Leland Lamar Sparkman enlisted at Camp Shelby, Mississippi on October 16, 1940. between He was described as 5’6 with short brown hair. He was a little under average weighing 152 pounds. He trained as part of the 750th Tank Battalion after its conception in 1943 at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
The 750th Tank Battalion trained as a tank battalion and took extensive field tests on the new equipment being evaluated by the AFB(Armored Force Board). Because of this, the members of the Battalion did not receive the proper standard training needed, but went to battle none the less. Almost all of the Battalion’s meals during training consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and water. In January of 1944, the Battalion stopped at Fort Jackson, South Carolina for additional training in sea traversal and operations. Then the Battalion sailed for Europe.
The 750th Tank Battalion shipped out of the United States on the September 16, 1944 headed towards Europe. They arrived on the Omaha beachhead on the September 25, 1944, set up camp waiting to be deployed. The 750th landed in France October 3, 1944 but wasn't attached to any other units until November 16. Most, if not all, of this period, would have been devoted to orientation, training, and fitting out.
The Timberwolves were an infantry division attached to the 750th Battalion from November 16, 1944, to December 15, 1944. They helped the 750th along the “Seigfried Line” to Roer. Major General Terry Allen of the 104th had this statement when asked about the 750th, “The services of the 750th Tank Battalion with this division have been characterized by the highest degree of cheerful cooperation, of unselfish devotion to duty and by the greatest degree of élan and true combat efficiency. We consider the 750th Tank Battalion as being a tried and true Timber Wolf unit."
The 750th moved throughout the western front on the "Siegfried Line." It was a town by town offensive drive to the Roer River near Aachen on the Western front. The journey along the "Siegfried line" was one of constant battle. They were a prominent battalion in The Battle of the Bulge and had the least amount of vehicles abandoned as a tank battalion in all of WWII. The Battalion went on to be part of "The drive for Cologne", in which the Battalion made successful attacks against bases at Komsdorf, Weiden, Widdersdorf, Lovenich, and Jungersdorf on their way towards Cologne.
The 750th Tank Battalion trained as a tank battalion and took extensive field tests on the new equipment being evaluated by the AFB(Armored Force Board). Because of this, the members of the Battalion did not receive the proper standard training needed, but went to battle none the less. Almost all of the Battalion’s meals during training consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and water. In January of 1944, the Battalion stopped at Fort Jackson, South Carolina for additional training in sea traversal and operations. Then the Battalion sailed for Europe.
The 750th Tank Battalion shipped out of the United States on the September 16, 1944 headed towards Europe. They arrived on the Omaha beachhead on the September 25, 1944, set up camp waiting to be deployed. The 750th landed in France October 3, 1944 but wasn't attached to any other units until November 16. Most, if not all, of this period, would have been devoted to orientation, training, and fitting out.
The Timberwolves were an infantry division attached to the 750th Battalion from November 16, 1944, to December 15, 1944. They helped the 750th along the “Seigfried Line” to Roer. Major General Terry Allen of the 104th had this statement when asked about the 750th, “The services of the 750th Tank Battalion with this division have been characterized by the highest degree of cheerful cooperation, of unselfish devotion to duty and by the greatest degree of élan and true combat efficiency. We consider the 750th Tank Battalion as being a tried and true Timber Wolf unit."
The 750th moved throughout the western front on the "Siegfried Line." It was a town by town offensive drive to the Roer River near Aachen on the Western front. The journey along the "Siegfried line" was one of constant battle. They were a prominent battalion in The Battle of the Bulge and had the least amount of vehicles abandoned as a tank battalion in all of WWII. The Battalion went on to be part of "The drive for Cologne", in which the Battalion made successful attacks against bases at Komsdorf, Weiden, Widdersdorf, Lovenich, and Jungersdorf on their way towards Cologne.