Deliver Us From Darkness
Page 1
DELIVER US
FROM DARKNESS
THE UNTOLD STORY OF THIRD BATTALION 506 PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT DURING MARKET GARDEN
IAN GARDNER
FOREWORD BY MARIO DICARLO
Contents
Foreword by Mario “Hank” DiCarlo
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. “Tell everyone I said hello”
Rebuilding the battalion – August 1944
2. “Circle of fire”
The German invasion and occupation of the Netherlands
3. “All leave cancelled”
Prepare for action – September 14, 1944
4. “A parade ground jump”
September 17, 1944
5. “Road to Eindhoven”
September 17–18, 1944
6. “A city in chains”
The liberation of Eindhoven – September 18, 1944
7. “The burning sky”
The bombing of Eindhoven – September 19, 1944
8. “No time to bleed”
Hell’s Highway – September 21–October 1, 1944
9. “Life and death on the island”
Surviving the nightmare
10. “Quiet as a church”
Opheusden – October 5–7, 1944
11. “Welcome to the meat grinder”
The battle of “the Island” – October 1944
12. “Operation Pegasus I”
The rescue of the British Paras – October 22, 1944
13. “Our work is nearly done”
Driel – October 26–November 27, 1944
14. “Club Mocambo”
Camp Chalons – November 28–December 20, 1944
Epilogue
Bibliography
Glossary
Foreword
I firmly believe that my service with the Third Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (3/506 PIR), 101st Airborne Division, during World War II, set the standard to which I have adhered for the rest of my life. It turned me from a clueless youth, still wet behind the ears, into a combat veteran able to make split-second decisions that would separate the quick from the dead – although some of our bravest were not quite so fortunate or perhaps lucky.
From the very moment I was ambushed and wounded in Normandy on June 6, 1944, my powers of concentration grew beyond all previous recognition. While I was totally unaware of it at the time, my parents played a huge part in arming me with the attitude and mind-set I would need to cope with the demands of military life. My contemporaries have often been referred to as “The Greatest Generation” but I beg to differ … to me the greatest generation was the one that preceded, and produced, us. The ones from many different lands and cultures, who came to America to breathe free and climb the financial ladder, through nothing but hard work and a selfless devotion to their new country.
Before immigrating to the USA in early 1917, my father had been wounded and invalided out of the Italian Army during World War I. When he discovered that the quickest route to American citizenship was through the armed forces, he quickly enlisted and by the end of the year, was on his way to face the same old enemy, but this time wearing a different uniform. After being honorably discharged, he married my mother, Anna, who had just arrived in the United States. My parents may have come to America as unschooled immigrants but they brought with them a love for freedom and a work ethic unmatched by any generation before or since. Multiply Alfonso DiCarlo and Anna Lolli by several millions and one can more fully understand the impact they had on a growing nation.
In 1941, I was graduating Wildwood High School in New Jersey when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. Like most of America’s youth, I was anxious to get into the ongoing war and went to Philadelphia, where I enlisted into the fledgling 506th PIR. Suffering from acute acrophobia, I reasoned that this was a sure way to conquer my fear of heights! When I informed my parents of my fait accompli I was surprised by their response. Having “been there and done that,” my father was lukewarm but my mother, whom I had anticipated would burst into tears, simply kissed me and said, “God be with you and don’t dishonor your name.”
What follows on these pages accurately describes and explains the trials and accomplishments of 3/506 through its most extended single period of combat during World War II in the Netherlands. With Allied forces solidly entrenched in France, the high command was looking for ways to expand upon their successes and shorten the war. General Bernard Law Montgomery had envisioned, and sold General Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), a plan for a bold strike up the Eindhoven–Arnhem highway, to penetrate into the vulnerable factories of the Ruhr and deliver a fatal wound to the Nazi regime.
The plan was to fold the Germans back from the road that became known universally as “Hell’s Highway” and throw a steel spear across the Rijn (Rhine). Eindhoven and the bridges at Nijmegen and Arnhem were the keys to that success. In essence, we were to open the road to enable the armor from the British Second Army to speed unimpeded to its intended targets in the Ruhr.
The 3rd Battalion of the 506th started out by successfully attacking and investing Eindhoven and ended up almost 70 days later at the northern end of the Allied penetration, engaging the enemy in the ferociously fought battle for Opheusden. Through the recollections of the remaining veterans and the meticulous research that has been the hallmark of the author, the reader can relive the actual events that occurred – presented with clarity and a passion for the facts that is not often encountered in military histories.
As I write this, it occurs to me that we were all members of two separate but inseparable families: the one we were born into and the one we voluntarily joined in a time of national peril. Our obligation and commitment to each aspect was total. Yet one was centered on life and growth and the other dealt with death and destruction. Despite the disparity in goals the core of our innermost conviction was the unspoken willingness to imperil our very existence to preserve the continuation of the lives of other members of both our families. I never heard any of our guys say it out loud but I think their actions under fire prove my thesis.
Our regimental commander, Colonel Robert F. Sink, showed his pride in our performance when he said about us in the attack, “When they fell, they fell face forward.” Scared witless or not, we did what had to be done, even when we really didn’t want to do it, and, as I recall, there were times when we really didn’t want to do it. But we did it anyway. The one immutable fact is that the young boys who marched so blithely off to war in 1942 bore little resemblance to the weary men who came home in 1945.
Read and enjoy.
Mario “Hank” DiCarlo – July 2010
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, USA
Preface
My relationship with the Netherlands began in the late 1980s, when as a British paratrooper and member of 10th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (V), I first took part in the annual parachute drop – north of the Neder Rijn (Lower Rhine), near Oosterbeek – commemorating the battle of Arnhem. At the time, I was completely unaware of the American struggle that had taken place just a few miles away in the Betuwe, an area on the southern bank of the river also known as “the Island.”
Nearly 20 years later, in 2005, when I was researching my first book, Tonight We Die As Men, I arranged to spend the day with 3/506 veteran Bill Galbraith. At the time, Bill was visiting the Netherlands on a tour for the “Remember September” celebrations, while I was on a pilgrimage to Arnhem with a group of friends from 10 Para. Bill made special arrangements with the Dutch Airborne Friends for me to join him in Eindhoven.
However, the plan began to unravel when I was late fo
r the coach rendezvous, due to an unexpected party the night before in Belgium! After spending three hours hungover on a train, I finally arrived in Eindhoven, where Bill’s hosts, Jenny and Jan van Hout, kindly picked me up. Despite the fact that they had sacrificed most of the morning’s events, Jenny and Jan graciously accepted my apology and drove me to Sint Oedenrode, where the tour had stopped for a late lunch. It was wonderful to see Bill, who introduced me to his family, and another historian, John Klein, who was a close friend and neighbor back in the States.
After the celebrations, I should have caught the train back to Arnhem but Jenny invited me to her house for dinner, along with the Galbraiths, John Klein, and fellow Dutch airborne friend Wim Klerkx. Like Bill, my hosts had also experienced the liberation of Eindhoven and during the course of a wonderful evening I began to understand what September 18, 1944, really meant for them. That night I stayed at Wim’s with Bill and the following day instead of going back to the boys, elected to stay with the Galbraiths and their Dutch airborne friends. I have no regrets because over the last six years, Jenny has not only become my “Dutch mum” but also my powerbase in Eindhoven, and it is mainly down to her incredible enthusiasm that this book has become a reality.
It was through the Van Houts, that I grew to know Geurt van Rinsum, a retired police officer from Zetten who has been instrumental in helping me understand and record the social history of the island. Since we first met in Sint Oedenrode, John Klein has also become a close friend, whose generosity and loyalty over the last few years has been truly humbling. In June 2009, when John came to Normandy with Bill Galbraith and Manny Barrios to help myself and Roger Day launch Tonight We Die As Men, he unwittingly introduced me to a pair of Dutch historians, Tom Timmermans and Tom Peeters, who later became my research team in Eindhoven. Despite having busy careers and their own historical websites – www.battledetective.com and www.battleatbest.com – both men are a joy to work with and have helped me shape this book into a profound and meaningful historical record, that I hope everyone who reads will understand and appreciate.
Ian Gardner – September 2011
Acknowledgments
As usual this section has been one of the hardest parts of the book to compile, as I am anxious not to forget any of my many contributors. If anyone’s name has been overlooked I hope you will accept my sincere apologies. Individual thanks are extended, by country, to the following.
United States of America and Canada: Jannie Anderson (née Arnoldussen), Kathleen “Tachie” Anderson, Fred Bahlau (HQ Co), Rick Bahlau, Sam Bailey (442nd TCG), Michael Baldinger, Mark Bando, Manny Barrios (I Co), Ralph Bennett (H Co), Derwood Cann (Co HQ), Merrick O’Connell, Joan Chincarini, Landon Cozad (442 TCG), Joe Doughty (G Co), Bob Dunning (81mm Mortar Ptn), Teddy Dziepak (I Co), Bill Galbraith (Co HQ), John Gibson (Medical Detachment), Kenneth Glassburn (442 TCG), Ben Hiner (HQ Co), Ken Johnson (H Co), Hendrik de Jong, Brenda Kightlinger, Walter Lukasavage (I Co), Pat McCann, Karen McGee, Ross McLachlan (RCAF), George McMillan (I Co), James Martin (G Co), James Melhus (MG Ptn), Eugene and Vada Montgomery, Carolyn Packert, Judson Wright Pittam (442 TCG), Rich Riley, Bobbie Rommel (MG Ptn), Bob Saxvik, Seymour Shapiro (442 TCG), Ray Skully (Co HQ), Elsie and Nathan Spurr, Harold Stedman (I Co), Tom Stedman, John Sushams, Ann Tanzy, Kathy Tozzi, Lou Vecchi (H Co), Bob Webb Jnr, Chad Weisensel.
The Netherlands: Dick Bakker, Henk Beens, Frits Berens, Hans den Brok, Michel Clements, Jo van Dongen (née van der Water), Gerda den Hartog, Johannes van den Hatert, Peter Hendrikx, Piet van den Heuvel, Erwin Janssen, Wim and Jos Klerkx, Steph Leenhouwers, Vic van Lijf, Peter van der Linden, Frans Mientjes, Ronald Ooms, Wan van Overweld, Johannes Peerbolte, Clazien van Rinsum (née Hermse), Albert Roxs, Frits van Schaik, Jaap van Schaik, Ronald Stassen, Willemien van Steenbergen, Jurgen Swinkels, Noud Stultiens, Dirk van Tintelen, Frenk Derks van de Ven, Peter van de Wal.
United Kingdom: Robert Dudley (my literary agent), Bob Hilton, Monique Jones, Peter Mills, Rosemary and Sarah Pinches, Francis Wyndham.
I would like to extend a special gratitude to the following people, Dave Berry (Pathfinder Historian), David Bevis, Donald van den Bogert, Mario “Hank” DiCarlo (H Co), Mark Durivage (for his invaluable help with the 442nd Troop Carrier Group), Bernard Florissen, Judy Gamble, Gido Hordijk, Jan and Jenny van Hout (neé Soons), George Koskimaki, Geurt van Rinsum, Frank and Chantal Slegers, Bob Smoldt (for Robert Harwick’s personal letters), Daan Viergever, Aaron Walser, Bill Wedeking (MG Ptn), Kate Moore, John Tintera, Emily Holmes, Ruth Sheppard, and the creative team at Osprey, and my father, Dennis, Tom Timmermans, Tom Peeters, Geurt van Rinsum, and Jenny and Jan van Hout for proofreading the manuscript. Once again Ed Shames (I Co, 3/506 CO HQ, 506 RHQ, and 2/506) continues to be a huge influence and supporter of my work and it is almost impossible for me to calculate just how much our regular visits to the Netherlands over the last few years have helped towards the success of this project. Last but not least, I would like to thank Roger Day for showing me the way and my long-suffering wife, Karen, for allowing me to stumble along it.
Since I started work on Deliver Us From Darkness the following veterans have passed away: Tom Bucher, Derwood Cann, Teddy Dziepak, John Gibson, Ross McLachlan, Spencer Phillips, Harold Stedman, and Dirk van Tintelen. I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of S/Sgt “Hank” DiCarlo who died on September 30, 2010, after a long battle with diabetes and cancer: “How I wish I was a child again, when time was still my friend.”
Introduction
Deliver Us From Darkness is the sequel to my first book, Tonight We Die As Men, co-written with Roger Day, which told the story of the 3rd Bn 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) and its actions during the invasion of Normandy. For those unfamiliar with the actions of 3rd Bn 506th PIR in this period, here follows a brief summary of events leading leading up to the Allied invasion of the Netherlands in September 1944.
During the long, hot summer of 1942, those young volunteers who passed the rigors of selection training for the 506th at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, were blazing a trail that would make America sit up and listen. This “new breed” of soldier, most barely out of their teens, came from a wide range of social backgrounds and brought with them a level of intelligence and motivation that had never been seen before in the US Army. The 506th PIR was the first airborne unit to be directly recruited from the civilian population and the men had a lot to prove but prove themselves they did. Out of the 7,000 who originally applied for Col Robert Sink’s new “super unit,” only 2,000 made it through to become qualified military parachutists.
The regiment was divided into three battalions. The 1st was commanded at the time by LtCol William Turner; the 2nd by LtCol Robert Strayer; and the 3rd by LtCol Robert L. Wolverton. Wolverton was universally loved by his men because he put them first, even before any officer in the battalion. He was born on October 5, 1914, came from Elkins, West Virginia, and like Sink, he was West-Point trained. Each battalion had four companies, and the 3rd were designated HQ, G “George,” H “Howell,” and I “Item.” In training, Bob Wolverton pushed his men to their limits and in doing so carved out a national reputation based on hard work, fitness, and total professionalism.
After being transported by ship across the Atlantic, the 506th PIR arrived in Liverpool on September 15, 1943. The following day the regiment was sent to join the remainder of the 101st Airborne Division (commanded by MajGen Maxwell D. Taylor) who were already stationed in the Kennet valley between Reading (Berkshire) in the east and Ramsbury (Wiltshire) in the west, a distance of about 30 miles. The 101st Divisional HQ was midway between these two points at Greenham Lodge near Newbury. The 506th Regiment established its command post (CP) at Littlecote House, while the 3rd Bn was installed in huts at Camp Ramsbury, a picturesque old village, 15 miles to the north of Swindon.
During the spring of 1941 this rural idyll along the tranquil banks of the river Kennet was brought to an abrupt halt when work started on the construction of Ramsbury Airfield. At about the same time,
a camp was built in a field on the northern edge of the village. On September 16, 1943, this camp became 3rd Bn’s new home, and remained so for almost exactly 12 months, until September 15, 1944.
Shortly after 0100hrs on June 6, 1944, the 506th PIR dropped behind enemy lines into France alongside the 501st and 502nd PIR, the 377th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, and other units of the 101st Airborne Division, launching the first phase of Operation Overlord, codenamed Neptune.The first thrust started on June 5, when some 5,000 ships and 1,000 transport aircraft began making their way across the Channel towards occupied France. The attack was set along 40 miles of coastline between the Vire Estuary in the west and the river Orne to the east. The initial seaborne landing was to be carried out by 21st Army Group, under command of Gen Bernard Montgomery and consisted of six infantry divisions augmented by three airborne divisions, one British (6th), and two American (82nd and 101st under overall command of VII Corps). The eastern beaches, codenamed “Gold,” “Juno,” and “Sword,” came under the control of the British Second Army, led by Gen Sir Miles Dempsey; and the western beaches, codenamed “Utah” and “Omaha,” were controlled by the United States First Army under LtGen Omar Bradley.
The parachute landings for the 101st Airborne Division took place behind Utah Beach and were spread across three drop zones (DZ) designated “A,” “C,” and “D.” Col Sink parachuted with 1st and 2nd Bn onto DZ “C,” while Bob Wolverton and 3rd Bn were inserted onto DZ “D” with the mission to capture, defend, and hold two wooden bridges spanning the Canal de Carentan near the village of Brévands. These vital crossing points (one pedestrian, one vehicular) had to be held or destroyed to prevent an enemy counterattack.