Letters 9th Tank Destroyer Group - 3rd Army.

[Jeeper704]

It took quite some time, but last week the last batch of letters arrived here safely.
These were of a lot that was about to be broken up.
Luckily, the seller was so kind to accept my offer and sold all letters in one batch.

These letters were written by an officer who became part of the 9th Tank Destroyer Group.
They start in October 1941 in Fort Jackson, South Carolina (at that time this man was a Lieutenant) and end in July 1945 (then he was a Major).

9th Tank Destroyer Group, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment.
Arrived 30 Aug. 1943 at Camp Atterbury.
Departed for overseas duty 24 March 1944.
Commanding Officers:
Colonel W. M. Hutson,
Lieutenant-Colonel W. L. Herold,
Colonel Lansing McVicker.

Erwin

[Jeeper704]

A few examples;
They deal with the daily life, liberation of French towns, life at the frontline, etc.
Some were written by his wife.

Erwin

[Jim Baker]

Erwin,

 

Great find! I always enjoy reading these letters written "in that moment of time". Very interesting to see how people viewed the world during that time of uncertainty.

[Jeeper704]

Thanks Jim.

I hope to be able to reconstruct the history of both this officer and the 9th TD Group with these letters.

I tend to believe they not only have an emotional value but also an historical one.

As I go through them, I might add the history here.

 

Erwin

[locobuster]

Wow what a great grouping, amigo! I can see the wait was worth it!

 

Looking forward to reading what all you discover in them!

 

Cheers! :thumbsup:

Syd

[BEAST]

Great grouping! It is not easy keeping all of these together! :thumbsup:

[OD MAN]

Congrats Jeeper!!! I would buy an archival acid free scrap book to keep them in. :thumbsup:

[Jeeper704]

Thanks, guys.

I'm thinking of getting a wooden box to keep this lot in.

I might decorate it with his name and TD insignia or so.

 

Erwin

[MFortney]

Very nice grouping Erwin. My mother says there used to be a stack of letters that my grandfather sent home but unfortunately we've never found them. Items like this add a remarkable touch to a collection.

[JosephC]

I was researching a name on a pair of officer dog tags I own and found amongst other information your thread on Hendrix's letters. I have his dogtags! Small world. Have you found out anything on his campaigns and service awards?

 

I noticed a recent letter sold on ebay from canada and that is where I found out of his being in the 9th tank destroyers.

[Jeeper704]

Small world indeed!

The seller informed me that his estate was scattered into the four wind directions.

I was lucky to get around 109 letters.

 

Here is some information I already got together:

 

The letters were written by Captain Carroll Eugene Hendrix, who served in the 9th Tank Destroyer Group, which was assigned to XII Corps of the Third United States Army, Commanded by General George S. Patton. The 9th Tank Destroyer Group arrived in France on 31 July 1944, serving in the campaigns in Northern France and the Rhineland. The 9th T.D. Group then served in the Battle of the Bulge, arriving in Luxembourg with XII Corps on the 21st of December 1944. Carroll E. Hendrix eventually retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.

 

Some places in France he saw: Carentan, Cherbourg, Le Mans, Orleans, Toul, Chartres, Etampes, Fontaine, and Chatauxdun (sp?).

 

If you ever consider selling the dogtags, please let me know.

I do wonder where the rest of his uniforms and documents ended up.

 

Erwin

 

PS: Could you e-mail me a copy of that "Cooper Funeral Home" document? Thanks.

[Zeke]

Small world indeed!

The seller informed me that his estate was scattered into the four wind directions.

I was lucky to get around 109 letters.

 

Here is some information I already got together:

Some places in France he saw: Carentan, Cherbourg, Le Mans, Orleans, Toul, Chartres, Etampes, Fontaine, and Chatauxdun (sp?).

 

If you ever consider selling the dogtags, please let me know.

I do wonder where the rest of his uniforms and documents ended up.

 

Erwin

 

PS: Could you e-mail me a copy of that "Cooper Funeral Home" document? Thanks.

 

I saw your post, and I can tell you where the uniforms went. They came to the Florence SC flea market. I bought a WW2 trunk that contained 2 army jackets, an overcoat, boots, scarf, laundry bag, and 2 unidentified heavy canvas items that appear to be some sort of bag. Unfortunately, someone had removed the patches from the jackets, but his name and army serial number are written in all of the items. I was searching his name, and this page came up. I can post pictures of the items, if anyone is interested. I live in Florence and collect WW2 memorabilia. Dillon is just a short distance away, and I plan to visit where his burial site is sometime in the future. I would love to find out more information on him. I was saddened to see that someone removed the patches on the uniforms.

[Jeeper704]

Hello Zeke,

That would be great if you could post pictures here.

If you allow me, I'll put the pictures with the information I have.

Let me know what information you are looking for and I'll send it on to you. :thumbsup:

 

Sad to hear that the patches got removed.

They probably ended up somewhere else?

 

Btw, when you visit his final resting place, please take a few photos for me.

Do you have - by any chance - a photo of this officer?

 

Erwin

[Zeke]

You may use the pictures however you'd like.

No pictures of the man or any documents were in the trunk, sorry. I would also like to somehow obtain pictures of him as well. I will keep researching... If you find out anything else from your letters, please let me know.

And If you know anything about the large overcoat and the unidentified canvas items I would greatly appreciate the info.

The mirror looks like it came off of a truck of some sort, and it has a small handmade hanger on the back. Any info or opinions about that either would be nice.

Blanket and Scarf:

Boots:

Brown coat:

Green coat:

Laundry bag:

[Zeke]

Long coat:

Mirror (Shaving one on a car?)

Shirt:

[Zeke]

Tent?:

[Zeke]

Trunk:

Unidentified Object (Can someone tell me what this is?)

[OD MAN]

Zeke, the short "Brown coat" and "Green coat" are actually standard WWII US army issue M-41 field jackets. They are roughly worth $100 or more each. Very nice pickup for a flea market...

 

 

edit: The "tent" looks to be a m-1935 officers bed roll. The painted markings on the bed roll can be read about here: http://www.med-dept.com/pom/

 

 

Justin

[Jeeper704]

Those items are great!

Thanks so much for posting the pictures.

OD Man is correct identifying the field jackets.

 

When I find some information or photos or anything regarding this officer, I sure will put it here. :thumbsup:

 

Erwin

[Zeke]

Thanks to both of you! :thumbsup:

[Zeke]

I found the cemetery plot for Carroll Hendrix in Dillon. It did not have a marker that stated his WW2 service. Here is a pic of the plot.

 

It took quite some time, but last week the last batch of letters arrived here safely.
These were of a lot that was about to be broken up.
Luckily, the seller was so kind to accept my offer and sold all letters in one batch.

These letters were written by an officer who became part of the 9th Tank Destroyer Group.
They start in October 1941 in Fort Jackson, South Carolina (at that time this man was a Lieutenant) and end in July 1945 (then he was a Major).

9th Tank Destroyer Group, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment.
Arrived 30 Aug. 1943 at Camp Atterbury.
Departed for overseas duty 24 March 1944.
Commanding Officers:
Colonel W. M. Hutson,
Lieutenant-Colonel W. L. Herold,
Colonel Lansing McVicker.


Erwin

[Jeeper704]

Thanks for posting the photos.

I still need to go through the letters, but time is not on my side at the moment.

I hope to have time to do it soon, so stayed tuned.

 

Erwin

[gauthieb3sxz]

Wow! What an amazing grouping. I just purchased a dog tag at a local flea market here in Vermont - belonging to none other than Carroll E. Hendrix!

 

Serial Number O-377378

 

Dated to T41-42

 

I have NO idea how this dog tag made it to Vermont!

[Jeeper704]

Wow, that's a nice surprise!

I sent you a pm.

 

Erwin

[gauthieb3sxz]

I hope you enjoy! Helping piece history back together is always a good feeling!