The following comes to us from Scott Owens, son of Captain Everett Owens, an Artillery FO from the 45th Art Bn. attached to the 1st Bn, 28th Inf Regt. Scott would enjoy hearing from anyone with 45th Stories, or 1st Bn 28th stories at ANRKEE@aol.com.
Everett C. Owens, Jr. accepted an appointment as Second Lieutenant, Field Artillery in the U.S. Army Officer's Reserve Corps on May 30, 1938, after completing the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps course during his college education at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University). At this time there were two divisions of the corps of cadets in the mandatory ROTC: engineering students were in the Corps of Engineers, all other students were trained in Field Artillery, which drilled with French 75 mm guns pulled by six-horse teams. As some degree of horsemanship was necessary to this training, Basic Equitation was required for all non-engineer ROTC cadets. Already an experienced horseman, Everett literally rode rings around many of the novice riders in this class as well as on the drill field. Upon graduation in agricultural science he received a commission as Second Lieutenant of Artillery in the Army Reserves. During his service in the Reserves by July 28, 1941, he had completed the required examination and practical test and was deemed to have the professional qualifications necessary to perform the duties and to assume the responsibilities of First Lieutenant, Field Artillery Reserve.
On December 29, 1941, from his home in Troy, Alabama and in response to the Immediate Action Letter of December 15, 1941, Everett Owens reported to Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama, for a physical examination, and was found to be physically qualified for active duty. On February 20, 1942, by the direction of the President and in compliance with orders dated February 11, 1942, he was ordered to active duty effective February 28, 1942. Having been activated, he was ordered to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for temporary duty with the Field Artillery Replacement Training Center, reporting no later than March 2, 1942. His effective date of rank of Second Lieutenant, Field Artillery, was given as February 14, 1942.
On arrival at Fort Bragg, Everett was assigned to Battery B, 2nd Battalion of the Field Artillery Replacement Training Center cadre. By April 4, 1942 he had completed the one month course of basic instruction for junior Field Artillery officers. He had terminated his quarters at Fort Bragg on March 31, 1942, and on April 7 was released for active duty, being attached but unassigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery of the FA Replacement Center, and was assigned to the 8th Infantry Division, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He was ordered to proceed from Fort Bragg to Fort Jackson, reporting upon arrival to the commanding general, 8th Infantry Division, on April 10, 1942, for assignment to duty. Transportation was furnished by the Quartermaster Corps, this being necessary for military service.
On reporting at Fort Jackson, he was assigned to 45th Field Artillery Battalion of the 8th Motorized Infantry Division Artillery on April 12, and on April 14 was assigned to Battery B of that organization. On April 20, 1942 2nd Lt Owens was detailed for a Special Court Martial, which included officers of the 45th with whom he would later be in combat: 2nd Lt Edward Williamson and 2nd Lt Albert Fenster, the latter being the defense council of the court martial. On May 8, 1942, having completed the course of instruction in Defense Against Chemical Attack, 2nd Lt Owens was considered proficient and qualified to perform the duties of Unit Gas Officer. On May 15, 1942 Special Orders 70 from Headquarters, 45th Field Artillery Battalion, directed that "... in addition to his other duties, 2nd Lt Everett C. Owens, Jr., Battery B, is appointed Prison Officer." On June 9, having been promoted to First Lieutenant, Lt Owens' check for $1.10 drawn on the Bank of Commerce, Clayton, Alabama, in favor of the Quartermaster laundry at Fort Jackson was returned, with the note that checks in payment should be in favor of the Treasurer of the United States. On July 11, 1942, Lt Owens was detailed for a Special Court Martial, other officers on the CM included Lt Williamson, Trial JA, Lt Loddie M. Williams, and 2nd Lt William F. Nichols. By Letter of the 8th Motorized Division, dated July 15, 1942, Lt Owens departed Fort Jackson for detached service over 30 days with the 45th FA Battalion. Although specific documentation of his transfer does not survive, the divisional history chronicles that in mid-July the divisional artillery left for Fort Sill, Oklahoma. At this time the 45th FA Bat. was under the command of Major A.E. Wood.
At Fort Sill the battalion learned the meaning of delivering artillery fire all day long. The 45th, a light artillery battalion, while they had brought their 105mm howitzers from Fort Jackson, trained at Fort Sill with the old French 75mm, with which Lt Owens no doubt was familiar from Auburn days. During this accelerated training the 8th Divisional Artillery was called upon to man more gun positions than there were batteries in that organization. Many of these positions were covered by gun sections, firing by platoon. Most all personnel, including forward observer and liaison sections, had the opportunity to take part in a gun crew. There was a shortage of officers, and when chiefs of sections and first sergeants were serving as Executive Officers, First Lieutenants were very active. The days were hot and long, often from five in the morning until seven at night. Through this intense training the battalion learned teamwork, and in mid-September left Fort Sill, loading their guns and trucks on railroad cars, to the Tennessee maneuvers near Nashville.
Tennessee provided the battalion with the challenge of movement of guns and men over the never-ending rocky terrain of middle Tennessee, with crude roads and rocky trails. River-crossing was a constant activity during these maneuvers over the meanders of the Cumberland River. This gave the 8th Divisional Artillery its first opportunity to coordinate with armored forces, the Fourth Armored Division, while failing during early parts of the exercise to make contact, surrounded the 8th Motorized and captured its artillery as well. When the exercise was over, the Division spent a few miserable weeks of cold rainy weather under canvas in Tent City outside of Camp Forest, Tennessee. These maneuvers were evidently ended by November 20, 1942, as a memorandum from 8th Motorized Infantry Division headquarters directed that "...umpire flags in the possession of units of this division will be turned in to the 8th QM Bn before the Division departs for Ft. Leonard Wood."
Rather than load vehicles and guns on rail cars the divisional artillery made the road march to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in the snow and cold in early December, 1942. The Missouri winter was unrelenting and the men of the Divisional Artillery learned the means of delivering artillery fire under these trying conditions, in snow and zero weather, training that would be valuable in combat two years later. By January 1943, Lt. Owens was listed as Commanding Officer, Battery B, 45th Field Artillery Battalion; his battery executed their mission well in Battery Test I, bringing the following commendations from the commanding officers of both the divisional artillery and of the 8th Motorized Infantry Division:
Hq 8th Mtz Div Art Ft Leonard Wood Mo 5 February 1943.
To: Lt E. C. Owens, CO, Btry B, 45th FA Bn (thru CO, 45th FA Bn).
I am personally gratified in the splendid standard obtained by your battery in Battery Test I, and it is with great pleasure that I forward to you and the personnel of your battery, the commendation of your Division Commander.
J.A. Pickering, Brig Gen, U.S. Army, Commanding 8th Div Artillery
Headquarters 8th Motorized Division, office of the commanding
General, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, 3 February 1943
To: Lt E. C. Owens, CO, Battery B, 45th Field Artillery Battalion
1. I am informed by Brigadier General J.A. Pickering, commanding the 8th Motorized Division Artillery, that your battery received a grade of 97 in Battery Test I, held recently. This test was supervised by General Pickering and the batteries rated accordingly. It consisted of a firing problem designed as test of the
proficiency of the battery in the prompt handling of observed fire missions reported by moving forward artillery observers while the battery was marching.
2. This rating indicates a high degree of training and fire arrangement, target designation, and method of fire attack.
3. I desire to commend you and the officers and men of your battery for this fine showing. Quick and accurate fire by these means is one of great importance as it tends to assist greatly the rapid advance of the Infantry and the Division. A copy of this commendation will be attached to you next efficiency report. A copy will be furnished not only to your Battalion Commander and your Division Artillery Commander, but to your Combat Team Commander in whose support you will later be working.
W.C. McMahon, Brigadier General, U.S.A., Commanding
8th Motorized Division
On February 15, 1943, Special Orders from HQ, 8th Motorized Division directed 1st Lt. Owens, with first lieutenants from the 28th and 43rd Field Artillery battalions, to proceed to the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, OK, from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. for the purpose of attending Basic Officer's Course #96 commencing February 25, 1943. This he completed on May 19, 1943. The 8th Motorized Division, and its artillery, meanwhile, loaded guns and vehicles on rail cars once more to move out to Camp Laguna, near Yuma, Arizona, for desert training and maneuvers. Lt. Owens, having been directed to return to his proper station after completion of BOC 96 at Fort Sill, evidently joined the division artillery in Arizona from Fort Sill.
In the Arizona-California desert, the artillerymen learned to survive on one canteen of water a day, for weeks at a time from camp, trying various means to keep the water cool. Showers, on the other hand, could only be taken near midnight, when the water in the pipes had cooled below scalding. The fine dusty sand was everywhere, and with the hot, sweaty goggles and respirators made the training almost unbearable. On June 14, 1943, Lt. Owens was relieved of his command of Battery B, 45th FA, and assigned to Battalion Headquarters, being appointed Liaison Officer. In July 1943 maneuvers began in the desert, in the Palen Pass area. Dating from July 14, 1943, Lt. Owens was temporarily promoted to Captain of Field Artillery. During Desert Maneuvers, the 8th Motorized Division was able to hold its defensive position against the 77th Division, with the help of armor and dive bombers, not to mention the umpires. Later in the exercises, however, the 77th with assistance of the 7th Armored Division enveloped and scattered the 8th in general confusion.
By the middle of August the desert training was at an end. The 8th Division Artillery loaded their guns and trucks onto rail cars once more for the journey to Camp Forest, Tennessee, living in barracks rather than tents on this occasion. During the three and a half months at Camp Forest the 8th Division Artillery was occupied with the AGF tests on the Spencer Range there. The 45th Field Artillery Battalion also qualified with small arms at the end of August and early September, firing the .30 cal Carbine M1 at Course B. Captain Owens, with a score of 148, qualified as Marksman, as did Capt. Loddie M. Williams, Lt. William F. Nichols, and Lt. Warren E. Rutherford. Those qualifying as Sharpshooter included Maj. Ernest W. Ripy, Jr. and Capt. Elmo B. Good. Experts were Capt. Albert M. Fenster and Lt. William E. Ward. These scores were published on October 20, 1943. Evidently during early November 1943 Capt. Owens required the use of personal mosquito equipment, as he had delivered to the battalion supply officer, Capt. Elmo B. Good, one each of mosquito bar and headnet, in addition to a mask diaphragm, no doubt for a gas mask (he had been Unit Gas Officer at Fort Jackson).
In late November the division arrived at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, spending a few days of hectic activity before, early on the morning of December 5, the 45th Battalion boarded the SS Shawnee, a passenger liner of the New York-Jacksonville route turned troop transport. The rather large convoy zig-zagged its way across the North Atlantic for ten days of rough water and U-boat alerts before arriving in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on December 15, 1943, in the rain. Unloading at night to avoid aerial observation, the 45th and other battalions of the 8th Motorized Division Artillery boarded trains for the journey to County Tyrone, to Camp Blessingbourne near the village of Fivemiletown.
The first morning awaking in the Niessen huts of Camp Blessingbourne, occupied by not only the 45th but also the 56th Field Artillery Battalion, was a foretaste of the seven months in Northern Ireland: the cold, wet, dark Irish winter with a wet Irish spring and but two days of sunshine. This time of most intensive training ingrained techniques of operation that became the gospel of the battlefield. The cannoneers also learned all about Irish rain, peat-bogs, and marshes. Half of the time in the field was spent winching guns and trucks into or out of position. Here the battalion perfected air observation, radio techniques, practice landings, and practicing sinking the guns in the bogs. Of thirty-three marches the battalion undertook in Northern Ireland, seven were under rainy conditions, and half the days on the march weather was poor to fair. One particular exercise in early May began with fair weather, but the last two days, including the 56 mile return march, were on poor roads in the rain. The division was addressed by Generals Eisenhower and Patton while in Northern Ireland, on May 18 firing a demonstration for the former at the Slieve Reagh Range, in the rain. The latter had instructed the artillerists on March 31 (on this occasion in good weather) that though they had been issued entrenching tools, the march across France would be a roll, not a dig, and to "...throw those damn things away!" While in Northern Ireland the natives habitually referred to the U.S. soldiers as "Yanks," a term not well appreciated by those from the South, including Capt. Owens. Some of the officers of the 45th, including Capt Owens, were able to indulge in an Irish fox hunt, but not being fully versed in the formalities of the sport, were instructed to simply cry out "tally ho!" when the fox was found. One of the group, however, seemed to forget, and when the hounds began the chase announced "There goes the son-of-a-bitch!" and took off after the pack.
After D-Day, June 6, 1944, the atmosphere at Blessingbourne changed. Practice loadings and restriction of personnel liberties were a prelude to an exercise which took the 56th all the way to Belfast harbor in the middle of the night. June 28, 1943, brought an end to the training in Northern Ireland when the 45th moved to Belfast harbor by lorry and train on a cloudy day. On the first of July, 1944, the 45th loaded onto two vessels, personnel aboard one, the guns, trucks, drivers, and Capt. Ed Williamson aboard a liberty ship for the Channel crossing. Four days later on Independence Day, 1944, the 45th Field Artillery Battalion came ashore at Utah Beach, Normandy. After three years, Capt Owens and Greenback were in combat.
Upon hitting the beach, the 45th moved the twelve miles to its concentration point south-southeast of Montebourge, France. After the battalion was formed it moved to its bivouac area three and a half miles northwest of Montebourge. That night after landing the footweary 45th spent the night in bivouac near that ruined village, all movements of the rather warm day having been on foot with full field equipment on dusty roads. The very next day, July 5, 1944, the 45th became the first element of its combat team to enter combat, supporting the 90th Division with harassing fires from positions between Vindefontaine and Pretot, its first battle position being one quarter mile southwest of the former. By the end of that day, no man in the battalion was unfamiliar with the whine of German 88 mm artillery fire.
On July 8 the 28th Infantry Regiment, the infantry portion of Combat Team 28 with the 45th FA Bn, was ready for the attack on La Haye du Puits. Capt Owens' liaison section, Liaison I, attached to 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, was composed of Sgt. Boot O. LeBlanc, T/5 Robert P. Elffering, and T/4 Wilburn G. Williams, among others. The 45th, from positions north of La Haye du Puits, supported the 28th Infantry while it flanked the town from the right and left. One battalion of the 314th Infantry Regiment (79th Inf. Div.) struck from the west against the south of La Haye du Puits. Capt Owens with the Forward Observer and Liaison sections began a series of tours with the infantry on the front line; they would become the oldest and most experienced individuals connected with some of the infantry battalions. This fighting was typical hedgerow county, against an enemy extremely well dug in and hard to see, with practically no ground observation for the artillerymen. These first five grueling days of combat found the young battalion advancing rapidly with the 8th Division against stiff, well-organized resistance. Captain Edward C. Williamson, assistant communication officer and a lieutenant at the time, seeing that there was no communication with an artillery liaison officer took a truck and proceeded to lay a communication line. At a cross-roads, which was being shelled and under observation by the enemy, he continued to lay the line and succeeded in reaching the liaison observer officer. On July 9 Private Elffering was lightly wounded in action while Liaison I and Captain Owens were under fire. Cpl. Norman H. Davis, in charge of a wire truck, assisted in laying a wire, in full view of the enemy only 50 to 100 yards ahead. During all this time there was continuous shelling by the enemy. The wire had to be repaired and Corporal Davis made several splices in full view of the enemy. The steady advance reached the hard-earned north bank of the Ay River on July 13, when the 13th Infantry relieved the 28th Regiment; the 45th continued its mission by assuming direct fire support of this unit after the 28th retired. On this day, when the battalion took three casualties wounded, including Capt Albert H. Fenster, Capt Owens demonstrated the courage and gallantry which made he and his battalion an efficient fighting force. "In the vicinity of Normandy, France, acting as liaison officer, Captain Owens, despite the fact that his relief was overdue, performed his duties with such untiring effort that he inspired all who saw him. With complete disregard for his own safety, he completed his tasks while under extremely accurate enemy artillery fire, and when communications were cut and he was no longer able to direct artillery fire, he volunteered for and executed infantry patrol assignments." This occurred when Capt Owens and a fellow officer were laying communication wire on the front line. A German sniper tossed a small "concussion grenade" at Capt Owens and knocked him out, with the intention of killing him with rifle fire. Owens' companion dropped the German who had thus revealed his position. Capt Owens recovered and continued to lay wire. This action resulted in the following commendation, as well as the Silver Star medal.
HEADQUARTERS, 45TH FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION, 16 JULY 1944
SUBJECT: OUTSTANDING WORK OF LIAISON OFFICER.
TO: COMMANDING GENERAL, 8TH INF. DIV. ARTY.
(Signed)A.A. Greene, Lt. Col., Field Artillery Commanding
July 14, 1944 began an eleven day period of preparation for the push that was to break the German ring of steel around the Normandy bridgehead on the Ay River. During this period the 45th supported the 13th Infantry Regiment, infantry patrol operations being supported by artillery firing harassing missions with good observation in a church in Vesly and Hill 92 southeast of Lauine. From positions at Lauine the 45th watched the bombing of St. Lo and on July 26 supported the 28th Infantry as it, with the 121st, spearheaded the VIII Corps attack early that morning against the German Ay River defense line, in savage fighting establishing a bridgehead for the rest of VIII Corps and the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions to break through the German defenses. The 45th in concert with the 28th Field Artillery, the 28th Infantry Cannon Company, and a company of the 109th Tank Battalion supported the infantry advance against heavy enemy artillery, mortar, and automatic weapons fire and numerous minefields. During the action this day 2nd Lt Harry L. Picard, while acting as Artillery Forward Observer, commanding a tank, was well forward where he could observe artillery fire when his tank was hit and he was seriously wounded. Under heavy enemy fire he saw that the secret papers of the tank were burned and then directed that he be carried to a phone where he directed artillery fire on enemy targets he had observed, thereby enabling and aiding the advance of the Infantry. For this action 2nd Lt Picard was awarded the Bronze Star. Thereafter Sgt. Joachim Von Zastrom took over the duties of Lt Picard, the Liaison Officer, during a German counter-attack. He moved forward to an open field to the right front of the company line so that he was able to observe the fall of artillery fire he called in. Though the field was under constant enemy artillery and sniper fire, Sgt. Von Zastrom remained in the field alone directing the artillery fire, and firing at the snipers who were firing at him. For this he was awarded the Silver Star and was subsequently promoted to 2nd Lieutenant.
On the night of the 27th the 45th occupied firing positions south of the Lessay-Periers highway, a key to the German defenses of the area, and the 28th Infantry was well south of Millieres. By this time the Germans were fleeing, and the 45th began a period of rapid movement, rolling through Coutances and Avranches out of Normandy and into Brittany, the battalion making daily displacements of over ten miles from July 30 to August 4, ending up in the beautiful country-side just south of Rennes, though not without casualties, taking wounded and one killed in action on August 2. While engaged in the Northern France campaign, Sgt Boote O. LeBlanc of Liaison I, commanded by Capt Owens, distinguished himself by heroic service at the time when the relief of an Infantry battalion was being effected, enemy artillery fire began to fall in the area occupied by troops and dangerously close to the artillery observation post. Without regard for his own safety, and on his own initiative, he left his place of safety and exposed himself to the enemy fire in order to set up his radio. For this Sgt LeBlanc was awarded the Bronze Star. Also during this campaign the men of Liaison 3 of the 45th distinguished themselves under fire: Cpl. Richard J. Estep, Tec/5's Vernon H. Alvis and Hubert F. Sweet, and Pvt Eugene H. Gunning, laid wire from the 45th Field Artillery Battalion switchboard up to their Liaison Officer, Capt Edward Williamson, at the Infantry Battalion command post along a route that was under constant shelling by enemy mortars and artillery and covered by sniper fire. For this action they were each awarded the Bronze Star. Further acts of heroism by men of the 45th took place in the Northern France campaign: when a fire broke out in a two- and a half-ton truck loaded with artillery ammunition, Pvt. Milton Starr, PFC's Joseph Clifford and Henry W. Hyatt, and Tec/5's Paul Romanchuk and Guy W. Travers, Jr. rushed forward without regard to their own safety to help extinguish the flames. Their unhesitating courage not only prevented the loss of the ammunition and other vital supplies, but also removed a source of great danger to personnel in the vicinity. All five men were cited for the Soldier's Medal. PFC Charles P. Huemmer repeatedly moved into areas subject to hostile and friendly fire in order to evacuate wounded to places of safety. Without regard for his own safety he remained in these dangerous areas until all casualties had been cared for. Pvt. Huemmer received the Bronze Star.
Maintaining field telephone communications between Forward Observer and Liaison sections and battalion headquarters was vital to delivery of timely and accurate artillery fire for the infantry advance; the officers and men of these forward sections strove diligently to keep the phone lines intact despite the German artillery and mortar fire. Captain Albert M. Fenster, particularly during the offensive in the vicinity of Battlere, France, did outstanding work in keeping in communications with his battalion and as Liaison Officer with the Infantry. During the first five days of the offensive he was practically the sole source of information for the Infantry Regimental headquarters as well as the 45th Field Artillery Battalion HQ as regards happenings on the front. When enemy artillery cut wire lines shortly before an attack on enemy positions, Sgt. Frank E. Lavore voluntarily laid a new wire over an exposed and dangerous route. His action enabled his observer party to direct accurate supporting fire during the advance. With complete disregard for his own safety, Tec/4 Gaymond D. Lyons moved into an open field to repair a wire line to the forward observer. Despite the terrific artillery barrage being laid down by the enemy, he continued his efforts until the wire was repaired. When an infantry company was subjected to a violent enemy counter-attack, Cpl. Edgar S. Fleetwood exposed himself to heavy enemy fire to repair wire lines to the forward observer. Through his action, accurate artillery fire was directed against enemy formations.
Captain William H. Ward, commanding Battery B, while acting as forward observer during an attack, a company of infantry was in contact with the enemy main line of resistance and received constant and heavy fire from enemy machine guns, mortars, direct fire assault guns and light and medium artillery. Undaunted by numerous casualties in his immediate vicinity, then Lt. Ward continuously and aggressively supported the infantry with artillery fire, frequently adjusting concentrations and barrages 50 yards from himself and the infantry, despite his exposed position which subjected him to enemy machine gun fire whenever he got up to observe. First Lieutenant Edward J. Nicol, during an advance of an infantry company was subjected to an enemy counter-attack, supported by intense mortar fire and strong fire from self-propelled guns. Without regard for his own safety, he moved forward to an exposed position and directed such accurate supporting artillery fire against the enemy guns that they were all silenced. First Lieutenant Ralph J. Burke, perhaps on the same occasion, repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire in order to direct close supporting artillery fire for the infantry. From captured German prisoners he learned the position of two enemy guns, upon which he promptly directed fire which destroyed them. During the 38 mile march to Rennes on August 4th the battalion was strafed by enemy aircraft though with no casualties. Enemy contact was limited to disorganized groups of the German Seventh Army, prisoners of war being taken on occasion in the battalion's bivouac areas during the movement to Rennes. Here, battlewise and weary, having already lost men both killed and wounded, though occupying a defensive position to resist any enemy counter attack, the 45th took a welcome break and had an opportunity to become acquainted with the very friendly French people of Rennes, which they enjoyed until August 13.
On August 13 Combat Team 28 moved in a 44 mile road march to a bivouac area south of Dinan in Northern France. The next day the 3rd battalion, 28th Infantry regiment, and Battery C, 45th Field Artillery attached, moved to the Cape Frehel Peninsula, where French Forces of the Interior reported a pocket of 300 Germans. On the 15th the remainder of the 45th closed in on Cape Frehel, moving 29 miles to near Plevenon in support of the 3rd Battalion, which was preparing its attack. Prior to this action, Battery C of the 45th fired a preparation barrage. Immediately after this artillery preparation the 300 Germans surrendered without a fight. By some means, however, Capt Robert S. Ingersoll, commanding Battery C, was lightly wounded in action in this engagement.
On August 16 the 45th Field Artillery Battalion, with Battery A, 445th Anti-Aircraft Artillery attached, moved as a part of Combat Team 28 114 miles to a position area northeast of Guipavan, in the vicinity of St. Divy, near the port of Brest. On arrival the battalion was attached to Combat Command A of the 6th Armored Division, reinforced by the 83rd Armored Field Artillery and 174th Field Artillery Battalion. The 45th, under control of a groupment commanded by the commanding officer, 83rd Armored Field Artillery, was assigned the mission of direct support of the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, which held a line astride the Guipavas-Gonosnou highway. On August 17th the 45th displaced two and one-half miles to positions in the vicinity of Kerlow. For the first time since landing in France, the battalion had ground observation posts of sufficient excellence to make the use of liaison planes unnecessary.
On August 21st the 45th was released from the 83rd Field Artillery Groupment and reverted to 8th Infantry Division Artillery control, and the battalion displaced to new positions 5000 meters north of Gousenou on the 25th, again in direct support of the 28th Infantry. The situation remained static while the VIII Corps got into position to attack Brest. Preparations were complete by the night of August 24th, when the 28th Infantry occupied by infiltration the line of departure, a creek line just south of Gousenou. Shortly after noon the next day the 8th Division (13th and 28th Infantry Regiments abreast) attacked the defenses of Brest. On this day, August 25, Pvt. Roscoe O. Smelcer, serving as a member of a forward observation party, was wounded when the OP was struck by a direct hit from enemy artillery fire. Despite his wounds he insisted on remaining at his post until all salvageable equipment had been removed to safety. The following day, August 16, Smelcer moved over open ground exposed to terrific enemy artillery, mortar, and sniper fire in order to establish communication. Throughout the day he repeatedly exposed himself to make necessary repairs when the lines were cut by enemy fire. ( For this action Pvt. Smelcer was cited to receive the Bronze Star, but it had to be awarded posthumously, as he died of wounds received later on the Crozon Peninsula.) Vigorous German resistance from extremely dug in positions held the advance to a minimum for several days, while the 45th fired over a thousand rounds a day.
A night attack by the 28th Infantry on August 29, near Kergoas, met with no success and created a gap in the front lines which the 45th protected by artillery fire until closed by well-positioned infantry. The Kergoas and Hill 88 positions were hardened positions, equally as formidable as the Seigfried Line defenses. Driving the Nazis from these well-prepared positions required bitter and costly attacks. The ground forces were supported in these attacks by P-47 Thunderbolt fighters-bombers, and the batteries as well as forward observation and liaison sections often had ringside seats to massive bombing sorties on the Brest defenses. On August 31th the 121st Infantry relieved the 28th, and the 45th Field Artillery reverted to general support and reinforcement of the fires of the 56th Field Artillery Battalion. On this day Capt William E. Ward, commanding B Battery, was lightly wounded in action. During the early morning hours of September 1, PFC Herbert D. Freedman serviced wire through an area controlled by the enemy in the vicinity of Kergros, France, well knowing that the territory was under enemy control. His work in so doing resulted in continuous maintenance of communication to a field artillery forward observer.
The 45th continued in fire support of the 121st Infantry until September 10, when the 28th Infantry again went into line, relieving the 115th Infantry Regiment (29th Division) along the east-west line northwest of Brest, and assuming a mission of containing the Germans west of the Penfield River, while the 29th Division continued its attack from the west and the 2nd Division its attack from the east. The 45th Field Artillery displaced to new positions northeast of Guilders on the 10th in fair weather. Once more excellent ground observation was to be had. By September 13th the 8th Division, while in control of its objectives which it took early in the VIII Corps attack, was left behind by the advances of the 2nd and 29th Divisions into Brest. These two divisions completed the occupation and administration of the capture of this most heavily fortified port. The 8th Division moved to the south to take on the remainder of the Brest garrison, evacuated to the Crozon Peninsula.
The Germans had withdrawn a large part of the forces from Brest across the harbor to the Crozon Peninsula to the south. The 8th Division drew the mission of liquidating this force. In this operation the 8th had attached to it Task Force A, composed of the Tank destroyer Group, the 35th Field Artillery Group, the 83rd Armored Field Artillery, and the 15th and 17 Cavalry. On the 14th of September the Division took up battle positions on the peninsula, the 45th moving 68 miles in rainy weather to a position 3 miles north of Telgrue on the Crozon Peninsula. From there the battalion supported the Division advance westward which began on the morning of the 15th. Combat Team 28 drew the most difficult mission of the Division: the 28th Infantry Regiment attacked the high ground on the north side of the peninsula in the direction of an enemy airfield, the 121st attacking on the south of the divisional front, and Task Force A holding the center. The 45th Field Artillery Battalion directly supported the 28th Infantry with its fires reinforced by those of the 28th and 687th Field Artillery Battalions. The 45th also coordinated the overhead firing of attached antiaircraft artillery (Battery A, 445th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion) and tank destroyer weapons. It may have been at this time when Capt Owens discovered that a Capt Crockett of the antiaircraft artillery was unable to distinguish between ME 109's and Spitfires, allowing the former to strafe the battery positions unmolested while opening up on the latter with 40 mm AA.
Throughout the 15th and 16th the 45th fired heavy concentrations of 105mm shells on known German strongholds, over 2000 rounds a day. German artillery, mostly 88mm, was the most intense the 45th had experienced to date. On the 15th the battalion suffered severe casualties, two killed in action and two wounded; Corporal Hubert J. Dupuy and Tec/5 Andrew M. Pierson, on arriving at the forward observation post learned that repeated efforts to establish communication to the rear had been unsuccessful because of intense enemy artillery fire. Without hesitation the two men moved out, knowing full well the dangers involved, to lay new communication wire. Proceeding under heavy enemy fire, the two moved across exposed terrain and reached a point with a few yards of their goal when they were caught in a heavy incoming barrage. They refused to take cover and continued their efforts until Tech/5 Pierson was struck by a direct artillery hit and killed instantly. Cpl. Dupuy continued his mission, establishing urgently needed communication. While returning over the same perilous terrain to rejoin his forward observation party, he was himself killed by enemy artillery fire. Both men were awarded the Silver Star posthumously. The same day, Private Roscoe O. Smelcer, who had been wounded in the action at Brest merely three weeks before, died of wounds received in action. On the 16th Private Eugene H. Gunning, decorated for his heroism in Northern France, was killed in action and two others were wounded. On the mornings of both days, after the fog had cleared, ground observation was good to excellent.
By the third day of the attack, the 17th, the main line of the German resistance had been decisively penetrated and broken. On this day the 45th moved two and a half miles over dusty roads to a new position in the vicinity of St. Eflex. In this most intense fighting, Capt. Robert S. Ingersol, commanding Battery C, acting in the capacity of artillery forward observer with the leading elements of the infantry, in spite of a very rapid moving situation and heavy enemy fire, kept abreast of the infantry and repeatedly delivered artillery fire on the enemy, allowing his infantry unit to continue its advance. Since his communication had to be established on foot, often Captain Ingersol carried his own radio in order to keep up with the infantry. From St. Eflex the battalion fired a preparation for the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, which was about to attack a fort believed to be a formidable German strongpoint. Under cover of the artillery's preparation and smoke screen, the infantry took the fort with the loss of only one man. By the next day, all enemy resistance had ceased except for a pocket on the northern finger of the peninsula, the Pointe Des Espnagneles.
It fell to the 13th Infantry Regiment to clear this pocket, in which task were captured General Ramcke, the German commander, and the last of 40,000 German troops who defended Brest and Crozon. In this final phase of the engagement, the 45th Field Artillery Battalion reinforced the fires of the 43rd Field Artillery in direct support of the 13th Infantry, the 45th moving seven miles to positions in the vicinity of Kerioul over dusty roads. At 9 AM on the morning of the 18th a thunderous barrage shook Crozon. The 8th Division Artillery, five battalions in all, began the reduction of the wall and fort, pillboxes with 40 foot concrete walls, which barred the path of the Infantry. For two hours, under a blistering sun, the cannoneers sweated, firing 1800 rounds into the German stronghold. When the fire lifted, the 13th Infantry waded through the rubble to flush the final German resistance to capitulation.
On September 19 Brest and its harbor were completely in VIII Corps hands. Perhaps it was at the fall of the peninsula that when Capt Owens and Liaison I reached the coast that they spotted a German gunboat fleeing to escape the fall of Crozon. While waiting for the guns to come up (and try to sink a surface unit of the Kriegsmarine) they kept the boat under observation as they stood on a stone wall. When the group was taken under 20 mm machine gun fire, they took cover behind the wall. This was most likely an R-boat (Raumboot) motor minesweeper which the Germans used commonly near their U-boat ports for escort through minefields blocking the channels. These classes of light craft were usually fitted with one or more 20mm guns for antiaircraft defense. However, when the 105mm howitzers did reach the coast, the boat was out of range; even Charge 7 at maximum elevation would not score a hit.
After conquering the Crozon Peninsula, the 45th Field Artillery Battalion moved by road fifty miles to bivouac south of Landerneau, in the vicinity of Treflevnez between Crozon and Brest on the Brittany Peninsula. After a few days of rest and relaxation the 45th marched the ten miles northwest to Sizun over muddy roads in the rain for the Division Artillery Review on September 26, including presentation of awards. With a tradition of official exercises in the rain, the battalion no doubt had memories of General Eisenhower and Ireland. Captain Owens received the Silver Star at these rainy ceremonies for gallantry in action in Normandy detailed above, this award having been authorized on July 26, 1944.
September 27, 1944, dawned clear and brisk, and the 45th and the 8th Infantry Division began a march across France to the Western Front, covering 142 miles that day. They passed through Huelgoot, Carmaix, and Louceac before entering Rennes once more, going into bivouac four miles west of that city they had liberated nearly two months before. One hundred and eighty-nine miles were travelled over good roads in fair weather the next day, westward through Laval, Le Mans, and Chartres, bivouacing five miles west of the latter. On the morning of September 29 the battalion entered Paris in fair weather, just over a month after the city had been taken by French forces from the occupying Germans. Continuing on through the French capital the battalion rolled by Meaux, Chalons, Rheims, and Sedan before ending the day's 203 mile march four miles east of Suippes. September 30, 1944 found the battalion trudging the final 160 miles to Luxembourg on wet roads in the rain as the cannoneers passed through Neufchateau and Bastongne to bivouac in the vicinity of Wahl, Luxembourg. The 45th covered the final thirty-five miles over wet roads, once more in the rain, to its new battery positions facing the Siegfried line around Consthum, Luxembourg.
Here Combat Team 28 relieved Combat Command A of the 5th Armored Division, taking over the defense of a 32,000 yard front running generally north and south from Order to Eiekirch, Luxembourg, along the high ground facing the German border and the Siegfried line defenses. In its mission of direct support of the 28th Infantry Regiment, the 45th Field Artillery Battalion was reinforced by the 687th Field Artillery Battalion and the 28th Infantry Cannon Company. Positions of elements of the 45th were as follows: Headquarters and Headquarters Battery-- Consthum, Battery A-- southeast of Consthum, Battery B-- Reuler (near Clervaux), Battery C-- Bockholz les Hesingen, and Service Battery-- Dahl (near Wiltz). In these positions the three firing batteries of the battalion had a 10,000 yard lateral spread. Firing remained under battalion control, but each battery maintained an accurate and up-to-date firing chart for emergency independent use. The battalion was comfortably quartered in the homes of the natives. There the 45th spent six pleasant weeks, sniping at the Germans with 105's using limited and rationed ammunition. Captain Owens enjoyed his thirtieth birthday in Luxembourg.
During this period the battalion suffered three casualties, all on October 19 when an officer and two NCO's were wounded. This occurred when 1st Lieutenant Edward J. Nicol and 2nd Lieutenant William Comstock established a forward observation post and began registering in on strong enemy emplacements. The Germans detected the OP and shelled it, injuring 2nd Lt. Comstock. Lt Nicol directed the squad, with the wounded sergeant and corporal, to a sheltered area and returned under direct enemy artillery fire to administer first aid to Lt Comstock. Lt Nicol crawled 600 yards while under enemy artillery fire, reaching a sheltered area and thus saved Comstock's life. For this gallantry Lt Nicol was awarded the Silver Star.
Each battery was able to set up a highly satisfactory observation post, with adequate overlapping coverage of the regimental sector. These OP's kept daily logs and, since the situation was static, were able to make use of all refinements in the preparation of firing data, thus securing maximum results with a strictly rationed ammunition supply. Enemy activity was confined to harassing fires and aggressive patrolling. On the night of October 24 a three man German patrol infiltrated the front lines and entered Battery B's position around midnight. An alert guard noticed movement about a hundred yards in front of the howitzers and fired at the noise. A German submachinegun replied. The artillerymen had to repulse the enemy with small arms fire, in this case. The German officer, a lieutenant, and one man of the patrol were mortally wounded, the third, believed wounded, escaped.
November 18, 1944 dawned cold and miserably wet as Combat Team 28 moved by motor over muddy roads in the cold rain to new positions to the north in the forbidding Hurtgen Forest. Covering ninety-five miles the battalion passed through Wiltz, Uflingen, St. Vith, Malmedy, Eupen, and Roctgen to gain new battery positions one mile east of Zweifall, in the vicinity of Vossenack, Germany. The 45th, preceded by other battalions of the 8th Division Artillery to this sector, effected the relief of Combat Team 109 of the 28th Infantry Division, which had already been bloodied in the Hurtgen Forest area. This relief was completed on the night of November 18-19. (It is notable that had the 8th Division remained in the positions it occupied in northern Luxembourg for another month, it with the 45th Field Artillery would have borne the brunt of the German Ardennes offensive, and likely would have been overrun and captured. The movement to the Hurtgen Forest, then, saved the Division from certain annihilation)
The 28th Infantry Regiment of Combat Team 28 held positions in the vicinity of Vossenack, with the 12th Infantry (4th Division) on its left and the 13th Infantry Regiment of the 8th Division on its right. German strong points rendered these regimental positions largely independent of each other without interactive support. Honeycombed with German pillboxes, blockhouses, mines and booby traps, the Hurtgen area was the key to the Siegfried defenses. The 45th had its normal mission of direct support of the 28th Infantry Regiment, its fires being reinforced by those of the 76th Field Artillery Battalion. These positions near Zweifall had formerly been occupied by the 107th Field Artillery. In the snow, sleet, rain, and hail the cannoneers dug in, building huts of logs and ammo boxes. Forward units, including Liaison I, had the cellars of Germeter or Vossenack in which to find shelter. Here they experienced the unforgettable battles of the Hurtgen Forest.
Until the time of the German drive into Luxembourg in mid-December (the Ardennes Offensive--"Battle of the Bulge") the Vossenack-Hurtgen sector was extremely active. The 45th Field Artillery on occasion fired more than 3000 rounds in a 24 hour period, and Combat Team 28 received as many from the Germans in return during the same time. Estimations were at the time that the enemy had 14 battalions of artillery of all calibers in addition to self-propelled guns, in the 8th Division's sector, occupied by Combat Team 28. This German artillery was very active; concentrations of 100 or 150 rounds were not uncommon. This volume of enemy artillery and the aggressive attitude shown by the Germans dictated a rather vigorous artillery response around the clock by the 45th Field Artillery Battalion.
Beginning November 21 when the 8th Division began its hard drive through the dense and forbidding forests, the battalion suffered almost one man wounded per day until the end of the year; on November 30 1st Lt William F. Nichols, later to become U.S. Congressman from Alabama, was wounded in action when he stepped on a land mine. While not one was killed in action, two died of wounds, 2nd Lt Joseph M. Day on December 5, and Pvt Arthur J. Knott on the 24th, Christmas Eve. The forward observer parties braved deadly conditions to maintain contact with the guns; on November 25 Private John J. Maziarz, though subject to enemy artillery and sniper fire, succeeded in completing a vital communication line to the forward observation post.
During this day and night artillery hell in the mud and snow of the Hurtgen Forest Captain Owens distinguished himself once more with tenacious service under the most grueling of conditions. "For ten consecutive days (during the period of November 18 to December 1) Captain Owens remained on duty at the forward Observation Post while under severe enemy artillery fire. He refused relief and continued his superior performance of duty despite the difficult conditions. Many times the Observation Post was subjected to attacks by infiltrating forces of the enemy. Captain Owens on two occasions organized the OP personnel into a fighting force to repel the attacks. His conduct was an inspiration to the men and officers." His "...outstanding accomplishments and performance of duty are in the highest traditions of the military service." For this period of service Captain Owens was awarded the Bronze Star.
The mission of Combat Team 28 remained defensive while the 121st Infantry (8th Division) and Combat Command R of the 5th Armored Division and one battalion of the 13th Infantry (8th Division) took with considerable difficulty the town of Hurtgen on November 28 and the ground in its vicinity. During the operations the 45th Field Artillery Battalion reinforced the fires of the 56th Field Artillery and was on different occasions in support of battalions of the 121st Infantry and the 13th Infantry, in addition to its normal mission within Combat Team 28. In conjunction with a battalion of the 121st Infantry the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry on November 27 cleared out a particularly strong enemy pocket north of Vossenack, after intense night fires by the 45th and 28th Field Artillery battalions. Captain Owens and Liaison I, supporting 1st Battalion, were in the thick of this operation, having to traverse "Dead Man's Draw," a pitifully exposed route to the position of 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry; carpeted with German "S" mines, it could only be used at night due to enemy observation and artillery fire in the daytime.
On December 1 when wire communications were disrupted during an enemy counter-attack, Tech/5 Vernon H. Alvis and Sgt. Patrick J. Weldon, with utter disregard for their personal safety, and despite the fact that they were exposed to enemy fire and the enemy were less than 50 yards away, moved forward and repaired communications thus enabling the accurate artillery fire to be brought to bear on the enemy, causing them to withdraw. This heroic action earned Alvis the Oak Leaf Cluster to the Bronze Star, and Weldon the Bronze Star. On this same day, 2nd Lt. William T. Fulton, when the enemy launched a strong counter-attack in a determined effort to regain high ground, Lt. Fulton moved to the exposed forward slope of the hill in order to direct artillery fire against the enemy troops. Although his radio operator was wounded, he remained in his exposed position and directed the artillery fire, at the same time protecting himself and his radio operator with his automatic rifle. Also in this day's fighting 2nd Lt. Harold A. Dunham was forward observer with an infantry company when the company was subjected to a determined counter-attack and pinned down by murderous machine gun fire on its front. Lt. Dunham moved forward alone to a point within 50 yards of the advancing Germans and directed such accurate fire that he knocked out the machine gun and inflicted serious casualties on the enemy troops. His courageous actions enabled the company to repulse the attack on its flank and hold its position. First Lt. Edward C. Williamson, accompanying the infantry on this day, moved forward with the reserve company of the battalion after the two leading companies had taken the objective. While the company was moving across a draw the enemy counter-attacked, cutting off one of the platoons and threatening to cut off the two leading companies. With utter disregard for his own safety, Lt. Williamson put his radio into operation and while under heavy enemy direct fire directed artillery fire against the enemy with such a deadly effect that the enemy was forced to withdraw. Lt. Williamson may have been accompanied by Pvt Guy M. Jackson, who also infiltrated with infantry with a 610 radio across a draw which was very steep on both sides. Realizing that it was necessary to get communication with the artillery who was far behind he dragged himself across the draw carrying the two sections of the radio with him. He told his comrades that they must get over there, upon seeing PFC Jackson going across they followed and helped establish radio communications.
The next day, December 2, Tech/5's Edward B. Maszar and Cecil J Ashley waded through a stream and ascended a hill with a 610 radio under heavy enemy fire of machine gun and snipers. At the top of the hill Maszar was hit by a sniper and due his courageous act, the radio was in such a position where communications was established and artillery fire directed on the enemy which enabled the infantry to secure their objective. PFC Winton N. Norris assisted in this establishment of communication with the supporting artillery while under enemy observation and constant machine gun fire. Lt. Phillip Smith, as acting battalion S-2 and acting Forward Observer with an infantry regiment while under fire of small arms, and enemy mortars, called for and adjusted artillery fire on enemy positions which enabled the unit to gain their objectives with few casualties. Lt. Smith exposed himself repeatedly to enemy small arms fire and mortar fire in order that communications be maintained and artillery fire directed on enemy positions, enabling the infantry to gain their objective. Brandenberg fell to the 8th Division on December 3rd; that day, while moving forward, the 45th Field Artillery slogged through muddy roads under fair skies but four miles to new battery positions in the vicinity of Germeter, Germany. Subsequently, Combat Command R took the high ground to the east and northeast of Vossenack, including the town of Bergstein which fell on December 5th. That day Capt DeHart C. Wiard, commanding Battery A, was evacuated with a sacro-iliac strain and succeeded in battery command by 1st Lt Warren E. Rutherford.
On December 7-8 the 56th Field Artillery supported the 2nd Ranger Battalion to attack and capture Hill 400 southeast of Bergstein; terrific counter-attacks by the Germans were repelled with artillery fire, and the hill taken. It may have been at this time Captain Owens accompanied a Ranger patrol; he may have just volunteered to carry a rifle. Once Bergstein had been taken, the Germans wanted it back, Field Marshall Model directly ordering vicious counter-attacks to regain the town from 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, which held with a magnificent stand. After holding this ground and the passing of the heavy fighting to the other fronts, Combat Team 28 assumed the mission of defending the ground south and southwest of Vossenack, which mission it continued to hold at the end of the year.
The action remained vigorous during the remainder of December, the 45th taking wounded almost on a daily basis. On Christmas Eve, two men were wounded, one fatally. Christmas Day action resulted in the wounding of one man and two missing in action; Tec/4 Harry Levine and 2nd Lt Joachem Von Zastrow were subsequently captured by the Germans. Von Zastrow had been earlier wounded twice, in the Cape Frehel and Brest actions while serving as a sergeant in Headquarters Battery, and in Normandy had been awarded the Silver Star.
During the month of January the 45th continued its mission of direct support of the 28th Infantry from the position which it held at the end of December 1944 in the vicinity of Germeyer and Hurtgen, Germany. The mission of the 8th Division continued to be defensive. Activities were limited to vigorous patrolling by the infantry and the firing of all targets of opportunity and planned harassing fires by the artillery, in addition to the never-ending tasks of keeping warm and alive in the midst of the snow, mud, and German artillery, mortars, mines, and small arms fire from their hardened positions. The battalion had a man wounded in action on January 15, then on the 21st Pvt Casmir Kiszka was killed in action. On January 30th the 45th Field Artillery fired a preparation for the 78th Division, which was attacking on the right of the 28th Infantry in the direction of Schmidt. The infantry thickened this preparation with intense small arms fire to give the impression that the 8th Division was launching a simultaneous attack.
The cloudy dawn of February 6, 1945 found the 45th finally pulling out of the Hurtgen Forest, leaving log huts or cellars which had been home for just over two months, dragging guns and trucks through mud four miles to a new area southeast of Gey, Germany, in the town of Strass. The next day Captain William E. Ward, commanding B Battery, and Sergeant Leonard A. Martin, also of B Battery, were wounded in action. At 0300 on February 8 the battalion once more slogged through the muddy roads under light showers into positions in and near the town of Birgel, southwest of Duren and overlooking the Roer River. Preparations were made for a crossing of the Roer on February 10; however, the state of flood of the river due to the preceding days' rains forced the postponement of the crossing until later in the month. On February 17th four men were wounded in action, and two the next day during the harassing fire by the enemy across the river.
Until February 23 activity was limited to careful observation of the east bank of the river from forward observation posts in an near Lendersdorf and rear OP's in Berzbuir and Birgel. The infantry patrolled the river at night, determining water levels, rate of flow, and suitable crossing points. It was estimated that the enemy had eight battalions of artillery of all calibers, including a few heavy pieces, capable of firing into the 8th Division's sector. As the days passed the enemy harassing fire became increasingly severe, the Battalion command post itself receiving intermittent fire from one piece of heavy calibre.
At 3 a.m. on the 23rd the U.S. Ninth Army, plus the VII Corps of the U.S. First Army, made a general attack and crossing of the Roer River. The 28th Infantry Regiment participated in this attack and was supported by the 45th Field Artillery Battalion, re-enforced by the 18th Field Artillery Battalion and the 28th Infantry Cannon Company. All artillery fired a forty-five minute preparation from 2:45 to 3:00 a.m.; during this period the 45th fired nearly 1.400 rounds. Subsequent intelligence data revealed that this preparation was highly successful in destroying enemy equipment and communications.
The 28th Infantry Regiment crossed the river at Lendersdorf, experiencing some difficulty from small arms and mortar fire and much difficulty from the rapidity of the current of the river. When enemy planes attempted to break up the crossing operation of 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry, they dropped a flare which would have exposed the operation in progress. Tech/5 Wilbur G. Williams, with Captain Owens and Liaison I, exposed himself to strafing fire by a low flying enemy plane to successfully extinguish the flare before it caused damaging exposure of the crossing by the battalion. Second Lt. George L. Browning and PFC Leroy B Leichtemberger were crossing the river in an assault boat which was carried downstream by the strong current. Unfortunately the boat came to shore directly opposite a German machine gun which opened fire. Seeing a wounded man was unable to move out the fire, Lt. Browning exposed himself to the grazing fire of the machine gun to carry the man 200 yards to safety. After having found cover for himself, PFC Leichtenberger returned to the boat and removed a wounded man to safety. Later he exposed himself to the grazing fire with Lt. Browning to aid in carrying that wounded man to medical aid. When his boat capsized while crossing the river, Tech/4 Doyle Bradford swam to the far shore and while exposed to withering enemy fire, assisted in removing several infantrymen from the raging waters. He then continued forward with the attacking infantry to successfully maintain infantry artillery communications.
When his assault boat capsized during the crossing, 2nd Lt Harmond Howard, a forward observer, seized his radio and being unable to carry his submachine gun, threw it toward shore. As he reached shore an enemy machine gun opened up. Swimming back into the river, he recovered his gun and knocked out the German machine gun nest. Later when a mine exploded, wounding 18 men including himself Lt Howard obtained aid and evacuation for the wounded. His great courage and leadership were in the highest traditions of military service, and he was awarded the Silver Star. When his assault boat was stopped twenty yards from the shore, Staff Sergeant Donald A. Delozier, in the face of heavy enemy small arms fire, rather than drop the heavy 610 artillery radio he was carrying, swam through barbed wire and other obstacles to successfully reach the far shore and establish communications. In the same attack, with complete disregard for his own safety, Pvt Edgar F. Daniel swam to the far shore with two infantry 536 radios in the face of heavy enemy small arms fire. Upon reaching the far shore, Pvt Daniel plunged into the river to rescue a drowning comrade. During the confusion which characterized the landing, 2n Lt. John M. Smith was taken prisoner by the Germans.
Back on the west bank of the river, when Number One gun of Battery C was destroyed by a direct hit from incoming artillery, injuring the gun chief, Sergeant Clint W. McCoy, killing Pvt Ernest Grasso, and setting the powder bags on fire, Sergeant Roland N. Carter and Tech/4 John M. Lyons, despite the danger of the ammunition at the guns exploding, moved Sgt. McCoy to safety.
After having crossed the river that day, Tech/5 Joe E. Ambrose, radio operator with the forward observer party was attached with an infantry company; with the party moved forward with the company until halted by direct enemy artillery, mortar, and small arms fire. Without thought for his own personal safety, Tech/5 Ambrose moved to an exposed position and established communications. Keeping communications open once they had been established remained a difficult task. After three men had been injured attempting to lay wire to the liaison officer, Corporal Lorenzo J. Cucciniello exposed himself to heavy enemy artillery concentrations and established communications. With utter disregard for his own safety Corporal Clair S. Dustin laid wire under intense enemy artillery and mortar fire. Tech/5 John J. Arbittelli, with utter disregard for his own safely, exposed himself to intense enemy artillery, mortar, and small arms fire in order to lay wire along a road under observation of and to enemy positions.
The Third Battalion, 28th Infantry, had the mission of crossing first, by-passing the town of Niederau, and seizing the important town of Stockheim, several thousand yards east of the river. To aid in the accomplishment of this mission the artillery gave the 3rd Battalion an unusually large volume of fire on its flanks and front. On one occasion final defensive fires had to be fired around the 3rd Battalion in the woods just west of Stockheim to repel a counter-attack. . Second Lt Richard Gilmore, as acting artillery forward observer with the 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry, without regard for his own personal safety, positioned himself in an exposed position within range of sniper fire in order to observe enemy movement on the east bank of the river. It enabled him to bring artillery fire on the enemy barges and personnel in the river and allowed the 3rd Battalion to consolidate their gains.
Throughout the day of February 23rd the 45th Field Artillery Battalion fired in excess of three thousand rounds. Casualties for the battalion, including those mentioned above, were seven wounded, one killed in action, and one missing in action.
On February 24 the town of Niederau was cleared and the town of Stockheim taken. This day Lt.Col A.A. Greene, commanding the 45th Field Artillery Battalion, was evacuated for illness, and Major Ernest W. Ripy, Jr., battalion executive officer, assumed command. This same day during an attack by an infantry battalion, enemy infantry and tanks secured positions to the rear of the battalion's position. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, 1st Lt. Frank J. Pokorny moved his radio to a position forward of his own lines and within 50 yards of the enemy. With utter disregard for his own personal safety, he directed artillery fire upon his position, and when the enemy counter-attacked his fire completely routed the enemy forces.
The next day, February 25, the 45th displaced across the Roer River over a bridge at Duren over good roads and under fair weather, and took up positions in factories in Niederau. Heavy harassing fires were placed on successive objectives of the infantry, forcing the Germans into the basements of houses and holding them there until fires were lifted as the 28th Infantry entered the towns. In the heat of this fighting, Pvt Vincent J. DeSaatis, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, in the face of heavy enemy small arms and artillery fire, attempted to assist a wounded comrade. Although seriously wounded himself by enemy machine gun fire, Pvt DeSaatis succeeded in dragging the wounded man to safety. Privates First Class Marion P. Daley and Ellis Moore, both members of a forward observation party, did continuously expose themselves to intense enemy mortar and artillery barrages to fight off enemy snipers who were stalking the position of the OP. Through their great courage and efficiency under fire twelve prisoners were taken and the security of the observation post maintained. Both received the Bronze Star. During a German counter-attack with tanks and infantry, concentrating tank fire on an infantry battalion command post, Captain Albert M. Fenster, a liaison officer, without regard for his own personal safety, exposed himself to enemy fire and directed effective fire on the enemy, forcing them to withdraw. His gallant action and courage aided materially in the infantry battalion gaining its objective. Altogether the battalion suffered six men wounded on the 25th.
Until the end of the month the 28th Infantry had the dual mission of advancing and at the same time protecting the right flank of the Division (and of the Corps) until the 1st Division could come abreast. The artillery fired strong harassing fire to the east and south to prevent the massing of any sizeable force for an attack against the flank. This mode of operations continued as the Battalion displaced over poor condition roads on February 27 to Gozheim in spasmodic showers, and on the cloudy 28th of February to an area just west of Kerpen, on the main highway from Duren to Cologne. By the end of this period the enemy, represented chiefly in this sector by the 353rd and 12th Volks Grenadier Divisions, was thoroughly disorganized and in full retreat.
During the evening of March 1st the 28th Infantry moved to Gotzendirehen in column of battalions to attack across the Erft Canal toward Rolsdorf, Modrath, and Habbelrath. At 6:30 p.m. the 45th Field Artillery began firing preparations on these objectives and on surrounding high ground. In the face of accurate enemy artillery and mortar barrages, 1st Lt Paul J. Ayotte swam the Erft Canal with a wire line in order to establish a forward switchboard. He then assisted the members of his crew across the canal and directed the location of the highly important switchboard. Private First Class Robert P. Elfering, under fire with Captain Owens and Liaison I, was wounded in action. The 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry took Rolsdorf but was unable to advance beyond this point because of persistent enemy counter-attacks in force.
In the fighting on March 2nd the battalion lost numerous casualties, including seven wounded and two killed in action, Tech/4 Leon R. Rock and PFC Lynn R. Mouers. During one of the intense counter-attacks, disregarding his own personal safety, PFC Samuel Waitzman exposed himself to terrific enemy counter-battery fire to administer aid to a wounded artilleryman. He then carried the man through heavy enemy fire to a place of safety. The 2nd Battalion met strong resistance, mainly from tanks and assault guns, when it tried to enter Modrath. After additional concentrated artillery fire was placed on the town, the infantry was able to enter the edge of the town.
Tanks and self-propelled guns continued to offer considerable resistance until tank destroyers were brought to bear. One tank was known to have been destroyed by artillery fire. This may have been the occasion when Captain Owens, adjusting artillery fire in a town, caught a tank with its turret hatch open and adjusting fire directed a 105 mm shell into the interior of the tank, with spectacular results. The 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry took Habbelrath with unusual difficulty. The next night, after the customary artillery harassing and preparatory fires, the 1st Battalion attacked south, taking Grefrath; and the 3rd Battalion attacked southeast and took Bottenbroich and Furstenberg.
On March 3, 1945 the 28th Infantry Regiment prepared to attack the important town of Frechen, the 2nd Battalion attacking from the north, 1st Battalion from the west, and 3rd Battalion from the south. Divisional artillery pounded Frechen during the day, and a number to TOT's were fired at night prior to the attack. The 3rd Battalion met stubborn opposition and failed to advance materially until the morning of the 4th. The 1st and 2nd Battalions, the latter by virtue of a well executed maneuver, moved into the outskirts of Frechen with relatively little opposition. Once within the city, however, both battalions were counter-attacked several times by tanks and infantry. Artillery fire was directed against all of these attacks with good effect.
On March 4 Frechen was cleared house by house, and the 45th Field Artillery dragged guns through three miles of muddy roads in the rain to the Modarth area. The next day the battalion moved once again under cloudy skies to positions in Benzelbrath in the southern outskirts of Frechen. The 28th Infantry Regiment attacked south from Gleuel, taking Berrenrath and the Goldenberg power plant, near Knapsack, the main source of power for Cologne.
On March 6th the 45th displaced five miles to positions in and near the Goldenberg plant. At dark the 28th Infantry attacked to take Rondorf, Meschenich, and Inmendorf. Despite stubborn resistance all objectives were taken but Immendorf, which fell the following day. One severe German counter-attack with tanks and infantry assaulted an artillery observation post inside a house, where Tech/ 4 (acting liaison sergeant) Maurice S. Owen, Tec/5 Edward A. Schervinski, and PFC Orville R. Rine were on duty. One enemy tank fired point blank at the house the three men were occupying, directly into the room from which Sgt. Owen was observing. In spite of this he continued to assist with the observation and fired on the enemy with a pistol. Rine and Schervindki, disregarding their own personal safety, continued to operate the radio until artillery fire was successfully brought down on the enemy, halting the counter-attack. During another German counter-attack, Cpl. Edward H. Meding advanced with a radio under enemy shell fire to locate the artillery liaison officer thereby enabling accurate artillery fire to be brought on the enemy. His actions were directly responsible for neutralizing the enemy counter-attack.
On the cloudy evening of March 7th the 45th displaced three miles to Fischennich, and the infantry continued its mission of clearing the west bank of the Rhine in its sector. The towns of Rodenkirche, Goldorf, and Tonforf (the latter only after heavy artillery had quieted enemy assault guns there) fell in succession. In a pre-dawn attack, 2nd Lt. James H. Gillette was accompanying the leading elements of a battalion to give close artillery support to the infantry as they advanced across open terrain in the darkness. Daylight arrived too soon during the advance, giving the movement away to enemy tanks and infantry holding the town. Faced by devastating fire of enemy tanks and machine gun fire without cover, further advance was impossible, and an orderly withdrawal was likewise impracticable. Lt. Gillette disregarding his own personal safety set up his radio and brought artillery fire to bear on the enemy guns, neutralizing their fire and allowing the friendly infantry to reorganize and take the town.
At 10 a.m. March 7th the 45th Field Artillery Battalion fired its one hundred thousandth combat round. During the fighting, when the Germans launched a vicious counter-attack with tanks and machine guns supported by infantry, Pvt Walter Jaggard and Tec/5 Walter C. Sallis recovered the artillery observer's radio, their only means of communication, which had been lost in the counter-attack. Pvt. Jaggard was wounded in the attempt. When the radio was destroyed, PFC Doras F. Schillenger voluntarily carried a radio through intense enemy artillery and mortar fire to re-establish communications.
On March 8th, after heavy small arms fire, the infantry cleared the towns of Surth and Weiss and reached the western banks of the Rhine; all artillery fire was transferred to be directed against the east side of the river. While these advances were being made, infantrymen led by tanks were advancing over open terrain. During one advance, when they were 1500 yards from their objective, the infantrymen were pinned down by a heavy enemy artillery barrage. Privates Floyd N. Crowningshield and Joseph A Gervas, of a liaison party attached to the infantry, were among the first to resume the advance, instilling courage in the infantrymen who followed. In the same fighting, when direct fire from enemy tanks and self-propelled guns halted the advance of the infantry troops, 1st Lt. Ray N. McCloughan, an artillery observer, exposed himself to setup his radio and bring fire on the Germans until friendly troops could reorganize and continue their advance.
During a night attack on an enemy factory near Surth, defended by four self-propelled guns, Cpl Rubin Pargament distinguished himself as an artillery liaison corporal. When the order came for the infantry to assault the factory, Cpl. Pargament and two others of the artillery section led the attack, crawling under machine gun fire directed from one of the assault guns. This enabled an artillery observation post to be set up, and artillery fire to be brought down upon the enemy more rapidly and with telling effect. Later during the night the 28th Infantry Regiment was relieved in place by the 104th Infantry.
On March 9, 1945 the 45th Field Artillery Battalion displaced eleven miles over good roads to non-firing positions in the town of Buschell, just north of Frechen. Here until March 13 a program of maintenance and rest was followed On the 14th the 8th Division relieved the 1st Infantry Division in place along the Rhine south of Cologne. The 45th Field Artillery, marching twenty miles, took over positions occupied by the 7th Field Artillery Battalion in and near the town of Bernheim. The mission of the Infantry was the defense of the west bank of the Rhine; activity was in general light. On March 20 the 45th displaced from Bernheim, taking new positions as follows: HQ-Bruhl, Battery A--Sechtems, Battery B- Berzdorf, Battery C- Rondorf, Service Battery- Bruhl. Since the sector of the 28th Infantry Regiment extended from Rodenkirchen to Bonn, an extremely wide (10,000 yard) battalion front was in order.
On March 23 Captain Owens was transferred from Liaison Officer with Liaison I to Commanding Officer, B Battery, a position which he had previously held while at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Acting Battalion Commander Major Ripy wanted to get Captain Owens off the front lines. On March 25th the 69th Division Artillery took over the direct support mission of the 45th and the battalion reverted to general support of the 50th Field Artillery Battalion. In doing so the 45th displaced via Cologne to Sinnersdorf, covering fifteen miles. On March 28 the 86th Infantry Division relieved the 8th Division of its mission to defend the west bank of the Rhine.
On March 29 the 45th Field Artillery Battalion displaced under combat team control from Sinnersdorf to Hammelsburg, Germany, via Cologne, Brunl, Bernheim, Bonn (across the Tradwat bridge over the Rhine at this point), and Altenkirchen, a total of sixty miles under fair skies and over fair roads. The 8th Infantry Division took over the sector of the 1st Infantry Division south of the Sieg River, the 28th Infantry Regiment taking over in the sector of the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division. The mission of the 8th Division was to secure the Sieg River road by gaining the high ground north of the river. The 28th Infantry Regiment immediately pushed forward to secure the towns of Wissen and Betzdorf. On March 30th the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry entered Wissen after reducing a few strong points, while the 1st Battalion, after encountering considerable small arms fire, secured the south bank of the Sieg in the vicinity of Betzdorf. While laying a wire line in the vicinity of Wissen, Private First Class Roy L. West and another man exposed themselves to heavy enemy artillery fire in order to make a splice in the wire. In this they displayed courage and disregard for their personal safety. Throughout the day many personnel targets of opportunity were engaged by the artillery with excellent effect.
By April 1, 1945, the situation was as follows: The enemy held well-organized positions on the high ground north of the Sieg. The 8th Division, attacking north from the river, was attempting to secure routes of communication and this vital high ground, preparatory to the reduction of the Ruhr Pocket, with an estimated quarter million Germans. All three regiments of the Division were committed, with the 28th Infantry, on the left, deployed on a front extending from Wissen to Brachback, a distance of 15,000 meters. In view of this broad regimental front, it was necessary to spread the three firing batteries of the 45th over a 10,000 yard front in such a manner as to provide the massing of the fires of at least two batteries on any given target. Therefore, elements of the Battalion occupied the following positions: Headquarters--Hommelsberg, Battery A--Molzhein, Battery B, Captain Owens commanding--vicinity of Dern, Battery C-- Dermbach, 28th Infantry Cannon Company, attached--Sobhadshain. Since there was no contact between infantry battalions, the enemy constantly infiltrated friendly positions, and small size counter-attacks became common. Forward observers and liaison officers, favored by reasonably good ground observation, were able to bring heavy volumes of accurate fire to bear upon these targets. At night the artillery found it necessary to maintain intense harassing fires to secure friendly positions against the enemy's aggressive patrolling. Ammunition expenditures ranged between one and two thousand rounds daily.
On April 2nd Headquarters 45th Field Artillery displaced to Holzhain, Battery A to Alsdorf, and the Cannon Company to Dorn. The roads were wet and weather rainy. The infantry continued to gain and consolidate objectives against stubborn resistance, infiltration, and counter-attack. Personnel targets continued to be very numerous and close support ground observation good. Terrain was in general heavily wooded, rugged, and hilly, with poor routes of communication. First Lt. Robert A. Wichert was leading a wire crew in laying wire to the forward artillery observer, although under heavy enemy fire and moving across open terrain. Lt Wichert continued his mission until the wire was laid, enabling the forward observer to bring artillery fire on the enemy. Enemy small arms and light Anti-Aircraft fire was heavy, and artillery fire light, except for medium caliber concentrations of battery fire from the north and northeast of Wissen. In this fighting, after a combat team of the 28th Infantry Regiment was turned back by heavy fire from a 20mm gun, 1st Lt. William T. Morrison volunteered to go forward with a five-man group to infantry to place fire on the gun, advancing over exposed terrain. The group was surrounded and cut off from the remainder of the unit for three hours. By calling for artillery fire at close proximity to his position, Lt. Morrison was able to drive the enemy back and succeeded in destroying the anti-aircraft gun.
On April 3rd the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry continued its attack to the north and northeast to secure the high ground north of Freusberg. The 2nd Battalion maintained its position on the high ground northeast of Wissen against repeated counter-attacks. The 3rd Battalion held positions gained in the vicinity of Wingendt and Katzwinkel. The next day a warning order was received, providing for the relief of the 28th Infantry by the 310th Infantry Regiment, 78th Division, as of the night of April 4th, and also ordering the relief of the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, and the 8th Ran Troop by Combat Team 28 on or before 6 a.m. of April 6th. The 78th Division Artillery had two battalions scheduled to relieve the 45th Field Artillery, only one of which arrived on the afternoon of April 4th. This one battalion was unable to cover the complete regimental sector, so in effect relieved only Battery B of the 45th, Captain Owens commanding, and the Cannon Company. A displacement of the 45th Field Artillery by echelon became necessary. A forward observation post was established at Rupperhausen on April 5th, Battery B, under Captain Owens, displaced to Oberniorf, and the Cannon Company moved to Rachershauson, all over wet roads in the rain. Meanwhile, the 45th maintained a rear command post at Molzhain, with Batteries A and C continuing to occupy their positions of the preceding two days. Only the 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment was relieved during the night of April 4-5. The rear command post of the 45th supported the two remaining two battalions of the 28th Infantry and one battalion of the 310th Infantry, 78th Division, until 6 p.m. April 5th, at which time the 78th Division relieved the remaining elements of the 8th Division. In the new sector of operations heavy harassing fires were instituted against the town of Erndtebruck preparatory to the attack of the 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry scheduled for 4 a.m. of April 6.To cover this attack the 45th Field Artillery had available the supporting fires of the 768th and 911th Field Artillery battalions.
At 4 a.m. on April 6 the 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment jumped off and entered Erndtebruek; once inside, the infantry was confronted with several strong points and Tiger tanks accompanied by German infantry. Assuming the duties of forward observer when his officer was wounded, Sgt. Stephen P. Valochin, Jr. volunteered to accompany a combat patrol in a reconnaissance of a strongly defended enemy position. Although the patrol was pinned down by furious enemy small arms fire and mortar fire, Sgt. Valochin, without thought for his own personal safety, took up an exposed position and directed accurate artillery fire upon the enemy strongholds. His gallant actions and great courage were directly responsible for reducing all organized resistance and enabled the assaulting infantry to take the German position with a minimum of casualties.
While in this close-in tank fighting, Captain Edward C. Williamson, without regard for his personal safety exposed himself to enemy tank fire, only 40 yards distant, to carry a severely wounded infantry battalion commander to safety. Three Tigers were destroyed: one by artillery, one by tank destroyers, and one by an infantryman with a panzerfaust. The remaining tanks were forced to withdraw when the 45th Field Artillery fires denied them their infantry protection.
During the afternoon of April 7 the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry relieved the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry; and the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry moved up behind the 3rd Battalion with the mission of right reserve. Harassing artillery fire was placed in the area between Schaneder and Erndtebruck preparatory to the further advance. In the late afternoon of the 7th the 45th Field Artillery displaced to the town of Schaneder. Combat Team 28 attacked north against light resistance and secured the commanding terrain north and west of Dirkelbach. The advance to the northwest was continued at 6 a.m. on April 8th in column of companies, virtually unopposed. During the day the 45th displaced twice: first to a position approximately one thousand meters southwest of Nusse, then to positions thirty-five hundred meters west of Nusse. The latter movement was made difficult by several blown-out bridges and abatis, though the roads were in fair condition and under fair skies..
On the morning of April 9th the direct support mission of the 45th was assumed by the 86th Division. At noon the 45th displaced to southwest of Niedersotnan, north of Siegon, closing in new area at 4:30 p.m. The 8th Division was attacking to the northwest, with the 13th and 121st Infantry Regiments abreast, the 45th Field Artillery re-enforcing the fires of the 43rd Field Artillery Battalion. This was the beginning of the attack which was to split the Ruhr Pocket. Enemy resistance was characterized by road blocks consisting of tanks or assault guns and infantry, or anti-aircraft guns emplaced for direct fire and infantry.
The fighting in the Ruhr Pocket was distinguished by rapid movement and great mobility. For the artillery it entailed continuous reconnaissance, often with advanced infantry echelons and sometimes in areas previously unentered by friendly troops. Three displacements a day were not unusual. Artillery battalions leapfrogged each other with great flexibility and dispatch, giving the infantry at all times the necessary supporting fire power. At one time the whole 45th battalion column barreled into a town beyond which the infantry had not advanced. Major Ernest W. Ripy, Jr., commanding the 45th, during this time repeatedly displayed personal courage and leadership with the leading infantry troops; he did at all times maneuver the battalion with effective range of the rapidly advancing infantry to provide necessary artillery support fires.
On April 9th Major Ripy and his reconnaissance parties were caught in an incoming enemy artillery concentration, the first round of which landed within five yards of him. His calmness and disregard for his personal safety inspired the other members of his parties with confidence and Major Ripy led the men out of the fire enabling them to continue their reconnaissance. For this incident Major Ripy was awarded the Silver Star. On this day the 45th suffered four men wounded, including Lt. Martin Weiss, later killed in action and decorated posthumously for gallantry in action.
The 45 Field Artillery Battalion displaced in the morning of April 10th to Rhonard (three thousand meters east of Olpe) and again in the afternoon to positions one thousand meters southwest of Olpe. The weather remained fair and roads were good. On the 11th the Battalion resumed its mission of direct support of the 28th Infantry Regiment (which relieved the 13th Infantry), being re-enforced by the 28th and 43rd Field Artillery battalions In its next position, one thousand meters southeast of Wegeringhauson, the 45th took one hundred German prisoners in the immediate battalion area. Later in the day of April 11th the Battalion displaced again to a location fifteen hundred meters north of Piene. Combat Team 28 attacked to the northwest with the 1st and 3rd battalions abreast. Little resistance was encountered until both battalions passed north and northwest of Meinerzhagen. Heavy fire materialized from Anti-Aircraft Artillery units in and around Koirspe-behnef. Both battalions were held up while artillery observers proceeded to neutralize these guns with howitzer fire. The 45th Field Artillery Battalion had four men wounded in this action. After approximately three hours the 3rd Battalion advanced to Kierspe-Bahnhef and buttoned up for the night. The 1st Battalion cleared the east edge of Kierspe-Bahnhef by dark and during the night advanced to a point one thousand meters northwest of Keirap. During the afternoon of this day a by-passed German with a radio was apprehended conducting observed fire upon the position of Battery A, 45th Field Artillery.
On April 12th the Infantry continued to take successive objectives without encountering major opposition. This day the 45th Field Artillery displaced twice, first seven miles to Kierspe-Bahnhof and later seven more miles to Schultenhodfeld. In the later positions eighteen prisoners were captured.
At 7 a.m. of April 13th the 3rd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment attacked northwest towards Schwelm, encountering several road blocks and some artillery and mortar fire. When the advance of the 3rd Battalion was halted by a tank block consisting of one Tiger Royal tank, one self-propelled gun and 200 German infantry, 1st Lt Martin J. Weiss, who had been wounded in action only four days before, established an observation post far ahead of the friendly infantry and brought artillery fire on the enemy. Unable to see the German armored vehicles, Lt Weiss mounted an American tank in order to move nearer the tank block and while under enemy machine gun fire and artillery fire was killed in action when the tank was hit a second time by an enemy self-propelled gun. After a second American tank was destroyed and the advance of the 3rd Battalion remained halted by the German tank block, Tec/5 Hubert F. Sweet dashed across open terrain in the face of furious enemy machine gun fire to set his radio in a position of advantage. Though still exposed to the intense hostile fire he established communication which enabled devastating artillery fire to neutralize the tank barrier and clear the way for the infantry. In addition to Lt. Weiss two men of the 45th were wounded in the fighting of the 13th. The 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry followed the 3rd with the mission of clearing by-passed areas. The 1st Battalion attacked west to capture Radewormwald and was supported by the 56th Field Artillery with the Cannon Company used later to provide flank protection. During this day the 45th displaced three times. Five miles were covered to positions near Dornback, then six miles to Wellringrade, and lastly five miles to Lambeck where three prisoners were taken.
On the night of April 13-14 the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 28th Infantry attacked Schwelm, and the 1st Battalion was relieved by a battalion of the 121st Infantry, 8th Division. In Schwelm self-propelled guns and tanks created considerable difficulty, and the town was not finally cleared until the afternoon of the 14th. The battalion displaced three miles to battery positions near Timpen. By the end of this day, the 45th had lost a man wounded and Tec/5 John J. Maziarz killed in action. Perhaps during this fighting, when the Germans launched a counter-attack with infantry supported by four self-propelled guns, Captain Albert M. Fenster advanced with his radio and directed fire to within fifty yards of his exposed position, knocking out one enemy self-propelled gun and forcing the enemy to withdraw.
On what may have been the same occasion, Tec/4 Luther G. Hisaw and Tec/5 Egidio Nuncrel were subjected to heavy enemy self-propelled artillery fire. A shell ripped through the vehicle carrying Hisaw's radio, but he kept his station in operation and in its exposed position, maintaining most urgently needed communication. Tec/5 Nuncrel was acting as radio operator for a forward observation team, and though his position subjected to intense enemy artillery fire he maintained the vital communications. Wire communications remained difficult under battle conditions. Private First Class Henry L. Kehrer, while laying a wire line, and another man exposed themselves to heavy enemy artillery fire in order to make a splice in the wire. When a battalion of infantry was held up by enemy fire, the forward observer team of 8 men was sent forward to locate and call for artillery fire on the enemy positions. Tec/4 Sam Dreiss and PFC Robert D. Hyland, although under strong enemy fire, carried a radio to a house within 300 yards of a strong enemy position. The house was under a terrific barrage by the Germans, who advanced and surrounded the position. Although surrounded and cut off for five hours, Dreiss and Hyland kept sending messages to bring artillery fire on the enemy positions. Their actions were evidently successful, as neither man was wounded or missing in action, and were no doubt rejoined by the advancing friendly infantry. In the evening the 1st and 2nd battalions attacked abreast toward the Ruhr River and made contact with the 75th Division in the north early in the morning of April 15th. When a tank-infantry attack was held up by enemy self-propelled artillery and indirect artillery fire, 1st Lt. Raymond J. Keirn, artillery observer, dismounted from his tank, and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, moved through the enemy fire and established an observation post. From there he directed artillery fire which enabled the infantry battalion to continue its advance.
At this time the 45th Field Artillery Battalion left its mission of direct support of the 28th Infantry and, assuming the mission of re-enforcing the fires of the 43rd Field Artillery, displaced six miles to the vicinity of Negte. Meanwhile, the Division changed the direction of its attack to the west along the Ruhr River, with the 13th and 121st Infantry regiments abreast, the 13th to pass through the 28th at 10 a.m. on April 15th. On the 16th the 45th displaced eight miles to Niederspreckhovel, and the Division continued its attack to the west to contact the 13th Armored Division. On this day the 45th Field Artillery fired its last combat round of the war, 121,128 combat rounds.
On the morning of the 17th of April the 8th Division reached the Corps stop line. The 45th made two displacements this day near and in the city of Velbert. In the first of these positions the battalion received the surrender of some five hundred by-passed Germans after a march of eleven miles to Schwardt. Later two more miles were covered to Velbert, the weather continuing to remain fair. By the end of the 17th all resistance in the Ruhr Pocket had ceased.
April 18th and 19th the battalion remained in Velbert, out of contact of the enemy, preparing to assume military government in sections in the vicinity of Attendorn, Germany. A German general and two staff officers were ferreted out of their hiding place and brought into the battalion command post by members of the battalion. On the 20th of April the 45th Field Artillery Battalion marched sixty miles to Attendorn via Schwelm, Halver, Ludenscheid, and Hershied and took over military control of the area. Battery locations were as follows: Headquarters and Service batteries-- Attendorn, Battery Aplettenberg, Battery B, Captain Owens-- Euchclhein, Battery C-- Welchen-Ennest. Two day later (April 22nd) the battalion moved over wet roads in the rain to the vicinity of Hennef, via Olpe, Wualdbrol, and Schenenberg, to assume new military government duties in this area. Battery locations were: Headquarters and Service batteries--Hennef, Battery A--Vilich, Battery B, Captain Owens--Eiterf, Battery C--Bullesbach. These duties the battalion performed until noon of April 25th, after which time preparations were begun for a movement to a new area of tactical operation.
Crossing its IP in Hennef, Germany, at 3:55 a.m. in the morning of April 28th, the 45th Field Artillery Battalion began a three hundred and thirty mile motor march to the northeast to an assembly area in the vicinity of Uelzen, in the Elbe Plain. The route passed through Hennef, Waldbrel, Berschlag, Neinerzhagen, Halver, Schivelm, Wuppertal, Dortmund, Unna, Soest, Paderborn, Hammeln, Mildeshain, Braunschweig, Gifhern, Suderburg, and Greulingen. The march was completed at 11:30 p.m., April 28th, when the battalion occupied position in Graulingen. Twenty hours on the march non-stop was record-breaking. For the next two days, April 29-30, the battalion stood by for movement orders to cross the Elbe River in the sector of XVIII Airborne Corps.
On May 1st Combat Team 28 crossed the Elbe River at Bleckede, moving fifty-two miles into a bridgehead established by the 82nd Airborne Division. The 45th Field Artillery closed into firing positions in the vicinity of Timkenberg at 5 p.m. that afternoon. The mission of the 8th Division, under XVIII Corps and the British 2nd Army, was to seize the important town of Schwerin, approximately twenty-five miles distant, and to be prepared to continue the attack to the Baltic Sea. The mission of the 28th Infantry Regiment was to follow in column and mop up behind the 121st Infantry. The 45th Field Artillery had its normal mission of direct support of the 28th Infantry Regiment. On the morning of May 2nd this drive for Schwerin was begun. No resistance was encountered, and all elements moved rapidly, the 45th Field Artillery displacing successively to Dammereoz (13 miles), Bandenitz (20 miles), and Hoert (10 miles), in which town the battalion closed at 6 p.m. that evening. Roads were fair and weather was cool. By this time the Germans had begun a general surrender, moving into the battalion lines from the east, from which direction the Russians were advancing. As the 45th closed in to Hoert from the west, the first large group of Germans entered the town from the northeast and southeast. At once the mission of the battalion became one of military police. It controlled traffic along the prisoner-jammed roads, established prisoner-of-war and displaced persons camps, and secured and patrolled the surrounding country. On May 2nd and the succeeding two days, the 45th disarmed, impounded, and processed an excess of seven thousand German prisoners, including the commander of the Ost See Division. At 5 p.m. on May 3rd the 28th Infantry Regiment made contact with the advanced elements of the Russian Army. VE day found the 45th Field Artillery Battalion guarding and administering its prisoner-of-war enclosure at Hoert.
In ten months of combat Greenback lost 15 officers and men killed in action and 126 wounded. Its members were awarded 19 Silver Stars, 88 Bronze Stars and clusters, 26 Air Medals and clusters, and five Soldiers' Medals. It travelled in the neighborhood of 3,000 miles from battery position to battery position and made 80 displacements. It awarded three battlefield commissions and had three of its men taken prisoner by the enemy. The battalion in turn took over 8,000 enemy soldiers as prisoners-of-war. This is a record few artillery battalions can approach and of which the Greenback men are profoundly proud.
From May 9 until June 1st the Battalion guarded and administered a Prisoner-of-War enclosure at Hoert, Germany, and performed usual garrison duties. On June 1st the battalion motored 232 miles to an assembly area at Weimar, Germany. There until June 13th the Battalion followed a brief training program and began preparations for overseas movement. From June 14th to 16th the 45th Field Artillery Battalion marched by motor to its final assembly and staging area. On the 14th 193 miles were covered under fair skies over good roads before the battalion went into bivouac. The next day 150 miles were motored, the final 240 miles to Camp Old Gold were covered through France on the 16th, crossing their earlier path forward at Rheims before reaching their final destination near Le Havre. On the evening of June 29th, 1945, the 45th Field Artillery Battalion embarked on board the U.S. Naval Transport General Squier at Le Havre, sailing the next morning.
After an uneventful crossing the ship dropped anchor at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the afternoon of July 8th, 1945. The next day the unit debarked and proceeded to Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia, preparatory to leaving by Reception Center groups to begin 30 day recovery and recuperation leaves and furloughs, after which the unit was scheduled for redeployment to the Pacific Theater of Operations. Before these 30 day leaves and furloughs were ended, V-J day had arrived, and the planned redeployment was rescended. Captain Owens and two other officers of the 45th were ordered to Reception Station #15, Fort McPherson, Georgia. From there he travelled to home in Clayton, Alabama.
After 30 days leave for recuperation Captain Owens was ordered to return to Fort McPherson on or before August 12, 1945 for further movement in a group to the Assembly Station. Captain Owens reported with the balance of the 8th Division to Fort Leonard Wood from this point. On September 27 Captain Owens was released from assignment and duty with the 45th Field Artillery Battalion and ordered from Fort Wood to Separation Center #3 Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He was to arrive there on October 1, 1945, reporting to the commanding officer for discharge. On October 3rd Captain Owens was released from being attached but unassigned at the Separation Center, Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and ordered to proceed to his home to revert to inactive status. Provided three days for travel, he had two months, 24 days, of terminal leave, effective October 4th. His relief from active duty was effective December 30, 1945
During his active service in the U.S. Army, Captain Owens served as Combat Liaison Officer and Field Artillery Battery Commander. As Liaison Officer he spent considerable time traveling from Infantry Battalion headquarters to Artillery units, relaying information to both groups to bring about proper fire support to Infantry action in combat. In this capacity he supervised a crew of five enlisted non-commissioned officers of his liaison team. All reports and information were rendered verbally. He attended all Battalion staff meetings. Eight months were spent in combat. As Field Artillery Battery Commanding Officer, he was completely responsible for the administration, supply, billeting, mess, and discipline of the battery, leading the unit in combat for one month. Captain Owens spent twenty months overseas, nine of which were in actual combat in the European Theatre of Operations, traversing France, Luxembourg, and Germany.
The next year, on October 25, 1946, Captain Owens' appointment to the rank of Captain was made permanent, to date from December 31, 1945. His previous promotion to this rank had been temporary. In a month, he received another promotion in rank. Everett Owens' appointment to the rank of Major, Field Artillery, was made November 27, 1946, to date from that day. On the first day of April, 1953, Major Everett C. Owens, Jr., Field Artillery-US Army Reserve, was Honorably Discharged from the Army of the United States.
Return to 8th ID page