897th and 3562nd Ordnance HAM Companies, 1941-1945

First Army  897th Ordnance Heavy Automotive Maintenance Company
 3562nd Ordnance Heavy Automotive Maintenance Company
 1st Army, V Corps, European Theater of Operations
Belgium, 1944: the war rages on, the weather is lousy, and your truck's frame is bent. Who ya gonna call? The 897th, that's who! They performed difficult repairs under adverse conditions.
Welcome to this WWII history site commemorating the 897th and 3562nd Ordnance HAM Companies, maintained by the son of 897th veteran Julian Gocek. I love to hear from veterans and their families, current service people, and history buffs. With the passing of my father at age 97 in 2015, I doubt any 897th vets are still with us. Best wishes to all the families.
The site is laid out to be mobile-friendly, but with over 250 original wartime photos from the Gocek, Hammond, and Chenevey families, and others, watch your data usage. Just keep scrolling! Contact info at the bottom.
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This day in history: Wednesday, December 6, 1944: Stavelot, Belgium.December opens with a period of extremely cold weather, accompanied by snow which blankets Stavelot and the surrounding Ardennes, giving the 897th a taste of winter field operations. Refitting of Field Artillery units from VII Corps was now added to the work load. Robot bombs continued to pass over the area with growing intensity!


Featured:

William E. Lake's
Company history

Robert Seiple's
Additional research

Stateside 1943
Rose Bowl

Stateside training:

Stateside 1941
Camp Lee, VA

Stateside 1941
Camp Shelby, MS

Stateside 1941
Lake Charles, LA

Stateside 1942
Camp Murray, WA

Stateside 1942
Train Trip

Stateside 1942
Camp Young, CA

Stateside 1943
Palm Village, CA

Stateside 1943
Camp Haan, CA

Overseas:

December, 1944
Battle of Stavelot

Anecdotes
The Way it Was

Miscellaneous
More Europe

Reader's Digest 1984
The Yanks in Britain




Postwar stuff, commentary:

1957-1999
Reunions

2004 dedication
WWII Memorial

Around the web
Other stories

About this site
Author's notes

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