The 82d Airborne in Normandy--An Overview--by George R. Gist, T/Sgt.
Sgt. Gist had arrived in Normandy as a part of the 82d Airborne Division Headquarters by glider.
This account includes a general overview of the action by the entire division, but it also includes
some of his appraisal of some of the combat actions. He compares the combat actions of the
parachute infantry regiments and the glider regiment.
Normandy--Cotentin Peninsula, 505th Parachute Regiment, 82d Airborne Division--by William
Dunfee, Sgt.
Sgt. Dunfee had already made two combat jumps, in Sicily and in Italy, prior to his jump at about
0200 on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Dunfee describes the stress of waiting to take off, the flight over
Normandy, the feeling as he drifted down, and the loss of comrades during the jump and
subsequent combat action. Dunfee demonstrates rather clear recall not only of the events, but of
his feelings at various stages of the invasion.
Normandy to the Roer--29th Infantry Division--by Eugene Cravens, Capt.
Capt. Cravens was transferred from an infantry rifle company to Division Headquarters of the
29th Infantry Division as a liaison officer in the G-3 section. He specifically describes taking a
contingent from Division Headquarter to a front-line outpost, since they missed the battalion
headquarters. As they moved to the front lines, they came under enemy fire. Cravens also
describes his role in crossing the Roer River in February 1945.
Medical Administrative Experiences--358 Regimental Combat Team, 90th Infantry Division--by
Leonard C. Barney, 1st Lt.
Lt. Barney was the leader of the ambulance platoon of a collecting company. He describes the
landing of the 90th Division on Utah beach as the follow-up division to 4th Infantry Division He
describes incidents and casualties of U.S. soldiers and French civilians during the Normandy
campaign. [available only at the U.S.
Army Military History Institute].
The Artillery Observer--228th FA Bn, 228 FA Group--by Benson H. Baker, 2d Lt.
Lt. Baker was an RO with a firing battery in the 228 FA Bn., which was a 155mm Howitzer
Battalion. Baker describes in detail his first combat experience in a wooded area overlooking the
Vire River and canal and also his action in the battle for St. Lo. He was wounded by fragments
from a bombing raid in this area. Lt. Baker describes a number of incidents that happened as his
unit moved forward until it was located on the Elbe River in April 1945.
Recollections of an Army Nurse in the E.T.O.--67th Evacuation Hospital--by Ruby M. Martin, 2d
Lt.
Lt. Martin entered the service in January 1943 and trained at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. She was
assigned to the 67th Evacuation Hospital at Camp A.P. Hill and received further training. In
November 1943 the unit shipped overseas on the Queen Elizabeth to Dursley, England. They
went to Normandy on 10 June 1944 and set up the hospital near St. Mere Eglise, France. Lt.
Martin describes the actions in detail in Normandy and also describes actions at other locations
including movement to the rear from Malmedy during the Battle of the Bulge. At the close of the
war the hospital was located at Bayreuth, Germany near Czechoslovakia.
Combat Experiences Between Hot Showers--26th FA Bn, 9th Infantry Division--by Gordon J.
Ryder, 1st Lt.
Lt. Ryder describes the action of his field artillery battalion in Normandy. Following the capture of
Cherbourg, the 9th Division remained on the outskirts of Les Pieux and had the opportunity to
have hot showers and food from the field kitchen. Ryder also describes action of the 9th Infantry
Division on the attack at St. Lo and describes the casualties caused by the U.S. bombs which fell
on American units.
Experiences of James E. Badgero in the ETO--by James E. Badgero, lst Lt.
Badgero reports his travels to the ETO on the Queen Mary. He was serving in an artillery unit of the 29th Infantry Division, but he transferred from artillery to an ordnance general depot. His unit crossed the English Channel and remained off Omaha Beach until Cherbourg, France had been taken, then landed on Omaha Beach. After the breakthrough at St. Lo, Badgero was placed on detached duty and commanded both German prisoners and American soldiers who spent a lot of time loading C-47 aircraft as part of the Red Ball Express. He served about three and one-half years in Europe.
The 64th Airdrome Squadron with the Ninth Air Force--by William Pierson, 2d Lt.
Pierson outlines the function of an airdrome squadron, which is primarily to provide maintenance for aircraft before the base squadron arrives to perform that function. He describes the various bases for training in the United States and England and the move to Normandy a week after D-Day. Descriptions of the materials used to develop fighter plane landing strips are included, but this function was performed by aviation engineer units. The 64th Airdrome Squadron was located near Paris, France, and Pierson describes the move to that station in some detail. A total of 27 locations are described by Pierson.
Normandy Breakout Through Falaie Gap--358th Regimental Combat Team, 90th Infantry
Regiment--by Leonard C. Barney, 1st Lt.
Lt. Barney describes the evacuation of wounded by the 315th Medical Battalion. Both U.S. and
German casualties were evacuated in action near the city of Falaise in August 1944. He refers to
this location as the "Valley of Death." [available only at the U.S.
Army Military History Institute].
Action of 51st Armored Infantry Battalion--4th Armored Division--by Waldo E. Mowen, Jr.,
WOJG.
Mowen was the battalion personnel officer whose section included company clerks, some battalion
clerks and the personnel sergeant major. Mowen describes the activities of his section from the
time the 4th Armored Division moved through Avaranches until the unit arrived in Czechoslovakia
in late May 1945. [available only at the U.S.
Army Military History Institute].
The St. Lo Breakthrough and Patton's Retreat--202d Engineer Combat Battalion--by Paul E.
Kohli, Cpl.
Cpl. Kohli reports on action in July 1944 at a crossroads in a village in northern France. Kohli's
unit was waiting for a bulldozer to come forward and fill craters so they could move on the road.
While waiting, General Patton arrived and ordered two tanks to move forward, and both tanks
became stuck. Kohli describes how his unit repaired the road so the tanks could move
forward.
Infantry Combat Living Conditions--2d Infantry Division--by Christen T. Jonassen
Jonassen reported on the need for a toilet kit that would fit in his pockets. His report describes
problems in using a slit trench, eating food in the rain and bargaining with civilians for food. He
comments that K rations were the least satisfactory food for a combat infantryman.
Infantry Living Conditions in a Combat Area--102d Infantry Division--by Harry L. Barr.
Barr describes living under static conditions in a combat area as well as conditions when the unit in
an attack situation. Much of his discussion concerns the various food rations. He also describes
living with one blanket and a raincoat as compared with the use of sleeping bags when the mess
truck was with the unit.
Counterattack at Sourdeval and Mortain-- 26th FA Bn, 9th Infantry Division--by Gordon J.
Ryder, 1st Lt.
In this report, Lt. Ryder describes in detail his combat experience in dealing with the counterattack
at Mortain. His description includes action in which he was engaged from August 1 until August
10, 1944. In the final efforts, the 26th FA Bn fired smoke missions for dive bombing and the
final result was the German counterattack failed.
Across Brittany--696th Armd. FA Bn., Supporting 4th Armored Division--by Robert W.
McCormick, S/Sgt.
S/Sgt. McCormick was a surgical technician in the medical detachment of an armored field
artillery battalion which was attached to CCB of the 4th Armored Division in the dash across
Brittany in early August 1944. He describes his experiences with the advanced guard as the 4th
Armored moved from Rennes, France to Lorient. This thrust proceeded day and night across
Brittany and early one morning the U.S. troops occupied Chateaubriant, France before the
German Army had departed. CCB made the initial attack on Lorient in August 1944, but that
seaport did not surrender until the close of combat activities in Europe in May 1945.
Crossing the Moselle River in September 1944--10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry
Division--Paul V. Valentine, T/Sgt.
Sgt. Valentine had enlisted in the Army in 1939, and was a platoon sergeant in Company "D" in
September 1944. He served in the same company for over five years. He describes in detail the
crossing of the Mosell River at Arnaville, France, a village two miles south of Dornot September
10-12, 1944.
A Short Trip to Kerbihan--590th FA Bn, 106th Infantry Division--Robert C. Ringer, lst Lt.
Ringer describes the reorganization of the 106th Division after the loss of two regiments in the
Battle of the Bulge. In March 1945, the Division was assembled at St. Quentin, France and then
moved to Lorient, France to hold the 25,000 Germans in this fortress. These Germans did not
surrender until after the conclusion of the war in Europe in May 1945. Lt. Ringer describes in
detail the movement of his battery to the area of Kerbihan. There were many problems in making
this move and it required fourteen hours to move 60 miles. While the travel to Kerbihan was very
difficult, the stay in that location was very uneventful.
An Artillery Shavetail in the E.T.O.--752d Field Artillery Battalion--by Wendell Ellenwood, 2d
Lt.
Ellenwood completed advanced ROTC at Ohio State University in 1943 and finished OCS at Fort
Sill in December 1943. Prior to leaving the U.S., he purchased a 16 mm Keystone Movie camera,
which he took with him into combat. The unit arrived in England in July 1944 and entered
combat after the U.S. Third Army entered combat in August 1944. Ellenwood has a video made
from the film taken fifty years ago with his 16 mm camera and he has recently added a voice-over
description of the combat scenes to the video. This video is also deposited in the archives. In the
first-person account, Ellenwood describes some of the combat action which took place near
Chateau-Salins in eastern France.
The Mud of Lorraine--696th Armored FA Bn--by Robert W. McCormick, S/Sgt.
McCormick describes the action in the Lorraine area in November 1944. The unit began its attack
from the Pont-a-Mousson area and pushed toward the German border. By Thanksgiving, the unit
had moved forward about 43 miles and by the end of November was situated near the village of
Hilsprich. McCormick provides the specific results of an artillery round from the Germans hitting
by the fire direction center and killing several members of the S-3 staff. He describes the
treatment and evacuation of the wounded from this very muddy location.
Combat Actions of 903d FA Bn--78th Infantry Division--by Riley S. Dougan, Sgt.
This account is based upon an interview with Riley Dougan. He was asked questions about his
combat experiences. Combat began in early December in the Hurtgen Forest. Dougan also
describes later combat actions in the ETO. [available only at the U.S.
Army Military History Institute].
Action with the 104th Infantry Division--415th Infantry Regiment--by Harold C. Zuercher,
S/Sgt.
Zuercher describes in some detail his combat operations in late October 1944. Following this
action, his unit moved to the area of Aachen, Germany and he describes combat action near
Eschweiler, Germany. He also sketches additional action including crossing the Rhine River, and
shortly after that he became a combat fatigue casualty. [available only at the U.S.
Army Military History Institute].
Send e-mail for the World War II Round Table to either Robert W. McCormick at:
Mccormick.2@osu.edu or Desmond Cook at: Cook.12@osu.edu
For questions or comments on the website itself: webmaster@ohiohistory.org