Replacements

[Lisa]

Hello, my father trained with the 106th from March '43 - Sept '44.  He and about 6,000 others sailed on 9/11/44 to join other divisions as replacements.
My father joined the 28th ID.  I am looking for information about this topic.  Is there anyone on this forum who was a replacement?  Also, I'm looking to
find out what ship they sailed on and if they participated in the Hurtgen Forest with the 28th.
Thank you for any information.
Lisa

[connie]

Hi, Lisa,

Welcome to the group. Traffic on the discussion board has been a little slow lately. Each participant is vitally important. Hope there will be some answers for some of your questions.

As you are probably aware your Dad was not alone in being transferred out of the 106th Infantry Division. In the spring and summer of 1944 several waves of men totaling over half of the division were transferred out as replacements. But, with your Dad in the division at some point you are definitely one of us...

I don't know if you've discovered the Troop Ship website (found under Helpful Links). This is someone's ongoing labor of love. My understanding is that most of the troop ship records were destroyed. So this is an attempt to reconstruct a record of voyages from any information that can be found. Yours may help them. I looked at the page for the 2nd half of 1944. ww2troopships.com/crossings/1944b.htm

What caught my eye is a sailing of the Arundel Castle. Much of the information is listed in red (indicating uncertainty or incomplete information) and located at the beginning of September 1944 because they do not have the exact sailing date-- just the month The information they have is from one man who sailed on that vessel. As passengers they show " Replacements (at least one who was later assigned to the 644th tank destroyer BN." Contact with the site manager might prove interesting... It's better than a shot in total darkness...

Back to 106th questions. Do you know what unit your father was in before he was transferred out?

Connie

[Lisa]

Thank you, Connie. This is certainly a helpful start. I believe he was with the 424th. I remember seeing a document stating that but don't know where it is. I have to set aside some time to really go through this site. So much information. Of course, I would love to see a picture of him at camp.

What I know is that he trained with the 106 from March '43 - Sept '44. His discharge papers state that he left the U.S. on 9/11/44 and I have a letter he wrote my mother on 10/7/44 that he was walking through St. Lo. I'm looking for details from when he left camp to arriving in France.

TY
Lisa

[connie]

Hi, again, Lisa,

If you haven't discovered it yet, the last board under the "People Search" section on the main page for the discussion group is entitled Photos. The first thread under that is photos from the 1940's. Here's a quick link to what you see when you click on the Photos from the 1940's section:
106thdivision.proboards.com/post/2216/thread

The top link there takes you to the photo album from the 106th Infantry Division (on the Indiana Military Site). It opens with an intro and another link to click at the bottom. Then you get to scroll through a whole album of unit photos. These group photos were taken during the summer of 1944 at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. There are no names under the photos, and some aren't very clear. But there's a chance you might find and recognize your dad there. I don't think there was a huge attempt to make sure everyone was there on the day the photos were taken of any particular unit. If you happened to be off on leave you didn't make the photo. So... looking could be fun or frustrating.

You have some great clues on your dad's movements... and a lot of unknowns. Since he wasn't moving with a division at the time he moved into the ETO as a replacement, finding the steps in the move may be tricky. But you don't find the answers if you don't wonder and start asking questions. Have you been through all his letters yet? Even moving with a division some details are lost. Do you know if your Dad landed in someplace like England or Scotland before staging for the trip to the continent?

It is interesting to talk with someone who has letters. That's what I've been working with as I piece together my father's story...

Connie

[Lisa]

Gerat photos. I'll have to look more closely when I get a magnifying glass. By any chance have you ever seen pictures of the service club? He mentioned in a few letters that he would often go there and sometimes he would play the piano.

[connie]

Bottom line answer for me on "Service Club" is no. I'll send a link to this post to a couple of people who might know more...

What rank was your dad? (Wondering if this was an officer's club or something for enlisted men...

Connie