744 PA 6-Apr-45 C 8 12 NE
SELL EDWARD W TEC5 36312542 IL 15-Apr-45 D 19 25 NE
SWARTZ WILLIAM C SGT 36686467 IL 8-Apr-45 H 19 6 NE
TIPTON STRAWDER H PFC 35083092 KY 9-Apr-45 I 8 4 NE
WALLY WALTER S PFC 36965521 MI 18-Apr-45 I 1 4 NE
WASHBURN ROGER E PFC 31310210 MA 8-Apr-45 A 7 23 NE
WIENKE HAROLD H PFC 39934158 MT 6-Apr-45 A 7 14 NE
WOOD ALFRED E JR SSGT 32916777 NJ 6-Mar-45 C 4 15 HC


Search Results for 271 INF 69 DIV



Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BAKER WILFRED PFC 37748920 KS 16-Apr-45 H 1 19 NE
BRASCHE JOHN M SSGT 32903102 NY 7-Mar-45 D 12 7 HC
BREMNER RONALD PFC 36598056 MI 13-Apr-45 A 2 20 NE
BRIDGES WILLIAM M PFC 44035785 GA 23-Apr-45 L 2 14 NE
BRONISZEWSKI STANLEY PVT 36733594 IL 25-Feb-45 A 1 15 HC
BROOKS JOHN M PVT 33605624 PA 23-Apr-45 O 3 16 NE
CHAMBERS ROY E PVT 36948184 IL 17-Apr-45 M 1 13 NE
CLARK JAMES F JR PVT 36899418 MI 22-Apr-45 D 17 11 NE
CONROY STEVE J PFC 42101215 NJ 22-Apr-45 M 9 3 NE
COURTNEY PERCY C PFC 33561197 MD 1-Mar-45 G 11 67 HC
DOUGHERTY ALOYSIUS F PFC 13197209 PA 16-Apr-45 J 6 17 NE
DRAA CLIFFORD S SSGT 35062201 OH 1-Mar-45 G 7 58 HC
DREES OSCAR C PFC 35623588 OH 19-Apr-45 B 12 19 NE
DURKEE JAMES O PVT 31462366 VT 19-Feb-45 E 2 76 HC
EAFRATI ANTHONY F PFC 35754374 WV 1-Mar-45 A 1 20 HC
EDWARDS DONALD S SGT 31357716 MA 7-Mar-45 D 3 43 HC
EGGERDING ALVIN T PVT 35899251 IN 16-Apr-45 J 6 8 NE
EICH LYONEL H PFC 37750744 NE 13-Apr-45 P 3 14 NE
FERGUSON PAUL SSGT 31362181 MA 17-Apr-45 B 15 25 NE
FIELD CURTIS SGT 15103592 OH 28-Feb-45 E 1 15 HC
FLEAGLE HENRY J 1LT O1014905 KS 16-Apr-45 I 1 10 NE
GAMBINO GAETANO TSGT 32065537 NJ 28-Feb-45 C 12 53 HC
GIANDOMENICO DOMINIC CPL 33622786 PA 17-Apr-45 B 20 27 NE
GOBEN JAMES L PFC 35816771 KY 7-Mar-45 C 8 6 HC
GONZALES SALOME L TSGT 38254012 TX 1-Mar-45 E 10 17 HC
GRAHAM WELDON M PVT 38582702 TX 27-Feb-45 A 8 37 HC
HAYWOOD ERNEST R PVT 44040302 TN 6-Mar-45 B 7 50 HC
HICKMAN PAUL PVT 38633601 TX 9-Mar-45 B 7 5 HC
KIRCHUE JAMES S PFC 32843386 NY 18-Apr-45 A 11 1 NE
KNUTH CHARLES J SGT 35503776 OH 27-Feb-45 C 8 48 HC
KRIEG ARTHUR R SSGT 32178864 NY 2-Jan-45 D 2 60 CA
LAWRENCE ROBERT D 1LT O1080302 DC 18-Apr-45 A 11 4 NE
MARTIN JAMES C SR PVT 33662946 VA 19-Apr-45 K 17 18 NE
MC CAWLEY BENJAMIN H SGT 35703980 MA 1-Mar-45 C 14 43 HC
MC DERMOTT JOSEPH E SGT 38618506 LA 24-Apr-45 A 3 25 NE
MIXER JOHN J TSGT 37005192 KS 16-Apr-45 B 18 29 NE
MOORE ROY R CPL 38021753 OK 18-Apr-45 A 11 21 NE
MORRIS JOHN V PFC 35239727 OH 23-Apr-45 G 5 1 NE
MOTTO ALPHONSE J PFC 42116778 NY 28-Feb-45 D 9 33 HC
MUSO RALPH PFC 32921193 NJ 20-Jan-44 E 10 48 SR
NAFZ HARRY C SGT 17019347 MO 4-May-45 E 21 9 NE
OLSON RAYDER C CPL 36047822 IL 13-Apr-45 K 2 1 NE
ORTEGA PILAR G PVT 39423704 CA 1-Mar-45 H 7 63 HC
PANKAN JOSEPH A PFC 37597609 MN 15-Apr-45 A 9 11 NE
PINION J W PVT 38633754 TX 6-Mar-45 D 3 28 HC
ROMNESS VERNON R PFC 37116602 MN 28-Mar-45 I 12 19 NE
RUNGE EDWIN D PVT 36825180 WI 28-Feb-45 D 16 22 HC
SAKYESVA NELSON PFC 38070917 AZ 22-Apr-45 A 27 16 AR
SCHELL ALBERT J PVT 36470664 MI 27-Feb-45 D 11 26 HC
SMITH DOUGLAS PVT 34949770 AL 28-Feb-45 D 16 61 HC
SNYDER JOHN W PVT 15346649 IN 9-Feb-45 C 12 36 HC
SQUIBB CLARK M PFC 37454201 NE 20-Apr-45 A 12 30 NE
TRUDELL CURTIS L CAPT O-391590 WI 8-Mar-45 G 14 39 HC
ULFENG MILTON J PVT 36845362 WI 19-Feb-45 I 10 8 NE
WELCH JOHNIE J PFC 34928645 MS 25-May-45 D 6 26 NE

Search Results for 461 AAA AW BN


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
AIKEY LEWIS O PFC 33259650 PA 20-Sep-44 H 5 4 HC
GRIFFIN SAMUEL 1SGT 33493852 PA 14-May-45 L 2 11 NE
KOWALCZYK JOHN R TEC5 36723664 IL 5-Feb-45 G 3 56 HC
NIXON LEONARD M PVT 39375344 WA 15-May-44 C 3 74 CA
PITHAN VINCENT C 2LT O1996393 CA 17-Dec-44 F 4 72 HC


Search Results for 661 TD BN



Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BARTH LEO T PFC 37590104 MN 5-Jun-45 I 2 22 NE
BURNETTE FLOYD A PFC 33648807 VA 12-Apr-45 A 9 10 NE
MAY ANDREW G TEC4 35644598 KY 5-Jun-45 G 2 26 NE
MOORE OWEN W CPL 33648939 VA 11-Apr-45 A 9 25 NE


Search Results for 569 SIG CO 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
SNEDDON THOMAS G JR CPL 35255927 IN 20-Apr-45 P 10 4 NE


Search Results for 777 TANK BN


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
FARRELL JAMES H PFC 37596542 MN 14-Apr-45 B 20 2 NE
HORNING ARTHUR F PFC 42141764 NY 14-Apr-45 P 18 11 NE
KESSLER JAMES W PFC 37606170 MO 7-Apr-45 F 9 26 NE
THOMPSON CLIFFORD J SGT 37321735 MN 16-Apr-45 I 1 9 NE

Search Results for 769 ORD CO 69 DIV



Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
MC GANN JOHN P 1SGT 35045062 OH 7-Mar-45 G 4 69 HC


Search Results for 879 FA BN 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
COBLENTZ MYRON P CAPT O1177336 KY 16-Apr-45 A 9 12 NE


Search Results for 881 FA BN 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BABINE FRANCIS E SGT 31018861 MA 5-Mar-45 B 1 21 HC

Search Results for 69 QM CO 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
DAWSON DANIEL W LTC O-319916 NY 11-Apr-45 B 13 25 NE
ROBERTS JAMES V PFC 39856060 AZ 9-Apr-45 L 13 13 NE

Search Results for 269 ENGR CMBT BN 69 DIV


Name Rank Ser No State Date of Death Plot Row Grave Cem
BROOKS B F PVT 38340960 TX 21-Jun-45 J 8 13 NE
DOWSLEY JAMES F PVT 33304307 PA 23-May-45 E 16 13 NE
FRY HARRY E PVT 33686100 PA 3-Aug-45 A 7 1 LX


Hq Co, 69th Infantry Division
Name Rank Serial No. Date of Death Cemetery
SINCLAIR KIRK L JR
_________________________
Quote by

mr.big
16 Point



very

Most of the WWII soldiers never talked about their
service in the war. They kept it to themselves and
this is how it ususally comes out.

Congrats


bout the only thing he ever told me was,,he didn`t care if he never fired another shot,,and would never lay down to sleep anywhere except in his bed in Jackson County,,,
_________________________


civilian occupation ;farm hand general

military occupation; AAA Automatic Weapons Crew 601;rifle marksmanship;

Normandy;Northern France;Rhineland;Central Europe

wounds recieved in action ;none

highest grade;PFC

3 years 3 months 7 days paid 300$ plus 16.15$ travel pay

EAME Thearter Ribbon w/4 Bronze Stars per WD GO #33/45;Good Conduct Ribbon;

no days lost under AW107 ASR score Sept 45 81 Lapel button issued

Varnie Clyde Cantor born Oct 1,1920 died Sept 16 2006
Momma has a picture of him standing at the entrance of the cave they said Hitler was hiding in,,I need to get a copy of that..
_________________________
Cool Mr. Big ,it looks like your grandfather had to do some MP duty also.
_________________________
Quote by

ROB
TnDeer Old Timer
8 Point


Registered: 01-23-2000
Posts: 1727
Loc: Murray, KY USA

Offline
By the end of the of the entire Normandy Campaign, nearly 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded, or missing.


That's almost 3 times the number of people who live in Chattanooga, just in that single campaign.

Unbelieveable carnage, incredible bravery.
_________________________