My grandfather-in-law was named [name removed per rules], he was a Staff Sgt. with Troop D of the 90th Calvary Reconnaissance Squadron Division (this sounds wrong, but is how my wife wrote it) he had boots on the ground in England, France, Germany, and Austria. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and received numerous accolades including Combat Infantryman Badge, Good Conduct Medal, and various campaign ribbons.
I'm looking for help in learning what his Troop did throughout the war, anything of interest or import. If there exist any photographs or stories of their time deployed during WWII I would love to be able to show his family some of the things he did or may have been involved with. He didn't talk about his service much, and being in infantry during the war I'm sure he didn't have much good to talk about, but during their time of mourning I want to try and give his family more perspective on the life of the man they loved.
Please provide links to anything you find, or if you want to summarize I would be happy to share your spin on the information I receive. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.
The 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized) was part of the 10th Armored Division. It consisted of a headquarters, four reconnaissance troops lettered A-D, an assault gun troop E, and a light tank company F. A medical detachment served the minor healthcare needs of the Squadron. The 90th, like all Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons attached to armored divisions, had an authorized strength of 44 officers and 861 enlisted men. The primary weapons of the Squadron were its 52 M8 Greyhound light armored cars, 17 M5 light tanks, and 8 M8 Howitzer Motor Carriages.
Squadrons not assigned to an armored division were smaller, having only three reconnaissance troops, A-C. D was skipped; the assault gun troop (reduced from four platoons to three) was still lettered E, and the light tank company, F. These squadrons had a smaller total strength of 38 officers and 702 enlisted men. These separate Squadrons, consequently had only 40 M8s and 6 M8 Howitzer Motor Carriages.
The 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was formed along with the 10th Armored Division at Fort Benning, Georgia, on July 15, 1942. The original personnel for the division came from the 2nd Armored Division and 3rd and 11th Cavalry Regiments. While in training, the 10th Armored adopted the nickname "Tiger", to show the strength and fighting power of the division. While training in 1943, the division was reorganized from the "heavy" structure of two regiments each of three battalions (each battalion having three companies), to a more wieldy and "lighter" structure of three battalions, each battalion having four companies. The summer of 1944 was marred by the death of their commanding general Paul Newgarden in a plane crash, but the 10th Armored soldiered on.
After training for a year as all other divisions did, the 10th received their marching orders and reported to Camp Shanks, New York at the end of August 1944 to prepare for overseas shipment. The 10th Armored Division arrived in France on September 23, 1944. They undertook training for a month before entering combat in support of the XX Corps of Patton's Third Army on October 2, 1944. General William H. H. Morris Jr. commanded the 10th Armored Division through their combat in Europe.
The 10th Armored Division consisted of the following units:
3rd, 11th, and 21st Tank Battalions
20th, 54th, and 61st Armored Infantry Battalions
90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized)
55th Armored Engineer Battalion
150th Armored Signal Company
419th, 420th, and 423rd Armored Field Artillery Battalions
132nd Ordnance Maintenance Battalion
80th Armored Medical Battalion
Military Police Platoon
Band
Here's a map; I reference it several times below
During the Battle of the Bulge, the 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was spread around as ad-hoc teams of Americans attempted to stem the tide of the German advance:
Most of the 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was used to screen the widening gap between the 9th Armored Division and the 109th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division to the south.
Task Force Cherry, at Longvilly (just outside of Bastogne) had Company A of the 10th's 3rd Tank Battalion, two platoons of light tanks from Company D, and Troop D of the 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron.
The scans of the after action reports of the 90th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron are very telling of Troop D's actions at Bastogne, but crucial portions through the most relevant dates (20-27 December 1944) are so sadly worn and age-tattered as to be nearly unreadable.
Troop D often had to use their 37mm guns to snipe at German tanks, and were sometimes successful in disabling a few by presumably hitting them in the sides or rear.
From the report of the 1st platoon, 19 December 1944
At 0400 the town of NOVILLE was attacked by infantry and tanks. The platoon took up defensive at the south end of town for close-in defense. [unreadable] came from the north and north-east, and was repulsed. At 0400 the [unreadable] town was again attacked from the north-east by enemy tanks. One enemy tank was knocked out at 900 [!] yards by a 37mm manned by T/5 George G. Coward, Jr. The tank burned and the attack was repulsed.
On December 20, two more tanks attacking Noville were "stopped" by fire from the 1st platoon. Also on this day, the three platoons scurried from Noville back to Bastogne, and took up defensive positions in the town.
22 December:
1st Platoon:
Remained in BASTOGNE. Elements went on a reconnaissance patrol with Captain Anderson
2nd Platoon
Remained in BASTOGNE. Elements went on a reconnaissance patrol with Captain Anderson
3rd Platoon:
Remained in mobile reserve for Team O'Hara and maintained outpost during the day
Troop Headquarters:
[Paraphrased] Reconnoitered a route between Bastogne and Neufchateau. Several members of the troop were fired upon by German soldiers wearing German and American uniforms, and driving a mix of German and American vehicles, in the town of Sibret; they escaped back to Bastogne safely.
23 December
1st Platoon:
Remained in BASTOGNE until platoon leader 1st Lt Paul G. Fleming and elements of the platoon moved with Captain Anderson to the town of CHAMPS.
2nd Platoon:
Remained in BASTOGNE until elements of platoon moved with Captain Anderson to the town of CHAMPS.
3rd Platoon:
[Paraphrased] Took a 12-man patrol along with 12 men of the 501st PIR and 12 men of the 54th Armored Infantry's I&R platoon to attack three enemy tanks in the woods 1,500 yards west of Bastogne; enemy small arms fire was heavy and the patrol was driven off.
Troop Headquarters:
[Paraphrased] The men went on a mission to attack the town of Champs and seize it; Co. A, 502nd PIR was already in the town. Troop headquarters moved to Champs.
24 December 1944
1st Platoon:
Remained at BASTOGNE except for elements with Captain Anderson in CHAMPS.
2nd Platoon:
Remained at BASTOGNE except for elements with Captain Anderson in CHAMPS.
3rd Platoon:
Remained in mobile reserve for Team O'Hara. [Team O'Hara was Company C of the 21st Tank Battalion, a platoon of light tanks from Company D, 3rd Tank Battalion, and two companies of the 54th Armored Infantry Battalion] Maintained outpost.
Troop Headquarters:
[Paraphrased] Remained in Champs. Quiet; no enemy attacks. At 1830 Bastogne was bombed by enemy aircraft
25 December 1944
This day is sadly mostly unreadable. The Squadron maintained positions, and Champs was attacked by a full battalion of enemy infantry and tanks. Assisted by tank destroyers of the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion, the attack was driven off and seven enemy tanks were destroyed.
26 December 1944
1st Platoon:
Remained at BASTOGNE except for elements with Captain Anderson in CHAMPS.
2nd Platoon:
Remained at BASTOGNE except for elements with Captain Anderson in CHAMPS.
3rd Platoon:
Remained in mobile reserve for Team O'Hara. Maintained outpost.
Troop Headquarters:
[Paraphrased] The 401st Glider Infantry in Bastogne was attacked at 3:00 AM. An enemy patrol attempted to enter Champs, but was driven away. In the evening, several "peeps" (jeeps) with disguised Germans attempted to enter Champs; they were attacked and killed. There was (unknown) movement to the north during the night.
27 December 1944
Bastogne is finally relieved, with the 4th Armored Division's 37th Tank Battalion punching through the German encirclement of the town from the direction of Assenois.
Sources:
The Ardennes 1944-1945, by Christer Bergstrom
US Army in World War II, by Rich Anderson
If you know your grandfather in law's Specification Serial Number (it should be on his discharge paper) you can find out what his job was in the Squadron. Keep in mind that the ranks provided in the Tables of Organization and Equipment are the ones that are authorized on paper. More often than not in the field, casualties forced corporals to lead infantry squads, or technicians to command tanks.
US Army Occupational Specialties (from TM 12-427, 12 July 1944)
Sorry, but your submission has been removed, as we don't allow questions which pose possible privacy issues for living, or recently deceased, persons who are not in the public eye. If your question pertains to military service, try referring to our guide on Military Records and Identification. A more general question about a unit history, leaving out the individual name, is of course fine. Additionally, /r/Genealogy is a great community to find resources when doing research on family history.
Hi! My Great Grandfather was also in 90th Calvary Reconnaissance Squadron(Troop E). I have been looking for any information on his experience and I'm lucky to come across this. I noticed were you said "assault gun troop". I'm wondering what that troops job was and on his Discharge papers it said "Truck driver light 345" I think he drove a jeep but tell me if that is incorrect.
Thanks for that ForgottenLabyrinth, it is very interesting. I'm not sure how to directly reply to someone so I have to commen. Sorry it took me so long to respond but if you have any other info on troop E, photos, etc, I'd be glad to look at them.