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To the men and

Officers of this
Battalion for their
Devotion to duty.
 To All Officers and Men of the Battalion
.It has been my great privilege and honor to command
the 744th Light Tank Battalion for over three years. They
have been three full years for you. Years full of creditable
achievement. Years full of friendship and acquaintanceship
with strong capable men united in a common endeavor to
accomplish a common mission.
You have participated in the successful accomplishment
of the European phase of that common mission. This booklet
tells of the glory and the cost of that accomplishment.
Nothing I could say or write could add glory to your work
or minimize the cost.
As you wait for your next mission, wherever it may be,
remember those who are no longer present and remember
that they paid their price to maintain the battalion policy.
You have never failed to do an assigned mission to the
best of your ability regardless of conditions or cost.

RICHARD J. HUNT,
Lt. Co., 744th Light Tank Bn.,
Commandmg.
 History
The Battalion was activated at Camp Bowie, Texas on 27
April 1942 under command of Major (Now Lt. Col) Richard J. Hunt
who has been in command continuously since that date. The
Battalion drew its cadre from the 755 th Tank Battalion. Of the
11 officers and 108 Enlisted Men who formed that Cadre only 3
officers and S3 Enlisted Men now remain with the Battalion.
The Battalion was busily engaged with basic traininl{ at Camp
Bowie until 21 August 1942. when by train and motor, it departed
for Camp Hood, Texas. the Tank Destroyer Center, to remain there
for almost a year fighting the "TDs" and the "battles" of Copperas
Cove, Cowhouse Creek, Cotton\\ood Camp, and Brookhaven Range.
In July 1943 the Battalion left all that for Louisiana, Third
Army Maneuvers, dust, mosquitoes, red bugs, the Sabine River,
Leesvi11e, Alexandria, and six weeks of "hard" living. It was rough,
and everybody was happy to move into Camp Polk when it was
all over.
But Camp Polk didn't last long. On the 21 September 1943
we left by train for Port Jackson, S. C. Soon we knew that our
time was drawing near. Showdown inspections, turning in equipment,
and last minute furloughs, and, on 20 November 1943 we were
off for an unknown destination on the way overseas.
The Battalion arrived at Camp Myles Standish, Mass. and
stayed there for five weeks waiting for a boat, but some didn't mind
because passes were easy to get and BoSion and Providence offered
many points of interests. (Lots of history was made there).
On 28 December 1943 the Battalion boarded the U. S. Trans­
port General George S. Simonds and set sail the following afternoon
for some place, we knew not where. There were boat drills, sub­
marine scares, and plenty of rumors and one or two people
got seasick. Then on 9 Jan 1944 we dropped anchor in Liver­
pool, England.
Camp Court-y-Gollen in Wales, was the first station. There
was Abergavenny and Crick howell and Gilwern. England was the
country of Brussel sprouts, fish and chips, pubs, mild and bitter,
tbe Hokey-Pokey, bicycles, shillings, tea, blackout, powdered eggs,
and lots of other things which were new and strange to us.
There was training, too, becau6e we knew we had a job to
do. We fired our tanks and other weapons at Castle Martin Range
on the sea, and we spent two weeks with the 82 od Airborne Di­
vision on Strawberry Hill near Mansfield. On 1 May 44 the Batta­
lion left Court-y-G6I1en for good and moved to Ludlow. The
in vasion was near; waterproofing and other preparations began in
earndt.
On 10 June 1944 (0+4) the first elements 01 the Battalion
mov~d to a concentration area in Southern England ne3r Minchin­
hampton. Final preparation.. were completed, and on 29 June 1944
the Battalion embarked from Weymouth in LCTs and LSTs, landing _
in Normandy, France on 30 June Hl44 (0+24). Utah Beach,
S1. Mere Eglise, then Cerisy Fore5L
It was easy for a while, and then, on 26 Juiy 1944, the war
came home to the 744 th Light Tank Battalion at S1. Germain ~
D'Elle, Mnuffet. and Rouxville. It was our first taste 01 combat,
with the Ninth Inf. Regt. of the 2 nd Inf. Division. and one which we
s; all ne\ er forget. We learned what hedgerows meant, and we
developed a healthy respect for the paratroopers of the 3rd Para
Division.
The breakthrough at nearby St. Lo had been made, and soon
we were with the 28th Infantry Division fightin~ our way through
Percy, St. Sever Calvados. Champ Du Boult, Gathemo, Sourdeval,
Ger, Le Neuber~, and Elbeui on the Seine, hitherto unknown places
which will never fade from our memory now.
The Battalion crossed the Seine River on 30 Aug 1944 and
rolled through Northern France and into Belgium without engaging
in any actions of importance We were in XIX Corps Reserve and
enjoying it. To be remembered are the long road marches, the
many French and Belgian flags flying everywhere, the happy
people with their offerings of pears, apples, tomatoes, fresh eggs,
the pretty mademoiselles who insisted upon demonstrating their
affections when the column came to a halt Company C will re­
member Valenciennes.
On 19 September 1944 the Battalion moved into Holland with
the 113th Cavalry Group to take up defen,ive positions along the
Army North flank in the vicinity of Sittard. Company B remained
in l3elgium with a Belgian Brigade for over two months. The de­
fensive line was thin in those days, but the Battalion was not al­
ways on the defensive. With a few Engineers, Tank Destroyers
and Orange Army personnel, on 29 September 1944, the Batta­
lion attacked and seized the towns of Holtum, Buchten, Born, and
~ieuwstadt. Isenbruch, jWH across the border in Germany, proved
to bt· a little too much for us to chew without infantry support.
for two months the Battalion remained in the Sittard sector defending
"uch pla:l:s as Wehr, Tuddern, Millen and Papenhoven.
 Then. on 20 November 1944 the Battalion moved to Prelen·
berg, Germany. to. assist in the capture of Beeck (The mortar
plat90n will renember this place) and end up, once again, in de­
fensive positions. This time it was pillboxes and foxholes in the
vicinity of a little town named Sug~arath.
Just before Christmas 1944 the Battalion moved South to
Walheim, Germany. to remain there in XIX Corps Reserve for six
weeks until the Germans had been beaten in the Ardennes and the
Battle of the Bulge was no more Por Christmas we received a
nice new tank, the M-24. with which we industriously trained in
mud and snow throughout the period.
On 5 Feb 1945 the Battalion moved t,) Kirchberg on the Roer
River near Julich to hold a defensive sector until we crossed the
Roer with the 30th Infantry Division on 24 February 1945. Por
the first time we were fighting with the M-24 tanks. We cleaned
the Hambach Forest and. with difficulty. took Rodingen and Hollen.
Other towns on the way to the Rhine. Kirchherten. Garzweiler,
SI. Leonhard. and Reisdorf. came easier.
After a period of training on the Maas River, the Battalion,
again with the 30 th Inf Div. crossed the historic Rhine River below
Wesel in LCMs 011 23 March 1945. The bridgehead was quickly
secured. and we advanced some fifteen miles in less then five days.
On 30 March 1945 the Battalion was attached to the 75th
Inf. Div. and began the fight which was to take us through the
heavily built-up Ruhr. through Datteln, Ickern. Castrop - Rauxel.
Lutgen-Dortmund. Witten. and a world of other places. to be on
the Ruhr ,River by 13 April 1945. The Battalion saw some of its
hardest fighting in this action. but it also saw its last. (We hopeI)
V-E Day found the Battalion comfortably located in the town
of Olpe and surrounding communities. manning road blocks, collect­
ing German ammunition and equipment, guarding Russians and
worrying about the non-fraternization policy and how soon we
were going home.
 The Most Decorated.
Officer:
Burnett, Elijah C. Captain, award the following Sil­
ver Star, Croix De Guerre, Bronze Star, Purple
Heart and Oak Leaf Cluster to the Purple Heart.

Enlisted Man
Herrera, Joseph Sergeant, awarded the following
Bronze Star, Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters.
 HIGH LIGHTS
Did you know that the Battalion has moved the total
of 2216 miles since it landed on the continent.
Here is another one for you. The Transportation Platoon
has traveled a total of 216,000 miles to keep you supplied
with tho necessities.
The total number of rounds of ammo (of all types) fired
by the Bn in the ETO was 1,415,863 rds. This is an average
of 2,800 rds per man.
Hold your seat! The average consumption of gasoline
for each move of the Bn. was 187,850 gals. The total con­
sumption of gasoline by this unit on the continent was 2,066,350
gallons.
Let us not forget the water truck, which hauled 495,000 gals
of water. The average gallons of water hauled per day was
1500.
Men and Officers of this unit have a total of 38 Silver Stars,
102 Bronze Stars,2 British Military Medals, 2 Croix De Guerre
and approximately 200 Purple Hearts.