Tag Archives: 751st Tank Battalion

Glass Sherman

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You think you are cold!

80 years ago today: 1st February 1945 – Fifth Army, Poretta Area, Italy. A Fifth Army M4 Sherman medium tank of the U.S. 751st Tank Battalion is inclined to use as an ersatz artillery piece. It is wearing camouflage consisting of white paint and spun glass to simulate snow, The spun glass was obtained from a local factory and applied by Army combat engineers.

(U.S. Army Signal Corps photo – 196th Signal Photo Co.) – MM-45-30308 – 111-SC-233067. Credit: NARA.

The 751st was activated at Fort Benning, Georgia, on 1 June 1941 and participated in seven major campaigns during the war, spanning across North Africa (Tunisian campaign) and Italy (Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and Po Valley) racking up 581 days of combat time.

Individuals in the battalion had earned the following awards:
· 3 Distinguished Service Crosses
· 7 Legions of Merit
· 37 Silver Stars
· 1 Oak Leaf Cluster to the Silver Star
· 63 Bronze Stars
· 3 Oak Leaf Clusters to the Bronze Star
· 4 Brazilian War Medals
· 4 Soldier’s Medals

Smokin and jokin

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Official caption:

“These American tankmen have just completed a hazardous trip back to the American lines near Cisterna, Italy, after the loss of their M-4 Sherman tank, 26 May 1944.”

L-R: Front row; Pvt. Floyd W. Shelton, Wichita, Kan., and Pvt. Vassar Nance, Leahville, Ark., and back row; Pvt. Donald Jones, Dexter, NY, and Cpl. Earl L. Larson, of S. Minneapolis, Minn.

For reference, the above men are likely of the 751st Tank Battalion, who led the breakout from the Anzio Beachhead in the Italian campaign. Notably, the 751st had already seen action in the African Campaign and Salerno. They would go on to be one of the first Allied units to enter Rome and be the first armored unit to reach the Po Valley and cross it. In all, they would spend 581 days in combat.