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GI's brought more than chewing gum and Spam

Discussion in 'Western Europe 1943 - 1945' started by KodiakBeer, Feb 14, 2014.

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  1. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    TD-Tommy776, Feb 17, 2014
    #21
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  2. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Amazing! From story to knowledge in a few days. My hat is off to all of you. I just wonder why there was nothing available about him.
     
    LRusso216, Feb 17, 2014
    #22
  3. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    TD-Tommy776, Feb 17, 2014
    #23
  4. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Sounds like the right man, but I still can't find anything else about him. Maybe you'll have more luck.
     
    LRusso216, Feb 17, 2014
    #24
  5. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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    I don't think that can be him. The army was segregated then and J. B. Wittie was in the 119th, so white. "John" was black. Also, the John in question was supposedly 18 or 19, and J.B. was born in 1917 and would have been 27.
     
    KodiakBeer, Feb 17, 2014
    #25
  6. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    You may be correct, KB. However, the age issue is not as troubling. Mr. Wittie may have looked much younger than he was, and it has been nearly 70 years. Also, the marker say the 119th, but I have seen incorrect markers. That's why getting his IDPF might provide an answer.
     
    TD-Tommy776, Feb 17, 2014
    #26
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  7. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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    KodiakBeer, Feb 18, 2014
    #27
  8. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    Well that didn't work out as I hoped. I also found a Johnny A. Wittie but he was white also. ??

    That d##@ fire of 73 really messes things up.
     
    Biak, Feb 18, 2014
    #28
  9. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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    I doubt he can be found. I asked for 30th Division anecdotes and when I got this neat story I assumed that it was a guy from the 30th Division, but that means little to the family. After further research, the date can't be right either - Kerkrade was still in German hands until about 4 October when the 120th IR came in. After that, the entire XIX Corps pushed east into the Seigfreid line fight and Kerkrade became a supply hub for the Corps.

    I don't doubt the gist of the tale, but it must have happened in October or later, and "John" could have been in any service unit of the XIX Corps. I love the story though, and I'm going to use it in the book as an illustration of the ties between European civilians and the GI's.
     
    KodiakBeer, Feb 18, 2014
    #29
  10. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    Is the Martin guitar company still in buisness? They might find this story interesting and be able to help with the research a bit.
     
    lwd, Feb 18, 2014
    #30
  11. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    Well that does pretty much rule him out. It is an interesting coincidence that the name they recalled was the same as this John B. Wittie. It doesn't appear to be a very common name. I wonder if they could have misremembered his name. If we don't have his actual name, there's little hope in tracking him down.
     
    TD-Tommy776, Feb 18, 2014
    #31
  12. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

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    Despite the difference, I still found the story compelling. I also like the fact that our members took it upon themselves to flesh out the story. I'm less concerned that the information turned out to be wrong than I am that there was research done. Good work, Rogues.
     
    LRusso216, Feb 18, 2014
    #32
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  13. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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    They only knew him as John. Since the boy in question died in 2007 it's just a family of guitar players with a story now, and an old guitar that's become an heirloom.
     
    KodiakBeer, Feb 19, 2014
    #33
  14. SirJahn

    SirJahn Member

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    Since it was a high end guitar at the time was there any identifying marks or numbers that could be traced back to the individual that bought it presumably in Texas.
     
    SirJahn, Feb 19, 2014
    #34
  15. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    Just bumming around and found this interesting bit

    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/etc/jeff/Jeff-Noordermeer-WWII-010.html

    For more than two weeks the American combat troops had been at a standstill in our town except for frontline duty holding the positions in our next town (Rimburg) which was less than a mile away from us. Rimburg had become a no-man's land. For several days the weather was very cold and rainy, and for the soldiers out in the field the mud was more than a foot deep. With the fog around, there was no visibility at all. In many surrounding towns in our area the people were driven out of their town by the German army. A town (Kerkrade) not too far from us, 30,000 people were ordered to leave their homes. The province of Limburg is divided into North and South Limburg. Where I lived was called South Limburg. The people who lived in North Limburg and impatiently waited for the Americans to liberate didn't know that it was the duty of the English and Canadian troops. The German army evacuated many of those towns, and people were put on trains to settle in the Northern part of Holland in the Provinces of Friesland and Groningen. As the American soldiers were bitterly fighting for almost three weeks around the Siegfried line, nothing was happening around the English frontline. One of the American generals made a comment saying, "If we are fighting, the English soldiers are drinking tea and looking at us". The city of Aachen was only 30 km. away from us. Most of the fighting done during those three weeks to occupy this city was all very close to our area.

    CONTINUED: American Troops cross the Siegfried line into Germany
     
    Biak, Feb 19, 2014
    #35
  16. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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    Yeah, all that Autumn and Winter (except for a brief vacation in the Ardennes), the 9th Army was fighting on the Siegfried line, then Aachen, then to the Ruhr, and the whole time southern Holland was the hub for headquarters and supply - and the place burned out units were sent for R&R.
     
    KodiakBeer, Feb 20, 2014
    #36
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