Hi! My uncle Stanislaw Janik was with Company "F" 507th PIR in WW2 and died in the Ardennes campaign on Feb 7, 1945 near Dasburg, Germany. I was able to obtain the casualty "Morning Report" which listed his military occupational specialty (MOS) as 675. Does anybody know what this specialty is? Thank you!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 6912299,

MOS 675 was the code for "messenger." This MOS was deleted sometime between June 1944 and June 1945 and soldiers in this MOS were converted to one of a dozen or so other specialties (source: War Department Technical Manual 12-47, Military Occupational Classification of Enlisted Personnel, 12 July 1944, with changes posted through 30 June 1945.)

Thanks for the information. I truly appreciate your efforts.

507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II
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507th PIR HISTORIC TIMELINE
August 27th 1944--The 507th PIR is temporarily attached to the 17th Airborne Division, moving to Tidworth Barracks and on to Barton Stacy, in the south of England

September thru December 1944--The Regiment assimalates replacements and engages in Unit training..

December 24th 1944/Christmas Eve--The Regiment boards C-47's bound for Chartres, France, upon landing, the Regiment transports by truck and on Christmas day crosses into Belgium, fighting a continuous 45 days, suffering 741 casualties.

February 11th 1945--The Regiment returns to France and is headquartered at Chalons-sur-Marne.where it trains replacements until March 1945

March 24 1945/Operation Varsity-- The Regiment assaults 3 drop zones near Wesel, Germany engaging the enemy until early April
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I was attached with an Intel Unit to the 17th AB(507th) for duty during Operation Varsity.

Their(the 17th) first combat was as Infantry in the Battle of the Bulge and they proved themselves to be aBattle Worthy Unit.

Their Motto Was:-- "Thunder from Heaven"
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Sgtleo

quote:

Originally posted by 6912299:
Thanks for the information. I truly appreciate your efforts.

Pleased to be of assistance. Here are some other historical details that might help in your research:

The Ardennes-Alsace campaign officially ended January 25, 1945, some two weeks before your uncle was killed in action at Dasburg (source: WD General Orders Number 24, March 4, 1947). Although Dasburg had been included in the geographical area of the Ardennes-Alsace campaign from December 16, 1944, until January 25, 1945, by February 7, 1945, it fell within the Rhineland campaign area. In fact, two companies of 2nd Battalion, 507th PIR, attacked across the German border in the vicinity of Dasburg the morning of February 7th, surprising the German defenders, who nevertheless put up stiff resistance after being caught off guard. Presumably this is the battle in which your uncle was killed. Here is a map showing the situation along this section of the German border on February 7, 1945. Dasburg is located in plan "LUMBERJACK" zone on the German border almost due east of Bastogne; northwest of Bitburg and southwest of Prum.



(source: Rhineland ).

Note: Pay attention to Sgtleo. He was there.

6912299:-

FYI re 17th AB and some history about period when your Uncle served:-(Hope it gives you an insight about the 17th AB)

Battle of the Bulge - The Ardennes Offensive:-
The Germans launched their last great offensive in Belgium on 16 December, driving west through thinly held positions, and catching the Allies unprepared. Maj. Gen. Troy Middleton's VIII Corps was giving way, and he desperately needed reinforcements.

The 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions had recently disengaged from operations in Holland and were training and refitting in base camps in the Reims-Suippes-Sissonne area of France. The 17th Airborne Division was in training at base camps in Wiltshire and Surrey, England. Corps Headquarters and Corps troops were split between Epernay, France and Ogbourne St. George, England.

The initial success of the enemy counter-offensive resulted in a decision by General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, SHAEF to detach the XVIII Airborne Corps from the FAAA and attach it to the Twelfth Army Group. Meanwhile, concurrent action had been taken to move the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions by truck to the vicinity of Bastogne, Belgium which was the concentration area assigned by the First U.S. Army. Poor weather conditions initially kept the 17th Airborne Division in England. However, they were later able to fly into action from England and fought under the Third U.S. Army.

From 23 to 25 December, elements of the Division were flown to the Reims area in France in spectacular night flights. These elements closed in at Mourmelon. After taking over the defense of the Meuse River sector from Givet to Verdun, 25 December, the 17th moved to Neufchateau, Belgium, then marched through the snow to Morhet, relieving the 28th Infantry Division, 3 January 1945.

Initially, the 507th PIR and the 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) were kept in reserve in anticipation of a German counter attack. However, once the 17th Airborne Division cleared the western side of Bastogne of all German units, the 507th PIR and the 193rd GIR turned eastward and led an attack across Luxembourg to the Our River. On February 10, 1945 the 507th PIR was relieved and returned to its base camp at Chalons-sur-Marne in France.

Operation Varsity - The Airborne Assault on the Rhine:-
In early February 1945, the tide of battle was such as to enable an accurate estimate as to when and where the 2nd British Army would be ready to force a crossing of the Rhine River. It was determined that the crossing would be in conjunction with an airborne operation by XVIII Airborne Corps.

The sector selected for the assault was in the vicinity of Wesel, just north of the Ruhr, on 24 March 1945. Operation Varsity would be the last full scale airborne drop of World War II and the assignment went to the 17th Airborne Division with the 507th spearheading the assault dropping at the southern edge of the Diersfordter Forest, three mile northwest of Wesel.

It was during this operation that Pfc George J Peters of the 507th won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Pfc Peters and a group of 10 other troopers landed in an open field near the town of Fluren. Raked by enemy machine gun fire the troopers laid there helplessly. Peters, armed with only his rifle and a few grenades took it upon himself to charge the German machine gun nest. After receiving several wounds and bleeding profusely Peters crawled to within 15 feet of the gun enplacement and pitched two grenades into the enemy stronghold. The ensuing explosion silenced the machine gun and its crew.

Operation Varsity was a text book success. All of the units had performed in an amazing fashion shattering the German defenses in four and a half hours. In the ensuing days the 17th Airborne would lead the thrust into the heartland of Germany.

On April 10th the 507th captured Essen, the home of the Krupps Steelworks.(Ironic isn't it that your uncle died three days earlier as you indicated above)


Sgtleo

Thank both of you for the information about the campaign. I do have very specific knowledge about my uncle's final battle which I obtained as part of the Unit History of the 507th PIR.

On the 6th of February the 507th was ordered to establish a bidgehead on the east bank of the Oeur River. The 2nd Batallion crossed the river in boats between 2400 and 0600 on the 7th of Feb. With a platoon of the 139th Engineers in support, an attempt was made to build a bridge across the river, but without success, and a 40 man ferry was installed. The Germans did lay some artillery fire but it was wild and didn't interfere with the operation. The swiftness of the current upset the first boat load to cross but after great difficulty the crossing was accomplished by the majorities of Companies "E" and "F". My uncle, Stan Janik, was in company "F". The companies then climbed the mountain on the east bank taking up a defensive position in the neck of the peninsula. It soon became apparent that supplying this force would be very difficult because of the river and rain which made a mire of the road to the ferry crossing. Enemy artillery also blasted out the CP and the town of Rader through which traffic enroute to the crossing passed.

A combat patrol led by Lt Harris of "F" company had the mission of destroying the nearly impregnable bunkers. After cutting their way through three barbed wire entanglements they reached a bunker. However, because of the moonless and exceedingly dark night they were unable to find a suitable place to lay their charges. The same day in daylight Lt Harris and my uncle's platoon advanced into German lines to probe them further. Moving south along the east side of a ravine they picked up a prisoner enroute. At that point the enemy opened on them from front, rear, and both sides, inflicting severe casualties on the platoon and pinning the remainder down. Most of the day was spent in this position, unable to move in any direction. Attempts to rescue the platoon were foiled by German mine fields which caused some casualties. At nightfall with the single prisoner captured in the morning leading the way, Lt Harris withdrew. With him came 8 wounded paratroopers of his platoon. Six dead, which included my uncle Stan Janik, had to be left behind. The prisoner identified the Germans as being of the 226IR and the 79th VG Division.

I have a casualty list of all the men from the Morning Report that I obtained. It would be interesting to know the prisoner's name and exactly how many men were on the patrol. Could they all have been wounded or killed except for Lt Harris? I do have more on this if anybody has interest. Thanks again. Bob

quote:

Originally posted by 6912299:
I have a casualty list of all the men from the Morning Report that I obtained. It would be interesting to know the prisoner's name and exactly how many men were on the patrol. Could they all have been wounded or killed except for Lt Harris? I do have more on this if anybody has interest. Thanks again. Bob

Thanks for telling the rest of the story, Bob. We don't often see this level of detail in queries such as yours. Where did you obtain your copy of the morning report that you cite? If you have a public records source, that information would be very useful to other researchers who inhabit this Forum.

Roger that Wailuna - Very helpful if available!!

Great Job Bob but now if you can you can help us do future research

Sgtleo

quote:

Originally posted by 6912299:
Hi! My uncle Stanislaw Janik was with Company "F" 507th PIR in WW2 and died in the Ardennes campaign on Feb 7, 1945 near Dasburg, Germany. I was able to obtain the casualty "Morning Report" which listed his military occupational specialty (MOS) as 675. Does anybody know what this specialty is? Thank you!

Bob,

Your uncle jumped into Normandy as the Company Runner for Co F 507th Prcht Inf 82nd Abn Div.

Pfc. Stanislaw M.Janik was killed on 7 February 1945 while cleaning his .30 Cal machine gun along with Pfc. George H. Prince his assistant. 55 men went on that patrol on 7 February 1945. Prince's father always sent a gift with his care package to his son. When they returned from the patrol Prince had been killed on a package had been delivered. They split up the package among the platoon, reasoning there was no sense in wasting it. http://www.airborneinnormandy.com