jmd62 Posted September 7, 2018 Share #1 Posted September 7, 2018 Hey guys, I've been communicating recently with a World War II Armored Infantryman who even at the age of 94, has been able to share a lot of experiences in great detail. He did ask me to help him with something so I'm hoping you guys can help. Prior to deployment in the ETO he received Intelligence and Reconnaissance training but was not placed into an I&R Platoon. He served as one of the two Scouts in his Rifle Squad. He doesn't remember why he was given that training and asked me if I could find out why certain guys received Intelligence and Reconnaissance training. Any thoughts? Thanks! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted September 9, 2018 Share #2 Posted September 9, 2018 Hey guys, I've been communicating recently with a World War II Armored Infantryman who even at the age of 94, has been able to share a lot of experiences in great detail. He did ask me to help him with something so I'm hoping you guys can help. Prior to deployment in the ETO he received Intelligence and Reconnaissance training but was not placed into an I&R Platoon. He served as one of the two Scouts in his Rifle Squad. He doesn't remember why he was given that training and asked me if I could find out why certain guys received Intelligence and Reconnaissance training. Any thoughts? Thanks! James Can't answer why troops took or were made to take I&R course, but perhaps the reason he wasn't assigned to a I&R Plt was availability, there were no slots at this time in his Armored Infantry Battalion when he got there and or his unit needed replacements and any I&R training didn't matter. One more thing to consider is that perhaps Scouts were previously trained in I&R and need not nesseraly be assigned to an I&R Plt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmd62 Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted September 9, 2018 Makes sense, thanks for the reply! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted September 9, 2018 Share #4 Posted September 9, 2018 Makes sense, thanks for the reply! You ever see that movie A Midnight Clear, the one about an I&R Platoon, presumably of the 90th Inf Div just before the Ardennes Offensive? Now in the beginning of the movie, there's a narrator, I think one of the characters, he states WE, meaning the members of an I&R Platoon were selected because of a High IQ score, High Test scores and something to that affect, it's even mentioned in the WIKI as we see, though not sure how true that might of been . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted September 9, 2018 Share #5 Posted September 9, 2018 Here's an ealier topic just for the heck of it, not much in the way of more definitive info, but a good dialogue with some uniforms etc. I even brought up the movie A Midnight Clear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nix284 Posted September 9, 2018 Share #6 Posted September 9, 2018 I have a training manual fot I&R platoons. I’ll have to dig it out. I remember it saying the members were to be selected of men who could speak a foreign language, ability to draw maps, and other skills like that. They were used in some cases as a quick reaction force because they were assigned 5 jeeps and could get around quickly. Such is the case with Lt. Lyle Bouck’s I&R platoon in the Ardennes. Read The Longest Winter, the Epic Story of WWII’s most Decorated Platoon. Good read. I agree the veteran in question was not assigned to one probably because there was no slot open. As there was only one I&R per regiment, there were limited spots available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmd62 Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted September 9, 2018 Great info guys, I sort of figured IQ might play into it, or having certain natural abilities. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted September 9, 2018 Share #8 Posted September 9, 2018 I have a training manual fot I&R platoons. I’ll have to dig it out. I remember it saying the members were to be selected of men who could speak a foreign language, ability to draw maps, and other skills like that. They were used in some cases as a quick reaction force because they were assigned 5 jeeps and could get around quickly. Such is the case with Lt. Lyle Bouck’s I&R platoon in the Ardennes. Read The Longest Winter, the Epic Story of WWII’s most Decorated Platoon. Good read. I agree the veteran in question was not assigned to one probably because there was no slot open. As there was only one I&R per regiment, there were limited spots available. Did Armored Infantry Battalion have an I&R Plt? Member states old timer was in an Armored Division, an Armored Infantryman. Seen that they had a Reconnaissance Platoon in HQ Company, but maybe that's a error, and it should say Intelligence and Reconnaissance? http://www.ghqmodels.com/pdf/toe1-usarmouredinfantrybattalion44.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted September 9, 2018 Share #9 Posted September 9, 2018 BTW what Armored Division was he in jmd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmd62 Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share #10 Posted September 10, 2018 BTW what Armored Division was he in jmd? He served in Company 'B' of the 65th AIB of the 20th Armored Division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmd62 Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share #11 Posted September 10, 2018 Did Armored Infantry Battalion have an I&R Plt? Member states old timer was in an Armored Division, an Armored Infantryman. Seen that they had a Reconnaissance Platoon in HQ Company, but maybe that's a error, and it should say Intelligence and Reconnaissance? http://www.ghqmodels.com/pdf/toe1-usarmouredinfantrybattalion44.pdf Hey Guys, I can't speak for all the Divisions, but each of the AIB's of the 20th AD did have HQ I & R Platoons. I looked up the particular one for the 65th AIB and learned they were all awarded Bronze Stars on April 29th 1945 for their actions after their column was ambushed in a town called Biberbach. Approximately 70 SS troopers were killed and another 500 taken prisoner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nix284 Posted September 10, 2018 Share #12 Posted September 10, 2018 The 1942 dated manual I have on I&R platoons shows a total of 7 jeeps and 30 men including the platoon leader. The pamphlet is called "Tactical Employment of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, Headquarters Company, Infantry Regiment." It says nothing about armored units, but by 1944 I'm sure things changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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