 Henry G. Marshall World War II correspondence
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteHenry "Grady" Marshall from Concord, Georgia, was born in May 1918 and joined the U.S. Army in May 1941. He served as a staff sergeant in the 45th Infantry Division in North Africa and Europe during World War II. His brother was in the U.S. Navy during some of the time that he was in the service. Grady was originally from Concord, Georgia, and was first stationed at Fort McPherson, Georgia then Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He went into field artillery and was assigned to the 45th Infantry Division at Camp Barkeley, Texas. He received excellent marks while at basic training. Grady was later sent to Fort Devens, Massachusetts in early 1942, and visited home once in May 1942. He was still in America in 1943 and was stationed in Virginia. Grady seems to have had a fine time in the States, meeting girls and enjoying the service life. He got a cold in January that developed into pneumonia by March 1943 while at Camp Prickett, Virginia. He was sick until May, around the time he had his tonsils removed while in service. By June 1943, Grady finally made it overseas to North Africa with the rest of the 45th Infantry Division. In July, he participated in the amphibious assault on Sicily. The rest of 1943, Grady traveled through Italy with his division and likely fought at Salerno in early September 1943. In January/February 1944, Grady was a participant in the Battle of Anzio (Operation Shingle). He remained at Anzio Beachhead until late May, when the Germans withdrew, then his division moved elsewhere in Italy. In early August 1944, he trained in Taranto, Italy, with the French navy to prepare for the Southern France landing. By late August 1944, he was allowed to tell his family his location (Southern France), having seemingly been a participant in Operation Dragoon on August 15, 1944 at St. Maxime. In September, he was still on the move in France with the 45th Infantry Division, meeting civilians and noting much about his surroundings. In March 1945, Grady crossed into Germany with the 45th Infantry Division after more combat then a period of rest and training in France. Like with North Africa, Italy, and France, he commented frequently and in detail about encountering German civilians and German armed forces, admiring and commenting on local culture, acquiring German supplies, meeting Allied P.O.W.s and otherwise moving through Germany. In late April, the 45th Infantry Division was known to liberate the Dachau concentration camp (though Grady doesn't write it immediately). On May 4th, he had malaria and was in Munich. However, on May 7th, Grady finally told his parents about Dachau, having taken several photographs and calling it a truly "horrible sight." In late May, he wrote about coming home shortly but was only able to return in late August 1945. He moved from Munich to Erding, Bavaria, Germany in June and was stationed there until August. He returned home sometime in very late August or early September. Scope and ContentThis collection contains the span of World War II correspondence from Henry G. Marshall, mostly to his parents back in Concord, Georgia. He signed his letters "Grady." It follows him throughout the war, beginning with his basic training in Fort Sill, Oklahoma and ending in Bavaria, Germany. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationHenry G. Marshall World War II correspondence, ms2276, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries. Immediate Source of AcquisitionGift of Mr. Marshall, 1984. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in this RepositoryRelated materials include: Henry Grady Marshall photographs, ms3093. | ||||||||||||||||||