Cenotaph here
He had enlisted in the Army ASN #36839262. He served as a Private, with the 22nd Tank Battalion of the 11th Armored Division.
The Nazis were bewildered. Intelligence had reported less than a week before: "The American 11th Armored Division has relieved the 94th Inf. Div. in the siege of the Lorient pocket."
Yet, here was the 11th, 500 miles from Lorient, smashing into the enemy's crack 5th and 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions, and holding the vital Neufchateau-Bastogne highway. Once again, the speed of American armor had baffled the Germans.
The 11th was assigned to the Lorient Pocket on the day first elements of the division landed at Cherbourg. But that day was Dec. 16, when Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt unleashed his massive counter-offensive in the Ardennes. That scrapped original plans.
Tanks, half-tracks, armored cars, peeps and trucks took off in a dash through the rubbled towns of Normandy, the Seine Valley, northeast through the Argonne to the banks of the Meuse River. Bitter cold, rain and snow made the march a rugged test of armored skill.
On the Meuse, elements of the division were tactically deployed for the first time. Assigned to the river from Givet to Verdun, Combat Command A, commanded by Brig. Gen. Willard A. Holbrook, Jr., was divided into two task forces for patrol activity. All bridges across the river were prepared for demolition in the event Germans broke through.
In the meantime, the sole supply corridor to the embattled Americans in Bastogne was being threatened by German counter- attacks. Again the 11th changed its plans, turned the Meuse River defense over to the 17th Airborne Div., and on Dec. 29 roared 85 miles to an assembly area near Neufchateau.
Without a pause, the division launched into its first action. Attacking abreast, CC A and Col. Wesley W. Yale's CC B jumped off at 0730 next day with the 41st Cav. Recon Sqdn. Within an hour, the drive ran smack into an enemy attack headed for the highway.
The fighting was fierce and bitter. One CC B tank force punched its way into Lavaselle and seized high ground near Brul and Houmont. Despite a heavy artillery barrage that night, all gains were held.
Reserve Command, under Col. Virgil Bell, struck next day, grabbed key terrain southwest of Pinsamont. Pressing on to Acul, CC R doughs were pinned down by heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire.
Twice, in the slugging battle, CC B armored doughs tried to seize the town of Chenogne but each time superior forces drove them off. The third and final assault was launched on New Year's morning. Tanks and artillery laid down massed fire while the infantry followed up. The town was completely secured by noon.
While CC B regrouped, 13 artillery battalions hurled a paralyzing barrage of fire on the heavily defended Bois des Valets. Armored doughs penetrated the thick woods cleaned it out. Seizure of this key point doomed the German effort to cut the supply route.
( Bio: by Jimmy Cotton )
He had enlisted in the Army ASN #36839262. He served as a Private, with the 22nd Tank Battalion of the 11th Armored Division.
The Nazis were bewildered. Intelligence had reported less than a week before: "The American 11th Armored Division has relieved the 94th Inf. Div. in the siege of the Lorient pocket."
Yet, here was the 11th, 500 miles from Lorient, smashing into the enemy's crack 5th and 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions, and holding the vital Neufchateau-Bastogne highway. Once again, the speed of American armor had baffled the Germans.
The 11th was assigned to the Lorient Pocket on the day first elements of the division landed at Cherbourg. But that day was Dec. 16, when Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt unleashed his massive counter-offensive in the Ardennes. That scrapped original plans.
Tanks, half-tracks, armored cars, peeps and trucks took off in a dash through the rubbled towns of Normandy, the Seine Valley, northeast through the Argonne to the banks of the Meuse River. Bitter cold, rain and snow made the march a rugged test of armored skill.
On the Meuse, elements of the division were tactically deployed for the first time. Assigned to the river from Givet to Verdun, Combat Command A, commanded by Brig. Gen. Willard A. Holbrook, Jr., was divided into two task forces for patrol activity. All bridges across the river were prepared for demolition in the event Germans broke through.
In the meantime, the sole supply corridor to the embattled Americans in Bastogne was being threatened by German counter- attacks. Again the 11th changed its plans, turned the Meuse River defense over to the 17th Airborne Div., and on Dec. 29 roared 85 miles to an assembly area near Neufchateau.
Without a pause, the division launched into its first action. Attacking abreast, CC A and Col. Wesley W. Yale's CC B jumped off at 0730 next day with the 41st Cav. Recon Sqdn. Within an hour, the drive ran smack into an enemy attack headed for the highway.
The fighting was fierce and bitter. One CC B tank force punched its way into Lavaselle and seized high ground near Brul and Houmont. Despite a heavy artillery barrage that night, all gains were held.
Reserve Command, under Col. Virgil Bell, struck next day, grabbed key terrain southwest of Pinsamont. Pressing on to Acul, CC R doughs were pinned down by heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire.
Twice, in the slugging battle, CC B armored doughs tried to seize the town of Chenogne but each time superior forces drove them off. The third and final assault was launched on New Year's morning. Tanks and artillery laid down massed fire while the infantry followed up. The town was completely secured by noon.
While CC B regrouped, 13 artillery battalions hurled a paralyzing barrage of fire on the heavily defended Bois des Valets. Armored doughs penetrated the thick woods cleaned it out. Seizure of this key point doomed the German effort to cut the supply route.
( Bio: by Jimmy Cotton )
Cenotaph here
He had enlisted in the Army ASN #36839262. He served as a Private, with the 22nd Tank Battalion of the 11th Armored Division.
The Nazis were bewildered. Intelligence had reported less than a week before: "The American 11th Armored Division has relieved the 94th Inf. Div. in the siege of the Lorient pocket."
Yet, here was the 11th, 500 miles from Lorient, smashing into the enemy's crack 5th and 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions, and holding the vital Neufchateau-Bastogne highway. Once again, the speed of American armor had baffled the Germans.
The 11th was assigned to the Lorient Pocket on the day first elements of the division landed at Cherbourg. But that day was Dec. 16, when Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt unleashed his massive counter-offensive in the Ardennes. That scrapped original plans.
Tanks, half-tracks, armored cars, peeps and trucks took off in a dash through the rubbled towns of Normandy, the Seine Valley, northeast through the Argonne to the banks of the Meuse River. Bitter cold, rain and snow made the march a rugged test of armored skill.
On the Meuse, elements of the division were tactically deployed for the first time. Assigned to the river from Givet to Verdun, Combat Command A, commanded by Brig. Gen. Willard A. Holbrook, Jr., was divided into two task forces for patrol activity. All bridges across the river were prepared for demolition in the event Germans broke through.
In the meantime, the sole supply corridor to the embattled Americans in Bastogne was being threatened by German counter- attacks. Again the 11th changed its plans, turned the Meuse River defense over to the 17th Airborne Div., and on Dec. 29 roared 85 miles to an assembly area near Neufchateau.
Without a pause, the division launched into its first action. Attacking abreast, CC A and Col. Wesley W. Yale's CC B jumped off at 0730 next day with the 41st Cav. Recon Sqdn. Within an hour, the drive ran smack into an enemy attack headed for the highway.
The fighting was fierce and bitter. One CC B tank force punched its way into Lavaselle and seized high ground near Brul and Houmont. Despite a heavy artillery barrage that night, all gains were held.
Reserve Command, under Col. Virgil Bell, struck next day, grabbed key terrain southwest of Pinsamont. Pressing on to Acul, CC R doughs were pinned down by heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire.
Twice, in the slugging battle, CC B armored doughs tried to seize the town of Chenogne but each time superior forces drove them off. The third and final assault was launched on New Year's morning. Tanks and artillery laid down massed fire while the infantry followed up. The town was completely secured by noon.
While CC B regrouped, 13 artillery battalions hurled a paralyzing barrage of fire on the heavily defended Bois des Valets. Armored doughs penetrated the thick woods cleaned it out. Seizure of this key point doomed the German effort to cut the supply route.
( Bio: by Jimmy Cotton )
He had enlisted in the Army ASN #36839262. He served as a Private, with the 22nd Tank Battalion of the 11th Armored Division.
The Nazis were bewildered. Intelligence had reported less than a week before: "The American 11th Armored Division has relieved the 94th Inf. Div. in the siege of the Lorient pocket."
Yet, here was the 11th, 500 miles from Lorient, smashing into the enemy's crack 5th and 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions, and holding the vital Neufchateau-Bastogne highway. Once again, the speed of American armor had baffled the Germans.
The 11th was assigned to the Lorient Pocket on the day first elements of the division landed at Cherbourg. But that day was Dec. 16, when Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt unleashed his massive counter-offensive in the Ardennes. That scrapped original plans.
Tanks, half-tracks, armored cars, peeps and trucks took off in a dash through the rubbled towns of Normandy, the Seine Valley, northeast through the Argonne to the banks of the Meuse River. Bitter cold, rain and snow made the march a rugged test of armored skill.
On the Meuse, elements of the division were tactically deployed for the first time. Assigned to the river from Givet to Verdun, Combat Command A, commanded by Brig. Gen. Willard A. Holbrook, Jr., was divided into two task forces for patrol activity. All bridges across the river were prepared for demolition in the event Germans broke through.
In the meantime, the sole supply corridor to the embattled Americans in Bastogne was being threatened by German counter- attacks. Again the 11th changed its plans, turned the Meuse River defense over to the 17th Airborne Div., and on Dec. 29 roared 85 miles to an assembly area near Neufchateau.
Without a pause, the division launched into its first action. Attacking abreast, CC A and Col. Wesley W. Yale's CC B jumped off at 0730 next day with the 41st Cav. Recon Sqdn. Within an hour, the drive ran smack into an enemy attack headed for the highway.
The fighting was fierce and bitter. One CC B tank force punched its way into Lavaselle and seized high ground near Brul and Houmont. Despite a heavy artillery barrage that night, all gains were held.
Reserve Command, under Col. Virgil Bell, struck next day, grabbed key terrain southwest of Pinsamont. Pressing on to Acul, CC R doughs were pinned down by heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire.
Twice, in the slugging battle, CC B armored doughs tried to seize the town of Chenogne but each time superior forces drove them off. The third and final assault was launched on New Year's morning. Tanks and artillery laid down massed fire while the infantry followed up. The town was completely secured by noon.
While CC B regrouped, 13 artillery battalions hurled a paralyzing barrage of fire on the heavily defended Bois des Valets. Armored doughs penetrated the thick woods cleaned it out. Seizure of this key point doomed the German effort to cut the supply route.
( Bio: by Jimmy Cotton )
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Wisconsin.
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