Causualty lists for 362nd Sept 1944

ChrisBrown · Feb 1, 2013

Hi, I have a grave stone request for David Brown KIA 13th September 1944, 5Th Army, 362nd Regiment, Company F.

The 362nd was involved in the Attack on Futa Pass 10-21st September. Is there any place I can find documents like casualty lists or any piece of paper with his David's name on it or regarding action the 13th of September. I found this awesome web site which has some great info about Futa, the battle, and landmarks then and now.

Italy 2012

Ultimately I would like to try to understand what the typical 362nd soldier would have experienced that day, where they would have been and the characters involved.

Thanks for any help and suggestions.

Biak · Feb 2, 2013

Welcome Chris,

Here is something on the Futa Pass. North Apennines

Also check out HyperWar: World War II on the World Wide Web

TD-Tommy776 · Feb 2, 2013

As usual, Rog beat me to the HyperWar suggestion.

I'm sure you have already come across these, but I'll post them anyway.

Lone Sentry has a brief history of the 91st Division. Chapter IV covers the Gothic Line and the taking of the Futa Pass by the 362nd.

Here is a news article on a WWII veteran of the 362nd recounting his experience going up the boot.

According to a post on another forum, there appears to be an active association for the 361st Infantry Regiment. They are hosting a reunion for WWII veterans of the 91st Division in Sept. 2013. I wasn't able to find a website, but there appears to be an email address in the post.

Speaking of the 91st, I found a photo slide show on YouTube that might be of interest:

[video=youtube;Jt6MVRozp_A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt6MVRozp_A[/video]

ChrisBrown · Feb 4, 2013

Thank you for this info. This is great!!! Really love the video. I can't help thinking that one of these might be him but I don't have any idea what he looks like.

Where might I find a yearbook? Did they have yearbooks? Where would they keep them? There has to be a military library where I might find a picture of him.
Thank you both again. I really appreciate it.

TD-Tommy776 · Feb 4, 2013

Unless someone else has a better suggestion, I would try the 361st Association contact in the last link in my previous post. Theirs was the only active association related to the 91st Division that I could find. I have no idea if they will be willing or even able to help, so it's a long shot. Also, I don't recall seeing a WWII era yearbook, so they might be a post-war thing. Maybe another member can confirm that. I have seen Company photos, but those often do not have the individuals named.

The other best thing you can do is actively post on the 362nd and keep checking back here. You never know when someone might find this thread and have info to share. It is rather common to see folks who have found threads on this Forum that are 1-2 years old or older because they are researching a family member's service in WWII. It pays to be persistent.

Layla Strong · Mar 8, 2014

I found the replies to this subject very interesting. My dad was in the 362 Infantry 91st division, 5th Army, company F. He wrote letters home about the fight on Hill 840 and these are the first articles I've seen that actually mention Hill 840. He did survive the battle but was injured.

He said "there were only 37 left in the company out of 180. I had many close calls that day. The Germans had us surrounded and our artillery put smoke on the hill so we could fight our way back out. I was carrying a litter case, or i mean I was carrying one corner of the litter at one time that day, when the boy just across from me was shot through the head, falling dead across the litter. We had to put a Jerrie in his place as we were short on men. We hadn't gone far when the Jerrie stepped on a mine blowing his leg off. About that time we had to start leaving men, as there was no one to carry them. So I was taking one of the prisoners, when darned if he didn't step on a mine, blowing his leg off too and getting me. Boy, what a day, and there were so many days like that. That was the last hill a lot of the boys seen."

I have a picture of my dad standing with his company, but I believe he changed companies a couple of times and as mentioned in another post, the names of the men are not written on the picture.

LRusso216 · Mar 8, 2014

Hi Layla. Great story. Can you post the picture? We'd love to see it.

Layla Strong · Mar 8, 2014

In regards to "yearbooks" of enlisted men; in Macon County Missouri which is where my dad enlisted there is a large hardback book with a red cover showing a picture of every enlisted man in the County, who his parents were, branch of service and other info. I don't know if this was unique to our County or our State or books like this were put together in other places.

I will scan the picture of his company today along with an article from "Stars and Stripes" written about the battle and will attempt to upload them.

Natman · Mar 8, 2014

Hello Layla,

While I've never heard of a book like you described, what a tool they would be for us researchers!!

You may be right that it was unique to the county. Please let us know what you find out about it.

Looking forward to your scans.

Layla Strong · Mar 8, 2014

I've been attempting to upload the picture and the article but even one at a time, it says they are too big of a file. I've tried uploading with less pixels and it still doesn't work. The article is hard to read as it is, so I hate messing with it too much. Dad had included it with one of his letters. He included cartoons and articles at different times. Is there another site that I could upload these that aren't so particular on size. I will continue to try to find a way. The picture is of 37 men standing on bleachers in dress uniforms I assume with no date, names or anything to identify even the year it was taken.

LRusso216 · Mar 8, 2014

You can use an image hosting site like Photobucket or Image Shack. Load them there then just copy them into your post. I agree with Natman. I've never heard of a book like yours. Maybe just happened in your county. How many pages are there? Maybe you could post a few pages so we can get an idea.

Layla Strong · Mar 8, 2014

http://s848.photobucket.com/user/laylastrong/media/1120044b-25a3-42c2-9f18-75660c2c2aea_zps6592d5ec.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

See if that link works to the pictures. In the group picture my dad "Levi Austin Pillers" is the center of the back row (6th from left), so you can eliminate him from your list. The single picture of my dad was from that book I was telling you about so you can see the sort of info under each picture (his name spelled wrong). I don't have a copy of the book and my cousin scanned the pictures of all the Pillers boys who were in the service and sent those to me a year ago. I'm trying to get info from her about the size and the front of book and the copyright info. I've seen the book in person but its been awhile. It seems like it was at least 100 pages of thick paper with 4 pictures per page which seems like a lot for one county and makes me question if it did cover a larger area but there were 7 Pillers cousins all from one town. I'm sure the book exists in the county library too.

Layla Strong · Mar 9, 2014

My brother found our families copy of the Veterans book I was talking about. Its called:

SERVICE RECORD WORLD WAR I AND II MACON COUNTY COMMUNITIES (Missouri)
Title page says: Sponsored by the AMERICAN LEGION POST No. 360, Callao Missouri
It doesn't give the date published but I would assume it was around 1948 to 1950, it listed the Legion Officers for 1948.

I would hope other communities put together books like this and it might be worth checking out County Libraries for any books put out by the American Legion Posts during this period.

LRusso216 · Mar 9, 2014

Your link works just fine. I can't document the existence of other books like this. A real treaure trove of information.

Layla Strong · Mar 18, 2014

I did find another one of the SERVICE RECORD WORLD WAR I AND II books Sponsored by the AMERICAN LEGION POST on Amazon of all places. Someone was trying to sell one for a community in Nebraska.

91stTRNDIV · Mar 29, 2014

Hello,
I am new to this forum. I found it due to your questions about the 91st Infantry Division (362nd) in WWII. I am the present 91st Training Division historian and I maintain the Division's museum and archives. We also hosted the 361st Infantry Associations last reunion in Sacramento, that you mentioned in September 2013. Unfortunately we do not have a whole lot in our archives on the 362nd INF Regt as there was not much of an association or group post WWII for this regiment that we know of. The 361st has had a close association almost ever since the war ended. They are having another reunion in New Orleans in September of 2015. If there is anything I can help with let me know.
Respectfully,
2LT Kevin Braafladt
91st TRN DIV (OPS)
PAO/ Division Historian

Earthican · Apr 3, 2014

Sure it looks like I'm showing-off for the historian but I hit the motherload...

Searching for more information in the official history (Green Books) this all I found regarding the 362d Infantry at the Futa Pass. At least they were not alone in being written out of history -- the two regiments of the 34th ID are not even mentioned.

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-Cassino/USA-MTO-Cassino-19.html

--324--
The two divisions [85th ID and 91st ID] then were to move against the two terrain features commanding Il Giogo Pass. These were the 3,000-foot Monticelli massif on the left of the pass and the equally high Monte Altuzzo on the right. General Keyes had also directed General Livesay [CG 91st ID] to deploy one of his regiments [362d Infantry] west of Monticelli in conjunction with a holding attack toward the Futa Pass by General Bolté's 34th Division astride Highway 65.

--335--
Once the 363d Infantry had captured the summit of Monticelli, the 361st Infantry followed enemy withdrawal onto the hills west of Monticelli. Meanwhile, slightly farther to the west, a two-regiment containing attack had carried the 34th Division to within striking distance of the Futa Pass. By fostering the illusion that the Futa Pass was the focus of the Fifth Army offensive, as noted earlier, the 34th Division had assured that no enemy forces from that sector would be shifted to Il Giogo Pass. That ruse undoubtedly contributed to the breakthrough at Il Giogo Pass.

--336--
From the first the Germans had been faced with a dilemma. So great was the pressure exerted by General Bolté's 34th Division in what was actually a holding attack against the Futa Pass that German commanders never divined that the main effort was directed against Il Giogo Pass.
Click to expand...

Luckily the advantage to having a vain Army commander is that he will make sure a history is written. The several volumes and parts of the Fifth Army history are at CARL.
http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p4013coll8/id/1553/rec/1

The 91st Division history with maps is at LoneSentry (Tommy found this but it's worth repeating).
http://www.lonesentry.com/91stdivision/ch4.html

For mountain warfare, I love the GoogleMaps shaded-relief topo maps, here's a link to the nearst town. For terrain, zoom-out some, hover over the "Traffic" button, top-right -- wait -- click "Terrain" from the drop-down menu. Pan southeast to find "Marcoiano" which is also found on the 91st ID map.
https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&q=Monte+di+Fo%27&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x132ae16f33330377:0x4d6112a3c1440a6d,Monte+di+Fo%27+FI,+Italy&gl=us&ei=9aE9U_rUGePhyQGhrIGQAQ&ved=0CBwQ8gEoATAA

Excerpt from Fifth Army history
http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p4013coll8/id/1553/rec/1

C. THE 362D INFANTRY CAPTURES FUTA PASS
13-22 SEPTEMBER

In the course of the fighting for II Giogo Pass the intensity of German resistance
on Mount Monticelli forced General Livesay to commit the 361 st as well as the 363d
Infantry on the right of the division zone. The 362d Infantry was thereby left with
responsibility for a zone 4 miles wide extending from west of Highway 65 to Mount
Calvi. On the right flank of the regimental zone and extending slightly northeast
from Mount Calvi is an ascending, saw-toothed chain of hills which forms the western
wing of the natural amphitheater into which the 361st and 363d Infantry attacked.
This chain of hills connects with the main divide just to the east of Mount Gazzaro,
the dominant peak in the line of mountains overlooking the Futa Pass defenses at
Santa Lucia. To the west of Mount Calvi are two broad, ascending north-south
ridges. Highway 65 follows the crest of the more western ridge; a secondary road
from Gagliano to Santa Lucia follows the more eastern ridge. The open, rolling
farmland flanking the two roads and the strength of the Futa Pass defenses led
Colonel Cotton to concentrate his main force in the mountains on the right in an
effort to accomplish, on a regimental front, the same flanking move which II Corps
was carrying out at II Giogo Pass. One battalion, serving as a holding force, was
to advance astride Highway 65; the other two battalions were to drive up the Mount
Calvi ridge to the main divide, swing west to take Mount Gazzaro, and strike the
Futa Pass defenses from the flank.

At the start of the general II Corps attack on 13 September the 1st Battalion
was held in reserve while the 2d Battalion attacked Mount Calvi and the 3d Battalion

68

drove north along Highway 65. Although Mount Calvi was well fortified with
concrete pillboxes, mines, and wire, the 2d Battalion made steady progress up the
long gentle slopes, and by nightfall of the first day Companies E and G were within
yi mile of the summit. Continuing the assault at 0400 the next morning, the two
companies had an advance patrol on the crest of the mountain at 0635 and had
completed consolidation of the hill before the end of the day. After 2 days of clearing
bypassed pockets of the enemy the 3d Battalion, reinforced by a company each
of tanks and tank destroyers, reached parallel positions on Highway 65. The wide
gap between the two battalions made it difficult to prevent enemy infiltrations, and
in the early evening of 13 September it was necessary to commit the Antitank Company
to clear the village of Gagliano, well behind the forward lines.

The 2d and 3d Battalions resumed the attack at 0600, 15 September. The 3d
Battalion pushed 1 mile up Highway 65 to just short of the village of Montecarelli
where it dug in for the night; the 2d Battalion, in the face of intense artillery, mortar,
and machine gun fire, was unable to move forward from Mount Calvi. The
mountain drops away sharply on the north side to a deep gully which afforded the
enemy troops guarding the approach to the next hill protection from even high-angle
fire. The effort to attack from Mount Calvi was abandoned temporarily, and the
1st Battalion was committed at 1230 to make a flanking attack from the west through
the village of Marcoiano. Only slight gains were made before dark. A new attack
was ordered for 0430, 16 September, with the 2d Battalion striking north to Hill 840
and the 1st Battalion continuing its attack from the west toward Mount Linari.
Again the effort to drive the enemy from the ridge failed, and heavy losses were suffered
by the 2d Battalion. Meanwhile the 3d Battalion, meeting only light resistance,
reached the antitank ditch below Santa Lucia. The advance on the left further exposed
the central portion of the regimental front. To fill the gap Company C,
755th Tank Battalion, and two reconnaissance platoons from the 804th Tank Destroyer
Battalion established a defense line across the central ridge 1^2 miles north
of Gagliano.

During 17 September the 3d Battalion waited in position below the antitank
ditch and the 2d Battalion remained on Mount Calvi while the 1 st Battalion renewed
its efforts to seize the ridge from the flank. Progress was slow, and it was not until
0345, 18 September, that even the outskirts of Marcoiano were reached. To add
strength to the attack Company I, the 3d Battalion's reserve company, was shifted
east to take Hill 690 north of Marcoiano. Company I was pinned down near Marcoiano
nearly all day; only after three attempts to storm the hill during the night had
failed was the objective reached at noon on 19 September. In the meantime the
2d Battalion broke the deadlock north of Mount Calvi by taking Hill 840 at 0730.
With his defenses opposite the 361st and 363d Infantry already broken, the enemy

69

could not hope to continue fighting along the Mount Calvi ridge, and before dark
on 20 September the ist and 2d Battalions in a follow-up action had reached the
lower slopes of Mount Gazzaro.

On the left the 3d Battalion was making preparations for the final assault on
Futa Pass. Since 16 September Companies L and K had held positions just south
of the antitank ditch from which patrols had been sent out to reconnoiter the enemydefenses.
Division and Corps artillery, continuing the work of fighter-bombers and
medium bombers, had shelled Santa Lucia so effectively that forward enemy troops
were virtually cut off from supplies and a number of enemy gun positions were destroyed,
including an emplaced Panther tank turret commanding the valley approach.
While the 1 st and 2d Battalions were following up the enemy withdrawal on the right
the 3d Battalion pushed off at 0630, 20 September, over the high ground toward
Santa Lucia. By 1230 Company L had crossed the antitank ditch and had elements
on Hill 689, 500 yards south of Santa Lucia. The 362d Infantry was now in position
for an attack to clear Futa Pass.

The regimental plan called for a pincers movement with the ist Battalion taking
Mount Gazzaro and then moving northwest along the ridge to come in from
the east while the 3d Battalion attacked from the southwest. Planned for 0430, 21
September, the attack was slow in getting under way due to difficulties encountered
in supplying the ist Battalion and to mortar and long-range machine gun fire which
hampered the 3d Battalion. At 0830 Companies K and L were west of Santa Lucia.
Company K then cleared the village while Company L continued on along the pinecovered
slopes west of the highway. By nightfall it had outposts in the pass itself.
Company I, still attached to the ist Battalion, moved northwest along the Mount
Gazzaro ridge to positions south of the pass, and Company K took up positions in
a draw to the left of Company L. Futa Pass had been entered, but it was not until
the afternoon of 22 September when Hill 952 west of the highway was captured that
the battalion's control of the pass was assured. Throughout the attack enemy opposition
was limited to rear guard actions as the Germans covered their retreat to
the north.

To the 362d Infantry had fallen the honor of clearing Futa Pass, the objective
which more than any other was a symbol of the Gothic Line. It was there that the
Todt Organization had constructed its most powerful defenses, combining antitank
ditches, barbed-wire entanglements, reinforced pillboxes, and antitank gun emplacements
in an elaborate system of mutually supporting strongpoints. It is a tribute to
the tactical skill with which the attack on the Gothic Line was carried out that these
positions to which the Germans had devoted months of hard labor were taken by
the troops of one battalion in one of the least costly of the Gothic Line battles. Once
the 85th and 91st Divisions broke through at II Giogo Pass and swept north to the

70

Santerno Valley the Futa Pass defenses were untenable. In turn, as soon as Futa
Pass was secured, Highway 65 could be utilized to bring up badly needed supplies
to the troops who had spearheaded the attack through the mountains, and the way
was prepared for a thrust due north to Bologna.
Click to expand...

TD-Tommy776 · Apr 4, 2014

Earthican said:

Luckily the advantage to having a vain Army commander is that he will make sure a history is written. The several volumes and parts of the Fifth Army history are at CARL.
http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p4013coll8/id/1553/rec/1
Click to expand...

For some reason, I always forget about the Fifth Army history. I downloaded it from CARL some while ago and promptly forgot I had done so. :huh:

Josh Kaz · Mar 8, 2019

Great pictures Layla, thank you for sharing!

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Causualty lists for 362nd Sept 1944

ChrisBrown recruit

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TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

ChrisBrown recruit

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