U.S. Military Service of my father Edmund Stanley GALUS
Edmund Stanley GALUS was inducted into the United States Army at Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska on 23 Jan 1941.Two photographs of Dad are very similar. Since there is no rank on the sleeve in the first photo, this must be when Dad first entered the Army. The second photo is almost the same, except there are corporal stripes on the sleeve. The patch on the sleeve is from the 2nd Cavalry Division. I have the "Suivez Moi" (Follow Me) pin that is on the lower lapel, which is the Coat of Arms of the 14th Cavalry Regiment. Later, Dad was in the 13th Armored Division.
 Pvt. Edmund GALUS |
 Corporal Edmund GALUS |
 2nd Cavalry Division |
 14th Cavalry Regmt |
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13th Armored Division activated on 15 Oct 1942 at Camp Beale, California, East of Marysville |
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I have been trying to piece together Dad's Military Service. I requested a copy of his service records from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Their response indicated they were unable to find his personnel or medical records, saying they were probably destroyed in a fire in 1973.
Among the family photo albums was a group photograph of Troop G, 14th Cavalry at Camp Funston, Kansas, which included my Dad Cpl. GALUS. Another photograph is a panoramic view taken in 1942 in Tucson, Arizona. One of my brothers-in-law mentioned that Dad told him that he (Dad) patrolled the U.S. / Mexican border in Arizona on horseback during World War II.
According to bits and pieces of information I gleaned from the internet, the horse cavalry was phased out and was replaced by the Armored Division. One of Dad's shoulder patches was from the 13th Armored Division. That patch was on the uniform he was wearing in my parents' wedding photo. They were married in the chapel at Camp Beale near Marysville , California, in January 1943.
Dad was injured while he was in the Army when he was thrown from a horse. He later had surgery on his back at Schick General Hospital in Clinton, Iowa, and received a medical discharge on 2 Sep 1944.
I have scanned some of Dad's photos that he took when he was in the service that I will upload in the future...another project.
A composite photo of Troup G of the 14th Cavalry at Camp Funston, Kansas was one of the photos in Dad's album.
1941 Troup
G, 14th Cavalry,
Camp Funston, Kansas Scanned copy of the photo with a list of
people on the photo
2nd Cavalry Division (United States)
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Cavalry_Division_(United_States)
2nd CAVALRY DIVISIONSHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA
Units assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Division included:
* US 2nd Signal Troop
* US 2nd Antitank Troop
* US 2nd Medical Squadron
* US 9th Engineer Squadron (Motorized)
* US 17th Quartermaster Squadron
* US 24th Ordnance Company (Medium Maintenance)
* US 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron
* US 3rd Field Artillery Battalion (75mm)
* US 16th Field Artillery Battalion (75mm)
* US 3rd Cavalry Brigade : 15 October 1940 (Redesignated the US 9th Armored Division Train on 15 July 1942.)
o US 2nd Cavalry Regiment : 15 August 1927 (Transferred on 15 July 1942 to 9th Armor Division), reorganized as 2nd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) in 1943).
o US 14th Cavalry Regiment : 1 April 1941 (Transferred on 15 July 1942 to 9th Armor Division), reorganized as 14th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) in 1943).
* US 4th Cavalry Brigade : 21 February 1941 (Deactivated on 23 March 1944)
o US 9th Cavalry Regiment : 10 October 1940
o US 10th Cavalry Regiment : 24 March 1923 (Transferred to 3rd Cavalry Division on 15 August 1927. Transferred to 2nd Cavalry Division on 10 October 1940.
14th Cavalry Regiment (United States)
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Cavalry_Regiment_(United_States)T
he 14th was stationed in the
Philippines from 1903–1912. The black Moro Kris
commemorates more than forty engagements and expeditions in which the
14th participated during the Philippine-American
War.
The regimental coat of arms briefly tells part of the history of the
unit. The coiled rattlesnake pays tribute to the patrol accomplishments
along the Mexican Border during 1912–1918. The blue band and gold
background represent the traditional cavalry color and the uniform of
the horse cavalry soldiers.
The unit served in the Second World War as the 14th Armored Regiment
of the 9th Armored Division until it
was reorganized as the 14th Cavalry Group Mechanized in 1943. This unit
served from Saint-Lô, Paris, Château-Thierry and Verdun as
well as the Ardennes Offensive
(The Battle of the Bulge). The unit was instrumental in expanding the
Remagen Bridgehead after the initial crossing, and for this action
received a Presidential Unit Citation. The regiment then pursued the
German Army across the Danube and Isar rivers until it halted on the
banks of the Inn river at the
Austrian border just prior to VE Day.
13 Armored Division (United States)
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_Armored_Division_(United_States)
Camp Beale, California In 1940, the "Camp Beale" area consisted of grassland and rolling hills and the 19th century mining town of Spenceville. Then, Marysville city officials encouraged the Department of War to establish a military facility in the area. The U.S. government purchased 87,000 acres (350 km2) in 1942 for a training post for the 13th Armored Division, the only unit of its kind to be entirely trained in California. Camp Beale also held training facilities for the 81st and 96th Infantry Division, and a 1,000-bed hospital. Dredge tailings from the area's abandoned gold mines were used to build streets at the Camp.
As a complete training environment, Camp Beale had tank maneuvers, mortar and rifle ranges, a bombardier-navigator training, and chemical warfare classes. At its peak during World War II, Camp Beale had 60,000 personnel.
More at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Beale#United_States_Army
More at California State Military Museur http://www.militarymuseum.org/Beale.html