Find Comrades
Many families of former 77th soldiers are looking for information and contacts. We will publish their requests and would greatly appreciate if you can directly contact them if you can help them with any news or information.
► My name is Mel Romero. My great grandfather,
PFC Louie Resendez, fought in WWII with the 306th Infantry Regiment,
77th Infantry Division. Unfortunately, he died when I was young.
I'm wondering if anyone might be able to point me in the direction
of pictures, or any other resource where I can chronicle his
service. I know only a very broad outline of his record,
including that he fought on Guam, then all the way to occupation
duty in Japan after the war. Appearing below are two photos of his
from the war, and recent photos of his Japanese flag, dated 08
August 1944, which was signed with autograph signatures of other men
in the 306th. Following those photos is a transcribed list of
those men.
Shifty887@gmail.com. (Click
on images to enlarge.)
| Beaulieu, Gerald T/SGT, Maine |
Davis, Joesph T. SGT, Indiana |
|
| Duncan, William (Bill) 1LT, Washington |
Fredrickson, Karl Minnesota |
|
| Gillespie, Knox | Grantham, Cornelius PVT HQ/505, Kentucky |
|
| Gurrero, Joe California |
Hanson, Howard Sr. S/SGT, Pennsylvania |
|
| Hayes, Robert E. Tennesee |
Hazlett, Loren, B. Kansas |
|
| Horvath, George Ohio | Lent, Arthur New York |
|
| Rigsby, Frank L., Missouri |
Rocha, Louis |
|
| Searl, Clarence SGT, California | Straw, Lewis G. Indiana |
► I am an historical archaeologist who is looking into the
history of the Desert Training Center that was located in
southeastern California and western Arizona during 1942-1944. The
77th Infantry Division spent six months training there in 1943,
based at Camp Hyder, Arizona. During some recent archaeological
survey in southeastern Riverside County, California, a garrison cap
pin was found, associated with the 307th Infantry Regiment which was
part of the 77th Division. According to the Division history
published in 1947, the 77th Division participated in a major
maneuver that was staged out of the town of Palo Verde, California
(near the Colorado River). This town is just a couple of miles from
where the garrison cap pin was found, indicating that the 307th was
part of this training maneuver.
Another item found a mile or two north of where the garrison cap pin
showed up was a soldier’s dogtag that appears to date back to WW II.
It has the name “H. Harris,” serial number 3431490, and what appears
to be his father’s address, “J.B. McCoy Harris, 2302 Poe Street,
Greensboro, NC.” In the divisional history, there was a list of
names among which were two enlisted men associated with the 307th
Regiment named Harris, whose first name began with “H.” (Pfc. Homer
Harris, A 307 and S/Sgt Hoyt D. Harris, HQ 1 307). In addition there
were four other individuals who were assigned to the 305th and 306th
Regiments (Pvt. Harry E. Harris, 305 I; Pfc Henry C. Harris, H, 306,
I; Pfc. Henry C. Harris, Jr., E 30; and Pfc. Harry E. Harris, AT
305, I) I am not sure whether the two Harry Harrises are different
individuals or the same.
I wonder if anyone would have access to personnel information that
would be able to associate the dogtag with any of these individuals?
It would be nice to be able to know if this person was assigned to
the 77th Division or not.
Glenn Farris, Ph.D., Farris, West & Schulz, Consulting
Archaeologists, 508 Second Street, Suite 108, Davis, CA 95616.
530-756-1497. gfarris@omsoft.com
► My Grandfather was Luther F. Holmes S/SGT G Co. 306th Infantry,
77th Division serving 21 months in the Asiatic Pacific Theater. He
served in the Army from Nov. 1942 to Dec. 1945. My Grandfather
brought back these two photos from WWII and I wanted to share them
with your community. He is in the photo showing the Japanese flag
and what’s really interesting is he’s holding a Japanese pistol
smiling on the front row, second from the right. We still have this
Japanese pistol today in perfect firing condition. He only let my
cousin and I shoot it one time because the bullet casings had to be
gathered up so he could have them reloaded. The ammunition must have
been some weird caliper that he couldn’t easily buy from the local
gun shop. I also have a Japanese flag he brought back with the names
of all the locations they were at including (Guam, Leyte, IE Shima,
Kerama Retto, and Okinawa). If anyone recognizes a loved one in
these pictures I would love to hear from you. My email address is
toolnbama@charter.net.
May God bless these heroes, their families, their sacrifice, and our
blessed United States of America. (Click on
images below to view it in a larger format)
To view historical videos, including originals shot by Army combat photographers go to: http://www.criticalpast.com. The Website contains many clips of the 77th Infantry Division, and may be useful in tracing family members