Connecticut Men 45Th - Thunderbird - Division October 1945 45Th DIVISION COMES HOME
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Connecticut Men 45th - Thunderbird - Division October 1945 45th DIVISION COMES HOME The 45th (Thunderbird) Division re• were granted furloughs, which were to turned to the United States aboard six expire between Oct. 14 and 18th. different vessels, the veteran troops Suffering heavy casualties during the landing at Boston and New York. The hard fighting in which it was engaged, the division had been overseas since June, 1943. 45th added many new faces to its ranks An advance detachment of the division while overseas. Many of the newcomers arrived at Piermont, N.Y., August 3, were from the 103d Infantry Division aboard the U.S.S. Sea Tiger. The main and the 10th and 14th Armored Divisions. body did not reach the United States Under the plans originally set up by the until more than a month later. Army, the 45th was to be reassembled at Docking at Boston Sept. 10 were the S.S. Camp Bowie, Texas, in mid-October. It Sea OwI and the S.S. Marine Devil, (pictured was not definitely known whether or not on the cover). Aboard the Sea Owl were the changes in the point discharge system 1st and 2nd Battalions, 157th Infantry Reg• would cause any revision of the arrange• iment; the 195th PI team, Headquarters ments. and Headquarters Co. Aboard the Marine Devil were the 120th Engineers, the 45th Cav. Recon., the 45th Q.M. Co., Special CONNECTICUT SERVICEMEN'S Troops and 700th Ordnance. COMMEMORATIVE BOOKLET On Sept. 1 the S. S. Madawaska Victory landed at Boston with troops of the 3rd Vol. I Oct. 14, 1945 No. 18 Battalion, 157th Infantry; and the 45th CARLETON B. CLYMA, Editor Signal Co. This booklet on the homecoming of the Landing at New York Sept. 12, aboard 45th (Thunderbird) Division from the the S.S. Marine Panther, were men of the European war was prepared for the men by the Office of the Governor, as an addi• 158th, 160th, 171st and 189th Field Artillery tion to the souvenirs and memorabilia Battalions, the 120th Medical Co., the of those who served in the European 45th CIC Det., Headquarters and Head• Theater of Operations. quarters Battery and Military Police. The courtesies and assistance of public relations officers, at the ports and at the Reaching New York Sept. 14 aboard the Fort Devens Reception Station, greatly Aquitania were members of the 179th and facilitated the gathering of the material 180th Infantry Regiments. for this booklet. The group pictures are Men of the 45th who landed at Boston from Signal Corps photographs. The Battle Log herein was prepared by the were sent to Camp Myles Standish, near Office of Technical Information, Army Taunton, Mass., for staging. Those who Ground Forces. landed at New York staged through Camp A limited number of copies is available Shanks, near Orangeburg, N.Y. and Camp for distribution to Connecticut men of the Division. They can be secured by written Kilmer, New Brunswick, N. J. After the request to the Office of the Governor, State staging process, Connecticut men were Capitol, Hartford. sent to Fort Devens, Mass. There men Reproduction of original material is with sufficient point score were prepared permissible only with written authorization. for discharge. Others of the famed division 2 45th DIVISION BATTLE LOG Sicily — The 45th has a unique history headed the drive for the Belfort Gap. —unique in that it has experienced four Initial German resistance was cracked and D-Days. These were in Sicily, at Salerno, the 45th headed once again toward Berlin. Anzio, and southern France. This history Epinal, strongly-defended, was taken in in combat starts when the 45th landed in September and shortly after that the Sicily on July 10, 1943, the first major division forced a crossing of the Moselle amphibious landing on the European River. The division then entered the continent. It fought across the island heavily-wooded forest of the Vosges foot• rapidly until it reached Motta Hill. When hills. Movement was slow and enemy re• the 45th had won that ground and passed sistance increased. Still the 45th pressed on, on, the fight there was spoken of as the taking St. Benoit, crossing the Merthe battle of "Bloody Ridge". It was taken River and liberating Houseras. only after four days of fighting up steep Maginot Line — In early Dec. 1944, ridges under enemy observation. the division crossed the Zintzel River and Salerno — On Sept. 10, 1943, the soon found itself facing the Maginot Line. division landed at Salerno, Italy. Against By Dec. 13, 1944, the date which marked bitter opposition the 45th made headway, the division's 365th combat day, it was and after 46 days of fighting had crossed well through the Maginot defensive belt the Volturno River, on Nov. 3, 1943. and meeting bitter opposition in the Lem¬ Anzio — After 119 days of combat, the bach-Wingen Valley. The winter cam• division was relieved so as to make another paign in Alsace was bitter. In Feb. 1945, amphibious landing, this time at Anzio. the division was relieved, but in March The landing was made Jan. 22, 1944. The moved north to the Sarreguemines area Germans had formed a ring of steel around preparatory to an attack on the Siegfried the beachhead, and against the enemy's Line. On March 15 the 45th set its sails attempts to force them back into the sea, for the industrial Saar. the division stood its ground for four The Rhine — The Rhine was crossed, months. German field orders called for north of Worms, on March 26, after annihilation of the division less than a Homburg and Kaiserlautern had been month after its landing. While losses were swallowed up by the Infantry. The men heavy, the 45th held fast, and on May 23, drove on into Aschaffenburg where they 1944, was in on the big push which resulted ran into fanatical opposition from Nazi in American forces breaking out of the boys, girls and old men. Anzio sector. The Danube — Then the 45th headed Rome — When the division started to for Nuremberg, crossed the Danube, and roll again it ground its way to Rome and with the 42d liberated the prisoners of the past the Eternal City. It was relieved notorious Dachau concentration camp. north of Rome after clearing the ap• A week before V-E Day the division proaches to Cassino. marched into Munich. At war's end it was France — On Aug. 15, 1944, the divis• stationed near Dachau. The division had ion landed in southern France and spear• had 511 actual days of combat in the line. 3 45th DIVISION STORIES EDITOR'S NOTE: Memories of the European experience will blur with the passing of years. Accuracy will diminish. Details will become vague and half forgotten. To record, in black and white here and now, the mood, the impressions, the exciting events of the worst days and the best is the purpose of these stories. Connecticut men of the 45th were asked for their own stories and impressions and in their own words they are here so recorded: Asevica, William A., Pfc, Co. D., 179th countries will never compare with the Inf., Waterbury. States. I'd say they are fifty years behind "The place I'll remember is Ennington, us." Germany, where we lost two of the buddies Celotto, Joseph F., S/Sgt., Co. G., I came over with. Rough and how! That's 157th Inf., Stamford. where I came close." "Two general impressions stick in my Biernacki, Henry F., Pfc, Hq. Co., mind. One is the total disgust of American 157th Inf., New Britain. soldiers with war; the other, how rough "The way the dead people were piled up war really is. In regards to the Germans, in that concentration camp at Dachau it's my opinion that you can never tell is something I'll never forget. The whole what they are thinking. Outwardly they'd place stunk so bad you could hardly stay treat you good, but you never knew what in the camp. We were assigned to the was behind it, what caused them to act camp for five days as guards to preserve friendly, or what they were thinking about order. All the time I was there I wanted to us. I always say that after this war, the give those people living in the camp guns first guy I spot on a soap-box advocating and let them go out and do anything they war, or anything that could help get us wanted to the Heinies." into war, won't be in shape to advocate anything after I get through working on Brooks, Allen H., Pfc, Co. C, 157th him." Inf., East Killingly. "The sight I saw that I'll remember Clement, Anthony L., Pfc, Co. L., longest was thirty dead G.I.s strewn along 179th Inf., Bethel. a path through the woods in front of "I've been in Paris; I've been in the Seigfried Line. They were all lying on London. Paris is a beautiful place; London their backs with their hands over their isn't too bad. So I'm going back home. heads. They had been stripped of shoes I like that better than any place." and equipment. You couldn't miss seeing what must have happened. They were Constantine, Robert, Pfc, Co. C, captured by the Germans and shot in cold 180th Inf., Lakeville. blood." "The fighting was just about over when I got there, but I was in it at Nuremberg Brown, Allen V., Pfc, Co. H., 179th and it was rough. We really had it pretty Inf., Lakeville.