I was a 12B Combat Engineer.  Long story short.  Enlisted, Officer, Enlisted again, retired as an MSG after 27 years active and NG.  I was with the 724th Combat Engineers assigned to the 130 Engineers while in Iraq for a bit over a year.   Carl

What music would have been played on US Army radio broadcasting channels for soldiers to listen to ? I have an event this weekend, and I want to make a playlist that is accurate for the area I'm going for is near the Đồng Tâm base or My Tho.

Welcome to the forum!

I've got a show on the 15th and im gonna piece it together while im there and surprise him with it when we get back 👍

That is a nice little lot.  I wish I would have known about it.  But, I can't have them all.  🧐

Thanks for showing that..... That I actually found that one and one from the same place but it was for Walter weight boxing.... Yeah, unfortunately they don't have a price on them but they do have a good description

Welcome. What Corps were you in during your Army Service?

Chris, Dreher badges are on the short list of the most handsome of all the WWI wing patterns IMHO and to have the complete known patterns is quite an accomplishment. Thank you for sharing and for all you do for this community!

I was not looking to buy it I thought it was interesting I dont buy a lot of WWI items becuse I am not as familiar I tend to stick to WWII. Thanks for the input.

In his World War II memoir, Before Their Time, Robert Kotlowitz, an infantryman assigned to 3rd Platoon, Co C 104th Infantry Regiment (IR), 26th Infantry Division, states that “there were three survivors” (including himself) from his platoon after their failed attack against German positions on 11 Oct 1944 vicinity Rechicourt/Bezange-La-Petite, France. He also mentions a comrade who “was dead with the rest of them-close to forty in all, although I was never able to learn the exact figure...” (pages 149-150).   Inside the 7 May 1995 issue of the New York Times Magazine, Kotlowitz writes: “...the Yankee Division launched its first assault against the Germans, northeast of the city of Nancy. In this engagement, which lasted 12 hours, all but three men in the third platoon, Company C, 104th Regiment, were lost. I was one of the survivors.” (https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/07/magazine/bliss-it-was.html)   During a National Public Radio interview in 1999, Kotlowitz responded to the interviewer’s question about the 11 Oct 1944 event: “Gross: How many men were killed? Kotlowitz: I never really got the figures straight, but I would guess it is 37 or 38, maybe even as many as 40.” (https://www.npr.org/2022/11/11/1136012998/fresh-air-honors-veterans-with-interviews-with-2-men-who-served-in-wwii)   WWII infantry veteran and writer Paul Fussell, in his book The Boy’s Crusade, states that “Later, he (Kotlowitz) learned that in his 3rd Platoon, close to forty men had been killed” (page 77). [1]   From an obituary for Kotlowitz, who died in 2012: “In the dawn mist of Oct. 12, his platoon assaulted the hill and was cut down by a volley of rifle fire and two passes from a heavy machine gun. Of the 40 men, 37 were killed instantly or picked off by snipers as they lay wounded, or tried to escape.” (https://vtdigger.org/2012/09/19/halkias-obits-for-public-tv-exec-kotlowitz-overlook-his-wwii-brush-with-death/)   The New York Times in 2012: “Bob (Kotlowitz) was a World War II veteran whose entire platoon was almost wiped out by a machine-gun nest in France when he was 18” (Note: Kotlowitz was almost 20 on 11 Oct 1944). (https://archive.nytimes.com/atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/author/matt-farwell/)   A recent blog entry remembering Kotlowitz on his 100th birthday: “before the storm of violence during the Lorraine Campaign in October and November 1944. It was in this campaign that Kotlowitz miraculously survived a slaughter that claimed the lives of nearly his entire platoon.” (https://graphicmemoir.co.uk/f/robert-kotlowitz---100th-birthday)   Finally, Wikipedia’s entry for Kotlowitz misquotes him from the above NPR interview and gets the month wrong: “Kotlowitz served in the Lorraine Campaign and was part of an ill-fated American assault against German troops in France in November 1944, which he described in a 1995 article in The New York Times Magazine and in Before Their Time: A Memoir, published in 1999. In the book he tells the story of the massacre of his platoon, where he was the only survivor.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kotlowitz)   My journey to ‘learn the exact figure’ began with a posting on a history forum where I was a contributor. It was a question about a pseudonymous character who does not survive the 11 Oct 1944 attack in Before Their Time. It made me question what was actually factual in the book. So, here is what I found out about the losses [KIA, DOW and POWs] sustained by Co C that day:   Killed in Action (KIA) or Died of Wounds (DOW): 15 Enlisted Men and NCOs; 1 Officer Prisoners of War (POW): 10 Enlisted Men and NCOs   All personnel presented below were in Co C 104th IR during the attack on 11 Oct 1944. I do not know for certain to which platoons all these men were assigned. It is possible that most (possibly all) were assigned to 3rd Platoon. The personnel below include, to the best of my knowledge, all those (from all platoons) in Co C who were KIA/DOW or POWs from events on 11 Oct 1944. I have not included those who were WIA (battle or non-battle), not POWs and who subsequently survived.   MR= Morning Reports for Co C 104th IR [2]   The two men below were declared KIA on 11 Oct 1944 per MR dated 11 Oct 1944:   Pfc Harold H. Bolte 32699819 Wounds: caused by artillery shell fragments Buried at Lorraine American Military Cemetery, France   Pvt Richard E. Engle 35810182 Wounds: caused by artillery shell fragments Buried in Indiana   The men below were initially MIA; all were later declared KIA, unless noted:   Sgt Howard M. Baker Jr 31293856 Wounds: caused by bullet(s) Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 18 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 17 Nov 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 21 Oct 1944 Buried at Arlington National Cemetery, VA   Pfc Aubrey D. Bryant 38545964 Wounds: caused by artillery shell fragments Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 19 Nov 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried in TX   Pvt Alfred E. Chrzanowski 42100285 Wounds: caused by artillery shell fragments Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 19 Nov 1944 per headstone Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried at Lorraine American Military Cemetery, France   Sgt Robert P. Colliver 35212286 Wounds: caused by unknown Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 11 Oct 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried in Kentucky   Pfc Clarence E. Dowdy 34831436 Wounds: caused by bullet(s) Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 17 Nov 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried in Georgia   1st Lt Francis J. Gallagher O-1303704 Wounds: caused by artillery shell fragments Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 11 Oct 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried at Arlington National Cemetery, VA   Pfc Eugene E. Goslin 35810414 Wounds: caused by artillery shell fragments Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 11 Oct 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried in Indiana   Pfc Arakal R. Israelian 31005701 Wounds: caused by unknown Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 18 Oct 1944 Declared DOW: 11 Oct 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 21 Oct 1944 Buried at Lorraine American Military Cemetery, France [Died of Wounds after being captured alive and medically treated by German Army personnel; buried by them in a local cemetery in Azoudange (Moselle), France. His body was recovered in 1946. A NARA POW record erroneously indicates that he was executed or shot while trying to escape. The Individual Deceased Personnel File on him notes that there was no evidence of “atrocity” in his death.]   Pfc Louis Kaplowitz 35059589 Wounds: caused by unknown Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 17 Nov 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried at Lorraine American Military Cemetery, France   Tec 5 (Medic) Thaddeus J. Kucharski 32091534 Wounds: caused by artillery shell fragments Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 18 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 20 Nov 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 21 Oct 1944 Buried in New York   Pfc Boyd C. McWethy 39332209 Wounds: caused by artillery shell fragments Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 11 Oct 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried at Lorraine American Military Cemetery, France   Sgt Jose D. Neves 31005764 Wounds: caused by unknown Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 17 Nov 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried at Lorraine American Military Cemetery, France   SSgt Frank D. Soucy 20107809 Wounds: caused by unknown Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 19 Nov 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried at Lorraine American Military Cemetery, France   Pvt Henry G. Walters 34876648 Wounds: caused by unknown Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Declared KIA: 19 Nov 1944 per headstone card Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 Buried at Lorraine American Military Cemetery, France     The men below were declared MIA; all were captured alive by German Army personnel and survived the war [3]:   Pfc Raymond J. Florian 42007362 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 POW at Stalag 7A Moosburg, Bavaria Died in 1995 Buried at Arlington National Cemetery, VA   SSgt James A. Garrigan 33432960 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 POW at Stalag 3C Alt Drewitz, Brandenburg, Prussia Died in 1973 Buried in PA   SSgt Edward L. Hackett 20107812 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 POW at Stalag 5AMalschbach, Ludwigsburg, Wurttemberg Died in 1981 Buried in MA   Pfc George E. Hull 33731622 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 POW at Stalag 7A Moosburg, Bavaria Died in 2014 Buried in MD   Pfc Francis N. Kondo 14118293 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 POW at Stalag 7A Moosburg, Bavaria Died in 1996 Buried at Arlington National Cemetery, VA   Pfc William O. Matthews 34196668 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 POW at Stalag 7A Moosburg, Bavaria Died in 1994 Buried in GA   Pfc Nicholas A. Pierro 31030463 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 POW at Stalag 7A Moosburg, Bavaria Died in 1991 Buried in MA   Pfc John J. Ritrosi 36659413 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 POW at Stalag 7A Moosburg, Bavaria Died in 2016 Buried in IL   SSgt Ben E. Zuchowski 35283754 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 18 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 21 Oct 1944 POW at Stalag 3B Furstenberg, Brandenburg, Prussia Died in 1983 Buried in OH (aka Ben E. Zack)   Pvt James J. Fenlon 32217719 Declared MIA: 11 Oct 44 per MR 14 Oct 1944 Dropped from rolls: per MR 17 Oct 1944 [He is not found in the NARA POW database. In his obituary, his wife claimed that he was shot twice and captured/held by the German Army for two months until freed by the U.S. Army vicinity Metz or Strasbourg, France. This is possible, as POWs from the 328th INF were reported to have been freed in late Nov 1944 when Strasbourg was captured by U.S. and Allied forces (see James C. Haahr ‘The Command is Forward.’ Xlibris Corp. 2013, page 117). [4] I found no record on him for combat trauma treated under U.S. Army medical care; however, he may have received medical care from his German captors, and he was admitted for an unspecified disease in Nov 1944, once back in U.S. custody. He was medically discharged from the US Army in March 1945 for paralysis/disease (unspecified) in Line of Duty per NARA U.S. WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954.] Died in 1991 Buried in NE   In closing, my intent here is not to cast aspersions on Robert Kotlowitz. As a veteran of combat myself, I know that it can take just seconds of violence to distort one’s perception and memory of events, forever. I also know that losing even just a single comrade in a small unit can have profound effects, on both the individual and the unit. This is especially true for soldiers, like Kotlowitz, who are experiencing combat for the first time. My aim here is to correct the historical record.   Also, I think it’s important to note that however violent and overwhelming the fighting on that October 1944 day in Before Their Time might have seemed for Kotlowitz (and for some who read his book); by the standards of the casualties sustained by the U.S. Army Infantry in the European Theater of Operations (and Pacific) during WWII, these kinds of losses were not exceptional. From other 26th ID regiments during Nov 1944: on 8 Nov, Co G 328th IR sustained 22 KIA [5]; during a three-day period that month, the 101st IR sustained 500 casualties. [6] Normandy, the Cotentin Peninsula, the Hürtgen Forest, the Lorraine Campaign, Ardennes Offensive/Colmar Pocket, and so many more: this was a war with more than a few 11 Octobers, unfortunately.   [1] Fussell, Paul. 2005. The Boy’s Crusade: The American Infantry in Northwestern Europe 1944-1945. New York: The Modern Library, 185 pp.   [2] Co C 104th IR Morning Reports 10 Oct 44-21 Oct 44. U.S. National Archives Record Group 64: United States Army Morning Reports, ca. 1912-1946.   [3] World War II Prisoners of War Data File 12/7/1941- 11/19/1946. U.S. National Archives Record Group 389: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created 1942-1947. Available at: https://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=3159&tf=F&cat=GP24&bc=,sl   [4,6] Haahr, James C. 2003. The Command is Forward. Xlibris Corp. 436 pp. (Casualty figure from page 386).   [5] Bruce E. Egger and Lee MacMillan Otts (Paul Roley, Ed.). 1992. G Company’s War: Two Personal Accounts of the Campaigns in Europe, 1944-1945. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. 294 pp. (KIA figure from page 31).   Note: Information on wounds sustained by the personnel above was obtained through: US, WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954. U.S. National Archives Record Group 112: Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), 1775-1994 and company morning reports.   Also used: A Roster of EM Who Sailed With Co C (HQ Co C Sep 44). I used this roster to cross check C Co personnel who are listed as KIA/DOW/MIA (still unaccounted for) in the regimental history [MG Ralph A. Palladino (Ed.).1960. History of a Combat Regiment 1639-1945: 104th Infantry Regiment. Baton Rouge, LA: Army and Navy Publishing Co., Inc. pages 111-115]   I used this edition of Before Their Time: Kotlowitz, Robert. 1999. Before Their Time: A Memoir. New York: Anchor Books, 198 pp.    Dan