I was never in the 8th Division, although I am an honorary member. My father was a platoon leader in, and later commander of, company L, 28th Infantry Regiment. he served with the 8th in Northern Ireland, then into Normandy and Brittany. Finally seriously wounded (for the 2nd time) just outside Brest.
By chance, I also had a relative in K Company of the 28th in WW1. He was killed shortly before the Battle of Cantigny. My father, as many combat vets, did not like to talk about the war. In fact, he had repressed most of his memories of the war. In an attempt to try and figure out what he did, and what he went through I somehow turned into a military historian, and a devoted 8th (and 28th Regt) historian.
Here is one of the few photos of my dad from the war. It was taken in Northern Ireland (Crom Castle- just on the border) in mid-1944. Of the men with him I know that Turner was killed in France by a sniper (brother of the Colonel Turner of the 101st A/B- both currently buried in Normandy), and Green had some of his finger cut off by a mortar burst.
Over the years I have amassed a rather large collection of documents and material related to the 8th from WW2, and the 28th From 1901 to today. This collection includes not only official reports, photographs, uniforms, and such mundane items as rations, but also a running 1944 jeeps painted up in 8th Division markings. If you need a home for anything related to the 8th or 28th, look no further.
I have been fortunate to be able to talk to my dad's former 1st Sgt (sadly, he's passed away now). Also a few men from his platoon that recalled him, and a few that really didn't. I've walked most of the battlefields of the 8th, and tracked down the exact spot where my dad was hit in 1944 just outside Brest. We went back shortly before his death.
My dad first enlisted as a private in the 102nd Infantry- 43rd Infantry Division to "get his year out of the way (and was stuck in for a while). With the 102nd he was in the first American garrison of Christmas Island. Leaving for OCS, he was sent to the 104th INfantry , 26th (Yankee) Division. As chemical officer he tear gassed a group of men having lunch (it was his job- to keep them ready for chemical warfare) but the group included the Regt.' CO. Very quickly my dad was on his way to the 28th.
Dad and I on the Crozon near the field where he was hit. 40 years later.....
To contact me write: Jonathan Gawne