Anderson Marion Pinky

MARION “PINKY” ANDERSON entered service on May 8, 1942, departing from Red Oak, Iowa, by bus from the Hotel Johnson and arriving at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa, for shots, haircut, clothing, etc.
Basic training was at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. He participated in maneuvers in Tennessee and then went to Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. While at Ft. Knox, he was in the 8th Armored Division. Later, he transferred to the 750th Tank Battalion and served in the European Theatre. He participated in the Rhineland Campaign and the Ardennes Campaign (Battle of the Bulge), receiving two Bronze Battle Stars. He also received the Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds sustained in Cologne, Germany. This was his last action as the war in Europe ended before he recovered. He returned to his unit on July 6, 1945. The 750th was attached to the Occupational Forces in Berlin, Germany. He returned to the U.S. and was discharged from Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, on January 17, 1946. His military occupation was gunner on a medium Sherman Tank.

Length of service: two years and eight months.

While stationed at Ft. Knox, he was in the tank destroyer unit as a tester, conducting complete trials of weapons to find and remedy flaws. Tests were made for strength, stability, new types of treads, and various tank engines. Tank testers operated 40 M-1 General Sherman Tanks continuously, 24 hours a day, six days a week. Members of the testing crews became attached to the “lumbering blitzbuggies.” Pools were run to back the performance of favorite tanks, with prizes for the tank that ran the most mileage with the fewest breakdowns during a specified time.

Rank at discharge: Buck Private.

Civilian occupation: Parts manager for Ford dealerships in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Downey, California; part owner of Anderson Bros. Ford in Shenandoah, Iowa. He retired from Smith Ford in Garden Grove, California, in 1986 as parts manager and lives in California.