US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Dix, NJ)

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34th FIELD RTILLERY B TTALID HISTORY The 34Th FA BaTTaIion was organized aT Camp Mc- Clellan, Alabama on 7 AugusT I9I8, per congressional auThoriTy daTed 5 July I9I8. AcTivaTion orders aTTached The 34Th FA To The I2Th Division. The acTivaTion and organizaTion daTes were Too IaTe To allow Tor parTicipaTion in any of The World War I campaigns. IT was demobilized on 6 February I9I9 To be reconsTiTuTed again on 22 July I929 and placed on The inacTive Regular Army IisT. IT was assigned To The 9Th InTanTry Division on I8 AugusT I933. IT was reorganized on I OcTober I94O. As a uniT oT The 9Th InTanTry Division The 34Th parTicipaTed in preparaTory Training and amphibious maneuvers aT ForT Bragg, NorTh Carolina unTiI iT sailed Tor NorTh ATrica wiTh eIemenTs oT The 9Th Division in November I942. The 34Th FA BaTTaIion was To parTicipaTe in one oT The mosT imporTanT campaigns in The early phases oT World War II, As a uniT of The 9Th Division ArTillery Team iT was ordered To march Trom Tlemcen, souThwesT oT Oran, To- ward Fiad and The Kaserine Pass, a disTance OT some 800 miles. Leaving on I7 February I943, The 34Th FA BaTTaIion accomplished The impossible, by covering 777 miles OT winding narrow, slippery and precipiTious mounTain roads, arriving in The viciniTy oT Thala on 2I February I943. Under normal condiTions, This maneuver would have Taken Two weeks. This is sTiII considered one oT The greaT- esT arTiIIery marches in miIiTary hisTory. ATTer compIeTing This Torced march, The 34Th dug in, and by dawn, on The 22nd oT February, parTicipaTed in one oT The greaTesT baTTIes oT ArTillery againsT German Heavy Tanlcs. Rornmel, in his aTTempT To push To The wesT To Take Tebessa, allied supply poinT, puT some 40 heavy Tanlcs, plus 3 baTTaIions OT inTanTry, supporTed by arTiIIery and dive bombers, againsT a much smaller allied Torce oT BriTish and American Troops. AT The end oT 3 days, The German superior Torces were sTopped cold, mainly by The eITecTive supporT oT our arTiIIery cannon. IT has been said ThaT never before in modern warTare had arTiIIery alone sTopped The combined assauITs of Tanks, moTorized in- TanTry, dive bombers, and dueled enemy arfillery as well. I 1 s

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CGIVIPA Y IVI 60th I TRY REGIIVIE Mfsgl Huberl' E. Eason Cap? ls? L+ Isl L+ Znd Li' Edmond J. O'Sulllvan Kerfh D Beverage Zlgmond A Zabuslu Kennellx R Reld MfSgi' Sfanley J. Buza MfSg'l' Kei+h F. Freeberg SFC John C. McGowan Sg-I Clarence F. Ballcey Sgf Leonard A. Powers Sgr R. B. Wadley Sg+ Harold J. Cohenour Sgi' Franl: P. Palernosler Cpl Donald J. Howery Cpl Ellis D. Johnson Pfc Donald R. ll'lerrold Pv'r Molse J. Ladner Pvf Salvalore R. Renzi Pvi Larry A. Robiclnand

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On To Normandy-ATTached To The 39Th lnTanTry Regi- menT, 9Th lnTanTry Division, The 34Th parTicipaTed in The TirsT acTion oT a NinTh Division uniT on The conTinenT oT Europe. On I2 June I944, The 39Th lnTanTry, ably sup- porTed by The 34Th FA Bn made invasion hisTory. Going inTo baTTle, This uniT had advanced The TarThesT norTh oT any allied Troops by Taking The CiTy oT Quineville on I3 June I944. The Germans had orders To hold Quine- ville aT all cosTs, buT The superioriTy oT The Americans were Too much Tor The Germans. The 34Th FA BaTTalion is iusTly proud oT iTs eTTorTs as a uniT oT The 9Th Division, Toward The deTeaT OT The Germans. ln iTs drive on Two conTinenTs, iT achieved a remarkable record, TirsT spearheading The invasion oT NorTh ATrica, carrying iTs share oT The burden in The deTeaT oT Rommel's Torces, on To lTaly in The conquesT oT Sicily. Then on To France on The baTTleTields oT Normandy, NorTh France, Ardennes-Alsace, The Rhineland, and CenTral Europe. The many successes oT boTh The 34Th FA Bn and 6OTh lnTanTry were in a large measure due To The eTTecTive supporT by The 34Th FA Bn cannoneers. The 34Th ToughT righT up To V.E. Day 9 May I945. ThereaTTer and unTil 20 November I946 They helped in The occupaTion oT Germany. The 34Th deacTivaTed in Germany on 20 November l946, only To be reacTivaTed again on I2 July I948 aT ForT Dix as a parT oT The Famous 9Th Division. Since ThaT Time To The presenT The 34-Th FA Bn aTTached To The Go-Devil 6OTh lnTanTry RegimenT has Trained many men in The TradiTions of The uniT and as excellenT soldiers. Honors Tor The campaigns in which The 34Th parTici- paTed are: W.W. ll Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy. NorThern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and CenTral Europe. The BaTTalion has The 'Following decoraTions: DisTinguishecl UniT STreamer embroidered Thala Tunisia. STreamer in The colors oT The Belgian Crois de Guerre embroidered Ardennes. Fourragere in The colors oT Belgian Crois de Guerre.