Dominick D. Gregory
Biography: Dominick Daniel Gregory was born on August 4, 1918, in New York City, New York. He was the son of Frank and Cristina Gregory and graduated from Franklin Benjamin High School before becoming a construction worker.
Dominick’s enlistment record indicates that he had joined the National Guard prior to the war.
Service Time: Dominick entered the service on October 17, 1942, at New York City. After his basic training, he was assigned to Company C of the 893rd Tank Destroyer Battalion and trained with them within the U.S. The 893rd was the first unit to arrive at the newly established TDC (Tank Destroyer Center) at Camp Hood, Texas and it was their soldiers that were utilized as Tank Destroyer School Troops. The 893rd would contribute hundreds of men to the various units that passed through the TDC.
The unit moved to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, in early 1943, and participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers. They received orders in December to proceed to the New York port and prepare for shipment overseas. They departed on January 9, 1944, and arrived in Liverpool, England, on January 20th.
After months of additional training and preparations, they boarded transports and landed at the Omaha beachhead in Normandy, France, on July 1st, equipped with M10 tank destroyers. They were committed to battle in the vicinity of St. Jean de Daye, advancing to Paris by August 25th, and then proceeded to the Siegfried Line in the Schnee Eifel along the Belgian-German border.
They fought in the Hürtgen Forest in November, supporting the 28th Infantry Division’s disastrous assault on Schmidt and remained there when the division was replaced. The unit held defensive positions in January 1945, supporting the 78th Infantry Division’s capture of the Roer River dams in February, 1945. They participated in the offensive across the Roer River toward the Rhine River. On March 7th, they crossed the Rhine at Remagen and supported the attack northward to the Sieg River and subsequent operations against the Ruhr Pocket in April.
The unit received credit for the campaigns of Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe. Dominick left the service at the rank of Technician 4th Grade.
After the war, Dominick went back into his former trade and was involved in the construction of many of Manhattan’s finest buildings. On September 19, 1948, he married the former Violet Rutto, who was also born in New York City and was the daughter of George and Rose Rutto. The new couple lived in the city and had a five children, Christine, born in 1949, Rosemarie in 1950, Frank in 1954, Daniel in 1957 and Nancy in 1962.
Dominick was an avid fan of the New York Yankees and loved watching baseball games. He was a member of the Labor Union and attended Saint Raymond’s Catholic Church. He passed away on August 1, 1988, and was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. I want to thank Dominick’s son, Frank, for providing the information and photos used in this tribute.