William Oakley was a Forward Observer for Battery A. When I woke up in my sleeping bag the first morning a fire had been started and all our boots were around the fire getting warm. If you copy this link into the web this is the small booklet I mentioned. Subject: DAVAO; SHIKOKU; YYUSHU '45, '46. He dropped it with one round from his M16. There is some data and reports out there. A 105mm battalion contained just over 500 men. He listed many names and addresses on the back with their location in the picture. I remeber my grandpa and uncle looking thru timelife magazine and my grandpa exclaiming "we werent actually there! A Battery, 264th Field Artillery Battalion - Army Unit Directory Some day I would like for me and my brother to travel the same route together. They were responsible for guarding the perimeter and hauling extra ammo. It consisted of a battery headquarters, operations platoon, communication platoon, an air observation section, and a maintenance section. 66th Infantry Division - U.S. Army Center of Military History I came to Rivers Barracks while the whole post was at REFORGER, so it was basically empty. Many times I would climb the fence (8ft with three lines of barbed wire atop it). The 406th was probably sent home first as the 196th did occupation duty for a couple of months. 26th Field Artillery Battalion | 9th Infantry Division in WWII The tell tale dust cloud makes it imperative that the section displace immediately, to avoid enemy counter fire. To fire a 280mm cannon the exact quadrants of the gun were required by FDC. He was in the Pensacola convoy and then was in Darwin in early 1942. Also, if you have a photo your dad, that would be great. At that time which will result in the highest kill probability, the computer issues a burst order to the missile. Sgt. Departed Bremerhaven on USNS Gen. Buckner 12 Dec 58 Another time we spent 3 days in a mosquito infested swamp along the Rhine River while a Company of Engineers built pontoon bridges for us to float the 280s across the river. I am uncertain whether this gun accompanied the 867th in its later deployment to Germany, referred to by some on your web site as "AWOL". Towards the end of summer 1958 the Army switched to dollars and I remember waking up to hear women screaming along the depot fence. AP580304E--LS $10.00: Add to Cart U.S. A.P.O.'s 6c Air Force 1958 Army-Air Force Postal Service A.P.O. Military History Online, "US Army in World War II: Artillery and AA Artillery." These officers and men make up the Battalion Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Battery, Medical Detachment, and Firing Battery. Thank you for any other sources that I can be directed to. ss mariposa wwiiwhy did fish leave barney miller?. Dense woods, thick mud, and snow made repairing the lines physically demanding work. Hello - I'm trying to find out some detailed information about my fathers service record from WW2. Although requiring more personnel and having some technical differences (i.e. The Firing Battery is composed of two platoons each of two sections. The following records were acquired from the American Battle Monuments Commission on June 17, 2016. I do mean Service Battery. The 66th Division consisted of the following units: 262nd , 263rd, and 264th Infantry Regiments, Headquarters Battery, 721st, 870th, 871st, and 872nd, Field Artillery Battalions, 266th Engineer Combat Battalion, the 366th Medical Battalion, 66th Counter Intelligence Corps Detachment, 66th Quartermaster Company, 66th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, The KPS even came into the field with us. It seems they needed to replace the man who did the calculations during the surveys and the review of my schooling made me their choice. I knew almost all of the original personnel who brought the Battalion to Germany, plus a number of the Officers who joined the Battalion for short periods of time when left behind by their units which rotated to the States before they were eligible to return to the States. I left out a lot, but that's the easy synopsis. I saw a former A 3/6 member, Pfc David Lee Marcum, in the same unit. 01.03.1944 = March 1st, 1944], [ 12th Infantry Division - Did not exist On October 1st, 1940, the three battalions of the 26th Field Artillery were re-designated as three separate battalions under the Commanding . There were 1,098 battle casualties and 849 non-battle casualties. Stay well. One or more of the battalions of a group might be attached for direct support to an individual division. History of 66th - 66th Division What he wanted was all the discards from the C rations which the GIs usually had. You can email me. Each shell could take up to seven bags of powder, which were wrapped in silk and tied together. Charles (Mac) Armstrong 283nd. Any predictable range error will result in a computation of a final range correction maneuver which is sent to the missile immediately. This assignment was temporary, pending the arrival of replacements. We were there from Fall 1966 - Feb/Mar 1968. His closest living relatives are we nephews and nieces so we appear not to be able to obtain his D D-214. You should be able to find it on my profile page. I don't remember if I got to fire one. His name was Gayle W. Huston and he died in 1975. His service records were burned in the ST Louis fire when I contacted NARA and did get one page which stated he spent 20 months with the 894th Ord HAM Co; however, I don't think that is correct. The 2nd Battalion 5th Field Artillery was constituted in the Regular Army as a Light Artillery Regiment in January 1907, and organized in May with existing units at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and the Philippines. No, the increase in FO's had no relationship to the increase in number of guns. CJ Kelly (author) from the PNW on October 22, 2019: Hi Mr. Schulte, great to hear from you. Thank You! Those howitzers were big, firing "small bombs" that weighed nearly 50 pounds each,. ORGANIZATION(Feb 1957): (Source: Annual Historical Report 1957-58, HQ USAREUR) Support Thank you. FA Bn (280mm Gun), 216th Thanks. So the third day, after I got settled, he showed me Giessen. I found out that there was a book written by two serving men from the 200th at the time who wrote it as they were going along and is a detailed account of their exploits and experiences and has 165 pages. The fact that Congress was thinking of ending the GI Bill (still hasnt happened) I returned my deferment and volunteered for the draft. I played on the B battery basketball team, touch football team, and fast pitch softball team. Dad passed a decade ago, so I started this idea too late to ask him. Giving NARA another shot. The headquarters and service battery provides the administrative, supply, mess, motor maintenance, survey, fire direction and communications elements in the battalion. If we had won, the team would be in a fix because a lot of us would be out of the service before the tournament was played. The officers jobs within the battery varied. The Lt. then put it in a classified record for use if hostilities broke out. Why his arm did not fall off is amazing, he pitched 6 games in five days. CJ Kelly (author) from the PNW on May 25, 2017: I believe the 221st was assigned to the Americal Division, which ended up on Guadalcanal at the end of 1942. 105mm ammo crew arming shells during the Battle of the Bulge (591st FAB -106th ID). I remember comming back from Earl Magathan's house or the Post snack bar many times and the gate out of the motor pool was closed. I guess we will all be pursuing our parents for the rest of our lives. The 870th was assigned as an MP unit, the 871st guarded the Miramas Depot, and the 872nd was stationed in Marseille. U.S. Army 1966. That raised the total to 6 - my assignment was to "E" Co, 331st Regt. We generally woke up to Hill Billy Reveille" on AFN radio. Any help will be appreciated in regards to my questions and my uncle's records. Since I had been there such a short time, I didnt know where we went to train. My plan is to base a novel on his exploits and service. No Frozen Chosan for him again. during WWII ], [ 21st Infantry Division The shift of several large caliber artillery units, particularly segregated African American battalions, to Bastogne during the first 48 hours of the battle helped save the city from capture. In this request, the assistant adjutant commented that the FSM had been discharged as a master sergeant to accept a battlefield commission as a second lieutenant. FA Bn (280mm Gun), 59th Hi lions44-- I have a picture of my father in uniform, are you looking for those, or only with the howitzers? That is what I had when I arrived and a year later what I had when I left. The battery control officer, stationed in the battery control trailer, is provided with all of the information and controls necessary to engage targets effectively. Thus, once fired, the HONEST JOHN Rocket is a weapon delivering an atomic warhead comparable with the larger missiles requiring intricate and sometimes unreliable electronic guidance systems. Some after the war. "Our guns weighed 16 tons, and the tractors that pulled them each weighed 14 tons," noted. By having this record the gun could go to a known position and not have to wait for a survey. Controls necessary for premature or delayed detonation of the warheads are incorporated into the system. He was a heavy machine gunner in the 662nd Service Battalion. WW2 Army Unit Records Research | WW2 Research They paid little attention to a couple of GIs showing up. If the battery is on the march when the fire mission is received, the howitzers are immediately moved off the road and emplaced. Later in the war, field commissions for qualified noncoms became commonplace. Had to love the guy. It was here that I learned the folly of placing the barbs on the barbed wire a hand space apart. Officially, it was called the M12A2 panoramic telescope. Hoping get something out of that. -- There is a printed history of the Battalion published in 1956 by the Wolf Printing Co., Baumholder, Germany. It mentions that in the UK they were stationed in a small town in Devon called Torrington. I will get back to you as soon as I can. After arriving at Cherbourg the 66th Division regrouped and headed for the LOrient and St. Nazaire sectors in Brittany to relive the 94th Division which had been guarding the German submarine base pockets that were left after the D-Day invasion. Hi Mr. Oakley, I'm assuming this is WWII? V Corps Artillery Shortly after I was there, orders came down to remove the names from the guns, so they were painted over. The radar is locked in azimuth on the target line, the computer and doppler are then readied for firing. Time and time again in postwar interviews, German soldiers mentioned the fear that American artillery engendered along the front lines. My father's executive officer was Major Lightner (?). The term Red Leg began in the Civil War, First during the Kansas border wars and then the Army adapted it later. LOL, I often wondered how my old Army buddies turned out. Field Artillery in the European Theater I received orders to return to Camp Chaffee for Artillery training after the normal week off. I have the names of two experts on the 285th. One of the keys to the success of the artillery branch in World War II lays in the structure of the battalion and its personnel. The fire control area consists of three radars, a computer, three van-type trailers and necessary electrical equipment. Thank You for the links to the Artillery Battalions in the European Theater. This is the official web site of the 284th Field Artillery Battalion which had the code name "Helpmate." This unit was part of General Patton's Third Army and supported many infantry units in northern France, Rhine area and invasion of southern Germany. Then during the Civil War, the artillery branch began the practice of having red stripes down the side of their pants to distinguish from the infantry (who still wear blue). I'm looking for pictures of the C Battery 81st Field Artillery. '44/'45. A few minutes before the arrival of the gun, the line of fire and center of the turntable are marked with white tape to guide the chief of section and driver, in employing the piece. He only spoke of the war on a few occasions. McAllister (jeep driver). Each gun crew was considered a section, and within each section was a sergeant (Section Chief), a corporal and assistant gunner (known as the #1), two other assistant gunners, and three cannoneers. After the round has been fired, these two plotting boards plot the course of the target flight paths. The multitude of different caliber weapons combined with pre-configured firing tables meant no escape from its power, no matter how deep you tried to dig or how far you tried to run. Both he and the gunner corporal were also responsible for keeping the crew away from the tremendous recoil of the barrel, which could kill or maim, especially in the 155mm. I cannot find either a towed 155mm Howitzer or Long Tom 155mm battalion (non-divisional) designated as the 274th. 6c DC-4 Skymaster 1958 Army-Air Force Postal Service, A.P.O. This information is transmitted electrically to the Computer for use in guiding the missile to its destination. Walked everywhere! The CORPORAL Battalion is assigned to a Field Army and may or may not be attached to a Corps. If you didnt go to town the EM club at The Depot was first rank. I just read that recently, don't remember where, but couldn't find it at google. The gun fires a shell weighing 272 kilograms a distance of 27 kilometers. She was worried about the German toilet paper (too rough), so just before he left we bought a big freezer and bought a side of beef and tons of American toilet paper. There was a lot of pressure to Buy Bonds. Until I figured it out, I thought it was strange that so many people were concerned about my savings plans. Thanks, Mr. McCasland. 264th x 2 187th Field Artillery Battalion x 2 x 2 x 2 401st Field Artillery Group 809th 275th 400th Armored Field Artillery Battalionx 2 x 3 460th Parachute Field Artillery 254th Field Artillery Battalion x 2 x 9 509th Parachute Battalion (attached) x 3 x 1 x 9 551st x 3. We found on the internet a small book with 17 pages called 200th Field Artillery Battalion and gives a brief history and account of their journey from America to England, D-Day and ending up in Czechoslovakia. Change for me! My sister cleared some information. I believe that gun ("Atomic Annie") is the one now on display at the Artillery Museum at Fort Sill. Dastrup, Boyd. They completed their training at Camp Rucker, Alabama. jsoc fort bragg, nc address If you have any Most every one in the unit had at least two years of college and we were treated a little nicer that we expected. I'm trying to trace where he was during WWII. Can you email me using the email listed in my profile? The collection was originally in the custody of the World War II Records Division (now the Modern Military In addition, I have some Orders and other information contained my 201 File which might be of interest. Many Thanks Chuck Armstrong son of Sgt. In theory, it was supposed to provide supplemental firepower for the infantry companies. This may be what you are seeing. He also said that his unit was emplaced for a couple weeks around Kassel, Germany during the Rhineland Campaign as he got strafed by German fighters. ), and a Service battery (ammunition, basic supplies, mechanics, etc.). United States, Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, Enlisted frameset, Victor Gensmer's photos of the 317th Sig Bn (Const), Des Upon receipt of a fire mission, the launcher with a rocket loaded on the rail moves from a concealed position to the firing site. The 762MM Rocket is a short-range weapon designed primarily for targets of opportunity.