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SA Stuart Dahl-Historian
to remember
Dahl, Orville, PFC.
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Contact Info
Home Town Golden Valley Post Office, MN
Location of Interment Saint Bernard Cemetery - Thief River Falls, Minnesota
At the end of WWII, Orville returned to his home in Northern Minnesota and began to pursue his vocation as a sheetmetal worker, a trade he trained for prior to being drafted. He married Ursula Amiot and the two of them eventually made their home in Thief River Falls, MN, raising four children.
He took a job in Southern Minnesota for a time, but returned to Thief River Falls, where he joined Brodin's, doing sheetmetal work for furnace ductwork and various other projects. It was a short 3 block walk to Brodin's from home.
He continued to help his father on weekends on the family farm near Grygla, MN, until 1971, when his dad died.
He retired from Brodin's when he reached age 65 with over 30 years with them, and traveled the USA on a variety of trips with his in-laws. After retiring he did side work for Brodin's whenever they needed an extra hand or had a complex bending problem.
When he passed away Brodin's continued to look after the furnace repairs to his wife's (my mothers) house.
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Chain of Command Headquarters Company (and "K" Company while at Camp White, OR), 3rd Battalion, 362nd Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division.
(aka: the "Powder River Division") (motto/war cry: "Let 'er buck!")
The division was later attached to II Corps, 5th Army for the invasion of Italy.
Maj. Gen. William G. Livesay Commanding General, 91st Inf. Div.
Col. Joseph P. Donnovin Chief of Staff, 91st Inf. Div.
Col. John W. Cotton Commander, 362nd Inf. Reg.
- - - - - 91st Infantry Division Organization:
Commanders:
Major General Charles H. Gerhardt Major General William G. Livesay- 14 July 1943
Col. Rudolph W. Broedlow - 361 IR Col. John W. Cotton - 362 IR Col. W. Fulton Magill, Jr. - 363 IR Lt. Col. James E. Shaw, Jr. - 916 FA Lt. Col. Calvin E. Barry - 346 FA Lt. Col. Woodrow L. Lynn - 347 FA Lt. Col. Robert B. Collier - 348 FA Lt. Col. Paul W. Breecher - 316 Medical Btn Lt. Col. William C. Holley - 316 Engineer Btn Capt. Gene F. Larrimore - 91 Signal Corps Capt Clifford E. Lippincott - 91 Recon Troop Capt Theodore K. Hegner - 91 QM Co. Capt George R. McDannold - 791 Ordnance Co. Maj. Alvin W. Laird - 91 Military Police
Units:
361st Infantry Regiment 362nd Infantry Regiment 363rd Infantry Regiment 916th Field Artillery Battalion 346th Field Artillery Battalion 347 Field Artillery Battalion 348th Field Artillery Battalion
Support Units:
91st Recon Troop 316th Engineer Combat Battalion 316th Medical Battalion 791st Ordnance Company 91st Quartermaster Company 91st Signal Company 91st Military Police Company
Attached Units:
Tank Battalion Tank Destroyer Battalion
- - - - - Lt. Gen. Mark Clark commanded the 5th Army.
Serving units with the 5th Army include:
34th Infantry Division 85th Infantry Division (but was soon re-assigned to IV Corps) 88th Infantry Division 91st Infantry Division 92nd Infantry Division and other American units
Units from other countries assigned to the 5th Army include: Brazil Great Britain New Zealand India South Africa Canada France Morocco Algeria Italy
Other Memories The 91st Infantry Division (aka: 91st ID) trained at Camp White, OR (near Medford, OR) and in November 1943 moved to Camp Adair, OR (near Albany, OR).
In late March of 1944 the 91st ID moved to Camp Patrick Henry, VA (somewhere around Norfolk, Hampton, or Williamsburg, VA).
In April 1944 the division deployed to Northern Africa for in-theater staging and further training. Transport was by Liberty Ships and USN Destroyer escort. The voyage took 3 weeks and landed at ports in Oran, Arzew, and Port-auxe-Poules, Algeria.
By early June 1944 the 361st Infantry Regiment was in combat at Anzio, then by July 1944 the entire division was engaging with the enemy as a single unit in Italy, beginning the Rome-Arno River Campaign.
(The 362nd made it's landing at Naples, Italy, in June.)
- - - - - Italy campaigns: Rome-Arno, Po River Valley, and Northern Apennines.
- - - - - Served as one of the battalion's Forward Observers, scouting and directing artillery fire. (Two-man or three-man team, far ahead of friendly lines with a radio and/or field telephone; binoculars and map; a rifle and a sidearm.)
Awarded the Bronze Star Medal (awarded on 10 June 1945 for heroic action on 17 October 1944 near Lucca, Italy)