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Home
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Honor A Veteran
Unknowns
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Camp Hood, Texas
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Gardelegen Massacre**
Dachau 2 **
Various Places 1
Various Places 2
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Allied TDs
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Memorabilia
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821st TD Battalion
Elmer G. Friedhoff peeks out of his temporary quarters in a foxhole. Since he has taken time to cover the hole with a tent or canvas, the men were probably there for at least a couple of days. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
An unnamed soldier stands in what may have been the unit or company command post. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
A destroyed fortification (pillbox) along the Siegfried Line near Alsdorf Herzogenrath, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Identified as taken in April, 1945, shown is what is left of the Siegfried Line near Alsdorf and Herzogenrath, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
The only identified soldier is M.R. Blunt who I believe is standing in the back, second from left. Taken in Putzdorf, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Shown L to R is T5 Elmer G. Friedhoff, Max Kingery and an unknown soldier standing in their M20 Scout Car. The men were stationed in Neuweiler, Germany at the time. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Cpl. Dryden and 1st Sgt. Milton Robert Blunt (M.R. Blunt) who went by "Dick", pose with their M10 tank destroyer in Freialdenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
A wider shot of of the same M10 tank destroyer shown with T4 Vandeburg leaning on the unit. Cpl. Dryden, Pfc. Cabrave and Pvt. De Antonia can be seen on top of the TD. The photo is identified as being in Freialdenhoven or Rheydt, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
T/5 Jack Gayler and 1st Sgt. M.R. Blunt pose for a photo in Freialdenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
T/5 Jack Gayler stands at the Charlie "C" Company Command post in Freialdenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Lt. Clayton on shown on left with 1st Sgt. M.R. Blunt at C Company's Command post in Freialdenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Staff Sergeant Max Kingery with one of the unit's Jeeps in Freialdenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Shown is John Sheffield at C Company's Command post in Freialdenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Sgt. John Hankes poses for a photo in Putzdorf, near Aldenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
T5 Joe Elving with a new little friend near Aldenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
T5 Joe Elving in Putzdorf, near Aldenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
A street scene in Putzdorf, which is near Aldenhoven, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
A photo from Putzdorf, which is near Aldenhoven, Germany. Shown L to R is T5 Jack Gayler, 1st Sergeant M. R. Blunt, T/5 Elmer Friedhoff and Sgt. Bockinger. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
A group of six from C Company. Shown standing L to R is Captain Dale Nafzigar, Pfc Ted Schluter, T5 Elmer Friedhoff and T5 Jack Gaylen, who they called "Dad". Kneeling is T5 Joseph Elving and 1st Sgt. M. R. "Dick" Blunt in Bourheim, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Shown is Sgt. Robert Doney on left with T5 Elmer G. Friedhoff in Bourheim, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Another photo from Bourheim, Germany. Shown is Cpt. Nafzigar, Pfc. Ted Schluter and SSgt. Bob Doney. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
A group from soldiers take a Nazi banner as a war prize in Bourheim, Germany. Shown is T5 Joseph Elving, SSgt. Robert "Bob" Doney, T5 Elmer Friedhoff, Pfc. Ted Schluter, T5 Jack Gayler and 1st Sgt. M. R. Blunt. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
T5 Elmer G. Friedhoff holds Lena, a new found friend. Also shown is 1st Sgt. M.R. "Dick" Blunt and Sgt. John Hankes in Bourheim, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Another photo with a group of soldiers with a Nazi banner in Bourheim, Germany. Shown is T5 Joseph Elving, SSgt. Robert "Bob" Doney, Pfc. Ted Schluter, T5 Jack Gayler and 1st Sgt. M. R. Blunt. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
The men's mascot, Lena, takes a peek out of the hatch of their M20. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Another shot of the Nazi flag on display, showing T5 Joe Elving, T5 Elmer "Buddy" Friedhoff, Sgt. John Hankes, Pfc. Ted Schluter, T5 Jack Gayler and 1st. Sgt. M. R. "Dick" Blunt. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Shown is T5 Elmer "Buddy" Friedhoff and Sgt. John Hankes in Bourheim, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Shown kneeling is Captain Nafzigar on left with T5 Joseph Elving on right. Shanding on left is Pfc Ted Schluter and 1st Sgt. M.R. Blunt to his right. Photo taken in Bourheim, Germany, courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Posing for a photo is SSgt. Bob Doney in Bourheim, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
Shown kneeling L to R is Pfc. John Hankes and 1st Sgt. M.R. Blunt. Standing is Cpt. Nafzigar, Pfc Ted Schluter and SSgt. Bob Doney in Bourheim, Germany. Photo courtesy of Diana Friedhoff Miller.
A photo of Robert Carlson, kneeling front left, and the crew of his Tank Destroyer. Standing left to right is Garcia, Jenson and Wright with Saffle kneeling on right. It is identified as having been taken at Vegasack, Germany on June 25, 1945. Obviously this was after the war had ended and the 821st was providing security for the area they were assigned. Courtesy of John Carlson.
Shown is Platoon Leader 1st. Lt. Bill Rinkle standing in front of a disabled German Tiger Tank, which had knocked out three U.S. Sherman Tanks. The Tiger was finally stopped by Robert P, Carlson's Tank Destroyer. The photo was taken in February 1945, which is the same month that Rinkle received a Silver Star for gallantry. Courtesy of John Carlson.
A line of the unit's M10 Tank Destroyers, possibly there for review or inspection. This was probably taken after the war had ended. The 821st had originally been equipped with towed 3" guns but was re-equipped with self-propelled M10s in December of 1944. Photo courtesy of John Carlson.
One photo from a sequence of shots showing a flipped TD that had hit an enemy anti-tank mine. This took place just one month before the end of the war and took the lives of 4 men from 1st Platoon. There were actually two TDs that were destroyed and the official unit records identify that a total of five were killed between the two TDs. This particular unit had flipped three times before resting upside down. No idea why there was a cow in the photo. Courtesy of John Carlson.
This is the second unit that hit an anti-tank mine. An M10 Tank Destroyer weighs approximately 59,000 lbs or about 30 tons so the force needed to flip one over even once was quite substantial. Photo courtesy of John Carlson.
Here is one of the craters left by an anti-tank mine. It is hard to judge the size from this photo but it looks to be as wide as the road shown in the distance. Photo courtesy of John Carlson.
Robert P. Carlson is shown in center with two unnamed soldiers. They are standing by an M10, which is covered in camouflage netting. Photo courtesy of John Carlson.
A photo of John P. Carlson, taken in March 1945, while the 821st was stationed in Munster, Germany. Courtesy of John Carlson.
On April 24, 1945, when under heavy fire engaging a large enemy force, Pfc. John P. Carlson manned an automatic rifle and provided covering fire for our advancing infantry. For these actions, he was awarded the Bronze Star for heroic achievement against the enemy. Courtesy of John Carlson.
A photo of John P. Carlson sitting in center, along with Sullivan on left and Oskar Allison on right. Courtesy of John Carlson.
Its hard to tell the ranking but the man standing on the TD, looking to the left, is probably the Platoon Leader with Company Commander posing in front. Photo courtesy of John Carlson.
Three soldiers on their TD. You can clearly see the netting that was used to camouflage the unit. Photo courtesy of John Carlson.
Shown is Wally Acherlund and the unit's mascot named Panzerfaust, which means "Armor Fist" in German and was actually the name of the anti-tank (bazooka-like) weapon used by the Germans. Photo courtesy of John Carlson.
