705th Tank Destroyer Battalion

 

                                                                                          705th-TD-Bn-Crest---Mod

 

Motto:  “One Round”

Unit History:  Activated on 15 December, 1941, at Fort Knox, Kentucky.  Arrived at Gourock, Scotland, on 27 April, 1944.  Landed at Utah Beach on 18 July equipped with M18’s.  Joined Cobra breakout and swept through Brittany to Brest in late July and early August.  Helped clear Crozon Peninsula into September.  Moved across France in October to Moselle River.  Advanced to German border at Kitzing in mid-November.  Shifted north to Aachen area in early December.  Moved to Bastogne, where TD’s participated in famous defense by 101st Airborne Division.  Supported drive to Rhine River in March 1945.  Crossed river on 29 March at Oppenheim.  Conducted drive across Germany through Bayreuth in April, arriving in Neukirchen, Austria, by 6 May.  Attached to: Task Force A; 101st Airborne Division; 11th Armored Division; 29th, 83d, 95th Infantry divisions.  History text from the book The Tank Killers by Harry Yeide.  Used by permission.

Combat Equipment:  7/44 – M18

Commanding Officers:  Lt. Col. Clifford D. Templeton (6/25/42, KIA, 3/1/45);  Major John Dibble Jr. (3/2/45);  Lt. Col. Dwight E. Morehead (7/5/45)

Code Name/s:  Highspeed

Campaign Credits:   Normandy…………………..Jun. 6, to Jul. 24, 1944

                                 Northern France……………Jul. 25, to Sept. 14, 1944

                                 Rhineland……………………Sept. 15, 1944 to Mar. 21, 1945

                                 Ardennes-Alsace…………..Dec. 16, 1944 to Jan 25, 1945

                                 Central Europe……………..Mar. 22, to May 11, 1945

Awards:  Distinguished Unit Citation – 18-27 Dec 44, WD GO 17-45

Location August 1945:  Trois Vierges, Luxembourg

Additional Information/Materials:

1.)  History of 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion.  Located on the 11th Armored Division website.

2.)  Unit History Booklet – Titled “Well Done” and originally done in Austria by members of the unit and printed by Salzburger Druckerei and Verlag printers of Salzburg, who are still in business today.  Credits are given to M/Sgt Paul A. Yeomans, T/Sgt Thomas C. Foster and T/4 Glen E. Sire as the writers and compilers of the 55 page booklet.  Contents include Forward by M/Sgt. Yoemans, Campaign list, Unit History, Poem by Sgt Edward S. Olsen and Unit Commendations.  Courtesy of Ray Gossard and Richard Cope.

3.)  History of the 705th – The following files are from a three volume set written by Jim and Lois Wick, which was created by collecting information and materials from the veterans themselves at the unit’s reunions. The books were privately published, in 2001, and very few copies were produced. Jim and Lois generously gave permission for us to post any of the information we found useful. The actual volumes were provided to me courtesy of Jim Strickland. Lois’ uncle, Melbourne E. Pawley, served in ‘C” Company and was KIA on Dec. 24, 1944, in Belgium.

           A.)  Personnel Assignments – An alphabetical listing of the officers and enlisted personnel of the unit, indicating which Company they were in and a number of the entries list what the individual’s function within the unit was.

                    Part 1……………………………………………………….29 Pages

                    Part 2……………………………………………………… 29 Pages

           B.)  Casualties and Overseas Burials……………………….18 Pages

           C.)  Table of Organization & Equipment…………………..14 Pages

           D.)  Group Photos – Taken at Fort Lewis, Washington, in March, 1944.  The second page of each file lists the known ID’s of the personnel.

                    Officers – The identifications were provided by Cpt. Wayne E. Tennent, C Company Commander but for some reason the officer on the far left in the back row was not named. He is 2nd Lt. Anthony L Ghezzi, who entered the service from New Jersey.

                     A Company, 3rd Platoon

                     A Company, Unknown Platoon

                 (Names on second page are listed starting in back row of photo, left to right.                                Courtesy of Darin Wagner)

                      B Company, 1st Platoon

                 B Company, 2nd Platoon

                 B Company, 3rd Platoon

                 C Company, HQ Platoon

                 C Company, 1st Platoon

                 C Company, 2nd Platoon

                 C Company, 3rd Platoon

                 C Company, mix of 1st, 2nd and 3rd platoons

                 Recon Company, 1st Platoon

                 Recon Company, 2nd Platoon (provided courtesy of Dave Doheny)

                       Recon Company, 3rd Platoon  

4.)  Chronology Listing of the 705th – Provided courtesy of the New Jersey Chapter of the Eleventh Armored Division Assoc. of Pittstown, NJ.

5.)  After Action Reports – from the Combined Arms Research Library of the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  Courtesy of Tom Hubred (*)

           Nov. 1 to 30, 1944…………..4 Pages

           Mar. 1 to 31, 1945…………..3 Pages (*)

           Apr. 1 to 30, 1945…………..4 Pages

           May 1 to 31, 1945……………2 Pages

6.)  Miscellaneous Documents-from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home, Abilene, Kansas.

           95th ID Attachment Order, Oct. 9, 1944…………………………1 Page

           Troop Assignment #45, Oct. 13, 1944…………………………..4 Pages

               Unit Commendation………………………………………………….2 Pages

7.)  After Action Notes – Thought to have been written by Capt. Wayne Tennent.  Capt. Tennent was wounded just after these notes end.  Provided courtesy of Jim Strickland.

           Jul. 13 to Aug. 21, 1944

           Aug. 22 to Oct. 9, 1944

           Oct. 10 to Nov. 14, 1944

           Nov. 15 to Dec. 5, 1944      

8.)  Photo Gallery

9.)  Group Photo Entire Unit – Taken at Fort Lewis, Washington on April 1, 1944, which was just prior to them shipping east to board the Queen Elizabeth and set sail for England. Standing in the front row L to R, Cpt. Russell G. Blixt, Maj. Waldo Walker, Lt. Col. Clifford D. Templeton, Cpt. James W. Hendee and Cpt. Harold J. Petrie. Lt. Col. Templeton was killed by a direct hit of a 75mm artillery shell and Cpt. Petrie lost a leg when he stepped on a land mine. Photo courtesy of Jerry Imperio and Ingrid Holzwarth.

10.)  Distinguished Unit Citation – Letter of Award, courtesy of Ray Gossard and Richard Cope.

11.)  Unit Roster – Provided by Jim Strickland.  This is a work in progress and should not be considered complete.

12.)  Casualty List – This list was compiled by Jim Strickland and provides basic information on the injured soldiers and is organized by the date of their injury. The document was originally done in Excel so please deregard the “sort key” number in the last column.

13.)  Route Map – A large route map that was done by order of Lt. Col. John Dibble, Jr. and was overseen by 1st Lt. Walter S. Snodell Jr., who was the unit’s S-2 at the time. The map covers the unit’s route from April 21, 1944 to May 9, 1945, and includes After Action Reports from that same period. Probably done after the war had ended and the unit was performing occupational duties. Original was approximately 22″ H x 29″ W.

14.)  The Besieged Bastards of Bastogne – A poem by Sgt. Edward S. Olsen who served in the unit as part of their Medical Detachment. Provided courtesy of Scott Russell.