hq co 424th - S/Sgt Karl K. Walker

[cmore]

My wife's father who passed away in the early 60's was in Hq Co. 424 inf. 106th Div. His name is S/Sgt Karl K Walker .Can anyone tell me what happened to this unit ? Where they were located when the battle began and where were they located after the battle ended. He left behind a luger with a captured equipment certificate a large book containing the 106th div. men and a small booklet about the unit. Any input would be grateful.

Thank you Clinton Moore

[cmore]

Also wanted to add that S/Sgt Karl K Walker was in the 2nd Battalion Head Quarters & Head Quarters Co of the 424th Inf

[connie]

What you are attempting to do in fleshing out your father-in-law's history is meaningful work. Depending on how deeply you want to go, it can take a great deal of time. Others may have the details you are looking for on the tip of their tongues. Without investing a bit of time, I can't give you details specifically on his battalion. But, I can give you a quick overview of the Regiment's position at the onset of the Bulge and a brief overview of the Bulge if you're starting from scratch. I won't go into detail on the basics if you already have those down. So, let me know where you are in the research process.

Connie

Feb 18, 2009 21:51:08 GMT -5 cmore said:

My wife's father who passed away in the early 60's was in Hq Co. 424 inf. 106th Div. His name is S/Sgt Karl K Walker .Can anyone tell me what happened to this unit ? Where they were located when the battle began and where were they located after the battle ended. He left behind a luger with a captured equipment certificate a large book containing the 106th div. men and a small booklet about the unit. Any input would be grateful.

Thank you Clinton Moore

[cmore]

Connie Just a quick overview would be great. Thank you

[connie]

Clinton,

I'm away on grandma duty (first grandchild). So time comes in spurts at the moment. And I am away from handy reference books But I'll make a stab at a quick start. Carl, who co-facilitates this site has more battle details committed to memory. And Floyd, who is a regular on the site was in the 424th. I'll start now and they can chime in and make corrections.

The first detail I need to note is one that confuses many people. It did me. When I heard "battle" I thought of something like the Battle of Gettysburg -- confined to one place and a short period of time. The Battle of the Bulge occurred over something much larger than a line of sight battle field and over a time period defined by the regaining of the ground taken by the Germans. The "Battle" lasted over a month.

When the 106th moved into position, just days before the onset of the German offensive, the basic line-up (excluding reserve locations) was from North to South: the 422, 423, and 424th. These, the infantry regiments of the 106th division, were spread out along a 27 mile section of the approximately 85 mile Belgian front. It was rugged country and an extremely thin coverage -- many times what a division normally covers.

It was not long before the 422 and 423rd were surrounded and the 424th was the sole regiment of the division remaining to fight through the Bulge.

To be continued... by me and others!

Connie

[Carl W.]

At the beginning of the battle the 424/2 BN was located in the general area near Grosskampenberg on the Schnee Eifel. The 424th was the only regiment to escape the encirclement and was pulled out trough Burg Reuland and went on to fight vital but also costly battles at St. Vith and Manhay to name a few. In 1945 after the Battle of the Bulge, the division took over the immense job of guarding and processing German POW's in Germany. The 2nd Battalion under Colonel Donald Washington was responsable for the Temporary Prisoner of War enclosure A-12 at Heidesheim.

Carl

[floydragsdale]

Hello Carl:

Your message certainly made my memory come alive.

The 424th Regiment was in the area of Grosskampenberg. We (G Co., 424th) were on Schnee Eifle. To our immediate right was the 27 Division. The Siegfried Line (Dragons Teeth Tank traps) and German Fortifications were 500 yds. to a thousand yds. in front of our battle stations.

Several days after the B.O.B. began, about 9:00 or 10:00 o'clock in the P.M. we received an oral message to leave our Battle Stations & go back to our Company C.P. My squad was one of the last to leave. Orders were to leave our heavy weapons behind. Our 60mm mortar & ammunition were left, as they were (not destroyed)

The Germans must have known what we were doing. They fired volleys of screaming memmies at us as we were vacating our positions. It was a tense moment for our squad as many of those rockets exploded in the trees, spreading shrapnel in every direction. Fortunately for us everyone made it to our Company C.P. without a scratch from those rockets. I'll not tell the rest of the story (too long) now. However, five of us were separated from our Company that night. We spent the rest of that night (in a woods full of Germans) looking for our Regiment.
the story had a good ending; yet, it was a scary eight or nine hours for the five of us.

I remember the P.W. enclosure at Heidesheim. When we (the 424th) arrived at that location there were only several hundred prisoners to guard. However, they were being brought in by the truck full. There was no enclosure at first. U.S. Army trucks lined up and kept the headlights on all night to keep track of a fast growing P.W. population. By dawn, there were thousands of prisoners there. A barb wire enclosure was erected that day. The distance around it was seven miles.

Word of mouth, in the ranks of German Soldiers was that "The American G.I.'s treated P.W.'s better than anyone else"; thus, they made it a point, if they could, to surrender to U.S. Troops.
I know that to be true because some of the P.W.'s told us that.

I can almost smell the "stench" from that compound; it was bad. When latrines were constructed (a priority) and good hygiene practice was observed, the situation became better.

In all, the total P.W. Population there was 96,000, or 98,000 German P.W.'s. There was not enough food to feed them; so we gave up one meal (the noon meal) a day so they could have something to eat.

The German Red Cross set up a tent next to (near the P.W. compound) & German civilians contributed what they could that would be of help to the P.W.'s.

That compound was in the Rhine River Valley; the location was in an orchard near Heidesheim. The 1st week, or so, the weather was nice with very good temperatures. However then it turned very cool and, wet. Some of the prisoners surrendered with just the clothes on their backs; nothing else. That was a bad situation for them, until better shelter could be provided for them; the spring rain and cold weather was very hard on those P.W.'s.

A gigantic war left a gigantic mess for everyone to endure.

Prisoners were "discharged" according to the need for their skills at home. Carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers, coal miners etc. were the first ones to be released.

Something had to be done, to keep chaos from going from bad to worse.

The war affected people of all ages. Some German boys, under ten years of age, were playing with pieces of German Army equipment, one of which was a hand grenade. Suddenly the gernade exploded, killing one of the boys.

I can still visualize the lifeless form of that little fellow laying on the sidewalk, after the grendade exploded.

Because of mans folly, he suffered the consequences of war !

Floyd

[cmore]

Connie,Carl and Floyd.
Thank you so much for the information about the Division. I just cant imagine what is was like to be there under such conditions. If you have anymore info keep it coming. Most important thank you all for your service to this country.

[oldfrenchy]

Cmore-
Go to this link for a detailed history of the 424th. It might be helpful:

www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_7.htm

Daniel LaBorie

[cmore]

Daniel Thanks so much for the link. Your right lots of detailed info good stuff.Thanks again.


Clinton Moore