My Dad Richard L. Pooler 35 629 551 Staff Sergeant

My father was a veteran of WWII. I just recently was told that he fought at the Battle of the Bulge by my cousin. My father never spoke about the war until the last year of his life (he died in 2003)...and that was only a very small amount. He served in:
Company D, 13th Infantry Regiment
Date of Active Svc. 25 Feb 1943, Ft. Hayes, OH Date of Induction: 18 Feb. 1943 Honorable Discharge:02 November 1945
Separation Point: Ft. Leonard Wood, MO
Battles & Campaigns: Normandy Northern France Rhineland Central Europe
Section Leader 652
Combat Infantry Badge Carbine EX, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, American Theater Ribbon, European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with
4 Bronze Service stars, ASR Score (2 Sept. 1945)-69 Inactive ERC ERC 18 Feb 1943 to 24 Feb 1943 3 Overseas Bars

I took the above information from his Honorable Discharge paper. I can't seem to find out much on the 13th infantry and would love to know if there is anyone still alive in D Company. Plus my heart is yearning to know more about his travel...the events...where he was...what he saw ( I know from his demeanor when the war was mentioned he became quiet & reflective that it must have been hell as he did say once to me that that was exactly what it was.)

Thanking you all in advance for any help or information you can give

 

Welcome,

Boy are you in luck. Most Regular Army divisions of WWII don't have so nice of websites.

8th Infantry Division
http://www.fatherswar.com/8thinfdiv/WW2/WW2index.html

13th Infantry Regiment
http://www.fatherswar.com/8thinfdiv/WW2/ww2_13thinf/13th_inf_main%20page.html


I just finished reading these letters from a 13th Infantry veteran -- Beany to his family. Tedious but they give a sense of what stateside training was like.
http://lettersww2.com/blog/2010/05/05/the-world-war-ii-letters-project/
Beany's first letter:
http://lettersww2.com/blog/2010/06/28/beany-august-5th-1941/

Your father likely joined the 8th ID the summer of 1943 -- after Infantry Replacement Training -- and went to the desert training center with them then overseas in December 1943. What date did your father ship from the US?

All questions welcome, good luck.

 

OH MY - when I logged back on and am thrilled that someone had replied so quickly and with information!!! I am just beside myself. Thanks so much. It looks like that Dad's date of departure outside of US was 5 Dec.1943 and it says Destination of ETO and arrival of 15th Dec.1943. Do know how I could find out anything specific to his company D. ...and what would 4 bronze service stars be for???...just curious about the ribbons and medals also - Thanks!

 

Those dates are exactly those recorded for the 13th Infantry, 8th ID so he joined them before they left the states.

Four bronze stars go on EAME ribbon and represent the four named campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Central Europe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European-African-Middle_Eastern_Campaign_Medal


Company D is the Heavy Weapons company (machine guns and mortars) of the 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry. In military histories the Heavy Weapons company is assumed to be supporting the three Rifle companies (A, B and C) and is rarely mentioned. But following the 1st Bn provides some information.


Unit documents for the 1/13th Infantry can be obtained from NARA but there is per page fee so it helps to narrow/refine your search before making a request.

Keep'em coming, somebody will respond...

 

The 13th IR liberated my father at Rennes 4 August 1944 after being attached temporarily to the 4th Armored Division. 1st Battalion did probing attacks on Rennes on the afternoon of 3 August and 2nd and 3rd Battalion attacked through them on 4 August to liberate Rennes and the PW hospital there. The 13th IR held in place around Rennes until 8 August and then moved toward St. Malo.

Just something I know about from my research on Rennes Military Hospital.

 

Thanks so much for this information. I then researched this hospital and now have info on this battle on Rennes. Wow.... I am contacting the appropriate persons to procure my Dad's Bronze Medal...he deserves it! The link to the 8th Infantry Division is unreal...I had no idea the details of his military life....I find that I hunger for more and more information on his life during this time. I understand now his silence.... let me know if anyone share more of the day to day experiences. Once again I thank you all!

 

Given time you can probably get in touch with other relatives of veterans of the 13th Infantry.
http://www.ww2f.com/topic/24459-info-on-2nd-battalion-13th-infantry/#entry307948


Still out there might be memoirs of veterans of the 13th Infantry or even the 1st Battalion. Searching related names and places with "13th infantry" will get you to obscure websites.
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mcburney/13thRegt.html

Memoirs of veterans with similar experiences can be helpful, I recommend:

Normandy and Brest (similar hedgerow battles):
Normandy 1944: A Young Rifleman's War - Stodghill

Huertgen Forest:
If You Survive - Wilson

Ardennes and Germany:
Taught to Kill - Babcock


Be sure to share his story with your family with copies of documents. These are so easily lost -- forever.

EDIT: Added second link
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mcburney/13thRegt.html


EDIT 2
Route of the 8th Division (map of the 28th Infantry)
http://www.fatherswar.com/8thinfdiv/org%20tables/maps/28thmap.jpg

 

Earthican - The website for the 8th Inf Division is unreal. What a awesome job they have done! A goldmine for me be a tribute to all who have fought in this Div. There is a quote above from a William Alan - I sent you a PM on this...

 

I got the PM but I'll respond here. Sorry for the confusion I caused.

The quote is from the website
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mcburney/13thRegt.html

Also from that website.

I was pretty shocked to find this website and it was after I had posted my previous message. The website seems old and not maintained but still worth trying to contact John McBurney somehow.

Hope we can help more..

 

I found that Mr McBurney has passed away - but - was wondering about the weapon my Dad used - I do remember him saying once about mortar/having to carry over shoulder??? .... and having someone 'radio' him info as to how many degree's right/left/ etc ...of course rifle too right? I would like to see what these items look like etc. I am going to see if I can purchase the book shown above. I have my Dad's Blue Book...just rec'd a small white book I ordered from Amazon that gives more detailed accounts.

 

If he carried over his shoulder it most likely was a 60mm mortar or the 81mm mortar. If he was in the Service or Heavy Weapons company it would most likely be the 81mm.

 

Thanks much SirJahn - I will look those two mortar up. I have many After Action Reports for Brest, The Hurtgen Forest, Rennes Hospital, and a POW Concentration Camp...would you or someone be able to advise me of how mortars would be deployed. I was told above they were in support of the rifle units (Companies A, B, C) My father was in Co. D Mortars & Heavy Weapons. Would Co. D be behind these other companies and given co-ordinates by these infantrymen?? My Dad had a hand written list of 24 men in his papers with rank and last name- some had 'cook' or 'motorpool' behind the name. I was told that it possibly was his squad???? He was the highest ranking of these men. Can you explain to me what 'squad' would mean??? Thanks again!

 

Sounds like a mortar section of two mortar squads which, per the tables, had 17 men. They had two jeeps but not a cook. Maybe he was just the best guy at scrounging food and heating rations.


This is the best one page description and photos that I have found except it is USMC. Same weapon but the US Army had a six-mortar, three section mortar platoon in the infantry battalion. The mortar breaks-down into the barrel, bipod and baseplate. The barrel ain't too bad to carry, the bipod can be awkward but it folds and the baseplate is a beast.
http://www.ww2gyrene.org/weapons_81mm_mortar.htm


You father came to the 13th Infantry as a private or private first class (one stripe). I suspect he worked his way up the hierarchy of ammo bearer, assistant gunner, gunner, gun sergeant, section leader. Of course his progress was 'helped' by casualties but he also had to demonstrate the skill and responsibility.

For a personal weapon the crewmen have either M1 carbines or 45-cal automatic pistol, sometimes both.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_carbine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1911_pistol

We're getting there, I see a picture forming...

 

I found the actual from www.myfatherswar.com what his Company D was issued...once again you are correct. He was issued both I also found the AAR's for July 1944 to May 1945!!! Not easy reading... but I press forward!

 

That link is not working for me. I'm not sure what you found but brief victories help heal hours of frustrating research.


Regarding the AAR's, they are tough reading. First the original copy is bad and hard to read. I found zooming out can help with the legibility. Second the AAR's are very confusing since they are terse and filled with "army speak". But they can fill in details particularly when the regiment is off the line and not likely to be mentioned in the histories.

They particularly help with place names but watch-out for spelling differences. I spent some amount of time trying to find Hauberville. GoogleMaps has a Huberville just east of Valognes which seems to fit. We can also help you with those grid coordinates too.


The US Army official histories offer some sensible narrative to follow. You don't have to read the whole thing just look for the 8th ID (browser Find function does nice). This paragraph concludes the 8th ID's difficult entry into battle.

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Breakout/USA-E-Breakout-7.html

US Army histories here:
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/index.html

 

Sorry - I posted incorrect link - but it the first one you listed in your first response to me above. This website is amazing...some direct info on Dad's company...not as much as I would like but some I take what I can get. I am getting ready to read the info you just posted as it the quote you posted has to do with the 13th Inf. THANK YOU - I am a woman driven!!! lol

 

You're going down the same road I did ten years ago. My father was also a heavy weapons company mortar guy in another Division.

The M1 Mortar (81mm) had an effective range of about two miles, but were usually sited much closer than that. It was an extremely effective weapon.

There was also an M2 60mm mortar with a range of about 1 mile that was generally attached to the rifle companies.

The great thing about mortars was that there was very little flash or smoke, so they were fairly safe from counter-battery fire and if the enemy did spot them, they could be moved very quickly. The round itself was very effective against troops or light armor. They could also deliver smoke or illumination shells as needed.

Most infantrymen were trained to observe and correct mortar fire, at least early in the campaign. Replacements generally didn't have that skill, but there was always somebody around to do it, and the mortar companies would send their own observers forward to the rifle companies.

 

Thanks Kodiak - this is so foreign to me...did the mortar guys set up behind the other inf ( A, B, C companies they supported???)...where/who told them where to set up and where to aim?...or at times did they just see themselves what needed to be hit?

 

I'm learning the details of this too, so here goes a summary...

As part of the HW company, the 81mm mortar platoon or battalion mortars, was generally positioned or located by the company commander, a captain. The platoon commander, a 1st Lieutenant, and his platoon sergeant would work out the details of setting up in the location designated. The three section commanders, 2d Lieutenants, generally served as forward observers working with a radio operator. The section leader, a Staff Sergeant, supervised the two mortar 'crews' of the section through the squad leaders, 'buck' Sergeants.

The reason for having three 2-mortar sections was so that a section could be split off from the platoon and attached to a rifle company for an independent mission away from the rest of the battalion.

The battalion mortars were generally located in the middle of the battalion position not too far, but not too close, to the battalion headquarters.

The mortars could fire at a target they could see but this was an exception. Usually only encountered in pursuit situations with a fleeing enemy that is out of range of other weapons.

I hope that helps some, it's hard to be clear and brief. I admire your desire to understand the environment your father served in.


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