Hello. I am researching Sgt. Neville Brand, decorated WWll hero and actor. Can anyone advise me as to how to obtain details of his military record. Or, details of his division pre- and post- Battle of the Bulge. Thanks.

Have you tried Google? It took about 2 seconds to find a bunch of stuff about Neville Brand and the 83rd "Thunderbolt" Division.

BTW, not to take denigrate his service, but Brand WAS NOT among the highest decorated Soldiers of WWII, that's a Hollywood myth.

Gumbydammit,

Your second comment is why I can't rely on Google and I have posted to this forum.

The Google results are erroneous on his personal life as well as his military/

Thanks, Jerry

I wouldn't trust wikipedia, but there are links to the 83rd Infantry Division Association on Google. There are also other postings that might point you in the right direction.

Hope the following helps!!!


NEVILLE BRAND
Setting the Record Straight
by Robert E. Witter

How many of you remember the tough, but compassionate prison guard Bull Ransom in the 1962 classic "The Birdman of Alcatraz?" What about Duke, the barely restrained prisoner of war in "Stalag 17" ? Well, Ransom, Duke, and dozens of other characters, shared the same craggy face and gravelly voice of one man — Mr. Neville Brand — an "actor's actor" and real life World War II hero. If you do a little searching, you'll find references to his acting career, but nearly every biographical account of his military service is just, plain wrong. As his brother, Bryce Brand, once put it, "There was a lot they printed about Nev that wasn't true. To illustrate his point, one example is a published account of how Neville Brand participated in (and barely survived) the ill-fated Dieppe Raid on the coast of Western Europe -- two years before he ever left the States!

One of seven children, Neville Brand was born to Leo and Helen Brand on August 135h, 1920, in Griswold, Iowa. At the age of seven, he and his family moved to Kewanee, Illinois, where he grew up, graduated from high school, and entered the Illinois National Guard on October 23rd, 1939, as a private with Company F, 129th Infantry. A year-and-a-half later, Corporal Brand was inducted into Federal service with the 129th, and assigned Army Serial Number 20602562.

After five weeks of infantry training, and an unsuccessful attempt at Officers Candidate School, the twenty-four-year-old former shoe salesman departed for the European Theater of Operations on December 9th, 1944, and arrived there on December 16th. Relatively little is known of his nine months and nineteen days overseas, but his official military records reflect that Neville Brand participated in the Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central European campaigns, and received the Silver star while convalescing at the 21st General Hospital for gallantry in combat. His other awards and decorations are the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Ribbon, the European/African/Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with three Battle Stars, one Overseas Service Bar, one Service Stripe, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge.In a rare 1966 interview in which he consented to speak of his wartime service, Brand recalled how he earned his Silver Star when his unit came under intense fire from German machine guns located within a hunting lodge. "I must have flipped my lid," he said, for "I decided to go into that lodge." Disregarding his own safety, he worked his way around to the rear of the lodge/command post, burst in through the back and single-handedly dispatched the enemy within.

Later, on April 7th, 1945, exactly one month and a day before the official German surrender, Sergeant Brand was wounded in action by the Weser River. Felled by a gunshot to his upper right arm, and pinned down by withering enemy ground fire, Brand lay there slowly bleeding to death. "I knew I was dying," he said, "It was a lovely feeling, like being half-loaded."

Rescued and treated, Brand was evacuated to a military hospital and, on September 17th, 1945, he departed for the United States. Less than a month later, Staff Sergeant Brand was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.

After his discharge, Neville Brand studied acting under the G.I. Bill, and appeared in his first film as a sadistic hoodlum opposite Edmond O'Brien in the 1950 production of "D.O.A".Over the next thirty-five years, Neville Brand consistently delivered outstanding performances on the stage, television and film, winning the prestigious Sylvania Award in 1958 for his performance in "All the King's Men.Having performed with Mr. Brand in a 1964 episode of the television show Combat!, Mr. Richard Peabody (who played the part of "Littlejohn") recalled that, "He was sort of an actor's actor...his peers respected his work a great deal." Moreover, "He was one of the nicer guests we had on the show; extremely friendly, and very well liked by both the cast and the crew.

One of Neville Brand's passions was reading. Having once visited Mr. Brand's home in Malibu, co-star Richard Peabody remembers, "I saw all these book cases — I couldn't believe it, I've never seen such an array of books in anybody's private home in my life -- it looked like a library ... I was amazed about what an avid reader he was. You look at the titles, and his tastes were really eclectic — he was interested in everything.

Neville Brand's home was destroyed by fire, and most of his personal mementoes (and cherished books) were lost. Some years later, reclusive and enduring a protracted struggle with emphysema, Neville Brand passed away on April 16th, 1992, at Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento, California. His ashes are interred at East Lawn Memorial Park, Sacramento, California, in a vessel shaped like a book, with his name engraved on the spine.



Sgtleo

Thanks. I had seen that during my google search. Is there any way to see Sgt. Brand's record? Would it have the details of the actions that led him to the decorations that he received. Or is there a way to trace the offensive that he and his platoon participated in?

Could this possibly the Battle you are looking for???????

Quote:-
"April 7th, 1945 actionThe President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to

Private First Class Willy F. James, Jr.
United States Army
for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

Private First Class Willy F. James, Jr. distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism at the risk of his own life on 7 April 1945 in the Weser River Valley, in the vicinity of Lippoldsberg, Germany. On 7 April 1945, Company G, 413th Infantry, fought its way across the Weser River in order to establish a crucial bridgehead. The company then launched a fierce attack against the town of Lippoldsberg, possession of which was vital to securing and expanding the important bridgehead. Private First Class James was first scout of the lead squad in the assault platoon. The mission of the unit was to seize and secure a group of houses on the edge of town, a foothold from which the unit could launch an attack on the rest of the town. Far out in front, Private First Class James was the first to draw enemy fire. His platoon leader came forward to investigate, but poor visibility made it difficult for Private First Class James to point out enemy positions with any accuracy. Private First Class James volunteered to go forward to fully reconnoiter the enemy situation. Furious crossfire from enemy snipers and machine guns finally pinned down Private First Class James after making his way forward approximately 200 yards across open terrain. Lying in an exposed position for more than an hour, Private First Class James intrepidly observed the enemy’s positions, which were given away by the fire Private First Class James was daringly drawing upon himself. Then with utter indifference to his personal safety, in a storm of enemy small arms fire, Private First Class James made his way back more than 300 yards across open terrain under enemy observation to his platoon positions, and gave a full, detailed report on the enemy disposition. The unit worked out a new plan of maneuver based on Private First Class James; information. The gallant soldier volunteered to lead a squad in an assault on the key house in the group that formed the platoon objective. He mad his way forward, leading his squad in the assault on the strongly held enemy positions in the building and designating targets accurately and continuously as he moved along. While doing so, Private First Class James saw his platoon leader shot down by enemy snipers. Hastily designating and coolly orienting a leader in his place, Private First Class James instantly went to the aid of his platoon leader, exposing himself recklessly to the incessant enemy fire. As he was making his way across open ground, Private First Class James was killed by a burst from an enemy machine gun. Private First class James’ extraordinarily heroic action in the face of withering enemy fire provided the disposition of enemy troops to his platoon.

Inspired to the utmost by Private First Class James’s self-sacrifice, the platoon sustained the momentum of the assault and successfully accomplished its mission with a minimum of casualties. Private First Class James contributed very definitely to the success of his battalion in the vitally important combat operations of establishing and expending a bridgehead over the Weser River. His fearless, self-assigned actions, far above and beyond the normal call of duty, exemplify the finest traditions of the American combat soldier and reflect with the highest credit upon Private First Class James and the Armed Forces of the United States."
End Quote

Sgtleo

Sgtleo,

This is great. The platoon leader may have been Sgt Brand and I can now assume he was in the 413th Infantry. There has been so much misinformation posted as to which unit he was with.

I have a few Battle of the Bulge books from the library and I'll go back and check on the 413th.

Please let me know which website this was found on.

Also, if you know of a way that I can retrieve the details of the citation for Brand's Medal of Honor, that would certainly be another piece of the puzzle.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

Chack this data out first before assuming anything!!!

Neville Brand (1920 - 1992)
Actor, Military Figure. Born in Griswold, Iowa, prior to his acting career he served as a Sergeant in the 331st Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division and received the Silver Star Medal during World War II. After the war, he worked on US Army Signal Corps films, enrolled at the American Theater Wing
-----------------------------------------

Birth: Aug. 13, 1920
Death: Apr. 16, 1992

Actor, Military Figure. Born in Griswold, Iowa, prior to his acting career he served as a Sergeant in the 331st Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division and received the Silver Star Medal during World War II. After the war, he worked on US Army Signal Corps films, enrolled at the American Theater Wing, New York in 1946 and worked on Broadway. He relocated to Hollywood and started his big screen career in "D.O.A." (1950), as a henchman named Chester. His other film credits included "Stalag 17" (1953), "Return From the Sea" (1954), "Love Me tender" (1956) and "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962). In the 1960s, he was a regular on television and was most noted for his role as Al Capone on "The Untouchables". He also appeared on "The Twilight Zone", "Daniel Boone", "Bonanza" and starred in his own TV series, "Laredo". He died of emphysema in Sacramento, California. (bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith)

Sgtleo

quote:

Originally posted by gumbydammit:
Have you tried Google? It took about 2 seconds to find a bunch of stuff about Neville Brand and the 83rd "Thunderbolt" Division.

BTW, not to take denigrate his service, but Brand WAS NOT among the highest decorated Soldiers of WWII, that's a Hollywood myth.

Indeed, not among the most decorated of WWII, but award of the Silver Star is no small feat!

That's the point, the internet is a great tool but there is too much misinformation on Sgt Brand which is why I have posted to military forums who may be able to give me the facts.

The only consistaancy seems to be that he we was shot at the Weser River and I'm trying to retrace his steps from when he landed in Europe.