It has taken over 5 yrs to gather enough info to get my fathers records, as they were destroyed in the 1973 fire.

I now have them in hand..however I'm more confused then ever.
Like most he never told war storys, I know little to nothing regarding his time during WW11.

On his discharge papers it state's he received
GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL
EUROPEAN AFRICAN MIDDLE EASTERN CAMPAIGN MEDAL
AMERICAN CAMPAIGN MEDAL
VICTORY MEDAL

Departed 18 Jan 1945 Arrival 29 Jan 1945 European Theater
Departed 10 Aug 1945 Arrival 19 Aug 1945 United States

He was assinged to the 791ST FA BN

This is where my problem starts!! When I do a search on this Battalion, the 1 and only thing I find is where they were attached to the 101st Airborne on 15 Apr 45--17 Apr 45.

I also found a pass from Fort Jackson dated Dec 1944.

I would forever be gratful for any info. Also am I entitied to have his Medals re issued? as my brother and myself the only family left and we have no idea what has happened to them.

Thank you all in advance

I was in the same boat.
The fire destroyed my dad's Army Air Corp records.

When he lost his life I settled his estate.
I found several boxes of cards and letter from places he'd been assigned.

Seemed my grandparents kept everything. I also have his WWII uniform.

Hopefully you will be able to find something of his that can assist you in tracing his service.

RSDURLIN2:

Look in the Internet for the address of National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland. Write to them. Sometimes the commander of a unit has written the history of the unit and has been stored in NARA. Sometimes it is not available but they would still have copies of some orders. If unsuccessful, you can also try the steps below.

The book Field Artillery Battalions of the US Army should provide basic information about field artillery battalions. This book was written by James Sawicki. I believe he passed away. Be aware I am posting this without actually having read this book. I only have Antiaircraft Artillery Battalions of the US Army. However Sawicki wrote several of these books. On the books I have (one title 2 volumes) he traces the lineage of the battalions. Posts the awards if any. Crests and shields if any. If the unit was in combat it gets a little more extensive treatment. I understand he based his work in Shelby Stanton's Order of Battle. On the book I own, he made a mistake by not catching the 891st Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion. He stated this was an automatic weapons battalion. However this battalion was changed. The rest of the information he has printed regarding other antiaircraft battalions I have been looking into is correct.

Also look in the Internet for the address of the US Army History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Write to them, asking about the unit you posted. I wrote to them asking about the 762nd and 766th AAA Gun Battalions and they sent me photocopies of the book Antiaircraft Artillery Battalions of the US Army. In other words, it is possible they also have a copy of either Shelby Stanton's book or Sawicki's field artillery book.

If you want to go into more detail, this institute also has another work titled The Adjutant General's Office Historical Data Unit Cards in microfilm. Apparently at some time the Adjutant General created in 4 by 6 inch cards a record of each unit it created. This record is very cryptic. That is, it lists the Army orders creating, affecting or modifying battalions and regiments. Guess they also did the same for divisions but I only saw Coast Artillery regiments and battalions. They would annotate in these cards only the order and date, as in "created by AGO 232 (1 Feb 42) Ft Davis." This is a made-up annotation reflecting the way I recall the ones I saw. May have the title or general subject of the note. There would be one or two cards for the headquarters battery, and more cards for the component batteries. Then you would write to them asking for the particular army general orders. At some point, the data cards were destroyed but they were microfilmed before.

I have been researching my father's service in the 762nd AAA Gun Battalion. And an uncle in the 766th AAA Gun Battalion. These battalions were activated Panama Defense Zone Sept 43. With them about other 14 AAA battalions were activated in the same area. Having a hell of a time getting histories and other info since these battalions did not see combat. To these battalions, drafted Puerto Ricans were assigned. Almost no one knows of the units, nor of the Puerto Rican service. So far I have been able to find two histories at NARA, that of the 762nd and 891st AAA Gun Battalions. For others, only a few general orders. So I guess I will have to rely mostly on the Unit Historical Data Cards and in Sawicki's Antiaircraft Artillery Batatlions of the US Army...

Good luck...

Thank you so much!

This should keep me busy for awhile.

quote:

The book Field Artillery Battalions of the US Army

The book Field Artillery Battalions of the US Army by James Sawicki. Page 1014 - 791st FA BN:
Constituted 11 March 1944.
Activated 10 April 1944 At Camp Forest, Tennessee.
Inactivated 15 February 1946 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Allotted to the Organized Reserves and assigned to the Second Army, 5th November 1946. Activated 13 November 1946 at Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Organized Reserves redesignated Organized Reserve Corps, 25th March 1948)Inactivated 14th September 1950 at Allentown.
Campaign Streamers: World War II Central Europe
Decorations: None
Coat of Arms: None
Distinctive Insignia: None

Hpe this helps - big12horn

From an internet article on the 658th FA BN:

The 658th Field Artillery Battalion (8" Howitzer, Truck Drawn) was activated 10 April 1944 at Camp Forrest, TN. The Battalion (Bn) became attached to the 415th Field Artillery Group together with the 659th, 790th and 791st Field Artillery Battalions. Enlisted personnel were obtained by transfer from inactivated Coast Artillery units which had been stationed along the New England Coast.
Immediately upon activation, training and testing was inaugurated including trips to the Spencer Range area. On 27 September 1944, the Bn departed Camp Forrest and traveled by motor convoy to Fort Jackson, SC arriving on 28 September 1944. Additional personnel joined the Bn at Fort Jackson.

On 3 February 1945, the Bn began its journey to the ETO departing Ft. Jackson by rail en route to Camp Shanks, NY and arriving there the next day. A week later on 10 February the Bn departed Camp Shanks by rail en route to New York Port of Embarkation (NYPE) and boarded a ship designated USAT 288. The following day the Bn departed NYPE for the ETO via water. On 23 February, the Bn arrived at Le Havre, France harbor. The next day they debarked USAT 288 and traveled by Government vehicle to Camp Lucky Strike where staging duties were performed. On 7 March the Bn departed Camp Lucky Strike and traveled by Government vehicle to Dieppe and billeted in town.


Your father's unit apparently left a few weeks before the 658th but his journey would probably been similar. 8" guns are big, REALLY BIG, long range stuff. The 415th Artillery Group was mostly organizational with it's battalions attached out to other units. The 658th was attached to XXII Corps, 15th Army Group while your father (791st) was apparently attached to the 12th Army Group since it was attached to support the 101st 15 Apr 45-17 Apr 45 and the operational history of the 101st shows it's attachments during that time to be:

6 April 1945: First Allied (Abn) Army, but attached to the 12th Army Group. // 17 April 1945: First Allied (Abn) Army, but attached to the Seventh Army, 6th Army Group.

The 101 was moved from the 12th Army to the 7th Army on the 17th and that apparently ended the 791st's attachment, so it follows that they were attached to the Corp (unknown at this time) of the 12th Army that the 101 had been attached to from the 6th-17th.

THIS TIME PERIOD CORRESPONDS TO THE BATTLE OF THE RUHR POCKET.

During this time the 101st Airborne Division had been (minus the 501st PIR which remained at Mourmelon), moved to positions near the Rhine during the first week in April 1945 in the vicinity of dusseldorf helping close the ruhr pocket and operated defensively patrolling, raiding and engaging in military government at Rheydt and Munchen-Gladbach. All enemy contact ceased on 18 April.

The events surrounding your father during this period.
April 4, 1945 Ruhr pocket encircled by American 12th Army, trapping about 430,000 German soldiers of Army Group B.
April 12, 1945, the US First and Ninth armies(Bradley's 12th Army Group) divided the Ruhr Pocket area from the south. Allies liberate Buchenwald and Belsen concentration camps;
President Roosevelt dies. Truman becomes President.
April 15th, 1945 The US First Army (Hodges) captures Leuna and Merseburg in Saxony, while the French First Army (de Tassigny) captures Kehl and Offenburg on the upper Rhine.
April 16-17 1945 - The Canadian First Army occupies Leeuwarden and Groningen in northern Holland. The US First Army captures Solingen and Wuppertal. In the East, the 1st Belorussian Front (Zhukov) and the 1st Ukrainian Front (Konev), launch their final great offensive against Berlin. In the Baltic off Hela, the German liner Goya is torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, killing 6,500 wounded soldiers and refugees. Colditz prison camp liberated, The U.S. Seventh Army enters and captures Nuremburg.
Final assualts on the Ruhr Pocket occur with urban heavy fighting leading to the surrender of the remaining German troops of Heeresgruppe B (329,000 men). The US Ninth Army captures Magdeburg on the Elbe. In the East, the offensive by the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front against Berlin is stalled at the Seelow Heights 2 miles W of the Oder, with great losses in troops and tanks.
April 18th Battle of the Ruhr Pocket ends.

As far as further study or research you may wish to center on your father's part of the battle as being supporting the 101st during the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket as part of the 791st FA BN (8") of the 415th Field Artillery Group attached to an unidentified Corps (containing the 101st Abn at that time) of the First Allied (Abn) Army of the 12th Army Group under General Omar Bradley

Lastly, your father has one final award. DA Pam 672-1 dated July 1961 list the 791st as having 1 campaign credit (Central Europe) and occupation duty in Germany from 2 May-5 July 1945, this would qualify him for the Army of Occupation Medal (AOM) with 'Germany' clasp. His EAME ribbon should have 1 small bronze star on it to signify his campaign credit.

As far as receiving a reissue of your father's medals, do as I did. Send a copy of his discharge with the medals named, explaining they were lost thru no fault of your own. Send request to: Commander, US Army Support Activity, Philadelphia, PA 19101-3460.

My dad was in the same unit. I have a photo album with some names of the soldiers in the photos. He brought back a huge Nazi flag he said he took down in Dusseldorf. His journey took him to Ft.Adams Rhode Island, Camp Forrest Tennesee, and finally Ft. Jackson South Carolina. I also am trying to trace the actions and history of 415th field artellery group/791st FA Bn. My Dad was Cpl.Lewis Lamplugh of Philadelphia Pa. I have the names of Sgt.Judkins and Shawcross, who played on the 415th All Star Post Basketball League with him. I also have about 40 photos of his unit from the states and overseas.

Dear 22480158

What a blessing you are, going on 8 yrs now you are the one and only that I have come across that had a family member in this unit.

I finally came in contact with Mr. Seelinger (Cheif Historian) ARMY HISTORIAN FOUNDATION.

I can't begin to tell you how much he has helped me.

I have a copy of the Units History from day one. Along with other Doc's that I would be happy to send you.

I'm still sitting here in shock that you have Pictures of the Unit, I was beginning to wonder. lol

I would be more then gratful and pay all coast if you would consinder sharing them. I'm in So Calif

My email is
RSDURLIN@INBOX.COM

Once again Thank You so much

Rebecca