WELCOME TO THE 132nd AAA Gun Battalion Home Page

1943 1946

This is a record of a group of civilians who without previous experience at war making, were taken from their commercial and educational pursuits to overwhelm and defeat the Nazi hordes. It is not a complete record although its there in words and pictures. It's not meant to be complete, for the monotony and fears, the anxiety and tears, the mental and physical strain and time and elements that preyed on their courage cannot be told in words or pictures.
The eternity's that were spent in watchful waiting, the tension of the "quiet nights", the thrill of an "alert" and the pride in their scoring cannot be shown on paper. This record was conceived long after VE-Day and from the sources that were available at the time, therefore it's pictorial contents is not as complete as might be wished, but after you have read the stories and seen the pictures in their entirety, you'll have a good idea as to why the 132nd was the top 90 MM Gun unit in the Ninth Army. No this record is not complete, for most of it is in the hearts of the men of the 132nd, who served their country, their God, and democracy
The 132nd got into the fight before the start of the Germany campaign and stayed right up to the front all the way, with only a short recess at Wallach. Our happiest days were spent in there punching.
AA is a long tiresome, nerve racking assignment, for you must always be on the alert and though there are days, sometimes weeks of inactivity, you cannot for a moment relax because in one lax moment you can defeat the purpose of your mission.
The 132nd is proud of its record and the commendations and high praise of higher headquarters substantiates and justifies that pride.
The 132nd Anti-Aircraft Gun Battalion was awarded the following Bronze Stars for battle participation:
31 January 1945 , Northern France Campaign
5 February 1945, Campaign in Rhineland
25 June 1945 , Campaign of Central Europe

BATTALION STAFF ON V-E DAY

Lt. Col. Richard C. Boys, Commanding
Major Donald B. Seavey, Executive Officer
Major Cyrus S. Stephson, Operations
Lt. Howard E. Shirley, Adjutant
Lt. Philip R. Peters, Intelligence
Capt. Samuel Liftschitz, Supply Officer
Capt. Arthur L. Kiviette, Motor Transportation
Officer Lt. Robert C. Nunn, Radar Officer
Capt. Walter M. Bennet, Chaplain

BATTERY COMMANDERS

A Battery: Capt Neil Boothby B Battery: Capt. Elwood Pais
C Battery: Capt Walter G. Barlow D Battery: Capt. Don A. Bohler
Headquarters Battery: Capt. David Dodson

Animal Area or AckAck Patch

BATTALION HISTORY

The 132nd Anti-aircraft Gun Battalion. Its activation in June 1943 found Lt. Col. Boys and Major Seavey, commanding and executive officers respectively. The majority of the "cadre" had returned from Oahu, Hawaii the beginning of that year where they had been stationed with the 95th Coast Artillery. After spending twenty day furloughs they arrived in Camp Edward's in May and were attached to the Cadre Pool. The majority of these men had come from Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.

CAMP EDWARD'S

On August 19th, a trainload of rookies chugged into Edward's with what was to be the bulk of the 132nds strength. Few of them has seen an AA guns before but none of them cared. Only one thing counted. All of these men were from New England and Camp Edwards is situated on the Cape Cod peninsula. They were happy days as far as Army life goes. Processing and all of the rigors of a new way of living went along without any perceptible hitches. A day later another bunch of men, this time from Camp Upton, New York arrived. Most of these men came from the locality of New York City. Home was only six hours away. The usual training procedure ensued. Classes, hikes, bivouacs, obstacle and infiltration courses, parades and PASSES. Such names as Buzzard Bay, Pine Tree Corners, Wellsfleet,Scortons Neck and a host of others will bring back an assortment of memories. Who can forget sweating out the rifle ranges Saturday mornings with trains to New York and busses to Providence waiting for us? Or a two week bivouac staring us down the throat at Christmastime.? Then the rumors started. Everyone became an emissary of Dame Rumor. We're off to a POE, we'll be in Africa in a month", we're going to the Pacific! But the appeasers said, No!: we're going to Canada.

FORT BRAGG

On April 22nd 1944 we left, not for Africa not the Pacific, but for Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The rumors started again. We'd be changed into Field Artillery, or Infantry, or tour the country as a demonstration unit because our records had proved us an A1 outfit. We stayed and studied Field Artillery. Again recollections; this time Fayettville, Richmond, Washington and Charleston. Some of the men were fortunate to get furloughs or three day passes home. The 132nd became widely know at Fort Bragg it had shows and entertainment at the Service Clubs with requests for repeat performances at other clubs. Daily radio programs from the Forts own radio station announced these 132nd activities. Alas and alack,just before a series of half hour radio shows were to be presented by the 132nd, we moved to Camp Shanks our port of Embarkation. In one year the battalion had learned its many jobs. It had seen rough and rugged days on the Cape and back blistering training in the south, but it had worked, sweated swore, froze and learned to laugh at it all. On its first anniversary everyone wondered what its next move would be. We didn't have long to wait.

CAMP SHANKS

Having arrived at Camp Shanks on July 2, 1944, we immediately set about trying to figure how long it would take us to get aboard ship. After the first few hectic days of drilling and hiking miles around the camp for lectures and "rigid" physicals, we finally settled down to passing the days in anticipation of the nights in New York City. For nineteen days, we got little sleep, a lot of benzedrine (By one means or another) and a depleted bank roll thanks to the high spots and "Drinkeries" of the "Great White Way" Then it came on July 21st. Up long before the sun that morning we strapped on our field packs, complete with bed rolls; slung our rifles over our harnessed shoulders; draped a heavy GI overcoat (in the middle of July) over a spare arm and tried to pick up our duffle bags. Next came the long trek to the truck and then to the pier. For miles it seemed, we traveled up gang planks and through pier houses ending hours later aboard the Queen Mary. We sat in the harbor over a day trying to reconcile ourselves to the cramped quarters and the unhappy rumor (it turned out to be a fact) we were to be her majesties K.P.'s.

QUEEN MARY

On duty two days; off one day- pushing food laden trays through the crowded mess halls - finding a break in the bread lines only after shouting "Hot stuff coming through". Time off spent up on decks perspiring in our bunks or sweating out the always long PX line for warm Cokes.
9th U.S. Army European Theater>

ENGLAND

Across the Atlantic, past the tip of Northern Ireland, through the Firth of Clyde and we were in Scotland. The clean straight rows of houses, the rolling hills and fertile fields gave us our first impressions of a foreign land. By train, the appearance of which was peculiar to us, we traveled down through Scotland to Leek, England. Curious heads nodded cherry answers to the welcoming committees that lined the sidewalks. Our camp was on high ground, the days were long and hot. The nights were short and cold. No one can forget the straw mattresses or the chilly morning reveilles on schedule with the sun. English maidens and their quaint towns kept us amused evenings, after a hard days work getting our new equipment into shape. On August 18th we left Leek and headed south in a long, tiresome convoy to the sea. Troops, guns, equipment; everything was in abundance. Long lines of troops like ourselves were waiting to load themselves on the LSTs that would take us to Cherbourg. Storms turned our crafts back as we entertained ourselves aboard the well loaded "sea horses".

CHERBOURG

August 23rd we crept into the port called "Utah Beach". We were in France. Army built roads of mud and gutters carried us awe-stricken past the wreckage and shattered defenses. Yes, we were in France and the enemy had barely been pushed off of the peninsula. We were "rookies" at war and plenty scared. Our area on the peninsula was a small apple orchard where the long Battalion convoy of trucks was parked in the same manner as the old covered wagon camp. We slept in our trucks as few of us cared to pitch tents. During the day we cared for our equipment and learned to speak French. Then after weeks without mail, it began to come in, fifteen and twenty letters for almost every man. This was where we first realized how much a letter from home really meant.

ST. BRIEUC

Eight days later we moved around to the Bretagne Peninsula and up to the port of St. Brieuc, fifty miles east of Brest, where General Elster surrendered to the Ninth Army eighteen days later. Here we built our own little shacks, mess halls etc. We thought we'd stay for awhile and construction progressed rapidly. In the latter part of September we cursed our "luck" vehemently as we pulled up stakes and swept across France. Past apple orchards and hedge rows; crowded towns and cheering civilians we sped. "K" rations were our diet. Here and there bread, apples, wine and tomatoes or anything we could swap for cigarettes and chocolate, were picked up and enjoyed. Paris had only been liberated a short time and she was half-lifeless as we yawned and stretched from our trucks but for a moment, as we passed through. None of us knew that in less than six months we would be taking passes in gay Paree.

BASTOGNE

A short and dreary stay in the forests outside Bastogne, then our first mission.

BRACHT

Peculiar enough it was not AA, but Field Artillery. Part of the Battalion moved to Bracht, Belguim. The roar of our own nineties was lost in the bursts of the 240s and 155s. Our buildings rocked, and for five days we poured shells in on stubborn German troops less than two miles ahead of us.

LUXENBOURG

Our first anti-aircraft role, was given to us on October 9th and we moved to Bastogne again. Battalion was located in the small and odoriferous town of Nouville. (This little village was destined to be in the hands of the Wehrmacht in two month during the battle of the bulge.) Only four days passed before we were sent to the modern city of Luxembourg. Our mission there was AA again. For eleven days we saw scarcely any enemy aircraft. No one can forget the day we heard the whining-whirring sound and looked overhead to see a flying bomb for the first time. Afternoon passes into the city were welcomed and enjoyed. Shows, Ice cream, and cakes and shopping for the very few items that the Jerries had left.

HOLLAND

On October 22nd an advanced party left for Holland. There they encountered their first "heavy" enemy air activity as the Luftwaffe dropped many bombs around them and the city of Aachen, which was then in American hands and only a short distance away. The following day the remainder of the Battalion moved to the vicinity of Heerleen, Holland on the German border. Air activity greeted us that first night but our nineties opened up and the Jerries went screaming home, "Americanishe Haben zee 90 flak over Aachen". After that they stayed away except for occasional light raids. We had been on the continent two months almost to the day, and we had learned one important thing; The Germans disliked the 90 mm AA Guns and were soon to fear the deadly accuracy of the 132nd. Our days in Heerleen were numbered but we had good times interspersed with several engagements with the enemy. In the town there was Shunks, the all glass department store; the bombed-out church next to it; the Red Cross Donut center; two movie houses and the friendly Dutchfolk.

GERMANY, HONGEN

On Thanksgiving day an advance party left on the tail of the advancing infantry to reconnoiter our new positions in Germany. At Hongen, the battalion command post was set up on November 24th as A and B Batteries moved into Germany. The two remaining batteries stayed in Holland until the infantry pushed the Jerries out of their proposed positions. Eighty-eighty shells greeted the Headquarters personnel, landing within two hundred yards of the CP. A few days later, amid bursts of kraut shells, C and D Batteries moved into their positions. The artillery now protected from the Luftwaffe, began its terrific pounding of Julich. A and B batteries assumed a secondary role of field artillery, harassing enemy installations. The first few days in December, A and B batteries fired additional field artillery at enemy concentrations. During all of this activity the battalion Commander was aware of the necessity of getting the men relieved from the long tiresome strain of being forever on the alert and ready- through days of inactivity- for an enemy that would sneak over at the most unsuspecting times. Passes were issued almost daily into the not too distant town of Heerleen in Holland. The night of the German offensive in the Ardennes all hell broke loose over the area and the battalion was prepared for paratroopers that were reported landing about us. Everyone dusted off his basic training, and walking around after dark without knowing the password was like committing "hari-kari"

EILENDORF

Two days before Christmas the entire battalion moved to the vicinity of Stolber. The Battalion CP. was opened at Eilendorf. The Germans were still pushing through and the Battalion selected positions to be used for the nineties in an anti tank role and all batteries set up anti-paratrooper defenses. Engineers came in and dynamited all of the Jerries pill boxes as cold and snow settled down over the dragon teeth and wrecked buildings. Heavy air activity kept us busy New Years eve. The Luftwaffe failed to spoil or Christmas or New Years dinners and Christmas trees were prominently displayed without light, everywhere. The Ardennes offensive safely in tow, the Ninth Army prepared to cross the Roer to the Rhine. The battalion moved back to Hongen and after Julich was taken, A and B batteries moved up to the Roer River to protect the bridges.. On the 26th of February, the rest of the battalion moved up to the Roer and two days later D battery crossed it with the mission to protect the river crossings from enemy strafing and bombing. The enemy lost two planes attempting to defeat our mission.

KREFELD

The mad dash to the Rhine began and we followed up with artillery. Three days later, on March 5th, we moved to Krefeld. Air activity was fairly light. The ninety gun crews, machine gunners and the rest of the battalion personnel were craving for action and were rewarded with several engagements. Passes to Paris and the Ninth Army Rest Centers, which had begun in Eilendorf were continued throughout the campaign. The west banks of the Rhine completely in allied hands, the Ninth Army prepared to cross the river. Assigned a mission, we moved north to Alpon, across the river from Wesel. With terrific bombardments from our airforce and artillery, the U.S. Forces crossed the Rhine. B battery crossed the river almost on the heels of the first troops. The next day, C battery crossed. The battalions mission was to protect the river crossings south of Wesel.

OVER THE RHINE

The battalion CP. moved nearer the river in the vicinity of Wallach. Our mission again was to protect the river bridges. A few men from each battery and an officer were detailed into a provisional infantry unit to protect the bridges from the ground. We assumed a "back to garrison" status and never thought we get to within sixty miles of Berlin.

WESER AND ELBE

As the allied spearheads pushed across the Weser we were assigned a mission in the vicinity of Hamelin. No sooner had we reached our destinations and set up when the orders came to move to Eikendorf, close to the Elbe River. We were glad to be back in the thick of it again but a close look at the map showed us sitting precariously on a spearhead finger with the enemy forces in the forests and hills on three sides of us. There was little enemy resistance however and on April 18th we moved to Barby, on the banks of the Elbe. We knew the end was in sight. As we sat and waited for the Russians to come up to the river, V-E day over took us. Officers and enlisted men together, enjoyed the celebrations.
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