6 posts total
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ndonath
Junior Member
Member # 11517
Posts: 19
From: Huntsville, AL
Registered: 9/8/2013
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posted 3/6/2017 3:59:00 PM    
Hi, I have been in contact with some of you guys over the years on behalf of research and book I am writing about my father. He was William E. Woody, HQ/17.
I am still not clear on the role HQ company in the 17th AIB had in Herrlisheim, and unfortunately I have been unable to find out what platoon my dad was in. I think he worked in the message center during that time. But I also think he saw action based on vague wording in letters he wrote to his folks after the battle in Herrlisheim.
I am lucky to have the opportunity to visit Herrlisheim late this month. My SO and I will be staying in Strasbourg for 3 days and we will not have a car, so we plan to go to Herrlisheim by train for a day trip. I just want to see the town and imagine what it was like back then. Those of you who have been or are in the know, what should I see and are pertinent sites walking distance from the train station? Are there other towns we should visit as well? (Such as Gambsheim or Offendorf or other places in that part of France/Germany).
Thank you for all the help you've given me over the years,
Nina Woody Donath
ninaewd@gmail.com
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MikeWoldenberg
Junior Member
Member # 16
Posts: 1095
From: University at Buffalo (NY)
Registered: 6/1/2004
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posted 3/6/2017 10:32:16 PM
Hi Nina, If you will not have a car, perhaps you can
rent bikes. You would be able to see more. Take
the bikes on the train. I do not recall where the
Herrlisheim station is. It is now a commuter town,
for people who work in Strasbourg (I am told).
I went there and did not know what I was doing.
I walked through the town and followed maps of
where the 56th AIB was fighting. I followed in my
Uncle Chuck Willis' footsteps! My wife and I went
north of the town center perhaps a mile or so to the
Waterworks. This was rebuilt after the war but was
in ruins in 2003 or 2004 when we visited. Then we
walked northwest, over a small bridge to Rohrbach.
We were walking on Purple Heart Lane. You should
be able to do more than that. The 17th was fighting
in the southern part of the town itself.
More later.
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harry dhans
Junior Member
Member # 9107
Posts: 317
From: Abilene,TX
Registered: 5/24/2012
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posted 3/6/2017 11:44:41 PM
there were so many casualties that everyone was put into combat. So that could be where he was in battle.
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MikeWoldenberg
Junior Member
Member # 16
Posts: 1095
From: University at Buffalo (NY)
Registered: 6/1/2004
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posted 3/11/2017 3:25:50 PM
Nina, If you have not read all the entries about
the 17th in BOOKS AND WRITTEN EXPERIENCES,
you should do that. (Look left).
Also, read DEATH OF AN AMERICAN COMBAT
COMMAND on the left. Also read the memoirs on
the 23rd Tank Battalion as they fought with the
17th as part of Combat Command R.
Also, did your Dad know Francis McAneny? 17 HQ.
See the message above yours!
Mike
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MikeWoldenberg
Junior Member
Member # 16
Posts: 1095
From: University at Buffalo (NY)
Registered: 6/1/2004
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posted 3/11/2017 6:26:44 PM
Go to ORAL HISTORY VIDEOS (left side of this
page). Click on the column that says COMPANY.
This sorts all men who were in A, B, C or HQ or Service, companies. Now go to page 13 and 14.
There you will find 4 veterans from 17-HQ who
gave interviews. They might well tell you some
interesting stories about their time at the front,
including Herrlisheim.
Mike
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ndonath
Junior Member
Member # 11517
Posts: 19
From: Huntsville, AL
Registered: 9/8/2013
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posted 3/13/2017 12:44:26 PM
Thanks Mike. I think I have read every piece of written information on this website (Even stuff not related to the 17th). One thing I have not explored much is the Oral Histories, although it was on my list of things to do. Thank you for reminding me of that; I will look at those over the next week or two.
I don't know who my dad knew in the 17th; he never mentioned anyone, including Francis McAneny.
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