MARK BANDO'S WEBSITE
LEST WE FORGET
Unforgetable
In this photo, taken 21 September, 1987, Bill Guarnere of E/506th, remembers comrades slain during Market-Garden. This is their final resting place, at Margraten, Holland. Bill, who lost a leg at Bastogne, is carrying flowers and a list of grave locations. This photo is worth a thousand words. It appeared on the back cover of the Screaming Eagle magazine, November-December issue of 1987. I think of this photo often, and can't forget it.
In September of 2002, I encountered Wild Bill at the German Military Cemetery at Recogne, Belgium, north of Bastogne. In this 'Soldatenfriedhof' are 6700 Germans who died in the Battle of the Bulge. It must be an odd feeling to stand there and to know that you personally put some of them there. For decades after WW2, German highschool students came to manicure the lawns and tend these graves, as a reminder of the cost of war.
Each month on this page, I will honor the memory of a fallen 101st trooper who was killed in action during WW2. As in all wars, some of the finest men who served were killed before their time-we can only speculate on what miraculous contributions they
might have made to the world, had they survived. Among the 101st
fallen were artists, musicians, writers, skilled athletes, scientists and mathematicians, architects and builders. Above all, there were sons, brothers, lovers, friends, (and in some cases), husbands and fathers, whose caring and vibrant personalities are missed by those they left behind. The human race is diminished by their loss.
Trooper of the Month For April, 2008
Cpl John Purdie H/506th PIR
John Purdie joined How Co. at Camp Toccoa, GA in 1942.
He was a Reb, who survived Nomandy but was KIA near Koevering, Holland on 25 September, 1944.
A single 75mm shell fired from the main battery of a captured Sherman Lend Lease tank took the
lives of Purdie and 2 other troopers. The German who fired the fatal shot, was manning the
captured tank alone. When he climbed out and hopped-off the turret, Don Zahn emptied an entire
20 round magazine of .45 acp at him from his Tommygun, but missed all shots, as his rounds went
high, into a tree. "It wasn't his day to die" Zahn later said.
John Purdie had visited London with Zahn before Normandy and he is featured in a story in AE's
Vol. 1, although his name was not used, due to the nature of the story.
And so we remember here and honor, another fallen hero of the WW2 era Screaming Eagle Division.
*Photos and information on these pages Copyright Mark Bando*
Saluting a Fallen Hero
Standing amid a sea of white marble crosses, in the US military cemetary at Margraten in 1994, this un-posed photo was made of Hilly Rosenthal and Dan Olney of C/501, saluting the grave of a fallen comrade.
Tom McNabb was KIA 28 September, 1944, and this visit fifty years later, was the first pilgrimmage these guys made to their buddy's grave-photo courtesy H. Rosenthal
(note from webmaster-we lost Hilly in early 2007-a great guy, he will be missed.
R.I.P. my friend)
One of our Finest Officers-A Remembrance by E.O. Parmley of F/502PIR
"Time has not made me forget the wonderful soldiers I served with over sixty years ago.
Time has only deepened the feelings of respect and gratitude I have for them.
Our platoon leader 1st Lt Nick Schlitz assigned me to accompany Lt. Wolfe (a replacement and 2nd in command), to bring-up the rear of the platoon. This is a much safer position than platoon runner, which is what I was when assigned to him. He knew it was going to be a rough day (18 September, 1944, at Best, Holland). I feel he was protecting me, possibly saving my life.
Lt Schlitz was one of our finest officers.
Tall, with a boxer's nose, he was state boxing champion in his weight division, from Charlotte, N.C. He was the image of a soldier's soldier. We called him 'The Scar', so he must have had a scar on his face. I do not remember a scar. It could be we do not remember imperfections on people we like.
Always optimistic, his favorite saying was 'We are going to Berlin.' We heard it when in formation or on breaks. He would say it to a picture of his son, which he carried inside his helmet. His son looked to me to be only 2 or 3, but he would look at him whenever the helmet came off and usually it was 'son, we are on our way', or 'Berlin, we are coming.'
When he said nothing, I often wondered what he was thinking.
He was killed that day and buried close to where he fell in the courtyard of a house on the outskirts of Best, with a wall about 4 feet high enclosing the yard about 40 feet square. I found his grave about the center of the yard. His helmet was on a rifle butt with a bayonet stuck into the ground. It was not his, as he carried a carbine.
I saw no other graves in the courtyard. I looked into his helmet to see if the picture was still there ...and it was. I thought of taking the picture with me.
It then came to me: This picture is all this soldier has. HE has nothing else. It should stay here. His happiest moments seemed to be when he was looking at the picture and talking to his son.
I put the helmet back on the rifle butt. Looking up with smiling welcome were fresh flowers, put there by the Dutch people. It was so peaceful and quiet I was reluctant to leave. I could still hear him saying we are going to Berlin, but now it will only be his words that go, they are not buried here.
They are buried in the hearts of all who heard them.
He has shown us what it will take to get to Berlin.
The road is rough and dirty, with many holes that await us, but it is the only road.
Few will have flowers on their graves. Some will have no one to mourn them. But all who knew him will have his words and his order, which is 'on to Berlin'."
January, 1945, a paratrooper of the 501 PIR lies dead in the snow in the Bois Jacques forest, northeast of Bastogne, Belgium
POEM
We have only died in vain if you believe so
You must decide the wisdom of our choice
by the world which you shall build upon our headstones
And the everlasting truths which have your voice.
Though dead, we are not heroes yet, nor can be,
'Til the living by their lives which are the tools,
Carve us the epitaphs of wise men
and give us not the epitaphs of fools.
-David J. Phillips, 506th PIR
MARK BANDO'S WEBSITE
Tragedy at the Seminary
The regimental Command Post of the 501 PIR during the Bastogne campaign was in the seminary across from the church, at the east end of town. On 5 January, 1945, a truck loaded with landmines exploded in the seminary courtyard, killing 12 members of the H&H Demolitions platoon, 501 PIR, and another trooper, who was a driver assigned from Service Company. The photo above, taken by Jimmy Duggins, shows what remained of the truck after the massive explosion.
According to Charlie Vess of Service Co. 501, there was a sizeable mine dump beside the truck before the explosion, consisting of over 300 additional land mines, which we piled in front of the seminary wall. To this day, nobody knows if a direct hit from a mortar or artillery shell set off the lethal cargo in that truck, or if the mines exploded from the weight created by stacking them atop each other. Some of the mines had already been laid once in the Bastogne perimeter, and were frozen and some were missing safety clips. They had been picked-up and were about to be re-laid in another sector.
In addition to Pvt Walter Craley, ASN: 32837774, 501st Demolitions, pictured above, the victim list includes:
S/Sgt Leon W."Pappy"Brown ASN: 19073730, 501st Demolitions
Pvt Frank Baer ASN: 36695174 501st Demolitions
Pvt Michael Balducci ASN: 33610655, 501st Demolitions
Pvt Harold Brisco ASN:
38508635, 501st Demolitions
Cpl Bonnie Caroon ASN: 6379505, 501st Demolitions
Pvt Latcher Coney ASN: 38493384, 501st Demolitions
Pvt Wallace Diefenbach ASN:16006826, 501st Demolitions
Pvt James A. Keel ASN: 34663498, 501st Demolitions
Pfc Sam A. Lappin ASN: 33273212, 501st Demolitions
Cpl William B. Maue ASN: 15336388, 501st Demolitions
Pvt Earl F. Smith ASN: 13175240, 501st Demolitions
Pvt Robert L Rutherford ASN: 32772538, of Service Co. 501 PIR.
After WW2 a small marker was erected near the triangular repaired hole in the north seminary wall, listing the names of the known victims. Medic R. Edward O'Brien of G Co. visited the place in the late 1980's, and found the marker was crumbling from age and neglect, and that the list of names thereon was incomplete. A project was started within the 501 PIRA to raise funds and create a permanent marker to place at that repaired wall. In May, 1999, two 501st veterans, Len Cinquanta and Julius Schrader, traveled to Bastogne and placed the new marker bearing the names, ranks and serial numbers shown above. Both men passed away less than a year after placing those markers.
The Explosion and the AftermathDick Thorne of regimental S-2 told me that he left the perimeter on the evening of January 4, 1945, and ventured into town, looking for something warm to eat. He was sick of cold rations. He got a meal in the seminary, then went into the basement and crawled under a 3' stage, where he joined other troopers and went to sleep. That night, during a Luftwaffe airraid, a 500 lb German bomb crashed through the ceiling of the seminary and came through to the basement, but failed to explode.
After daylight Thorne went to the doorway facing the courtyard and was leaning against the wall when a truck pulled in and stopped.
Out from the front passenger seat, jumped Lt Roy F. Waring, who was in charge of the mine laying detail. Lt Waring was short and balding, and wore glasses. He recognized Thorne and paused to speak with him before entering the building. The lieutenant stated that he had 12 demolitions men aboard, along with 150 landmines, and that they were enroute to lay the mines in the perimeter.
Lt Waring entered the building, then came back out after a few minutes. He started toward the truck, then paused and stated "I forgot something", turned around, and re-entered the building. At that moment, a horrible explosion rocked the area. Thorne was pushed backwards against the wall and a piece of flesh struck him in the face. (Witnesses have stated they later saw flesh splattered all over the seminary and courtyard walls.)
In the 1980's, Thorne visited the Republic Bank, Greenville, TX, where Roy Waring was bank vice president. When Thorne mentioned the truck explosion, Waring broke down
right in his office, and it was evident that he had experienced tremendous 'survivor guilt' since WW2. On Thorne's next visit, he learned that Waring had passed away on 12 January, 1983. "I don't see any reason why he should have felt responsible for what happened", says Thorne. The photo of Walter Craley shown above, was provided by his good buddy, John Primerano, who took the photo on the 'Island' in Holland, October, 1944.
Here's a 1943 photo of Sgt Leon W. Brown, taken at Camp Mackall, N.C.
Remember The Others Who Paid A Price Beyond Measure
The many soldiers who were maimed, crippled and otherwise incapacitated to varying degrees, were forced to remember the war every day for the duration of their lives. Some, like Major Francis Liberatori (shown above, 3rd from left, reading) were paraplegics, who spent the duration of their lives in a wheelchair. Libby was hit in the spine near Carentan in June, 1944.
He later became president of the Eastern Paraplegic Veteran's Association at Cushing General Hospital, Framingham, MA. That club was eventually taken over by the Veterans' Administration. Libby became a successful architecht in Springfield, MA, but his serious wound also cut his life span short. He was only 55 years of age when he passed on. photo c/o P. Yankow.
*photos and text on these pages Copyright Mark Bando*
