79th INFANTRY DIVISION P.O.W.

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I was lucky enough to pick this set up. From what I found he was in H, Co, 314th Regiment and he was captured at Drusenheim France. I wish the National Archives wasn’t on lockdown but I was lucky enough to find a few newspaper articles on his service. 

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Here’s the first piece of information that pointed me to his P.O.W. status. After more research I found that he wasn’t with the 51st Infantry unless he was transferred to the 314th at some time.

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When his first prison camp was evacuated they were marched roughly 335 miles to there second camp at Stalag 18c (317) at Spittal an der Drau, Austria. I have read that this was more or less a death march because of the condition of the prisoners.

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CITATION In the name of the President of the United States ds public evidence of deserved honor and distinction. "The Second Battalion, JI4th Infantry Regiment, is cited for extraordinary gallantry in action during the assault and capture of Fort du Roule, on the 25-26 June 1944· In securing this highly fortified position, which guarded the port city of CHERBOURG, France, against land, sea, and aerial attack, the Second Battalion, displayed outstanding courage, determination, fortitude, and fighting spirit. "Fort du Roule is located on a high, precipitous cliff O!Verlooking CHERBOURG. At the time of this action it was protected by numerous concrete emplacements and pillboxes, troop shelters, hellfJy and light artillery, anti-aircraft artillery (depressed to fire point-blank into attacking troops) interlocking bands of machine-gun fire, an anti-tank ditch 20 feet wide and 10 to 30 feet deep, stone-walled mortar positions high on the cliffs (from which hand grenades were also used against the attackers), and concentric bands of. barbed wire entanglements. In addition the Second Battalion was subjected to the fit·e from large caliber guns across a valley on its left flank. "At 0830 hours the Second Battalion was ordered forward to attack Fort du Roule. It immediately came under dense artillery and mortar fire, suffering casualties that included many key leaders. [)espite this devastating fire, it continued its advance without faltering, soon arriving at a position from which demolition squads {ould place pole charges and "beehive" charges into the embrasures of several pillboxes. So much demolition equipment wds required to reduce the strongpoints that ammunition bearers were required to make repeated trips forward under the continuing enemy fire. "Reaching the top of the fort and gaining access to the numerous enemy troop shelters thereon, the Second Battalion was forced to work through small tunnels in order to reach the fort's lower levels, site of the enemy's large-caliber, emplaced nllfJal guns. Since enemy defenders within the fort were still displaying bitter resistance at this juncture, this work in proceeding through the tunnels required extreme courage and determination. During the morning of 26 June the top of the fort was swept by /ire of antiaircraft guns located on neighboring hills, adding materially to the Second Battalion's task of neutralizing enemy resistance. On the afternoon of 26 June the last of the enemy's big ~aval guns was silenced. A !though most of the Second Battalion believed the fort was mined and might be blown up at any moment, its units did not swerve in reducing this strategic enemy position as speedily as possible. "In its assault on the fort the Second Battalion captured 882 prisoners and killed an undetermined number. The vast amount of enemy material captured by the Second Battalion was turned over to VII Corps authorities for appropriate inventory. It consisted generally of motor vehicles, food, ammunition, small arms, and large-caliber guns. Eight large sacks of large denomination bills were also captured and handed to the proper authorities. "The Second Battalion's speedy and effective reduction of this strongpoint. aptly described by the enemy as impregnable, was a magnificent display of courage and devotion to duty." 
 

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Here's a paragraph of how the 314th was surrounded. It came out of The Cross of Lorraine: A Combat History of the 79th Infantry Division, June 1942-December 1945.

 

Meanwhile, the enemy at the Rhine River bridgehead area seemed content to hold their present gains without any further offensive action, although they reacted very strongly to any attacks" made by elements of the 79th Division. Combat Command B of the 12th Armored Division had made a number of attacks to retake Herrlisheim, each one being stopped by the enemy. In the north end of the bridgehead, probing attacks by the 232d Infantry Regiment in and around Sessenheim found the enemy in great strength. Identification showed some of these troops had been shifted from the enemy divisions fighting in the Hatten-Rittershoffen sector. However on. January 17th, the enemy increased his pressure all along the bridgehead front, especially in the Sessenheim and Drusenheim sector, culminating in a large scale attack on January 18th. Elements of the 232d Regiment which were holding in the vicinity of Sessenheim were forced to withdraw, leaving the left flank of the Second Battalion, 314th Regiment, exposed. Quickly, the Division sent in a force composed of elements of the First Battalion, 314th Regiment, recently returned from the 45th Infantry Division's sector, and a battalion of the 410th Infantry Regiment of the 103rd Infantry Division. This force did not get very far, running into heavy German resistance. At this time, the troops making the attack were identified as· belonging to the 10th SS Panzer Division, the fourth first-class enemy division to be committed in the 79th Division's sector in two weeks. Following their success in the Sessenheim area, the enemy, on the 19th of January, made an all-out attack on the Second Battalion, 314th Regiment, in Drusenheim, coming in from the northeast, south. and southwest, using two battalions of infantry and large numbers of tanks. For three hours the doughboys held off this superior force, but as darkness fell word was received that the battalion was completely surrounded. An attempt was made to break out, but it was unsuccessful, with only 100 men reaching friendly territory. The battalion's stand evidently dislocated the enemy's plans for he did not follow up his gains in strength.