Original Items: One-one-of-a-kind. A fantastic fighting knife group that belonged to Captain Arnold Goldberg (ASN: 01 533 323) an officer and qualified Army Ranger in Battalion S-3 of the 106th Infantry Division. He participated in some of the most ferocious campaigns including off WWII including D-Day and was awarded both the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for Gallantry in Action.

Arnold was eventually promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and after the war became the editor in chief of his hometown paper The Morning Herald from Uniontown, Pennsylvania. There are numerous articles in the archives of that publication which quote Goldberg and his memories of the Battle of the Bulge, St. Vith and much more.

Captain Goldberg's Bronze Star Citation reads as follows:

HEADQUARTERS 106TH INFANTRY DIVISION
A.P.O. #443, U. S. Army
22 February 1945
CITATION FOR AWARD OF BRONZE STAR MEDAL
(Published in General Orders No. 23, this headquarters, 20 February 1945)

I. Under the provisions of AR 600-45, 22 September 1943, as amended, and pursuant to authority contained in Circular 2, First United States Army, January 1945. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to Captain Arnold Goldberg, 01 533 323, United States Army, for meritorious service in connection with military operations against the enemy from 16 December 1944 to 31 December 1944, in Germany.

2. When the enemy launched a major counter-offensive on 16 December 1944, Captain Goldberg Battalion S-3, with complete disregard for his own safety and repeatedly subjected to intense artillery fire, went forward to two [redacted] companies most threatened by the sudden onslaught. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Captain Goldberg ordered the immediate withdrawal of one company which was under the threat of imminent capture; formulated and coordinated a displacement plan for the other company which was forced to withdraw that night. As a result of his resourcefulness, sound planning and initiative, Captain Goldberg was largely responsible for the uninterrupted and effective [redacted]  service maintained by the battalion during this trying period. Entered military service from Pennsylvania.
 
D. A. STROH
Major General, U. S. Army
Commanding

Included with this set are the following items:

- M3 style fighting knife with a straight Fairbairn-Sykes type blade, leather washer grip and bakelite pommel. The blade is engraved Arnold Goldberg 01533323

- Original Bronze Star Citation dated February 22nd, 1945 named to Goldberg.

- Original Ranger School diploma from Camp Gordon, Georgia dated March 24th, 1943 named to Goldberg. This diploma lists all qualifications he achieved including; Cliff Scaling, Demolitions, Hand to Hand Combat, Night Raids, Sabotage, and many more.

- Original photo of Goldberg with a Silver Star, the reverse of the photo in typed text reads: Arnold Goldberg 01533323 Captain 106th Inf. Div. Battalion S-3.

- Original Bronze Star.

- Original Silver Star (missing ribbon).

- Original Silver Star Medal Ribbon Bar.

- Original 106th Infantry Division patch.

The 106th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company was constituted on paper on 5 May 1942, five months after the United States entered World War II. It was actually activated on 15 March 1943 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, with a cadre from the 80th Infantry Division. Following Basic and Advanced Infantry Training, the Division moved on 28 March 1944 to Tennessee to participate in the Second Army #5 Maneuvers.

The 106th Infantry Division relieved the 2nd Infantry Division in the Schnee Eifel on 11 December 1944, with its 424th Infantry Regiment was sent to Winterspelt. Prior to the battle, according to the US Army Service Manual, one division should be responsible for no more than 5 miles (8.0 km) of front. On the eve of the battle, the 106th was covering a front of almost 26 miles (42 km).

In the Ardennes-Alsace Campaign, the Germans attacked the 106th on 16 December 1944. The division's 422nd and 423rd Infantry Regiments were encircled and cut off by a junction of enemy forces in the vicinity of Schonberg. They regrouped for a counterattack, but were blocked by the enemy. The two regiments surrendered on 19 December. The Germans gained 6,000 prisoners in one of the largest mass surrenders in American military history. Nearly 50% of the division's strength was brushed aside in the first days of the Battle of the Bulge.

The remnants of the division were reinforced by the 112th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division and withdrew over the Our River and joined other units at Saint Vith. Along with the city of Bastogne to the south, St. Vith was a road and rail junction city considered vital to the German goal of breaking through Allied lines to split American and British forces and reach the Belgian port city of Antwerp. A scratch force of 106th Division personnel, in particular the division's 81st Engineer Combat Battalion, was organized and led by the 81st's 28-year-old commanding officer, Lt. Col. Thomas Riggs, in a five-day holding action (17–21 December) on a thin ridge line a mile outside St. Vith, against German forces vastly superior in numbers and armament (only a few hundred green Americans versus many thousands of veteran Germans). For this action, the 81st Engineer Combat Battalion was later awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for gallantry. The defense of St. Vith by the 106th has been credited with ruining the German timetable for reaching Antwerp, hampering the Bulge offensive for the Germans.

The 81st and other units, including 168th Engineer Combat Battalion, pulled back from St. Vith on 21 December, under constant enemy fire, and withdrew over the Saint River at Vielsalm on 23 December. The following day, the 424th Regiment, attached to the 7th Armored Division, fought a delaying action at Manhay until ordered to an assembly area. From 25 December to 9 January 1945, the division received reinforcements and supplies at Anthisnes, Belgium, and returned to the struggle, securing objectives along the Ennal-Logbierme line on 15 January after heavy fighting. After being pinched out by advancing divisions, the 106th assembled at Stavelot on 18 January for rehabilitation and training. It moved to the vicinity of Hunningen on 7 February for defensive patrols and training.

In March, the 424th advanced along the high ground between Berk and the Simmer River and was again pinched out at Olds on 7 March. A period of training and security patrolling along the Rhine River followed, until 15 March, when the division moved to St. Quentin for rehabilitation and the reconstruction of lost units.

The division was reconstituted on 16 March when the 3rd Infantry Regiment (the Old Guard) and the 159th Infantry Regiment were attached to replace the two lost regiments. The division then moved back to Germany on 25 April, where, for the remainder of its stay in Europe, the 106th handled POW enclosures and engaged in occupational duties.

In the meantime, the 422nd Infantry Regiment and the 423rd Infantry Regiment were reconstituted from replacements in France on 15 April, were attached to the 66th Infantry Division in training status, and were still in this status when the Germans surrendered on 8 May 1945.