103rd Infantry Division, "Cactus"

Discussion in 'US Units' started by weebiscuit, Mar 6, 2011.

  1. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Member

  2. weebiscuit

    weebiscuit Junior Member

    After I got out of the Army, I got a history degree at LSU, with a concentration on US Military (WW2 & the ACW). To that I added massive quantities of independent study (reading). But nothing compares to what I've learn on the forum here! This place is a brain trust of WW2 knowledge and trivia. All that is why I like to read about WW2 stuff, and I think it's pretty neat too.

    When I was in college I earned a major in Broadfield Social Studies and a BS in Education. The Broadfield SS degree allowed me to teach history, social studies, economics, civics, etc. But sadly, most of my courses had nothing to do with WWII. I had a lot of constitutional law classes, though. That seemed to be my major area of interest all those years ago.

    I have been reading other forums on this site, but have declined to post because I don't have the time to get into discussions all over the place. I have also been going through a lot of posts on this forum and have been fascinated. Yes... the knowledge here is amazing.
     
  3. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Member

    ...Surely you're not all WWII vets! So what brings you all to a forum on the Allied units in WWII?
    ...
    I was a young girl when those trials were going on, but I remembered them all my life. I am a retired teacher, and my major was US History, but in America's classrooms we just don't teach much about WWI or WWII, as the emphasis is on the Revolution and the Civil War. Even in college I never received a lot of history on WWII, so now I find myself trying to learn more. I want to preserve this history as it concerns my father for my kids and grandkids and future generations.

    ...
    What an incredible group of very knowledgeable people there are here.
    I'm also a retired teacher with an MA in History, although it was in 18th, 19th Century England. Like A-58, growing up in the 50s, the war was still very much in the memories of most people I knew. A steady diet of films and comic books (including the Blackhawk Brigade) nurtured an interest. I read Rise and Fall of the Third Reich while I was in High School. My interest waned until about 15 years ago when I began to research my father's experience in Italy. That brought me to WW2F and later here to WW2 Talk. It has been an eye-opening two years. I have learned a tremendous amount, not only about my father's involvement, but the total experience. Much of my reading over the last two years has been devoted to re-discovering the dynamics of WW2.
     
  4. weebiscuit

    weebiscuit Junior Member

    I'm also a retired teacher with an MA in History, although it was in 18th, 19th Century England. Like A-58, growing up in the 50s, the war was still very much in the memories of most people I knew. A steady diet of films and comic books (including the Blackhawk Brigade) nurtured an interest. I read Rise and Fall of the Third Reich while I was in High School. My interest waned until about 15 years ago when I began to research my father's experience in Italy. That brought me to WW2F and later here to WW2 Talk. It has been an eye-opening two years. I have learned a tremendous amount, not only about my father's involvement, but the total experience. Much of my reading over the last two years has been devoted to re-discovering the dynamics of WW2.

    I had to respond to your comment about you MA in history in 18th and 19th Century England. I got hooked on the early history of England while still in high school back in the '60s. (King Richard and King John started it for me). That led to reading everything I could find on the Tudors, and from there I read ecerything I could on the Elizabethan age and afterwards. But I'm weak on the Victorian age.

    Yes, this forum is amazing. I just keep reading and reading, often ignoring housework and other chores!

    It often makes me realize why this was called "The Greatest Generation." These vets, and all who went before them, and also the Viet Nam vets... all faced horrible conditions and saw and did things that changed their lives forever, and yet all came back and just sucked it up and went on with their lives. Nothing to help with post traumatic stress disorder. Nothing much at all to help them, but they slogged along and did the best they could.

    It makes me think about our soldiers in Afghanistan, and those who were in the Gulf War. Not really any hand-to-hand combat these days, is there? The wars are more surgical, more technical. Except for those killed and wounded by buried roadside bombs and other IEDs, war seems cleaner, less personal, yet I'm sure these returning soldiers face the same emotional trauma.
     
  5. Duke 41

    Duke 41 Junior Member

    weebiscuit

    I direct you to the Official 103d Infantry Division World War II Association Website where there is a wealth of information about the Division. Go to 103D INFANTRY DIVISION there you will find that the 409th, 410th, and 411th Infantry Regiments have links to Operation Narratives and Unit Journals covering the period of combat from November 11 through May 1945. Also, under Units > Morning Reports you will find about 25% of the Division morning reports listed as Excel, and PDF by Name and by Date. The Association has acquired 100% of all unit Morning Reports and is in the process of transcribing these into the format you will find on our website. The project is projected for completion in about 3 years, but as time passes we will be posting more and more units to the web. Additionally, there are stories, photos, and biographical summaries of Division veterans. Should you wish to add your father's bio summary to the 409th Infantry Regiment Bio page, you can send me the information at info@103didww2assn.org and I will be more than happy to assist you. Further, if you need further information about your father, please feel free to write me at this email address and I will assist in any way possible. Another interesting note, we are currently putting all of the Division General Orders, which awarded Silver and Bronze Stars, Air Medals, and Purple Hearts in a searchable database format for posting on our website. I look forward to hearing from you.
     
    Slipdigit likes this.
  6. jondaysr

    jondaysr Junior Member

    My father-in-law, Capt Carl Biebers, has told my he was on Gen. McAuliffe staff. He has enjoyed telling us about locating places for the general to stay while in Europe (a Strauss family dwelling and more) but not much more than that. We are trying to piece together some of "his" history as best we can. Questons we have are:

    What was his relationship to Cpt. Frederick Starrett and did he come on after Cpt Starett left or was it a shared responsibility?

    Was Cpt Biebers at the Battle of the Bulge"?

    In the staff position he had, is it likely he was in the field of fire?

    Capt Biebers has not even mentioned he was armed or not, so we are kind of at a loss as to how "administrative" his position was?

    We have the small book given to him after the war and we know he was involved in the "de-naxification" program but not much more.

    Thanks in advance.
     
  7. Wills

    Wills Very Senior Member

  8. Earthican

    Earthican Senior Member

    Welcome Duke 41 and jondaysr.

    Duke 41, my compliments on the 103d Infantry Division World War II Association Website. It's one of the best in a strong field.


    jonsaysr:

    Using the Cactus Division website I found this which indicates Capt Biebers was the ADC-CG to Gen. McAuliffe at some time.

    103rd Division Headquarters

    From the wording "Cpt Frederick D. Starrett (McAuliffe's from 101st airborne)" seems to indicate that Capt Starrett came with the General from the 101st Airborne Division. The book "Cranking Up a Fine War" is by a General's aide in the 90th and 83d Division. It seems a General could choose his aide and even have the aide transferred with him.

    It seems possible Capt Starrett, for one reason or another, transferred out and Capt Biebers took over. Further down the page there is listed PFC Martin Benn as McAuliffe's driver and there is an e-mail for his daughter. You might try contacting her to see if she has any information.

    Unless you have information that Capt Biebers was with the 101st Airborne it does not seem likely that he was in the Battle of the Bulge.

    From my limited knowledge, the ADC-CG would travel with the General on many but not all occasions. The Division CG frequently visited the HQ's of the infantry regiments which were within range of enemy artillery. Also in the fast moving late stages of the war in Europe, it was common for HQ's to come under rifle fire from stragglers or hold-outs. I recall a book by a veteran of the 103d where the author was a jeep driver at the HQ's of an infantry regiment and, for one reason or another, General McAuliffe needed a ride to somewhere that the author knew was dangerous. IIRC the author opted out of the mission and the General ended up getting shot at. It seems it was in the General's character to go into dangerous situations.

    To my knowledge it seems likely that the General's ADC was at least armed with a 45cal automatic pistol (for all officers) and a 30cal M1 carbine. He may have opted for a Thompson sub-machingun or if he had unusual tastes an M1 Garand. Except for the 45 these weapons were "just in case" armaments. They should not have expected to use them with any regularity.

    Hope this helps, enjoy ww2Talk.
     
  9. Duke 41

    Duke 41 Junior Member

    Thanks for the kudos, Earthican. We hope to obtain the remaining unit operations and journals for the Division HQ, the FA Battalions, the Engineer Battalion, and Division Band. The General Orders were just completed and these will be up on the website by the end of this week (8/26/11).
     
  10. Albino Storm

    Albino Storm Junior Member

    I'm so hoping someone here can help me. My dad, still living at age 85, but suffering from dementia, has always told me he was in Company B., 47th Infantry Regiment, the 103rd Infantry Division during WWII. He was sent overseas in Feb. 1945, and said he joined the 103rd south of the Sigfried Line in France. He said he was with the "Cactus" brigade, or division.

    I have been doing web searches with that info above for a year and haven't found anything. Seems I can't find a 47th Inf. Regiment attached to the 103rd, and the only "Cactus"
    information I find pertains to the Pacific T.O.

    I even have a WWII map that my dad gave me, called "The Cactus Route, 500 Fighting Miles." This map shows a route from south of the Sigfried Line, then crossing it and going in a northeasterly direction into Germany, crossing briefly back into France and then back to Germany and south to Austria.

    When germany surrendered, my dad was posted at Dachau, watching over German POWs. I have photos of him there.

    So why can't I find a single bit of information about this online? I am so hoping someone here can help me out!

    I found this today while going through an old photo album that once belonged to my wife’s great uncle Hugo Lilleberg. He passed away in the early 1980s. I found this artwork inside a large envelope.
     

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  11. Earthican

    Earthican Senior Member

    Welcome

    Interesting, do you think it is the original artwork for this booklet:

    103rd Cactus Division Books


    If you find any more information on Mr. Lilleberg, such as which unit of the 103rd Infantry Division he served with, please post again.
     
  12. maggieji

    maggieji Junior Member

    My Dad served in the 103 in France, Germany, Austria. I took possession of the map when my sisters and I broke up my parents home prior to my Dad's death in 2006. So interesting will need to find out more.
     
  13. Tom Canning

    Tom Canning WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Fascinating thread and interesting to learn that there are as many American's seemingly with the same quest for knowledge as there are from the commonwealth
    and able to get much the same results from their "experts"
    Cheers
     
  14. Albino Storm

    Albino Storm Junior Member

    Welcome

    Interesting, do you think it is the original artwork for this booklet:

    103rd Cactus Division Books


    If you find any more information on Mr. Lilleberg, such as which unit of the 103rd Infantry Division he served with, please post again.

    It appears to be original and appear to be out of a magazine type of book. The artist is Carl Reed. I also found this original document inside the envelope with the picture. It appears to be a “War Department – Transportation Corps” doucument dated 22 May 1945. Unfortunately my wife does not know much about her Great Uncle Hugo Lilleberg.
     

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  15. Earthican

    Earthican Senior Member

    The first thing that stands out to me is that he was in the US in May 1945. The 103d Infantry Division was still in Germany on VE Day. I noticed in the lower right corner, "Pfc, 1885th SCU". I did not know what SCU was, so Google to the rescue: Service Command Unit. On another forum I found this:


    1473rd SCU was at Camp Shelby, Mississippi.

    I believe that every Army installation in the Z.I. had it own uniquely numbered SCU during WWII (they were known as Corps Area Service Units - CASU - before the Service Commands were established in 1941 to free the Corps for tactical duty overseas). A complete SCU roster would be a useful reference but I have never seen one.

    In the absence of a complete list, here is one useful clue for quickly narrowing down an SCU's location: The second digit in an SCU number corresponds to the Service Command area where the SCU is located. Hence, 1473rd SCU at Camp Shelby was in 4th Service Command's area.


    So further searching has revealed little but it's possible your great uncle may have been wounded or ill and returned to a hospital at Camp Howze. This may be confusing since the 103d ID trained at Camp Howze before going overseas. My understanding is returning hospitalized soldiers would be returned to a hospital near their home. From his enlistment record it shows he enlisted from Michigan and since this travel ticket has him traveling to Arkansas, it does not seem that Camp Howze would be the closest hospital to home. But if soldiers choose where to be returned then he may have developed ties to that region. Born 1903, pretty old to be developing new ties but might explain an illness..... the mystery grows.

    So if he was wounded, he should have a Purple Heart medal, which might help in finding more information.

    Carleton L. Reed listed here in the 411th Infantry Regiment

    411th IR

    Side note: In researching this I found a number of people around the Internet who have their relatives discharge certificate which shows an SCU. I suspect these men were wounded or ill but their relatives are mistakenly believing their relative "served" with an SCU. I should probably start a new thread to see if the collective "experts" around this forum can sort this out.
     
  16. Earthican

    Earthican Senior Member

    Having viewed the PDF of Cactus Caravan I noticed it only covered stateside training. In the credits Mr Carleton Reed is listed as a "Red Cross representative". Given your great uncle's age it seems more likely he transferred out of the 103rd Infantry Division to the 1885th SCU while at Camp Howze. It still might be fun to learn which unit of the 103d ID he trained with before his transfer.
     
  17. Albino Storm

    Albino Storm Junior Member

    The first thing that stands out to me is that he was in the US in May 1945. The 103d Infantry Division was still in Germany on VE Day. I noticed in the lower right corner, "Pfc, 1885th SCU". I did not know what SCU was, so Google to the rescue: Service Command Unit. On another forum I found this:


    1473rd SCU was at Camp Shelby, Mississippi.

    I believe that every Army installation in the Z.I. had it own uniquely numbered SCU during WWII (they were known as Corps Area Service Units - CASU - before the Service Commands were established in 1941 to free the Corps for tactical duty overseas). A complete SCU roster would be a useful reference but I have never seen one.

    In the absence of a complete list, here is one useful clue for quickly narrowing down an SCU's location: The second digit in an SCU number corresponds to the Service Command area where the SCU is located. Hence, 1473rd SCU at Camp Shelby was in 4th Service Command's area.


    So further searching has revealed little but it's possible your great uncle may have been wounded or ill and returned to a hospital at Camp Howze. This may be confusing since the 103d ID trained at Camp Howze before going overseas. My understanding is returning hospitalized soldiers would be returned to a hospital near their home. From his enlistment record it shows he enlisted from Michigan and since this travel ticket has him traveling to Arkansas, it does not seem that Camp Howze would be the closest hospital to home. But if soldiers choose where to be returned then he may have developed ties to that region. Born 1903, pretty old to be developing new ties but might explain an illness..... the mystery grows.

    So if he was wounded, he should have a Purple Heart medal, which might help in finding more information.

    Carleton L. Reed listed here in the 411th Infantry Regiment

    411th IR

    Side note: In researching this I found a number of people around the Internet who have their relatives discharge certificate which shows an SCU. I suspect these men were wounded or ill but their relatives are mistakenly believing their relative "served" with an SCU. I should probably start a new thread to see if the collective "experts" around this forum can sort this out.

    Thank you!
     
  18. Earthican

    Earthican Senior Member

    My ongoing inquiry into the SCU has found that there was a program to exclude from combat those over 38 years old. Referred to as the P-38 Program, this provides additional support to my speculation that your great uncle was transferred out of the 103d ID and to the 1885th SCU at Camp Howze.
     
  19. Jim Lankford

    Jim Lankford Member

    By all accounts the 103rd was a first rate combat unit from the get-go. It is one of the many excellent divisions that are so often overshadowed by those few that have gained notoriety via television and movies. Damn shame too.
     
  20. msanfi4451

    msanfi4451 Junior Member

    I would love to see your photos and exchange the photos I have with you and maybe we can see more of our fathers photos in each others pics?

    I'm so hoping someone here can help me. My dad, still living at age 85, but suffering from dementia, has always told me he was in Company B., 47th Infantry Regiment, the 103rd Infantry Division during WWII. He was sent overseas in Feb. 1945, and said he joined the 103rd south of the Sigfried Line in France. He said he was with the "Cactus" brigade, or division.

    I have been doing web searches with that info above for a year and haven't found anything. Seems I can't find a 47th Inf. Regiment attached to the 103rd, and the only "Cactus"
    information I find pertains to the Pacific T.O.

    I even have a WWII map that my dad gave me, called "The Cactus Route, 500 Fighting Miles." This map shows a route from south of the Sigfried Line, then crossing it and going in a northeasterly direction into Germany, crossing briefly back into France and then back to Germany and south to Austria.

    When germany surrendered, my dad was posted at Dachau, watching over German POWs. I have photos of him there.

    So why can't I find a single bit of information about this online? I am so hoping someone here can help me out!
     

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