Hi everyone,

 

I'd share with you my grandfather's Quinter "Bud" Pugh's Ike jacket and other items. A brief history of my grandfather. I never got to meet hims since he passed before I was born so most of it is from my dad. He was born in Mexico, Indiana into a large farming family of Thomas and Clara Pugh. He grew up on the farm in Peru, Indiana after high school he then moved to Northwest Indiana to find employment in the bustling steel industry of the region. He enilisted in the army in 1942 from Gary, Indiana he had initially tried to join the air corps but was turned down to do an unknown eye problem. He was one of the first recruits for the 104th Divison "Timberwolves" at Camp Adair, OR and was part of the 413th Inf. Regiment. There the Timberwolves trained in nightfighting tactics. From the vets I spoke with, they would sleep during the day and train at night, one vet said that during actually night combat operations they were told not to fire, because if you fired that meant you were the enemy. If I recall they were only supposed to use grenades and hand-to-hand if possible. When the embarked for Europe they arived in France on September 7th, 1944. From the 104th website:

 

"The 104th Infantry Division landed in France on 7 September '44 and moved into a defensive position in the vicinity of Wuustwezel, Belgium, 23 October '44. There it relieved the British 49th Division & joined the First British Corps, First Canadian Army. This relief made the 413th Infantry the first Regiment of the Division to take its place in line, the first regiment of the American Army to relieve an allied unit on the Western Front, as well as the first American Regiment to fight under the command of an Allied Army on this front. The 104th went over to the offensive on the 25th, soon liberating Zundert, Holland, gaining control of the Breda-Roosendall Road, and overrunning the Vaart Canal defenses.

 

Leur and Etten fell as the Division advanced in a coordinated drive to the Mark River at Standdarbuiten on 2 November '44 and established a bridgehead. Zevenbergen was captured and the Maas River reached 5 November. The bulk of the Division moved near Aachen, Germany (to relieve the First Division & join the U.S. Seventh Corps, First U.S. Army), with some elements remaining to secure Moerdijk, Holland until 7 November. Our job in Holland was over. We recovered our wounded, buried our dead and moved on to our enemy's homeland.

 

On 16 November the 104th attacked, (for details, see Operation Queen) taking Stolberg and pushing on against heavy resistance. Eschweiler fell on the 21st and the enemy was cleared from the area west of the Inde River, including Inden, by 2 December. Lucherberg was held against enemy counterattacks on 3 December, and all strongholds west of the Roer (Ruhr) River were captured by the 23rd. The 104th actively defended its sector near Duren and Merken from 15 December '44 to 23 February '45, and moved across the Roer taking Huchem-Stammeln, Birkesdorf and North Duren (for details, see Operation Grenade). On 5 March, after heavy fighting, it entered Cologne (Koln). After defending the west bank of the Rhine, the Division crossed the river at Honnef, 22 March '45, and attacked to the east of the Remagen Bridgehead.

 

The 413th Infantry overran the airfield east of Eudenbach on 23 March. After a period of mopping-up and consolidation, the division began the offensive against the Ruhr Pocket on 25 March and joined the 3rd Armored Division to eliminate scattered resistance and participated in the trap of enemy troops in the Ruhr pocket. The 104th repulsed heavy attacks near Medebach and captured Paderborn 1 April, '45. Regrouping, it advanced to the east and crossed the Weser River on the 8th, blocking enemy exits from the Harz Mountains. The Division then crossed the Saale river and took Halle (for details, see Saale) in a bitter five-day struggle 15 to 19 April. The sector to the Mulde River was cleared by the 21st, and after vigorous patrolling, the Division contacted the Red Army at Pretzsch 26 April. Contact with enemy was lost on 5 May, completing 195 consecutive days of combat.

 

The 104th left Europe for home 27 June, 1945 and was stationed at Camp San Luis Obispo, California, with anticipated deployment for further combat in the Pacific. On 30 August official word was received from higher headquarters that the Division would not be needed in the Pacific. In recent years, the government has released classified details of the proposed invasion of Japan. The 104th Division's role in all of this was to complete training on the West Coast, stage through the Philippines, and eventually become part of the eleven-division floating reserve that would back up Operation Coronet (see details below), the code for the invasion to take place about March 1946, against the main island of Japan, Honshu.

 

My grandfather earned the Silver Star in the Ruhr Pocket on March 25th, 1945 his citation reads:

Sgt. QUINTER D. PUGH, Company C, 413th Infantry, United States Army, for galantry in action 23,24 March 1945. Advancing under heavy enemy fire, Sgt. PUGH and his platoon destroyed an enemy machine gun nest, killing two enemy soldiers and capturing twenty-eight prisoners. The platoon's position in three houses became untenable, and a withdrawal was ordered. Skillfully maneuvering his guns to afford maximum cover, Sgt. PUGH led the withdrawal and supervised the digging of defensive positions, crossing one hundred fifty yards of open terrain in the face of devastating fire to administer first aid to, and evacuate, a seriously wounded man, saving his life.

 

He married his first wife during the war, but they later got into a very bitter divorce. He then married my grandmother in 1951. He became a machinist at for several different compaines. He passed away in 1987 from cancer. I really wished I had gotten to meet him, but I'm happy I do have some things to remember him by.

 

His Ike

 

Close up of his DUI's and awards. His CIB isn't original, since he put his original on a piece of paper and clamped/soldered the pinbacks shut.

My display of his things in a footlocker.

 

Kilroy was here! He must have had a sense of humor! Also what is the little boy peeing for? I know it's based off a statue or something.

 

His mom's son-in-service flag. I know his one brother was in the Navy, but I'm unsure of what the other one did.

 

His boxed victory scarf.

 

His first wife and himself in the states.

 

 

His wedding photos. I probably wouldn't keep these since I don't think his first marriage was something he would have liked to have talked about, but I don't have any studio type photos of him by himself.

 

A reichsmark he kept in his wallet. My dad said they were buring whole piles of them so his dad grabbed one. I guess it was a constant reminder of the war for him.

Also has a weekend pass, and his bringback papers for his French .32 cal Unique pistol. He carried it in a shoulder holster. He didn't like the .45's since he said that a lot of GI's had accident's with them. And his mini-discharge papers. He also brought backa K98k but my uncle is in possesion of it.

 

In training in CO and OR

 

Pictures of Europe, specifically Inden, Germany. This was a pretty bloody battle, where half of his company was captured. It actually no longer exist as it is now a coal mine.

 

Well I hope you all enjoyed seeing this I'm very proud of my grandfather's service!-Ben

Ben

 

Thats an outstanding group.Even more so thats it from your grandfather.Thanks for posting.

 

RD

What a fine group. The family ones are the best.

 

BTW, were the ribbons always on the Ike in that order? I believe the SS would come before the GCM, and the American Campaign precede the EAME and the WWII Victory? If you turned both rows 180 degrees clockwise...

What a fine group. The family ones are the best.

 

BTW, were the ribbons always on the Ike in that order? I believe the SS would come before the GCM, and the American Campaign precede the EAME and the WWII Victory? If you turned both rows 180 degrees clockwise...

 

Jean

 

You are correct on the ribbon order(and I noticed this as well)but often veterans were not to concerned with ribbon order.Possible he wore it this way or it was reversed at some point.I posted a Ranger uniform with an original picture from 1946 and he is wearing the Silver Star ribbon in the same reversed manner so I left it as found.

 

RD

Very nice and thanks for posting. Yes, when I see the ribbons out of order I like it even better :thumbsup: Your Grandpa was a true American hero.

 

Kurt Barickman

Timberwolf,

You are the care taker of your Grandfathers Legacy of Valor, take care of it always and pass it on to someone who will do the same. Thank you for sharing.

Regards,

John

Ben,

 

A real nice uniform group. One of the best I have seen. You have a lot of your grandfather's items. Keep those safe. Keepup the good work.

 

Jon

Jean

 

You are correct on the ribbon order(and I noticed this as well)but often veterans were not to concerned with ribbon order.Possible he wore it this way or it was reversed at some point.I posted a Ranger uniform with an original picture from 1946 and he is wearing the Silver Star ribbon in the same reversed manner so I left it as found.

 

RD

 

 

Really adds personality to the grouping!

The boy peeing is "Manniquin Pis" located in Brussels. It has been a big tourist site for quite a while. It was accross the street grom GESTOPO headquarters.

 

 

Manniquin pis

 

Paul

What a fine group. The family ones are the best.

 

BTW, were the ribbons always on the Ike in that order? I believe the SS would come before the GCM, and the American Campaign precede the EAME and the WWII Victory? If you turned both rows 180 degrees clockwise...

 

Actually I had put them all on. Even before I got into militaria collecting I always remember it was in our basement closet hanging up. When I got into collecting and I took it up stairs to my room. I actually found all of his ribbons, brass, and photos in a box downstairs. But I'll definitely correct it.

 

Thanks everyone for the comments. The one thing that always surprises me is that he kept any of this stuff after his divorce, but I sure am happy he did.-Ben

Sweet collection! Congrats on having it! True family treasure! :thumbsup:

Absolutely incredible Ben. I think that we all wish we could go back and talk to our loved ones more about the war, I'm sorry that you never got the chance to as I'm sure the stories would be incredible to listen to.

 

I do know that he is up there above looking down EXTREMELY proud to have you being the caretaker of his items and carrying on the memory of his service days.

 

As others have said before, he's a true American hero and I would feel honored to call him my grandfather as you do.

 

:salute: RIP SGT Pugh

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104th Div commanded by Terry de la Mesa Allen from Oct. 1943. Very successful at night attacks after arriving in the western front late summer 1944. Allen had been fired from commanding the big red one after the Sicilian campaign.

Thanks again for all the kind words guys. I'm very honored that he was my grandfather.

You honor your grandfather. You are doing the right thing. Some one in each family seems to be incharge of things like this. This is you calling. Great job.

Very nice!!!!

This one continues to impress me. It's always nice when these items actually stay in the family and are appreciated! Top notch grouping!

It's always nice when these items actually stay in the family and are appreciated! Top notch grouping!

 

I agree, and thanks to Ben for posting and sharing this amazing Grandad's gruping.

 

Gio

Outstanding Ben! We see many great groups on the forum, but I think I enjoy seeing the ones posted by family the most.

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the complements on my grandfather's service.