71afa.com

  Dedicated to the men of the 71st -  Part of the 5th Armored Division   WWII
                                                                                         *Click on pin                                             *Click on patch
                                                        
                T/Sgt. William Beckley                             71st AFA - DUI Pin                                       5th AD SSI

                                                     71st Motto:  Cor Et Perserverus - Courage and Perserverance

     This site is dedicated to my father T/Sgt. William Beckley and the men of the 71^st Armored Field Artillery Battalion, attached to the 5^th Armored Division in WWII, who fought through France, Belgium,Luxembourg and Germany. We honor these men for their courage, sacrifice and dedication to duty for which we owe them a great debt of graditude. 
      This project started as long overdue research into my father’s WWII service and it has expanded into this site with much help from friends encountered in the process. This site is not officially attached to any present organization. I present this information simply as what I have gathered so far with the hope that more will follow with the introduction of this site and people will get a better understanding of these brave men, as I have. Every effort is made to be as accurate as possible with the information presented. Any mistakes are mine alone and if found please contact address below.             Gary Beckley

   *Anyone with any information on the 71st Armored Field Artillery or related 5th Armored Division info please contact me at:     This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it          Any help in this project greatly appreciated.
                                                                                                                                                                                   

        The 71st Field Artillery Battalion was activated 9 January 1941 at Fort Jackson, S.C. It was formed by redesignation of the 3rd Battalion of the 83rd Field Artillery Regiment. On 28 May 1941 the battalion was transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma and became the Field Artillery School troops, a 75mm horse drawnFA Bn. The battalion joined the 5th Armored Division at the Desert Training Center, Mojave Desert, Calif. on 10 Sept 1942 and was redesignated the 71st Armored Field Artillery Battalion (manning 105mm M7 Self Propelled Vehicles ) commanded by Lt. Col. Israel B. Washburn, since 28 July 1942. They then went to Tennessee Maneuvers in March of 1943 and on to Pine Camp, N.Y. and Indiantown Gap, Pa., for more training, tests and inoculations before being sent overseas. Some men were sent to Armed Forces School at Fort Knox for specific training at different times during their stateside stay. 
                                                                                                                                                                                              

               3rd Army - (Lt. General Patton) Normandy to Paris - 3 Mar 44  to  24 Aug 44

              1st Army - (Lt. General Hodges) Paris to Aachen, Germany - 26 Aug 44  to  18 Jan 45

              9th Army - (Lt. General Simpson) Aachen to VE-Day (45 miles from Berlin) - 27 Jan 45  to  8 May 45

  Feb'44   Mar     Apr        May      Jun      Jul         Aug       Sep       Oct      Nov      Dec     Jan'45   Feb      Mar        Apr       May      Jun        Jul       Aug      Sep  Oct'45

    I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_____I_

Army       I______Pattons 3rd_____________II_________Hodges 1st_________II___Simpsons 9th____II_________3rd_____________> 

Campaigns ___England___IINormandyIINor.FranceII___________Rhineland____________II_Cent.Eur.II___Occupation Troops________>

               I                                     I                                                                          I                                  I

71st Arrives England                            71st Lands at Utah Beach                                                                                                  VE-Day                          71st comes home