Tec 5 George Sweep (17018273)

Memories of George and the search for details of his service, are described here by his nephew, Duane Sweep.

Stories my mother told …

Stories unfold in so many ways and such is the case of George Sweep, one of my uncles. His story is part of a larger, convoluted family story, but my mother told me more about him than her 10 other siblings.

I personally knew George, who spoke quietly and never spoke about the war. My mother, however, had better "war" stories about George. When visiting my grandmother's house as a young teen in the ‘60s, I went in the attic and found a standard-size Nazi flag -- the red field with white circle containing the swastika -- a Luger, a Purple Heart, and a couple other odds and ends of the detritus of war. If I had looked longer, I might have found letters that George wrote while in Europe. My grandmother had saved all of them, my mother said.

That visit was more than 50 years ago. In the '70s, while I was in the Navy, my grandmother went into a nursing home. My grandmother died in 1984 at the age 101. And I had more important matters to consider than an uncle living in the state of Washington. All that remains for me now are the questions.

My search for Uncle George is primarily selfish. I just want to know. He was one of four cousins, all young men when war spread across the globe. One of those cousins is buried in Italy and another lived through German occupation in the Netherlands. Another served aboard an LST (Landing Ship, Tank) in the Pacific Theater. Their stories are all different, but this is about George.

First, when I finally had time to begin searching for information about George, I used online resources. I found his enlistment record through the online database of the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) – December 28, 1940, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. I tracked down a nearly illegible discharge record from when he applied for a Minnesota Veteran’s Bonus. I learned he had arrived in Europe on the same date as the 4th Cavalry and that he had been an armored car driver. But, on a curious note, he was discharged from the 275th Infantry Regiment. In the fall of 2024, I finally made a trip to St. Louis, home of the National Personnel Records Center, to look at the Morning Reports of the 4th Cavalry, but that’s another story.

[Editor’s note: 4th Cavalry refers to the 4th Cavalry Group, which was activated in Britain in December 1943 and consisted of the 4th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized) and the 24th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized). Prior to this ‘4th Cavalry’ refers to the 4th Cavalry Regiment, from which the 4th Cavalry Group was organised. The various reorganisations that led to the activation of 4th Cavalry Group are described elsewhere on the site.]

Along the way, I learned that George was a T5 – or “Tech corporal,” according to my mother. He had trained at Fort Meade, South Dakota. His enlistment record verified that he enlisted specifically for the cavalry. My mother said he “loved horses.”

My mother shared numerous stories about George's time in Europe. Some of those stories I know are false, either originally told that way by George or modified by my mother. Some, however, I know to be true. I know she was tremendously proud of her brother. George, she said, would only talk about his wartime experiences if he had "had a few drinks." I've been told many combat veterans are that way.

In a nutshell, here are a few of the stories my mother told me. My comments are noted in parentheses with information about Troop C pulled from Morning Reports.

[Editor’s note: Morning Reports are administrative and personnel records maintained daily by an army unit. This project only currently has the squadron’s After Action reports, which are narrative summaries of combat operations.]

My mother said ...

George entered France after D-Day because he injured his ankle in a training accident. (There is no record of that in any of the morning reports. But he was assigned to Troop C of the 24th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized), which entered Normandy on June 15 at Ravenoville.) [Editor’s note: just north of Utah Beach]

In Normandy, some members of his unit were "crawling the walls" when they were being shelled for the first time. (I didn't see any reference to that within the morning reports, but I did read that one man of Troop C was evacuated for psychoneurosis.)

George entered Paris with his unit and women were climbing on his "scout car" and hugging and kissing him. (I don't believe the Paris part is true. For my mother, any city or village in France would be Paris. But it is possible that somewhere in France some women did climb aboard the vehicle and offered hugs and kisses.)

[Editor’s note: Duane is correct - the 24th Cav Recon did not enter Paris, but skirted the city in the race east across France]

At the start of the Battle of the Bulge troopers, including some who had just received Christmas packages, were told to drop everything and run. (I have a hard time believing this, although I'm relatively sure the trek from the Hurtgen Forest to the northwest edge of the "bulge" would have been done in a hurry.)

In the bitter winter, George wasn't cold all the time because troopers would often leave blankets in the "scout car" in the morning and extra blankets were often available to him at night. (It could be true, but I have no way of knowing.)

In Belgium or Germany, George and several troopers were scouting nighttime lodging for the outfit. While on the second floor of a building, someone shouted that a German patrol was outside. George jumped out a second-floor window into a bramble bush. He received a Purple Heart for his injuries. (Wow, right? Great story, but I don't have any faith in its veracity. I know there was a Purple Heart in the attic, but there is no record of a Purple Heart at the time of his discharge. The discharge paper does, however, note his Good Conduct Medal. As far as avoiding a German patrol by jumping into a bramble bush, that's possible, but there's no way to know.)

[Editor’s note: George does not appear in any lists of wounded in After Action reports]

George's best friend was shot and killed by a sniper in Germany near the end of the war. He "bled like a stuck pig," my mother recalled the story. As she told it, George's friend was right next to him. The death was hard on George and he had promised his friend that he would visit his family. My mother didn't know if George did. After that, she said, George hated the Germans.

During and after the war, German children would beg for chocolate from the troopers. While other troopers would give in and proffer chocolate, George refused. My mother said, "All George could see is that they would grow up and do it all again." (Of all the stories, I have no doubt that this is true.)

And just a couple notes.

I finally found George in a Morning Report of Troop C, 24th Cavalry Squadron, in on a date in late December 1943. He and a few others went on a 3-day furlough. The Morning Report noted their absence and a subsequent Morning Report noted their return.

I was curious why George was discharged from the 275th Infantry Regiment. In October 1945 George and many other troopers and soldiers were due to be discharged. Records of the 275th, available online, indicate receipt of many of those men that fall. George went with the 275th to New York and George went on to Wisconsin.

I had always wondered what a "scout car" was. Most often I thought of it as a Jeep. But then I read his discharge paper, where it indicated armored car driver, and then, in some paperwork I received from the Veterans Administration, he's identified as a Troop C armored car driver. Ever a skeptic, I Googled “mechanized cavalry scout car” and the first things that pop up are references to a M3A1 or M8 armored car.

George died in September 1993 at the age of 75 in the state of Washington. My mother died in 2000 at the age of 90.

With thanks to Duane Sweep, whose research continues.

George Sweep was born on April 20 1918, in Minnesota. He died on September 19 1993, in Washington State.