82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion

The battalion mainly used the M-8 Light Armored Car, as it was fast, up to 56 mph (90 km/h), and gave some protection from small arms fire.

From Omaha Beach the battalion pushed through the Cherbourg peninsula and secured bridge across the Seine River.

Early September 1944 near Maastricht, Netherlands, the battalion crossed over the Maas (Meuse), near Sittard.

For bravery in the drive from April 3-17, 1945, from the Rhine through the Westphalia plains to the Elbe at Schönebeck, the 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion received the Presidential Unit Citation.

From May 7, 1945, to January 1, 1946, the 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion moved into occupation roles, including serving among the first U.S. forces to occupy Berlin.

On January 21, 1946, the battalion was shipped from Calais, France to Fort Hood, Texas, arriving February 12, 1946.

Waiting to load tanks and 82nd M8s in La Pècherie French base in French Tunisia.
American and British troops landing near Gela, Sicily, July 10, 1943. The 82nd landed the next day.
82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion in an M8.
At Pacy-sur-Eure , France, American and British troops meet on August 27, 1944. In camouflage Cpl. Gordon C. Powell on a Harley-Davidson WLA, with the 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, poses next to British dispatch rider Baltins Dogoughs.
People of Jüchen assemble in the market place on 28 February 1945. A soldier of 82nd Armored Reconnaissance battalion watches from the turret of his M8 armored car.