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157th Infantry Regiment, US Army
21st Feb 1944 Air Raid 
15th Aug 1944 Assault Launched
If you can provide any additional information, especially on actions and locations at specific dates, please add it here.
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Want to know more about 157th Infantry Regiment, US Army? There are:2 items tagged 157th Infantry Regiment, US Army available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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PFC. John Hutton Rhodenizer 157th Infantry Regiment According to the the national archives maintained by the US Government, John Rhodenizer was held in Stalag 7B at Memmingen in Bavaria. He was liberated from the camp in 1945.
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PFC. Rolland Iverson "Waddy" Wilson 157th Infantry Regiment I found a mention of the siege of Bundenthal in old letters from my dad Rolland Wilson to my grandparents, his parents. He said that all the guys were privates, and after the incident, they were were all promoted to Private 1st Class, and given a stripe. So my dad was there, too.
Wish I could find out more about it. I had never even heard of it before I read it in the letter. He did not give any real info, but his letters were being censored at that time. The Army lifted censorship by 27th of May 1945. If you have any further info about this, please write.
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PFC. John David "Jay" Zaitz 157th Infantry Regiment  John Zaitz, was born on the 14th of December 1911, was one of seven children, raised by his mother Frances, after the death of his father in the 1918 Flu epidemic. By trade John was a broom maker, in Pueblo Colorado, and considered amiable and well-liked. He passed away in 1979, leaving no spouse or children.
John was Inducted on the 21st of January 1941 and Discharged on 27th of August 1945. According to his military records we have indicated the following information,
Per General Order #14, 157th Infantry Regiment dated November 15, 1922 John was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge effective January 1,1944, page 20 (image 6014). He is listed as a former member of this organization.
In G.O. # 5, 157th Infantry Regiment, dated 8 July 1944, listed as MIA, effective 1 January 1944, page 6 (image 6091). Then, in G.O. #5 Extract, also dated 8 July 1944, he is awarded the CIB with his status listed as MIA, page 6 (image 6126). This extract describes all the men as formerly of this organization.
John spoke very little about his experiences during the war, but did offer some short stories with very little detail. Records for the 157th (45th Div) show that they arrived in Africa January 22, 1943, they next assaulted Scoglitti Sicily July 9-11 1943, and Salerno, Italy September 9, 1943.
John related one story without saying where it took place, but was pleased with the outcome. He had been order to station himself on a hillside that overlooked a road. He had been supplied with a bazooka and told that a German tank was reported to be headed in his direction. His orders were to stop the tank. He said he spent several hours with the bazooka in his hands praying that the Panzer would never appear. His prayers were answered and he was relieved by another soldier.
During the landing at Anzio, in January 1944 John's landing craft was turned over in the surf many of the soldiers with him were drowned. John shed rifle, ammo belt and field pack which allowed him to make it to the surface. He retrieved an Italian made rifle which he used until he could rearm.
While looking down on the Town of Anzio from a hill he could see the shells coming in overhead. During some shelling he took cover behind a stone wall. A shell landed on the other side of the wall and a large stone from the wall fell hitting Jay on the helmet and sliding down his back leaving scrapes. His buddies talked him into going to the aid station so he could receive a purple heart. When he arrived there he saw the wounds that others had suffered and turned around and went back to his unit. He said he didn't deserve any medals.
While searching a farm, John came upon a barn with a chicken and eggs. He stashed the eggs and came back for them later with friends. While this group of GIs huddled around in anticipation of fried eggs Jay opened the eggs and they contained dead chicks which had become spoiled.
During the battle of Anzio, John's group was moving up a ravine or ditch. He said the men in front of him stood up and raise their hands. When he looked up he found they were surrounded by Germans, and were taken prisoner. General Order 5, 157th Infantry Regiment, dated 8th of July 1944, lists John as missing in action, effective 1st of January 1944. This must be a general use for the date as the division assault on Anzio took place on 22nd of January 21944. In General Order 5 Extract, also dated 8th of July 1944, he is awarded the CIB with his status listed as Missing in Action.
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PFC. James Turner Newton Coy E. 157th Infantry Regiment My daddy, PFC James Newton was with company E of the 157th Regiment, 45th Thunderbird Division. He enlisted at Ft. McCellan, Alabama in November 19, 1942, and was discharged from service November 17, 1945. He was captured at the battle of Reipertswiller on J20th or 21st of anuary 1945. Daddy said that he had been wounded at the battle and was treated by a German doctor. Daddy did not talk much about what went on while he was in the POW camp.
He did say that they got one raw potato and some bread a day, and he stated that he weighed 69 pounds when he was liberated, and when they were
put on a ship to come home a lot of POWS died due to eating too much. They were told to eat crackers. My daddy passed in 1987. If someone knew him or had pictures please email them to me.
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Rifleman Eldred Eugene Williams 157th Inf. (d.19/20th December 1944) Looking for information on my uncle, Eldred Eugene Williams. Killed at Bundenthal,Germany around December 19th or 20th 1944. He was buried there in a civilan cemetary by German civilians a few days later. He was listed MIA on December 20, 1944 by the Army until 18th January1945. All I know is that he was in the 157th Infantry as a rifleman. Any information would be appreciated.
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Armor C. Surber 45th Inf. Div. 157th Infantry, F Coy My dad, Armor Surbe, was a POW in Stalag 2B. His unit was F Coy, 157th Infantry, 45th Infantry Division of the US Army. He passed away in 1989.
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