Arthur Forsman

ASN: 36413813

Arthur John Forsman registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. Born March 24, 1918, he was from Paavola, Michigan. This twenty-two-year-old was 5-11, 170 pounds with a light complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. There were no identifying marks listed on his registration card.

Enlisted in the Army on December 21, 1942, Forsman received his training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and later assigned to A-Battery, 319th Field Artillery Group, 82nd Airborne Division.

Along with fellow Glidermen of the 319th, Private Forsman sailed to North Africa on the SS Santa Rosa arriving in May 1943.

World War II Draft Card (front)

World War II Draft Card (reverse)

Company Morning Reports were produced every morning by the individual Army units to record personnel matters. (see below) The following events were reported for PVT Forsman:

On June 15, 1944, he was reported injured/wounded in action on June 6, 1944.
July 5, 1944, PVT Forsman was reported as a battle casualty and transferred to the hospital.
The January 9, 1945, report lists PVT Forsman promoted to Private First Class effective January 1, 1945.
March 10, 1945, from duty to absent sick, a non-battle casualty and returning to duty on April 17, 1945.

Company Morning Reports

Billy Cadle, Bart Plassa, Bob Rappi, Hjalmar Olkonen, Arthur Forsman, Paul Massie (standing L-R) John Girardin (kneeling) January 1944 - Camp Ballyscullion, Northern Ireland

Arthur Forsman - Epinal, France - June 1945

Photos courtesy of John Girardin and Joseph Covais, author of BATTERY

Charles Grigus (L-R), Wilford Shanks, Arthur Forsman

PFC Forsman fought in seven (6) battles and campaigns; Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes and Central Europe.

PFC Forsman was a battle casualty resulting from the A-Battery glider landing (Mission Elmira) on D-Day. He received a Purple Heart for a compound radius fracture and was one of sixteen enlisted men evacuated to a hospital in England

He recovered from his injuries and returned to duty as an Anti-tank Gun Crewman, MOS 531.

PFC Arthur Forsman was awarded 6 Bronze Battle Stars, Bronze Arrowhead, Good Conduct Medal, the Belgian Fourragere, Presidential Unit Citation Badge, Glider Badge, Purple Heart, Victory Ribbon, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theatre Ribbon.

Arthur Forsman appeared in the A-Battery group photo taken June 20, 1945, in Epinal, France and with fellow soldiers (see inset above) from his gun section.

The Adjusted Service Rating Score (ASR) was a system the US Army used at the end of the war to determine when soldiers were eligible for discharge. PFC Forsman was one of many “High Point” soldiers with a score over 85 points who returned to the USA arriving in Boston, Massachusetts on September 14, 1945.

Arthur John Forsman, 81, died April 4, 1999. God Bless this hero.

STL Archive Records