1st Battalion 39th Infantry Regiment: February 2009

Friday, February 27, 2009

Chuck Braziel, Alpha Co & CSC 1/39 Inf: 1979-1982

A few months back I got some news from Chuck Braziel -- lots of news! and more than I can handle in my usual Saturday morning rush to catch up -- anyway, this is my attempt to capture the main parts. Thanks, Chuck, for the splendid set of memories, photos and names.

First, a memory jogger, this photo of Chuck in front of Alpha Co. Somewhere, there's a shot of me next to the same sign in the same pose. I can tell you, this really brings it back . . . not least because as I write I am freezing my butt off here in the 'home office', enjoying some Baumholder weather, up at zero-dark-thirty, on my fifth coffee, looking a fool in my OD beanie, and wondering whether I can finish this post before my numb toes drive me back to the living room and the fire. All that's missing is the rain and snow.

From Chuck:

I retired from AD in 2007, but was assigned to A Co/CSC, 1-39 INF from 1979-82. Actually, remember Johnny Wireman (previous entry) from the old days. . . .

. . . the late 70's were a rough time for our Army. We were kind of sandwiched between Vietnam and the Reagan era build-up. Saw many a soldier sent home early for various infringements. A long story for another day....

Our BC at the time was LTC Ken Date (pronounced Da - tey) who hailed from Hawaii; LTC Date's forefathers were Japanese Samurai as he told us during our in-brief to the battalion.

Then-CPT Bob Maginnis -- well known defense commentator for the history channel as well as the major news networks -- was either the CO for A Co or CSC at the time.

[Note from MG: sounds like CPT Maginnis may have shared some common TOW experiences with CPT Ray Nagy.]

H D Smith Barracks, Baumholder FRG c. 1982

And now for something completely different: a snapshot of H D Smith Barracks.

This photo is from a collection sent to me by Alfred Powell, who served with the 1st Battalion, 39th Infantry from 1981-1984. Paddy's Gang was located at H D Smith Barracks from late 1966 until 1/39 Infantry was redesignated to 4/12 Inf (M) in 1989. That's a fairly long time to spend in one overseas location.

If you look closely, you'll see our famous 'AAAO' spelled out in rocks; somewhere in the Kremlin archives, there's a satellite photo of that.

This will also look familiar to anyone who served in Baumholder during those years.

Thanks, Alfred! More to follow, in time.

And, yes, I do have Alfred's contact details for anyone trying to get back in touch.

AAA-O!

UPDATE: just giving this a bump for those who served at H D Smith Barracks, Baumholder FRG back in 1982.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Paddy's Gang 1946: PFC Thomas Stathes Part 2

Just following up on the earlier posting re Thomas Stathes, here's some of his work from Paddy's Gang back in 1946.

AAAO!

Hi

I'm sending you some cartoons from my father's collection. He was there in 1946, 39th Infantry Regiment. We have portions of the 39th Infantry Regiment newspapers also.

Regards

Peter Stathes

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Sunday, February 22, 2009

SGT Robert Krause, Paddy's Gang

Fresh news from Robert Krause, one of Billy Joel's old neighbors:

Hello, I was in the 1/39 Inf Mech, attached to the 8th ID in Baumholder Germany. At discharge I was Sergeant Krause. I am from the Allentown, PA area.

Am waiting to hear back from Robert about when he served, but didn't want to delay posting this any longer. I've got his contact details when you want to get in touch.

AAAO!

UPDATE

I was there from 1968-1970.

I am not in touch with any of the people from back then. There was a Sergeant Young, he was from Florida I think, and Spec 4 Watson from Texas, and Private Fred Rizzo from Philly. It's been a long time, so I forgot so many of them . . . OK hope this helps. . . .

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Dale Hardesty, Cannon Co, 39th Infantry Regiment, WWII

Re: LT Dale Hardesty, Cannon Co, 39th Infantry Regiment, WWII

I've corresponded with R. D. (Dave) Hardesty III on a number of occasions, and have been awed by the dedication he's shown to searching for information about his father's service and the history of the 39th Infantry. To be sure, I have been very little help, and I can only hope that other vets and interested parties may be able to provide some further insights. That said, the evidence in his emails makes me suspect that Dave is already better placed to advise than most others. Anyway, I have his email address and am sure he'd be keen to hear from anyone who can answer specific unit questions or just share insights about military records research.

Now, having sat on this far, far longer than I should have, I've taken the liberty of combining a couple of Dave's messages in the interest of getting the information into a single posting (in other words, the parts that don't flow well are down to my own editing). So, without further fanfare:

Hello!

Having taken up active service, my nephew has rekindled an interest in his grandfather’s war record. He’s interested in having my father’s medals replaced: I am interested in documenting this part of our family history. My father passed away in 1977.

I am researching Lt. Raymond Dale Hardesty, who was with Cannon Company, 39th Infantry from 21 Feb 43 through 6 Oct 44. I’d like to know more of the functions of Cannon Company in any regiment … if I cannot discover the actions of his particular outfit.

. . . I decided to draft an account of his wartime experience. I’ve been stymied by the loss of his records in a fire at the Nat’l Personnel Records center, but am always looking for sources. Any suggestions would be appreciated. It is quite frustrating that, in demobilization, the DD 214 discharge papers contained typos and I don’t believe they were even complete. I’ll bet Dad just wanted out, he didn’t care what the paper said. I think the clerk typing the papers was probably overwhelmed. I have had some help decoding Dad’s separation papers, and am left with a few questions.

Was he in the first battalion?

I realize I need to read a few General Orders, as there are omissions on the separation papers. Do you know how to go about obtaining them?

In box 26, ‘Battles and Campaigns,’ I see GO 33 WD 45 for Normandy, GO 46 WD 45 for Northern France, and GO 40 WD 45 for Rhineland. There are no GO indications for Tunisia or Sicily. And I assume there is a typo: ‘Air Offensive Europe’ that should read ‘Ardennes Offensive Europe.’

In Box 29, Decorations and Citations I see the following General Orders:

GO 34 Hq 9th Inf Div 3 Mar 45 (referring to a Unit Citation)

GO 89 9ID 44 (referring, I assume, to a Bronze Star with 1 Oak Leaf Clusters)

GO 35 101 GH 44 (referring to Purple Heart with 1 Oak Leaf Clusters)

I see no V beside the BSM (Bronze Star Medal). What are some of the reasons one might receive a Bronze Star for merit? Do you know why the Unit received the citation? What is a unit, exactly?

Does one have to be wounded to receive a Bronze Star? I may have made incorrect assumptions when trying to link up the dates of his four wounds with decorations. In trying to piece together newspaper accounts with the separation papers I think I’ve discovered there may be a lag time between an incident and when he was decorated. Is it possible that two medals caught up with him in one hospitalization?

Where can I learn more about these specific decorations? Are ‘After Combat’ or ‘Morning’ reports available somewhere?

Are you aware that the University of TN is holding documents pertaining to the 39th? After finishing his book Victory at Mortain, Mark Reardon deposited memoirs, interviews, and copies of orders in Hoskins Library. Though his book dealt with the 30th, some folders are designated as follows:

Box 1

Folder 64-Interviews-39th Infantry Regiment

Box 2

Folder 18-Memoirs 39th Infantry Regiment

Folder 30-Misc-Notes 39th Infantry Regiment

Folder 46-Record of Events 39th Infantry Regiment

Box 3

Folder 11-Reports-39th Infantry Regiment

Folder 27-Reports-Company Morning Reports-39th Infantry Regiment

Folder 42-Reports-Record of Events 39th Infantry 1st Battalion

Folder 48-Roster-Battle Honors

Also, I have a substantial collection of Government Issued photographs that I would be willing to part with. They are heavily curled, and I believe were issued to help identify German gun emplacements and such, in connection with Box 31, ‘Service Schools Attended:’ G 2 Photo Inter NAPRW Tunisia Africa.

I’d appreciate any help you can provide. I can provide an image of the separation papers if someone is interested in helping further.

Best regards,

Dave Hardesty
Portland, OR

Congratulations to Dave for his work so far, and I do hope that some other researchers may be able to fill in some of those gaps in this part of Paddy's Gang history. This is clearly the project of a lifetime.

But wait -- there's more. Dave has also provided a bibliography of useful sources on the 39th Infantry Regiment in WWII. I expect to post this separately, but until I re-type and format it to avoid HTML bugs, you can get a copy by sending me an email. Thanks again to Dave Hardesty for the research.

AAAO!

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SSG Orlo Roy Jensen, 1/39 Infantry, WWII

I just received a message from Roy Jensen, whose father Orlo Jensen had a very impressive service record with the 39th Infantry Regiment during the Second World War. SSG Jensen saw action with Paddy's Gang throughout the whole of the US participation in the 'European' war, from start to finish, all the way from North Africa to Germany.

We know Orlo Jensen began (and almost certainly finished) as an Infantryman; his Combat Infantryman's Badge proves that. And, being in Company Mike, he would very likely have been a heavy weapons team leader, either on 81mm mortars or the .30 cal machine guns.

Further details of his campaigns are included in the excerpt from Roy's email, below. I note that SSG Jensen was awarded three (three!) Bronze Stars.

I certainly encourage anyone who knows more to write in, whether they have further news of Orlo Jensen, or Mike Company, or who can just tell more about the regiment's campaigns during WWII.

Obviously, there aren't a lot of WWII vets left, but from time to time I hear from some and I will keep you all posted if I do.

Roy, thanks again for writing -- this is fascinating.

AAAO!

+++++++++++++

I'm trying to find any information on my father during WWII:

ORLO ROY JENSEN SSG
3 BRONZE STARS
39th INFANTRY

He was part of the unit when it was stationed at Fort Lewis . . . stayed with the unit until he went home at the end of the war.

Can you suggest where I could find unit histories from WWII?

////////////////

Military Records indicate:

Company M, 39th Infantry

S/Sgt O.R. Jensen ASN 39675754

Letter to his mother identified him in the following places

1 Oct 1942 Pvt, Co H, 15th Inf, Camp Pickett, Virginia

17 Dec 1942 Africa - Algeria, French Morocco

1 Jan 1943 CIB, Normandy, Tunisia

12 July 1943, PFC, South Africa

Sep 1943, Sicily

12 Oct 1943, Sicily

1 Nov 1943, Sicily

1 Dec 1943, England

7 Jan 1944, England

10 Jan 1944, England

8 Feb 1944, PFC England

19 Oct 1944, Germany

20 July 1945, Travelled on SS Santa Cecilia

31 July 1945, Arrived at New York, Fort Douglas

3 Aug 1945, Separation from the Army

8 Aug 1945, Recorded his discharge papers at Logan County Court House

Participated in the following Campaigns

Algeria

Morocco

Tunisia

Sicily

Campaign Stars For

Africa

Tunisia

Sicily

Normandy

Northern France and Belgium

Rhineland

Awards:

3 Bronze Stars

Contact details

Roy Jensen
yor191919@sbcglobal.net

All in all, that's a mighty long way to travel, and the list of locations and campaigns neatly sums up the story of the 39th Infantry Regiment in WWII. Again, if you have anything to add, drop me a line or contact Roy Jensen directly.

AAAO!

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Sunday, February 08, 2009

Billy D Kennedy, CSC GSR, 1/39 Infantry, 1976-1979

News from Bill Kennedy, who sounds like he's presently got a pretty cool job:

I am Billy D Kennedy, MSG (RET). I was a Section Sergeant CSC GSR Section, and TOW Platoon. In Alpha Co I was the Platoon Sergeant of the Third Platoon, August 1976 to July 1979.

The First Sergeant of Alpha Co was E. Meadows.

Bill Kennedy
MATERIAL CONTROL ADMINISTRATOR
DERRICK BARGE 16

E-Mail: bdkennedy@bayou.com

AAAO!

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1st Battalion 39th Infantry Regiment

Friday, February 27, 2009

Chuck Braziel, Alpha Co & CSC 1/39 Inf: 1979-1982

H D Smith Barracks, Baumholder FRG c. 1982

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Paddy's Gang 1946: PFC Thomas Stathes Part 2

Sunday, February 22, 2009

SGT Robert Krause, Paddy's Gang

Dale Hardesty, Cannon Co, 39th Infantry Regiment, WWII

SSG Orlo Roy Jensen, 1/39 Infantry, WWII

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Billy D Kennedy, CSC GSR, 1/39 Infantry, 1976-1979

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