257882 PFC. Joseph Gilbert Nisler US Army Co B. 534th MP Battalion from:Charlestown, Wisconsin Joseph Nisler was inducted into the US Army in Milwaukee, WI.
He was assigned to the cavalry replacement center at Fort Riley, Kansas. During his basic training while trying to break a horse in, he was thrown from the horse. He was commanded to continue with the exercise until it was finished. Afterwards he was taken to the infirmary where they found that he had broken his ankle.
He was then transferred out of the cavalry unit due to this injury. He was stationed next at the Port of Stockton, Stockton, California, Crissy Field and later at the Presidio in San Francisco. He attended the Police Academy in San Francisco. This is where he was trained to become a Military Police Officer. He was assigned to the 524th Military Police Battalion, Company B. Graduating from the San Francisco Police Academy on 10th of April 1943.
He was shipped overseas on 7th September 1944 and arrived on 14th where he landed is unknown at this time. This was 38 days after the D-Day offensive in France. I would assume that he landed somewhere near Normandy, France.
He was involved in the campaigns of the Rhineland and Central Europe. He said he was in Belgium and he has pictures of France, so that would make sense since the 9th Army was positioned in Belgium and they spent time in France before coming back home.
During the Rhineland Campaign they were located between Maastricht and Aachen, Belgium headed towards Duren, Germany. They remained in this area near Dusseldorf, Germany during the Central Europe Campaign. He once told us the story of half of his unit spending the night in bombed out buildings on one side of the street and the other half in bombed out buildings on the other side of the street. During a night of bombing and explosions they heard a buzz bomb (V-1 flying bomb, also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb, or doodlebug, was an early pulsejet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile.)
These bombs had no guidance system at that time. When they ran out of fuel they would fall to earth making a buzzing sound. This bomb fell on the building across the street from the one he was staying in. They lost many of the unit staying in that building.
On another occasion, his unit was pinned down in an apple orchard in Belgium. They were stuck there for a whole week hiding in their fox holes. Anyone that raised their head above the fox hole was shot by sniper fire from the Germans. After a week they either got reinforcements or the Germans finally moved on.
He was shipped back to the United States on 15th of November 1945. His final station was at Fort Sheridan, IL where he was assigned to Truck Driver Light 345 until his Honorable Discharge on 2nd of December 1945. Decorations & citations included, American Defense Service Ribbon, Victory Medal, American Theater Ribbon, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon, (2) Bronze Battle Stars, (2) Overseas Service Bars, (1) Service Stripe, Good Conduct Medal, and Meritorious Unit Award G0 173 9th US Army 1945.
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