To help you remember the past year, the battalion paper presents a log of dates and places to recount the doings of the 365th Field Artillery in the year of Victory, 1945.

DATE RECORD OF EVENTS

1 January 1945
Camp Cooke, California. Battalion preparing for field problems and maneuvers at Hunter Liggett Military Reservation

7 January 1945
Alerted for movement to New York Port of Embarkation.

15 January 1945
Major Beem, Captain Storey and Captain Wheeler left on the Division Advance Party for New York POE. The Advance Party departed NY POE for the European Theatre of Operations aboard USS "Cristobal" 26 January arriving at Camp Lucky Strike, France, 4 February 1945

7 February 1945
Battalion departed Camp Cooke by train for New York POE. Arrived Camp Kilmer, New Jersey Staging Area, 12 February.

19 February 1945
Departed NY POE for overseas destination aboard USS "Marine Devil".

4 March 1945
Arrived Port of Debarkation, Le Havre, France, and proceeded by semi-trailer truck to Camp Lucky Strike, France, 5 miles NE of Cany-Barville, France.

4 March to 27 March 1945
Camp Lucky Strike. All personnel living in squad tents. Deprocessing of equipment and final preparations for combat. Off-duty visits to Fecamp, St Valary and Cany-Barville.

27 March 1945
Battalion departed Camp Lucky Strike enroute to the Front, via Mons, Belgium, Maastricht, Holland, and Aachen and Julich, Germany, to final destination at Holzweiler, Germany, arriving there 28 March. Total distance traveled, 356 miles. Weather cold, but otherwise trip was without incident.

31 March 1945
Battalion occupied positions at Neuss, Germany, on the West bank of the Rhine River across from Dusseldorf. Lt Col. Alfred E Graham registered "C" Battery on battalion base point, first round fired at 1600 hours.

5 April 1945
Battalion displaced from Neuss and moved South by motor convoy, crossing the Rhine River by pontoon bridge and proceeding to Neunnhof, Germany, where all batteries occupied postions immediately.

With the First Army in the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket. 365th FA in direct support of the 386th Infantry Regiment.

Across the Sieg River. Enemy counterattack broken up by continuous fire of all batteries. Service Battery at Griesenbach; Battalion CP at Kreisfield. Service Battery hauling truckload after truckload of HE ammunition.

10 April to 12 April 1945
Wolfrath. Service Battery at Felderhof.

13 April 1945
Nakhausen

14 April 1945
Viersbrucken, Overrath, Heide. Infantry moving rapidly ahead and taking town after town

15 April 1945
Beohen

15 April to 16 April 1945
Grimberg.CP set up on country estate of wealthy German. Service Battery at Beohen.

16 April to 19 April 1945
Eschausen, Hauling PW'S by the thousands.

19 April to 21 April 1945
Heiligenhaus. End of the battle. A total of 563 seperate missions were fired by the battalion in the battle of hte Ruhr Pocket, with 8890 rounds of artillery ammunition being expended.

21 April to 23 April 1945
By motor convoy to Arzberg, Germany, total distance This was the convoy where the rear batteries were traveling blackout at 30 miles per hour over an unmarked route.

23 April 1945
With Gen. Patton's Third Army. 365th FA Bn. fired its opening rounds in the battle of Czechoslavakia.

26 April 1945
Liebeneck, Czechoslovakia. German "88", two German prime movers and 25 prisoners captured by "B" Battery. By motor convoy 14 miles to Selb, Germany.

28 April 1945
Departed Selb, Germany by battalion convoy. Arrived Rozvadov, Czechoslovakia., Distance traveld 108 miles. Service Battery in Seltmann China Works at Vohenstrauss, Germany.

29 April to 1 May 1945
N. Domky, Czechoslovakia.

1 to 5 May 1945
ST Sedliste, Czechoslovakia. Infantry preparing for advance on Pilsen.

5 to 6 May 1945
Bor, Czechoslovakia. Infantry advancing swiftly with little resistance.

6 to 9 May 1945
Ceminy, Czechoslovakia, a suburb of Pilsen. German field artillery batallion with 8 officers and 450 enlisted men surrendered to Major xx Beem at 365th CP. "B" Battery machine gunners fired on German liason plane. Plane disappeared over neighboring woods, trailing smoke.

8 May 1945
V-E Day. CP at Ceminy, Czechoslovakia. Service Battery at Mies. A total of 262 separate missions were fired by the battalion in the battle of Czechoslovakia with a total expenditure of 5044 rounds of artillery ammunition.

9 May 1945
By motor convoy to North Domky, Czechoslovakia.

9 to 16 May 1945
In bivouac at North Domky. All non-GI trailers turned in by Division order.

16 May 1945
By motor convoy to vicinity of Memmelsdorf, near Bamberg, Germany. Good summer weather. Formal bivouac set up in the fields near Memmelsdorf.

31 May to 2 June 1945
Homeward bound. By motor convoy to Camp Old Gold, France via Metz, Verdun and Saissons. All equipment turned in except minimum essentials.

2 June to 14 June 1945
Camp Old Gold, Near Yvetot, France. Preparing for overseas movement.

15 June 1945
Battalion boarded USS "Brazil" for return voyage to the States.

16 June to 24 June 1945
At sea. Departed Le Havre, France, 16 June. Arrived Camp Shanks, New York, staging area, 1400 24 June. All officers and men ordered to temporary duty at their respective homes.

30 July to 8 August 1945
Fort Bragg, N. C. Men returning in groups from TDY.

22 August 1945
365th FA departed Fort Bragg, N.C. by rail for Fort Lawton, Washington. staging area. Wild rumors.

27 August 1945
Arrived Fort Lawton 2200. Processing begun for movement to Pacific Theatre. More rumors.

1 September 1945
Battalion boarded USS "Grundy" 1630, departed States for overseas destination 1930. Rumors to no avail. No last minute orders issued to hold battalion in the States. 303d FA Bn also boarded the "Grundy".

9 September 1945
Across the International Date Line.

13 September 1945
"Grundy" arrived Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls. Departed Eniwetok the same day. Probable destination at this time Cebu Island in the Philippines.

19 September to 26 September 1945
"Grundy" anchored off Leyte in the Philippines. Trips ashore for all hands. On one of these trips many had their first view of Japanese prisoners of war when a boatload of them arrived form Cebu.

26 September 1945
"Grundy" departed the Philippines for Yokohama, Japan.

4 October 1945
Battalion debarked 0100 to the docks in Yokohama. By train to Kagohara. By truck from Kagohara station to Mitzugahara Airfield, arrived 0830.

4 Oct. to 13 Oct 1945
In bivouac at Mitzugahara Airfield. Continuous rainfall, all personnel wet and cold.

13 October 1945
By truck convoy to Ueda, Japan. arrived Ueda 1500.

13 October to 31 December 1945
In billets at Ueda, Occupation duties. Some personnel returning home on points. Heavy snows.

The following officers and enlisted men of the battalion received combat awards or decorations in 1945:

• Lt Col Alfred E. Graham: The Bronze Star for meritorious service against the enemy during the period 1 April to 9 May 1945 in Germany and Czechoslovakia.
   
• Captain Richard M. Winfield, Jr. (then First Lieutenant): The Bronze Star for Heroic achievement against the enemy near Eich Germany on 10 April 1945 while acting as a forward observer for Battery "B".
   
• Staff Sergeant William James: The Bronze Star for meritorious achievement against the enemy near Hohnesberg, Germany on 21 April 1945 while acting as a forward observer for Battery "B".