Two Brothers' Sacrifice: An incredibly Complete 76th Division Trunk Grouping

T/Sgt Hartmann was born in 1917 and enlisted alongside his brother in January of 1941. He spent his early years in the Army as a coastal artilleryman in Alaska (Hence the PTO ribbon) and then tried to join the Air Corps. With the ground-pounders taking heavy casualties, it was deemed that every able-bodied man with leadership under his belt would be sent to the infantry. Hartmann joined the 76th Division as a Corporal and was assigned to I-Company, 417th Infantry Regiment. He quickly rose through the ranks in the company and by the end of the war, was a Technical Sergeant. His citation reads like a Silver Star Medal and I believe he was unjustly awarded the BSM. This man was a hero. He was wounded in action yet his discharge does not reflect it. The newspaper article was submitted to the National Personnel Record Center by him in 1989 to show that he was in fact wounded. No doubt he was looking to finally get his records corrected.

This incredible trunk grouping not only came with all of S. Hartmann's items, but also his brother's. His brother Leo was killed in action while serving as a B-24 tail gunner in the MTO. I feel truly honored to own the items from these two brave brothers.  I am glad they have survived all of these years together.

385th Regimental HQ-Co Commanding Officer Uniform Acquired!

Born in 1913 in Marion, Maryland. Captain Wilson entered the service in 1931 and was commissioned in 1933. In 1941, he helped organize the Maryland State Guard and shortly after was called in to active service. He was one of the original cadre of the 76th Division when it was activated at Ft Meade in 1942. He first served as Company Commander of L/385th and later as the Company Commander of the Regimental HQ-CO. Along with the rest of the 76th, he saw service overseas in England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. He was wounded by a sniper during the 76th's fight in the Siegfried Line (however none of his records show him being awarded the Purple Heart)

Captain Wilson was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service. He later went on to serve a distinguished career in the Army retiring a Lieutenant Colonel in 1962 but not before earning another Bronze Star in Korea. In his later years, he authored and published four books on historical subjects of Somerset Co. MD.

This uniform came directly from Wilson's estate sale. Also in the sale, were over $10,000 worth of German WWII bringbacks that Wilson kept in a private museum behind his residence after he retired. There were several uniforms auctioned off, however this was the only from WWII, the rest were postwar. It has been restored to reflect how Wilson would have worn it upon his discharge in 1945 (before being called back to active service in July of '46.

This uniform is only the 2nd in my collection from a 385th veteran. No doubt my grandfather (2nd Bn Hq-Co/385th Regt) came in to contact with Captain Wilson regularly. Thanks for looking!