Gutergluck, Germany

I am on another mission. Last year about this time I was able to help a guy in Germany, Bernd, find the family of a US Veteran. He had found a watch, with the Veteran's name engraved, in the Hurtgen Forest.
Bernd contacted me a few days ago with the request of helping his friend, Kay, find the family of a US Veteran. Kay had found the dog tags of a Veteran and he wants to return them. I have been successful, in finding the daughter of the Veteran, William Gansberger.
With the first Veteran, I was able to find what Division he served in and with the help of his family, it was determined the date he lost the watch. It was found in the area of his injury.
With Mr. Gansberger, Kay found the dog tags near Gutergluck.
My question; does anyone know what US Divisions fought in this area. I have been able to find that the 83rd ID was in this area in April 1945. Were there more Divisions on other dates

Thanks
Dot

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_H%C3%BCrtgen_Forest

 

Fred, thanks for the link. The watch was found in Hurtgen Forest, near Hamich, but it is now home in the US. We were able to trace that Veteran's Division.

I am now trying to find the Division for the owner of the Dog tags, William Gansberger. The tags were found near Gutergluck, which is a distance from Hurtgen Forest area.

Thanks

Dot

 

Fold3 has a profile page for a William J. Gansberger who served in WWII. His ASN is 16039113. It indicates he was in the Field Artillery branch, which could mean he was in a field artillery, AAA, tank destroyer, or other related type of unit. That is, of course, assuming it is the same William Gansberger.

 

Ye "Man of Constant Sorrow", that would be the same William Gansberger. I spoke with his daughter, and she didn't know which Division he was in. The gentleman who found the dog tags sent me a photo of them. He also found an enlisted man's field artillery label pin in the same spot.

Dot

 

Thanks for the help

 

I was able to find William's daughter. The dog tags were mailed to her by the finder. I wish now that I had not found her. The only thing asked of her was a photo be sent to the finder. She has yet to even send him a thank you. I have been able to find that when he shipped home from Europe he was in M Company 271st IR 69th ID. My mission now is to find a photo of Mr. Gansberger to send to Kay, the finder. I feel so bad for him. I have been in contact with a great-nephew, but he said that his grandfather and the rest of the family separated and had no contact with William or his family. Not sure why, but I got the feeling that William and his family were maybe a little, how should I say, dysfunctional. If anyone has any suggestions on finding a photo, please let me know.

Thanks

Dot

 

That's unfortunate the daughter didn't come through, but you, and the finder, did everything possible and asked little in return. You can't make people care. I could bore you with many similar stories from my research for our website.

I can't offer you any advice regarding finding a photo of Mr. Gansberger. I did find William J. on Ancestry, (as Tom mentioned in post #4) but he's in a family tree (no photo) which was done by someone who's posted 10 different trees. Their online name is "rocheleautj", don't know if that means anything to you (i.e., the daughter)? Interestingly, the tree only has William, wife Betty, and two kids attached to her but no info on them. I can try contacting the tree owner if you would like.

Have you read the April, 45, AAR for the 329th Infantry Regiment (83rd ID)? Looks to me like they took part of Gutergluck. The file mentions CCR (Combat Command Reserve) of the 2nd Armored Division being on the left of the 329th and involved in taking the town. I can't find any online files covering CCR's actions.

Link to 329th file (see page 6 of the file): http://83rdinfdivdocs.org/documents/329th/AAR/AAR_329_APR1945.pdf

Steve

 

I would like to think that there is some good reason why she hasn't responded or followed through. Steve is correct when he said that people can't be made to care or be appreciative of a good deed. The trick for me is to remember those who have shown their appreciation and gratitude.

I hope you are successful in tracking down a photo of Mr. Gansberger for the finder. That's a bit of a tall order when the family isn't much help, but it's not impossible.

 

Thanks Guys,
Kay and I at first thought that Mr. Gansberger was with the 83rd. I did make a tree for his family on Ancestry and found the passenger list for his return home. But it lists him as being with Company M 271st IR, 69th ID. So I don't know what to think. Maybe after V E Day he could have been transferred?, I guess at this point it really isn't important. I did find a great nephew and spoke to him on the phone. Long story short, he never met that side of the family. I guess William and his family were as the nephew put it, were just a little different. The two sides do not even spell the last name the same. He said his Mom is going to go through her photos and if she has any of Mr. Gansberger, he will email them to me. (fingers crossed) Any way, I'll keep trying and maybe one day I'll find one. I just feel so bad for the guy in Germany that found the tags.
Steve thanks for the link! The finder sent me the latitude/longitude of where he found the tags, maybe one of my Facebook buddies from Germany can figure out who exactly was in that area.

Thanks again

Dot