Robert Taylor Reichenbach - World War 2 Service Summary
Technician 5th Grade, Driver and Heavy Equipment Mechanic
10 December 1941 to 28 September 1945
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103d Infantry Division 90th Infantry Division 10th Armored Division 609th Tank Destroyer Battalion
Pop Pop served in Headquarters Company as a truck driver and mechanic for the 609th Tank Destroyer Battalion. The battalion was formed in 1944 to support the 3rd Army led by General George Patton. When Pop Pop joined the battalion, he liked the patch that shows a tiger eating a tank. He liked to call his unit the "609th Tank Eaters".
609th Tank Destroyer Battalion History
Activated on 15 December 1941 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Landed at Utah Beach on 20 September 1944 equipped with M18s. Went into corps reserve beginning 28 September east of Moutier, France, where crews fired artillery missions through October. Joined operations against Siegfried Line in November and early December. Most of Company C moved to Bastogne on 18 December with 10th Armored Division; remainder of battalion fought along Sauer River. Entire battalion fought to eliminate the Bulge in January 1945. Deployed to Saar-Moselle triangle in February. Participated in capture of Trier in March. Supported attack south and east out of Mannheim bridgehead across the Rhine in late March and April and reached southern Bavaria near Füssen by the end of the month. Attached to: 101st Airborne Division; 10th Armored Division; 90th, 94th Infantry divisions.
Fort Hood, Texas has a 1st Cavalry museum and a 4th Infantry Division museum. Click here for photos of the Tank Destroyer Memorial and to see some of the vehicles on display at Fort Hood.
Here are some links about the 609th Tank Destroyer Battalion:
Fort Hood Tank Destroyer Memorial
List of units in Bastogne during Battle of the Buldge. 609th Tank Destroyer company C in the 10th armored is listed.
