2. Unemployment rates fluctuated between 10 percent and 20 percent. Even if one could find a job, they may only have been employed for two or three days a week earning only a few dimes per hour.
3. In addition to national policies regarding the implementation of the Selective Service System there was public sentiment against drafting fathers who had a wife and young children to support, however, the ultimate decision on who would be drafted in a community was left to the local draft board.
Chapter 2
1. A Gallup poll that year reportedly showed that 96 percent of Americans opposed entering the war.
2. Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose, p. 22.
3. The Patton Papers 1940-1945, by Martin Blumenson, pp. 56-57.
4. Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose, p. 22.
5. 175,000 Regular Army and 225,000 National Guard.
6. Although we were not related by blood, she became known to me as Aunt Opal because of her close friendship with Mom.
7. German submarines roamed the Atlantic Ocean in packs attacking vessels bringing supplies to England (this German Naval tactic was known as the Rudel or “wolf pack” because teams of U-boats would gang up on convoys and simply overwhelm the merchant vessels and the defending warships accompanying them.). After Germany declared war on the US on December 11, 1941, the Kriegsmarine unleashed its submarine pack in American coastal waters; from May 1942 until December 1943, the Nazis launched an offensive in the Gulf of Mexico, codenamed Operation Drumbeat (Paukenschlag). The German Navy successfully attacked seventy-two merchant ships in the Gulf. Fifty-six ships were sunk by U-boat and an additional fifteen vessels were damaged. The greatest concentration of attacks and sinkings was just off the mouth of the Mississippi River because New Orleans was a shipbuilding center and the major United States port for access to the agricultural and manufacturing products in mid-America.
8. The Tigers’ Tale, Vol II, No. 4, August 26, 1943, “Somewhere in Tennessee” Blue T/4 Tells All, by T/4 Louis R. Stockstill.
9. 712th Tank Bn. Operational Reports – History – ARBN 712-0.1.
10. The Reconnaissance Company, designated Troop E of the old 11th Cavalry, was incorporated into a new unit designated the 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, also attached to the 10th Armored Division. Headquarters and Headquarters Troop of the old 11th Cavalry was re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Troop of the 11th Cavalry Group, Mechanized on April 19, 1943; the remainder of the 11th Cavalry Group consisted of the 36th and 44th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons reassigned from other divisions.
11. The name Samuel was dropped at a young age. He was known as Whitside and later Whit.
12. From a memorial to Samuel ‘Whit’ Whitside Miller submitted to the US Military Academy and subsequently published in the West Point Assembly and posted on the internet.
13. Tanks for the Memories, 2nd Ed. by Aaron Elson, pp. 64-70. Aaron Elson, conducted a series of interviews of 712th veterans in writing his book. Several men related stories regarding the reasons why Col Miller had been relieved of his command and Randolph appointed in his stead.
Chapter 3
1. US Army Tank Crewman 1941-45, by Steven J. Zaloga.
2. Sherman Medium Tank 1942-1945, by Steve Zaloga and Peter Sarson, pp. 3-4.
3. When production of the Sherman tank ceased in June 1945, 49,234 had been built, more than the combined British and German tank output.
4. This strategy was first put forward by Col. John Fuller, the chief of staff of the British Tank Corps, at the end of World War I. Fuller’s ideas, entitled Plan 1919, were developed in more detail in his books, Reformation of War (1923) and Foundation of the Science of War (1926). Unfortunately, Fuller’s ideas were ignored by the British Army but were studied in Germany and further developed for use in 1939.
5. The technical classifications and models of the German tanks progressed as improvements and modifications were made. Panzer I (Panzerkampfwagen I [PzKpfw I]) produced in 1934, was quickly succeeded by Panzer II (Panzerkampfwagen II [PzKpfw II]) in 1935.
Various models of the Panzer III (Panzerkampfwagen III [PzKpfw III]) were produced between 1937 and 1943: Sd. Kfz. 141 – Ausf. A-H (1937-1941); Sd. Kfz. 141/1 – Ausf. J-M (1941-1943); and Sd. Kfz. 141/2 – Ausf. N (1942-1943).
A series of the Panzer IV (Panzerkampfwagen IV [PzKpfw IV]) models were likewise introduced between 1942 and 1945: Sd. Kfz. 161 – Ausf. A-F (1937-1942); Sd. Kfz. 161/1 – Ausf. F2/G (1942-1943); Sd. Kfz. 161/2 – Ausf. G-J (1943-1945). Panther Tanks (Panzerkampfwagen V [PzKpfw V]), Sd. Kfz. 171, were brought into battle beginning in 1943. The Tiger Tanks (Panzerkampfwagen VI [PzKpfw VI] Sd. Kfz. 182 were produced from the latter part of 1943 until March 1945.
6. The Sherman Tank, by Roger Ford, p. 19.
7. Panther and Tiger series.
8. Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose, p. 63, and Sherman Medium Tank 1942-1945, by Steve Zaloga and Peter Sarson, p. 3.
9. Sherman Medium Tank 1942-1945, by Steve Zaloga and Peter Sarson, pp. 3-4.
10. Ibid., p. 24 and Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose, p. 63.
11. Death Traps, by Belton Cooper, p. 40.
12. Sherman Medium Tank 1942-1945, by Steve Zaloga and Peter Sarson, pp. 3-5.
13. Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose, p. 63.
14. Sherman Medium Tank 1942-1945, by Steve Zaloga and Peter Sarson, pp. 14-15.
15. Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose, p. 63.
16. Id. p. 63.
17. Id. p. 63.
18. Of the more than 88,000 tanks produced by the US during World War II, over 49,000 Sherman tanks, compared to the entire German production of all models of tanks between 1934-1945, totaling less than 28,000. In addition, Great Britain had produced more than 24,000 tanks.
19. The Sherman Tank, by Roger Ford, p. 35.
20. Ibid., p. 38.
21. Ibid., pp. 37-40.
22. US Army Tank Crewman 1941-45, by Steven J. Zaloga, p. 22.
Chapter 4
1. General Absolution in place of Confession and Communion as Viaticum – with the “no fast” privilege replaced the regular Church rules for Confession and fasting before communion until VE Day, War from the Ground Up, by Colby, p. 470.
2. 712th Tank Battalion Operational Journal – ARBN 712-0.7, p. 1.
3. While in England, all Allied tanks were waterproofed and equipped with snorkels in order to allow them to be deposited by the landing crafts in the water rather than having to bring the craft onto the shoreline.
Chapter 5
1. Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, p. 18 (unpublished).
2. Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen E. Ambrose, pp. 18-19.
3. Patton and His Third Army, by Gen. Brenton G. Wallace, Stackpole Books, pp. 33-34.
4. Death Traps, by Belton Y. Cooper, pp. 49-50.
5. Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, p. 29. (unpublished)
6. A History of the 90th Infantry Division in World War II, p. 11.
7. During the Normandy Campaign, parts of the 712th were also attached to the 8th Infantry Division on a few occasions.
8. A History of the 90th Infantry Division in World War II, p. 1.
9. Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, p. 17. (unpublished)
10. Less A Company, which was attached to the 82nd Airborne Division.
11. Jim Cary was a Captain in C Company when the battalion landed in Normandy but he was wounded during the first few days. After his recovery, he was assigned to B Company.
12. Tanks for the Memories, by Aaron Elson, p. 29.
13. 712th Tank Battalion After Action Report, 3 July 1944.
14. A History of the 90th Infantry Division in World War II, p. 11.
15. Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, p. 25. (unpublished)
16. Charles Cragg Jr., Charles Davidson, Edward C
. Dowgiert, Henry James, William Land, Frank Merritt, Edward Pomeroy, William Ross, Raymond Searcy, Rodford Stroup, Bruno Vercillo, and Juel Winfrey.
17. Harry Neuhauser, brothers, Leon and Harvey Fowler, Doye Smith, William Bilger, and Orville Dame.
18. Catholic Chaplain, Fr. Joseph J. Esser, Salvation Army Chaplain Edgar H. Stohler, and Disciples of Christ Chaplain, James M. Hamilton.
19. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, p. 25, 496; A Soldier’s Story by Omar Bradley, p.295-297; The Patton Papers 1940-1945, by Martin Blumenson, p. 497. The members of the 90th also devoted a full chapter in War from the Ground Up in providing a brutally frank and honest assessment of the senior officers that led them in battle.
20. Citizen Soldiers, by. Stephen E. Ambrose, p. 35.
21. Ibid., p. 45.
22. 712th Tank Battalion After Action Report, 27 July 1944.
23. ‘St. Lô, France – Breakthrough or Breakout?’ by J. J. Witmeyer, Purple Heart Magazine, Vol. LXVIII, No. 3, May/June 2003.
24. Patton Unleashed, by Tim Ripley, p. 77.
25. A Soldier’s Story, by Omar Bradley, pp. 295-297.
26. Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke of Patton In an interview with Brenton Wallace while Wallace was writing the book Patton and his Third Army, Stackpole Books.
27. Patton – A Genius for War, by Carlo D’Este, p. 332
28. Ibid., pp. 332-333.
29. Ibid., p. 387.
Chapter 6
1. August 1944, the Campaign for France, by Robert A. Miller.
2. Patton Unleashed, by Tim Ripley, p. 76.
3. War As I Knew It, by George S. Patton Jr., p. 342.
4. Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, pp. 29-30 (unpublished).
5. Patton and His Third Army, by Gen. Brenton G. Wallace, Stackpole Books, pp. 200-201.
6. The Patton Papers 1940-1945, by Martin Blumenson, p. 497.
7. A Soldier’s Story, by Omar Bradley, p. 297.
8. War As I Knew It, by George S. Patton Jr., p. 99.
9. Battalion Surgeon, by William M. McConahey, MD, p. 73.
10. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 20.
11. The capture of Mayenne was the subject of an advanced infantry officers course taught by Capt. Boyd L Brown at The Infantry School of Fort Benning following World War II.
12. Vutech held the rank of Lieutenant at the time of the capture of the bridge at Mayenne. Later in the war he promoted to the rank of Captain.
13. In War from the Ground Up, Capt. John Colby gives an accurate and detailed account of the action involving the bridge at Mayenne, however, his account contains one slight erroneous fact. Colby misidentifies the tank commander as Lt Lombardi from C Company. Normally, C Company of the 712th was assigned to the 357th Regiment and B Company of the 712th was assigned to 359th Regiment, however, on August 5, 1944, a platoon of tanks from B Company was the closest to handle the mission at the bridge.
14. Tanks for the Memories, by Aaron Elson, p. 199.
15. Hamilton held the rank of Major at the time of the capture of the bridge at Mayenne. Later in the war he promoted to the rank of Lt-Col.
16. War from the Ground Up, by Colby, pp. 181-184.
17. Ibid., pp. 177-178.
Chapter 7
1. Death Traps, by Belton Y. Cooper, p. 263.
2. The award ceremony took place after VE Day in Amberg, Germany. Sparks did not receive a copy of his Silver Star citation for almost 60 years; he received a copy in 2004 when it was discovered in the records of the 90th Inf. Division, not the 712th’s records.
3. Battalion Surgeon, by William M. McConahey, MD, p. 77.
4. A Soldier’s Story, by Omar N. Bradley, p. 375.
5. Hamilton held the rank of Major during the battle of the Falaise Gap. Later in the war he was promoted to the rank of Lt-Col. before retiring from the Army.
6. Below the Salt, by John A. Busterud, Foreword.
7. Tanks for the Memories, by Aaron Elson, pp. 192-193.
8. Leslie Vink was a sergeant during the battle at the Falaise Gap, but was later promoted to lieutenant.
9. Tanks for the Memories, by Aaron Elson, p. 199.
Chapter 8
1. The Patton Papers, 1940-1945, by Martin Blumeson, p. 522.
2. War As I Knew It, by George S. Patton Jr., p. 340.
3. There were five kinds of Army rations: A, B, C, D, and K
A – which was practically all fresh or frozen food served in camp or permanent quarters; fresh meat, vegetables, fruit, bread, butter, etc.
B – ‘10 in 1’ – enough food for three meals for ten men for one day – powdered eggs and powdered milk, cereal, coffee, canned butter, canned roast beef and other meats, canned fruit, dried vegetables, crackers, jam, etc. Two hot meals could be served out of this ration which was all packed in one box or carton.
C – small cans of mixtures of meat and vegetables, beans, jam, crackers, powdered drink, sugar, cereal, etc.
D – an emergency ration of solid rich chocolate.
K – done up in a neat, waterproof cardboard package about the thickness of an average book but narrower. The outside was camouflaged so that if left on the ground it would not show from the air. Each package contained one meal for one man and was marked Breakfast, Dinner, or Supper. Breakfast contained fruit bar, Nescafé, sugar, crackers and a small can of cooked ham and eggs. Dinner and Supper contained a can of cheese or potted meat, crackers, orange or lemon powder, sugar, chocolate or other candy, cigarettes and chewing gum.
Both C and K rations could be eaten cold, or heated if the GI had the opportunity to heat it up.
4. Patton and His Third Army, by Gen. Brenton G. Wallace, Stackpole Books, pp. 206-207.
5. The Patton Papers, 1940-1945, by Martin Blumenson, p. 531.
6. The Siegfried Line 1944-45, by Steven J Zaloga, p. 12.
7. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 30.
Chapter 9
1. Brig.-Gen. Raymond McLain was promoted to the rank of Major General on September 22, 1944. On October 15, 1944, Brig.-Gen. James Van Fleet was named commanding officer of the 90th Infantry Division.
2. The History of the 90th Infantry Division in World War II, p. 34.
3. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 33.
4. War from the Ground Up, by John Colby, p. 301.
5. The History of the 90th Infantry Division in World War II, p. 39.
6. The History of the 712th Tank Battalion, p. 35.
7. Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, p. 61 (unpublished).
8. Battalion Surgeon, by William M. McConahey MD, p. 99.
9. Death Traps, by Belton Y. Cooper, pp. 133-134.
10. Bringing Up Father – Diary of a WWII Chaplain, by Revd Donald J. Murphy, p. 66 (unpublished).
11. 712th Tank Bn. B Company History.
12. Tanks for the Memories, by Aaron Elson, p. 228.
13. A History of the 90th Infantry Division in World War II, p. 48.
14. Tanks for the Memories, by Aaron Elson, p. 229.
15. Ibid., p. 230.
16. Patton and His Third Army, by Gen. Brenton G. Wallace, Stackpole Books, pp. 135-136.
17. Citizen Soldiers, by Stephen Ambrose, p. 136.
18. War As I Knew It, by George S. Patton Jr., p. 184.
19. Ibid., p. 184-185. In a footnote, Col. Paul Harkins elaborated:
On or about the fourteenth of December, General Patton called Chaplain O’Neill, Third Army Chaplain, and myself into his office in Third Headquarters at Nancy. The conversation went something like this:
General Patton: ‘Chaplain, I want you to publish a prayer for good weather. I’m tired of these soldiers having to fight mud and floods as well as Germans. See if you can get God to work on our side.’
Chaplain O’Neill: ‘Sir, it’s going to take a pretty thick rug for that kind of praying.’
General Patton: ‘I don’t care if it takes a flying carp
et.’
Chaplain O’Neil: ‘Yes, sir. May I say, General, that it usually isn’t customary among men of my profession to pray for clear weather to kill fellow men.’
General Patton: ‘Chaplain, are you teaching me theology or are you the chaplain of the Third Army? I want a prayer.’
Chaplain O’Neil: ‘Yes, sir.’
Outside the Chaplain said, “Whew, that’s a tough one!
What do you think he wants?’
It was perfectly clear to me. The General wanted a prayer – and he wanted one right now – and he wanted it published to the command.
The Army Engineer was called in, and we finally decided that our field topographical company could print the prayer on a small-sized card, making enough copies for distribution to the army.
It being near Christmas, we also decided to ask General Patton to include a Christmas greeting to the troops on the same card with the prayer. The General agreed, and wrote a short greeting, and the card was made up, published, and distributed to the troops on the twenty-second of December.
20. Battle, The Story of the Bulge, by John Toland, pp. 206-207.
21. Ibid., p 218.
22. Ibid., p.219.
23. War As I Knew It, by George S. Patton Jr., p. 186.
24. From the Review of the News, 6 October 1971.
25. Training Letter No. 5
Chaplains of the Third Army,
At this stage of the operations I would call upon the chaplains and the men of the Third United States Army to focus their attention on the importance of prayer.
Our glorious march from the Normandy Beach across France to where we stand, before and beyond the Siegfried Line, with the wreckage of the German Army behind us should convince the most skeptical soldier that God has ridden with our banner. Pestilence and famine have not touched us. We have continued in unity of purpose. We have had no quitters; and our leadership has been masterful. The Third Army has no roster of Retreats. None of Defeats. We have no memory of a lost battle to hand on to our children from this great campaign.
A Tank Gunner's Story: Gunner Gruntz of the 712th Tank Battalion Page 27