by Mehlo, Noel
The Lost Ranger, A Soldier’s Story
NOEL F. MEHLO, JR
Copyright © 2014 Noel F. Mehlo, Jr All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1500421464 ISBN-13: 978-1500421465
DEDICATION
To my Mom, aunt, uncles and the Hull family for enduring loss.
To my sister, brother and cousins.
To my wife and kids for their patience while I was on this journey.
To past and present United States Army Rangers and their families for what they did and continue to do.
To those men who served as Infantry soldiers during World War II. To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments i
Prologue iii
1 The Quest for My Grandfather 1
2 Herbert Stanton Hull - Transition from Civilian to Soldier 5
3 The 35th Infantry Division – 320th Infantry Regiment 23
4 The 35th Infantry Division – 134th Infantry Regiment 34
5 Becoming an Army Ranger in the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion – Camp Forrest 52
6 Scouts and Raiders School – Fort Pierce, Florida 93
7 Fort Dix and New York City 113
8 Camp Kilmer – Preparation for Movement Overseas 125
9 New York Port of Embarkation – The Voyage for England 136
10 Leominster, Herefordshire, England 160
11 Vacationing in Scotland 167
12 U.S. Assault Training Centre, Braunton, England 179
13 Dorchester and Exercise Fabius I 204
14 Swanage 219
15 Dorchester Camp D5 and Weymouth 245
16 Red Sky in the Morning: D-Day 256
17 D-Day: Over the Top 292
18 Battle, Recovery, Replacements and Refit 311
19 Battle for Brest: Fort de Toulbroc'h 340
20 Evacuation and Loss 370 21 My Journey to Find a Lost Ranger 388
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work would not be possible without the encouragement and support of many individuals. First among these is my friend, retired Major General John C. Raaen, Jr. Next are friends, Rangers James Robert (JR) Copeland and his daughter, Randall Ching and his daughter Bonnie, Richard “Doc” Felix and his wife. I have to thank retired Colonel Robert W. Black for his mentoring and critical contributions. I wish to thank my family including my wife Denise and kids, Christian, Maggie and Katie, Mom, sister Beth and brother Stephen, aunt Linda, cousins Sonny Hull, Debra Hull and Judy Brinker (Hull).
Special Thanks to the following individuals who went out of their way to help in this endeavor: Richard L. Baker (MA, Msgt, USAF (ret) U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USHEC) Carlisle, PA), Richard T. Bass (historian, UK), Douglas McCabe (Curator, Cornelius Ryan Collection, Ohio University), Elmo Banning (retired detective and nephew of Ranger Elmo Banning), Frank Maurouard (French historian and friend to Rangers), Garry M. Graves (author/historian and friend to JR Copeland), Bradley Hunt (U.S. Army Human Resources Center of Excellence Award and Decorations Branch), Jerry Styles (The Descendants of World War II Rangers, Inc.), Mark Weast (friend & son of Ranger Carl Weast), Mike McCarthy (friend), Mike Ford (historian UK), Saundra Peralta (Camp San Luis Obispo Museum), Richard Drew (historian UK), Roberta Russo (134th Infantry Regiment website/historian), and Donna Noelkin (NARA).
Thanks to the following individuals, organizations and institutions who assisted me or contributed to this work: Marge Bullock (35th Infantry Division Association), Bruno Derrick (National Archives of the United Kingdom (UK)),
U.S. Army Ranger Association, Inc, Alain Batens & Ben Meadows (Medical Research Center UK), Alan Holiday (historian/geologist UK), Skip Theberge (meteorologist NOAA), Dr. Alice Kaplan (professor, Yale University), Allan
R. Millet (University of New Orleans), Andrew Burgess (re-enactor, 5th Rangers E Coy), Andrew Parry (Archives
Office, Gloucestershire, England), Amy Purcell (University of Louisville, KY), National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), Atlantikwall Superforum, Jason Austin (Director of Public Affairs, Arnold AFB, TN),
Benjamin C Nance (Historical Archaeologist, TN Division of Archaeology), Bob Post (friend of Don Garlits), Brandon Rowe (historian), Brandon Wiegand (historian, D-Day Miltaria), Charles Briscoe (U.S. Army Special Operations Command Historian), Bruce Ford (City of Akron, OH), Claudia Burdge (City of Akron, OH), U.S. Army Military History Institute (USAMHI), Chris Mewse (historian UK), Chris Tingom (35th Infantry Division Association),
David Clarke (historian Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)), Stephen H Richards (historian UTK), Mollie C. Mitchell (historian UTK), Spence Meyers (historian UTK), Colleen McDevitt (The Descendants of World War II Rangers, Inc.), Craig Brown (Columbiana County, OH Recorder), Dan Cupper (railroad historian), Deanne Johnson (East Palestine Morning Journal), George Despotis (historian), Katie
Difford (English Heritage), Library of Congress, Kenneth MacNevin (Chief of Public Affairs, DLA Disposition Services & DLA Logistics Information Service), Don Garlits (retired drag racing legend and family friend), Dorma Tolso (East Palestine Morning Journal), Doug Pellom (brother-in-law of Sgt Mark Townsend), Ed Miller (historian), Erik Runge (historian), Frank H Grubbs (veteran/pastor), James Foradas & Vern Six (friends of Frank Grubbs), Fred M Prauty (Director of Programs, TN Wars Commission), Géoportail, Gary Sterne (historian, France-UK), Gemma Birnbaum (The National WWII Museum), Guy I. Colby, IV (cousin of Ranger Victor Miller), Randy Harlan (Historian, 75th Ranger Regiment, U.S. Army), Bill Harris (Norfolk Southern Railroad), Bonnie Henning (U.S. Army
Fort Belvoir, Institute of Heraldry), Sarah Herrmann (American Battle Monuments Commision), Jay Hobgood (meteorologist, Ohio State University), Graham Hodson (National Museums Liverpool, UK), Dr. Ian West (geologist/professor, UK), Jennifer Bradley (Rudder Collection, Texas A&M University), Catherine Coker (Rudder
Collection, Texas A&M University), Jeremy Drouin (Kansas City, MO Library), Jim Havron (Middle TN State
University), John Shepherd (Liverpool Ships.org), Cunard Line, Julie Fulmer (The Descendants of World War II Rangers, Inc.), Keith Campbell (D-Day.org), Ed Gerhardt, BG (ret) (Kansas National Guard Museum), Lynn & Ray
Towne (The Descendants of World War II Rangers, Inc.), Marcel Tchaou (friend), Saunders Marble (U.S. Army Medical Command), Mike Boyce (historian), Erica Schneider (friend and historian), Paul Graham (friend and historian), Peter Wright (historian UK), Michael Siegel (Rutgers University), Mike Ruth (friend), Mary-Jo Miller (NE
State Historical Society), Mark Moore (City of Akron, OH), Nancy Campbell (historian and friend, Ohio State Preservation Office), National Museums Liverpool, Julie Smith (News Tribune, Jefferson City, MO), Nick Gadenne (photographer UK), Nick Catford (historian UK), Ordinance Survey United Kingdom, Donald & Sophia van den
i Bogert, (historians, Belgum), Patricia Lee (historian), Paul Garcia (family friend to Henry Glassman family), Richard Glenn (son of veteran), Rob Gorrell (historian), Robert Ault (Youngstown State University), Ron Hudnell (The
Descendants of World War II Rangers, Inc.), Rich Merrill (The Descendants of World War II Rangers, Inc.), Roger Thorne (historian), Stuart Bryant (historian), Bruce Stuyvesant (son of Ranger Herman Stuyvesant), Charles Whittington (Son of Captain George Whittington)
I also wish to acknowledge and thank SSG Chase Adkins who serves as a Ranger in our present conflicts. He was previously a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment. He re-enacts World War II Ranger history, and graciously allowed me the use of his image as he portrayed my grandpa for the cover. SSG Adkins, served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medals for his actions in combat. I
am deeply honored at his contributions to this work as he is cut from the same metal as the men to whom this book honors.
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PROLOGUE
He wanted something more with his military service, Private (PVT) Herbert Stanton Hull had explained in a February of 1943 letter home to his sister Doris from Camp San Luis Obispo as a member of the 35th Infantry Division, 320th Infantry Regiment. By summer of 1943, he had found what he had been looking for. He had volunteered for and was accepted as a member of the newly formed 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, B Company in September 1943. Since joining the Rangers, he had risen from the rank of PVT to the rank of Staff Sergeant (S/Sgt) and was now assigned as a Platoon Sergeant in one of the most élite units of World War II all in less than five months by the early spring of 1944.
He had survived the bloody June 6, 1944 D-Day invasion on Omaha Beach. It was now September 2, 1944. On this date, the Battalion had been split into two groups for combat operations around the Brest area. Companies B, D, F and Headquarters of the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion were engaged at Fort de Toulbroc’h. The 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, B Company, 2nd Platoon, was under the command 1st Lt. Louis J. Gombosi. The platoon moved to the south down a long and deep ravine as part of an ordered reconnaissance in force.1 Upon reaching the sea, the platoon separated into two Sections, the first led by Gombosi, the second by Hull. Hull’s section moved back slightly to the north and then east up a secondary ravine toward the outer perimeter defenses of the northwestern edge of the objective. This fortification has stood sentinel over the port of Brest, France since at least 1884. Under German occupation, it acted as one of the formidable coastal defenses to the west of the German fortress of Brest as part of the vaunted German “Atlantikwall.” Within it were many pieces of artillery capable of firing into the flanks and rear of the rapidly advancing 29th Infantry Division to the north of the fort who were closing in on the Port of Brest which lie to the east. The capture or elimination of this important strongpoint was just the sort of mission that the 5th Ranger Battalion was created for.
During the recon by 2nd Platoon, 2nd Section of the fort’s perimeter, one of the men in the section to the left of Hull tripped a landmine. Hull warned his men to drop to the ground with hand motions, but it was too late. The mine went off sending shrapnel into his right hand, back and most importantly impaling his left knee rendering him unable to walk.
Moments after Hull was wounded, Lt Gombosi was in position just outside the fort. He requested permission to attack, having observed no enemy within. The permission to attack was granted and the 2nd Platoon advanced into the base going slowly from dugout to dugout. It was nearly half an hour before they struck any enemy, but when they did, the 2nd Platoon found themselves outnumbered more than ten to one and were forced to withdraw to the northwest. The dead and wounded soldiers were pinned down under intense fire. By 2007 hours the report to the Company Headquarters that soldiers were tied down and unable to be reached resulted in orders being issued for every available man in the Battalion to bear arms and join the fight.2
The U.S. Army Ranger Creed states: “I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy.” Even though this portion of the creed is more modern, the United States Army Rangers have a long history of not leaving a man behind. The entire portion of the Battalion engaged in this action rose up in what must have been quite a
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measure of indignation focused at a stubborn enemy on the night of September 2, 1944 in order to save the situation from imminent disaster. The thoughts of “Am I going to die?” must have passed through his mind as a fierce firefight waged all around him for several hours while his fellow Rangers were unable to rescue him. I never had the chance to ask if these thoughts were accurate of this particular soldier, my grandfather, but I am confident that these thoughts crossed his mind while under heavy enemy fire as he lay wounded on the battlefield. The thought of one’s own mortality is one that is not often heard voiced from one of this extremely special generation of Americans. As warriors, they exhibit a quiet dignity of men who simply did what their nation asked of them in order to help secure freedom for the world. The quiet demeanor and dignity of such men would not let them boast of their role in World War II in such grandiose terms.
S/Sgt Hull was rescued and his life saved after several hours by his fellow Rangers. He was sent to the rear for medical treatment. In an ironic twist of fate, he was lost. He was physically lost to the unit with whom he had spilled blood in France. He was lost administratively to the official records of the unit compiled throughout the remainder of the war and beyond. He was lost to history for nearly seventy years, he became a lost Ranger.
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1 THE QUEST FOR MY GRANDFATHER
I have long been told that my grandfather, Herbert Stanton Hull had been a United States Army Ranger, and that he had fought in France in World War II. There seemed to be some confusion as to some of the specifics regarding his service, but as a child and into my adult years, the fact that he was a Ranger was enough for me to be proud of him. I never met him. He died in 1954. The singular event of his death rocked his immediate and extended family to their foundations in ways that have persisted for decades and negative feelings of hurt went to the grave with many.
My Mom was very young when he died. She was only six-and-a-half years old at the time of his death. Her older sister was only seven years and nine months old when he died. He also left two younger sons, Herbert and Thomas. As a result of his death there were a great many things that were never properly and fully passed down through the
generations. Complicating matters further, there were lines of
communication that had been severed for many years between his parents and his siblings and my grandmother and her children. A good example of the limited information available to the family is found in the information that I my Mom gave me some years back as a handwritten note (Figure 1) regarding his military service. This note represents the original information that I had to work with in order to find him.
The family oral history was incomplete and full of confusing information. Depending upon who you spoke with, he was reported to have served in either the 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion or the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion. The oral history varied between B Company and D Company. The cliffs at Pointe du Hoc often found their way into the narrative. It was also often reported that he was one of the first to have landed on Omaha beach as some sort of advance force. I was told that during D-Day or shortly thereafter, that he suffered from multiple wounds. He made it home from the war to become a police officer in East Palestine in Columbiana County located in eastern Ohio. I had been told that he suffered from nagging lingering effects from his physical wounds and that in the early 1950's he succumbed to them at an early age.
Figure 1: This note was written by my Mom concerning what she knew about her father’s military service. His Army uniform had been in the care of his mother, and was passed on to his sister Helen Hull when his mother died. From there his military belongings passed to our cousins Ron and Judy, who in turn passed them on to my Aunt Linda. After my grandma died in 2011, my Aunt Linda passed these things on to me along with a copy of his discharge paper on January 30, 2012. My Mom also produced a copy of his discharge paper1 in January 2012. A copy of this is included in Appendix A. The information received from my Mom and aunt were enough to cause me to question some of the previously held family oral history regarding my grandpa. Here are the items that had come to my possession by the end of January, 2012 and as shown in Figure 2:
WD AGO Form 53-55 (signifying Enlisted Personnel - Discharge & Release from Active Duty other than at Separation Centers)
World War II U.S. Army Dress Tunic (Uniform and Insignia)
5th Ranger Infantry Battalion Scroll
France War Aid Patch
Good Conduct Ribbon
Bronze Star Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Theatre Ribbon (with double br
onze campaign stars)
Distinguished Unit Citation
Purple Heart
Combat Infantrymans Badge
American Campaign Medal (not listed on discharge paper)
S/Sgt Rank
2 Overseas Service Bars
Figure 2: Photo showing uniform of S/Sgt Herbert Hull I resolved myself that based on this evidence; he was a member of the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion. Along with his uniform came a set of patches. I used various research tools to identify them. I initially assumed that all of these fit the picture of his service based on the units involved in order to not limit my research options. The patches included:
35th Infantry Division Patch (adorning cap)
78th Infantry Division Patch
Fourth Army Patch
Ranger Patch (blue with gold writing)
5th Ranger Infantry Battalion Patch
Army Amphibious Forces Patch – Blue with gold insignia
26th Infantry Division Patch
It was during this time in January, 2012, that I began in earnest to research both the 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion and the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion. I made the acquaintance of Mr. Jerry Styles, the son on Clarence Styles who had served in the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, D Company. Mr. Styles placed me in contact with other members of the Descendants of World War II Rangers, Inc. We thus began a quest to uncover the facts concerning the military service of Herbert Stanton Hull.
THE LOST RANGER, A SOLDIER’S STORY The form used for his discharge was WD AGO Form 53-55 signifying Enlisted Personnel - Discharge & Release from Active Duty other than at Separation Centers. Important information was obtained from his discharge papers; however, due to missing details, the discharge papers also resulted in additional questions being asked. The information obtained from his records was as follows:
Grade - Staff Sergeant (matches insignia on uniform)
