179th Infantry Regiment After Action Reports

I spent last evening with Robert Brooks Jackson and he wrote the following report about his action at Aprilia:

"When at dusk we pulled back I was last out and found our Medic, James English.
Part of his face was shot away, he was moaning and
unconscious, so I drug him down the ditch towards the rear and I had to stop and
fire every so often to keep pursuit from coming down the ditch after us, and then
crawl aways, and when I felt the pursuit was getting close again, turn around and
fire. I couldn’t tell if it did any good or not, but that way I bought time to get back to
our lines. And at the last couple hundred yards I had to go at right angles to get over
to some farm buildings where our troops were and as I crawled across, there were
little spats in the muddy ditch and I realized they were rounds that were missing us
by just inches, because of the darkness probably. And all of a sudden it seemed very
funny to me. Just 6 inches from your head bullets are hitting and you think its
funny. You don’t know whether the guy’s a bad shot, got his windage gauge wrong
or can’t really see because its getting dusk, so you laugh. I left James with other
American troops I didn’t know and found my way back to my company. I found out
later they did make it to the hospital but I never could trace him after that. I went
back to my company and we were pulled back to the Pines area, they called it. And
that is when Sgt Turnbow and Lt. Margisac called me to one side and told me what a
good job I did and they were putting me in for the Silver Star, which I never heard
any more about. James could have died if left in “no man’s land” in his condition. No
man left behind is not just talk."

 

Dave if you still have copies of the After Action Reports for the 179th around Anzio I would be very interested
in copies. My Father was in Co. F and was captured during this engagement. I am attempting to gather any
info regarding this event. Thanks Phil Nilles, pcnilles@earthlink.net

 

If anyone still reads these forums, I'd really like to access these AARs. Thanks!

 

Dave, I'm looking for information on my father James Noble Wright DOB 12-22-1922 who served in WW2 with the 45th in the 179th regiment. He was from Oklahoma and was in the National Guard at 17 yrs old and called up to active duty. I would like to know the dates he was actually called up and any other information you can find. I have pictures I assume are from the Dachau liberation. He wouldn't talk about the war, ever. I have his medals and a Thunderbird pin.

Thank you,
Joyce

 

Maybe one of these?

Please Wait...

 

Joyce,

According to the 29 June 1945 roster of the 45th Infantry Division, Jame N. Wright, ASN 20825559, belonged to Service Company of the 179th IR.



Dave

 

Here is the 3 January 1944 roster for those who participated in the Italian Campaign from 10 Sept. 1943 thru 3 January 1944.

PVT Wright, Service Company, 179th;





Dave

 

Thank you, Dave. Are there any records as to when he actually was drafted or when his service ended? He enlisted in the Air Force in 1946 or 1947, I don't know which year, and retired from the Air Force in 1962 with 22 years of service so I'm guessing he entered the Army in 1940 when the National Guard was called up.

Thanks again for your research.
Joyce

 

Thank you for the information, wooley12. I'm not sure if my dad is the ASN 20835857. Everything looks right except they have his birthdate as 1918 and his is 1922. Also, they have the middle initial as M. and his is N. But he was in the National Guard prior to being called to active duty and from OK and born in Texas. This is all so confusing trying to find the right information.

Joyce

 

Joyce,

I ran your dad's serial number in the Army Enlistment Records database:

NARA - AAD - Fielded Search - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)

Unfortunately, it came up negative.

"About 13% of the microfilmed punch cards, about 1.5 million cards, could not be scanned into the electronic file and so are not in the electronic WWII Army Enlistment Records. See the Scope & Content Note and General Note in the series description for further information.

" About 35% of the electronic WWII Army Enlistment Records have a scanning error. Most of these errors are because of the poor condition of the microfilm and the scanning mechanism could not properly “read” various characters on the punch cards."

What you should do is contact the county veteran's office where he lived and see if any records exist at the local level. I surmise you contacted the
NPRC St. Louis and was told that his Personnel File was lost in the 1973 fire?


Dave

 

According to General Orders 6, HQ, 179th Infantry Regiment,
dated 16 May 1944, PVT James N. Wright, ASN 20825559,
was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, effective 1 January 1944,
for "exemplary conduct in action against the enemy" (Image 6238, 22 August 2008).

PVT Wright belonged to Service Company.





Dave

 

By the way, Joyce, we have a Facebook Group for the 45th:

Thunderbirds, the 45th Infantry Division


Dave.

 

Tracing my dad has been like stitching a quilt. Fitting pieces together over time. The unit info above is a great start. None of the records from that time should be seen as fact or complete. I've used that database for known soldiers many times and came up empty or with a "maybe". FWIW. My dad was born in the country NY State in 1921, or maybe 1920. Born on the farm, he wasn't sure.

 

"None of the records from that time should be seen as fact or complete."

What do you mean?


Dave

 

Thank you, Dave. I pulled out some paperwork that my dad had saved but most of it is from his time in the AF. I did find his dog tags and the ASN # on the info you sent me is correct. I just don't have any dates as to when he actually enlisted and was wondering about where he trained before being sent Africa. The sheet with the date he was discharged from the Army was 12 Jan 1947 and then he went into the AF 12 Jan 1948. I will continue to research and see if I can find the original enlistment date. I may even see if I can find any information on the National Guard he was supposedly in before being called to active duty.

Joyce

 

Wooley12, The Wrights on what you sent was not my dad. I did find his ASN# and it wasn't the one in question born in 1918. I do have birth records for my dad and his correct DOB is 12-22-22. Thanks for your help. I'll keep trying to find his original enlistment date.

Joyce

 

my apologies. I lost this page completely and forgot all about it. I just re-found it and appreciate all of your help! Again my apologies for the long delay in showing my appreciation.

 

I am looking for information on my grandfather, Albert M. Pitts, #34876090. He was killed January 12, 1945. I don't know his Company. The only information I have is that he is buried in the Epinal American Cemetery and he was awarded a purple heart. I've tried to get his service records, but was told those records were destroyed in a fire. Any help would be appreciated.

 

You requested his service record, which was destroyed, but his IDPF should be intact (and they should have told you to request it). See WWII Education - Requesting the Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) | WWII Research & Writing Center

 

Your grandfather was in I (as in "item") Company which was in the 3rd Battalion of the 179th Infantry. He is listed in the "In Memoriam" section of the regimental history which you can download from the Bangor Public Library. The following link will take you to the Library's page for the 179th history: https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/34/