1st. Sgt. Walter Petrovich was the First Sergeant of HQ Company, 3rd Battalion, 36th Infantry.  The caption on this photo and most of those following was added by his mother after he sent these photos home.  This photo shows a view of the castle in Stolberg, Germany.  Identification of the location of this photo by Timm Haasler.  Click HERE to see what the castle looks like now.
Among 1st. Sgt. Petrovich's memorabilia, are copies of 500 wartime photos taken by Captain John Metcalfe of 36th Armored Infantry Regiment.  Click HERE for a link to the Metcalfe  photos.
Headquarters, 3rd Battalion,
36th Armored Infantry,
3rd Armored Division
Route of the 36th Armored Infantry from Omaha Beach inland, July 1944.  This map belonged to First Sergeant Walter Petrovich, First Sergeant of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment.  Scan of map provided by his son Ron Petrovich, and used with his permission.
Scans of portions of the handwritten ledgers kept by 1st. Sgt. Petrovich showing information regarding those members of the 3rd Battalion HQ Company Killed In Action (KIA).  Used by permission of Ron Petrovich.
Portions of 1st. Sgt. Petrovich's hand-written ledger containing the names of those soldiers of his company who were Wounded In Action.  Used by permission of Ron Petrovich.

Among 1st. Sgt. Petrovich's memorabilia, are copies of 500 wartime photos taken by Captain John Metcalfe of 36th Armored Infantry Regiment.  Click HERE for a link to the Metcalfe  photos.
1st. Sgt. Petrovich's map showing the route into Cologne, Germany in red.
First Sergeant Walter Petrovich, Headquarters Company,   3rd Battalion, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, World War II
Photo taken in late 1941 or 1942.  Used by permission of Ron Petrovich.
Portion of 1st. Sgt. Petrovich's ledger showing the names of three personnel captured by the Germans, and a brief description of the circumstances surrounding their capture.  Used by permission of Ron Petrovich.
This photo was found among 1st Sgt Petrovich's photo collection, and shows a a German Luftwaffe (Air Force) ceremony of some sort.  Based on the type of aircraft and their markings, this photo was taken pre-war or very early in the war.

First Sergeant and Mrs. Petrovich on their wedding day.  Walter and Amelia were married on May 2, 1942 in the post chapel at Camp Polk, Louisiana.  Amelia worked in a war plant in the Los Angeles, California area while her husband served overseas.
Above is a photo of a small (approx. 19-1/2" x 38-3/4") flag that is signed by members of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment.  The circumstances of the flag's capture are unknown.
A closer view of the left side of the flag.
A closer view of the right side of the flag.
List of names of the soldiers who signed the flag:

James I. Ackerman, S/Sgt, 705 Hollywood Drive, Monroe, Michigan

Henry F. Anderson, T/5, 6495 Venice Ave,  Detroit, Michigan

Lucian J. Andrle, T/Sgt, 384 16th St.,   Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Harold A. Brown, 1st Lt., 1437 Chestnut St.,  San Francisco, Ca

Joseph S. Candileri, Pfc., 1932 W. 7th St., Brooklyn, N.Y.

DeWitt D. Cole Jr ,  1st Lt., RR 2,   Lafayette, Indiana

Gilbert Doyle, T/5,  Merrryville,  Louisiana

Joel Grunin ,Savannah GA  Not Listed

James R. Hargrove, Pfc., Mayfield KY

James Leonard, Jr., Pfc., 314 S. Livington St.,   Brookfield, Missouri

Thomas McGrail, Waterbury Conn  - Not Listed in 36th AIR Personnel Directory

John T. McNamara, Pfc., Whaneta Lane, Lincoln Park, NJ

Gordon D. Miller, Sgt., 2715 13th St., Two Rivers, Wisconsin

Howard A. Ramsey, Pfc., Free Port,  Maine

Frederick G. Reinbolt Reinbolt, Sgt., 821 Robiossn St., North Tonawanda, N.Y.

Walter Ross, Lynn, Mass  - Not Listed in 36th AIR Personnel Directory

Lawrence B. See, Sgt., 234 56th St.,  West New York, New Jersey

Lester F. Siewert , Stevensville Michigan  - Not Listed in 36th AIR Personnel Directory

Lawrence Staples, Pfc., Rt. 1, Munfordville, KY

Note:  Full names, ranks and hometown addresses are taken from the 36th AIR Personnel Directory, published in November 1945.  There are a few inconsistencies between the information or names as written on the flag and as published in the 36th AIR Personnel Directory. In the event of such an inconsistency, the information listed is taken from what was written on the flag by the soldier himself.


Above is a scan of the typewritten enlisted personnel roster of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment.  This roster was kept by 1st. Sgt. Walter Petrovich, and is shown here with the permission of his son, Ron Petrovich.
Photos below are from the Petrovich family photo albums:
1st. Sgt. Walter Petrovich was the First Sergeant of HQ Company, 3rd Battalion, 36th Infantry.  The caption on this photo and most of those following was added by his mother after he sent these photos home.  This photo shows a view of the castle in Stolberg, Germany.  Identification of the location of this photo by Timm Haasler.  Click HERE to see what the castle looks like now.

First Sergeant Walter Petrovich standing in front of a knocked out German Panther tank with an American jeep in the background.  According to historian and author Timm Haasler:  "This picture is showing Panther 132 of Panzer-Brigade 105 which was lost in September 1944 in Münsterbusch west of Stolberg. The tank was under the command of 1st Lt. Crisandt, the company commander of the 1st Company on the day when it was damaged by tanks of the 3rd US Arm Div. With no chance to recover the tank, Crisandt blew up his tank and managed to reach the German lines together with his crew. Crisandt later died during the Battle of the Bulge as a company commander of Panzer-Regiment 33, 9th Panzer-Division."
Unidentified 36th Armored Infantry Regiment officers.
German prisoners pass a 36th Armored Infantry Infantry Regiment half-track as they are escorted to the rear.  This photo and the two following appear to be taken in the same vicinity.  Location unknown, but probably somewhere in France.
Major Ernest P. Segalla and First Sergeant Walter Petrovich.  Location unknown.
First Sergeant Walter Petrovich stands atop one of the "dragon's teeth" of the Siegfied Line.  Soldier to the left is unidentified.  Location is believed to be in the vicinity of Buesbach or Muensterbusch.  Location information provided by Timm Haasler.
German dead and a shot-up German truck.  Location unknown, but probably somewhere in France.
A closer view of the photo above.
First Sergeant Walter Petrovich stands in front of a damaged building.  According to author and historian Timm Haasler:  "This picture is showing the factory near Diepenlinchen, which formed the border between the Germans and the Americans for almost three month. It was used by the Americans as an observation post."

First Sergeant Walter Petrovich rides in a jeep while escorting a captured German general.
German Kar-98K Mauser rifle captured by 1st. Sgt. Petrovich.  He took it from a German prisoner in the vicinity of Stolberg, Germany in 1944.  The plaque contains information about its capture.  This rifle remains in the Petrovich family.
This photo shows an assortment of items from 1st. Sgt. Petrovich's collection.  At the top left are his copies of the booklets "Call Me Spearhead" and "Spearhead in the West."  These booklets were printed by the division at the end of the war and present a brief history of the division's operations in Europe.

Below the booklets is a Luftwaffe dress dagger that 1st. Sgt. Petrovich picked up somewhere in Germany.  Below the dagger is an individual cleaning kit for the Kar-98K rifle that was taken as the same time as the rifle pictured above.

In the center at the top is a German soldier's whip.  These were designed to beat the dirt out of uniforms, blankets, etc., but may have been used for more gruesome purposes.  This one was found in the German guards barracks at the Nordhausen concentration camp by 1st. Sgt. Petrovich.

In the center at the bottom is a bayonet for a French Lebel rifle that 1st. Sgt. Petrovich acquired during the advance through France.

To the right of the whip is a German dress bayonet, and to the right of the bayonet is a German ration book.  Below the ration book are some German Reichsmarks, and at the bottom are German medals that were relieved from a German officer after the Battle of the Bulge. 

The flag was also acquired by 1st. Sgt. Petrovich, but the exact circumstances of its capture are unknown.
This flag was still flying over a German schoolhouse when 3rd Battalion, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment took over the schoolhouse to use as a headquarters.  Some of the men of the company pulled the flag down, and presented it to 1st. Sgt. Petrovich.  The flag measures approximately 6-1/2 feet by 10-1/2 feet, and is being held up by two of 1st. Sgt. Petrovich's grandchildren in this photo.