Milton Brodsky
Biography: Milton Brodsky was born on April 4, 1916, in the borough of Brooklyn, New York, New York. He was the son of Morris Brodsky and Anna Steikrilzer. Morris was born in Poland and Anna was born in Russia as indicated by the 1940 and 1950 US census. Milton also had one sister, Rita. He attended local schools in Brooklyn and then went to work for the Mason’s Furniture Company which was also in Brooklyn.
In 1942, Milton married the former Norma Gutsatz who wasalso born in Brooklyn and was the daughter of Harry Gutsatz and Minnie Abramovich. The new couple made their home in Brooklyn.
Service Time: We are not sure of the date or the location of Milton’s entry into the Army but he would have initially been sent for basic training and was eventually assigned to the 821st Tank Destroyer Battalion. The 821st had been organized at Camp Carson, Colorado, but received additional training at military facilities throughout the U.S., including participation in the Tennessee maneuvers at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. They were then sent to Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky, Camp Miles Standish, Massachusetts and finally the Boston Port of Embarkation where they shipped overseas on April 7, 1944.
They 821st arrived in Newport, Wales, on the 17th and traveled by rail to Grittleton, Wilts, Chippenham, England where they would spend the next two months performing drills and training for action. On June 21st they traveled to the marshalling area in southern England at Southampton. They boarded transports on the 25th and landed at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France on the 26th. The unit was equipped with 3″ towed guns and initially camped in the vicinity of Coloville Sur Mer, France, before seeing action while supporting the capture of St. Lô and the subsequent breakout. They entered Brittany in August, supporting the capture of Brest by September 18th and then moved east in late September to Holland. They conducted operations against the Siegfried Line in October near Aachen, Germany, before transferring to Ubach, Germany, in November where they supported the drive toward the Roer River.
The unit’s After Action Report (AAR) for November, 1944 identifies that:
“On the 26th of November 1944, the 1st and 3rd platoons of Company “B” were in direct fire positions in the vicinity of Bournheim, (Kreis Düren, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany) map coordinates 0157. At approximately 0745 on the morning of 26 November the Germans counter-attacked the 1st and 3rd platoons’ positions. The attack was proceeded by a heavy concentration of artillery and mortar fire. The counterattack, tanks supported by infantry, was the heaviest in the 1st platoon’s sector. The remaining gun, of the 1st platoon, fired until the gun commander and the gunner were killed and the remainder of the crew were wounded. The crews of the knocked-out guns fought as infantry for the duration of the attack. The attack of the Germans was successfully repulsed.”
The report goes on to say that as a result of enemy action the following casualties were suffered; (1) Five enlisted men were killed in action by shell fragments from enemy artillery and mortar fire. (2) Two enlisted men died of wounds received in action. The two men were wounded by shell fragments from enemy artillery fire. (3) Four officers and twenty-seven enlisted men were wounded in action by shell fragments from enemy artillery and mortar fire. (4) Two enlisted men were injured in action. (5) One officer and eighteen enlisted men missing in action. Corporal Milton Brodsky was one of the men killed that day along with Pfc. Melvin L. Hudgens, Sgt. Murray H. Lipson and Pfc. Vern E. Mury. The fifth man is not identified in the AAR.
Milton was buried temporarily and later reinterred in the Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands, Plot C Row 6 Grave 12. He was awarded the Bronze Star and received the Purple Heart in recognition of his wounds and ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to Find A Grave contributor, Fred, for the use of the grave marker photo.