Question regarding reports on attacks or ambush - 16th Infantry Regiment

1st Infantry Division, 16th Infantry Regiment, HQ & HQ Co., 3rd Battalion

Hope someone can answer this for me.

My Uncle was K.I.A. on April 17, 1945 while out on Recon with his Platoon Leader A/T, 2-SSgt's and a Driver just outside of Tanne, Germany. The Platoon Leader was, at that time, a 2nd Lt.

I located a journal which gave details of everything that was happening as it happened and because the Platoon Leader with my Uncle was an Officer, his name was mentioned and that is how I was able to establish what took place with very good detail.

On the morning of April 17th, 1945 the 3rd Battalion made their way from Benneckenstein, Germany heading for and into the town of Tanne, Germany. 3rd Btn, Co. K, was sent forward to Clear the town and thought that they had done so. 3rd Btn, Co. L, came into town and all seemed well until later that afternoon when an Enemy Artillery Shell fell virtually in the center of town and in proximity of several men. The Germans had embedded in the hillside enroute toward Elbingerode, Germany and I'm purely guessing but it seems logical that a couple of Recon Teams that were sent out, had stirred the bee's nest.

After things had settled down and reports were coming in that Tanne, Germany was Secure and quiet, another Recon Team was sent out. My Uncle, PFC LEIGHTON H. HADLEY, was in one of the Recon Teams sent to explore late that afternoon into early evening.

They were approximately 500 yards outside of Tanne, Germany when they encountered a German Ambush. Lt. Parker, A-T PLatoon Leader, seeing they were out numbered and out gunned, attempted to surrender. The German Soldiers supposedly opened fire as the men stepped from the Jeep killing all "4" EM's and wounding Lt. Parker who survived the ambush.

The Men involved in this incident were:
Hq Co, 3rd Bn, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division

Jimmy W. Parker - 2nd Lt. / A-T Platoon Leader ASN#: 01998501 - Wounded; Hospital...

Vincent S. Amato - S/Sgt ASN#: 12019728 - EM - KIA 4/17/1945

Stanley J. Baltuanik - S/Sgt ASN#: 6981859 - EM - KIA 4/17/1945

Leighton H. Hadley - PFC ASN#: 7004451 - EM - KIA 4/17/1945

Wesley G. Guthrie - PFC ASN#: 34196563 - EM - KIA 4/17/1945

Not only did Lt. Parker survive, but he continued on with the Army and finally retired in April 1960 as a Major. I found his name and ASN# on an Army Retirement List at Fold3.com

My Question: Since Lt. Parker survived and because he was the leader and because all of his men were killed, would there be a "Report", in Lt. Parker's words, as to exactly what transpired?? Step by step??? I realize i've stated they were shot as they stepped from the Jeep but I don't think it happened that way and my hunch is they were actually executed differently. From the reports I have been able to gather, the burial reports indicate the "Cause of Death" to be GSW-HEAD....

I'd like to find that report if it exists... Would anybody happen to know how to find that??

Thanks,

 

There should be a detailed report...as with any contact with the enemy. It is not rare that the report doesn't actually represent the action that took place...this can be for a variety of reasons.
The person reporting may not want to be "incriminated" for either doing the wrong thing or nothing at all. If this occurred as reported I would expect the LT to be completely truthful...Whats to hide? Maybe more than we think...
"Cause of Death" doesn't mean there weren't other wounds...perhaps these poor men were shot after being wounded? These things can be difficult to investigate at the time let alone decades later...Just my five cents.

 

@CAC : I agree 100%. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack and honestly, I'm not getting my hopes up and it isn't a "absolutely needed" piece of information. The old saying, "sometimes things are better left as they are or unsaid" could easily apply here. I may not be at all to happy with what I learn. But, the Human Curiosity in me will not let it go and one day, i'll find something. I should be very satisfied with what I have already as these Journals "never" mention a person's name but this time it did because it involved an Officer.

As for the Burial Report(s) and Cause of Death, I was thinking the same thing you mentioned... at first. Maybe it was several wounds and the GSW-HEAD was the final. Then I thought about the fact that Lt. Parker survived the incident so since that is true, there remains a "hole" in the story somewhere. Again, it's more human curiosity for a detailed description of what took place, not necessary and maybe not even available anyway.

 

I edited and updated my story from above, giving more detail, per the suggestion of OTTO.

 

Was Lt. Parker captured or did he make it back to friendly lines? Since you didn't mention it, I'm assuming he made it back.

If he made it back to friendly lines, depending on his wounds, he may not have returned to the 3rd Bn. And, at that late stage of the war things were moving fast and it may not have been considered a "big deal" as it might have been earlier in the war and therefore useful as a "Lesson Learned".

I'd be interested in reading the portion of the journal which pertains to this incident if you can scan/post it. Where did you obtain the 'cause of death' info?

 

Patrick has posted a copy of the Report of Burial on the Leighton H. Hadley page on Fold3.com:

Interestingly, he was (at least initially) reported to have been "killed instantly by the explosion of an enemy artillery shell". The reference to "GSW Head" on the Report of Burial does seem to be a contradiction. However, it is a document prepared by Graves Registration, not a medical report. That being said, the journal mentioning your uncle's name and giving an account of what happened does seem to support the Report of Burial.

I agree with Steve that it is unlikely there is a specific official report on the incident by Lt. Parker. However, if one were to exist, it would probably be in the unit records at the National Archives in College Park, MD. You can request an index (or listing) of their holding for the 16th Infantry and the 1st ID which they will probably provide for no charge. It will not be extremely detailed, but it will indicate what types of documents they have.

Like Steve, I also think it would be interesting to read the relevant section of the journal you cited. There's nothing like seeing the original documents. I did check the NARA POW list and Lt. Parker does not appear, so he likely did make it back. He retired as a Major in April of 1960:



Major Parker passed away in 2003. Here are the Findagrave.com Memorial pages for Maj. Jimmy W. Parker and his men who were KIA 17 Apr 1945:

Jimmy W. Parker

Vincent S. Amato

Stanley J. Baltusnik

Leighton H. Hadley

Wesley G. Guthrie

 

@Natman : Sorry for not responding sooner. Busy weekend..... that is an important piece of information I left out. But it looks like TD-Tommy776 beat me to some of it....
No, he was not captured and they took him out alive and the Morning Report states he was sent to the Hospital. Lt. Parker did recover and he did continue his career with the Army retiring as a MAJOR in 4/1960. Looks like TD-Tommy776 found my memorial page on Fold3.com.

I have the full Digital Journal so in a few minutes I will upload the information on the conversations that took place that day along with the Morning report.

Really appreciate you guys taking an interest and trying to help me out. I am also going to write a response on TD-Tommy776 post as well on something he pointed out.

 

@TD-Tommy776 : Thanks for the interest in this topic. Really appreciate you guys helping me out. And, you may be right. It just may not exist and I may be chasing a ghost. But, I gotta try until I feel I've exhausted all avenues. I can't tell you how many times I've been told "we don't have that" or "it's not here" only to find it later on exactly where I thought something would be. So, I've gotten into the habbit of letting things build up as they put more and more online. Then I come back with a fist full of notes and search again.

As for the Contridiction of the "BURIAL REPORT" and the "LETTER" sent home to my Grandparents: Here is what the Historian told me. He said that there were a LOT of times those type letters were sent home prematurely. The 3rd Battalion was in the field and still in battle. It may have been that they could get brief information out to HQ but it was more than likely not detailed. He said the details may not have shown up until weeks later. So, a general letter of sorts may have been sent and one geared to have the family feel their loved one died instantly and didn't suffer.

The Journal plainly states that they attempted to surrender and upon stepping from the jeep, the Germans opened fire. Lt. Parker's name is the only one mentioned. but the morning report showed Lt. Parker Wounded and taken to the hospital, and 4 EM's KIA... 3 of the 4 EM's had been together for a long time. Only STANLEY J. Baltusnik was new to me. My Uncle, LEIGHTON, and LT. PARKER, were actually together in New York before being shipped out in 1942. I have a copy of the 1940 Federal Census that shows them both at Ft. Jay. Wesley G. Guthrie appeared on a few documents and was with Leighton as well when they both earned the Bronze Star. These also were the only casualties reported by the 3rd Battalion for a 3-4 days span and they were all together. After the journal mentioned Lt. Parker, the rest fell into place perfectly.

I'm going to post the Journal and the Morning Report in just a few minutes. OH!!! BTW! I was not able to find JIMMY W. PARKER on Find-a-grave for some reason. Thank you for doing that. I'm pretty computer savy but it must have been something I was doing.... Also, I "DID" find a JIMMY W. PARKER who retired himself from the Army and is living down in Florida. His background is so similar, I kept searching it. He owns a business in Florida and does something with Defense Contracts. I then found him on LINKEDIN, the business connection site. I cannot locate a telephone # for him as they are all blocked but I did attempt to reach him twice by LINKEDIN Messaging. No response...... I have not written him yet by Snailmail, but that is next. I have his address, wife's name, business name, etc. I only recently located that information. My thoughts are this may be JIMMY W. PARKER's Son??????? Long shot, but the profiles are very similar in career.

 

Ok, here is the JOURNAL and the MORNING REPORTS, April 17 & 18, 1945. The 3rd Battalion doesn't have a lot out there like the 1st & 2nd Battalion but then I stumbled upon "THE FIRST DIVISION MUSEUM at Cantigny Park" Home | First Division Museum who had a LOT of information on the 3rd. It was this site that I found the journal in their digital archives. I was reading along and when I read Lt. Parker's name, the hair stood up on my arms. It has taken me years to finally piece together the events that took place on April 17, 1945. What I needed was a Break... something that pointed in the right direction. Lt. Parker's name was it....

Guys I'm sorry.... I tried to upload the complete file on the two Journals and it won't let me. Says the files are too big. but if you go to the site i mentioned, Home | First Division Museum , you will be able to locate these complete documents and a Lot more.

The first journal (Page 29) is the Journal of 1st Div, 16th Infantry, HQ Co., Company "L"
The second journal (Page 971) is the 16th Infantry Journal entries: LOOK AT 19:30 HOURS and at 2020 HOURS
The next documents are morning Reports, April 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

 

I had located page 29 yesterday but not 971. All three of the entries are slightly different. Very strange that Lt. Parker is listed as 'absent sick' on the MR? Is this corrected on a later MR and did he show up as returning to the unit on a subsequent one?

I could see the possibility of a report on this incident because losing three platoon leaders at the same time is pretty significant. My guess is that it would be labeled as an AAR, RoA or some variation of these. I didn't check the Cantigny site for relevant AAR's (maybe Operations Reports) for this time period. Have you checked, Patrick?

I'm assuming you have the burial reports on all the EM. I wonder if they were hit so many times that if the Graves Registration guys see a head wound, they list that as CoD?

Steve

 

That's been brought up before and it is possible they were hit multiple times. My only reservation is that if that were true, then how did Lt. Parker survive? However, "WHERE" did Company "L" get that information to begin with? So it had to have come from some type report. And the only correction is on the 19th (see attachments above) but it doesn't correct that part.

Leighton was listed as a 603 gunner so I take it his role at that time was 603 AT/Gunner. The two SSGT's are listed the same and Lt. Parker is listed as the Platoon A/T Leader. If you go back and read page 29 again, the wording is a little funny but it does say "Lt. Parker", together with "3" Squad Leaders and a Driver..... Leighton had been promoted to Squad Leader. I found that in his records. Wesley G. Guthrie's MOS is a Driver so I assumed Wesley was Driving, Leighton was the Gunner and you had two SSGT's and Lt. Parker....

Actually..... "No" .... I don't have the burial reports for the other men... only hearsay so I haven't seen all of them.... and I have not checked the Cantigny site for relevant AAR's. Honestly, I really didn't know what I was looking for and my fear was that being an Officer was involved and his entire platoon was K.I.A., and, as you pointed out, "3" of them were Squad Leaders, I was kinda getting the impression that this report may be buried somewhere deep.

As for the MR's... I didn't get all of them for the entire time. Couldn't afford it. Had to hire a pro on that one to go in for me since you can't obtain those without a physical presense. I did obtain April 1st through April 30. At that time, all I had was copies of the letters sent home to the Family from the Army. I knew the answer was in those days but I didn't know exactly "WHERE" it would start popping out so I just got the entire month.

JIMMY W. PARKER "Enlisted" as an EM on 05 March 1940 under ASN#: 07006911 (N.A.R.A Enlistment record attached.) He received an Medal under this ASN # in the 3rd Battalion so that I how I know for certain it is him. I take it that later on when he became an officer, they retired the EM # and gave him a NEW ASN# that was for Officers.

That's about all I have to prove the story... but enough to know that it was definately them and I have a better understanding of what took place..... But..... My gut is telling me there is more to this story...

 

Oh, something else.... You mentioned you wondered if the "Graves Registration guys see a head wound, they list that as CoD" ......... Leighton was first buried April 21st at BREUNA #1 in Germany before the President's order to have them removed from German Soil. He was buried a 2nd time at Margraten National Cemetery on August 21, 1945. (In fact, you guys may be interested in seeing this. I'm attaching a picture that is of "one" of Leighton's burial locations. I believe this to be MARGRATEN and per the handwriting that looks to be my Grandmother's on the back, was taken by Leighton's Brother, CHARLES HADLEY who was also in the Army. Thought you might like to see this as it is an original) Back to my Point I was trying to make.... Since Leighton was first buried in BREUNA #1, would those Grave Registration personnel be totally American Servicemen? Or is it possible they weren't?? and got sloppy?? I have not clue so that may be a stupid question.....

Well, I said I was going to upload the picture but it's saying it's too large.... It's only 1.22mb so I'm not sure if that is correct or what I need to do to get it on here. sorry.....

 

@Natman ; @Otto ; @TD-Tommy776 You guys are not going to believe this..........

Natman!!! YOU HIT SOME GOLD!!!!!!!! I told you that for some reason I could not locate Jimmy W. Parker's Find-A-Grave site.... But you did!! and upon reviewing it, His wife is shown as DORA ELIZABETH PARKER with a Birthdate and an "UNKNOWN" Death Date...... Well, there is a reason for that.... She is still alive...

Further, I did some searching, made a few calls and I just hung up with JIMMY W. PARKER'S WIFE, DORA ELIZABETH PARKER..... Here is the what happened to him.

She is 86 years old and can't hear real well but was very happy that I called her. She told me that She married JIMMY in 1952 and that 8 years later, He retired as a MAJOR at FORT ORD in California. She said she remembers some of the stories and that HADLEY was a name that he spoke of often. Then she said, "But that Hadley was killed a couple of weeks before the War Ended".... I realized I had to tell her again when Leighton was killed as she must not have heard me correctly the first time. When I finished, she said, "then he is the one Jimmy spoke of"......

She can't remember great detail about what Jimmy told her happened on April 17, 1945 but that Jimmy was severly injured and almost lost his Leg from MULTIPLE GUN SHOT WOUNDS (so that answers that.... there were multiple gunshots and that matches the Journal from Company "L"). She said he was shipped home immediately following the Ambush and that he Spent almost a YEAR in the Hospital in TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA which was close to the Mississippi State line. His Mother and His Sister were there almost daily helping to get him back on his feet.

I got to speak with her for about 30 Minutes and then her Daughter came in. She told me that she would like to speak with me again and to call her in a few days. I'm hoping that she will speak with her daughter about this and hopefully I may get some more information in the next few days.

So for now.... my next question for everybody is: If they sent JIMMY to a Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama... Would anybody happen to know what hospital that might be? Would it have been a Military Hospital??? and How can I get my hands on some of those records?

I can't believe this all took place today.... just speaking with her was an event.... Kind of Exciting huh??? Stay Tuned!!!

 

Northington Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
gotta be it!

 

Well, Patrick, you've made quite a bit of progress while I was gone. First of all, congrats on the really big news -- making contact with Major Parker's wife. That was huge. I was certain that the Findagrave.com Memorial was his. If I hadn't been sure, I would not have posted the link. She was able to clear up quite a bit in just that one phone call. I look forward to your updates as things continue to unfold. This is likely to stir up some emotions for her, so I hope that doesn't make it too difficult for her.

Just a few thoughts on the previous posts that I missed earlier:

At the risk of being pedantic, the document "PG 29..." is from a Company History, not a Journal. The other document, "Page 971..." is from a journal. Journals are a log of the communications received at the unit headquarters. Journals can be difficult to read because every communication is recorded chronologically. Related comms may be several lines or even pages apart, with other unrelated comms in between. Histories and Reports are usually narrative in format and, therefore, much easier to read.

I'm inclined to believe that the CoD in the letter to the family was a clerical error or assumption. They could have told the family that he was killed instantly by a GSW just as easily.

Graves Registration was part of the Quartermaster Corps, so their personnel would have been US soldiers.

The reference to Lt. Parker being "abs sk" is a bit of a mystery, but not inexplicable. It may be that, at the time the MR was filled out, his exact disposition was unknown other than he was transported to an unknown hospital. As Natman suggested, the record may have been corrected on a later MR.

I think you found the right hospital. Northington was built to handle WWII casualties.

Good work, Patrick!

 

That was Tom that posted Lt. Parker's FaG link!!

You do have exciting news, congratulations! I agree with Tommy regarding the CoD letter and the "abs sk" on the MR. With his severe wounds, as soon as he was stabilized, he would have been shipped to a hospital immediately. After the report from "L Co" that they were wounded, seems they would have listed him as WIA?

I had to look "pedantic" up!!

Please keep us updated as to your conversations with Mrs. Parker, she may turn out to be the goldmine.

 

@TD-Tommy776 I really messed that up didn't I??? I am Sorry Tom.... I did not do that intentionally of course... guess I got wound up in what was going on and didn't pay enough attention to who wrote what. Finding that memorial on find-a-grave was a huge thing so definately want the kudos to go where they need to! Sorry about that!!!

@Natman I HAD TO LOOK IT UP TOO!!!!
synonyms: overscrupulous, scrupulous, precise, exact, perfectionist, punctilious, meticulous, fussy, fastidious, finicky;

I'll keep you guys informed as something new comes up. I've got several things going so who knows.... maybe I will find that report.

 

It seems my subscription to that "build your vocabulary" website is paying off.

One other thing I meant to address was the question of how Lt. Parker managed to survive. It reminded me of a book I read earlier this year about General Rose of the 3rd AD. He was killed in a similar situation with one of the wounded soldiers getting away to tell the tale. In that case I believe it was dark or dusk and the soldier was able to very slowly crawl back to Allied lines. So, it could happen.

 

No worries, Patrick. But if had been someone other than Natman it would have been pistols at dawn.