36th Infantry Division POW Stalag VII-A tag set

May 22

His full article: https://www.36thdivisionarchive.com/pa-36-valentine

This tag set was once worn by PFC Richard T. Valentine, a native of St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania who was drafted from his work in an essential war plant in the summer of 1944. Arriving overseas in November, he joined A Company, 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division on Dec 9, 1944.

At this time, the 36th Division was holding a defensive line from Selestat to Colmar after recently forming a foothold in Alsace. The 143rd was positioned towards the southern edge of the line in a series of small villages which were critical to securing the high ground of the Alsatian Plain and the entire division line. A Company had just taken the town of Mittelwihr, right in the middle of that line, which was connected to the neighboring village of Bennwihr. Casualties were high, so replacements like Valentine were quite welcome.

For his first few days on the line, Valentine’s company mostly held Mittelwihr while other units of the regiment tried pushing into Bennwihr amidst the rainy and foggy weather covering the area. The SS troops and tanks were quite determined, however, to hold out in the village.

On December 12 the Germans launched Operation Habicht, a major offensive targeting the southern half of the 36th Division lines with hopes of breaking a hole in the 7th Army knowing that the Ardennes Offensive was to begin far to the north in only a few short days. Heinrich Himmler was placed in charge of the attack, using German mountain troops and SS veterans for the assault.

Although A Company held Mittelwihr the Germans on the first day, they were temporarily sent back to the rear to protect the 133rd Field Artillery which had almost been destroyed by a German platoon that had somehow gotten far behind the line. On Dec 13, the Germans launched another major armored offensive against Bennwihr, requiring Valentine and A Company to return to Mittelwihr in support.

On Dec 14, A Company was helping the recently relieved K Company in Mittelwihr when large groups of German tanks and infantry began driving directly into Mittelwihr. The companies were overwhelmed and desperate street fighting broke out. In the process, A Company’s CO was gunned down by a German Panzer IV. This was later destroyed by SSGT David Blewett, who received the DSC for those actions and fighting off dozens of German troops that day.

During the street fighting, A Company was broken into small clusters of defenders. German troops gradually overran many of these groups and forced them to surrender. Valentine was among these men. By the end of the day, A Company notated 66 men missing in action, including Valentine.

After his capture, Valentine was marched across the Rhine to a series of barns where 36th POWs were brought over the next week. Once a large enough group had formed, they were sent to Villingen, Germany, to be reorganized into a train bound for Stalag VII-A.

Upon arrival, Valentine was processed and given these POW tags, which he simply added onto his existing GI tags. VII-A was far from a pleasant experience. Throughout his four month captivity, Valentine suffered from malnutrition, miserable living conditions, severe overcrowding, and the mental struggles being a prisoner of war. Tents of thousands of allied prisoners were forced-marched to Stalag VII-A during his stay there, making conditions perpetually worse.

On April 29, 1945, Valentine and the rest of the camp were liberated by the 14th Armored Division. Thankfully, he was quickly sent to a POW processing center for rehabilitation and ended up back in the U.S. by June 2, 1945. He was not discharged, however, until December.

Valentine went on to live the rest of his life in St. Mary’s, spending a long career in a carbon graphite plant there. He married later in life and never had children. He passed away in 2011, followed by his wife a month later, leading to this tag, his prized souvenir from his time as a prisoner of war, being passed along.