HEADQUARTERS
90TH DIVIS1ON ARTILLERY
APO 90, U. S. A.
7 March 1945
SUBJECT: Commendation.
TO:
Commanding Officer, 790th Ordnance Light Maintenance Company, APO 90, U.S. Army. (Thru
Channels).
During the period September and October 1944 when the 90th Division was in position before fortress
Metz there was a chronic shortage of artillery ammunition. In order to give proper artillery support to the
division, in its various efforts we called upon your organization to secure for us captured weapons and
ammunition. The results of the effort and risk of the men officers of your organization are clearly written among
the outstanding successes of the division.
The officers and men of your artillery section searched over many miles of France locating weapons that
could be conditioned for use. The untiring efforts and outstanding technical ability quickly made available almost
an entire battalion of captured material and we are cognizant of the risks involved in their testing of these
weapons.
The work of your ammunition section in locating and hauling ammunition; of experimenting and testing,
made available to us some 50,000 rounds which were fired from the captured material.
The often unheralded efforts of such energetic and capable officers and men extending their efforts far
beyond the call of ordinary duty is the foundation of the success of our division.
S/ Ernest A. Bixby, Brigadier General U.S. Army, Commanding.
As the weather grew colder, the going got rougher, the infantry tougher and Ordnance stayed right on its
heels. The entire Company Personnel Section was moved to division rear to function as a part of Headquarters
Special Troops the “entire Company Personnel Section” consisted of Sgt. Powell, five boxes of records and a
portable typewriter.
The company moved on, crossing the Moselle River the morning of the 18th of November. Shop was
set up in an abandoned jerri-can factory on the outskirts of Thionville. This area had excellent shop space with
such rare conveniences as cement floors, lights and shelter from the weather.
The Recovery Section was assigned the task of cleaning up the heavily mined areas in the division sector
East of the Moselle. A collecting point was established at Basse Yutz and a large quantity of enemy equipment
was assembled there. This included about a dozen enemy cannon, some of them heavy self-propelled weapons,
a large number of half tracks, light vehicles and a quantity of small arms. A truckload of serviceable American
ammunition and two truckloads of German ammunition was recovered and returned to the ASP for reissue.
Much of this work was done in such heavily mined areas that a large group of vehicles and cannon were
demolished beyond all repair rather than risk removing them to the collecting point.
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