The Men and the Banner

The 90th Infantry Division

 

"The 90th Infantry Division was activated in summer 1917, just months after the United States entered World War I...

 

During World War II, the "Tough Ombre"division landed at Utah Beach on D-Day (June 6, 1944) as part of the massive Allied invasion of western Europe. After pushing through northern France, the unit advanced into the Saar region of Germany, but was redeployed to Belgium during the German offensive into the Ardennes (the Battle of the Bulge). The 90th returned to Germany and captured the city of Mainz on March 22, 1945. Several days later, the "Tough Ombre" division crossed the Rhine and subsequently moved southward into Bavaria and then eastward into Czechoslovakia."

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "Introduction to the Holocaust." Holocaust Encyclopedia. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006141. Accessed on 3 September 2015.

 

The Cannon Company, 358th Infantry, was organized at Camp Barkeley, Texas, with Captain Charles E. Wise as its commanding officer. Cannon Company troops were trained in Texas, Louisiana and California before deploying to England in March 1944. They landed at Utah Beach on D-Day plus 2.  

 

The obituary of Maurice "Pete" Henrichsen includes a few details:

"In his last letters, dated Jan. 8, received by his wife and by his parents, he was at a rest camp but expected to go back to the front the following day. He stated that during the German offensive into the Belgian Bulge he and his buddies had been removed from the Cannon Company and had fought in a regular line company. It is not known in just what line of service, therefore, that he met his death."

 

Three men from the Cannon Company were killed in action on January 15-16, 1945: Maurice C. Henrichsen, Anthony M. Mashintonio, and William J. Telesz.  Edward G. Keith was killed in action on 15 February 1945.