by Ian Gardner
____________
“Before Ralph Bennett went back to the UK, he offered me his place at Officer Candidate School but I wasn’t interested,” recalls Lou Vecchi, “I just wanted to get home.” By early October, Lou was transferred along with several thousand others to the 291st IR in Germany. “When I finally reached Marseille, they ordered me to sew on the 75th ID’s blue and red rectangular badge on top of my eagle patch. A week or so later we boarded a Liberty Ship bound for the USA and ten days later docked at Newport News, Norfolk, Virginia.”
When the 506th was officially deactivated on November 30, 1945, Harley Dingman and the remainder of the regiment were sent to Orleans and then Marseille before boarding the fast cruise liner SS America. “I was given a private state-room for the trip and placed in charge of the men as a kind of acting adjutant.” Even before boarding, Ray Skully had lost all his money shooting craps. “When we set sail I borrowed $15 from a friend and within the day had won $3,700. I gave $3K to Capt Cann to look after, and took the remaining cash to the upper deck, where all the big games were held, and promptly lost the lot.”
“We arrived in Boston on December 18, 1945, the same place I’d left from to come to Europe,” recalls Harley. “They sent me back to Camp Miles Standish in Taunton, Massachusetts, where much to my annoyance I was given the job of temporary admin NCO.”
“Its funny we were all given recommendations for what sort of jobs that would best suit us on the strength of what we had achieved in the service. I imagined with my college background it would be something like teaching, but the army came up with blacksmith! After a week at Miles Standish I simply typed my own name on the discharge list and left! I got home on December 18, just in time for Christmas. That night, as I trudged through the snow with my heavy barracks bag, my folks were waiting for me on the bridge into Carthage. It was only then that I could truly believe my war was over.”
* While serving in Germany with the US Army, Harold Stedman’s son Tom returned to Obersalzberg in the early 1980s with a map drawn by his father, only to find that a large parking lot had subsequently been built over the site.
Epilogue
On Wednesday June 5, 1946, around 50 survivors from 3/506, including Ed Shames and Ida Aframe, who was now his wife, Jim and Donna Martin, Fred and Dorothy Bahlau, Ray Calandrella, George Rosie, Dud Hefner, Oscar Saxvik, and Johnny Gibson, traveled to Missouri to gather as per LtCol Robert Wolverton’s last wishes at the Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City. For various reasons, many – such as Harold Stedman, Bobbie Rommel, Bill Galbraith, Don Zahn, Don Ross, Bob Webb, Harley Dingman, Hank DiCarlo, Lou Vecchi, Ralph Bennett, and Barney Ryan – were unable to attend, while others, such as Joe Doughty, Andy Anderson, and Jim Morton, had their own informal gathering on the east coast.
On the eve of D-Day, Wolverton had designated the Midwest’s most prestigious hotel during his “one year from today” speech, in which he discussed the possibility – if things went well – that everyone would be home by June 1945. Bob’s wife Kathleen (known as Tachie) along with Helen Briggs arranged the reunion to honor her husband and the 200 men from 3rd Bn who had lost their lives since that fateful night.
Now working for Gulf Oil in Pittsburgh, Bob Harwick left his wife Eileen at home in Chadds Ford with their daughter Bobbie. Briggsy had last seen her lover on an ambulance train in Paris and was now engaged to Roy Ramsey – although rightly or wrongly she had chosen not to invite her new man to the event. Mr and Mrs Kangas were also in attendance, remembering their son Bob who died defending Foy. People came by bus, train, plane, and automobile from all corners of the States. Only recently released from hospital, Johnny Gibson drove from Tucson with his girlfriend Pearle in a 1936 black Ford sedan. “The car cost me $400 and I wasn’t sure we’d make it. Unfortunately Pearle was with TWA at the time and had to work in their local office and therefore could only be around for the evenings.”
Situated downtown, the ten-storey hotel dominated the corner of 12th and Baltimore between the Orpheum and Gayety theaters. The first reunion of its kind centered on the Muehlebach’s beautiful ballroom with its polished wooden floor, enormous mirrors, 25ft-high ceiling and ornate art deco moldings.
A memorial service was held in a local Presbyterian chapel, where Kay Wolverton read aloud her husband’s pre-D-Day prayer:
God Almighty! In a few short hours we will be in battle with the enemy. We do not join battle afraid. We do not ask favors or indulgence but ask that, if you will, use us as your instrument for the right and an aid in returning peace to the world. We do not know or seek what our fate will be. We only ask this, that if die we must, that we die as men would die, without complaining, without pleading and safe in the feeling that we have done our best for what we believed was right. Oh Lord! Protect our loved ones and be near us in the fire ahead, and with us now as we each pray to you.
The prayer was followed by an alphabetical roll call of the dead while a bugler played a haunting version of “The Last Post.” Several, including Gibson, were already tearful but then began to weep uncontrollably when Tachie read out the list of names beginning with Pvt Philip D. Abbey.
Phil’s death occurred at sunrise on June 6, 1944 and was witnessed by Rosie and Gibson, who desperately tried to render first aid as their friend’s life slipped away. With the deactivation of 506th PIR many began to wonder if the sacrifice of their kin had been worthwhile. For others it would take 50 years to accept the time spent in Europe as being a positive experience, but time was and still is a great healer.
Some of the men stayed in touch after the reunion, while others simply got on with their postwar lives, raised families, and never saw or spoke to each other again. Andy Anderson went into the cotton biproducts business before marrying Tachie Wolverton on July 19, 1947. The last-minute simple ceremony coincided with a business trip to Atlanta, and with the exception of Andy’s brother Bunk, nobody else was invited. It would seem that the couple just wanted to put the past behind them and look toward the future. Shortly after tying the knot Anderson adopted Bob Wolverton’s son Loch as his own. Strangely, they shared the same birthday – August 24. Although Andy struggled with alcohol addiction for many years, he and Kay raised three children: Kathleen (also nicknamed Tachie), Fred III, and Ann. Although Andy was a caring father to all of his kids he only ever talked about the funny things that happened during the war. Like Bob Harwick, Andy died long before his time after returning from a pilgrimage to Normandy in 1985 … he had hoped for many more. David Phillips was a gifted poet and wrote these simple words that perhaps make a fitting end to this incredible story about a special group of individuals:
Though dead, we are not heroes yet, nor can be,
till the living, by their lives that are the tools,
carve us the epitaphs of wise men,
and give us not the epitaph of fools.
Bibliography
Listed below are works that I have consulted during my research. To their authors I offer my sincere thanks.
Books and Papers
Baumgardner, Randy, 101st Airborne Division – Screaming Eagles (Turner Publishing, 2nd Edition, 2001)
DiCarlo, Hank and Westphal, Alan, Currahee Scrapbook (506 PIR, 1945)
Forty, George, Patton’s Third Army at War (Ian Allan Printing Ltd, 1978)
Hannah, Harold W., A Military Interlude (self-published, 1999)
Höjris, René, Anthony “NUTS!” McAuliffe (Roger Publishing House, 2004)
Kesselring, Albert, The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Kesselring (William Kimber, 1974)
Koskimaki, George E., The Battered Bastards of Bastogne (Casemate reprint, 2011)
Levitt, Sgt Saul, “The Siege of Bastogne,” Yank Magazine (1945)
McAuliffe, Kenneth J. Jr, NUTS! The Life of Anthony C. McAuliffe (self-published, 2011)
Mehosky, Ivan Paul, The Story of a Soldier (Rutledge Books, Inc., 2001)
Rapport, Leonard and Northwood, Arthur Jr, Rendezvous with Destiny (Infantry Journal Press, 1948)
Terrify a
nd Destroy: The Story of the 10th Armored Division (The Stars & Stripes, Paris, 1944/45)
Saga of the All American (reprinted by The Battery Press, 82nd Airborne Division Association, 1946)
Webb, Robert, Freedom Found (self-published, 2000)
Reports and Personal Letters
326th Airborne Medical Co AA Reports, c/o John Klein
Bastogne Recollections H/506, October 1991 (tape recording), c/o Pat McCann
G Co Morning Reports 1942 to 1945, c/o Tim Moore
Headquarters 506th PIR “After Action Reports” (17 December 1944– August 1945)
“He Beat the Odds,” World War II memoir of Donald Clifton Ross, c/o Sharon Bunker
Interview notes from War Crimes Investigation Team, October 1945, c/o Gerhard Roletscheck
Personal memoir and notes of Joe Beyrle, c/o Joe Beyrle II
Personal letter of Dobbins, NARA, c/o John Klein
Personal letters of Robert Harwick, c/o Bob Smoldt
Personal letters of Clark Heggeness, c/o John Klein
Personal letter of Harry Krig, c/o Bob Izumi
Personal letter of Carwood Lipton, c/o Reg Jans
Personal letters of David Morgan, c/o Neil Morgan
Personal letters of James Morton, c/o Fred Bahlau
Personal letter of Bill Prosser, c/o Gerhard Roletscheck
Personal letters of Helen B. Ramsey, c/o Bill Wedeking
Transcript of George Rosie interview, c/o Joe Muccia
Personal letters of Jay Stone, c/o Reg Jans
Personal letters of Bob Webb, c/o Bob Webb, Jr
Tape recordings of interviews with Robert Webb (1980s), c/o Bob Webb, Jr
US Army Military History Institute, George E. Koskimaki Collection: personal letters and documents, including 101st Divisional AA Reports (December 1944), 101st Airborne Signal Co, 321st GFA Bn, Troop Carrier & Glider Information, George Allen, Albert Ballinger, Al Cappelli, Keith Carpenter, Bill Chivvis, Marty Clark, Stan Clever, William Desobry, Roger Dominique, Wilbur Fishel, Bob Flory, Lonnie Gavrock, Richard Gleason, Len Goodgal, Guy Jackson, John Kilgore, Frank Kneller, Robert Hayes, Sam Hefner, Robert Higgins, Ewell Martin, Owen Miller, Ed Peterson, David Phillips, John “Jack” Prior, Barney Ryan, Victor Sauerheber, Lester Smith, Ben Stapelfeld, Stan Stasica, Chuck Richards, Allen Westphal, Shrable Williams, and Vinnie Utz.
Glossary
AP
armor piercing
ASR
Army Service Record
AWOL
absent without leave
BAR
Browning Automatic Rifle
BC
battlefield commission
Bn
Battalion
Co
Company
CO
Commanding Officer
CP
command post
DP
displaced person
DZ
drop zone
FAC
forward air controller
FO
forward observer
GFA
Glider Field Artillery
GIR
Glider Infantry Regiment
HE
high explosive
ID
Infantry Division
IR
Infantry Regiment
IPW
interrogation of prisoner of war
LOD
line of defense
LZ
landing zone
MG
machine gun
MLR
main line of resistance
MP
Military Police
OC
Officer Commanding
OP
observation post
Ptn
Platoon
PIR
Parachute Infantry Regiment
SD
Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service)
SHAEF
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
SPG
self-propelled gun
TCG
Troop Carrier Group
TD
tank destroyer
USO
United Services Organization
VCP
vehicle checkpoint
XO
executive officer
ZI
Zone of the Interior
About the author
Ian Gardner served for five years in Support Company, 10th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment as a medic before leaving the Territorial Army in 1993 due to injury. Always enthusiastic about military history, several years after leaving 10 Para Ian became interested in World War II US Paratroopers. After a visit to Normandy in 2000 he decided to focus on the 101st Airborne Division, and in particular the Third Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which led to the critically acclaimed Tonight We Die As Men, co-written with Roger Day, and Deliver Us From Darkness. This, his third historical work, concludes their story.
Praise for Tonight We Die As Men
“A product of original research and an important contribution to the literature… An amazingly detailed glimpse into the tragic experiences of this heroic parachute battalion.”
Mark Bando, author of 101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles at Normandy
“It will be hard to find a better book about a single airborne battalion in World War II… The two British authors take the reader back to Toccoa, Georgia, and the initial training received (some would say endure) by the men of the 506th PIR, commanded by Col. Robert F. Sink, then on to airborne training at Fort Benning and Camp Mackall. They also flesh out the personalities mentioned in the book so that by the time the regiment is in England and preparing for its baptism of fire in Normandy, the reader has developed a fondness for each trooper.” Mason Webb, World War II History
“Ian Gardner and Roger Day have set out to tell the story of the 3rd Battalion of the famed 101st Airborne Division 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The objective of the battalion was to capture and secure the two wooden bridges built by the Germans over the Douve River east of Carentan, as access to what became known as Utah Beach. Despite the successful achievement of this important objective by the 3rd Battalion, accomplished with heavy losses, the authors found that little had been written about the battalion. In fact, they call the 3rd a ‘forgotten battalion,’ as opposed to the 2nd Battalion of ‘Band of Brothers’ fame.” James C. Roberts, Washington Times
“The most comprehensive, factual World War II history I have ever read. The reader is given a vivid account of the day to day life of the combat soldier in Europe. I appreciate the fact that I have met some of these men personally and now I am more aware of what they went through to defend our freedom.”
Lamar Davis, Stephens County Historical Society, Toccoa, GA
Praise for Deliver Us From Darkness
“A powerful survey indeed.”
The Midwest Book Review
“The experiences of the ordinary soldier and civilian are graphically explained and this book is highly recommended, not just for war historians but particularly as a valuable reminder of the sacrifices made almost seventy years ago, so that we can enjoy our current freedoms.” The Historical Association
“That’s the beauty of books like this, not just to tell the larger story but to uncover small acts of heroism … for future generations to read.” The Journal
First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Osprey Publishing,
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E-mail: [email protected]
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© 2014 Ian Gardner
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ISBN: 978 1 4728 0133 3
e-book ISBN: 978 1 4728 0922 3
PDF ISBN: 978 1 4728 0923 0
Index by Sharon Redmoyne
Maps by Ian Gardner
Typeset in Bembo and Van Dijck
Originated by PDQ Media, Bungay, UK
Front cover: Courtesy of NARA
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