29th Infantry Division Plaque
Details:
On the left wall of the museum gateway.
A grey stone plaque affixed on the wall, inscribed in English text with the Division's insignia, commemorating the efforts of the American GI’s of the American 29th Infantry Division who were posted at Victoria Barracks and took part in the Normandy landings on D-Day.
On the 26th September 1942, the bulk of the 29th division boarded the Cunard liner Queen Mary for an un-escorted high-speed crossing of the Atlantic. The rest of the division followed in her sister ship, Queen Elizabeth, and by 11th October 1942, the 29th was complete in England.
The 29th Division spent the first seven months in England in a Victorian barracks in Tidworth. The 200 mile move from Tidworth was carried out on foot, and eventually the whole of the 29th Infantry Division was based in Devon and Cornwall. Cornish towns such as Bodmin, Launceston, Liskeard and Truro soon became vibrant with a new accent, the West Country twang being enhanced with an altogether different drawl.
Some unit locations were in East Cornwall; 3rd Battalion Infantry, Major V P Gillespie, 1,000 men were based at Bodmin Depot. HQ 115th Infantry Regiment, Colonel E N Slappy, 450 men based at Bodmin Depot. 110th Field Artillery (105 mm Howitzers) Lieutenant Colonel J P Cooper Junior, 550 men based at Bodmin Depot. The 1st Battalion was based at Liskeard and the 2nd Battalion at Launceston, each consisting of 1,000 men.
Other source of information: Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, https://bodminkeep.org
Source of image: www.hmdb.org
Monument Text:
IN HONOR OF THE HALLOWED
MEMORY OF THE 3533 MEN OF THE
29TH DIVISION. UNITED STATES ARMY
KILLED IN BATTLE FROM 6 JUNE 1944
TO VICTORY IN EUROPE 8 MAY 1945
IN OCTOBER 1942 THE 29TH INFANTRY DIVISON COMPOSED OF NATIONAL GUARD UNITS FROM MARYLAND, VIRGINIA PENNSYLVANIA & THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SAILED TO GREAT BRITAIN TO SUPPORT THE ALLIES OF THE UNITED STATES. THE DIVISION MOVED FROM TIDWORTH TO CORNWALL IN MAY 1943. THE 115TH REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM WAS STATIONED AT BODMIN. WITH THE 116TH AT PLYMOUTH AND THE 175TH NEAR CAMBORNE. THE FRIENDLINESS OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE WAS DEEPLY APPRECIATED BY THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS.
THE DIVISION SUCCESSFULLY ASSAULTED OMAHA BEACH 6 JUNE 1944 AND THEN PARTICIPATED IN THE CAMPAIGNS OF NORMANDY. NORTHERN FRANCE. RHINELAND AND CENTRAL EUROPE. SUFFERING NO LESS THAN 19,814 CASUALTIES.
UNITS OF THE 115TH R.C.T. STATIONED AT THIS BARRACKS ANDIN BODMIN INCLUDED: |
H.Q. 115TH INFANTRY REGIMENT WITH CANNON, ANTI-TANK AND SERVICE COMPANIES. 3RD BN. 110 FIELD ARTILLERY Bn. (105mm) COMPANY B 104TH MEDICAL Bn. | COL. E.N. SLAPPEY
J.P. COOPER Jr. Capt. L.N. KOLMAN |
__________
ERECTED BY
THE MARYLAND NATIONAL GUARD MILITARY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
BRIG. GEN. E.G. BEACHAM, M.D. (RET) PRESIDENT
1988
Commemorates:
Units:
104th Medical Battalion
110th Field Artillery Battalion
115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division
116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division
175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division
29th Infantry Division
United States Army
Wars:
WWII
Battles:
Normandy Invasion
Other images :
