US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Chaffee, AR)

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,hy , qw, 1-msg? gi' ,- ,,,, l T .' m . , T Q image -X V.,. i n .E Amer' fonTilili:nH:l:g1o'ra:,ogs info me ,ow ow 4 n f '5 Avtidhe 'Gad if x::Tic'wairi'a'd orsiilwin F 'c'- as The A M A . wrecked germs smoke of by rnericans , n 6,-mor ores Tle hangs ' '- France disTinguished iTselT in The Eure-Seine Campaign winning a commendaTion Trom The XV Corps Commander SepTember II944 Tound Th 5Th . e , now shiTTed To The FirsT Army, ready To sTarT a l30-miie push Trom Paris norTh + B I . . . . . . o egium. On This operahon, The division cuT Through The Compiegne F'oresT, crossed The rivers Oise, Aisne and Somme The uniT w Th . . as en senT racing anoTher I00 miles To The Meuse River. Pushing onward, The 5Th To k T ' h l' o par in T e uberafion of Luxembourg. On II SepTember I944 Germany was peneTraTed: The Our River was crossed, in The viciniTy of STalzembourg. The 5Th Then parTicipaTed in The TirsT cr ' T h ossmg o T e Moselle in November I944. The mosT biTTer TighTing experienced by The division occured in December during The baTTle oT The HurTgen ForesT and The approaches To The Roer River. The weaTher was as biTTer as The TighTing. The savage TighTing aT HurTgen broke The German spiriTg never again did The enemy TighT wiTh such TerociTy and Tenaciousness. The 5Th d by The T k was TT10 last gehicle ?ria1Ti:o?:ce oi Tx: 1' ef an 1 . 'ant ' .20 AW- ' T This knocked tag' mghi Trona Eggfseas' the gown. France German? In rican BSWUN VNC Terriiic 'U' i if ,X 1' A. iv. l X -yr ' ' N ug .-.., , M 1 if ti 1 '

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9-refs K 4 , fl. is,,, ,M The 51h Armored Division's hisfory is filled wiih accoun'I's of fradilion, acfion, and glory. Ac+iva+ed on I Ocfober l94I, fhe Division was assigned +o Fori Knox, Kenfucky, for fraining as a pari of fhe Armored Force. ln March i942 il' was iransferred fo Camp Cooke, California. A+ +his lime 'I'he Division was commanded by Major General Jack W. Heard. From Augusr +o Ocfober i942 The 5+h was acfively engaged in 'Phe maneuvers in ihe Deserf Training Cenfer Area. ln February I943, Major General Lunsford E. Olivei- assumed command. He was 'io remain wifh fhe Division 'Through 'ihe remaining years of The war: +o +rain, lead, and figh+ wifh +he Division. ln March I943 +he 5+h Armored par+icipa+ed in ihe Second Army maneu- vers in Tennessee. ln July 1943 if 'rransferred fo Pine Camp, New York, preparalory fo embarking for overseas. Embarking for fhe European Theafer of Operafions in February I944, +he division 'rrained a+ Camp Chiseldon, Ogbourne, S+. George and Tidworfh-Perham Downes in Wilfshire, England. As The U.S. Firsf Army embarked for +he invasion of France, +he 5+h Armored operared hundreds of camps, servicing 'ihe invasion uni'rs. Augus+ I944 found +he Vic+ory Division in +he 'Thick of +he Normandy campaign and rapidly moving up on LeMans. As par'I' of General PaHon's Third Army, +he division jumped-off on a 300-mile exploifaiion behind +he lines of 'rhe German Sevenih Army. Af'rer +he Fall of LeMans, 'rhe 5+h pursued 1'he enemy io The Seine, wrecking 'lheir armor and inflicfing high casual+ies. Following +his drive +o +he Seine, +he 5+h Armored Division

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V W , .. Y' fs.-' - bl'-y hillsidl in n B 'vision farm 0 - 5 neawf 'he American dr Hmm., armie ive Amana v.nicigi:2,, aiifhich wan ar Franc! 'gi -E3nAu9.. 44' . . . h iaiheflan Tdnlrs of , h F' House of Hsu: greered i945 by confinuing fo advance, and by hard flghhng during 1' e Bulge period. A+ Coblenz +he division wiped our all enemy resisfance. Spring of i945 found 'lhe division a parf of rhe Ninfh Army, and in May H' reached +he Elbe and fanned our in ihe viciniry of Tangermunde. As i+ crossed 'Phe Elbe River, +he 5+h Armored was rhe nearesf U.S. uni+ +o Berlin, iusi prior ro VE day. The division embarked for home on 2 Ocfober i945 and was inacfivared on ll Ocfober l945 a+ Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. d Von received from fhe XV Corps, In addiiion +o +he division commen a I Troop A, 85+h Reconnaisance Ba'Halion l+hen 85+h Cavalry Rcn Squadronl was awarded a Presideniial Unii Cifaiion for ou+s+anding performance of du+y in acfion from I5 fo 20 December I944: Companies B and C, 47+h ' ' P sideniial Uni+ Cifafion 'For Armored lnfanfry Baffalion, received a re ' of duly in ac+ion on 4-5 Seprember I944. The oufsfandlng performance ffh A n' Hollggrliid Division moving f orwwd Past 1 he Guest QWPQJQ- ,Ds 'O--vig, - rm