Easern Illinois Universiy The Keep 1945 Wih he Colors: Jasper Couny IL Servicemen Overseas, 1941-1945 2-13-1945 Wih he Colors 2-13-1945 Newon Illinois Public Library Follow his and addiional works a: hp://hekeep.eiu.edu/wih_he_colors_1945 Recommended Ciaion Newon Illinois Public Library, "Wih he Colors 2-13-1945" (1945). 1945. 83. hp://hekeep.eiu.edu/wih_he_colors_1945/83 This Book is brough o you for free and open access by he Wih he Colors: Jasper Couny IL Servicemen Overseas, 1941-1945 a The Keep. I has been acceped for inclusion in 1945 by an auhorized adminisraor of The Keep. For more informaion, please conac abruns@eiu.edu.
Wih, /?</<> Colors ^ ' Mrs. Eldon Dewhirs, whose husband, P rivae F irs Class Dewhirs, was recenly repored missing w ih he Tw eny-eighh division in Belgium, in he hisoric sand abou Basogne during he German C hrism as offensive, sends us his accoun of he Tw eny-eighh s sand. She has arranged w ih a man in Pennsylvania, who picks up German broadcass, o be on he lookou for her husband being repored a prisoner. G allan Sand of 28h Division W ih he U. S. Tw eny-eighh Division on he w esern fron. The men w ih he red keysone on heir helmes had been fighing for seven days and seven nighs. They had been fighing an enemy who ounumbered hem seven and eigh o one, an enemy who had he advanage of supplies and of m achinery; of unlim ied arm or and arillery. And now i was he m orning of December 22 and he glorious Tweny- eighh division was near he end of he road. G erm an spearheads were sill sriking savagely w es of B asogne in a desperae effor o reach he Meuse. A 11:00 a. m. M ajor G eneral N orm an D. Coa, in command, sood in a baered, diry field coa on he seps of a crossroads avern in he iny village of Vaux les Rosieres, wrelve miles souhw es of Basogne on he main road o N eufchaeau. Grimly he reviewed all h a was lef of his headquarers. T ha morning, division headquarers had pulled ou of he alm os encircled village of Sibrec, wo miles ouside Basogne. Every m an in he column was ordered ino nearby p asures. A few m inues laer a colonel he chief of sa ff repored o General Coa h a he coun showed a o al of 125 men. Those of us sanding here h a morning saw General G oa s rough, huge, kindly face ighen a lile. A few m inues la er he colonel re u rn ed o our group o say, We are sanding righ here. T ha day will be rem em bered no only as one of he m os glorious in he division s glorious hisory, bu i also will be remembered as he high poin in one of he g rea effors of A m erica s m iliary hisory. Now h a he sory can be old, i is merely jusice o say h a he Tw eny-eighh deserves equal credi w ih he gallan men of he 101s A irborne division a Basogne for he m ajor fighs in sem m ing he ied of he Germanndrive. Three days before he 101s began is sand, he men of he Tweny-eighh w ere aking he full brun of von Pam dsed s m ighies offensive in Luxembourg, fighing desperaely in hundreds of scaered bales.
On December 15, he Bloody B ucke division was sreched igh as fiddle srings along a 25 mile fron on he Our river from he n o rh easern ip of Luxembourg o he viciniy of W allendorf a he m ouh of he Sure river. I was he wides fron held by any division in Europe, five im es he lengh of a norm al division fron and bigger han he fron of some arm y corps. B u his quie seco r w ih hin lines seemed jusified. I was regarded, in fac, as a res area and he Tw eny-eighh afe r i had fough hrough'n orm andy hedgerows and helped o seal he Falaise pocke, had been sen here for hree weeks of rebuilding afer is bloody bale in he H urgen fores, eas of Aachen. P The res cener had been organ- I ized in a lile own of Clervaux. Here boys came in groups o relax, fish, drink beer, see movies, and visi he Red Cross club se up by Miss Peggy H enry of P aaskala, Ohio. They came in rucks from each of hree regim ens all serving in fron line. To bale-w eary men, he res rips o Clervaux were like picnic paries. Like a clap of hunder came an end o his w iner idyl. A 5:45 a. m. on December 16, he camp a Clervaux w as heavily shelled. Soldiers on res passes were hrow n from bed, cu by shell spliners. They looked a each oher in am azemen. This had never happened befpre. Three hours laer whole companies of green-clad soldiers were fighing, heir w ay across he Our in dozens of scaered spos along he whole fron. Grimly he Tv/eny-eighh leaped o re-aack. Our arillery rained on. Germans in he vial souhern corner, - mowing down hundreds as hey 1 sruggled across a iny bridge holding i heir flank secure. < By nighfall he whole cenral sec- 1
peneraions and encirclemens. I was a day and a nigh of incredible ; heroism, as hinly scaered roops fough o hold a paper-hin line. A Hosingen, one company repored 20 anks coming down wo roads from he eas. A young capain gahered a weapons plaoon from a company of engineers, a raiders plaoon, and four anks, and engaged he enemy. They baled all day and ino he I nex. Then, lae Sunday, encircled r and ou numbered, heir am m uniion c gone, hey radioed heir baalion he \ siuaion w as criical. They were ordered o w ihdraw if possible. Two ] < company commanders radioed back, We can ge ou, bu will m ake hem pay. Hours la er a young lieuenan from he weapons plaoon radioed he now was he only officer lef and his men were fighing hand o hand,, w ih no weapons excep grenades. Five hours longer his lile group held back he foe. Then came anoher call from he lieuenan. He w as weeping now; weeping w ih pure rage. Down o las grenade, he said. W e ve blown everyhing here is o blow. I don mind dying bu will never give up o hese b asard s. A sob choked off his voice. The [ radio brough in he sounds of bale noises he las ever heard of h a company. On Sunday, he Germans hrew wo more divisions, m aking a oal of eigh a he reeling men of he Tweny-eighh. Monday, hey hrew in an oher panzer division. On wo flanks, he 109h and 112h regim ens moved w ih he punch, giving ground slowly, bu blocking every i 3 effor o widen he gap. In he fu r 7 ious day h a followed he 110h fough as few men are ever called on o figh. 7 Cooks, clerks, and chairborne officers a headquarers urned infanrym en o hold off he aack. Many of he headquarers personnel who had been forced o ake o he woods 3 infilraed hrough surrounding Germ ans o fall back o he new quarers a Sibrec, w eny miles away. They 1 1 i. a h f e e >f had barely reached here when a G erm an column pushing beyond Basogne besieged he new command pos and forced anoher w ihdraw al o Vaux les Rosieres. By his ime he Tw eny-eighh had compleed one of he g reaes feas in he hisory of he Am erican army. A gains nine divisions hey had. held so firm ly h a he German im eable had been hrow n compleely off. The capure of Basogne, docum ens showed, had been scheduled for he firs day, bu i had aken four o surround i. Our command had loeen given im e o bring in supporing elemens, and o plan he 101s A irborne in Basogne. The forces of he German drive had been bluned; he flanks had been held. The Twenyeighh had made possible he sm ashing of Von R undsed s drive. * * * * * 0 d u V 1 i
Reporing o ile A rm y Ground and Service Forces R edisribuion saion in H o Springs, A rkansas, Sergean Virgil E. Bliss of New on is now living in one of he four m ajor H o Springs hoels acquired by he A rm y o house he new insallaion. A veeran of w eny-seven m onhs overseas duy in he A siaic-pacific heare, Sergean Bliss reurned o he saes las monh. P rior o checking in a he H o Springs s a ion, he spen a w eny-one day fu r lough in Newon and in B ale Creek, Michigan. Mrs. Bliss is saying w ih her husband a he Redisribuion saion s A rlingon hoel. He will be in Plo Springs for less han wo weeks, w aiing reassignm en o acive duy. The priixiary funcion of he R edisribuion saion, o assign he reurned soldier o he A rm y job for which he is bes fied, will be accomplished in surroundings designed for his res and relaxaion. U nder hese condiions, exper in e r viewers and classificaion personnel secure he m axim um cooperaion from he reurnees. In addiion o reassigning he re urned veerans, he Redisribuion saion is equipped o give he soldiers Complee medical exam inaions and adm iniser w haever medical and denal ream en is necessary o fi him for acive duy. M iliary records will be checked and back pay brough up o dae. Aside from his necessary appoinmens, he veeran will be free o enjoy he resor faciliies available a H o Springs. An exensive program of enerainm en and recreaion has been planned fo r he reurnees. Under he direcion of he E ighh Service Command, he R edisribuion saion in H o Springs is one of he five recenly se up by he A rm y S ervice Forces. P rivae Donna Bailery, he form er Donna Em ery, w ries her faher, F rank Em ery of Newon, h a she has finished her six w eeks basic ra in ing and is now aking an eigh weeks course in he M oor T ranspor school, being now in her second week. She also said h a w ih he ice and s le e 1
on he roads i is raher difficul o drive a one and one-half on A rm y j ruck. The w eaher is sill cold and I unpredicable every day, bu on he j whole she says, Come on in girls, j Arm y life is g rea. H er husband, Hildreh Bailey, is in he Army in France. * * * f * 9 Privae Glenard Srole w ries his parens, Mr. and Mrs. Dale Srole of n ear Rose Hill, from Germany: I am well. I am in a Comba Engineer baalion of he Seveny-eighh division and a darn good oufi. Neil Romack is in he E ighh division no very far from me. I have been i n ;. Lam ersdorf and Aachen, Germany. I j can ell you much. l Before I came o his division, r when I was in he rucking baalion, j l I was weny-five miles from Paris a ; > Eam ps, France. I have been o j 3 Paris a lo of imes. 5 Please don w orry oo much over! 1 me. I have a good plaoon, a good ; squad and a good lieuenan, oo. All of hem are swell o me. W rie me a. long leer and le me know all abou D he farm. j ****** Corporal E a?lfd. Miller, 20, of Yale, 3 has arrived in Ialy and has aken 2 up duies wih a Fifeenh Air Force heavy bomber group. Trained as a nose u rre gunner on a B-24 Liber- 3 aor bomber, Corporal Miller is now f a member of a group commanded by _ Colonel Thomas W. Seed of Eowah, _ Tennessee. This group has flown more han 170 com ba missions i agains sraegic arg es in Souhern s _ Europe and he Balkans. y Corporal Miller enered he service _ on Jan u ary 20, 1943. ****** P rivae and Mrs. Lowell I. Lewis are here from California, visiing his parens, Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Lewis of h a y H un Ciy. Lowell is working in he A rm y posal service.