83rd Infantry Division Documents

Personal accounts

Welcome to the personal accounts section. Many servicemen wrote a diary, story or novel after the war. Some of which can be found here.

Various

link - Personal account of Orton Cash Misel Jr, S/Sgt D/329th. Courtesy of his daughter Penny Misel Paoliello and granddaughter Liz Paoliello
link - June 25, 1944 to July 5, 1944 (11mb) Account of Lt. Col. Neilson, CO 1st Bn, 331st
link - June 1944 to July 1944 (11mb) Diary of Captain William Waters, Commanding Officer G Co/331st
link - July 1944 (16mb) The operations of the 2nd Battalion, 329th in the attack along the road to Periers, 4 July 1944, Capt Clarence P. Ziegler
link - July 1944 (2mb) Account of being captured, July 1944, Capt Charles B. Lysaght, 908th FA
link - World War 2, Diary of Nedd Burr, 324th FA
link - The Hedgerows by Tarrant and Giammerino
link - The Nervy Exploit of Sam Magill
link - The photoalbum of 1LT William G Phillips
link - 'What did you do during the war granddaddy?' - Memoirs of 1LT Leo T Hury, Company M, 330th Infantry Regiment
link - Hedgerow fighting near Carentan - Captain Charles D. Folsom

Colonel Edwin B. Crabill

A dedicated page for Colonel Crabill can be found here

Lt. Sam Magill

A dedicated page for Lt. Sam Magill can be found here

Capt. John D. Raikos

Capt. John D. Raikos, 329th, HQ Co. wrote some papers in 1946 about the war. Two of which can be downloaded here:

link - Old Soldiers Never Die (9mb)
link - Operation Rhineland (9mb)

These documents are courtesy of Lili Dehen, Daughter of Capt. John D. Raikos, 329th, HQ Co.

Sharpe's Battalion in World War II

Sharpe's Battalion in World War II by Charlotte Sharpe Daly. A doctoral dissertation written by a daughter of Colonel Sharpe which describes his wartime memories. Can be downloaded in six parts or as one big file.

link - Part 1 Preparation for Military Service, Normandy
link - Part 2 Brittany, Loire Valley and Luxembourg
link - Part 3 Hurtgen Forest, Ardennes
link - Part 4 Roer to the Rhine, Race to the Elbe
link - Part 5 Maps, Illustrations and Photos
link - Part 6 Maps Illustrations and Photos

The doctoral dissertation as one large file (285 mb) can be downloaded here.

A selection of recordings made by Colonel Granville Sharpe describing some of his experiences as commanding officer of Company G and then the 2d Battalion, 329th Inf. Reg., 83rd Inf. Div can be found below. These recollections range from comments on military subjects, praise for the soldiers under his command, and humorous anecdotes. Courtesy of Martha Sharpe.

Anti-Tank guns in the hedgerows
BAR men
Bates and Connelly
Borrowed 3rd Bn Plt
British Tea Time in Rochefort
Conversing with the Free French
Green Champagne
Normandy Foxhole
Out of the Hurtgen
Sainteny heroes
Scouts
Wooden bullets at Road Junction