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2nd Armored Division

Discussion in 'Western Europe 1943 - 1945' started by Buten42, Jul 5, 2009.

  1. fasteddy

    fasteddy New Member

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    My Pop, now 94, mention liberating prisoner camps, none contained Jewish ppl in general. They also, sort of liberated a German Baby Camp... Where picked German women were used to have babies with picked true German males.
     
  2. Buten42

    Buten42 Member

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    What is your father's name. I have a roster for the 67th Armored Regiment-could be the same one you have.
     
  3. fasteddy

    fasteddy New Member

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    Ed Savacool
     
  4. Powerhouse

    Powerhouse Member

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    Can you give us his name? I will see if I can found more informations about him.
    You can also read this book; "Hell on wheels : the 2nd armored division" by Donald houston.
    Sadly, The 78th AFA is not the most documented unit of the division...
     
  5. Buten42

    Buten42 Member

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    He's listed in the roster PFC Edward M. Savacool, Hq. Company of the 3rd Battalion. Shows he was awarded the Purple Heart.
    The 67th Armored History has a pretty good account of their action. Not real detailed but matches the after action reports pretty well, (probably where the author got most of his information). Is there anything in particular you want me to look up? Ask him if he remembers First Sergeant James Sharver-he was the top for Hq Company.

    Captain John Erbes served as Battalion Surgeon for 3rd Battalion until he was promoted and assigned to Regiment. Erbes was the most decorated surgeon in WWII and wrote a book after the war titled "Hell On Wheels Surgeon". I had the honor to have him send an autographed copy of his book when I told him my brother was in the 67th Regiment. He may have worked on your father depending how serious his wounds were. Thank your father for his service-he seen a lot of action.
     
  6. J. Rzeczkowski

    J. Rzeczkowski New Member

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    Hello, everyone! This is my first post here after a lot of reading...

    I'm looking for more information on this division and my grandfather. His name was Edwin Rzeczkowski from Illinois and he was an interpreter. My dad said he spent time in North Africa, specifically Morocco, and also helped liberate a concentration camp. He was insistent that he was in the 2nd Armored Division and received a purple heart, which we're pretty sure was buried with him. This is all I know. My dad recently passed away and he was the only one who knew all the stories from his dad unless he started writing them down like we had been asking him to.... He LOVED taking notes, but so far all I've found are recipes and lists of books.

    I have no paperwork or uniform photos. As his granddaughter, are his military records something I could easily get?

    I'll probably post this in information requests, but thank you for any help, more knowledgeable people!
     
  7. Buten42

    Buten42 Member

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    Found some things on an Edwin Frank Rzeczkowski, born 1919, died 1987 in Illinois.
    If that's him, I show he was in the Quartermaster Corp. (couldn't find a division) This guy's service number is 20619788.
    I looked in the 67th Regiment, 2nd Armored roster for his name but didn't find him. The 2nd Armored did invade N. Africa and spent some time there before invading Sicily and then going to England and to Normandy, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

    It appears there is a VA memorial which would have his rank, and perhaps the unit he was in. I couldn't find him on "Find a Grave" but if you could locate his grave you might get some more information. If he had a VA funeral service, the cemetery would have a copy of his separation papers in order to get the head marker from the VA. You might ask them for a copy.

    You can contact the NARA in St. Louis for a copy of his records if they wasn't destroyed in the fire they had in 1973. I don't think grandchildren are considered Next of Kin so you may have to pay to get his records. Go to the NARA website and click on "military records'-- you can download a form 180 and mail it in, or even do it on line, They will let you know what they have and what it will cost before they copy anything.

    You might also ask the VA for any records they have. The VA records would be archived in St. Louis also. If they have a local VA office where you live, you might talk to someone there and get some direction.

    Sorry I couldn't be more help. I no longer belong to Fold 3 or Ancester.com but perhaps someone else can help.
     
  8. J. Rzeczkowski

    J. Rzeczkowski New Member

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    Yes that's him! At least his name. He was born in 1921 and died in 1973. I think he had a military funeral because we have the flag that was on the casket. He was buried near my house so I've seen the headstone. It says Army WWII. He is on Find A Grave too, but I manage his page so that's really no help.

    Headstone:

    Imgur

    Thanks for your help!
     
  9. JTM

    JTM recruit

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    Hello,
    I have found this statement about the fight in Sicily on 11/12 July 1943:

    A battalion commander of the 67th Armored Regiment stated:
    "... We found in actual tank vs. tank fighting, and we ran into some Mark VI´s at Gela, that the tank unit that will win is the one that is "quickest on the draw" and can shoot first and straightest. At Gela we ran unexpectedly into a flock of German tanks, and in the ensuing fight, we were able to knock out six Mark VI´s, seven Mark IV´s and III´s. We attribute our success in this to our better maneuverability, and quicker deployment, and to our superior gunnery..."

    Although there were only 17 Tigers in Sicily it seems that there were some more wrecks than Tigers. Sometimes the reports of the divisions include information about the position of the tank wrecks. If anyone has information about these Tigers I would like to comfirm which wrecks were Tigers and which ones not.

    Best regards.
    Javier
     
  10. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    If there are multiple units reporting wrecks it's possible the same wrecks were reported more than once as well.
     
  11. JTM

    JTM recruit

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    It seems that the Tiger wrecks were counted after the battle. The 2nd AD reported six Tigers, but in the same area the 16th IR reported another six. Sure that these were the same Tiger wrecks. From those six, one was destroyed by the 82nd AB Division and another two by their own crews after running out of gas. The remaining three were knocked out by the 2nd AD tanks, 1st ID AT guns or the US artillery.

    Regards!
     
    lwd likes this.
  12. A Cline

    A Cline New Member

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  13. A Cline

    A Cline New Member

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    My father sailed home from Marseille on January 20, 1946, as a member of the 78th FA, Company C.

    His CO was Lt Col. Shannon Major

    Dad's address throughout 1944-45 was 422nd Field Artillery Group.

    Do you have any information of the 422nd FA Group? I think this was Division or Corps Artillery, but can't find much.

    Thanks,

    John Cline
     
  14. Powerhouse

    Powerhouse Member

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    John, see my post in the thread about the 14th FAO Bn.
     
  15. ted isham

    ted isham Member

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    I would to ask you to check on this name to see if he was on the roster list for the 67th amored. his name was Henry Factor, he was a tank commander promoted from the gunner on a 75mm tank
     
  16. Buten42

    Buten42 Member

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    Hi Ted, I checked the 67th roster and didn't find his name. Also checked the officers section in case he was commissioned without luck.
    The 66th AR does not have a known roster so you may need to get his records from the archives. Last I heard, they are still working on a "must have" basis for military records because of the virus so maybe try the VA. Sorry I couldn't be more help, Dave
     

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