80th Infantry WWII Family History

[jmark]

I have discovered that I have two great uncles who both served in the 80th infantry division known as the "The Blue Ridge" division. Both were from SC.

80th Infantry Division - WWII

80th Infantry Division - Morning Reports

Andy has done tons of work. His Dad was part of the 80th and wrote about his experiences. Andy had his Dad's memoirs published. I bought the book.

You Can't Get Much Closer Than This

My great uncle on my Dad's side served in the 80th Div., 317th Reg. I only knew his name and found his division by finding his grave marking in France. It listed his Division & Reg. and the date he was killed Sept. 13, 1944. I wasn't sure which Batt. or Company he was with. So as Andy suggested, I started 1st Batt. Co. A and finally found him as part of 1st Batt, Co. D. See morning report link below.

http://www.80thdivision.com/MorningR...317D_SEP44.pdf

Page 13

He left behind a wife expecting their first child a son who he never got to meet. RIP Sgt. Mike Athanason. God Bless.

On my wife's side I knew her great uncle JP Morgan served in the ETO because I have his bring back 1940 K98 42 German Mauser. I wondered if he too served with the 80th since he was also from SC. So I sent Andy an email and this is what he found.

The only “quick reference” I have for looking up soldier names is in a book, Enroute to the Redoubt, by Col. Pearson. It’s out of print, but I found a copy on E-bay. It’s a pretty detailed description of the 318th during WWII. In particular, it has an index and almost every man who served in the 318th is listed. I looked up and found:

Co A-318th Pvt James P. Morgan, WIA December

I doesn’t say where he’s from. Looking in the MRs for Dec 44 in CoA-318th, I found him as LWA on 31DEC44. I didn’t look any further.

Don’t know if he’s one and the same, but that’s what I have.

Andy

http://www.80thdivision.com/MorningR...318A_DEC44.pdf Page 51

The MR morning report lists JP as a "745" which is a rifleman. LWA and sent to a field hospital. So it looks like JP was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge! He survived the war but has since passed away. God bless you JP!

I know I have another great uncle on my mom's side who was Okinawa. I have to research him as well.

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[jmark]

The internet can be a pretty cool thing. Because of my post I met Mike's grandson who was searching the net for info on his grandad. Chris was able to send me a photo of my great uncle Mike. Thanks Chris. Pretty neat.