Pins pulled, Horton heaved the grenades Col. James B. Evans, College Station, N.M., Division An ASTP cadet in 1943-44, Mitchell Kaidy joined the 87th Division in March, 1944, serving until its demobilization. For some reason, combat deaths were not specified, and there is no subsequent report although the war lasted another nine weeks. Curtis F. Shoup, Buffalo, We were positioned on the right flank of the Third Army. Exhausted from a bone-numbing 300-mile road march in open trucks from Germany's Saar Valley by way of Rheims, France, on Dec. 29, 1944, we were thrown against the massive thrusts ordered by Adolph Hitler to capture the key highway center of Bastogne, Belgium.". And significantly, Parker was unaware of the postwar letter from Patton commending the 87th Division for its magnificent fighting record during the bitter struggle at Bastogne. sporadic resistance was quickly overcome. in the light of pyrotechnic bursts laid down by Brig. As our truck started down the main street through deep snow, the left rear wheels ran over a buried mine. During the battle, the platoon for rest or food. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. May 8, 1945, a notice was placed outside the 1st Bn., Nor was he aware of the unique commendation to the 87th Division from a German general, Generalmajor Otto Remer whose unit was in the thick of the Bastogne struggle. Under his direction, two TDs roared in to who fired at him. platoon of combat engineers from the 312th Engr. Meanwhile, elements of the 347th, battling through I also maintained a standby position with the infantry. Instead of citing the achievements of 45,000 infantrymen, artillery and other units of the three divisions, Parker spends pages lauding the black 761st Tank Bn., mentioning Pres. both forces. Meanwhile, the 346th had marched nine kilometers to While Parker spends pages recording the actions of one small unit, he omits or scants the overwhelmingly significant contributions of the 45,000 infantrymen and attached units that began to turn the tide in the Bulge. The same day, 1st Bn., 346th, punched inside Germany the mountains to the south, entered Rhens and a 2nd Bn. St. Louis, Missouri Includes the 87th Infantry Division - gallery in honor of my Uncle, Melvin Otto Amelung, who served in the 87th Infantry Division; 549th AAA AW BN BTRY C. Anyone who may have known him during the war, or information about the 549th AAA - please contact me. of Attu, assumed command of the 87th following the 3. These actions lasted until Rundstedt launched his offensive in the Ardennes. 14 January 1945: XII Corps. barrage exploded. It may be totally different from the experiences of other surviving members of my company. Battle of the Bulge, Belgium & Luxembourg," poem, "The . We had showers, a change of clothing, and were issued worn galoshes. Elements of all 347th's battalions rushed 1. He was an active member of the association and served as division historian. Fired within 20 minutes, the down by machine gun fire, Lt. Col. Robert B. Moran, At this location, I had first served with the 347th Infantry Regiment who had been relieved by the 345th. Heavy fighting raged as the Nazis retaliated Had the early death of General George Patton not taken place, a voice from the Third Army Command would have been able to provide due and earned credit for the fighting record of the 87th Division. Battling this weather and a desperate foe, 3rd Maj. Gen. Percy W. Clarkson commanded the division The major action during this period was a river Thanks to his dedication, the appalling casualty rate suffered by the 87th Division during five months of combat in 1945 in Europe is now reliably reported. We learned that they had left about five hours before our arrival. assault boats. and replacements, arriving in February, mettle of every man. They accomplished their mission of cutting the highway linking the Germans at St. Hubert with supply sources back in Germany." sector extended from Echternach on the left to a point Leaping into action immediately, the Later, I talked to Doc Wooten, one of our medics who had been loaned to the First Battalion for the attack on Moircy, which then had been pulled out under a heavy counterattack. division struggled to clear the entire eastern bank of the Campaign, and two issues of . units. The Worn out after their bitter fight in Belgium, doughs In pre-dawn darkness men of K Company climbed down from trucks and waited nervously beside a line of idling tanks. Brig. Basic, unit and advanced training was staged at Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. sheltering the gun crew and killed all of the occupants Division and Corps artillery went into high gear. As a member of the occupation force in World War I, Quite the production! CRASHING THE SIEGFRIED LINE VIA "GOLDBRICK HILL". approach on Tillet from the east. Massively-shielded, the hills overlooked rows of huge reinforced concrete pillboxes, dragons teeth, and barbed wire. 2. Model and von Rundstedt had met several I looked out a window on the 2nd floor to a large, flat field bordered by woods on the far side. On January 2nd 5 German Tiger tanks encircled the attacking 1st Battalion but with the support of the bazooka teams and the supreme effort of the troops the trap was broken. junctions. Two later attacks on New Year's Day 1945 attempted to create second fronts in Holland (Operation Schneeman) and in northern France (Operation Nordwind ). presaged the collapse of the entire Siegfried Line in the ; 511th Light Ponton Co.; 1102nd Engr. and 3rd Bns., 345th, initiated crossings near Boppard. Officers were given a monthly ration of a bottle of scotch and one of gin. artillery concentration destroyed the positions and knocked For that action, he was awarded a Yet the Carter Presidential citation makes precise claims of tanks, guns, horses, and airports allegedly destroyed by this small unit. Division moved to Luxembourg to relieve the 4th Division along the Sauer and seized Wasserbillig on the 23d. It was a cold, barren place with copses of woods concealing enemy machine gun emplacements and tanks, deadly for foot soldiers. Co. C, 346th, protecting the left flank of the main Let's not forget the war efforts of the distaff side, our mothers, aunts, grandmothers, great-grandmothers. the Roth-Olzheim road crossed the military highway. Although Hill 648 had been overpowered, there were, as with many military operations, to be immediate problems with the more massive Hill 649. The 87th Division was pulled out of the Saar Basin on December 23. Seeing what he had lived through in WWII up on the big screen in Cinerama, a new camera technique making us feel as if we were really there, was such a poignant moment for my dad, especially sharing it with his children. With Co. A leading the attack, 1st Bn. Heavy duty military trucks, guns and other war machines Awards: MH-1 ; DSC-9 ; DSM-1 ; SS-364; LM-20; SM-41 ; BSM-1,542 ; AM49. Pfc Harry D. Ellis, Riverside, Calif., was awarded the mountains to the south. during the drive, a German corporal handed him an old My dad, like many of his generation, never talked much about the war. CP was set up at Weilmunster, deep inside Germany. Hitler had purposely timed his winter attack during poor flying weather, acknowledging the Allies superior air power. Second Bn. continued its fight in Koblenz. Marvin C. East, Summit, Miss., 345th, slid down, a steep Emil Piger, Allen- Before I could obtain any needed rest, I was ordered to join the lead infantry company of the 347th to enter St. Hubert. and Lissendorf, key towns along the mad extending east climbed the hill so he could improve his position to Generalmajor Remers remark, published both in histories and on the web, declared that the 87th was the only division we respected even at night. Nor did Parker do his homework and learn that on New Years Day, 1945, Patton stood before a news conference and declared the 87th/11th Armored/17th Airborne achievements had been as critical to the Bulge victory as such towering events as Gettysburg and the Wilderness were to the Civil War. Dug in on a hillside, we stood up in our foxholes and cheered. In 1963 he contributed articles to a Pulitzer Prize-winning series, and in 1993 he won a Project Censored award for free-lance investigative journalism. After the war, I learned that Tommy Grove, a high school classmate of mine, had been captured in a night-long battle with Panzers and German infantry in the village of Bonnerue, virtually destroyed by tank and artillery fire. Less than one month after the 345th captured tanks from the 735th Tank Bn. battlefield commission. Next, Nessman turned to city and state death records which provided some burial information supplementing the Division history. assaulted and captured the large city of Wasserbillig and We were sure they would draw artillery fire. Cos. The 345th jumped off at 0730, April 7,. pointing its Don Corbin, Zanesville, Ohio. When the platoon was pinned down by machine. Newton Highland, Mass. Lt. Col. Bodner moved the 2nd Battalion into the woods to support the 3rd Battalion. Let us now rise and praise both brave men and dedicated men. killed and one wounded. It consisted of three infantry regiments: The 345 th, 346 th and 347 th Infantry Regiment. Seizing the high hours of Feb. 9, the remainder of the battalion rushed in George Blankenbacker, Borden, Ind., with a If you need to flag this entry as abusive. drove 200 yards into the woods On January 2nd the 3rd Battalion, 347th Regiment, entered Bonnerue. Our cooks were able to bring up food in Mermite containers for a real meal of hot food. Soon after breaching the Siegfried Line in the Eifel Mountains, the division crossed the Moselle River and captured Koblenz. situated on a triangle formed by the Moselle and Rhine. On Dec. 31, Jan. 1 and 2, the 87th's infantrymen fought well in snow, sleet, and deepening cold. concentration to "dig" foxholes for 3rd Bn. next day, storming a hill overlooking Rimling. On January 1st Companies K and I, 3rd Battalion 347th Regiment, advanced into the woods. As soon as the river towns were buttoned up, two task Winston Churchill called the Battle of the Bulge the greatest American battle of WWII and said it would "be regarded as an ever famous American victory." and captured the town. Browning, now 95, was just 18 years old when his officers found out he could type, so they sent him to work in an administrative position with the general's offices. The division helped bring an end to Nazi Germany and pushed the Germans back. were postponed a week to Dec. 22, 1942, because of attack on the Hais de Tillet woods ,by 1st and 3rd Bns., During those months and years of research, Nessman made over 300 telephone calls to relatives. in France during World In the morning, Capt. days. Corporal Kaidy: "We were young, barely battle-tested, yet well-educated--hardly the textbook characteristics of a tough, efficient military unit. Horton radioed the was the first division unit to fight on platoon withdrew, took up positions in a house across to the vicinity of St. Vith, 28 January, and attacked and captured Schlierbach, Selz, and Hogden by the end of the month. the city, saw a statue of Kaiser Wilhelm in a park at the Looking up from the base, the infantrymen were confronted by an isolated, precipitous outcrop that loomed above a deep stream and the village of Ormont. After two days, the crew and gun left. My artillery unit, the 912th field Artillery Battalion was still in direct support of the Tillet and Pironpre area, so I was not relieved as I assumed duty with the 345th. By order of Lt Col. Robert B. Shoup as he crept rushed ahead to a bridge, neutralizing explosive charges Gen. George Patton ordered the 87th and 11th, two untested divisions, to attack immediately upon their arrival, writes Kaidy, who cites Patton's diary: "Every one of the generals involved urged me to postpone the attack, but I held to my plan, although I did not know this German attack was coming. Gen. Patton, in making a reconnaissance flight over Using the seat of his frozen pants for a sled, Pfc Maj. Gen. Frank L. Culin, Jr. (April 1944 to inactivation). Brig. had fired a barrage to soften the unconditionally along with 94 officers and men. The tanks and tank destroyers tried the ascent several times; each time becoming stuck in mud, until finally giving up trying to provide close support to the foot soldiers.

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