Dec.22....A .50 Cal. Machine Gun and crew are set to repel attack by
advancing Germans near Malmedy, Belgium. 120th IR.PHOTO PAGE 8
Dec.22....A .50 Cal. Machine Gun and crew are set to repel attack by
advancing Germans near Malmedy, Belgium. 120th IR.
Dec. 15th....T/5 David L Wright of Raleigh, NC and Pfc. Louis Saldarin of
Union City, NJ decorate their Christmas tree while the hole in the wall next to
the window remind them of the Battle for Pattern. 197th FA.
Dec. 1st....Sgt. Jack B. Wilhelm, China Grove, NC cleans his rifle in front
of a dugout near Lohn, Germany. Inside is Cpl. William J. Culp, Pineville,
NC. Both are riflemen of the 120th IR.
Dec. 31st....Lt. Gary Miller, Beulah, N.D. of the 30th G-2 section interprets
recent photographs to check enemy defenses in preparation for an American
attack. Near Francorchamp, Belgium
Jan. 15th....Pfc. Edward Mendyk, Chicago inspects a booby-trapped U.S.
canteen found in an abandoned German tank knocked out just beyond Geromont,
Belgium. Same photo found on page 141 of 120th history.
Guns of Battery B, 461st. AAA attached to the 30th, overlook one of the
valleys 1/2 mile from Stavelot. January '45.
Jan. 13th....Men of Co. G, 119th lay wire to command post north of St. Vith.
Jan. 19th....30th Command Post..Malmedy, Belgium.
Dec. 29th....30th Division troops march through Malmedy which was leveled in
error by US bombers.
30th convey heads east on the rue de la Gare towards N32.
Jan. '45....Malmedy.
Aerial photo near the northern area of St. Vith. Jan. 45. Also
found on page 155 of 120th history book.
Jan. 23rd....Co. E, 117th move through Sart-Lez-St. Vith the village German
name is Rodt.
Jan. 23rd....Three kilometers north of St. Vith 30th men pass a German
Sturgeschutz on the right and the body of a grenadier left in the ditch.
Jan. 9th....Pfc. Wiley H. Branch, Huntsville, Alabama of C Battery, 30th
Infantry Division washes up outside his snow covered dugout near Francorchamps,
Belgium.
Jan. 16th....120th troops in Thirimont which changed hands four times in 24
hours and was shelled by both sides. Also found on page 144 of 120th
history book.
Jan. 22.....Pfc Marcelli Jaeger, Newark, NJ listens to a citizen tell how
Nazi paratroopers stole food from him near Ondenval.
Jan. 22.....at Recht civilians are being screened by Pvt. Henry Franklin of
the C.I.C. (Army Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), formed on 1 January 1942.
CIC agents were assigned to follow up reports of subversive activity) of the
30th ID seeking sympathizers that may have helped the Germans when they
counterattacked on Dec. 17th.
Jan. 6th.....Command Post of 30th Division, Francorchamps, Belgium.
Jan. 10th...Three infantrymen of the 117th Regiment open a road block to
allow two children to pass through on their sled. Left to Right: Pvt.
William W. Wills, Pittsburg, PA; Cpl. Rinsy G. Abshire, Roanoake, VA; and Pvt.
Silvester Kraprsyk, Chicago, IL.
Jan. 20th....Civilians leaving Recht because of heavy shelling as the 30th
moves forward.
Jan. 22...Belgian tells Pfc. Marcelli Jaeger, Newark, NJ about a Nazi soldier
stealing his horse in Ondenval.
Feb. 23rd....U.S. shells burst on the German side of the Roer River as the
30th Division artillery begins a barrage on the river front.
Caption for this photo from archives reads as following...I'm a little
confused by it: Men of the 30th Division search for the body of their first
sergeant missing after a night bombing of their company command post. A
dump cart and rails were salvaged from a nearby factory, and a winch form a 1
1/2 ton truck was used to pull the car so debris could be hauled away from the
wrecked command post. The enemy bomb also killed their company commander.
This occurred near Eschweiler, Germany. Any information would be
appreciated.
Feb. 23rd....Co. L of the 120th move forward near Schophoven, Germany as a
medial jeep brings back wounded.
Feb.22....Pfc. Joe Meyerak, Hibbing, MN at plow and jeep driver, Pfc. Goerge
Nesky, Whitaken, PA head out across the field to dig the furrow for
communication lines. 30 Signal Co. between Inden and Pier, Germany.
Feb. 23rd....Co. L, 120th men move through a smoke screen near Schophoven.
Feb. 27th....Co. E, 119th cross open fields near Kirchherten.
Oct. 4th....Special thanks to Henri Rogister for identifying this photo.
Location is the German village of Roetgen, Germany..SOUTH of Aachen. The
building on the right was a mill before WWII. The men are pumping water
from the Vesdre River and purifying it for transportation to the front. So
obviously these are not 30th men but certainly depict the terrible weather
conditions in the area.
This photo also appears in the Oct. 22, '44 Yank magazine article found on this
website:
Link to article...CLICK
PDF file.
Aug. 9th....Photo Credit: A battle of the hedgerows takes place near Mortain,
France, as American infantrymen rush from their hedgerow to enemy held hedgerow.
Photo found in Saving the Breakout by Alwyn Featherston with this caption:
American GIs sprint along the base of a hedgerow just outside St. Barthelmy.
Also found in Breakout and Pursuit, page 487. Most probably 117th men.
30th infantryman display by Vincent Heggen of Belgium.
Liberation of Cambrai, France, September 2nd, 1944....photos provide by Larry Bochinski, Cambrai, France. 1944 photos were taken by civilians after 4 years of occupation. We truly appreciate being able to view them!!!
Shortly before noon on the 2nd German retreating traffic collided with the
30th column at an intersection in Cambrai. German tanks had blundered into
Cambrai from the east unaware of the American presence. After a brief
engagement with the 3rd Battalion, 119th Regiment, two of the German tanks were
burning at the intersection and the rest withdrew. They were reported in
various places in and near Cambrai for some time afterward, but there was no
second battle with them. Shortly after noon the 3rd Battalion reached the
RR tracks in the NE outskirts. We were delayed about 2 hours in Cambrai by
the enemy and by, let us say, "local hospitality". (119th History)
1939 Map
119th column passes through Cambrai.
Exit of the city to go (on the right) to Valenciennes and Tournai in Belgium.
The bridge is a railroad bridge still in use today.
The entrance in the city of troops coming from Peronne, the building with two
towers (16th century) is called "Porte de Paris" (Paris Gate).
The main square of Cambrai, the building with the columns in the background
is the City Hall.
Story from 743rd TB history about battle not far from Cambrai.
Members of 117th, Co. A....photos provided by Chip Krokoski whose uncle Pfc. Theodore Bialko was like a second father to him:
PFC Theodore Bialko, Farrell, PA; Wounded Alsdorf, Germany, 7 OCT 44.
Sgt James M. Bottoms, Wounded 21 DEC 44; Mentioned onpage 103 of "The Curlew"
for his actions in Stavelot, Belgium, He is identified in the text as "PFC".
S/Sgt Michael Sydoryk, Awarded Bronze Star for Actions on 2 MAR 45 and an
Oakleaf Cluster to the Bronze Star for actions on 24 MAR, 45.
PFC Leonard Sampaolo, Trenton, NJ; Wounded 15 JUL 44 and 1 APR 45.
Front lying down: Pfc. Leonard Sampaolo, Trenton, NJ.; Left kneeling:
Clarence Redd;
Standing center: Pfc Theodore Bialko, Farrell, PA.; Standing right: Sgt. James
M. Bottoms
Standing left with BAR: PFC George B. Barrs; Kneeling: PFC Theodore Bialko;
Right with shovel: PFC Leonard Sampaolo.
Left: (Rank unidentified) Clarance Redd, PFC Leonard Sampaolo, PFC George
Barrs, PFC Ted Bialko, S/Sgt Michael Sydoryk.
Front, left to right: PFC Ted Bialko, PFC Leonard Sampaolo Rear, left to
right: Sgt James M. Bottoms, S/Sgt Michael Sydoryk, Clarance Redd, PFC Walter
Bohard.
Front, left to right: PFC Leonard Sampaolo, Trenton, NJ; Sgt James Bottoms,
Griffin, GA; (rank unidentified) Leo Albert, (city unidentified) Maine; Back,
left to right: PVT Harold D. Hamilton, Arab, AL;
S/Sgt Michael Sydoryk, Garfield, NJ; (rank unidentified) Edward Fleisch,
Brooklyn, NY.
Left to right:(unidentified, Harold Hamilton?),PFC Ted Bialko,
(Unidentified), S/Sgt Michael Sydoryk.
Dec. 10th, '44...Sgt. Bar T. Mac Caspac of Chicago examines mud shoe of bridge
holding 60-ton weight of tank and mine explorer under test. The bridge
sank but little under the weight. 739th Tank Battalion...Mine Explorers
was attached to the 30th division during the early weeks of December.
Below a photo of a mine explorer in action...photo taken about 4 miles east of
Malmedy on January 16th, 1945, a T1E1 works to clear the road of mines while a
M3 Half-track gingerly follows close behind.
Malmedy damaged by American bombers photo in January 1945....previously to my
knowledge unpublished.
The Aachen Plain...I found this photo on ebay. This photo is found in
Workhorse of the Western Front with the following description: German Trenches,
German Targets. From positions dug by the enemy, these machine gunners
fire across the open country of the Aachen Plain. Tremendous photo!!