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The Bloody Forest: Battle for the Huertgen: September 1944–January 1945

Page 44

by Gerald Astor


  DiLeo, Michael. The rifleman in Company B of the 46th Armored Infantry, 5th Armored Division, recalled, “I saw Lieutenant Smith [who walked off the battlefield] once after the Huertgen Forest while we were camped in Eupen, Belgium. I happened to be on the street when he walked by. He looked like he was in a different world. I saluted him, but no return. He has never been to any of our reunions. We have had fifty-three. Perhaps he would feel embarrassed. Seeing all those dead and wounded soldiers on the battlefield was too much for him. From Normandy to the Elbe River, we had six company commanders.” DiLeo lives in Glen Cove, New York.

  Dillard, Marcus. The mortar squad member from the 12th Infantry of the 4th Division lives in Largo, Florida.

  Eames, Warren. Wounded first on 21 November and again the following day, the rifleman from Company G, 18th Infantry, 1st Division, underwent surgery without anesthesia for ear and scalp repair at a field hospital. He recalled that while at an evacuation hospital with “thousands of patients,” disillusion set in. “I had learned all about battle. My idealism was gone. It seemed to me that absolutely nothing was worth going through all that hell—not even to win a war.” Returned to duty in January while the division maintained a defense of the northern shoulder of the Battle of the Bulge, Eames found no familiar faces in his squad. All had either been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. He was soon relieved from combat duty because of continuing problems from his head wounds. He lives in East Temple, Massachusetts.

  Edlin, Bob. The 2d Ranger Battalion lieutenant returned home to Indiana, where he joined the local police force, rising to command the unit before moving to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he has an auction business.

  Faulkner, Don. The replacement officer assigned to the 22d Infantry lives in Winter Park, Florida.

  Fleig, Raymond. The 707th Tank Battalion platoon leader who wrote a history of the unit lives in Springfield, Ohio.

  Goldman, Jack. Loader and radio operator for the command tank and then supply sergeant in Company B of the 707th Tank Battalion, he became supply sergeant for the unit. “We had an assortment of men from all over the country, all kinds, hillbillies, farmers, New York City college men. I played guitar and joined in with Texans and southerners. At first, like kinds formed separate clans, but this slowly changed and a mutual respect took over and was replaced by the crew clan. Of the original 125 men in the company, only twenty-six survived from the Battle of the Bulge.” A retired accountant, he lives in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

  Gunn, Frank. With a degree in plant pathology and a commission as a second lieutenant through the University of Georgia ROTC, he began as a platoon leader with the 9th Infantry Division and remained with the organization through its combat tour beginning in 1942 in North Africa. During the Huertgen campaign, he served as commander of the 39th Infantry’s 2d Battalion. “As a battalion commander through five campaigns, I found my regimental commanders and my division commanders outstanding. I enjoyed having really first class company commanders, although we experienced a large casualty rate in them and platoon leaders. In retrospect, it seems to me that the Huertgen Forest could have been contained rather than assaulted and a large flanking or encircling movement performed by corps and First Army. This would have reduced the casualties and still have accomplished the mission of capturing the dams on the Roer.” However, this observation is definitely Monday morning quarterbacking. He retired as a brigadier general and lives in Hampton, Virginia.

  Hendrickson, Ralph. The 71st Armored Field Artillery GI who began his military career while horses pulled the guns, briefly left the service to work as an auto mechanic before his National Guard unit was recalled in 1947. He then remained on active duty until he retired as a sergeant major. He lives in Ninevah, New York.

  Jackson, Preston. The 112th Infantry platoon leader and OCS friend of Bob Edlin continued his military service until he retired as a major general. He lives in Mississippi.

  Jordan, Chester. The platoon leader with the 47th Infantry in the 9th Division recounted his experiences in an unpublished manuscript, Bull Shots. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

  Karre, Albert. The S-3 for the 2d Battalion, 39th Infantry, in the Huertgen, he is deceased.

  Kemp, Harry. The Pennsylvania native went on active duty with the 109th Infantry of the National Guard’s 28th Division. He remained in the service, commanded a battalion in Korea, and held several staff positions before retirement as a colonel. He wrote a book about the 109th, The Regiment: Let the Citizens Bear Arms, and resides in San Antonio, Texas.

  Knollenberg, George. The 60th Infantry, 9th Division, rifleman replacement lives on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

  Kull, William. The rifleman replacement with the 12th Regiment of the 4th Infantry lives in Colorado.

  Lamb, Cliff. A member of Company B, 46th Armored Infantry Battalion, 5th Armored division, he is deceased.

  Lavender, Don. The replacement rifleman assigned to the 29th Regiment Combat Team, 9th Infantry Division, wrote Nudge Blue: A Rifleman’s Chronicle of World War II. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

  Lomell, Len. Commissioned a lieutenant shortly before the 2d Ranger Battalion joined the fighting in the Huertgen, he recovered from wounds received on Hill 400 and became a lawyer. His home is in Toms River, New Jersey.

  Mabry, George. The 2d Battalion commander in the 8th Regiment, 4th Division, remained on active duty, rising to the rank of lieutenant general. “He could ‘spin a yarn’ better than most,” said his former comrade John Swearingen. “He used this gift of gab many times for the soldiers as well as for the officers. George was a natural born leader who kept his cool in the best or in the worst of times.” He is deceased.

  Marshall, John. A CO, 707th Tank Battalion, gunner, and assistant driver, he was appalled by a proposal by a citizen of Holland who sought to erect a memorial in Schmidt to honor both the men of the 707th and German soldiers from the Wehrmacht’s 89th Division. In a letter to an official of Schmidt, he wrote, “From 1933 to 1945, Germans really did support Adolf Hitler and really did allow their evil government to perform ‘ethnic cleansing’ amongst those decreed by Hitler and his henchmen to be untermenchen [subhuman]. Of course, there were many proud Germans who did not agree with him but went to war for their country. They had no alternative. I met many of these people, proud and loyal Germans, ashamed of what was allowed to happen. These people felt pain, bled, died, and prayed, just as we American soldiers did. I have corresponded and exchanged Christmas greetings with some of these families for [many years]. … I do not hate the Germans.

  “The U.S. and German governments came together in friendship decades ago, as did peoples of the two nations. That does not mean, however, that we should begin erecting encomiums to those who fought on behalf of a criminal government, 1939–1945.”

  Although aware that others in his outfit, notably Ray Fleig and former GIs from the 78th Division, have had friendly reunions with their former opponents, Marshall pointed out that no one has proposed that joint memorials be created in the Pacific to honor both Japanese and Americans, and concluded, “I assert to you and van Rijt [the Dutch proponent] that had it not been for the U.S. war effort by men like us, then the descendants of those soldiers of the 89th whom he would honor would in 1999 have him goose-stepping down the streets of his home town.” Marshall lives with his wife, Daisy, in Lincoln Park, New Jersey.

  Maxwell, Norris. The captain with A Company of the 121st Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, was convicted in a court-martial of “disobedience,” but was restored to duty and in time retired with roughly the same rank and decorations as his peers. He lives in San Angelo, Texas.

  Miller, Bob. Headquarters squad GI for Company D, 81st Tank Battalion, 5th Armored Division. He lives in Gilbert, Arizona.

  Myers, Tom. As a replacement, he served with I Company, 110th Regiment, 28th Division, until captured after the Huertgen campaign in the Ardennes. He resides in LaPine, Oregon.

  Peña, William. As a replacement officer, he came to I Co
mpany of the 109th Infantry, 28th Division, as it first reached the Siegfried Line. Having survived the Huertgen Forest and the Battle of the Bulge, he was still with the regiment in March as it approached the town of Schleiden on the Olef River. When a mine blew up, he was badly wounded, losing his left foot. He later learned he was the last casualty suffered by I Company, as the unit did occupation duty for the remainder of the war. He has corresponded extensively with Hubert Gees, the former German soldier who fought in the same area as Peña and wrote a memoir about his experiences, As Far as Schleiden. He lives in Houston, Texas.

  Phillips, Henry. The acting M Company commander of the 47th Infantry, 9th Division, wrote several books about specific battles in North Africa and Germany involving the division. He lives in California.

  Ragusa, Joe. The member of A Battery, 7th Field Artillery Battalion participated in the 1st Division landings in North Africa, Sicily, and Normandy. He lives in Armonk, New York.

  Ramirez, Oswaldo. The regimental liaison officer for the 16th Infantry of the 1st Division who temporarily joined a line company near Hamich lives in Austin, Texas.

  Randall, Frank. The replacement lieutenant who joined Company B, 39th Infantry, 9th Division, in the Huertgen, where he was badly wounded, went before a medical board in April 1945, which offered him medical retirement. “I told them to shove it. I had been working out every day in the hospital gym under a doctor’s supervision. I went on to serve another twenty years before retirement as a colonel. I then volunteered for Vietnam, but I was advised to ‘enjoy my retirement.’” He lives in Jefferson City, Missouri.

  Reed, James. The I Company, 109th Regiment, 28th Division, replacement officer, he is deceased.

  Salomon, Sid. The C Company, 2d Ranger Battalion, platoon leader at Omaha Beach and later B Company commander lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

  South, Frank. The 2d Ranger Battalion medic lives in Delaware.

  Swearingen, John C. The S-3 for the 2d Battalion, 8th Regiment, 4th Division, was nominated for the Medal of Honor for his heroism by his superior, Lt. Col. George Mabry, in leading a crossing of the Sauer River late in January. “From September 1944 to February 1945, eight U.S. infantry and two armored divisions were committed in the Huertgen ‘Hellfire’ Forest. Thirty thousand American doughboys were killed or wounded. During this period, Eisenhower and Bradley lived the good life in Paris with full knowledge that committing U.S. troops in the Huertgen was not necessary. They did not have the guts to admit their decision was a terrible mistake and withdraw all troops.” He lives in Columbus, Georgia.

  Thomsen, Howard. The maintenance noncom for the 707th Tank Battalion lives in Bennington, Nebraska.

  Treatman, Paul. The medic with the 26th Infantry of the 1st Division became a school administrator and lives in Cranbury, New Jersey.

  Tschida, Nick. The sergeant with the 2d Platoon, Company B, 46th Armored Infantry Battalion, suffered post-traumatic stress syndrome. “While hospitalized, I made myself a promise that I would forget as much of the war as possible. It took a year and one half until the nightmares and dreams stopped on a steady program.” He lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

  Uzemack, Ed. The rifleman replacement with the 28th Division survived five months in a POW camp after the Battle of the Bulge. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

  Vannatta, Glen. Company commander of B Company, 110th Infantry, 28th Division, during the Huertgen campaign, he became a math teacher, taught in Pakistan, and then served as supervisor of mathematics in Indianapolis public schools until his retirement. He lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

  Wagenseil, Arthur. The radio operator with a forward crew for the 56th Field Artillery Battalion of the 8th Division worked for the United Nations for more than thirty years. He lives in Paramus, New Jersey.

  Wallace, George. The overage replacement platoon leader with A Company, 16th Infantry, 1st Division, came out of the Huertgen with trench foot and loss of hearing in one ear. He worked in sales promotion for broadcasting and the magazine industry. He lives in Mamaroneck, New York.

  Wilson, George. The platoon leader and then company commander with the 22d Infantry of the 4th Division wrote a well-received book about his war experiences, If You Survive. He lives in Grand Lodge, Michigan.

  Wofford, Stephen “Roddy.” The platoon leader with A Company of the 121st Infantry, 8th Division, needed nine months to recover from his wounds. “I think my narrow escape in the Huertgen gave me a sense that each day is a gift from the Lord. Even now I usually get up at the crack of dawn and watch the sun rise and give thanks to Him who saved me from a wretched death.” As a civilian, he and his wife bought a moving and storage business where he lives in Beeville, Texas.

  Wolf, Karl. The West Point graduate and replacement officer with the 16th Infantry, 1st Division, retired as a lieutenant colonel after earning a law degree. He lives in California.

  Wood, James. The platoon leader of the 16th Infantry, 1st Division, was liberated at the end of April 1945 from a POW camp. He is deceased.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Archer, Clark, ed. Paratroopers’ Odyssey. Hudson, Florida: 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team Association, 1985.

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