Maj. Matthew R.J. Giuffre

[mrjon28]

Hi my name is Jonathan Mitchell I'm asking if anyone knew my grandfather or served with him in WW2 his name was Maj Matthew R.J. Giuffre he  was with S2 thank you

[connie]

Hi, Jonathan,

Good to see you on the discussion board! I don't know how much information you have on your grandfather, but it appears that Jim West has collected a bit on the Indiana Military Site Roster: www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Rosters/RosterZOHO.htm.


I'll add some info here, as time allows.

Let me know if you find new info or see corrections.

ROSTER INFO:
Giuffre, Matthew R. J., Maj., 423rd Infantry, 2nd BN HQ BN, POW XIII


QUESTIONS...
first question: West's Roster (a continual work in progress) has the middle initials reversed (J.R.). Is R. J. the correct order?


LATER NOTE: Conversations below would lead to the discovery that there were two men with similar names within the division. Jonathan's grandfather was indeed Giuffre, Matthew R.J, Maj. The rest of the identifying info did not pertain to him. There was a 2nd Lt. Matthew J. Giuffre who was in the 423rd and became a POW.

Jonathan's grandfather was in intelligence at division headquarters and was never captured, though he did have at least one close encounter with an ambush by German artillery on the morning of December 18th at the intersection at Poteau west of St. Vith along the road to Vielsalm. Read on as conversation leads to this and other discoveries,

[mrjon28]

Matthew R.J. Giuffre is the correct order I believe he was a Maj during the battle of the Bulge he RET as a LTC. and on the POW is there any way I can get the info he is not listed as POW and my Aunt and Uncles where not aware he was a POW thank you and if you need any other info you can email me at [e-mail]

Jonathan Mitchell SGT (RET) US.Army

[mrjon28]

He died 14 August 1968 in Oregon but all the other info is correct

[connie]

Jonathan,

I still had a print-up of the roster info including sources sitting on my desk top, awaiting further attention. Good to hear back from you. I'll do a little more sleuthing and then get back to you via e-mail. With your permission, I'd like to include Jim West (who has been compiling the Roster & the Indiana Military Site info on the 106th Infantry Division.

The fact that the death and location info is incorrect makes me believe that there has been an inadvertent merger on the roster of two men named Matthew Giuffre...

Connie

PS. If you want to check out some of the things I'm checking on the Roster Sources listed by Matthew Giuffre, there is a master list of Roster sources and links here: www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Rosters/REFERENCES/Source.htm

Using this source link I just looked up the source for the Combat Infantryman Badge 12-16-44 GO 1945-051 : www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Rosters/REFERENCES/1945-051-CBI/251.htm
I then took a screen shot of the section with his name. Here it is. (Click to enlarge):

Attachments:

[connie]

Continuing the Source List info, I checked the first listed source # 62 : www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Rosters/REFERENCES/62%20-%20423rdPOWs/62.htm

It turns out to be a POW manifest for the 423rd Infantry regiment. Here's a screen shot of the spot where I found the name there:

Attachments:

[mrjon28]

e-mail is fine and that sounds good on including Jim in on this

[connie]

OK.

Three of us now exchanging e-mail info. We'll see what happens...!

[Jim West - Indiana Military Or]

Sorry, but I am at a loss to explain the inconsistency. If there are two with the same name, I am unaware of this. I have changed the roster entry to indicate what the Grandson states. That would seem to be the correct info for the individual in question. All I can say about POW or not, is the list with "the" name on it. Find A Grave 146366630 states "2nd Lt Matthew J Giuffre appears on the roster of American POW's held at OFLAG XIII-B, Hammelburg, Bavaria, Germany". So this name may be the different but similar name with only J as an initial. I'll be glad to modify the record to whatever Connie and the family believe is accurate. Jim West

[connie]

Jim,

Thanks for joining this conversation!

The more I look the more I become convinced that we are dealing with two different men with similar name and different rank-- a 2nd Lt. and a Major.

I think that none of the info in the roster is wrong, it just needs to be separated between the two identities:
1) Major Matthew R. J. Giuffre
2) 2nd Lt. Matthew J. Giuffre.

I do think that more of the info on the current roster post pertains to the 2nd Lt.

I'll do a little sleuthing in the work you've already done to see if I can find the unit assignment for Jonathan's grandfather Major R. J. Giuffre

Connie

[connie]

Just found this piece: www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Publications/Newspapers/01-21-1945.htm

I took a screen shot of two paragraphs within this document. The second contains a quote by Major R.J. Giuffre. It sounds like he may have been a part of 106th Infantry Division Headquarters Co., stationed in St. Vith at the onset of the Bulge. This paragraph sheds some more light on an incident witnessed at a distance by my father. The account here tells of some members of Headquarters Company being stopped on the road west of St. Vith followed by a dramatic ambush with an artillery barrage on the morning of December 18. " That was my first artillery ambush and I hope my last," said Major Matthew R. J. Giuffre, New York City."

Here is the full second paragraph from that screen shot, in bold print:
Early on the morning of December 18 division headquarters began moving west out of St. Vith. Some units were halted by MP's who had on American uniforms and talked with a mid-Western accent. The MP's turned out to be Germans. One of them fired a rocket which signaled the opening of a terrific barrage against the halted vehicles. "That was my first artilleryamvush and I hope my last." said Major Matthew R.J. Giuffre, NewYork City.

Jonathan,
Was your grandfather from New York City originally?

For me personally this link to a spot in the road on in the early morning hours of December 18 is exciting. It is a road I have explored and an episode I have touched base with a little. It is the road between St. Vith and Vielsalm. The ambush occurred near the intersection at Poteau.

We have a lot more to learn about your grandfather, but this is another piece of information that confirms that there were two men within the 106th Infantry Division who shared the better part of a single name but different ranks and different assignments. Major Matthew R.J. Giuffre was moving west of St. Vith, Belgium toward Vielsalm on December 18, 1944. 2nd Lt. Matthew J. Giuffre was near the western edge of the German Schnee Eifel Plateau and would soon become a POW...

Attachments:

[connie]

In an e-mail exchange, Jonathan did confirm that his grandfather was indeed born in Manhattan.

[connie]

Jon,

I'm again able to spend some time searching the internet.

This morning's perusal found post-war mention of your grandfather in a 106th Cub Magazine: 106thinfdivassn.org/index/html/v3n10.htm

[mrjon28]

thank you if i my ask do you know what the CIC means or stand for?

[connie]

Jon,

Sorry to have posted that link to the May 1947 Cub magazine without a hint about the whereabouts to the location of the postings on your grandfather. 106thinfdivassn.org/index/html/v3n10.htm
You had to do a bit of slow scrolling to find the posts there!

I discovered two postings -- the first on page 20. Searching the internet I have found the answer to your question. CIC stands for Counter Intelligence Corp. Here's a link to info on contains those initials linked to Holabird Signal Depot: www.army.mil/article/110383/the_army_intelligence_center_is_established_1_september_1954

I can note, as you probably did, thatches speaks to his post war assignment with the regular army. I can also note, as you are probably aware, that with the drastic reduction in the post war numbers of men in the military, I believe that shifting officers to a lower rank than they held during WWII was not uncommon.

Since the screen shot has to be clicked on to enlarge it, I'll add a transcription, too for easy reading:

"Matthew R.J Giuffre, Major, MR? (G-2) has been appointed a 1st Lt. in the Regular Army. He has been assigned to the CIC Center Holabird Signal Depot, Baltimore, Md, where he is Director, Planning and Liaison Division, CIC Center."

Attachments:

[connie]

There was a second posting on your grandfather on page 24 in the same cub magazine reading:

MAJOR GUIFFRE VISITS CP
Jeff, former Assistant G-2 of the Division, passed his Regular Army exams with flying colors and is now a 30-year man. He is assigned to the G2-section of the CIC Center, Camp Holabird, Maryland. His former chief in the Division, Colonel Bob Stout came up at the same time andthe Battleof the Bulge was fought all over again. They said that CWO Herb Snyder is also stationed at Holabird."

Attachments:

[mrjon28]

thank you