Sgt. Henry Lynch (H.L.) "Gunny" Gunlock

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GandalfnWhite	Sgt. Henry Lynch (H.L.) "Gunny" Gunlock	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1 (01/29/08 17:53:14) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None Greetings, My Uncle is H.L. Gunlock who is 85 and still going strong. All of my life I have wanted him to tell me about his war experiences. My Dad (his youngest brother) says that he hasn't hardly ever discussed them even long before I was born. However, MY son had a project at school and wrote about my Uncle from what scant info we had. I called my Uncle and had my son with me on speaker phone. To my utter astonishment, Uncle Shell (as family know him) said he would be delighted if my son and I came to visit with him and he would tell us anything we wanted to know. I'm just on the fringes of learning about his experiences and with much gratitude to Mr. Steve Cole, have learned about two of his friends who were with him - Private Jimmy Hill and Sgt. Orby Ledbetter. I just got off the phone with Mr. Ledbetter and what a fantastic thrill! Not only was he with my Uncle during the War, he grew up near his hometown and knew my Granny very well! He even knew my own Dad when "he was a squirt". What an honor and a privilege. He has invited me to visit with him next month and I'm taking tape recorder and son in tow. So... that's my introduction here. I'll catch up with you all after I've spent some days reading here. I've been a WWII buff for years and must confess feel like I'm about to walk through a sacred journey in living history. Maybe that sounds strange, I dunno.. all I know is that somewhere in my life I found within myself an enormous amount of gratitude and respect for these men. Any time I meet a Vet these words come to mind, "Greater love hath no man than that he would give up his life for his friend." I have just longed for this for soooooo many years. Forgive me if I sound gushing. I'm just really excited about the opportunities I'm about to experience, and plan to forward to my son so that the Greatest Generation will live long after we are all gone. Nobility and honor cannot die. Thanks, Joseph Gunlock
Thriver	Company & Unit?	#1	[-]
Posts: 180 (01/29/08 19:41:56) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Dear Joseph: What Company/Unit was your uncle in? Example: F-142nd Thriver
pstickle	36th History	#2	[-]
Posts: 5 (01/29/08 20:12:18) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Joseph, Yes, indeed, you are headed for an incredible journey of learning about the history of your Uncle. Please post what unit he was in, as that will help with research. I know Orby from years of reunions........can't remember what unit. I can feel your excitement and quest to learn as much as possible..........you are in the right place on this website. There are many of us that work together to piece these puzzles together, and we all learn from each piece. We will help all that we can.........WELCOME! pstickle Daughter of T Patcher William G. "Gregg" Wiley, 141st I
chowhndjr	Sgt. Henry Lynch (H.L.) Gunny Gunlock	#3	[-]
Posts: 94 (01/29/08 20:15:14) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Joseph, It's great that you are going to get your Uncle's story. He served in L-Co 142nd Inf. Regiment. He may have been one of the original members of that out fit, that made the Invasion at Salerno Italy (9/9/43). My Dad, James Kennedy, came to L-Co as a replacement in Italy along with his friend S-Sgt Joseph "Dick" Gallaher, both from Elkton Md. I have posted Sgt. Gallaher's DSC citation on this site, maybe your Uncle recalls the Maryland T-Patchers. You may also want to ask him if he knew Homer Wise who served in L-Co and was the holder of the M.O.H. The new T-Patch news letter has a nice article on Herman Rosenthal, the company runner for L-142, he used to go to the reunions down in Breckenridge for L-Co. It would be great to see your Uncle's story here or in the T-Patch news letter. Best Regards Bob K
GandalfnWhite		#4	[-]
Posts: 2 (01/30/08 03:27:59) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Bob K, Thank you for the response. L company sounds right. I've got it written on a sticky amongst piles of paperwork here that I am going to go through tomorrow. I do know from Mr. Ledbetter that they were both Sgt's in close proximity. I need to do a lot of study to understand units, companies, etc. After speaking with him I realized that I'm not nearly proficient in understanding the breakdown and other things as well. I'm going to do some major study before I meet him. I will definitely be sharing all the info I glean and will bring up the gentlemen you have mentioned. One place I also plan to visit is Camp Mabry here in Austin which is supposed to have a lot of memorability and tanks, jeeps etc from the 36th. Mr. Ledbetter also mentioned that he has over 70 tapes sent to him which he solicited stories from men who were there. I don't know how to do it yet, but I plan to transfer them to digital so I can post them somewhere for all to enjoy. I may even take a video camera if he doesn't object. One thing that my Dad has cautioned me on is to not be too pushy and allow the gentlemen to offer what info is comfortable to them. I know they've seen and experienced hell on earth. On a side note, my Uncle was severely wounded by a dud shell which hit a large rock which flew into my Uncle's leg and broke it pretty badly. I believe it was during a charge on Monte Cassini but I'm going to confirm everything. He's always had problems with that leg and thus back problems which have become quite severe in recent years. My Dad told me that he and his wife Tilly (my Aunt and a saint of a woman) used to attend reunions but since she passed he hasn't gone much. I'm hoping to talk him into the reunion at Corpus Christi in September and take my son so we can just sit and listen. Thanks again and I will definitely use your info and get all the stories I can about their deeds. Mr. Ledbetter is also going to get me on the list for the newsletter. Thank you, Joseph
pstickle	Gunlock @ Altavilla, Italy	#5	[-]
Posts: 6 (01/30/08 04:34:02) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	In glancing through some of my scanned articles, I couldn't believe it, but Henry Gunlock, 142 L, wrote his story of being in the battle of Altavilla for the 36th Quarterlies. This was, as all of them, a big battle on a mountain top in the tiny village of Altavilla, Italy. I have been there several times, and it is now a beautiful village, so peaceful with wonderful people. From what I have read about the war, this was certainly a hell on earth in Sept. of 1943. This is where Commando Kelly earned his MOH. I can share the article with you, along with photos of current day. The Mayor and citizens have always welcomed us, family and veterans, with open arms of friendship and gratefulness. pstickle Daughter of T Patcher William G. "Gregg" Wiley, 141st I pgs@satx.rr.com
chowhndjr		#6	[-]
Posts: 95 (01/30/08 09:44:01) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	It's wonderful that Mr. Ledbetter collected so many of the histories of the veterans. Would be great to see transcripts of them at some point. I think my dad came to L-Co in February or March of 44 probably after your Uncle Henry was wounded. Looking forward to your future posts. Best regards to you and your Uncle Henry Bob K p.s. there is a brief break down of the elements of the 36th on one of the posts, finding it may require some luck.
Custermen	Jimmy Hill	#7	[-]
Posts: 63 (01/30/08 16:57:44) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I'm just on the fringes of learning about his experiences and with much gratitude to Mr. Steve Cole, have learned about two of his friends who were with him - Private Jimmy Hill and Sgt. Orby Ledbetter. Joseph, I totally freaked out when I received your email. It is a delight to make the connection with my Uncle Jimmy Hill. And it is good to hear about your contact with Mr. Ledbetter and that he is doing well. My contact with Mr. Ledbetter was the result of pstickle's leg-work at the reunions. From one reunion, she gave me 5 names of Veterans who could have served with my uncle or were a prisoner with him. You have my number, so give me a call and maybe I can fill in with more names from Sgt. Ledbetter's squad. Steve, aka Custermen
rshrewsbury	Gunny	#8	[-]
Posts: 3 (01/31/08 17:16:43) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	My dad was in the 1st platoon of L-142 and remembers a lot of the guys that were written about....His name is Roy Shrewsbury and he will be 83 his birthday and is still going strong like Gunny....He has shared a lot of his war memories with me and i can only say they were all a heroic bunch of guys.... Roy Shrewsbury, II
chowhndjr	Re: Sgt. Henry Lynch (H.L.) "Gunny" Gunlock	#9	[-]
Posts: 96 (02/02/08 15:24:04) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Roy, I didn't see your dad's name in last years 36th ID Associaton membership directory. Does he know about the 36th Division Association ? It would be great to have his story here or in the historical quarterly. It would be neat to find out if he knew either on of the elkton md T.Patchers. Your father is listed on P.86 of the 1945/46 roster, Shrewsbury Roy E. S-Sgt. Hinton W.Va. Regards, Bob (Son of James Kennedy L-142nd) chowhndjr @ aol.com Last Edited By: chowhndjr 02/03/08 06:16:22. Edited 1 times.
GandalfnWhite	pstickle !	#10	[-]
Posts: 3 (02/04/08 18:58:37) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I can share the article with you, along with photos of current day. The Mayor and citizens have always welcomed us, family and veterans, with open arms of friendship and gratefulness. Holy @!$% I would LOVE that. My email is gandalfngrey@aol.com and I'll send you an email as well. Two unfortunates: I've had to put off my visit with Mr. Ledbetter probably till next month, but I have purchased a digital voice recorder so that when I do see him I'm going to try to get all the tapes he has onto mp3 so I can share with you guys. The other unfortunate is that my Dad saw my Uncle Henry this past week at a funeral and he's not doing too well. He's had chronic back problems all his life from the wound and its gotten really bad. Plus Dad said that his memory is starting to fade. I was hoping to pick him up and take him to the next reunion but I don't think he's up to it. Since I found Steve and you guys I've been sharing with my Dad and he's finally starting to talk about what he knows too. My family is so weird, I don't get all the secrecy. I have to drag info from our family past out like bent nails (maybe it's our German genes.. oops...) . He said that Uncle H.L. and his wife Tilly used to host the reunions for many years at Breckenridge, Tx. Anyways... rambling again. Ya'll will have to be patient with me in catching up on the whole story and everything, I'll get there. I'm just so glad I didn't wait too long to get pushy with getting my Uncle to talk. I seem to be the only kid in all our families getting going on this whole thing while our Uncle is still with us. Not just war stories, but a whole lot of family history is going to pass when he passes. I haven't found anyone other than H.L. that can trace us further than his Dad, Chief. Apparently Chief and his brother ran away from a military school in Alabama after beating up the headmaster or something. SIGH! DEFinately looking forward to the article! Thanks, Joseph Last Edited By: GandalfnWhite 02/04/08 19:31:56. Edited 1 times.

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Sgt. Henry Lynch (H.L.) "Gunny" Gunlock

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