I'm looking for a soldier who has been lost to history. All I know is that - He was in the area of Morlenbach for three months starting on March 27, 1945 - That he was a black man in his 20's in 1945 (he'd be in his late 80's at least now) - His first name is Alexander - That the U.S. 3rd Army cleared Morlenbach of German resistance on March 28, 1945 Summed up, his unit was in the area for three months as an occupying force and was probably attached (until late March) to the 3rd Army. If anyone has any clues in regards to occupying units around Morlenbach (about 26.1 km to the northeast from Mannheim) that fits the above criteria, please contact me.
As far as my knowledge goes,He would have been along with the 2nd Battalion[which occupied Neider-Liebersbach and broke into Morlenbach] of 15th Infantry Regiment there,of the 3rd Army. An organised but a fierce fire been exchanged in the Morlenbach and on high ground in the vicinity.Five boxcars full of enemy been captured too. 1st and 3rd Battalion of the 15th were engaged in attack,but separately. For the 1st cleared Bonsweiher and 3rd occupied Rimbach,Ober Ostern..by 28th March'45. These three Battalions next moved to cross the Main River. Under Major J L Osgard,the 2nd crossed the river near Worth,where the bridge blew up by enemy in the previous night..
Would any of these battalions acted as occupation forces in the long run? I'm not military and correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, these battalions were the front line. They only would have stayed until they had supplies and troops brought up to hold these towns. Would these battalions allow a squad, platoon, etc. to stick around for three months?
3rd Army became a part of the Army of Occupation at the end of the war and remained in Germany till '47. There were reserve forces,been posted in some of the occupied towns. Towns were meant to be free from the enemy/resistances etc,but There were insurgents,too.
Where would I look to find out which units comprised those reserve forces? I just need something to narrow this all down as close to this guy as I can.
Well,for assistance,may contact here :: ** Chief of Staff , Carlos Manning, P.O Box - 348 Sheridan // Texas : 77475 Ph : 713 253 3102 .. [It is preferable to contact them alongwith Service Number.] ** http://veteranslostandfound.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/hello-world/ You may put the details here,too..
Good day gentlemen, I am a local historian from near Mörlenbach and I found over the search engine to this site! The case is interesting to me. You still told us which unit cleared Mörlenbach. This is also on this webpage http://www.wwiireenacting.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=50179 But can somebody give the original source? Does somebody know if there is existing an after action report for every Batallion?
National Archive is always informative for any research schedule or for any other such further studies, but the local libraries are often stands for a reliable source too. For Morlenbach, I've no special studies other than the readings of the 3rd & 7th Army of Occupation/US, and it was long back. Interested one may look into : http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/Occ-GY and http://www.usarmygermany.com/Sont.h...ny.com/Units/Occupation/USAREUR_ThirdArmy.htm
Other than the all black 761st, most black soldiers would have been in support roles (truck drivers,supply clerks,cooks,engineers etc. It's a shame there isn't a better picture of him with his unit patches and rank etc. My guess is that he was one of those or possibly in the 761st. 100% part of Patton's 3rd Army though. I know the 761st was kind of in limbo at the end of the war since they were last to get orders to go home based on their lower points accumulated. They arrived in Europe Oct 1944 (4 months after D-Day) In the book I read it says that soldiers from the 761st shacked up with German women and some even stayed in Germany instead of going back to a segregated US. Might want to check the 761st archives and see if they were near there in late March 45. I've also noticed there are several different spellings of Morlenbach Germany in Google article searches. (Moerlenbach,Morelanbach) Good luck.
To whatever unit the gent in question was assigned, we can be fairly confident that it was not the 15th Infantry Regiment as that regiment was not a colored, as they were called in those days, unit.
As I stated before, pretty sure there were no black combat soldiers intermixed with infantry units. They were either in a specific black designated unit such as the 761st Black Panthers, or scattered in the support,admin ranks. Once again all the clues to get closer to the answer are here, if someone with more connections and research experience wants to tackle the mystery. Here are the known elements believed to be facts. 1)Black soldier US Army, with name Alexander, first or last dunno, rank dunno someone on unsolved mysteries forum stated Great Grandfather said name could have been "Jamente"? 2)Arrived in Morlenbach Germany March 27th 1945, stayed approx 3 months June 1945? So he was part of Patton's 3rd Army. The only one to fit in that timeframe. Maybe awaiting orders home after war, transfer to new occupation sector? 3)Drove a jeep often, I may be wrong but that would have been reserved for people who used the jeep in their daily job, or officers. 4)Was either part of designated black combat unit, or support role. The fact that he personally gave food and other rare commodities to the German family makes me think he may have been in supply ranks, or possibly a low rank officer.
