tarbridge Posted October 18, 2013 Share #1 Posted October 18, 2013 Tech 4 Clay Y Macy serial# 34603753 Birth: Kernersville, North Carolina Co A 737th Tank Battalion KIA: 15 March 1945 I just recently picked up this WWII tanker from North Carolina with the Help of a forum member. I owe him Thanks.RIP Tech 4 Macy. 737th Tank Battalion Info below taken from the 737th website. Battalion HistoryOur unit ranked high among the most decorated separate tank battalions fighting in Europe during World War II. It received the Presidential Unit Citation from Harry Truman, and the Croix de Guerre with Silver Star from the French Government, for its action at Mortain France during August 10 - 13, 1944 -- and 22 commendations from higher headquarters for excellent performance in other battles. "737" participated in all of the five major battles (Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe). During 299 days of actual combat members of the unit were awarded 2 Distinguished Service Crosses, 22 Silver Stars, 188 Bronze Stars, more than 400 purple hearts, and two Croix de Guerre's. Three enlisted men received battlefield commissions. The unit landed at Omaha Beach on July 12 and 13, 1944, assigned to the First Army. After the capture of Saint Lo in France, "737" was transferred to the Third Army on August 6, 1944. Although it fought most of the war with the Third Army, our battalion was briefly loaned to the First Army again in April 1945 to help clean up the Ruhr Pocket that contained 317,000 German soldiers. This campaign started at Brilon and ended in Menden on the Ruhr River. In five days "737" cleared 42 towns. One of our reconnaissance patrols killed Lieutenant General Joachim Von Kortzfleisch, second in command to Field Marshal Walter Model, when he tried to escape. At times the battalion was badly mauled by some of the best soldiers in the German Army. The Krauts destroyed 66 medium and 8 light tanks. (A tank battalion has an initial strength of 59 medium tanks, 17 light tanks, and 751 men.) Combat took a heavy toll in manpower. Our unit had 6 officers and 58 enlisted men killed in action. One officer and 20 enlisted men were reported missing. The names of one officer and two enlisted men are listed on the wall in the Luxembourg Cemetery as soldiers "who sleep in unknown graves". These losses were not without glory. When General Patton was observing our troops at the Moselle River crossing he said "that's the way tanks should fight." General Patton sent a letter on 17 Nov 45 to the officers and men of the 5th Infantry Division, to whom we were attached. He wrote "To my mind history does not record incidents of greater valor than your assault crossings of the Sauer and the Rhine. You crossed so many rivers I am persuaded many of you have web feet ..." "737" was the first tank battalion of the Third Army to cross the Moselle and Meurthe Rivers, the first armored unit in XII Corps to touch German soil, and the first armored unit of the Third Army to cross the Rhine River and enter Frankfurt. It ended the war in Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland) after capturing Houzina, Volary and Winterberg. One platoon of Company "C", commanded by your webmaster, liberated 118 Jewish girls in Volary on May 5, 1945. These young ladies, with an average weight of 82 pounds, survived the 700 - kilometer Death March that began in Poland on January 29 and lasted 97 days. The Death March story has been dramatized on national television. Another historical incident occurred in Volary -- the last official casualty in the ETO. A Czech-American citizen, Pfc Charles Havlat of the 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, was killed when elements of the 11th Panzer Division ambushed his reconnaissance platoon 4 km northeast of the town. This event took place at 0820 hours on May 7, about 10 minutes before the "cease-fire" orders became effective. Your webmaster was at the scene. German occupation in Kreis Vilshofen was soon interrupted by a reorganization into the 737th Amphibian Tractor Battalion. Our unit moved to Camp Lucky Strike, France, and sailed from La Havre on the liberty ship Timothy H. Dwight. Operation Olympic (invasion of the island of Kyushu) was scrapped by the A-bomb, but the 737 went to Ford Ord, California, and trained until deactivated on 15 Nov 1945. Our Battalion was attached to three hard-fighting outfits during and after the war: France 35th Infantry Division Luxembourg, Germany, Czechoslovakia 5th Infantry Division German Occupation 83rd Infantry Division Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share #2 Posted October 18, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted October 18, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted October 18, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted October 18, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJohn#3RD Posted October 18, 2013 Share #6 Posted October 18, 2013 Your Mission Is Accomplished RIP Young Hero John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share #7 Posted October 18, 2013 After Action Report for the date of March 15 1945. They lost three Tanks on that date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted October 18, 2013 Share #8 Posted October 18, 2013 Great group Robert...especially the unit and accompanying documents. I do not think this Purple Heart could have found a better home....congrats! Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted October 18, 2013 Share #9 Posted October 18, 2013 Very nice group and now in good hands. Ricardo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieony Posted October 18, 2013 Share #10 Posted October 18, 2013 Very nice! Thank you for posting! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajntony Posted October 18, 2013 Share #11 Posted October 18, 2013 This grouping looks as good as the day I bought it from the family just over a month ago. Amazing how many hands it went through since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajntony Posted October 18, 2013 Share #12 Posted October 18, 2013 Oh yea, there was one other piece to this grouping that isn't in the pictures...... Wonder if you got it or if the other guy kept it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share #13 Posted October 18, 2013 Oh yea, there was one other piece to this grouping that isn't in the pictures...... Wonder if you got it or if the other guy kept it. Do you how to send a pm?Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRR Posted October 18, 2013 Share #14 Posted October 18, 2013 Does no one have tact anymore? Tarbridge, great addition to your collection. Always nice to see some background and original documents to go with it. Did anyone notice the extra period after his last name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted October 19, 2013 Share #15 Posted October 19, 2013 Agree, very nice group and tribute Robert! JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baker Posted October 19, 2013 Share #16 Posted October 19, 2013 Robert, Nice, nice, nice........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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