Biographies of GI's

PFC Richard D. Foss
Company G,
350th Infantry Regiment,
88th 'Blue Devil' Division

One of the few who survived the fight for Battle Mountain. After the war, he never spoke a word about his experiences in Italy.

CAPT William Dempsey

Battery C,
328th Field Artillery Battalion,
85th 'Custer' Division

Captain Dempsey joined the 328 FA at Camp Shelby after completing OCS. His story and his photos have contributed greatly to telling the story on this website.

1^st Sgt Erich Bauch

Battery B,
328th Field Artillery Battalion,
85th 'Custer' Division

Enlisted in 1935. In 1942, selected as part of initial cadre that formed the 85th Division at Camp Shelby. Retired from Army after 23 years.

S/Sgt Winfred W. Tolbert

Service Company ,
310th Engineer Battalion,
88th 'Blue Devil' Division

After serving 3 years with the Marines, Winfred served with the 85th Division in Italy and was Killed in Action in Northern Italy the last few weeks of the war.

Interesting story about a penpal with a Hollywood connection.

S/Sgt. Walter Keane

Battery A,
328th Field Artillery Btln,
85th 'Custer' Division

Enlisted in 1938 and discharged in 1941. Then he joined again to serve his country. Read how Sgt Keane saved the flag of the 328FA from being lost in some government warehouse.

Pfc. William L. Wood

Battery A,
329th Field Artillery Btln,
85th 'Custer' Division

The 329 FA Battalion was also attached to the 85 Division. Pfc enlisted from Tennessee and served with the 85th Division through the entire Italian campaign.

Pfc. Kermit C. Fisher

Company C,
338th Infantry Regiment,
85th 'Custer' Division
Killed in Action

He was among a platoon that assaulted the German bunker on top of Monte Altuzzo on the German GOTHIC Line.

Lt Stancy Lewis

Company B,
310th Engineer Battalion,
85th 'Custer' Division

Entered combat as a Sergeant and recieved field commission as an officer.

Pvt Warren Stichtenoth

Company C,
310th Engineer Battalion,
85th 'Custer' Division

Another combat engineer who had a special talent that may have saved his life. Check out his story---and his great sketches from the front.

Died November 26, 2005.

T/5 Raymond Abbey

Medical Detachment,
HeadQuarters Company
85th Divisional Artillery
85th 'Custer' Division

Raymond was a Medic and drove an ambulance in support of the 85th Division's artillery command.

Capt. Robert E. Roeder
Company G,
350th Infantry Regiment,
88th 'Blue Devil' Division

Killed in Action at Gothic Line at Mount Battaglia.
Bio describes action that earned him
the Medal of Honor.

PFC Clarence D. Mills

HeadQuarters Battery,
328th Field Artillery Battalion,
85th 'Custer' Division

Trained & served in the same unit as my Dad for duration of the war.

Go to
Private Paul Brown's
Anzio Diary

List of KIA from Brown's Diary

Private Paul Brown
Grave Registration Service
179th Infantry Regiment,
45th 'Thunderbird' Division
GRS collected the bodies.
His very personal Anzio Diary is included on this Website. (38pages)

Private Clyde V. Hill
    Company C,
   119th Infantry Regiment,
   30th 'Ole Hickory' Division
   My Uncle - Did not serve in Italy.
   Severly wounded in Germany
   and disabled.

Do you have a family member who was a "Custermen"?

Add their biography here.
Contact me with your Veteran's info.

E-mail: Steve@custermen.com

Joe E. Brown	Actor in the 1940's. He did not serve in the military. However, he logged 200,000 miles at his own expense to entertain the troops. One of few civilians to be awarded the Bronze Star medal.
Burt Lancaster	Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942 and was assigned to the Special Services Division of the Fifth Army as an entertainer.
Norman Lear	Served as a radio operator in the Fifteenth Army Air Force at Foggia, Italy and flew 57 combat missions.
James Arness	Served in the 3rd Infantry Division and was wounded at Anzio. Awarded Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Leading Actor in "Gunsmoke".
John Huston	Enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 to film war documentaries. He was discharged as a Major.
Frederick Faust aka Max Brand	A war correspondent killed on 12 May 1944. Before the war he wrote hundreds of pulp fiction books, including 'Destry Rides Again' and 'Calling Dr. Kildare'.

Other Personalities
Henry Wellesley, Captain	Duke of Wellington, 2nd Commandos. Died of wounds on 16 Sept 1943, near Salerno.
Shelby Foote WW2 Photo at bottom of page Camp Shelby	Captain in the artillery in the 50th FA Battalion of the 5th Infantry Division in France. He was at Camp Shelby at the same time the 85th Division was there. He became a noted author and was featured in Ken Burn’s PBS-TV “Civil War” series. (Foote did not serve in Italy.)
Harald Quandt step-son of Joseph Goebbels	Harald was the son of Magda Goebbels from her first marriage. He was captured in Italy.


American Campaign Medal - WWII Service outside the U.S. in the American theater for 30 days.	European - African - Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Service in the European - African- Middle Eastern theater for 30 days.	American Defense Service Medal WWII Service for 12 months of active duty in Army, 1939-41.	World War II Victory Medal Service in US Armed Forces between 1941 and 1946.