Auxiliary Territorial Services, 102, 106
Barizzo, Italy, 69
Barnett, Capt. Charles, 143–144, 159
Barneville-sur-Mer, France, 144
Bastogne, Belgium, 216
Batcheller, Col. Herbert F., 97, 111
Battle of the Bulge (see also Ardennes), 19, 101, 215–228, 234, 236–237
Bay of Salerno, 73
Beckman, Pfc. Robert, 223, 237
Belfast, Northern Ireland, 100–103
Berlin, Germany, 253
Blankenship, Pfc. Charles, 77, 88, 130, 166
Bohms, Pfc. Donald, 107
Bois de Limors, 152, 155
Bradley, Lt Gen. Omar, 31, 148–149
Brilla, Pvt. Mike, 195, 247
Brokaw, Pfc. Theodore, 157
Brown, Sgt. Russell, 112, 157, 244–245
Bryant, Pfc. H. T., Jr., 166
Burns, Bob, 59
Cadish, Lt. Harold, 130, 166
Camp A. P. Hill, Virginia, 18
Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, 27
Camp Croft, South Carolina, 14
Camp Livingston, Louisiana, 27, 29, 32, 34
Camp Quorn (England), 105–108, 162–164, 166, 188, 213, 237
Camp Shanks, New York, 52, 54
Camp Suippes, France, 212–214, 247
Camp Wheeler, Georgia, 14
Carentan, France, 152
Carlson, Lt. Elmer, 20, 110–112
Carnecki, Pfc. Joe, 132, 137
Carnes, Pfc. Vernon D., 195
Carpenter, Maj. William R., 237
Carroll, Lt. Jack, 140–142, 150, 153–154, 180, 184–185
Casablanca, French Morocco, 54, 55, 57, 60
Case, Lt. Harold E., 159, 218, 222
Castellamare, Italy, 79–80, 84
Castelvetrano, Italy, 69
Cherbourg, France, 134, 144
Cherbourg Peninsula, 125
Civilian Conservation Corps, 6
Clark, Lt Gen. Mark, 73, 75, 82, 98
Cloherty, Pfc. Henry, 138
Collins, MajGen. J. Lawton, 144, 148
Columbus, Georgia, 50–51
Comiso, Italy, 69
Cook, Maj. Julian, 193
Cookstown, Northern Ireland, 100–104
Corti, Pfc. John, 107, 149, 166, 206
Cota, MajGen. Norman, 241
Cottesmore Airfield, 115, 167
Coyle, Lt. James, 134
DeFoggi, Pfc. Leonard, 107, 183
Delescue, Lt Col., 249, 250
DiTullio, Pfc. Dominick, 100
Dodd, Lt. John, 189, 195
Douve River, 144, 146–148, 152
Driel, Holland, 196
EGB447, 52
EGB448, 62, 66, 68, 77
Eindhoven, Holland, 168
Eisenhart, Pfc. Lloyd, 107, 158–159, 175, 247
Eisenhower, Gen. Dwight D., 66, 70, 116, 162, 205, 212, 248
Ekman, Col. William, 111–112, 129–130, 148
Ellingson, Pfc. Lloyd, 195
Erie, Pennsylvania, 1–3, 6, 20, 29, 44, 100, 132, 254
Etienville, France, 145, 152
Fabis, Pfc. Andrew, 107, 139, 141–143, 183–184, 190
Fitzgerald, Pfc. Harry, 110, 133–134
Folkingham Airfield, 167
Fontainebleau, France, 248
Ford, Cpl. Ed, 19
Ford, Cpl. Leslie, 19
Fort Benning, Georgia, 33–34, 41, 45, 49, 52
Fort Brush, Northern Ireland, 101
Fort Marshal Lyautey, 57, 60
Francisco, Sgt. Vernon, 164, 199, 202, 214, 236–237
Frederick Funston, USS, 98–99
Free French Colonial Forces, 54, 99
French Foreign Legion, 57, 60
Fry, Major—, 60–61
Gavin, Gen. James, 65, 81–82, 96, 162, 168, 170, 174, 221, 228
Geneva Convention, 176
George Washington, SS, 54
German Military Units: 1st SS Panzer Division, 224; Fifth Panzer Army, 216, 218; Sixth Panzer Army, 216, 224; Seventh Army, 216; 9th SS Panzer Division Reconnaissance Battalion, 187; Fifteenth Army, 216
Gibraltar, 100
Gore, Sgt. John P., 77, 85, 88–89
Grave, Holland, 168
Groesbeek, Holland, 168, 171, 174
Ground Force Training Center, 249
Hall, Pfc. William, 188
Hamula, Lt. John, 207–209, 220, 221–225, 230, 237
Hayes, Lt. William F., 196
Hertel, Cpl. Dick, 20
Hill 81.8, 172
Hill 131, 152–154, 156, 158, 160–161
Hodge, Cpl. Bill, 107, 150, 196
Hodges, Lt Gen. Courtney, 216
Hoffman, Capt. Gustav, 13, 28
Holcomb, Lt. Joe, 108, 128, 183, 189–190, 192, 248
Hope, Bob, 68–69, 95
Horrocks, Lt Gen. Brian, 167–168
Horst, Germany, 199
Hurtgen Forest, 238, 240–241
Hungerford, Sgt. K. B., 195
Hunner Park (Nijmegen), 180, 186, 193, 207, 247
Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, 7, 9, 10, 13–14, 20, 25–27, 44, 254–255
Ireland, Capt. Alfred, 128
Janney, Lt. Richard, 86
Jones, Cpl. J. E., 77, 88, 107–108, 139, 209, 213
Jones, Pfc. W. A., 107, 206
Kairouan, French Tunisia, 63, 65–66, 69
Kall River Valley, 239, 239–242
Krause, Maj. Edward, 82, 129
Krueger, Cpl. Howard, 107, 131, 139, 141, 190, 206, 237
Kuhn, Lt Col. William, 136
La-Haye-du-Puits, France, 152, 155–158, 160
Lamour, Dorothy, 95
Langford, Frances, 68
Le Ham, France, 134, 137, 139, 143–144
Leicester, England, 106
Lemieux, Pfc. Arthur, 107, 141, 166
Loughborough, England, 106
Maas River, 168
Malmedy, Belgium, 227
McCallum, Pvt. James, 110
McClean, Lt. Thomas, 134
McRoberts, Capt. Neal, 77
Merderet River, 134, 144, 152
Mines and Demolition School, Fifth Army, 61, 65, 173
Minica, Pfc. Albert, 153
Molenberg Observatory, 171
Momeyer, Lt Col. Kenneth, 2
Montebourg Station, France, 134, 137, 139, 144
Montgomery, Gen. Bernard L., 167, 212, 229
Mount Soprano, 76–77
Mount Vesuvius, 80
Myers, Lillian, 255
Naples, Italy, 73–74, 78, 82–83, 92–94, 96–99
Neipling, Pfc. Lawrence, 107, 154, 159, 188, 191
Neuville-au-Plain, France, 115, 129, 130, 134–135, 137
New Castle Air Base, Delaware, 254
Nijmegen, Holland, 167–168, 172, 174–176, 180, 192–197, 199, 202, 206, 212, 247–248
Normandy Invasion, 123–130
Norton, Maj. John, 148
O’Byrne, Pfc. John, 157
O’Connel, Helen, 19
O’Connor, Lt. Robert, 249
Officers’ Candidate School (OCS), 28, 31, 34, 248, 250
Ogdensburg, New York, 3
Operation Linnet, 164
Operation Market-Garden, 167
Oran, Algeria, 99–100
Oss, Holland, 209, 212
Oujda, French Morocco, 57, 62–63
Pack, Pfc. Hubert, 77, 107, 201
Packard, Lt. David, 92
Pagalotis, Pfc. George, 191
Paris, France, 212–213, 231–232, 248
Paris, Pfc. George, 77, 107, 128, 166
Pathfinder Teams, 76, 107, 109
Pearl Harbor, 23, 25–26, 32, 77
Peiper, Lt Col. Joachim, 224, 229
Peterson, Col. Carl, 26–27, 241
Peterson, Lt. Theodore, 134
Phenix City, Alabama, 50
Picauville, France, 145
Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, 168, 196
Pont l’Abbé, 145
>
Post, Pfc. Harold, 107
Potty, Pvt. Eli, 141
Price, Pfc. Alby, 20
Quorndon, Leicestershire, 105–108, 110, 162–164, 166, 188
Rabat, French Morocco, 57, 59
Ray, Sgt. John, 110, 130, 162, 166
Reedy, Pfc. Angus, 77, 80
Reichswald, Germany, 168–170, 199
Reims, France, 213–215
Rhea, Sgt. Walter, 195
Rhine River (see also Waal), 193, 248
Ridgway, MajGen. Matthew, 75, 82, 124, 128, 146, 148–149
Roer River, 243–245, 247
Rohaly, Sgt. Michael, 2, 9, 12–13, 28
Roosevelt, President Franklin D., 4, 5, 26, 249
Rosen, Cpl. Leonard, 157, 192
Rosen, Capt. Robert, 175, 186–189
Russell, Pfc. Kenneth, 130
Salerno, Italy, 73–76
Salm River, 219–220, 222, 226
Selective Service System, 14
Shugart, Mildred (See Wurst, Mildred)
Sicily, 65–70, 76, 77, 124
Siegfried Line, 237, 244
Smith, Pfc. Robert L., 77, 88, 107
Soissons, France, 213
Sosabowski, MajGen. Stanislaw, 168
St. Sauveur-le-Vicomte, 137, 144–148, 151–152, 157–158, 166, 206
St. Vith, Belgium, 216, 218, 229
Stavelot, Belgium, 218
Ste. Mère-Eglise, 82, 100, 115–116, 119, 125, 126, 129–131, 134, 145, 157, 162, 166
Steele, Pfc. John, 130
Stein, Lt. (Dr.) Lester, 71, 92
Stevenson, Col.—, 61–62
Stoumount, Belgium, 229
Stratton, Pfc. John, 220
Tedeschi, Pfc. Richard, 79, 86
Tlapa, Pfc. Ladislaw, 166
Torre del Annuziata, 82
Tournai, Belgium, 165
Trois Ponts, Belgium, 219–221, 226, 229
United Kingdom Military Units: 1st Airborne (British), 168, 194–196; Second Army (British), 194, 197, 212; III Corps (Canadian), 209; 7th Armoured Division (British), 62; Eighth Army (British), 74; 23d Mechanized Brigade (British), 82; XXX Corps (British), 167, 194; 46th Infantry Division (British), 92; Grenadier Guards, 194
United States Military Units: First Army, 218; 1st Infantry Division, 216, 239, 241; 2d Infantry Division, 216; 3d Convalescence Hospital, 94; 4th Infantry Division, 110, 133–134, 144, 239, 241; 5th Armored Division, 239; Fifth Army, 61, 73–74; 7th Armored Division, 218, 229; 8th Infantry Division, 134, 160, 239, 241; 8th Infantry Regiment, 133, 135, 144; 9th Armored Division, 218; 9th Infantry Division, 151, 216, 239–240, 244, 247; 12th Infantry Regiment, 134, 241; 22d Infantry Regiment, 134; 28th Infantry Division, 1, 3, 21, 27–28, 31–33, 239–242, 257; 30th Infantry Division, 218; 32d Infantry Division, 27; 36th Infantry Division, 62, 76, 84; 47th Infantry Regiment, 151; 60th Infantry Regiment, 146; 78th Infantry Division, 244; 82d Airborne Division, 46, 52, 54, 57, 63, 65, 67, 70, 73, 75, 77, 98, 112, 124, 127–128, 144, 148, 152, 160, 162, 167–169, 194, 197, 214, 216, 218, 232, 237–238, 244, 253; 83rd Infantry Division, 112; 90th Infantry Division, 144; 95th Evacuation Hospital, 93; 99th Infantry Division, 216; 101st Airborne Division, 127, 168, 170, 193, 214–216, 218; 102d Evacuation Hospital, 230; 106th Infantry Division, 218; 112th Infantry Regiment, 6, 19, 27, 29, 32–34, 110, 204, 240–242, 257; H/2/112, 1, 17, 31; M/3/112, 31; 121st Infantry Regiment, 241; 191st General Hospital, 231; 307th Parachute Engineer Battalion, 94, 164, 226, B/307 65, 69; 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 75, 143, 145, 147, 228; 2/325 Glider Infantry Regiment, 137, 144; 456th Field Artillery Battalion, 144, 220; 1/501st Infantry Regiment, 170; 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 67, 70, 75–76, 98, 127, 168, 194, 205, 219, 228; 3/504, 192; 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 34, 67, 70, 75–77, 79, 109, 147–148, 150, 156, 160, 168, 219, 228, 236, 238, 247; 1/505, 83, 139, 157–158, 167, 170–171; 2/505, 67, 69, 83, 115, 124–125, 129, 144, 157, 167–168, 170, 192, 204, 220–221, 228; D/2/505, 131, 134, 176; E/2/505, 91, 134, 176, 189, 222, 224–225, 253; F/2/505, 65, 67–68, 84–85, 91–92, 96, 105, 112, 128, 131, 134, 139, 145, 148–149, 156, 159, 162, 172, 174, 176, 184, 195–197, 202, 207–208, 214, 219, 222, 224–225, 229, 234, 237–238, 246; 3/505, 82, 100, 129–130, 145, 157, 167, 170–171, 193; G/3/505, 130–131; 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 34, 46–47, 49, 101, 127, 136, 145; I/3/507, 45, 47; 508th Parachute Infantry Regi ment, 127, 171, 228; 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, 75–76; HC/2/513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 49–51; 746th Tank Battalion, 137; VII Corps, 152, 216; VIII Corps, 152, 155; IX Tactical Air Command, 169; Troop Carrier Command, 43, 170
United States Parachute School, 34–44, 49, 50, 77
Van Holsbeck, Pfc. Alfred, 166
Vandervoort, Col. Benjamin H., 97, 128–130, 146–147, 149, 156–157, 164, 171, 176, 190, 192, 204, 222, 237
Varenquebec, France, 156
Veghel, Holland, 168
Verviers, Belgium, 230–231, 235
Villa Liturno, Italy, 84
Volturno River, 68, 73, 84, 86–87, 89
Vossenack, Germany, 238–239
Waal River, 168, 176, 180, 193, 199
Waal-Maas Canal, 168
Wadesboro, North Carolina, 21
Watro, Pfc. Tommy, 77, 107, 139–140, 150
Women’s Land Army, 102, 106
Wood, Capt. (Rev.) George, 156
Wright, Sgt. Bonnie, 199, 237
Wurst, Mildred (née Shugart), 255–257
Wurst, Vangie, 2, 20
Wurst, Vern, 2, 6, 20, 255
Yachechak, S/Sgt. Harry, 138
Zunda, Pvt. John, 69–70
Acknowledgments
I am very grateful to the many people who generously contributed advice, knowledge, criticism, encouragement, and moral support as this book gradually evolved from taped remembrances to its final form. Among former F Company members, I especially thank the following friends: Russell Brown, an original member of Company F and a four-jump trooper, for helpful advice as the book progressed and personal photographs; Don McKeage, former national president of the 82d Airborne Division Association, founding president of the 505th Regimental Combat Team Association, and long-time editor of The Panther (the 505 RCT publication), for advice, help in locating other Company F members, and photographs; Leonard DeFoggi, assistant machine gunner in the 3d Platoon, for photographs and help with the names of troopers I could not identify; and W. A. Jones (Sergeant Major, retired), a former member in my rifle squad, for reading the manuscript and refreshing my memory about some of our squad’s combat actions. I am also grateful to Elmer Carlson, a close friend and fellow NCO in Company H, 112th Infantry Regiment, who reviewed and made suggestions about the first few chapters, and to Rick Scalf and Jean Francisco Critelli for the photograph of my good friend Vernon Francisco.
Among those who provided a historical perspective, I wish to thank Phil Nordyke, who has done so much to compile the oral history of the 82d Airborne, for his interest in my story and his assistance in tracking down archival photographs; Barry Davis, who teaches history at my old high school, for his enthusiastic support and historian’s eye; and Harold Burgard, Social Studies Department head at South Western High School, Jamestown, New York, who read an early draft and greatly encouraged me to keep on writing. Upon receiving the fruit of that process, a full 630 pages, our editor, Eric Hammel, had the experience and vision to recognize the book that has here emerged, and the faith to see the project through many revisions. Gratitude also goes to Bud Atherton, the Business Director of the North East School District (PA), for his insightful critique of an early draft; Ellen Nas, for enthusiastically reading the manuscript and circulating it among other Dutch friends; Ellen Hawley, for helping us do the painful cutting of a long draft; Don Vandergrift and Shelly Allen, for their excellent transcriptions; and Walter H. Bell, for help with all things technical and bedrock moral and practical support.
In the research department, Star Jorgensen provided timely expertise to solve a thorny problem, and librarians Susan Dark
hosh (Princeton Public Library) and Brenda Nickerson (Clymer-French Creek Library) both went beyond the call of duty with cheerful and efficient assistance. A special thank you is due to Harry Yeide, who graciously allowed me to use several maps from his book, The Tank Killers (Casemate, 2004), and Karel Margry, editor at After the Battle publishers (London), who generously helped us track down sources for photographs. Special thanks also go to the family of 1st Lt. William Mandle, 3rd Battalion Section, Regimental Demolition Platoon, 504 PIR, and especially his son Steve, who provided excellent photos of the Nijmegen highway and railroad bridges from the family archives. Frank van Lunteren, 504 PIR historian and author of The Battle of the Bridges and Blocking Kampfgruppe Peiper (Casemate, 2015 and 2016, respectively), kindly contacted the Mandles on our behalf.
Finally, I extend a very special thanks to my children, Chris Wurst, Carolyn Fialkowski, and Spencer Wurst, who did so much along the way, from critiquing drafts to offering emotional and practical support. I also wish especially to thank my niece and co-author, Gayle Wurst, whose help was so essential from start to finish. But above all, I am grateful to my patient and understanding wife, Mildred Wurst, who supported, helped, and endured me in our daily life though all the long years of the “book project.”
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Originally published by Casemate Publishing
Copyright © 2007 by Spencer F. Wurst and Gayle Wurst
ISBN: 978-1-5040-2184-5
Distributed in 2016 by Open Road Distribution
180 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038
www.openroadmedia.com
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