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January 9, 1946: Discharge
Category: Background
Post contains background information
From 346th Infantry:
We reassembled at Ft. Benning, Ga., and learned that the Division was being inactivated. Soon trains to various posts throughout the country were taking the members of the regiment to new assignments, some going home discharged, some going to sweat out the point system in camps in the states, and others to replace the Pacific veterans in the Army of Occupation.
The inactiviation date of the Division was 21 September, 1945.
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September 16, 1945 (Change of Address)
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July 9, 1945 : Return to the US
From the 346th History:
On July 9 the Regiment boarded the Army Transport Fred Lykes at Le Havre, France, and sailed for Boston the same day. The crossing was uneventful and we landed in Boston on 19 July, nine months and two days after we left New York.
The Regiment was processed through Camp Miles Standish, Mass., and within 24 hours every man was on his way to a separation center near his home and 30 days furlough.
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June 21, 1945 (morning)
Thurs. morn.
I found this list in my pocket and decided that if it were home I'd have a greater chance of being able to keep it. I got a beautiful sleep last night and am feeling great this morning.
Love,
Donald
MOVES OF THE REGIMENTAL COMMAND POST SINCE LEAVING
PETTYPOOL, ENGLAND
INFORMATION & EDUCATION 346TH INFANTRY REGIMENT
November 25, 1944 – Left Pettypool, England
November 26, 1944 – Arrived Southhampton, England
November 27, 1944 – Disembarked at LeHarve, France
November 29, 1944 – Arrived Redhorse Assembly Area, Critot, France
December 5, 1944 – Left Critot, France via 40 & 8’s
December 7, 1944 – Metz, France
December 9, 1944 – Kalhausen, France
December 10, 1944 – Achen, France
December 11, 1944 – Gros-Rederching, France
December 15, 1944 – Riesling, France
December 21, 1944 – Bliesbruck, France
December 24, 1944 – Munster, France
December 26, 1944 – Assembly area in vicinity of Reims, France
December 29, 1944 – Glaumont, Belgium
December 30, 1944 – Recogne, Belgium
January 1, 1945 – Freux-Suzerain, Belgium
January 7, 1945 – Remagne, Belgium
January 10, 1945 – Rondu, Belgium
January 14, 1945 – Aspelt, Luxembourg
January 15, 1945 – Betzdorf, Luxembourg
January 26, 1945 – Hautbellain, Luxembourg
January 27, 1945 – Lingreef and Espelar, Luxembourg
January 30, 1945 – St Vith, Belgium
January 31, 1945 – Herresbach, Belgium
February 2, 1945 – Schonberg, Belgium
February 3, 1945 – Auw, Germany
February 7, 1945 – Roth, Germany
February 12, 1945 – Kobscheid, Germany
February 20, 1945 – Auw, Germany
February 26, 1945 – Roth Germany
March 6, 1945 – Kerschenbach, Germany
March 7, 1945 – Schuiler, Germany
March 8, 1945 – Junkerath, Germany
March 13, 1945 – Rubenach (Koblenz), Germany
March 19, 1945 – Kobern, Germany
March 23, 1945 – Seberhausen, Germany
March 24, 1945 – Oppenhausen, Germany
March 26, 1945 – Crossed Rhine River to Osterspai, Germany
March 27, 1945 – Schweighausen, Germany
March 28, 1945 – Lindenholzhausen, Germany
March 30, 1945 – Kraftsholm, Germany
April 5, 1945 – Heringen, Germany
April 7, 1945 – Bad Liebenstein, Germany
April 9, 1945 – Tombach, Germany
April 11, 1945 – Oberwillingan, Germany
April 12, 1945 – Ehrenstein, Germany
April 13, 1945 – Etzelbach, Germany
April 15, 1945 – Dragensdorf, Germany
April 17, 1945 – Treuen, Germany
April 25, 1945 – Limbach, Germany
May 6, 1945 – Rebensgrum, Germany
May 7, 1945 – Auerbach, Germany
May 21, 1945 – Elsterberg, Germany
May 27, 1945 – Pormitz, Germany
May 29, 1945 – Dittersdorf, Germany
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June 10, 1945
Sunday June 10
10:30 AM
Hello Folks,
Church is at eleven this morning but if I spend ten or fifteen minutes writing now I’ll have just a little start for later. It’s only a short walk so I won’t have to leave until about ten minutes till.
I got to bed pretty early last night so I didn’t sleep quite so late this morning as I do sometimes when I don’t have to get up for reville. I think it was some time between eight and eight-thirty when I crawled out. The sun was shining then but in the last couple of hours it has clouded up. I at least hope that it doesn’t rain ‘till after twelve since our church services are held in the open. Of course if it did it wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve ever got wet.
Well from all indications our stay here is just about over. All indications seem to say that we’ll start moving west in the next few days. As near as I can get it we’re going to stop in France for a few days before completing our trip. I haven’t heard anything that would even hint this but if I was guessing I’d say that we’ll go by trucks to there and take trains the rest of the way. - 10:45
After Dinner
Well the rain did hold off long enough for us to have our church. It almost seemed as if it were waiting for church to be over before it began though and dinner was just a little late on account of it. This is one of those days that is cloudy one minute and the sun is shining brightly the next. No doubt we’ll get more rain before the day is over.
I can see now that I won’t get this finished in time to go out on today’s mail. So I might as well wait till after the mail comes today to finish it because I could get a letter from you. It’s been almost three days since I heard now. And anyway if don’t tell you in this one I might not get around to it for several days. Providing nothing happens this will possibly be the last I’ll get to write for a little spell. There’s no need of saying why.
While I think of it, there’s an article in the new (June) Reader’s Digest that you should read. I happened to get ahold of one this time without waiting for you to send it. You are interested in reading things that will enlighten you on the war and this certainly is a good description of “task force” warfare. The article is “The War from Inside a Tank.” It was written under a different circumstance but it gives you a very good idea of how we came across Germany. Of course, as I’ve said before, all infantry companies didn’t see what we did but since ours was right with (or rather on) the tanks, there’s hardly a thing in the article that we didn’t experience.
I wonder if Mother recognizes this stationery. It’s what I received from the ladies of the church. I forgot whether you said it was the Ladies Aid or Missionary Circle; it just said Orestes Baptist Church on the package. Thanks a lot anyway.
8:30PM
They’ve told us that tomorrow is the last day we’ll be able to send mail while we’re here so I’d better finish this tonight. I went to a church service at seven this evening or I’d probably have finished this sooner.
I was very glad to get your letter of June 4 this afternoon. And the news about Wendell in it made me even gladder.
I see in Stars & Stripes that the little cold spell1See the paragraphs for May-June 1945 here you mentioned about did some damage to crops in different parts of the country. Hope things around there didn’t suffer too much. I trust that things in general are running smoothly back there. Be good and God bless you.
Your son and brother,
Donald
Paper in envelope dated June 22, 1945
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May 8, 1945 (VE Day)
Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. From the 346th History
Orders were received on May 5 for a limited objective attack the next morning. So Third Battalion jumped off at 0830, meeting some small arms fire and a few rounds of artillery. Plans for the following day’s attack were stopped at 0525 on May 7 by a message from the Division Commander reading: “Sit tight, hold what you have, accept any surrenders. “
GERMANY SURRENDERS
At 0945 May 7 the following message was received from the Division Commander: “Representatives of the German High Command signed the unconditional surrender of all German land, sea, and air forces to the Allied Expeditionary Forces and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command at 0700, 7 May 1945 under which all forces will cease active operations at 0900, 7 May 1945. Effective immediately all offensive operations cease. Troops will remain in present positions. Moves involved in occupational duty will continue. Due to difficulty in communications, there may be some delay in similar orders reaching the enemy troops, so
full defensive precautions will be taken.”The commander of a German Artillery Battalion came through the lines to arrange surrender of his unit to the Second Battalion at 0500 in the morning. The German colonel did not know at the time of the surrender that the war had ended.
May 8 found the Regiment accepting the Artillery Battalions surrender at 0500 as previously arranged.
May 8, 1945
Germany
Dear Folks,
Yesterday sure was a great day for me. We attacked on the sixth1This would have been the attack described from the point of view of the 347th Regiment on page 11 of this document, but it mentions that the 346th was also involved. and were supposed to shove off again yesterday morning. But instead of receiving an attack order, we were ordered just to stay where we were. Then a little after ten o’clock we got the news that the Germans had signed unconditional surrender. Even though it doesn’t take effect officially till tomorrow, it meant that we were though fighting. Boy oh Boy! What a feeling. The Lord has certainly been good to me. I’ve got lots to thank Him for.
The “Stars and Stripes” also brought us some pretty good news yesterday. It said that over half of the combat troops would get a furlough back in the States before they are shipped to the CBI2 CBI stands for The China, Burma, India Theater, but evidence shows that it was used by the soldiers in Europe as a term for the Japan/Pacific Theater as a whole. Don’t plan too much on it because there’s just about as much chance against it as there is for it. But wouldn’t that be great!
Yesterday also I received a box from you and my name was turned in for a pass to Paris. It was the package containing pop corn and it really hit the spot. The corn was still as crisp as it was when you packed it. It would have done your heart good to have seen the fellows (and me) go after it. I wish I could send the box home and let you fill it up again.
If my pass had come a little bit sooner it might have kept me out of a little fighting but I’m glad to get it now. I’ll be going in a day or so. Considering everything that happened, wasn’t yesterday a pretty eventful day for me?
Well it looks like Spring again today. Maybe the weather is doing a little celebrating. We’ve really had some pretty rough weather for this late in the season during the past week. There has even been a little snow. I hope it stays nice now.
It’s been almost a week now since I got any letters but no doubt there will be two or three when they do come.
Hope everything is ship-shape back there. Be good and God bless you.
Love
Donald
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Germany: May 1945
The following is the official “After Action Report” for the 346th Regiment, May 1945, from the 87th Infantry Archives
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April 19, 1945
K Company was detached from Task Force Sundt on the 20th
From the April “After Action Report”
April 19, 1945
Hello Folks,
This will be another one of those little letters but it will let you hear from me just one day later. After a two day vacation I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve got more real rest these days than I usually get in three times as much time. I expect and feel that it has been too good to last much longer.
One of the big reasons for this letter was to make a request. I thought of it just a little while after I had given last night’s letter to the mail clerk. I know that it will take a month to get here but if you send it first class mail it will help some on the time. What I want is a remedy for athlete’s foot. Now that the weather is warming up it’s beginning to give me some trouble again. I found the answer to my problem but I left it in my duffle bag. An army doctor recommended it to me and I got it in Columbia, S.C. The name of it is Whitefield’s Ointment. I got it in a Rexall drug store so you should be able to find it. It really does the work too.
I had a happy experience a little while ago. For several days now I had thought that I had lost my new pen. I wasn’t going to say anything about it for a while though. Well we got in a bunch of clean clothes and I was taking everything out of my pockets. I just about jumped out of my shoes when I found the pen in the bottom of my left hand short pocket. It had fallen down underneath my new Testament. I had felt and felt in that pocket but I guess I had missed it.
I expect that Dad and Jim will be out of school by the time you get this. How does the Principal feel about his job by this time? Well happy vacation to you.
Hope things are OK back there. I’ll be seeing you one of these times.
Your son & brother,
Donald