WWII after action reports

Richard,

I have a copy of "Cockney: The Story of the 696th Armored Field Artillery Battalion in WWII" the post war history of the 696th AFAB.  It is very detailed.  Perhaps I can answer the question you have about August 1944.  Was a relative of yours in the unit?  The history also includes rosters for 1943 and 1945 which I can check for your relative.  Best Regards TimeOnTarget

Thanks for the reply. I am doing this for my wife whose relative Corporal William K Heeler was in the 696th. He is listed as being killed on 9 August 1944 near Pont-Scorff in Brittany. We have some of his records from a number of sources but there are still some unanswered questions. We live in England and our US family was only recently discovered. A long story, but we visited Pont-Scorff at their invitation this August and I must say that we were very warmly greeted and looked after. I have looked for a copy of the Cockney but it would appear that none are available on the open market, and currently visiting a library in the US to view one is not possible. I am wondering if there is any direct reference to William in the book and specifically any detail on the casualties from the 696th as part of Combat Command B from 7 to 9 August 1944 in the Pont-Scorff area. If there was a source to buy a copy of the book that would be even better!!!! As an aside, in the last year we have found that another member of the Heeler family was killed in Normandy, this time from the British side of the family, and he was a cousin of William Heeler.

I am very grateful for your response and offer to answer the question. Your ToT name suggests you might have been in the military. I spent 30 years in the RAF and find helping research these subjects rather absorbing. Kind Regards Richard

Thanks TOT. I guess having been invaded and then liberated makes a big difference to the feelings towards the liberators which seems to  be passed down the generations. I have seen this particularly in Arnhem where young school children still tend the graves of the British paratroopers and treat not just the old soldiers but also current military with warmth and kindness. In terms of using a third party, in terms of contact, I don’t know how to approach the moderators to ascertain if they would agree to using a third party contact. I will look into it. We only have one photo of William and that was taken from his college year book. He has no direct relatives so sadly any wartime images will be long gone unless there are some with the descendants of other members of the 696th. I have attached the photo that has been revamped using photoshop.

I will be in touch when I have figured a way round the direct contact dilemma.

Kind regards Richard

Just for information, I recently went back to Dorset in southern England, my original home, and visited Portland. I found out from the new D-Day Museum there that the 696th would have embarked for Normandy at the Castletown pier on Portland and not Weymouth which only embarked infantry. Castletown had the facilities for loading heavy equipment such as the priests. Plenty of images of Castletown bustling with activity prior to D-Day on the net. I now have to see if I can find out which individual LSTs and LSLs took them to Normandy. We also found some snippets of information about the 696th's time in England from the 'Cake and Cockhorse' document, Spring 1994 Edition, Volume 12 Number 8 through the Banbury Historical Society. This is freely available on the net. I have down loaded it, but of course can't send it to you. Still trying to figure out a way round the embargo on email addresses. Kind regards. Richard  

My great uncle was in the 696 and KIA (Charles Smith).  I went to the Trenton Museum and have a photo of the plaque   

My great uncle was Charles Smith.  Here's the plaque from the Trenton museum

Thanks for posting this. I live in England so if there is anything I can help you with regarding their time here before D-Day, just ask. Can you tell me in which museum in Trenton this is displayed. Thanks

Do you have any photographs of your Great Uncle with other members of the 696th? The only one we have of William Heeler was posted above and taken from his college year book. We are obviously keen to identify any photographs that may show him during his military service, bearing in mind that he was KIA in the beginning of August 1944. Thank you. 

Hi ToT!

I am looking for information on Frank T. Malloy, Jr. He enlisted in January 1941 and served with the 696th AFA. I have a 696th AFA stein with his name on it. Any luck? Thanks!

CN

Hi CNovak135,

Sorry for the belated reply.  I have a copy of the unit history which includes the roster.  It can start by checking the roster for his rank and subunit.  Perhaps we can figure out how to get a copy of the unit history to you, if you are interested.  (Note:  I do not charge for these things.  I do it to honor the veteran and help his family.)

That would be fantastic! Please advise if you find anything related to Frank T. Malloy Jr. Much appreciated!

Hi again CNovak135,

Pfc. Frank T. Malloy first appears in the 31 Dec. 1943 unit roster.  He was in C Battery of the 696th AFAB.  He then appears in the June 1945 roster.  The roster is incomplete and does not show ranks.

Let me know if you want the battalion history and we will try to figure out how to get it to you as a printable pdf. Like I said, no charge.

Hi again CNovak135,

Pfc. Frank T. Malloy first appears in the 31 Dec. 1943 unit roster.  He was in C Battery of the 696th AFAB.  He then appears in the June 1945 roster.  The roster is incomplete and does not show ranks.

Let me know if you want the battalion history and we will try to figure out how to get it to you as a printable pdf. Like I said, no charge.