Name: Howard Goodwin Teslow

Born: July 24, 1912 Decorah, Iowa

Highest Level of Education: Grammar School (8th Grade)

Civilian occupation: Farm hand

Marriage: Audrey M. Soland on May 20, 1943 at the Greenfield Luthern Parsonage, Harmony MN

Unit: “D” Battery, 784th Anti-Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons Bn. (Semimobile) “Bloodhounds” (attached to US 1st Army & 9th Air Force)

Rank: Private First Class (E-3)

Army Serial Number: 37670989

Awards: Belgian Croix de Guerre w/ fourragère and ribbon, Europe-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and Ribbon (w/ 4 campaign stars: Normandy, Rhineland, Northern France, and Central Europe), American Campaign Medal and ribbon, World War II Victory Medal and ribbon, Good Conduct Medal and ribbon, Overseas Service Bar (3 bars = 18 months), Service Stripe/Hash mark (one stripe = 3 years service)

Chronology

October 16, 1940: Registers with Selective Service

Monday, May 17, 1943: Date of Enlistment/Induction into the US Army @ Camp Dodge Herrold in Johnston, Iowa near Des Moines. “This day had my physical exam.”

Monday, May 24, 1943: Left Decorah, Iowa at 1:30PM

Tuesday, May 25, 1943: Date of entry into active service. Arrived in Des Moines, Iowa at 6:30AM was tired and had breakfast and then headed to Camp Dodge.

Thursday, May 27, 1943: Left Des Moines for Texas at 1:30AM sleeping and eating on a troop train in the company of a group of 23.

Saturday, May 29, 1943: Arrives at Fort Bliss, TX for Basic Training at 4:00PM had supper and wandered around. Wrote letters to his wife and folks in which he described Texas this way, “it is hot and dry here. Sandy and no grass just cactus.” He later wrote, “hot-dry-no fun.” He had additional training in Waco, TX and in New Mexico. (In all 6 months will be spent in Texas)

July 16, 1943: Grandma arrives via train to visit Grandpa in Texas

August 14, 1943: Grandma leaves for Minnesota.

November 17, 1943: Departed Fort Bliss for Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, CA where his responsibilities included guard duty at Santa Maria Army Air Field for a month

December 8, 1943: Departed Santa Maria for Estrella Army Air Sub Base near Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County where he bivouacked for approx. 2 months before returning to Santa Maria for another two months.

February 4, 1944: Left Santa Maria for Camp Haan (AAA Training Center), Riverside County in southern California w/ time spent at Fort Irwin’s Mojave Anti-Aircraft Range, Barstow, CA, before returning to Camp Haan.

March 9, 1944: Departed Camp Haan by train bet 9:00-10:00AM, bound for Camp Myles Standish, Taunton, MA, the staging area for the Boston port of embarkation.

March 14, 1944: Arrived at Camp Myles Standish.

April 7, 1944: Departed Boston harbor at 4:00AM aboard USS Susan B. Anthony bound for the U.K.

Sunday, April 16, 1944 6:30PM: Arrived Swansea, Wales, U.K, boarded train at 9:30PM bound for Leek, Staffordshire.

April 18, 1944: Arrived in Leek that morning and encamped at Camp 3, Blackshaw Moor, Staffordshire.

May 10, 1944: Departed Leek for Avonmouth near Bristol where his duties included guarding the docks.

June 26, 1944: Departed Avonmouth for Christchurch, Hampshire.

July 10, 1944: Departed Christchurch for bivouac area called Broad Lawns.

July 12, 1944: Departed at 4:30AM by truck bound for Southampton, Hampshire. Departed Southampton from Pier 36 the same day at 3:00PM aboard Liberty Ship S.S. Charles Willson Peale bound for Normandy beachhead.

July 13, 1944: Arrived Utah Beach via LST (Landing Ship Tank) at 2:30PM. Left shore at approx. Midnight for the nearby commune of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and then to Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët to guard a railway bridge.

July 14, 1944: C and D Btrys sent to defend Brucheville Airfield A-16 near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, an operational fighter base for the 36th Fighter Group.

August 14, 1944: Assigned to defend the rail and highway bridges at Pontaubault (4.8 km /3 miles south of Avranches) the only supply line to the US 3rd Army during the Battle of Mortain.

August 25, 1944: Paris liberated by the Allies.

September 16, 1944: From the area near Ducey the battalion was redeployed to the area around Laon, Juvincourt, and Soissons, Battery D deployed to defend Juvincourt Airfield A-68.

October 2, 1944: Arrived in Tongres Notre Dame, Belgium to defend Chièvres Airfield A-84.

October, 1944: Took a 24-hour leave w/ the rest of the Battalion in Brussels.

November 4, 1944: Returned to Reims, France. Stationed at Airfield A-68 north of Reims.

Nov. 1944: Went into La Hays (sp.) Belgium

December 16, 1944: Germans launch Operation Wacht am Rhein otherwise known as the Battle of the Bulge.

December 31, 1944: Arrives to defend Air Field Y-29 near Asch, Belgium which at this time is home to the 366th Fighter Group and the 352d Fighter Group “Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney.”

January 1, 1945: “Operation Bodenplatte” launched by elements of the Luftwaffe’s JG-11. During their attack on Y-29 his gun battery shot down one of the attacking Me-109 fighters at 9:25 AM. One of four German aircraft brought down by U.S. AAA. Batteries B & D in conjunction with Air Corps pilots brought down a total of 40 German aircraft. The battle, which lasted approximately 45 minutes has gone down among American pilots as “the Legend of Y-29.” The Belgian gov’t awarded the Battalion the Belgian Fourragère.

April 13, 1945: Left Belgium through Holland and crossed the Rhine at a point west of Wesel, Nordrhein-Westfalen.

April 16, 1945: Stationed at Münster-Handorf Airfield Y-94.

May 8, 1945: VE Day. The day was celebrated by the men of the gun crew by opening a cask of German beer.

June 29, 1945: Left Münster headed for Munich.

August 1945: Munich at Airfield R-93 Holzkirchen/Marschall.

Sunday August 5, 1945: Left for R&R in Mont-Blanc, France near the Swiss border.

6PM Tuesday August 7, 1945: Arrived at the Majestic Hotel in Mont-Blanc for R&R.

Thursday August 9, 1945: Wrote home to describe his experiences on R&R including the 3 course meals at the Hotel restaurant. (Written the same day as the Atomic bombing of Nagasaki)

September 12, 1945: While stationed in Munich met several Poles who worked as the Battalion’s K.P. “A good bunch of boys” in Grandpa’s opinion.

September 1945: Left Airfield R-85 Camp Rattle near Munich for Linz Austria at about 1:00PM and arrived in Linz at about 11:00PM. The truck made many stops at check points along the way w/ MPs stationed at 4 to 5 mile intervals. The MPs along with a detachment of Soviet officers were searching for some escaped SS prisoners

September 1945: Linz, Austria performing guard duty at Airfield R-87 Horsching.

Friday, December 9, 1945: Homeward bound departed Marseille, France aboard S.S. Zanesville Victory at 9:00AM.

December 21, 1945: Arrived Staten Island, New York City at approx. 2:00AM. Disembarked at 8:30AM and ferried across to New Jersey to Camp Kilmer.

December 1945: Camp Kilmer in Stelton, New Jersey for demobilization.

December 27, 1945: Discharged “got my Ruptured Duck” at Camp McCoy, Sparta, Wisconsin “call me Mr.!”

War mementoes

Honor Cross for the German Mother 2nd Class Order, Silver Cross: eligible mothers with six to seven children

NSDAP badge

Epaulettes taken from a Hauptmann (Captain) of Artillery’s uniform

Places he went sight-seeing

Mount St. Michel

Waterloo Battlefield

Ypres

Mons

Howard Teslow