"Looking for info on the US 40th Div in WWI" Topic
6 Posts
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Korvessa | 28 Jun 2019 11:52 a.m. PST |
I am trying to find out more info on my grandfather's service with this division. His grave marker says: D co. 159th Infantry regiment 40th division. Based upon my Google searches, his division was broken up and used as replacements, so never served under their own flag, so to speak. My Google search discovered this: 26th Division: unknown number 32nd Division: 1500 men 77th Division: 4000 men 28th Division: 2000 men 81st Division: 1000 men 80th, 82nd, 89th: 2100 He had to have been in combat somewhere as he was wounded in the face. Anybody have any ideas on how I can obtain more info? |
ColCampbell | 28 Jun 2019 1:15 p.m. PST |
Sorry for deletion, above. Initially read WW2, not WW1. In the 1920s, the War Department provided to the several states the statement of service cards for all that state's soldiers who participated in WW1. For Mississippi, my home state, these cards initially went to the state Adjutant General, then to the Veterans' Affairs Board, and finally to the state Archives (where I processed them when I worked there). I would recommend you contact the California state archives sos.ca.gov/archives or the California Adjutant General's office calguard.ca.gov about these cards. The individual card for your grandfather will give a gist of his service record, including the units to which he was assigned, the campaign(s) in which he fought, and when he was wounded, plus other data. You can also contact the National Archives Military Records Center in St. Louis, MO link to obtain his records, if they survived the 1973 fire there. You might also try the Genealogical Society of Utah "Family Search" web site familysearch.org/en for which you can join for free. They might have the statement of service cards on-line there. Mississippi's are there (as well as on the Mississippi Archives on-line catalog). Hope this helps. I wish you "good hunting." Jim P.S. This advice is good for all states except Alaska and Hawaii. I'm not sure how their's were handled nor any of the territories such as Puerto Rico, etc. |
gamershs | 28 Jun 2019 3:40 p.m. PST |
Quoting from "Order of Battle U.S. Army , World War II (author: Shelby L. Stanton), Copyright 1984. This is a great source to find out where various units served throughout WW II. The 159th Infantry Regiment was with the 40th Division for about 11 days (3 Mar 41 to 14 Mar 41). It was attached to the 7th Infantry Division from 29 Sep 41 thru 23 Aug 43 and then assigned to Alaskan Department. From the 159th Infantry Regiment history it was used as a garrison force throughout the war. It ended up in going into Germany 25 Apr 45 as part of the 106th Infantry Division. If you have a date of his death it will show where the 159th was at that tine. I suspect that listing the 159th Infantry Regiment as part of the 40th Infantry Division was used for tracking as it may have been a theater unit at the time. |
Korvessa | 28 Jun 2019 4:04 p.m. PST |
Looks like I left something out of my OP This is for WWI |
khanscom | 28 Jun 2019 4:31 p.m. PST |
From "Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War, American Expeditionary Forces, Divisions": August 25, 1917 division is at Camp Kearny, CA August 1, 1918 division is at Camp Milla, NY August 7, 1918 division is aboard SS Lapland August 20, 1918 division is at Liverpool, UK August 24, 1918 division is at Cherbourg, FR August 25, 1918 division is at La Guerche-sur-l'Aubois, FR On August 16, 1918 the division was redesignated 6th Depot Division and on August 30 is reorganized as such; as of Oct. 23 a total of 16,237 replacements had been forwarded to line units (including recovered casualties and transfers from the division); Oct. 31, 1918 159th IR and 143rd MG Bn move to vicinity of Saleux to form a regional replacement depot for II Corps and absorb the II Corps Replacement Bn. No details of activities of combat operations of these units are given, but your relative's service would certainly have been in the II Corps area of operations during the last weeks of the war. Hope this is of some help. |
Korvessa | 29 Jun 2019 7:47 p.m. PST |
Thanks for the replies. Digging deep into old records. He appears to have been wounded by a shell fragment (to the jaw – lost all but 7 teeth) in September 1918. A hand written note says near Amiens. |
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