World War Two Through The Eyes Of My Grandfather

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My Grandfather, Harold Jerome James Baalman, Tech Sargent who served under General George S. Patton Jr.

My Grandpa getting on the truck

Him and His Buddies

D-Day Plus 24, when Patton was called in and they hit the beaches

My Grandpa, Sargent Roberts fixing General Omar Bradley’s Jeep, it needed a new engine

Some stuff he captured from the enemy he faced. 

Medals He Captured From The Enemy and 1 he was given.

KRIEGSMARINE WAR BADGE FOR NAVAL ARTILLERY On Land, Flak Battery.

Eastern Front Medal

Wounded Soldier Medal 

Two War Merit Crosses either 1st or 2nd class without sword 

Kraigsmarine Hat Pin

Possible German Railway Eagle Medal; because Patton did liberate a few Concentration Camps.

World War I Victory Medal; not sure how he would have gotten this.

Enemy Units He Fought 

5th Parachute Division: he also captured 1 of their helmets and at the time I didn’t know who they were, so I needed a helmet to do a General Patton Halloween Costume in 6th Grade, so I painted it and made it look like a GI helmet.

The Eastern Front Medals Came From A Guy In This Unit
1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring

You can read more about all the German Units Patton and his guys had to face here: Fighting Patton

I must say 1 thing, my grandpa was one of Patton’s chief mechanics, they went on missions behind enemy lines and seemed to face and defeat the hardened units connected to the SS. I will tell the story he told me.

The only diary action report he could write down took 2 tries to get a copy, first time it was both deleted after it was scanned and even when I sent myself an email; a copy version, thankfully I got a copy when I took a photo.

He write Walas, but this is dated May 3rd 1945, there was a Walas in the 82nd Airborne who was killed in the Battle Of The Bulge, so Walas was for Valais in the Alps region, and there was a major battle just south in the Saar-Moselle Region. He went up against the famous and specialized Alpine German Troops of The 2nd Mountain Division. The Saar-Moselle last Offensive of the Germans

More Photos Right Before The Bulge 

He is in the corner to the right of the photo

Mass In World War Two

Unit Medal For Service

A Merit Service Medal The Entire Unit Got.

His Squad’s Apartment in Germany: Anyone in Germany if you recognize it, let me know if it still exists and where it is. Top Photo and the entire 4th Floor and the middle photo.

How about a game of Football in Germany?

His Pass He Got

Sending Money Home To Help The Family

Newspaper Clippings 

I am excited to tell his story when we return after what is going on in Eastern Europe.

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