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One Division's Library...My 76th Infantry Division Book/Ephemera Collection. Some RARE ones!


carbinephalen
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carbinephalen

Hello All!

 

I usually hang out in the uniform forums but I had some spare hours on my hand today so I decided to photograph my my 76th Division paper items. These range from unit history books, Infantry Company yearbooks, even small booklets put together for the troops stateside before deployment. I have spent countless hours tracking these down for the past four years and am happy to say that there is only one item (to my knowledge) that I don't have yet. It is entitled, "Load Up with the 2nd Battalion, 417th Infantry"

 

If anybody has one PLEASE let me know! I would love to have at least a photo of it ;)

 

It is interesting just how many pieces of literature one division can publish.

 

Well anyways, here we go! Standby for quite a few posts...

 

First up is the unit's official WWII-era printed unit history:

 

"We Ripened Fast" It is 250 pages long and contains within it a complete awards lists excluding WIA Purple Heart recipients

 

Here it is without the cover also BK-569.JPG

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carbinephalen

Next up is the 304th Infantry Regiment's official unit history. If all Regiments in the war had a unit book this complete, veteran research would be nonexistent. I say this because this particular book has a COMPLETE list of all the men who served, or previously served in this regiment, what company they were in, and what awards they received! It is a must have for this Division. It is 349 pages long!

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carbinephalen

This is the 385th Infantry Regiment's unit book. "385th in the ETO". This is my grandfather's regiment and each company gets a few pages in it to tell their role in the war. My grandfather's company's, the 2nd Battalion HQ Co, page even has a photo of him and the rest of the officers in the unit. He is pictured 2nd from the left. RIP Grandpa.

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carbinephalen

This is the 1st Battalion 417th unit book. It is paperback and came with a 1st Sgt's grouping from "A" Company. This book too has a complete WIA and medal roster plus photos of the officers. Including a photo of "D" Company's C.O. and Silver Star Medal Recipient Capt. Stanley Maynard, whose uniform I am lucky enough to have in my collection.

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carbinephalen

This book was made by Turner Publishing in 1991 and is what I would call a memory book for veterans. It is basically a condensed "We Ripened Fast" unit history book with the 1991 roster from the Association. Also it has many veteran bios who submitted them to the book. This particular one belonged to my grandfather and was left to me after his passing. It was the first 76th item I ever held.

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carbinephalen

This book is also a post war published one by a member of the 76th Division Association. He compiled every town in the ETO that the Division passed through, the actions the unit performed in the town, and the dates they were there. Also a wealth of information. Many company journal entries in this one!

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carbinephalen

This booklet was made in the late 1980's by the 76th Infantry "Training" Division. It gives a brief history of the Division from WWI to the current day. It was issued to new recruits of the unit to give them a brief synopsis of the div. 20 pages long.

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carbinephalen

This is the 901st Field Artillery's unit history. Rather small in size compared to the others but it too contains a complete roster of the Battalion which is priceless during research.

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carbinephalen

This book was recently (the last 5 years) published by an infantryman in the 385th. It is his war story and is a great read for anybody wishing to learn more about the day to day lives of late war "dog faces". He was in the same battalion as my grandfather so it really gives me insight into everything Gramps experienced. :)

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carbinephalen

These are a Division collectors bible! Published by Brandon Weigand at D-Day Militaria. It provides the citation number for every award recipient in the Division. You simply email him which General Order you would like and he sends it to you in PDF format for a small $5 fee. Also a priceless research tool in my library!

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carbinephalen

This book came with a KIA grouping I acquired several years back, it is the only one I have every seen. It is the 2nd Battalion 304th's personal war story with a complete roster in the back of it.

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carbinephalen

This book holds a very special place in my heart. It is the Company unit history of "L" Company, 385th Regiment. It not only has a complete roster of the company, but a portrait of each soldier who served in it. I was able to sit on the couch with my very good friend at his home in California as he pointed out his buddies whose faces he hadn't seen in close to 70 years. He sadly passed away several months ago and he will truly be missed by me.

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carbinephalen

Edward Topping (1925-2013) and myself two years ago. PFC and 1st Scout for "L" Company 385th Infantry. Bronze Star Medal Recipient and dear friend.

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carbinephalen

Here he is reading this very book. Tears of excitement came to his eyes as he told me stories about himself and each soldier who he pointed to. Truly an experience I will never forget.

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carbinephalen

This booklet was made for the 385th men approx 4 months before they deployed while they were at Camp McCoy. It has in it several stories of soldiers who trained with the division and participated in the early campaigns of the war as a morale booster for the Onaway boys.

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carbinephalen

Another booklet on the 76th from the 2nd Anniversary "Infantry Day" which was put on to showcase the fighting men of the unit for local press. I absolutely love the cover design on this one!

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carbinephalen

From the interwar years. A Roster of the men who made up this "On paper" Division. Published in the mid 1920's it detailed what occurred at the summer training camps for the small cadre of officers and Non-coms that made up the division.

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carbinephalen

385th Regimental newspapers published overseas. It is a miracle these survived at all. These particular examples were shipped home by an "L" Company vet and saved by his family members.

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