Dismiss Notice

You must be 18 or over to participate here.
Dismiss this notice to declare that you are 18+.

Anyone below 18 years of age choosing to dishonestly dismiss this message is accepting the consequences of their own actions.
WW2Talk.Com will not approve of, or be held responsible, for your choices.

716th Tank Battalion

Discussion in 'US Units' started by 716_Grandson, Aug 1, 2008.

Tags:
Page 15 of 15
  1. Lena Brokob

    Lena Brokob Member

    Hi all, found this thread when I searched for my grand uncle George Arthur Brokob, and learned he was in Company A, 716th Tank Battalion in 1945, where he accidentally was shot and is now buried there. I haven't looked through the 14 pages of messages, but it did look like this thread was still active. I have LOTS of photos from this time and place, but they are mixed in with my grandfather Henry Brokob's WW2 photos which are in the South Pacific as well. I'll spend some time review this message thread and my photo collections to see if any names match!
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2025
    Lena Brokob, Sep 6, 2025
    #281
    JimHerriot likes this.
  2. jeff jilek

    jeff jilek Member

    My father in law was in D company. This thread barely lives
     
    jeff jilek, Sep 6, 2025
    #282
  3. JimHerriot

    JimHerriot Ready for Anything

    Hello Lena.

    On the small chance that you may not have seen them before, please find below the registration cards for your grand-uncle and grandfather.

    George Arthur and Henry Brokob. They would have been fine young chaps back then.

    George Arthur's card is particularly poignant as a member of the registration staff clearly took the time and trouble to revisit it and record upon it "Killed in action".

    Good luck with all your research which will help to keep the memory of your relatives and their service alive. A highly commendable action on your part.

    And your contributions will not only help to keep their memory alive, but also this very thread and the forum here too. Thank you.

    Kind regards, always,

    Jim.

    Page 1 (50)~6.jpg

    Page 2 (76) (19)~6.jpg

    Page 1 (51)~2.jpg

    Page 2 (76) (20)~2.jpg
     
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2025
    JimHerriot, Sep 6, 2025
    #283
    4jonboy likes this.
  4. JimHerriot

    JimHerriot Ready for Anything


    Also Lena, again, should you not have seen this before, here is George Arthur's archival database entry/listing from The National Archives of America.

    Screenshot followed by link to same below.

    Kind regards, always,

    Jim.

    Screenshot_20250906-045926.jpg

    NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)
     
    JimHerriot, Sep 6, 2025
    #284
  5. JimHerriot

    JimHerriot Ready for Anything

    Lena, I would not want to pre-empt any plans you have to add to the thread here, but for folks who come across the thread, who follow on, faces to names, names to faces and all that.

    A photo, via "findagrave.com", and very much courtesy of you I think Lena (and I truly hope it is not an intrusion on my part to share here).

    George Arthur Brokob. Served his country and their allies in time of war.

    George Arthur BROKOB~2.jpg

    Always remember, never forget,

    Jim.
     
    JimHerriot, Sep 6, 2025
    #285
    4jonboy likes this.
  6. Lena Brokob

    Lena Brokob Member

    Thanks, Jim. YES, I have all those documents/photos. I was the one who added the photo to FindaGrave and had them update his record there. I'm the historian of my family, so all my older relatives have left me with quite a stash of documents (vital records, service records, flags, photos etc). Some photos aren't labeled but through clues found in the photos and matching people I have separated quite a bit out...which one's are of George's time and which are of Henry's. As an aside, I myself served in the Marines from 2003-2012! Thanks for all your help here so far!
     
    Lena Brokob, Sep 6, 2025
    #286
    JimHerriot likes this.
  7. 716_Grandson

    716_Grandson 716th Tank Battalion Fact Finder

    Hi Lena, My grandfather was also in Co. A, which is what all his papers record him as, but there was a transfer of most of the men to company C before the Jan 9th invasion on Luzon. I have tons of photos with names on the back from his time and I will look through them to see if his name pops up. Can you tell me the date he died? That will help me narrow down which set of photos he could potentially be in. I’m sure everyone on this thread, which comes back to life every few years, would love to see anything you have to share. If my grandfathers name William (Bill) Osman pops up please let me know. Thanks!
     
    716_Grandson, Sep 6, 2025
    #287
    4jonboy and JimHerriot like this.
  8. Lena Brokob

    Lena Brokob Member

    Thanks, I will look for your grandfather's name. If you have a photo of him during that time I may also be able to compare images since a number of the photos only have our surname or given name and everyone else is unidentified. My granduncle died 20 Jun 1945. Looking at the date of the Invasion of Luzon online (9 Jan 1945 to 15 Aug 1945) he may have been in Company C by that time.
     
    Lena Brokob, Sep 6, 2025
    #288
    JimHerriot likes this.
  9. Lena Brokob

    Lena Brokob Member

    This photo says "Feb 15, 1945 take in a market place in some town Philippines Island" and stamped with " APPROVED FOR MAILING PHOTO SERVICE"
     

    Attached Files:

    Lena Brokob, Sep 6, 2025
    #289
    JimHerriot likes this.
  10. Lena Brokob

    Lena Brokob Member

    Also interesting that on page 1 of this message thread, someone called "DaveFe" posted their family member's diary, and it mentions on 19 Jun 1945 "the guy that got shot a few days ago died of his wounds - it was announced to-day. - that makes seven of our boys killed in this area - that's too much-".
    A local newspaper article explained he was shot by accident when another soilders weapon went off during cleaning. George was doing ok until he wasn't nearly a week later.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Sep 6, 2025
    Lena Brokob, Sep 6, 2025
    #290
    JimHerriot likes this.
  11. 716thresearcher

    716thresearcher Junior Member

    Hi Lena,

    Always welcome the arrival of new contributors and new information. If you happen across any information about my uncle Tec4 Edward J. Sofsak, Co. C, it would be greatly appreciated. He was KIA on Jan. 24th. I've already posted quite a bit of info about Co. C in general and the 716th in general, and about my uncle Ed in particular. Unfortunately, there are several broken links in this thread, but hopefully enough remain to help you in your research.

    Your grand uncle's face looks familiar; I think I have seen it elsewhere in some of the photos on this thread.
     
    716thresearcher, Sep 7, 2025
    #291
    JimHerriot likes this.
  12. Lena Brokob

    Lena Brokob Member

    I do have a photo labelled "Edd." Not sure if it was of George's friends or Henry's so I don't know what company they were in, but it's a small 1x2 inch photo.
     

    Attached Files:

    Lena Brokob, Sep 7, 2025
    #292
    JimHerriot likes this.
  13. Chet's Grandson

    Chet's Grandson New Member

    Lena, my grandfather was the company commander of company c. Could you see if Chester ovnand come up in your files?
     
    Chet's Grandson, Sep 7, 2025
    #293
    bkasten and JimHerriot like this.
  14. bkasten

    bkasten Member

    My grandfather Archie Kasten was a PFC Medic in the 716th's Medical Detachment. Here are some pictures I have of him in what appears to be an unknown in-country location. I can only identify some M4A1 and M4A3 tanks, possibly a deuce and a half truck, and of course his litter jeep named "Chief Wausau" (he was from Wausau, Wisconsin). He was 38 years old in 1945! I never saw these pictures until my grandfather passed away almost 45 years ago. Until he passed away, he never spoke of his military service at all other than to say he occasionally drove tanks. Fortunately, I have his complete service record as well as his uniform and most of his personal effects that he saved from his time in the army, including patches and some unused M1 Carbine rounds. I hope these help our respective research efforts in some way. The work in this thread has been a godsend to me. Thanks!
     

    Attached Files:

    bkasten, Dec 4, 2025
    #294
    JimHerriot likes this.
  15. bkasten

    bkasten Member

    And just fyi, here is the fruit salad directly from my grandpa's uniform.

    The top row medal is the "Philippines Liberation Medal" with one bronze service star indicating his participation in the "Philippine Liberation Campaign of October 17, 1944 to September 2, 1945".

    The second row has three medals, from left to right:
    The first is "US Army Good Conduct Medal";

    The second is the "Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal" with three bronze campaign stars and the arrow device. The arrow device indicated his participation in the Luzon amphibious assault;

    The third medal is the "American Campaign Medal"
     

    Attached Files:

    bkasten, Dec 4, 2025
    #295
    JimHerriot likes this.
  16. Redtires019

    Redtires019 Member

    Here is links to the morning reports I have found for the 716th for 1943 & 1944. I have not found Oct 1944. I am using Brave, a Chrome based browser. Firefox loads the slides in the reverse order and it throws off my links so be warned. There are also some documents in this that may interest anyone tracing a family member that was in this unit. Enjoy this rabbit hole

    716th Tank Battalion Morning Reports


    · Sept 1943 – Roll 335 (1 of 4) (Starts Sept 21st)


    · Oct 1943 – Roll 430 (1 of 4) (Camp Chaffee Ark)


    Nov 1943 – Roll 356 (3 of 4) (Camp Chaffee, Ark, Many LA on Nov 28th onward)


    Dec 1943 – Roll 373 (3 of 4, 4 of 4) (Many LA)


    Jan 1944 – Roll 198 (3 of 4, 4 of 4) (Louisiana Maneuver area)


    Feb 1944 – Roll 184 (4 of 4) (Merryville LA to Camp Howze TX)


    March 1944 – Roll 114 (1 of 3) (Camp Howze Texas)


    April 1944 – Roll 25 (4 of 4) ( Camp Howze, TX)

    May 1944 – Roll 403 (2 of 4) ( Camp Howze, TX) (May 22nd thru 31st missing)


    June 1944 – Roll 710 (3 of 5, 4 of 5)


    July 1944 – Roll 532 (4 of 4)


    Aug 1944 – Roll 703 (Oro Bay [Papua New Guinea])


    Sept 1944 – Roll 585 (Oro Bay)

    Oct 1944 (not found)

    Nov 1944 – Roll 403 (Ora Bay, New Guinea)


    Dec 1944 – Roll 445 (Hollandia, New Guinea)

     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2026
    Redtires019, Jan 9, 2026
    #296
    JimHerriot likes this.
  17. 716thresearcher

    716thresearcher Junior Member

    Thanks very much for this. This represents a lot of work. Kudos!
     
    716thresearcher, Jan 9, 2026
    #297
    JimHerriot and Redtires019 like this.
  18. Redtires019

    Redtires019 Member


    Look through the links I posted when you have time. The 716th was formed in September 1943 and the September 1943 link has a list of people in the unit. He is 2nd on the list in the image on slide 818.

    https://catalog.archives.gov/id/450917421?objectPage=818

    Brokob, George A. - 32672009, Pvt - 604 - 48th Armd Regt

    Name: Brokob, George A.
    Army service Number (ASN): 32672009,
    Rank in Sept 1943: Pvt
    MOS: 604 (Light Truck Driver)
    Previous unit; 48th Armd Regt
     
    Redtires019, Jan 10, 2026
    #298
    JimHerriot likes this.
  19. Redtires019

    Redtires019 Member

    Thanks. I have been focused on the 193rd, 763rd, & 767th however I have compiled a list of a few other units like this one. Since this thread is active I thought I would throw this up to help. There is way more information in these than I have time for, the September reports alone have lists of the men that came over from other units. If you have a relative in this unit you can reconstruct some of their war record in this.
     
    Redtires019, Jan 10, 2026
    #299
    JimHerriot likes this.
Page 15 of 15

Share This Page