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SSG Arch Kennedy (Reb)
to remember
Treadwell, Jack L., COL USA(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Snyder, Oklahoma
Date of Passing Dec 12, 1977
Location of Interment Fort Sill Post Cemetery (VLM) - Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Jack Treadwell was born on March 30, 1919, in Ashland, Alabama. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 28, 1941, and was trained as an infantryman, serving with the 180th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division throughout World War II.
He deployed with the unit to North Africa in June 1943, participating in the amphibious assault on Sicily in July 1943, Salerno in September 1943, Southern France in August 1944, having received a battlefield commission on March 23, 1944.
Capt Treadwell was wounded in March 1945, and after hospitalization, he returned to duty with the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, in March 1946. His next assignment was with the 7th Infantry Regiment at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, from April 1948 to September 1949, followed by attending the Armored School at Fort Knox, Kentucky, from September 1949 to August 1950.
Maj Treadwell served as a company commander and executive officer with the 350th Infantry Regiment in Austria from August 1950 to December 1952, and then as Aide-de-Camp to the commander of 1st U.S. Army at Fort Jay, New York, from December 1952 to July 1954.
He next completed Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and then served as a the Headquarters commandant of the Army Forces on the Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands from September 1955 to September 1956. Col Treadwell returned to the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning from September 1956 to August 1958, followed by Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia, from August 1958 to February 1959.
His next assignment was at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, from February 1959 to August 1961, followed by Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, from August 1961 to September 1962. Col Treadwell next completed a degree program at the University of Omaha from September 1962 to July 1963, and then served as on the staff of Headquarters U.S. Army Europe and as a battalion commander in Germany from July 1963 to July 1966.
He served as the Chief of the U.S. Army Infantry Center at Fort Benning from July to November 1966, and then served as commander of the 197th Infantry Brigade at Fort Benning until August 1968. Col Treadwell served as Chief of Staff of the Americal Divison in Vietnam from October 1968 to March 1969, and then as commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade in Vietnam from March to September 1969.
He served with Headquarters 4th U.S. Army (redesignated 5th U.S. Army in June 1971) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, from October 1969 to June 1972, followed by service as Senior Army Advisor to the Army Reserve at Columbia, South Carolina, from July 1972 until his retirement from the Army on March 1, 1974.
Jack Treadwell died on December 12, 1977, and was buried at the Fort Sill Post Cemetery in Lawton, Oklahoma.
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Southern France Campaign (1944)/Operation Dragoon
From Month/Year
August / 1944
To Month/Year
September / 1944
Description Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15 August 1944. The operation was initially planned to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, the Allied landing in Normandy, but the lack of available resources led to a cancellation of the second landing. By July 1944 the landing was reconsidered, as the clogged-up ports in Normandy did not have the capacity to adequately supply the Allied forces. Concurrently, the French High Command pushed for a revival of the operation that would include large numbers of French troops. As a result, the operation was finally approved in July to be executed in August.
The goal of the invasion was to secure the vital ports on the French Mediterranean coast and increase pressure on the German forces by opening another front. After some preliminary commando operations, the US VI Corps landed on the beaches of the Côte d'Azur under the shield of a large naval task force, followed by several divisions of the French Army B. They were opposed by the scattered forces of the German Army Group G, which had been weakened by the relocation of its divisions to other fronts and the replacement of its soldiers with third-rate Ostlegionen outfitted with obsolete equipment.
Hindered by Allied air supremacy and a large-scale uprising by the French Resistance, the weak German forces were swiftly defeated. The Germans withdrew to the north through the Rhône valley, to establish a stable defense line at Dijon. Allied mobile units were able to overtake the Germans and partially block their route at the town of Montélimar. The ensuing battle led to a stalemate, with neither side able to achieve a decisive breakthrough, until the Germans were finally able to complete their withdrawal and retreat from the town. While the Germans were retreating, the French managed to capture the important ports of Marseille and Toulon, soon putting them into operation.
The Germans were not able to hold Dijon and ordered a complete withdrawal from Southern France. Army Group G retreated further north, pursued by Allied forces. The fighting ultimately came to a stop at the Vosges mountains, where Army Group G was finally able to establish a stable defense line. After meeting with the Allied units from Operation Overlord, the Allied forces were in need of reorganizing and, facing stiffened German resistance, the offensive was halted on 14 September. Operation Dragoon was considered a success by the Allies. It enabled them to liberate most of Southern France in just four weeks while inflicting heavy casualties on the German forces, although a substantial part of the best German units were able to escape. The captured French ports were put into operation, allowing the Allies to solve their supply problems quickly.