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January 20, 2018 -- Buchenwald Sixer Memorial Project UPDATE -- Sen. Marco Rubio sends letter of support
January 12, 2018 -- Buchenwald Sixer Memorial Project! The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation is working to erect a memorial to the 6th Armored Division in time for the 75th Anniversary of the camp's liberation. The project is gathering steam, and they are looking for additional supoport (not money).
Details at:Buchenwald Memorial Project page.
April 30, 2017 -- Ambush and averted massacre in Brittany. American-born Nancy Diraison has family roots in Brittany, and she has been researching the ambush of a Sixer unit which may have averted a massacre in the small town of Chateauneuf-du-Faou ("CDF"). She has compiled her research and her questions into a PDF here: CDF Liberation Narrative. It's a fascinating read. If you happen to have information that can contribute to the project, please contact Nancy directly at 
.
March 26, 2017 -- A new Super Sixth history has been published: Medics of the Sixth Armored Division, by Al Sims, son of Sgt. John Sims, 76th Medical Bn. .
October 26, 2016 -- Photos and scans from the late M/Sgt Ed Knott, 68th Tank Bn..
September 10, 2016 -- The next 6th Armored Reunion is scheduled for September 28-October 2, 2016 in Oklahoma City. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS PDF.
July 24, 2016 -- Our re-enactor friends in the Netherlands have started a web site devoted to the Super Sixth: http://www.6tharmoreddivision.com/.
August, 2015 -- The reunion crew is going to try for another reunion in about five weeks, but they need to hear from interested attendees NOW. See 2015 Reunion Notice.
July 24, 2015 -- Ever feel like you, as a veteran, are getting inundated by ads and spam about asbestos and mesothelioma? Ever wonder why? See what the New York Times had to say about this thriving industry:
NY Times: The Asbestos Scam, Part 1
NY Times: The Asbestos Scam, Part 2
May 4, 2014 -- Check out the Faces of Margraten project and help them if you can.
April 14, 2014 -- Historian Jeffrey E. Geiger has published a new book about Camp Cooke -- the training facility that later became Vandenberg Air Force Base. Camp Cooke and Vandenberg Air Force Base, 1941-1966 From Armor and Infantry Training to Space and Missile Launches. (For fast shipping, add $5.00.)
April 3, 2011 -- Finally! An accurate account of Buchenwald! History author Flint Whitlock has published a new book called The Beasts of Buchenwald, a well-researched book about the hell-hole camp and the sadistic Nazis that ran it. It is unusual in that the author has gone to great lengths to filter out the huge amount of disinformation that typical gets included in anything written about Buchenwald. Highly recommended.
November 21, 2010 -- See the new Doing Your Own Research section and "Search this Site" feature to help you find your way through the maze of information available on this site.
July 25, 2010 -- 
You have a friend in Luxembourg. If you have never heard of the .US Veterans Friends, Luxembourg (USVFL) follow this link and learn about them. They are some of our best friends in the world.
June 13, 2010 -- Digital copies of the Paul Warp albums which were donated to the Library of Congress are now available. Please see http://www.super6th.org/misc/warp_DVD/warp_DVD_collection.htm
The 6th Armored Division was one of General George S. Patton's famous Third Army divisions during World War II in Europe. Its post-war alumni association disbanded at its final reunion in Louisville, KY in September, 2000.
The 6th Armored Division was created February 15, 1942 at Fort Knox, Kentucky and was made up almost entirely of citizen draftee soldiers. Its training stations were Camp Chaffee, Ark., Louisiana Maneuvers, the Mojave Desert, and Camp Cooke, CA. It arrived in England in February 1944 and landed at Utah Beach on July 18, 1944. During the next 9 1/2 months, the 6th Armored fought in five major European campaigns of World War II:
In 1947 the Sixth Armored Division Association was organized to perpetuate the memory of 1,274 fallen comrades, to assist in promoting an everlasting peace, and to serve as a medium of contact among the men who served in the division. Its first reunion was held in 1948 in Louisville, KY. On September 12-17, 2000 its 53rd and final reunion occured in Louisville.
If you've ever heard about Patton's Third Army, or watched the movie "Patton", or if you've ever heard about the period known as "The Battle of the Bulge", "The Ardennes Campaign", or sometimes just "Bastogne", you know about the Super Sixth. If you've ever heard about "The Breakout" from Normandy hedgerow country a month and a half after D-Day, or Patton's race across France, or the Third Army's 90-degree turn to the north to the Battle of the Bulge, or the crossing of the Siegfried line, or the liberation of Buchenwald, then you probably know more about the 6th Armored Division than you realize.
Praise by a former enemy is a high honor, and after World War II German Major General F. W. von Mellenthin wrote in Panzer Battles (Copyright 1956, University of Oklahoma Press):
"I think that Patton would have done better if the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions had been grouped together in a single corps, reinforced possibly by the French 2nd Armored Division. These were all very experienced formations and ably commanded...combined as a tank army under one commander, these three armored divisions might well have achieved a decisive breakthrough."
He also praised the 6th's performance at Han-sur-Nied, calling it "a dashing coup-de-main".
has been reprinted by Battery Press, for the first time in 25 years. The reprint differs from the original edition in only the following details: Chapter XVI, covering the post-war Association, was very out-of-date and has not been included in the reprint; the dust jacket was not reprinted; and the 6th Armd. patch in the front matter was reproduced in black and white, not color. They are selling this book for 49.95, plus shipping and handling.
Dr. Hofmann has a very limited supply of these books which he is making available at a discount price of $39.50, including shipping and handling. To order, send your check for $39.50 to:
Make checks payable to: George F. Hofmann, Ph.D.
69th Tank Battalion -- Distinguished Unit Citation, for Bastogne (Company C cited).
9th and 50th Armored Infantry Battalions -- French Croix de Guerre with Palm, for Brest, France.
212th Armored Field Artillery Battalion -- French Croix de Guerre with Silver Gilt Star, for Lan Froicourt, France.
231st Armored Field Artillery Battalion -- French Croix de Guerre with Silver Gilt Star, for Han-sur-Nied, France.
86th Cavalry Reconnaisance Squadron -- Distinguished Unit Citation, for action at Eder River, Germany (Troop D cited), and Prum River, Germany (Troop A cited).
25th Armored Engineer Battalion -- Distinguished Unit Citation, for action at Wardin, Belgium, and Prum River, Germany (3rd platoon, Company C cited).
777th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion -- French Croix de Guerre with Silver Gilt Star, for Avranches, France.
Medal
of Honor RecipientsRank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company A, 9th Armored
Infantry Battalion, 6th Armored Division.
Place and date: Near Bastogne, Belgium, 11 January 1945.
Entered service at: Roanoke, Va.
Born: 11 September 1918, Chatham, Va.
G.O. No.: 18, 13 February 1946.
Citation: He charged 30 yards through hip-deep snow to knock out a machinegun and its 3-man crew with grenades, saving his platoon from being decimated and allowing it to continue its advance from an open field into some nearby woods. The platoon's advance through the woods had only begun when a machinegun supported by riflemen opened fire and a Tiger Royal tank sent 88mm. shells screaming at the unit from the left flank. S/Sgt. Gammon, disregarding all thoughts of personal safety, rushed forward, then cut to the left, crossing the width of the platoon's skirmish line in an attempt to get within grenade range of the tank and its protecting foot troops. Intense fire was concentrated on him by riflemen and the machinegun emplaced near the tank. He charged the automatic weapon, wiped out its crew of 4 with grenades, and, with supreme daring, advanced to within 25 yards of the armored vehicle, killing 2 hostile infantrymen with rifle fire as he moved forward. The tank had started to withdraw, backing a short distance, then firing, backing some more, and then stopping to blast out another round, when the man whose single-handed relentless attack had put the ponderous machine on the defensive was struck and instantly killed by a direct hit from the Tiger Royal's heavy gun. By his intrepidity and extreme devotion to the task of driving the enemy back no matter what the odds, S/Sgt. Gammon cleared the woods of German forces, for the tank continued to withdraw, leaving open the path for the gallant squad leader's platoon.
BEYER, ARTHUR O.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company C, 603d Tank Destroyer
Battalion.
Place and date: Near Arloncourt, Belgium, 15 January 1945.
Entered service at: St. Ansgar, lowa.
Born: 20 May 1909, Rock Township, Mitchell County, lowa.
G.O. No.: 73, 30 August 1945.
Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry in action. His platoon,
in which he was a tank-destroyer gunner, was held up by antitank, machinegun,
and rifle fire from enemy troops dug in along a ridge about 200 yards to
the front. Noting a machinegun position in this defense line, he fired
upon it with his 76-mm. gun killing 1 man and silencing the weapon. He
dismounted from his vehicle and, under direct enemy observation, crossed
open ground to capture the 2 remaining members of the crew. Another machinegun,
about 250 yards to the left, continued to fire on him. Through withering
fire, he advanced on the position. Throwing a grenade into the emplacement,
he killed 1 crewmember and again captured the 2 survivors. He was subjected
to concentrated small-arms fire but, with great bravery, he worked his
way a quarter mile along the ridge, attacking hostile soldiers in their
foxholes with his carbine and grenades. When he had completed his self-imposed
mission against powerful German forces, he had destroyed 2 machinegun positions,
killed 8 of the enemy and captured 18 prisoners, including 2 bazooka teams.
Cpl. Beyer's intrepid action and unflinching determination to close with
and destroy the enemy eliminated the German defense line and enabled his
task force to gain its objective.
Well, that would be because this site WAS originally created in 1996 with Notepad.
This is an all-volunteer, spare-time activity. Family & job take priority over upgrading the appearance of a free, personal web site. If I'm going to devote four hours to this site on a weekend, and I can either upload a new scanned document, or make the home page pretty, the content will win every time.
When (if) I retire, I'll devote some time to the appearance of the site. In the meantime, benefit from the content here, and try to ignore the retro ambience.
If this is your first visit to the Sixth Armored Division home page, please spend some time and explore. I've put a lot of information on this site: maps, excerpts from official histories, personal stories from Division veterans, etc.
Personal
Stories from veterans of the Super Sixth.
Color
campaign map of the 6th Armored. Medium-res copies available for downloading.
Information
about the 212th AFA and 6th Armored Division veterans' associations.
Unofficial
Home Page of the 212th AFA.
Notes
about Division Commander Maj. Gen. Robert W. Grow (from 212th AFA History).
Personal
notes about this web site
-- General George S. Patton, in a speech to Third Army troops in England,
1944
Version researched by
Charles M. Province for "The Unknown Patton".
NOTE: Remove the question mark and use common sense when reconstructing the email address below when sending mail.
This page is maintained by Bruce Frederick, ?super6th at verizon period net,
son of 212th FA veteran Lt. Arthur M. Frederick, deceased.
I am not a veteran.
