SIGNED privately printed 3RD DIVISION WW2 ETO VET BOOK 15TH REGIMENT shirley For Sale

SIGNED privately printed 3RD DIVISION WW2 ETO VET BOOK 15TH REGIMENT shirley
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SIGNED privately printed 3RD DIVISION WW2 ETO VET BOOK 15TH REGIMENT shirley:
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SIGNED privately printed 3RD DIVISION WW2 ETO VET BOOK 15TH REGIMENT shirley SIGNED privately printed 3RD DIVISION WW2 ETO VET BOOK 15TH REGIMENT shirley

I REMEMBER:

COMPANY L, 15TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, 3RD DIVISION

By John Shirley - SIGNED BY AUTHOR 

Printed in 2014

94 Pages  - Softcover (9 inches / 23 cm tall)

CONDITION: Very good, bit of storage wear to cover. 

Author\'s recent obituary:

Dr. John B. Shirley passed away on Dec. 22, 2021, in Livermore, California at the age of 97 years, surrounded by family and his faithful care companion.

There will be a celebration of life ceremony for John and Helen at the Barbara Mertes Center for the Performing Arts main stage on the campus of Las Positas College in Livermore, California on June 5, at 1:30 p.m., doors open at 1 p.m.

As a native of Southern California, he grew up during the great depression on a five acre orange orchard and large chicken ranch. They were never without food and fed many neighbors and the homeless. John was involved with 4-H, FFA and worked a newspaper route for six years. He said that he didn’t have time for sports in high school because he was always working. He attended Newport Harbor High School graduating in 1942.

John was drafted into the U.S. Army in March 1943 and promoted to corporal at the end of his basic training. He then was sent to Artillery Officer Candidate School where he was promoted to Sergeant. In early 1944, he was sent overseas as an infantry replacement and joined the 15th Infantry Regiment of the Third Infantry Division. During the invasion at Anzio-Nettuno, he served as Squad Leader, Platoon Sergeant, and acting Platoon Leader. Following the liberation of Italy, John was sent along with other Allied troops with his platoon to France, where he participated in the Southern Landing (D-Day) on the Côte d’Azur in France on August 15, 1944. This was the second major assault against the Germans following D-Day at Normandy Beach with the British, French, Dutch, and U.S. all part of this historic event. From this point on, the Allies beat back the Germans from the Mediterranean to the Black Forest in Germany.

On Dec. 22, seventy seven years to the day of his passing, as he was helping to liberate the village of Bennwihr in the Alsace he was wounded and taken h hostage. He freed himself and made his way to safety where he was successfully treated in hospitals in both Paris and London. He returned to his platoon in early March 1945 and continued the fight in Germany. On May 5, 1945, men of the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division raised the American flag over Berchtesgarden, Hitler’s mountain retreat in Austria. The war was over for the Third Division, and VE day followed on May 8.

In 1944, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant and then to Sergeant First Class. In April of 1945 John was awarded a battlefield commission to 2nd Lt. and served as a Platoon Leader and Company Commander in L company, 15th Infantry Regiment in occupied Germany.

He was a decorated veteran and was distinguished for his efforts in battle. He received the Silver Star for Valor, Two Bronze stars with Oak Leaf Cluster, a “V” for valor device, a Purple Heart (for the “million-dollar wound” which removed him from three month of hard winter fighting), and the European Theater Operation Medal with six campaign stars and a bronze arrowhead for one invasion. Last but not least, he also received the French Fouragère de Guerre. John describes his battles in the book he wrote called, I Remember - Stories of a Combat Infantryman in WWII.

On the award letter from Major General John W. O’Daniel in reference to the Bronze Star Medal dated Nov. 10, 1944, he wrote: “Under the provisions of Army Regulations 600-45, you are awarded the Bronze Star medal for valorous conduct in action against the enemy:

JOHN B SHIRLEY, 39 569 575, Staff Sergeant, Infantry, Company “I”, 15th Infantry Regiment. For valorous conduct in action against the enemy. On 28 September 1944, at about 0730 hours, staff Sergeant SHIRLEY rushed from the cover of a house to place a Browning Automatic Rifle in position and fire on an enemy machine gun that was preventing the withdrawal of his platoon from a burning building near, *** France.

Although small arms fire from the main body of Germans came so close as to rip his clothing, Staff Sergeant SHIRLEY silenced the machine gun, and then remained in this position for ten minutes covering the withdrawal of the entire platoon. Residence: Costa Mesa, California.”

John arrived home in 1945 on Christmas Eve as a 21year old Second Lieutenant.

John’s mother passed away years before and when his father passed away in 1949, he was 25 years old and in college studying to become a veterinarian. He had survived WWII and now dealt with new challenges as he negotiated the sale of the family farm and took legal custody of his youngest sister Annette. His other sister Wilda was in college, and he helped her with tuition. When she graduated college, together they helped Annette with her college expenses. His younger sisters looked up to him as he was like a father to them in many respects. When both sisters became engaged, he made sure those fellows were worthy of marrying his sisters! They remained a very close, loving family their whole lives.

During college years at UC Davis, he met and married Helen, a beautiful young lady who captured his heart. They lived in family housing on campus and enjoyed college life and the surrounding countryside. John graduated in 1952 with the first class of Veterinarians. All the students were WWII veterans except one and the average age was thirty years old.


After college they made their way to Livermore in 1954 where they continued to grow their family of five children. John and Helen worked hard to start his veterinary clinic. Helen was the receptionist, bookkeeper, and vet tech in the converted garage on their rental property on 3rd Street. Their first reception desk was a wood bar covered with rancher’s brands seared into the wood. After their third child was born, Helen became a full time mom and left the office work to the new office manager/vet tech who also doubled as the babysitter.

John was a very successful veterinarian and built the first animal hospital in Livermore in 1957. He was a large and small animal vet and knew most of the ranchers the in community. One rancher said that when he was 18 years old, he had a calf that needed a doctor, so he called the new vet in town. John came out, they hopped on horses, John took his lariat and roped the calf at full speed, jumped off and performed field surgery on the spot. That 18 year old was mighty impressed with the new vet! All the ranchers called him Doc Shirley. He left a wake of clients who have fond memories and stories of him as their veterinarian and friend. He was also an accomplished orthopedic surgeon and performed surgeries that others would not try. His peers referred their most difficult cases to him. A very good friend said “John is the best veterinarian I have ever known and the best friend I have ever had. Not only was he caring and honest in his practice, but he was also a magnificent surgeon performing procedures none of us would have ever had the courage to try.”

He held many positions over the years in the veterinary field beginning as the first President of the American Veterinary Medical Assn. Student chapter at UC Davis and President of the Senior Veterinary class. One of his favorite vet clubs was the Ski Tippers. They were members of the Sierra Veterinary Medical Assoc and would meet every year at different ski resorts in the country or abroad for continuing education and of course fantastic skiing. A highlight of the trips were the costume parties and John always had a good one. He loved parties!


He was the Mayor of Livermore from 1963 to 1965 and served on the city council, from 1958-1966. His memoirs were written in his second book, I Remember, Stories of a Small Town Politician in Livermore in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Over the years, John was involved with city planning and beautification, the airport, the sewage treatment plant, the railroad bed underpasses, water management, the library, parks, the schools, the Russian Rotarian Sister City, all aspects of veterinary medicine, societies and education, and many veterans activities and organizations, all of these as an officer and recognized leader. In each position he held, he brought fairness, compassion, kindness, honesty and warmth to the table and secured friends in each endeavor.

He mentored new and seasoned politicians and if you had his endorsement, you had a good chance of winning. He was a giant of a man in personality, kindness, and compassion. One of his friends said, “John Shirley is a signature of approval in Livermore, a name that is associated with fairness, intelligence, curiosity, hard work, and achievement, with effective authority, tempered by a wonderful sense of humor and a twinkle in his eyes.”

On July 13, 2019, the City of Livermore honored John by naming the new city council chambers after him. Dr. John Shirley City Council Chamber. John was very humbled by this honor but enjoyed all the attention! It was a highlight of his life. A selection of John’s plaques and awards in addition to a shadow box replication of his war medals created by his grandnephew, are on display here.

John was a lifelong member of The Rotary Club of Livermore and was the President from 1967-1968. As a member, he was a Paul Harris and Circle of Giving fellow many times over, the model for and first recipient of the Club’s most prestigious honor, the John Shirley Excep-tional Service Award. His leadership skills were invaluable as he led uncountable projects from the Rodeo Stadium Lighting to the Carnegie Bandstand. In 2006 Rotary elected John as the Grand Marshal of the Rodeo Parade. In cowboy fashion he rode a horse to the delight of the towns people! His fellow Rotarian said “John is a man of involvement, exuberance, humor, ideas, daring, amazing energy, good will, and optimism. He is a spirited adventurer who is a good friend to all of us, a person whom we admire and love, whom we are very proud to honor and show in our Rodeo Parade, Our Grand Marshal, John Shirley”.

He always attended city council meetings, chamber of commerce meetings, he was the president of the Livermore Valley Opera, and a member of the Livermore Symphony Association. John loved performing arts and you would find him in the VIP lounge at the Bankhead Theatre before performances visiting with friends.

John loved sports and became an accomplished snow skier, mountain climber, tennis player and loved to play golf with his friends. When asked about mountain climbing, he said “When I was 63 years old, I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, a few years later I did four trekking peaks in Nepal, I climbed Mt. Shasta four times always on the north side over glaciers, Mt. Whitney four times and always in one day except the first time. The last time I climbed I was seventy seven years old”. He did each of these climbs with family and friends and was such an inspiration to all of them. John was also an excellent, instrument-rated pilot having many adventures with his family or friends. He said, “You can be a bad golfer, skier, or tennis player, but you have to be a good pilot.”

John joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1954, the same year he moved to Livermore. From 1960 to 2002 he participated in the firing squad wherein they honor their fallen comrades with a 21-gun salute every Memorial Day at three separate cemeteries in Livermore. Starting in 2002 until 2017, John was the Commander of the firing squad leading them in a precise 21-gun salute. He loved putting on his VFW cap, covered with pins and medals and joining his friends down at the VFW hall for their weekly meeting and a friendly game of poker. If he saw that you didn’t know how to salute, he would give you a lesson on the “correct way”. He loved singing “The Dog Face Soldier”, the Third Infantry Divisions’ famous song that identified them as tough and resilient soldiers. He said that every morning at roll call, twenty thousand men would exercise and sing this song together.

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