81st Infantry, 322 Regiment.."Wildcats"

I'm new to this page...I've been looking for info on the 81st for awhile now, my grandad Sgt. James J. Wierwille served with them from 1942 till the end of the war. I'm not sure which battalion he was in, but he was in Company "H". He fought on Anguar....anything would help...thanks.

 

Wow..I actually have the 1948 editon of The 81st Infantry Wildcat Division in WW2....everything I wanted to know...

 

You know, we fought with the 81st Division on Peleliu. They were a real crack outfit. I didn't speak to any of them on Peleliu; nevertheless, their actions spoke for themselves.

The only thing none of us Marines liked was when we took Ngesebus we only had about 40 yards to go in order to clear the whole island. When they sent in the 81st after us, the 81st started, not where we left off, but about 100 yards back from there! That sort of ruffled our feathers.

But now I know that if they were sent in for a mopping up action, they had start a ways back so that they could get any Nips that we passed up before we left.

sm

 

Only part of the 81st Infantry Division was on Peleliu -- the 321st and 323d Infanty Regiments. The 321st was in heavy combat alongside the 1st Marine Division until being withdrawn to relieve the 6th Marines on Ngebus and Kongauro Islands.

The 322nd was on Angaur Island, and remained there to finish clearing the island while the 321st moved to Peleiu to join the 1st Marines and was later joined by the 323d which in the mean time had occupied Ulithi Atoll.
Duckbill

 

What 6th Marines? We were the 1st, 5th, 7th and 11th Marines on Peleliu. Only the elements of the 5th Marines went to Ngesebus.

sm

 

Sorry... I double checked my source, Shelby Stanton's OOB, and it says 6th Marines. He musta made a mistake, which I unwittingly prepetuated here.

Duckbill

 

I am new to this forum. I just wanted to mention that last evening, July 4th, as I was seated in my lawnchair awaiting the fireworks in our town to begin, I noticed an old vet wearing his "World War Two Veteran" ball cap and also an "Honor Flight" golf shirt. As we had at least an hour before showtime, I pulled my chair up and got acquainted with this gentlemen and asked him his outfit, which turned out to be the 322nd Regiment of the 81st Division. The 88 year old veteran-- a former BAR man-- gave me almost a month by month account of his war service, including his time on Anguar, where he had an interesting encounter with a Jap tank, among other things. His memory was keen in almost all respects, and he even remembered the names of the various ships that transported the regiment throughout the Pacific. I noted that he was wearing hearing aids but he told me he did not lose his hearing in combat, but rather aboard the first transport out to the Pacific. It seems that he was down in his berthing compartment when the ship went to general quarters. He and a couple of other guys were locked in there, with the watertight hatch dogged down from the outside-- they couldn't get out. Apparently a large caliber US Navy deck gun was mounted to the deck just above this compartment, and only a few minutes after the call to general quarters that gun started firing, resulting in a terrible concussion down in that compartment. It was all apparently a drill, not a real attack, but he lost his hearing that day, and he told me that forever after that, when he went aboard a transport he slept on deck. All in all, it was a great experience to speak with this distinguished vet of the 81st.

 

My father was an Army Infantry Lt, land at Anguar they took quick control , then his unit went over to Peleliu he talked very little about his service time I do know he was Regular Foot Infantry and his unit relieved the Marines and went up Bloody Nose Ridge , I sure wish I had the whole story but he was mum on it all just bits and pieces but I bet he had some story to tell.

 

My father was an Army Infantry LT as well. He was wounded Nov 17th on the Peleliu Islands and was sent to Baxter General Hospital in Spokane Washington to recover. I have a newspaper article about it, but it does not identify the actual unit or island. I would like to find any connections to this battle about his unit, command, so forth. I remember as a kid playing with his Wild Cat patch that he kept with his medals and other army stuff.

 

Gentlemen -- I have the privilege of being the 81st RSC Historian -- the current 81st Wildcats! Our Annual 81st Wildcat Association Reunion will take place on 15-18 September 2011 at the Stone Mountain Inn, GA this year. I invite you to join us. We are encouraging all WWII Veterans and sons/daughters/relatives & friends of the 81st IN DIV to attend. A book has finally been published on the 81st in WWII -- "Victory at Peleliu: The 81st Infantry Division's Pacific Campaign" and we intend to have a book signing ceremony for all the veterans that attend!! A last blast if you will. For more information -- soon -- look at our Website! 81stWildcatAssociation.com Hope you can make it !! Regards, Dr J.

 

Our reunion in September always reviews the history of the 81st's operations. Please see my post! Regards, Dr J.

 

My dad was 81st Wildcat 316th Field Artillery Battalion, Company A; As my memory serves, he was on Anguar; and then to Peilieu. He spoke specifically about Pelilieu before he died;

 

My dad was with the 81st Wildcats from Alabama to Aomori Prefecture. He was in the 323rd Infantry and took a camera with him.
I am still adding to a website of the activities of the 81st, complete with pictures and scans of Division newsletters and pictorial supplements.
My signature links to this.

Photo of camp at Peleliu with the battlefield in the background

 

My Dad, Sgt. Ray G. Masters, was in the 81st, 322nd, Co. K and landed on Anguar on 9-17. He managed to leave the island without injury. He was awarded the Silver Star for leading a tank and the rest of his unit across enemy territory. Anyone out there remember him? Unfortunately, he passed away May 5, 2005. I have a large hard cover book on the history of the 81st in WWII. It is about 9" x 12" x 1" and is in rather poor condition. Pages are OK, but the cover and binding are falling apart. As a retired US Air Force veteran, I have his uniform and all the records that survived. I would like to hear from anyone who might have known him. Thanks

 

My dad carried a camera through his time in service. I have posted several photographs from Peleliu, Leyte and Japan online (see signature link). Do you also have any of the Wildcat division newsletters?

 

My Uncle. Glen Harman from Michigan(Skid) was in 81st - Mopping up the Japanese in hiding in the caves on Anguar. Any info is helpful. They moved in after the marines. He is dying now a the VA in Los Angeles and telling me his stories. Pretty bloody, Japanese eating the dead marines. he had a lot of kills and also was injured towards the end.
I will be writing a biographical novel this year on his history. Any photos, recounts, stories will be helpful. Send to John Harman, email jcharman@ymail.com
My recent novel "Blood and Butterflies" is on Amazon.

 

Click on my signature link for lots of gleaned text and photo links, including scanned copies of "The Wildcat" and associated Pic Parades.
The Wildcat (incl. Pictorial Supplement) - Newsletter of the 81st Infantry Division
If your uncle was Infantry then he was likely in the 321st or 322nd. The 323rd (my dad's regiment) did not land on Anguar.
Did your uncle go on to Leyte and Japan or was he too wounded?


Apparently, the landing of the 81st Division (on Japan) took three days:
Reports of General MacArthur, Volume 1 Supplement, MacArthur in Japan, chapter II, Page 42, 45
P45-"Before the end of September, IX Corps [Eighth Army] units landed in force in northern Honshu. 81st Division troops landed on 25 September and established Division headquarters in Aomori.
Regimental command posts were located as follows: the 321st Infantry at Tsuchiya, the 322d Infantry at Hirosaki, and the 323d Infantry at Hachinohe"
P42-"farther north, the 81st Division, IX Corps, landed in the Aomori area on 27 September"

 

Hello. My Grandfather was in the 323rd H co. He was in the 6th squad of the 3rd platoon(except from April 1943-January 1944 when he drove a jeep for the second machine gun platoon). His name was Glen Williamson. I was fascinated listening to his stories before he died. He wrote an autobiography which includes some interesting stories from his military days. He writes about a capt. Shultz, a Sgt. Wright, driving for Sgt. Meister, Paul Rainey, Harvey...his stories include alot of details that are amazing that he remembered. He was part of the "rubber boat" detachment that cleared the Ngulu atoll where they killed and captured a few japs. I noticed the pictures of the Wildcat monument that they built out of stone. One of the pictures has a soldier standing on the left side of the monument, leaning on his left arm. He looks alot like a picture that I have of my grandfather. Curious if you had info on who is in that picture.