347th Infantry Combat Medic Ike

[postmanusnac]

I present to you all the uniform of Pfc John C Stid-man (1922-2013) from Baltimore, Maryland.  During WW2 John served as Medical Corpsman (MOS 657) with the Medical Detachment, 347th Infantry.  The presence of a PUC shows he supported the regiment's 1st Bn, during at least part of his time in the 347th.  A 1940 graduate of Forest Park High School he had plans to attend medical school.  Though, in May 1942 he enlists into the Army and is given ASN 13095405.  

 

The 347th participated in some of heavy fighting during it's time in combat, including during the Battle of the Bulge, but the 1st Battalion received the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions crossing the Rhine River on March 25, 1945.  The citation in part reads:

"As the first assault wave left the west bank of the river, the enemy sent up flares and immediately opened machine gun, 20mm, artillery, and small arms fire on the assault boats.  In the face of heavy fire, the first assault wave, without hesitation, completed the crossing and engaged the enemy on the east shore."
...
" Despite heavy concentrations of all types of enemy fire during the ensuing twenty-four hours, the First Battalion withstood five enemy counterattacks in force.  So rapid was their advance that many enemy positions, numerous small groups of enemy soldiers and many snipers were by-passed."

After the Rhine crossing the regiment was blitzing through cities and towns towards the Czechoslovakia boarder during the first couple weeks of April. It is in one of these towns that John's leg is wounded by artillery.  A note contained in his PH case (which has passed a through a few owners hands) says that he was wounded in the vicinity of Obrlosa, which is probably Ober Losa, a town on the outskirts of Plauen.  The 347th arrived at Plauen in mid-April and would remain in defensive positions in Oelsnitz, Theuma, and Stockigt just outside of Ober Losa for the remainer of April as they waited for the Russians from the east.

 

John returned to the US with the rest of the 87th in July 1945.  A comment by his daughter in a story about him after his death says that "After seeing so much destruction and death, he didn't want to be a doctor anymore."  After a couple years of teaching high school, John gets offered a position as the director of the music library for the WMAR-TV, the first TV station (11th in the country) in Baltimore in 1948.  Eventually working as a producer and supervisor at the station.  He would go on to help write and direct many shows including "Bozo the Clown" and "Professor Kool's Fun Skool".  

After his retirement John was an avid artist and one of his paintings of Baltimore Streetcars was donated to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum for display.