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  751st Tank Battalion

January 22nd, 2014

1/22/2014

25 Comments

 

Anzio
(Operation Shingle)
January 22, 1944-May 25, 1944

Picture
Take a moment to consider what our friends and relatives from the 751st Tank Battalion endured 70 years ago in the days and weeks following their landing at Anzio-Nettuno.  Consider the fact that even before they embarked upon their mission at Anzio-Nettuno, they had already undergone several hard battles since the landing at Salerno in September of the previous year, and before that, six months of bitter combat in the deserts of North Africa. 

While the landing at Anzio was initially unopposed by the Germans, the following four months would result in the toughest conditions the 751st Tank Battalion would encounter in the entire war.  Until the day he died in 2006, my father, Paul Neumiller, was haunted by the memories of the four months he and the 751st spent trapped on a beachhead ten miles long and seven miles deep.  Over the years, he shared a few of the more benign memories of Anzio with family and friends, while locking away the worst of them.

As he maneuvered his tank onto the beach at Anzio that January morning, Paul Neumiller and many of the men of the 751st were already battle-hardened.   But does “battle-hardened” merely suggest that the tankers of the 751st now had an expertise in warfare gained through their intense combat experiences?  In part, yes.  But in Paul’s case, at least, it also meant that he was no longer the man who had left the farm in North Dakota a year and a half earlier.  By now he seldom wrote home, drank whenever the opportunity presented itself, and took comfort not in letters from loved ones, but in the camaraderie of his front line buddies.  He was a man who saw no end in sight as far as the war was concerned, a man who, perhaps out of some sense of psychological self-preservation, had learned not to expect to see home again.  He had seen too many friends who he had known since basic training die appalling deaths, and knew of too many replacements for those friends who didn’t survive their first battles.  He was no longer under any self-delusions about his own chances for survival.  By January of 1944, the war for Paul and his comrades was not about global stability or the liberation of the oppressed, if it ever was, but about the personal struggle to live from one horrendous day to the next.  

Paul felt all these things even before he landed at Anzio, where he and his friends would face some of the worst combat conditions experienced by any American soldier in Europe during World War II.  He carried these thoughts ashore that day in 1944 without knowing that for the next four months he would be trapped with tens of thousands of other Allied soldiers in what the Germans would come to call “the largest self-sustaining P.O.W. camp in the world.”  And it would be another fourteen months before he would finally go home.

The Allies would finally break out of their prison at Anzio four months later on May 25, 1944, but in the meantime those tens of thousands of Allied soldiers would grapple daily with the enemy, and fate, in an effort to survive.  Thousands would perish.  Many thousands more would suffer broken bodies and tortured souls in an attempt to retain possession of their lives, and of a few square miles of Italian soil. 


                                                 *                             *                             *

In the coming months, I’ll post more details here of the torturous winter the 751st tolerated seven decades ago.  I’ll avoid the armchair quarterbacking common in much military writing, but will instead focus on the day to day struggle of the men of the 751st Tank Battalion.

Robert Neumiller



25 Comments
Julie Seil
1/23/2014 06:09:38 am

Nice job. Looking forward to more.

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Jeanette Selleck
1/23/2014 09:54:17 pm

Facts I didn't know about your father. Very interesting.

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Karie Dent
1/23/2014 08:25:15 am

Thumbs up...as always

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Pat Tofte
1/23/2014 11:23:44 am

Very good let me know when u do the next one

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Shirley Jackson
1/24/2014 04:33:17 am

Great Job loved reading the article

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Dean A. Sondag
1/27/2014 03:43:34 am

Congratulations Robert for a job well done. Sending appreciation for your Father's service and all the brave men and women fighting in WW2. Looking forward to reading more in the future.

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Bob Neumiller
1/27/2014 06:28:42 am

Thanks, Dean. Good to hear from you. Glad you found the site.

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Bob Holt
10/24/2014 07:12:03 am

Very nice job on the 751st history! I'm the historian of my dad's 752nd Tank Battalion, a sister battalion to the 751 also serving in North Africa and Italy. I had been I touch with Lt. Herb Mahn, who served with both the 752 and 751 (D Co). Keep up the good work, I'm looking forward to seeing more great material on your site!

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Mike Pelloth
2/26/2020 09:09:44 pm

Hi Bob,
(Just ran across this blog...didn't see before on this site...)
My dad was in the 751st....however passed in 1958. I ran across the 751st reunion thanks to the new "internet" and ended up attending 3 of them, one in McAllen Texas, mid-90's, their 50th (1998) in Niagara Falls, N.Y. (my dad's hometown), and the last one (69th) in Columbus Ohio.
I remember meeting a Lt Mahn, in fact I have a photo he gave me of his Co, D tank (M3 Stewart) & him at the Swiss border shortly after the war ended.
Could you share his contact info....would love just to call & say hello. These hero's are getting way up in age....I hope he's still around to talk.
BTW...there's photo in the photo section of my dad & Paul Neumiller in Naples 1943...Paul said they got passes for a few days liberty because they got some stuck & abandoned M4 Shermans back to allied lines ....
Thanks,
Mike
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Ted Caldwell
12/7/2014 09:14:45 am

My uncle, James G. Graves, was in the 751st and did not share very much about his deployment until I picked him up from Fort Meyers reunion and brought him back to Hobe Sound Fla., where I live. He died July 14, 2007. I had the good fortune to have been given his memorabilia by Aunt Katherine Graves. As a young boy I idolized him. I am awed by what I have read about the 751st. Ted

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Janet Heinrick Knopsnyder
1/10/2015 07:15:44 am

I just found this site and as I sit here looking at pictures and reading stories about the men of this battalion, I am so proud to know that my father was a member of the 751st. Jack Heinrick was an amazing man and after finding this.....I now know where some of his courage and his compassion came from.

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Corina Erickson
11/23/2016 04:04:53 pm

Do you have any information regarding Kalman Molnar in this battalion? I am his grandaughter and would like to know more about his time during wwii.

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Christine Craft Watercutter
7/3/2017 11:12:15 pm

My Dad was Sargent Emil Joseph Craft of the 751 motor pool. Two years in Africa Three major invasions, including Samadhi & Anzio. I have 4'x ' picture of his units before they shipped out. Money from Africa signed by buddy's ,letters, newspaper clippings, pictures of reunions & circle patch he wore, & stars, plus I got all his metals after he died. Letter from his commanding officer. Discharge papers dog tag, My Dad was the best auto mechanic in our town and he kept those tanks running in battle. He was Emil Joseph Craft, Wapakoneta Ohio 45895.

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Pat Adams Borntrager
5/26/2019 05:07:00 pm

Christine,,,My father was Alfred F. Adams. Your dad, Emil and he were good friends. I remember your dad from some of the reunions of the 751. We, my husband and I attended quite a few. It was nice to see a familiar name here. We were from Akron, Ohio. Maybe your dad mentioned my dad. Best Regards,,Pat Adams Borntrager

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Christine Watercutter
7/3/2017 11:18:22 pm

My father, Sargent Emil Joseph Craft, of motor 751st tank battalion. Wapakoneta, Ohio 45895

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Gavin
3/25/2018 11:42:52 am

Hi, have been reading this Web page with intest. I have started restoring a GMC 353 CCKW Cargo, and wile scraping some paint away a came across the markings USA 751, and that started my quest to find out more about where this truck was used. Do you have any info on the equipment this group had, I am guessing that the vehicle was used in Italy. Because it ended up in the Belgium army

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Pat Adams Borntrager
5/27/2019 06:36:42 pm

Gavin,,,Yes the 751 Tank Btn. was in Italy. I know they landed at Anzio and were also in Bizerte. I actually have a list of all the engagements somewhere and will try to find it and list them for you.

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Denise Fox
6/24/2018 11:16:06 am

So pleased to read your account. My Dad was Sgt. Alvin Panning, he worked on the tanks & was charged w/ retrieving them from behind enemy lines. Dad was proud of his service but like many with whom he served, spoke little of the bad times & only spoke of the good times. I was proud & privileged to have attended at least 6 of the reunions where I had the opportunity to meet some of his comrades & commanding officer. I am trying to obtain info about the 751st but was told by our congressman's office that many Army records from this era were destroyed in a fire. I look forward to reading more as you obtain info about these brave soldiers.

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Pat Adams Borntrager
5/27/2019 06:42:42 pm

Denise,, So pleased to hear from you. I remember you dad being mentioned by my dad. "Al" Panning, or just Panning.. For anyone who was at the reunion in Ft. Myers, FL., Dad had that reunion. We lived there at the time and even though it was in his name,,,seems I did all the work. We had a great time. Dad passed in 1987, but he attended every reunion. I'm not sure he missed any. So nice to hear from another "child" of the 751.

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Ryan Ginley
2/17/2020 07:17:56 am

Pat, I am trying to find out if there are still reunions of the 751st? I am trying to obtain more info. in order to finish putting together a shadow box. Thank you.

Steve Blomster
9/23/2019 01:50:25 pm

My uncle, William Blomster, was 751st also, In fact,was Co. A also. Tho I understand each Co. had 3 platoons of 5 tanks. I scoured this website,but did not see my uncle in any pictures,etc. so maybe different platoon from Paul Neumiller. But my uncle was in the same battles?
My uncle was severely burned in an incident near Vellitri, Italy May 28,1944. My uncle Reynold,Infantry 338th,85th was probably nearby somewhere in Intaly as 751st supported 58th and others. He was killed May 16,1944 near Santa Maria,Italy

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Thomas Parker
9/25/2019 04:19:05 pm

My Uncle James Ira Swearengin passed away on july 9,1960 in Hot Springs, Ark. On his to tomstone is the following inscription: Alabama Tec 5 SVC Co 751 Tank Bn WW2 If anyone knows anything about him please e-mail me thomasparker5100@gmail.com thank you.

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Ryan Ginley
11/18/2019 02:15:50 pm

I am inquiring if you have any information on my grandfather, Bertram J. Ginley. He was a PFC but also a Technician 5th Grade Corporal. Also, did the members of the unit receive the American Campaign Medal or the Army of Occupation Medal, as I believe Bertram should have earned it but it was not listed in his files. The files on him are not complete and was wondering if there is anything at all that you could send my way. Thank you

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Mike Pelloth
2/26/2020 08:51:29 pm

Hi Bob, Long time again!!
Came across this article, wanted to share this article with you, thought you might enjoy.
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/hanging-tough-germans-italy

Hope you all are are doing well....(are you retired now?) ...so glad you set up this site, appreciate your hard work & dedication!
Mike
<><

Reply
Bob
3/15/2020 08:53:19 am

Hey, Mike, good to hear from you again.

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