Battle History of "A" Battery, 391St Armored Field Artillery Battalion
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Bangor Public Library Bangor Community: Digital Commons@bpl World War Regimental Histories World War Collections 1-1-1945 Battle history of "A" battery, 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion; Third Armored (spearhead) Division, first United States Army, 24 June, 1944 to 24 April, 1945 United States Army Follow this and additional works at: http://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his Recommended Citation United States Army, "Battle history of "A" battery, 391st Armored Field Artillery Battalion; Third Armored (spearhead) Division, first United States Army, 24 June, 1944 to 24 April, 1945" (1945). World War Regimental Histories. Book 18. http://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/18 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the World War Collections at Bangor Community: Digital Commons@bpl. It has been accepted for inclusion in World War Regimental Histories by an authorized administrator of Bangor Community: Digital Commons@bpl. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BATTLE H I STORY OF "A" • BATTERY 391th ARMORED FIE_Lp.ART;ILL,ERY .. .. ., ., ~ f_ ~(' BATTALi d ·:~{ : .. : ., ... .. .... , ......... .. --- ... ~ .... :: ~-r.~.. :: THIRD ARMORED (SPEARHEAD) DIVISION FIRST UNITED STATES ARMY 24 JUNE 1944 TO 24 APRIL 1945 DEDICATED TO • T/5 JAMES CONLEY PFC. ROBERT HORTON ~ ~ . ::: -. •• . h .• _PFC. ·JEAN PARENTEAU ; • .. I. ::- . '• P.FC. NICOLAS CAPRINOLA ' . " '• . ~ ........ .. : ~ : : . -. PFC: JOSEPH POPOVICH T/5 TRUMAN FANNING CONTENTS THE CAMPAIGN IN NORMANDY. 7 SPEARHEADING THROUGH FRANCE AND BELGIUM 2i SWEATIN OUT THE SIEGFRIED BATILE OF THE BULGE . TIME OUT FOR AWHILE . PUSH TO THE RHINE . THE ROSE POCKET . ON TO THE ELBE . .. AND VICT ORY . ro3 DEDICATION This book is dedicated to those who had to pay the supreme sacrifice so that the others could go on. We wish you were here to read it and when, in later years, one of us happens to meet another the conversation will be most certain to include you. When special days come and toasts are drunk by those of us who made it, one will always be to you. We lived, ate. slept, travelled together, rode the same ship to England, cussed the English weather, were all frightened together, sloshed through the mud, and shared foxholes together. Some of it was fun and some of it was hell. The worst of it was having to see you die and feeling so helpless about it. We made them pay and pay heavily for you. You are gone but you will never be forgotten by any of the men you lived and fought with for so long. It seems as if the best always have to go and we hope that you are happy in that great beyond where valiant warriors have always gone. So to you, Jim Conley, Bob Horton, Jean Parenteau, Nick Caprinola, "Pop" Popovich and Truman Fanning, who were with us so much, the author and the men dedicate this book. PREFACE This book is for and about the men of Battery "A", 39lst Armored · Field Artillery Battalion. It tries to relate, in detail, what happens while a war is being fought. It tries to tell what men do and think while under the strain of battle and what they do when one battle is over and preparations are being made for the next one. It started to be a history, but histories are cold and lifeless and in a story about a group of one hundred men it is possible to include intimate details of a lot of the things that happened. It is to be moted that as a diary of a combat out fit engaged in fighting the enemy this is an artillery story, and as such reflects the actions and reactions of artillerymen and the part they play in total war. If anyone, any section or any part of the battery, feels that his or their part in the war has been slighted or has not been given their just due in this book, the author offers his humble apologies. If there were incidents which should be in this book and are not, it is not intentional. Everything is here that could be remembered, and in the absence of written notes it is certain that much has been left out. All of you will understand that. All of us put something into the battery but we got a lot back in laugther, fellowship, and enjoyment. It's been a pleasure to know all of you and most of you will agree that the guys and the officers were a pretty hard bunch to beat, especially when the chips were down. The author hopes that his efforts will be rewarded by all of you enjoying and appreciating this book for you and about you. That will be more than enough. H. G l en ] en k i n s. THE CAMPAIGN IN NORMANDY The bright sun and blue skies that greeted us at 6:00 hours on Saturday, 24th. June 1944, in marshalling area near Dorchester, Dorset in England were matched by the gay spirits of the men of Battery "A". 39lst Armored Field Artillery Battalion. We knew it was our last day in England and that the next stop was to be the battlefield of Nor mandy but we were old soldiers and had been expecting war - with us playing an active part in it ever since leaving the states. Morale was high, the men were part of a crac.k outfit, and everyone was very conscious of that fact. Then, too, we remembered our very sucessful campaigns in Louisiana, California, Virginia, and our most famous one - that of Harrisburg, Pennsylvapia. Not exactly war but good campaigns and well conducted ones none of the less. Breakfast was good and we left for the vehicles shortly afterward with a full stomach and the fascination of the unknown ahead of us. After mounting up we had only a short wait until our escort arrived to lead"us to L. S. T. 75, off Weymouth Roads. It was 9:00 hours when we started down winding roads through the beautiful country side of southern England. It had never been prettier than on this June morning, our last in England. The people of Weymouth gave us a nice farewell as we drove through the city and across a causway to the beach. It was lined with columns of vehicles, and "A" Battery had to wait their turn. SOS troops passed out life preservers while we were waiting. and most of us hoped that the wait would be long enough for us to eat some of the dinner we could smell cooking in field kitchens nearby. But the first section of the column was called before they could eat. We wound our way around th~ roads of the island, past a large cage full of German prisoners up to our L.S.T. It looked like a huge whale with its mouth open, the large opening dwarfing the tanks as they rumbled up the plank to the ship. We started boarding at 12:30 with Cpl. Paul Meehan and Pfc. Albert Mayer in the leading peep. The battery 7 was all board by 15:30, the vehicles all tied down, and every ind1 of deck space filled. We pulled out into the anchorage at 17 :30 hours and awaited sailing orders. We spent the intervening hours looking the ship over and exchanging tall stories, facts, fancies, and rumors with the ships crew. Some of our men, led by 1st. Sgt. Allen and S/Sgt. Albritton were in the mood to stay with the ship when they found out that a certain spigot in a companion way near the galley gave out with hot coffee instead of water. The two Sergeants mentioned above, established an all time record of coffee consumption in the next 24 hours. Supper was served by the ships crew the and rest of the evening was idled away under the hot showers, then looking for a place to sleep and after finding it using the place so no one else would crowd the finder out. We sailed at 23:00 hours, our two sausage ballons over head swaying from side to side as we gathered speed and headed for the Frenm coast. The coast was in sight when we got up the next morning. A coast that looked hazy in the distance, and most of us were wondering just what was behind those hills that we could see on that sunny Sunday morning. Our L.S.T. arrived at the French coast at 13:00 hours, June 25th, and dropped anmor in the midst of a host of all different sorts, sizes, and shapes of ships. We studied the shore through glasses and could make out some of the effects of the land, sea, and air bom- .bardments which preceded the initial landings. Not all of ours had made it either because there were the hulks of sunken, bombed out, and beached ships and barges to tell us that others had been before us. The beam and water were full of trucks and ducks unloading the ships and getting the vital materials to the troops who were inland. Orders came for us to beach at 16:45 hours and we did, at Omaha Fox Red, but the beam didn't slope at the proper angle and the gang plank did not meet it when let down. A bulldozer made a run way to the gang plank and the Sixth Section tank, led by Sgt. Willie Carawan and driven by Tee 5 George Stein, was the first vehicle ashore. Others followed quickly and before long the whole battery was on the road to the first marshalling area.