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Notes, Statistics and First and Last Deaths
NOTES: Why are some official dates of death wrong?
There are several men for whom the official date of death is in error. In most cases, this was due to the fact that they were killed near Sillegny, France in mid-September, but their bodies were not found until October or November, 1944, since the Third Army did not succeed in capturing Metz until November. The 7th Armored Division had moved to Holland, leaving the Metz area on September 25, 1944. Thus the Division was never in France after September 25, until after the war. Whoever was responsible for estimating dates of death for these men failed to recognize that the Division was no longer in the area. Thus the estimator wrongly assumed that these deaths were recent casualties of the battles around Metz and wrongly assigned them dates of death in October 1944.
There are a few other dates that are clearly errors. For example, German records clearly show that POW Riley E. Clark died April 6, 1945. But someone erroneously put April 7, 1945 on his U. S. Army death report.
A common reason that some men had incorrect dates of death (though this did not happen with any members of 38 AIB) was that they were not only never recovered but were not even known to be dead. So, after exhauting recovery efforts (which usually ran into the late 1940's or early 1950's), these men were presumed dead. In such cases, the regulations prescribed that their date of death be presumed to be a year and a day after they were last known to be alive. This is why you will see some men with dates of death in 1946, long after the war was over and the Division was inactivated.
The Adjutant General's Office published a list of all known combat deaths, as of June 30, 1947. The Adjutant General's List omits the following names from the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, who are included on this web page:
- Combat Deaths
- Joseph Brennan: I can find no reason he was not included.
- Timothy Donovan: Investigation was still underway in 1947, so that he was officially still MIA; his body was never found and he was later declared dead
- Robert Karnes: Investigation was still underway in 1947, so that he was officially still MIA; he was later found to have died as a P
- Lewis Meshishnek: Investigation was still underway in 1947, so that he was officially still MIA; he was later found to have died as a Prisoner of War
- Fred Shilling: Investigation was still underway in 1947, so that he was officially still MIA; he was later found to have died as a Prisoner of War
- Non-Combat Deaths: Though not killed in combat, these men served and died in service and would not have died except for being placed in harm's way because of the war. These men's contribution to the successful outcome of the war, these men's service and their death are just as worthy of honors as those who died in combat, which is why the American Battle Monuments Commission cares for the graves and includes in the ABMC Honor Roll of overseas burials those of these men who are buried overseas.
- Frank Eva
- Harlin Hodges
- Richard Knott
- Jack McHenry: He was murdered in Dessau, Germany while on guard duty after the war.
- Albert Taylor
- Alvin Thompson
STATISTICS
The entire point of this research is to put names on the statistics. However, it is still useful to look at the statistics. The statistics can give a perspective on the horror of war that might otherwise be missed by those of us who have not known it. These men gave their lives in that horror, and it is best that we not forget it, or else it is all too likely to happen again. Please note that these are all based only on the records I have received so far. Though I do have most of the records, I do not yet have all of them, so these ARE going to change as more data comes in.
The statistics included here are:
- Counts by
- Company
- Rank
- MOS
- Home State
- Norms and Extremes
- First Deaths in Battalion and By Company
- Last Deaths in Battalion and By Company
- Ages at Death: Youngest, Oldest, Average, Median
- Time in Service until Death: Youngest, Oldest, Average, Median
- Causes of Death
By Company
The Company's of all 246 men are believed to be correct:
- A/38: 73
- B/38: 78
- C/38: 68
- HQ Co: 12
- Bn HQ: 8
- Med D: 7
- Serv Co: 0
By Rank
The ranks of all 246 men are believed to be correct.
- Pvt. - 117 (47.6%)
- Pfc. - 68 (27.6%)
- Tec 5 - 9
- Cpl. - 3
- Tec 4 - 1
- Sgt. - 11 (4.5%)
- S/Sgt. - 17 (6.9%)
- T/Sgt. - 3
- 2nd Lt. - 9
- 1st Lt. - 3
- Capt. - 2
- Maj. - 2
- Lt. Col. - 1
By MOS (military occupational specialty)
The MOS (also referred to as SSN) is known for only 219 of the 246 men. So these figures will change as more information comes in.
- 745 (Rifleman) 135
- 653 (Squad Leader) 23
- 1560 (Armored Infantry Unit Commander) 13
- 504 (Ammunition Bearer) 8
- 734 (Half-track Driver) 7
- 345 (Truck Driver, Light) 5
- 607 (Light Mortar Crewman) 4
- 604 (Light Machine Gunner) 4
- 531 (Cannoneer) 3
- 651 (Platoon Sergeant) 3
- 675 [don't know meaning] 3
- 521 (Basic) 2
- 610 (Anti-tank Gun Crewman) 2
- 014 (Motor Transportation NCO) 1
- 060 (Cook) 1
- 600 [don't know meaning but was a 2nd Lt. AT Platoon Leader] 1
- 605 (Heavy Machine Gunner) 1
- 657 (Medical Aidman) 1
- 821 (Quartermaster Supply Technician) 1
- 861 (Surgical Technician) 1
- 1930 [don't know meaning] 1
- 9301 [don't know meaning] 1
- Not yet known 25
Home State
The Home State is known for only 236 of the 246 men. So these figures will change as more information comes in. The known information has men from 40 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Even though all of the men had home states, some of them were foreign born, so that their next of kin were in the following countries:
- Czecholsovakia (Liptovsky Svaty Mikul , Slovakia) - 1 (Rainik, originally Rajnik)
- Portugal (Porto Moniz, Madeira Island) - 1 (Rogues, originally Rodrigues)
The states thus far known are:
- NY - 28
- OH - 15
- PA - 14
- TX - 14
- IL - 11
- NC - 11
- MI - 10
- NJ - 10
- VA - 9
- WI - 9
- KY - 8
- MA - 7
- TN - 7
- AL - 6
- IN - 6
- OK - 6
- AR - 5
- CT - 4
- IA - 4
- MS - 4
- NH - 4
- FL - 3
- GA - 3
- KS - 3
- LA - 3
- MN - 3
- WA - 3
- AZ - 2
- CA - 2
- CO - 2
- DC - 2 (District of Columbia)
- MD - 2
- ME - 2
- MO - 2
- NM - 2
- RI - 2
- SC - 2
- WV - 2
- ND - 1
- NE - 1
- OR - 1
- PR - 1 (Puerto Rico)
- State not yet known - 10
States with no known deaths thus far:
- AK (was not a state until after World War II)
- DE
- HI (was not a state until after World War II)
- ID
- MT
- NV
- SD
- UT
- VT
- WY
FIRST DEATHS
- In Battalion: See B/38 for non-battle and C/38 for battle
- A/38: 8/19/44 Pfc. Ned Nolan Dildine (Ois me, France - just east of Chartres airport)
- B/38
- 6/17/44 Pfc. Alvin W. Thompson (Tidworth Barracks, England) - Non-battle
- 8/23/44 (Melun, France) - Battle
- Actual first: Alan H. Smith [Youngest death so far known in Battalion]
- Also on 8/23/44
- Pfc. Bernell J. Beard
- Pfc. Floyyd E. McClary
- Pfc. Horace Sherman
- Note that B/38 CO Capt. Edwin W. Moise, Jr. died 8/26/44 of wounds suffered 8/23/44. (Pfc. Sherman was Capt. Moise's driver when the jeep was hit.)
- C/38: 8/16/44 (la C te de la Villette, near St. Prest, north of Chartres, France)
- Pvt. Gayther O. Adams
- Tec 5 Andrew J. Slavik
- Pfc. Edward A. Swanson
- Note that Pvt. Harry H. Retort died 8/19/44 of wounds suffered 8/16/44.
- Battalion Headquarters: 8/24/44 Tec 5 Vivian L. Ward (Bn HQ was at Melun, France. Since he was on special duty to HQ 8th Armored Group at the time, he may have been killed elsewhere.)
- HQ Company: 9/17/44 (vicinity of Arry and Lorry, France)
- Pvt. John Joseph Sherwood
- Note that Pvt. Louis J. Oalmann died 12/11/44 of wounds suffered 9/17/44.
- Medical Detachment: 8/23/44 Pvt. Edward T. Gilbert (Melun, France)
- Service Company: Had no deaths
LAST DEATHS
- In Battalion: See Med Det for non-battle, A/38 for battle, B/38 for died of wounds after battle
- A/38: 4/15/45 Pvt. Omer W. Nadeau (Dalhausen, Germany - body never found)
- B/38: 5/5/45 Pvt. Howard D. Arling died of wounds suffered April 9, 1945 (Holthausen to Fredeburg, Germany)
- C/38: 4/11/45 (Gelbecke?, Germany) - I do not have the complete late-war and post-war records yet for C/38, but these appear to be the last two deaths.
- Pfc. Leo C. Wrzykowski
- Pfc. Leo C. Clark
- Battalion HQ: 1/23/45 T/5 Jimmie L. Cox (vicinity of St. Vith, Belgium - killed while driving Bn CO Lt. Col. Griffin, who was unharmed)
- Headquarters Company
- 5/28/45 Pfc. Jack A. McHenry (Dessau, Germany) - Non-battle: disappeared while on guard duty at bridge across from Russian troops; body found in river several days later
- 3/26/45 Sgt. Robert Karnes (POW at Duderstadt, Germany)
- 3/13/45 Pfc. Palmieri D. Meringolo (Mehlem, Germany) - Last combat death of HQ Company
- Medical Detachment
- 7/23/45 Pfc. Albert E. Taylor (Leibenstadt, Germany) - Non-battle
- 9/22/44 (Lorry / Sillegny, France)
- Pvt. Elias A. Santillanes
- Pvt. Marvin Ray Mc Queen
- Note that date of death of T/5 Grady Priest is not yet known.
- Service Company: No deaths
AGES AT DEATH
Of the 231 men whose ages are thus far known, here are the two youngest and the two oldest, along with the average and median ages:
- Youngest
- 18 years, 10 months, 4 days - Pvt. Alan H. Smith of Company B (who was also the first B/38 man killed)
- 18 years, 10 months, 11 days - Pvt. Rolland G. Preder of Company B
- Oldest
- 40 years, 4 months, 13 days - Pvt. Lewis Tony Meshishnek of HQ Company
- 40 years, 3 months, 20 days - Pfc. Jack Amando McHenry of HQ Company
- Average Age at Death: 26 years 3 months 8 days
- Median Age at Death: 25 years 6 months 10 days
TIME IN SERVICE UNTIL DEATH
Of the 231 men whose ages are thus far known, here are the ones who died soonest after entering service and those who had lasted longest in service before they died, along with the average and median time in service at death.
- Least Time in Service until Death
- 0 years, 4 months, 7 days - 2nd Lt. Herbert J. Silcox of Company A (note that this may have been the time since his commission; he may have had prior service)
- 0 years, 4 months, 17 days - 2nd Lt. Irwin C. Hartzell, Jr. of Company B (note that this may have been the time since his commission; he may have had prior service)
- 0 years, 6 months, 21 days - Pvt. Frank Stanford Eva of Company B
- 0 years, 6 months, 22 days - Pvt. Morris B. Bradley of Company B
- 0 years, 6 months, 23 days - Pvt. William R. Robbins of Company C
- Longest Time in Service until Death
- 4 years, 10 months, 7 days - Pvt. Garnet L. Smith of Company B
- 4 years, 7 months, 8 days - Pvt. Omer W. Nadeau of Company A
- Average Time in Service until Death: 1 year 10 months 12 days
- Median Time in Service until Death: 1 years 9 months 30 days
CAUSES OF DEATH
Of the 194 men for whom records have thus far been obtained and for whom I have made this calculation, far more men were killed by explosives than by gun shots: 85 (70.8% of known explosive or gunshot victims) vs. 35 (29.2%). Explosives include explosive tank and other mobile cannon shells, mines, artillery, mortars, rockets, etc. The Hollywood image of a man dropping from being hit by a bullet is definitely in the minority: most deaths were much more damaging.
- 184 Battle Deaths (94.8% of the 194 for whom records obtained thus far):
- 85 - Explosives (definite or probable) - 46.2% of 184 known battle deaths
- 49 - Cause unspecified or unknown - 26.6% of 184
- 35 - Gun Shot Wounds (definite or probable) - 19.0% of 184
- 15 - Other Battle Deaths - 8.2% of 184
- Location of wound specified but not type - 12
- Drowning - 2
- Bayonet - 1
- 5 - POW Deaths - 2.6% of all 194 for whom records obtained
- 5 - Non-Battle Deaths - 2.6% of 194
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