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45th (Thunderbird) Division, US Army
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Want to know more about 45th (Thunderbird) Division, US Army? There are:3 items tagged 45th (Thunderbird) Division, US Army available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Armor C. Surber 45th Inf. Div. 157th Infantry, F Coy My dad, Armor Surbe, was a POW in Stalag 2B. His unit was F Coy, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry Division of the US Army. He passed away in 1989.
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PFC. James Turner Newton Coy E. 157th Infantry Regiment My daddy, PFC James Newton was with company E of the 157th Regiment, 45th Thunderbird Division. He enlisted at Ft. McCellan, Alabama in November 19, 1942, and was discharged from service November 17, 1945. He was captured at the battle of Reipertswiller on J20th or 21st of anuary 1945. Daddy said that he had been wounded at the battle and was treated by a German doctor. Daddy did not talk much about what went on while he was in the POW camp.
He did say that they got one raw potato and some bread a day, and he stated that he weighed 69 pounds when he was liberated, and when they were
put on a ship to come home a lot of POWS died due to eating too much. They were told to eat crackers. My daddy passed in 1987. If someone knew him or had pictures please email them to me.
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PFC. John David "Jay" Zaitz 157th Infantry Regiment  John Zaitz, was born on the 14th of December 1911, was one of seven children, raised by his mother Frances, after the death of his father in the 1918 Flu epidemic. By trade John was a broom maker, in Pueblo Colorado, and considered amiable and well-liked. He passed away in 1979, leaving no spouse or children.
John was Inducted on the 21st of January 1941 and Discharged on 27th of August 1945. According to his military records we have indicated the following information,
Per General Order #14, 157th Infantry Regiment dated November 15, 1922 John was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge effective January 1,1944, page 20 (image 6014). He is listed as a former member of this organization.
In G.O. # 5, 157th Infantry Regiment, dated 8 July 1944, listed as MIA, effective 1 January 1944, page 6 (image 6091). Then, in G.O. #5 Extract, also dated 8 July 1944, he is awarded the CIB with his status listed as MIA, page 6 (image 6126). This extract describes all the men as formerly of this organization.
John spoke very little about his experiences during the war, but did offer some short stories with very little detail. Records for the 157th (45th Div) show that they arrived in Africa January 22, 1943, they next assaulted Scoglitti Sicily July 9-11 1943, and Salerno, Italy September 9, 1943.
John related one story without saying where it took place, but was pleased with the outcome. He had been order to station himself on a hillside that overlooked a road. He had been supplied with a bazooka and told that a German tank was reported to be headed in his direction. His orders were to stop the tank. He said he spent several hours with the bazooka in his hands praying that the Panzer would never appear. His prayers were answered and he was relieved by another soldier.
During the landing at Anzio, in January 1944 John's landing craft was turned over in the surf many of the soldiers with him were drowned. John shed rifle, ammo belt and field pack which allowed him to make it to the surface. He retrieved an Italian made rifle which he used until he could rearm.
While looking down on the Town of Anzio from a hill he could see the shells coming in overhead. During some shelling he took cover behind a stone wall. A shell landed on the other side of the wall and a large stone from the wall fell hitting Jay on the helmet and sliding down his back leaving scrapes. His buddies talked him into going to the aid station so he could receive a purple heart. When he arrived there he saw the wounds that others had suffered and turned around and went back to his unit. He said he didn't deserve any medals.
While searching a farm, John came upon a barn with a chicken and eggs. He stashed the eggs and came back for them later with friends. While this group of GIs huddled around in anticipation of fried eggs Jay opened the eggs and they contained dead chicks which had become spoiled.
During the battle of Anzio, John's group was moving up a ravine or ditch. He said the men in front of him stood up and raise their hands. When he looked up he found they were surrounded by Germans, and were taken prisoner. General Order 5, 157th Infantry Regiment, dated 8th of July 1944, lists John as missing in action, effective 1st of January 1944. This must be a general use for the date as the division assault on Anzio took place on 22nd of January 21944. In General Order 5 Extract, also dated 8th of July 1944, he is awarded the CIB with his status listed as Missing in Action.
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PFC. Ronda Ray Morgan Co E. 179th Infantry Regiment 45th Div Uncle Ron, Ronda Morgan served with Co E, 179th Infantry Regiment. According to the government archives he was at Stalag IIB at Hammerstein from 17th of February 1944 until 7th of April 1945. Uncle Ron re-enlisted for another 6 years after his discharge in 1945 and rose to the rank of Sergeant. Uncle Ron never spoke of this time in his life. He told his sister, my mother, that every day a German soldier would come in and throw a ripe red apple in the middle of the hut. Whoever weakened and grabbed the apple was taken out and punished. That's the only story I know.
He never married. He lived with us for the final years of his life. He would hoard food in his room, especially peanut butter. Momma said it was because of what happened to him in Germany.
He died in 1992.
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Max Emil Stieving Coy K 179th Infantry Regiment Max Stieving served with the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Division, US Army in WW2.
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Capt. Fred J. Robison 45th Infantry Division My father, Fred J. Robison, joined the 45th Infantry which was at the time a National Guard unit from the Western USA and composed in large part from Native American tribes of the SW. With war looming it was activated. Originally their patch was an Anasazi symbol which looked too much like a swastika, so it was changed to a golden eagle on a red diamond. Following Pearl Harbor, they held a Regimental Assembly and asked if anyone knew how to type. A few men stepped forward. My father had never probably even touched a typewriter, but he was a good speller. He joined the group that volunteered. My father was smart enough to know manning a typewriter would be infinitely safer that carrying a rifle in an infantry unit. Shortly thereafter, he boarded the SS Cathay for England with some of the first US servicemen to arrive in England.
He initially was assigned to work at European Theatre of Operations then later Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces, where he served as a staff courier for General Eisenhower. He said Ike bummed a cigarette from him every day and always replaced it with a pack. He was BIGOT-Classified to carry documents regarding D-Day regularly, even delivering two to the British Prime Minister. He was present for the signing of the German surrender, standing close enough to kiss Gen. Jodl and Admiral ‘Donuts’, as he called him.
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PFC. Wallace Bruce "Allport" Bruce 180th Infantry Regiment 45th Infantry Division My Dad, Wallace Bruce never talked about the war but spent his life after the war staring at the floor and mostly being in a bad mood. He died in 1970 at the age of 52.
In the war, he was a medic in a front line infantry unit. In February 1945, his unit was attacked while retreating and he was shot 4 times in the lower stomach while lying in a foxhole. When a young German soldier went to shoot him again, he put his leg up for protection and the shot tore most of his thigh muscle away. Being captured, he spent the last 3 months of the war in a POW camp Stalag 7b in Moosburg, Bavaria. The camp was liberated in April 1945.
After he died, I had to identify his body and saw that his thigh had never healed completely, there was still a scab on the wound. I don’t know why that's never left my thoughts. It must have bothered him, but he never complained, at least not to me or my 6 brothers and 3 sisters. Before he died, I was the oldest at home and I had just returned from Vietnam 3 months earlier, I tried to talk with him about being in the war, thinking that since I was just back from my war we would have something in common. But he never spoke about his time in hell.
So I can just tell what I know about his war experience, his 2 Purple Hearts and other medals, including the POW medal. His military records have gotten lost in the Army's central record repository in St. Louis.
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