13th Regiment, 8th Infantry Division

Hello,

I am trying to research my great-grandfather, but am having trouble finding any information about his unit. I know he was part of Company D, 13th Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. I'm looking for any information regarding this unit, especially if you have any specifics to Company D. Pictures are also greatly appreciated! I do know that he was in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, but I don't know much else.

 

Welcome to the forums! What was your Great Grandfather's name?

 

Eighth Infantry Division, a combat history by regiments and special units [U.S. Army. 13th Infantry Regiment]

 

Hmmmm . . . 13th Infantry . . .

My grandfather commanded the 13th, 1924 - 1927; headquarters was at Fort Warren the middle of Boston Harbor, he had to ride the boat every morning from Fort Strong on Long Island, where their quarters were, to Fort Warren.

My uncle, that is, my father's younger brother, was shanghai'd out of ROTC at FSU in 1940 with the promise of commission and found himself a 2nd Lieut in G Company, 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry. By the time they got to Normandy, he was a Capt & the G company commander. The Regiment's walking tour of the European countryside lasted almost a year, in that time he became the Battalion S-3, Battalion XO, and by the time the smoke cleared he was an LTC commanding the 2nd Battalion.

Somewhere around here I've a history of the 2nd Battalion written right after the war, not a clue where it is, though. It was type written on 8.5 x 14 with hand drawn maps (oddly enough all drawn by my uncle) then mimeographed.

My father did a write-up on life at Fort Strong for Edward Coffman's research for his book The Regulars - The American Army 1898-1941. Touched on some of the other places they lived during my grandfather's career, but most of what Dad wrote was on the time at Fort Strong as that was his favorite post. I've his hand written rough draft of that. Coffman's books are pretty interesting if you get your hands on them. His first on the subject was The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784-1898 and The Regulars was the follow-on. If you are looking for battle action scenes and daring exploits, neither of these are for you, don't waste your time; these are socio-cultural anthropology works, but well cover life in the army from officer, enlisted, and dependents viewpoints.