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Old Hickory Recon, Memories of the 30th Infantry Division 1943-1945 - Marion M. Sanford

Discussion in 'Honor, Service and Valor' started by Old Hickory, Apr 17, 2009.

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  1. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I can't seem to finish the final manuscript.

    In addtion to the delay while I was dealing with injuries to my wife, twice now I have thought I had it finished and was letting proofers read it and twice I have found something else to add to it. Just last week I found what lead to the fight at Tournai where Sgt Scott, Lt Haldiman and Corporal Dennis were killed and Capt Cornelius was wounded. Old Hickory knew what happened at the end of the the fight and who was wounded and killed but did not know what started it all.

    Apparently the HQ platoon of the 30th Cav Recon Trp had passed through a crossroads at Tournai and turned right about 5 minutes after Old Hickory's section had made the turn. They were to procede a bit further and set up a road block. It was already dark so the men could not see very well. The HQ platoon stopped at the crossroads when they saw another column approaching the intersection. They thought it was the 125th Cav Recon Grp and several men from the 30th CRT dismounted to go talk to them. As the approached the other column, they realized too late that the vehicles were not American, but German. As they scrambled for cover, the Germans opened fire, killing and wounded about 8-10 men, including the ones listed above.

    I've added this bit of information to the book and will continue to proofread it. I have several friends who volunteered to comb through it for me and some of them have the manuscript now. I intend to start talking to publishers very soon.


    The name of the book will be:
    Old Hickory Recon

    My Memories of the 30th Cavalry
    Reconnaissance Troop, Mechanized
    1943-1945

    by MMS

    as told to

    me
     
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  2. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    Thanks for the update, Jeff. I was wondering what the status was of this book. I'm sure that I am not the only one on the forum who is looking forward to it's publication. :D
     
  3. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    I'm looking forward to the final draft, Jeff. I hope to read it again before publication.
     
  4. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    You will Lou and it will be a much better version.
     
  5. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Looking forward to it. The last was pretty good once it got into it.
     
  6. Ruud

    Ruud Member

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  7. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    If you didn't notice, my avatar has changed. The one before was picture of a DUI given to Old Hickory at the last reunion. Old Hickory was grateful for the pin, but was not certain it was the correct DUI for his unit, but he did not remember seeing his insignia in a long, long time. The background was white, with the red boar's head. He was certain that the 30th CAVALRY Reconnaissance Troop (Mech) had a yellow background (the color of cavalry) and not white, which was the color of the infantry.

    Well, he called me this weekend to tell me that he had found one of his DUI and that it was yellow! I high-tailed it over to his house and took some photos of the pin and then tonight changed my avatar to the correct insignia for the 30th Cavalry Recon.
     
  8. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

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    Way to go Jeff, the Gentleman may be old, he has a better memory than all of us together because he was there and we weren't.
     
  9. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    While I was there, he told me another little ancedote to put in the book concerning the only time he met the Assistant Div Commander, General Harrison. Old Hickory was awakened by the general while he was asleep in the halftrack, while they were stopped and parked along the roadside in the chase across France.

    I did not mention it, but the white-backed DUI was the insignia of the 59th Infantry Brigade. When the US divisions were triangularized in 1940 and the brigade level of command was eliminated, the Headquarters Company of the 59th Infantry Brigade was converted into the division reconnaissance troop and carried the brigade HQ's lineage with it. So, the avatar I originally was sporting was that of the pre-war 59th Infantry Brigade/30th Infantry Division.

    That conversion scheme was fairly constant across the Army as square divisions were converted to triangular divisions. The HQ company of the lower numbered brigade in the division was converted into the divisional recon troop and carried with it the lineage of the HQ company. I'll have to look it up, but I think I remember the higher number brigade HQ became an artillery battalion.
     
  10. rkline56

    rkline56 USS Oklahoma City CG5

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    Thanks for posting this historic knowledge, Jeff. Please pass on my deepest regards to "Old Hickory".
     
  11. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    Great DUI and great story to go with it. Thanks for sharing it, Jeff.
     
  12. Earthican

    Earthican Member

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    Must of been late night when you typed that, you know better. Blue is the color of the US Infantry, light blue on the uniform and dark blue for the guidons.

    However the Heer use white for the Infanterie.

    Great work on the book. I have only read one other memoir from a cavalry trooper but he was with a Cavalry Squadron.
     
  13. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Yes, I knew blue is the infantry color. He said that it was common for infantry formations to use white in their insignia instead of blue. I guess I should have said "a" color of infantry.

    I remember years ago when I first watched the Big Red One and the sgt pointed out the color of the piping on the "dead" soldiers in the tank. It was white and at the time I did not realize that German infantry waffenfarrbe was white. I thought it was a mistake in the movie.

    Regardless, Old Hickory was glad to find his old yellow DUI. I talked with him on the phone last night, trying to clarify something about one of the men in his section and remembered another anecdote that I had to go back and add. I really wished that y'all could meet the old boy. He is quite a character. Children just love him. He taught 3rd & 4th grade Sunday School for almost 20 years when he was in his 50s, 60s and 70s.
     
  14. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I found this to support my contention that white is a color of infantry in the US Army. Bottom of the page.

    U.S. Army Branches (Insignia and Plaques) > Infantry

    The DUI for the 59th Infantry Brigade was created around 1917 or 1918 and I suspect they used white because of the custom at the time.
     
  15. Earthican

    Earthican Member

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    Good stuff on the colors, I never knew. I should be a "smart ass" more often, I seem to learn more.

    Again great work on the Old Hickory story. Looking forward to the finished piece.
     
  16. Ruud

    Ruud Member

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  17. Ruud

    Ruud Member

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    Slipdigit, do you know if Old Hickory still has contact with the Dutch family Duster or ever met them again after war ?
     
  18. Ruud

    Ruud Member

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  19. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    He visited with Philamena (Mientjie) and Fred in 1994. Fred died not too long afterward and Philamena died in 1998. He does not have any contact with their children and does not remember their names.

    When he visited them in 1994, they did not live in Heerlen anymore.
     
  20. Skipper

    Skipper Kommodore

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    Is the name Philamena or Wilhemina ? The reason I ask is because the second name was the name of the Queen and was very popular wheareas I had never heard of the first spelling before.
     

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