Here is an old autograph book that my dad had when he was in Germany during World War II. It appears that his sister Em and her husband Norval gave it to him for Christmas in 1945. The handwriting inside the front and back covers is not my dad’s handwriting and I assume that my Aunt Em wrote those lines.
Inside the front and back covers of the autograph book:
Christmas ’45 in Germany
P.f.C. Herbert Miller (35845400) 84th Inf. Div.
My “Soldier Buddies”
From Em & Norval
My dad, Herbert Miller, volunteered for the daft after high school and was drafted in May 1944. After basic training he became a member of Company L, 333rd Regiment, 84th Infantry Division, known as the Railsplitters. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and he fought in Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and Holland. He was proud of his service to his country and to have been a member of the Railsplitters.
After the war ended he was placed on Occupation Duty and was assigned to the Postal Section, Division Headquarters, where he was appointed money order clerk at the military post office in Heidelberg, and then on to the 172 APU 7th Army Headquarters. He would have had this autograph book during the time he worked at the military post office.
Written inside the book:
K-335
PFC Norbert A Kosirog
16185857
Hq. 84 Infantry Div. Postal Section
88 France Distributing Sect. APO 64
1507 North Ashland Ave., Chicago, Illinois
B-335- Cpl. Gerald D. Ritter- 39054028
Hq. 84th Infantry Div Post. Sect.
4976 Keade Rd
Oakland, Calif.
To my very good friend Herb,
Frank G. Schwab
35875369
Hqs. 84th Div
Frank Schwab married Jean Betzel and my dad and mom corresponded with Frank and Jean throughout their lives.
Raymond G. Schwartz
211-3rd Ave. NW
Mandan, N. Dak.
To Herb,
Jerryland is a hell of a place for any American to be in with the war over. Being with guys like you at the last makes it easier. Aloha
Phil Gordon
768 Hendrix St
B’klyn N.Y
11/24/45
To Miller
Till we meet again
Your Friend
Phillip
2007 Uluttier [?] Ave
Baltimore, MD
Best of luck Miller
Jim Gallagher
211 Forrest Ave
Narberth, PA
One of the guys you got fooled with
T.H. Anderson
To Herb:
A buddie that is hard to beat.
Bob Ewing
Your “Sarg”
The last page in the book has a list of names of men from Co. L, 333rd, 84th Infantry Division, who my dad probably served with:
S/Sgt. Lawrence Broderick, Boston, Mass
PFC Richard Timmons, Wabash, Ind
PFC Walter M. Trefun, South Bend, Ind
PFC Herbert M. Miller, Willshire, OH
PFC Thomas Trowbridge, KY
PFC Harold Curtiss, Mich
PFC John Proctor, Ariz
PFC John P. Groves, Boston, Mass
PFC Peckor
Sgt. Carrol D. Ketzenberger, Ohio
S/Sgt. Wayne Spencer
Occasionally people will ask me about the men my dad served with and perhaps one of these names will be familiar to someone.
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Wow, what a family treasure. I hope your blog attracts people who are researching those names! From my Dad’s WWII service, I have a few group photos but NO names.
Author
Yes, it would be great to connect with the families of some of his soldier buddies. I have a couple other items with names for future posts. Thanks for reading!
Karen,
Thank you for posting this. Carroll D. Ketzenberger was my grandfather. The family was centered in Rawson, Ohio, but he lived in northeast Indiana, Auburn and Angola, after World War II. We never talked about his service and experiences in the war, unfortunately. He died in 1998 and is buried in Angola.
Author
That is awesome that your grandfather is mentioned in my dad’s autograph book ant that they knew each other. I am going to be posting some of my dad’s WWII letters here soon. They may help you learn a little about their war service since it appears they served together. Thank you so much for writing.
I’ve been making my way through these and just caught another reference to my great uncle Matt (Walter) Trefun. Although to be fair it looks a lot like “Treflin”.