This web page is dedicated to my Dad, Richard Keefe, and all the men who served with him in the 76th Infantry Division.
Company I
304th Infantry Regiment
76th Infantry Division
Photo courtesy of Jay Hamilton LTC USA (1921-2008)
Click on the image to see larger.
The Commissioned Officers of Company I. This picture was taken at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin in November of 1944.
(Left to Right) 2nd Lieutenant Steve Galanas, 2nd Lieutenant Richard Keefe, Captain Don Rue Hickman, 1st Lieutenant Donald Katz, 2nd Lieutenant Jay Hamilton
The following pictures were taken May of 1945, after V-E Day, while occupying the town of Schmölln, Germany.
First Row – Bottom: S/Sgt. Lo Russo, 2nd Lt. William Richard, Capt. Donald Katz, 1st Lt. Richard Keefe, 1st Sgt. Anthony Fackelmann
Second Row: T/5 Raymond Martinez, Pfc. William Bankston, Sr., Pfc. Harold Suesse, T/4 Fong Him, Pfc. Marvin Trammel, Pfc. Jean Stephens, Pfc. Kenneth Hague, Pfc. Milton Schwartz
Third Row: Pfc. George Mortimer, Cpl. Earl Annis, Pfc. William Hedden, Pfc. Olland Seymour, Pfc. Thomas Geary, T/5 Malvin Leykauf, T/5 Philip Karas, Pfc. Elbert Dove, Pfc. Bernard Rosenburg
Not Pictured: T/5 James Bailey, Pfc. Tim Brooks, Pvt. Karl Cunningham, Pfc. Cleon Duke, Pfc. Frederick Echsner, Pfc. Fred Ethington, Sgt. Harvey Fowler, Pvt. Richard Gardner, S/Sgt. Philip Gillis, T/5 Anthony Grunder, Sgt. Donald Hawley, 1st Lt. Edward Hurley, Pfc. William Jones, Pfc. Ralph Kierski, Sgt. Jay Lachot, Pfc. Morris Levy, T/5 George Livernois, T/5 John Macomber, T/5 Lucien Nadeau, Pfc. Abel Parks, Pfc. Raymond Radtke, Pfc. Jack Sapoznik, Pfc. Elmer Slate, Pfc. James Thomson
First Row – Bottom: S/Sgt. John Beardsmore, Pfc. Joseph Kopper, Pfc. Lester Ward, Pfc. Howard Kelly, Pfc. John Neggia, 1st Lt. Steve Galanes, Pfc. Tobias Gutierrez, T/5 Kermon Silver, Pfc. Julius Yellen, Pfc. James Quinn, Pfc. Arvel Rice, Pfc. Leroy Gansereit
Second Row: Sgt. Paul Kmett, Pfc. Lester Isaacs, Pfc. Robert Leonard, Pfc. Wilburn Rundle, T/5 Lawrence Beasley, Pfc. John Bozich, Pfc. Leonard Watson, Pfc. Douglas Johnson, Pfc. Edward Algas, T/5 Wallace Maze
Third Row: Pfc. Lloyd Brink, Pfc. Calvin Belue, Pfc. Richard Doucett, Pfc. Guy Stump Jr, Pfc. Richard Pfeiffer, Pfc. Ulysses Rogers Jr, Pfc. Joseph Kudyba, Pfc. Ernest Kaszian, Sgt. Zack Parsons, Pfc. Paul Henzarek
Fourth Row: S/Sgt. James Harris, S/Sgt. Sigmund Romanowski, Pfc. Joseph Todd Jr, S/Sgt. Thomas Rogers, Sgt. George Bailie, Pvt. Bobby Booz, Pfc. Carl Tillman, Pfc. John Pajor
Not Pictured: Sgt. Frank Favata, T/Sgt. Bernard Kelleher Jr, Cpl. Edwin Palmquist
First Row – Bottom: Pfc. Joseph Caroll, Pfc. Wayne Thompson, Pfc. George Blount, S/Sgt. Joseph Zellner, Sgt. Arthur Martinez, 2nd Lt. Jay Hamilton, S/Sgt. Palmer Kittelson, Pfc. Frederick Rosenberry, Pfc. Raymond Gold
Second Row: S/Sgt. Wilson Thompson, Pfc. Charles Simmons, Pfc. Mark Tomasek, Pfc. Martin Silverman, Pvt. Kenneth Beckman, Pvt. Samuel Morbit, Pfc. Carl Canterbury, Pfc. John Needum, Pvt. Charles Banks Jr, Pfc. Lorel Roestel, S/Sgt. Roland Dubois
Third Row: Sgt. Michael Sapalik Jr, Pfc. James Wood, Pfc. Ernest Lege, Pfc. Alphie Gagnon, Pfc. Peter Motherway, Pfc. Clarence Hornsby, Pfc. Jack Adams, Cpl. Bernard Rish, T/5 Robert Laselle
Fourth Row: Cpl. Charles Hawk, Pfc. Larry Gleaton, Pfc. Johnny Cochran, Pfc. Jack Burns, Pvt. Martin Gorneault Jr, Pfc. Curtis Fellure, Pfc. Hugh Maguire, Pfc. John Odgers Jr. Pfc. Harry Paff, Pvt. George Bergen
Not Pictured: Pvt. Herman Hahler, Pvt. Kenneth Obrecht, 2nd Lt. Charles Sands III, Pfc. Francis Schott, T/5 Olvin Stephens, Pvt. Albert Sutton
First Row – Bottom: S/Sgt. Silvio Zinicola, S/Sgt. Anthont DiMare, Pfc. Jesse Slovacek, Pfc. George Bowden, Pfc. Paul Sanderson, Pfc. Wayne Hardy, Pvt. Alphie Leblond, Pfc. Robert Wendell, Pfc. Leo Goldenstein, Pfc. R. G. Johnston, Pfc. William Norford, Sgt. James Mulligan
Second Row: S/Sgt. Walter Williams, S/Sgt. James Cotton, Pfc. Kenneth Morgan, Pfc. Salvador Vasquez, Pfc. Henry Kopinski, Pfc. Glendon McGee, Pfc. William Bowles, Pfc. Manuel Rivera, Pfc. Lewis Maker, Pfc. Thomas Fichera, Cpl. Joseph Grasso, Pfc. Donald Trexler
Third Row: S/Sgt. George Hatcher, Pfc. Harold Sharp, Pfc. James Turner, Pfc. Clarence Deaton, Pfc. Woodrow Dunn, Cpl. Arthur Carlson, T/4 Robert Steiger, Pvt. Clifford Dilla, Pfc. Curtis Spencer, Pvt. Donald Howland, Sgt. Verner Drake
Not Pictured: Pfc. Frank Ceniceros, Pvt. Marvin Gerstin, Pfc, Pedro Lopez, T/Sgt. Frank Mucedola, Pfc. Ashel Shults Jr, Pfc. Eugene Tortolano
First Row – Bottom: Sgt. Theodore Pleasants, Pfc. Richard Cook, Pfc. Edward Borgoyn, Pvt. Charles Pawlowski, Pfc. Malcolm Kerr, Sgt. Eugene Sharp, Pfc. Myron Chaderjian, Pfc. William Brockerman, Pfc. Frederick Hannon, /Sgt. William Neil
Second Row: Sgt. Donald Pessimier, Pfc. Ted Cook, Pfc. Ben Hensley, Pvt. Alfred Gwara, Pfc. George Kline, Cpl. Irwin Cohen, T/5 Samuel Jones, Pfc. Jesse Addington, Pfc. William Davis, Pfc. Donald Hepfer
Third Row: Sgt. John Scott Jr, Pfc. Norman Alderman, Pfc. Wesley Simmons, Pfc. Norman White, Pfc. Keith Hier, Cpl. Howard Landefeld, Pfc. Richard Hooley, Pfc. John Jardini, Pfc. Dale Roth, Pfc. Frederick Stefansen
Not Pictured: 1st Lt. Robert Conrad, S/Sgt. Charles Miller, Sgt. Ernest Wagganer
The following video includes pictures of my Dad’s, pics from Don Katz and also Jay Hamilton.
Links
German City Honors 76th Division – Frank Mucedola
Schmölln, Germany – Then and Now
Lt Richard Keefe – Nuremberg, Germany
Memorial Day: Robert Lee 1925-1945
Brig. Gen. Don Rue Hickman 1918-2005
Roll of Honor – Those Killed in Action
Unless otherwise specified, the preceding pictures are courtesy of Don Katz. Don Katz began with I-304-76 as a First Lieutenant. By the war’s end he would be Captain of Company I.
I would like to thank Don Katz and the following veterans who have graciously assisted me in my research.
Jay Hamilton
Don Rue Hickman
Lester Isaacs
Sam Jones
Frank Mucedola
John Neggia
If interested to see the catalyst for how this research and web page came together, check out:
Company I – Patreon
9 replies on “Company I”
Hi there, thank you for sharing this! My grandfather was John Jardini, pictured with the Weapons Platoon. He never told us much about the war. If you have any more photos he may be in, I would be very interested to see them! Thank you.
Hi Rachel,
Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Don’t have any more of the Weapons Platoon, so emailing you a larger resolution scan of the picture that I have online. If you don’t get it, email me at jim@jimkeefe.com and I’ll send it in response.
All the best,
Jim Keefe
My great uncle was Pvt. John Brady Sr. and was KIA March 13th, 1945. Would appreciate any information about his service or the action where he perished. .
To Rick – The following link is to an online version of the History of the 304th Infantry Regiment. According to the Company’s action that day it looks like he may have been killed in an attack on Wehlen, Germany. Hard to know the specifics withought further information. http://76thdivision.com/304/history_304th_071.html
my wife’s grandfather was in company I 1st platoon his name was sgt. Zac Parsons. Would you happen to have any pictures of him?
I believe he’s in the picture of the First Platoon shown above. Third row (starting at the bottom), 2nd in from the right.
If you’d like a higher resolution version of this picture, just contact me at jim@jimkeefe.com
Jim My Dad was in Company I, Donald Katz’s Jeep Driver. I was wondering if you possibly had any photos of my Dad or anything on him to share with me. My Dad passes away 16 years ago and any momentos he had were lost.
Thank You Jim Karas
Yes I do! Don Katz let me scan a bunch of his old photos from WWII so I have digital files on hand. Email me at jim@jimkeefe.com and I’ll send them to you. Side note: I was able to meet a number of the Veterans from Company I (before they passed away). They all remembered your Dad fondly.