66th Armored Regiment July 10-13, 1943

The attached web album is of my father's journal entry of the 66th Armored Regiment from July 10-13, 1943 - Licata to Canicatti.

His name was Daniel Robert Jacobson - his buddies may have called him "Jake" or "Bob".

https://picasaweb.google.com/Rierson65/66thJuly10131943?authkey=Gv1sRgCL-b47er0bKzTg&feat=directlink

 

Thanks you for adding. Interesting reading.

 

Jacobson,
Interesting read ,if you have more, please share. My uncle was in the 67th reg., N. Africa to Berlin.
Bill

 

Jacobson, Thanks for sharing. I have a book titled "North Africn Odyssey" written by Captain Norris H. Perkins. He was the C.O of H Company, 66 Armored Regiment. If you can get a copy it would be a great supplement to your fathers journal entrys. Perkins was involved in the invasion of N. Africa, and the invasion of Sicily. He was wounded and received a DSC for his actions in Canicatti.
I contacted him in Portland OR while doing my reasearch on my brother a few years ago and he sent me a copy dedicated to my brother who was in the 67th Armored Regiment.

After talking to Mr. Perkins and reading his book I came across a note on the Corgy Classic website-they make a series of military models and add a real life story pertaining to their model. They were asking for ideas for someone's story to add to their new Sherman Tank model. I sent them Mr. Perkins book and told them I think he would be a terrific candidate. They used his story and the famed 2nd Armored Division is now part of every Sherman Tank model they sell. (I was rewarded with four of the new model.)

Dave

 

Bill, what company was your uncle in? My brother was in A Company (light tanks) , 67th AR also from N. Africa to Berlin.
What was your uncle's name? I have a ton of information on the 67th and the 2nd Armored. I had one old warrior in my brothers company take a train from Florida to my home in Washington State to talk about his adventures with my brother--what a sence of companionship over the years. Maybe we can share some information.
Dave

 

Dave
My uncle, Richard (Dick) Westlake was in Co. F 2nd Btl. Sherman driver.I'd love to hear what you have.
Bill

 

Dave,
I tried to contact you through email, but couldn't.Could you try pm me again.
Thanks; Bill

 

I tried to view your link, but it seems that it is no longer connected.

My uncle, Merrill Neal "Nibs" Stinson was KIA on 2 Mar 1945 in Germany. He was with the 66th Armored Regiment, other than that, I know very little. I'm new to researching military history, but thought that surely I could find a roster somewhere that would tell me his exact unit, etc. Please help a rookie!

Ken

 

Welcome to the Forum, Little John. I think we can be of some help to you. I found an enlistment record for Merrill N Stinson with an enlistment date of 19 Feb 1941 in Chicago, IL and born in Oklahoma in 1918. His Army Serial Number is 36004418. I also found him referenced on a genealogy website which seems to confirm that it is him since it also refers to his nickname "Nibs". His DOB is given as 3 Feb 1918. With this information, you should be able to request his IDPF (Individual Deceased Personnel File) as well as his OMPF (Official Military Personnel File).

Due to a fire in 1973, about 80% of the Army personnel records were destroyed. I still recommend that you file the Form 180 and request his OMPF because it only costs the price of a postage stamp to find out if any of his records survived the fire. If they did, there will be a minimum charge of $20.00 to send you the records.

The IDPF, on the other hand, would not have been affected by the fire. If you follow the procedure in the above link, it will take about 4 months to receive the file. Unlike the OMPF, you will probably not be charged for the file.

 

Little John, since the 66th Armored Regiment was part of the 2nd AD, you may also want to contact the 2nd Armored Division Association. There website does have some info on the 66th AR.

Stackpole has a book on the 66th AR in WWII titled Iron Knights which is reasonably priced and should provide a good narrative.

If you are a bit more motivated, you can download PDFs of the After Action/Unit Reports of the 66th. The titles are somewhat misleading, so take them with a grain of salt. The After Action Report covers Aug 1944 - Oct 1944. The one called Unit Report No. 1 covers Nov 1944 - May 1945. They can be difficult to read at points due to quality issues, but they can also be very interesting.

Here is some info on the DUI (Distinctive Unit Insignia) for the 66th AR.

I hope you find this useful, Little John.

 

That's actually the same AAR linked in my post. I downloaded it and looked through the PDF and it only covers Aug 44 - Oct 44, contrary to the title. I did another search and found the "Unit Report No. 1" which covers Nov 44 - May 45. Whoever was entering the titles at CARL must have had a late night prior to uploading those files.

 

Sorry to resurrect such an old post. Did anyone save the contents of the link in the first post? The doc is no longer there

Thanks

Bob

 

I'm interested too.
Thanks.