He was part of the Greatest Generation. The generation that fought the Second World War, in the hope there would never be another.

Members of this generation, those who returned from the horrors of war, were often quiet about what they’d witnessed. Perhaps they were just too busy catching up with their lives back home. Most probably, though, they didn’t want to bring the trauma they’d seen back to the surface.

This may have been the case with Gary‘s uncle Vince Gudorf. When I showed Gary a photo I found on Ancestry (many thanks to Vince’s daughter-in-law Sandy for posting it), he could hardly believe it. Gary thought Vince remained stateside throughout World War II.

I reached out to Sandy and she not only confirmed her father-in-law had finished up the war overseas, she sent a narrative which included photos Vince took during those dark days.

Here are those photos, along with notes from Sandy and other sources:

Vincent Gudorf, Jr. signed his draft registration card on October 16, 1940. He was 24 years old.

Vince was the first in Harrison Township to be called up, according to the local paper. On May 12, 1941 he left for Louisville and Army training.

With training in both Kentucky and New York, Vince made it home to Indiana while on furlough. He and Mike Mehling’s oldest living daughter, Hilda, were dating.

In 1943, the newspaper reported Vince’s position rose from Staff Sergeant to Master Sergeant. In December, 1944, he was home for a 10-day furlough.

Sandy’s notes credit her brother-in-law Francis with these details:

Vince worked as a tank mechanic and was nearly deployed to Africa on three occasions before being sent to Europe. Because he worked with tanks, he was assigned to various units including the 10th Mountain Division, which was part of Patton‘s 3rd Army in Southern Germany. His longest service was as a member of the 20th Armored Division in Europe.

Vince’s parents received word in February, 1945 that he arrived in France safely (his brother Edmund was already there).

The 20th Armored Division was “a replacement training division, properly climaxed by active participation as a unit in the final drive in the defeat of Germany. Although the 20th did not write a great deal of combat history, it joined valiantly in the knockout punch against a desperate Nazism, throwing its infamous legions back to and breaking them at its citadel, the National Redoubt in the Alps.”

The above quote is from this book, published after the war. Any text in quotes used from here on are taken directly from this 20th Armored Division book.

“Each battalion in the division received specialized phases of training to enable every man to receive the best, most thorough military education at division level that could be offered, and in the shortest amount of time. A Nazi village was erected, to become daily the attack target of men learning street fighting. Close-in defense and offense with judo and the bayonet were part of this training. Tankers had specialized ranges for all types of firing and driving.”

The inside of the book includes this map of the 20th Armored Division’s trek.

Their three ships left from Boston on February 6, 1945.

Nearly two weeks later, the 20th soldiers got their first glimpse of the destruction along the beaches of France.

“Huge trucks convoyed the 20th Armored troops to the staging area near Buchy, France … some travelled at night, most travelled by day. The division stayed in Buchy for a month of training before being deemed acceptable for combat duty. Finally, orders were received – the Division was to move up to Germany, 266 miles in three days.”

This is what war looks like:

“The first obstacle in Munich proved to be a ‘slave labor’ concentration camp. Guards had already fled; rampaging inmates swarmed and cheered the Americans. The action was fast, strange. German civilians showered the column with flowers, wine, and cookies.

“A German doctor, who was a member of the Munich underground, stopped the advanced; he said a few tanks and anti-tank guns still were hidden in the city. He was riding a bicycle and said he would go out ahead as advance scout. He was such a surprise on top of everything else. They believed him. He was good to his word. The capture of Munich was led by a German medic on a bicycle. Machine gun fire and rifle fire was occasional, and swiftly silenced by counter fire. Paradox of paradoxes, while some cheered others fought. One hundred fifty American soldiers, prisoners, were also liberated.

“Then came Dachau.”

“The 20th Armored Division led the way to its capture by Infantry troops. Here was the proof of cruelty, sadism, ruthlessness, of every vision characteristic of which man can be guilty. Hardened veterans of war looked and retched. Americans caught Dachau in the middle of its macabre, ghastly work.”

“The National Redoubt in the Tyrol was still an unknown quantity, except that hundreds of enemy troops, including large numbers of SS, were retreating toward that area, once designed to be a mountain fortress for Nazidom. The Division then was given a long left hook mission of swinging east of Munich to Rosenheim and from there to Innsbruck, Austria, to block any junction of enemy troops from Italy with those from Germany.”

“New training was initiated …

” … artillery fired, and then another whoop went around the Division. It was going home. On 10 June the Division started moving by rail to Le Havre, France; on 25 July the Hermitage steamed out of Le Havre, followed three days later by the Ericsson.

“On 6 August, six months to the day, after the Division had sailed, the second boat pushed into New York harbor, past their favorite pin-up, The Statue of Liberty.”

Vince and Hilda married, settled down in Ferdinand, and raised their family. We won’t forget the sacrifice of those four years he and so many others spent in the Army, ultimately helping to liberate one of the heinous Nazi death camps.

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