Other 102d Division Units

NOW! 38 STORIES
and Adding More All the Time!

"Gas Attack"
by Marvin Francisco, 548 AAA Bty. B.

Added on 30 June 2005.

"...I was just pulling the radio trailer up in front of the place when the Jerries cut loose with some 88s. S/Sgt George Dean, who was riding with me, made one leap and disappeared..."

"James Lockshin Talks About His Service During WWII"
by James Lockshin, 102nd Div., SIG

Added on 30 June 2005.

"...I was just pulling the radio trailer up in front of the place when the Jerries cut loose with some 88s. S/Sgt George Dean, who was riding with me, made one leap and disappeared..."

"P.O.W. Experiences of Jay Drake"
by Jay Drake, 2nd. Lt., 379 FA Btn.

Added on 29 March 2005.

"...Camouflaged hangers were cut into the woods on alternate sides of the highway where the aircraft were housed. Here we experienced our first sight of a jet powered aircraft. These silent aircraft soaring through the air at incredible speeds sent a chill through our spines contemplating the damage they could do to our bomber fleets..."

"The Road to Victory"
The Story of the Red Ball Express

Added on 29 March 2005.

"...truck carried a .50-caliber machine gun in a ring above the cab, and Guthrie relished the challenge of taking on a Nazi fighter. It reminded him of his duckhunting days back home..."

"April 1945: The Rest of the Story"
The 5th (US) Armored Division's Push
Toward the Elbe River

Added on 29 March 2005.

"...The report by the 10th Tank Battalion states that one "Panther" tank destroyer was hit in the tracks and was set on fire by its crew. In Schwicheit another "Panther" tank destroyer is reported to have been abandoned as a result of the air attacks and was captured by elements of C Company..."

"Food A Critical Item During WWII"
Joe Szalay, 380 FA HQ.

Added on 29 March 2005.

"...Packages from home were always welcome. Homemade cookies were a favorite with most everyone. Those packages came by slow freight and they took six to ten weeks to arrive. Sometimes they never did arrive..."

"Some Old Photos: 379th FAB-B"
by Mr. Rob Schouw, the Netherlands

Added on 6 February 2005.

"...In an old box from my late grandmother, I found some pictures of US soldiers who had their camp (1944?) on the estate or near the farmhouse of my grandparents, as my family told me..."

"Occupation of Germany"
by Joseph J. Szalay, 380th FA BN

Added on 8 November 2004.

 
"...Occupation duties consisted primarily of necessary guard duty and routine maintenance and normal military duties. Organized athletics were carried out daily to keep morale at a high pitch..."

"GI's Enjoy Vacation in Europe"
by Joseph J. Szalay, 380th FA BN

Added on 8 November 2004.

 
"...Fortunes were made by many GIs before restrictions were put in force. Gambling and bartering accounted for large sums of money that were sent home. I recall a jeep driver who told me he sent home over $20,000 to his mother for safe keeping until he got home..."

"Roer River Images"
by 102nd Division

Added on 8 November 2004.

 
 "..."The level of the river rose and rose -- and rose -- and spread and spread - and spread to a mile wide in places with a current speed of 13 to 18 feet per second."..."

"Patton's Prayer"
from the Ozark Notes

Added on 23 October 2004.

"...Rain, snow, more rain, more snow - and I'm beginning to wonder what's going on in Your headquarters. Whose side are You on, anyway?..."

"The Funerals"
John B. Tillson, FA HQ, 102nd

Added on 23 October 2004.

"...The casket was closed and the six men bore it to the waiting hearse. The women followed in a car as the rest of us made our way up the gravel path to the grave site. The preacher gave a short prayer and the service was ended..."

"Much Needed Rest Enjoyed Near the Rhine"
Joseph Szalay, 380th FA BN

Added on 23 October 2004.

"...One of their headquarters was found which contained pictures of Hitler and his staff and numerous pictures of the German troops in parade with all their modern weapons of destruction..."

"Witness to the Holocaust"
Edmund Motzko, 548th AAA AW

Added on 23 October 2004.

"...Some of the prisoners had tried so hard to dig under the dirt, they wore down flesh and bone up to the second joint on their fingers. Some were blown to pieces by the grenades..."

"A Veteran Died Today"
by Unknown Author

Added on 13 October 2004.

"...He was just a common Veteran and his ranks are growing thin, but his presence should remind us, we may need his likes again..."

"Taking the Roer and Beyond"
taken from the 102nd Archives

Added on 13 October 2004.

"...The second battalion, likewise moved rapidly after the air and artillery fire cover was furnished and by 1830 the battalion had passed through Rheindahlen and was occupying the high ground along the railroad tracks to its north..."

"From the Battle of the Roer to the Spa at Krefeld"
by Joseph J. Szalay, 380th FA-Hqs.

Added on 5 October 2004.

"...The infantry companies were given snow suits so they would blend in with the snow that had fallen the past few days. All assault activities were coordinated with the entire Division and the Artillery units fired thousands of rounds of ammunition at the enemy fortifications..."

"How the Teenage Draftee was Affected by WWII"
by Joseph J. Szalay, 380th FA-Hqs.

Added on 5 October 2004.

"...A day or so later we were told that the Germans were advancing with a massive number of tanks, infantry troops, and artillery about 50 miles south of our position. Hitler was determined to drive through the Allied lines and eventually push our troops into the sea..."

"Dearest Francis and all the family"
by Jim Tillson, 102d FA Hq.

Added on 4 April 2004.

"...We could see a mortar squad dropping rounds right next to the bridge. On the far side were a few remnants of the German Army and a motley crew of thousands of civilian refugees fleeing before the Russians for whom they had a mortal fear. Many tried to swim across and many of these failed to make it. Farmers with their families and all they owned piled on carts would arrive at the river and start loading their belongings on their backs to try to get across the bridge..."

"A Generation of Builders, Doers and Heroes"
Newspaper Article

Added on 4 April 2004.

"...The experiences of war left profound and lasting changes, not the least of which was a strong sense of common purpose coupled with a "can-do" attitude towards life's challenges. With hard work, persistence, team effort, and yes, a plan, there was little this generation perceived it could not accomplish..."

"On the Way to the Elbe"
by T. A. Rodman, M.D., 379 FA Btn.

Added on 4 April 2004.

"...I could visualize one of the Tigers sticking its gun through the window and letting go. I had a knife on my belt which I pulled off, putting it in a corner out of sight. I put on my first aid arm band, and that was all I could do for myself, thinking that a doctor and aid men were considered noncombatants. I knew that "that old dog wouldn't hunt" and kept doing my work..."

"Into Germany in December"
by Jos. J. Szalay, 380th FA Hq.

Added on 4 April 2004.

"...As we were unloading our equipment a lone German plane swooped down and strafed our entire area with 50 caliber bullets. You could see the dust fly as the bullets hit the ground. Through some miracle not one of our men were hit and we were very thankful for that..."

"Recreation While Stationed in Texas"
by Jos. J. Szalay, 380th FA Hq.

Added on 4 April 2004.

"...The area near the pawn shop was known as Snake Hill. It was a rough and rowdy place with several beer joints. The first time we explored this part of town, we witnessed a GI coming down stairs head-first from the second story. It didn't take us long to realize that our time would be better spent in a more civilized part of town..."

"Thanksgiving Day 1944"
by Elton Oltjebruns, 327th Med Btn. 

Added on 3 December 2003.

"...On the way up to the front we went through Prummern. I was following the aid station jeep and the infantrymen were single file on both sides of the narrow street. Suddenly a Kraut soldier ran out of the church and started running towards the rear. He was taken prisoner right next to me. Some one said he had been a sniper up in the church steeple..."

"Co. C., 327th Medical"
by R. W. Leibold, Co. C., 327th Med Btn. 

Added on 3 December 2003.

"...Slowly the town emptied and it was our turn to cross. We felt very vulnerable in an open jeep and weapons carrier, on a narrow bridge with occasional shells splashing the water nearby. In this situation the closer we got to the enemy the better. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we were able to spread out on the east bank..."

"Combat Begins Near the Border"
by Joseph J. Szalay, 380th FAB

Added on 3 December 2003.

"...These artillery planes that could make abrupt turns since they were going slow compared to the enemy planes. Our artillery planes were also subject to small arms fire and enemy artillery fire but managed to escape most of these hazards..."

"548th On Stage..."
by Harry Morris, 548th AAA AW Batn.

Added on 3 December 2003.

"...Ask the Field Artillery and Infantrymen if they appreciated our Battalion shooting down six planes that started strafing them on January 1, 1945. Ask the Division if they appreciated our Battalion providing an umbrella of cover for the Roer river crossing at Linnich and Rurdorf, an umbrella so effective that it exploded an incoming bomb in midair..."

"Non-fraternization policy violated"
by Joseph J. Szalay, 380th FAB

Added on 25 November 2003.

"...There was a lot of bartering going on. We traded a pack of cigarettes for a 50-pound sack of potatoes during potato harvest. We traded German marks (which we had managed to accumulate during the war) for various goods and services..."

"Two Arnheim Survivors Meet"
by Guthrie & Boosport

Added on 25 November 2003.

"...Bill has seen a captured German film which showed the German infantry and Panzer divisions firing on the suspended Allied troops - like shooting ducks in an arcade - and the airborne troops desperately lobbing grenades downward at the enemy. It is not easy to find an accurate account of the casualties that fateful Sunday, but Bill cites statistics showing that only 1,500 of the 15,000 Allied troops at Arnheim and nearby Oosterbeek made it back to their own lines..."

"Impressions of the French"
by Joseph J. Szalay, 380th FAB 

Added on 17 November 2003.

"...We stayed in a building that looked like a castle. There was no one living there so we decided to set up our headquarters there. After a few days the owner showed up and we had to vacate the place and find other quarters. Some of these people seemed to forget that our armies had just run the Germans out of their homes and gave them their freedom..."

"From the Russian Side"
by Zvi Harry Glaser 

Added on 17 November 2003.

"...He was just in time. His soldiers were holding a 15 year old German boy with a swastika armband, who had been riding a bicycle with a Panzerfaust on his shoulder. Reaching the squad, he realized he had come to the wrong address; he tried swiftly to turn around but fell. There was no need to disarm him; the boy in an oversized trench coat looked pathetic and scared to death. On being asked how he came to be there, the boy said: "I am one of the German Working Youth" with confusion painting at the swastika. 'Three days ago we were assembled in a school in East Berlin to meet Dr. Gobbels. The Reichs Minister spoke to us, promising that we would win the war, we would just have to answer the Fuhrer's call to help out until the new weapons arrive:'Harry felt sorry for the boy. He helped him straighten his wheel out and sent him home to his mother, if she was alive..."

"The Learning Period"
Name Witheld by Request

Added on 5 November 2003.

"...I climbed from the hole to find my friend lying on the ground, hit in both legs. Another member of our crew had a small piece of shrapnel sticking out of his skull above the bridge of his nose. I was directed to help him but I saw that he was walking wounded. The two of us who weren't hit carried my friend back into town..."

Battlefield Art -- Crossing the Roer River!

Added 11 February 2003

We have recently added a couple of "Battlefield Art" renderings done by a Lt. Stookie Allen. The artwork depicts the Roer River crossing as well as a battlefield map of the theater of operations. Check it out!

Look for Additional 102d Infantry Division Stories Here...

Story Added on -----------.

Look here for additional stories from the 102d Infantry Division "Ozark Notes" that will be placed here. If you have a story about your experiences in the 102d Infantry Division and would care to share it, please do so by contacting this web master at the e-mail address listed near the bottom of this page.