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Dated:   April 3, 2007 
PHOTO
of
Service Battery

328TH Field Artillery Battalion

Group Photo of Service Battery before going to Italy.
Fort Dix, New Jersey - 1943

 
   This is a large group photo of Service Battery of the 328th Field Artillery Battalion.  Photo was taken at Fort Dix just prior to their embarking for North Africa on December 24, 1943, with the 85th Custer Division .
    The Service Battery was the unit that helped maintain the cannons for the 3 batteries.  They also drove trucks that hauled the ammunition.

     Due to the large format, the photo was divided into 4 composites.  Some photos have little or no overlap.  Each section can be viewed up close to see faces.  Click to enlarge and photo will open in a new window.

Click on image to Enlarge.

  1    2
Click to open larger image in a new window. Click to open larger image in a new window.
 3  4
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      Details of each Composite
        This photos has 79 soldiers wearing their dress uniforms, while the officers are in combat fatigues.  This battery is
         smaller than the other batteries. The front row has 34 men and includes 4 officers.  Even though they wear their
        dress uniforms, may of the soldiers do not appear to be wearing their uniform properly.  Several have their
        hats pushed too far back.
 
 
   1 -   Left section shows the Photo ID number.

   2 - This section overlaps or repeats the two soldiers that are included in Section 1.  Private Olan Allen is on the back row, 13th from the left, or the 4th from left in this view.  The tall soldier to the left of the officers is probably First Sergeant Earle Carlisle(A). The sergeeant to the right is probably Master Sergeant John Murray.  Two of the soldiers on the back row seem rather old.  The First Sergeant for the battery is probably the sergeant to the left of the officers.

   3 - This section has no overlap with Section 2.  The officer on the left edge is wearing glasses.  Lt. Walter Tanzer was a member of this battery and later transferred to Battery B.

   4 - Last section.  The 3rd soldier from the right on front row is missing his collar brass.  The one on the far right is wearing his ribbon on the pocket flap.

   Information added to the original photo
     No info marked on this photo.

  Notes:   A.  I have a Field Artillery Guide manual that is marked as belonging to: 
                   "First Sergeant Earl L. Carlisle, Service Battery, 328FA Bn, Camp Shelby, Miss."

  
 The following Group photos of the other batteries within 328 FA.
Battery A
 
 Battery B Battery C Service Battery

328th FA Officer - A group photo of most of the officers that served in the 328th FA Battalion.  
                                     Includes a roster and their duty assignments.

 
Private Olan W. Allen.

<LEFT:  A casual photo that was taken in North Africa, soon after their trans-Atlantic voyage.  This is a photo of Olan Allen and Maxie Barrick showing a contraption that they have built.

The 85th Division transferred from N. Africa and landed in Naples and were moved to the front lines in April 1944.
RIGHT>
T/4 Clyde Crews posing with tie and gaiters.  Probably taken at Camp Shelby as he prepares for Guard Duty.

Clyde Crews made a career in the Army.
Tech/5 Clyde Crews


A special thanks to Kathy Sheesley for providing this group photo.  Her father was Private Olan W. Allen of the 328FA, Service Battery.  Now, my website only needs the group photo of Battery A in order to complete the photographic record of the entire 328th Field Artillery Battalion.
A special thanks to Dan Crews for providing photos and documents on his father, Clyde Crews.

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