King Martin - THE FIGHTING 30TH DIVISION: They Called Them Roosevelt’s SS

THE FIGHTING 30TH DIVISION

THE FIGHTING
30TH DIVISION

They Called Them Roosevelts SS

MARTIN KING, DAVID HILBORN,
AND MICHAEL COLLINS

CASEMATE
Philadelphia & Oxford

Published in the United States of America and Great Britain in 2015 by
CASEMATE PUBLISHERS
908 Darby Road, Havertown, PA 19083
and
10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford, OX1 2EW

Copyright 2015 Martin King, David Hilborn, and Michael Collins

ISBN 978-1-61200-301-6
Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-61200-302-3

Cataloging-in-publication data is available from the Library of Congress and the British Library.

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CONTENTS

DEDICATION

This volume is dedicated to all the soldiers and surviving veterans of Old Hickory, the indomitable 30th Infantry Division, and to all Allied military personnel who fought in World War II. Veterans are a finite resource. Honor their memory; take pride in their deeds; and most importantly never forget their sacrifices and their service. Remember! They owe us nothing; we owe them everything.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First, Id like to thank all the indomitable veterans who generously gave up their valuable time to participate in the writing of this book. Second, many thanks to my co-authors and dear friends, Mike Collins and David Hilborn, for contributing their expertise, knowledge, and frequently-needed moral support. Sincere thanks to Steve Smith, Tara Lichterman, and all at Casemate for taking this project on board. Ive had the good fortune to work with some talented editors in the past, but Patti Bonn is by far the best to date. Many thanks to her for turning this manuscript into a book. Grateful thanks to my wife, Freya, for absolutely everything. I should also mention my unruly offspring, Allycia and Ashley Rae, who sensibly kept well out of my way while I was writing this. My clan, Graham (Joe), Sandra, Debbie, Marc, Rachel, Ben, and Jake, without whom I would have written this anyway, but theyre always very supportive. I would also like to thank the wonderful Mrs. Augusta Chiwy for teaching me to care about veterans. Sincere thanks to my dear friends in the US, Commander Jeffrey (Cheeser) Barta; Lt. Col. Jason Nulton; Col. Gregory Julian; Mike and Jim Edwards; Mike ONiel; Jim Hilborn; and Jim Kraynak, for their continued support and encouragement. Not forgetting my dear friend, Mr. Roland Gaul, of the National Museum of Military History (Luxembourg) for the generous use of his tremendous archive of photo -graphs. Warm thanks to Adjutant Eric Rony Lemoine and the men at the Nuts cellars in Bastogne who, for some inexplicable reason, always treat me like royalty. Thanks to 589th Field Artillery Battalion veteran John Schaffner; Dirk de Groof; his wife, Kristine; and their kids for occasional entertainment and excellent Single Malt. Many thanks to Volker Dederichs for his expertiseand advice. Last but not least, Id like to thank Mr. Ed Slotwinski for providing the spark (I didnt forget); also many thanks to his lovely wife, Lisa; their daughter, Elizabeth; and her husband, Cody. Many blessings to you all.

MARTIN KING

Foremost, I want to thank my co-authors and good friends, Martin King and Michael Collins. They are true gentlemen and I am forever grateful to both for giving me the opportunity to realize a lifelong dream. Thanks to the Casemate team, including Steve Smith, Tara Lichterman, and Libby Braden, as well as to our fantastic editor and partner, Patti Bonn. Special thanks to my wife, Andrea, and to my wonderful children, Matthew and Emma. The three of them are the greatest source of inspiration, pride, and joy in my life. Thanks also to my father, Jim, and to my sister, Jennifer, for their ongoing support and encouragement. I am also grateful to my late mother and teacher, Mary Gretchen, who is dearly missed. She always said my best contributions would be made through writing. My heartfelt thanks to my Uncle Jim and Cousin Mike whose efforts to tell the story in film of Augusta Chiwy, the Forgotten Angel of Bastogne, brought Martin King, Mike Collins, and me together. Thanks to my mother-in-law, Linda; father-in-law, Doug (Cdr. USNR Ret.); and the rest of my extended family for their love and support. Posthumous thanks to my wifes grandfather, Cdr. Ernest Graham, who fought the Japanese in the Pacific in WWII from the bridge of a destroyer; and my grandmother, CPO Katherine Hilborn, who served her country during the war and achieved, at the time, a rank held by few women in the US Navy. Both provided inspiration for this book. I am indebted to our friend and Old Hickory veteran, Frank Towers of The 30th Infantry Division Veterans of WWII. Without his active support for this project, and assistance locating living veterans, this book would not have been possible. In his late nineties, Frank still manages to serve as historian and editor of the 30thinfantry.org website which houses a treasure trove of information on the unit. I am also grateful to Warren Watson, who manages the 30th Infantry Division Old Hickory website, oldhickory30th.com, another excellent resource for those interested in the history of the division. Special thanks to Lt. Col. Wes Morrison of the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team who, along with Frank Towers, kindly agreed to co-write the foreword to the book. Thanks to Jeff Rogers who allowed us to use accounts from his outstanding book, Old Hickory Recon, detailing the experiences of veteran Marion Sanford. The assistance providedby Jim West of Indianamilitary.org; and Matt Rozell and the Teaching History Matters website, teachinghistorymatters.com, was appreciated. Thanks to all of the family members of the noble warriors of the 30th who helped to provide photographs, personal accounts, and memorabilia so that the war stories of their loved ones could be told. Finally, I want to pay homage to all Old Hickorymen, past and present, especially to those who fought and died in WWII. In particular, I owe a debt of gratitude to veterans Francis Currey, Frank Deegan (who passed away before the publication of this book), Frank Denius, Bill Gast, John OHare, King Kenny, Richard Lacey, Ed Middleton, Victor Neiland, John Nolan, Marion Sanford, Hank Stairs, and Harold Williams. These men are true American heroes and it has been an honor to tell their stories.

DAVID HILBORN

Thank you first off to my two co-authors and great friends, Martin King and David Hilborn. To share in the excitement of finding new bits of information or locating another veteran to interview with you both has been great. Also, thank you both for your patience and support during this project. A big thank you goes out to my lovely wife, Lisa, for her love, encouragement, and understanding during the writing of this book. A special thanks to my mother, Joanne, and father, John, and the rest of the Collins clan: brothers, John and Chris, and their lovely wives, Melissa and Maria, and all of my Collins nieces Morgan, Katie, Keira, Margo, and nephew Henry. Thank you also to the Biros family: my mother-in-law, Sue, and father-in-law, Jim, my sister-in-law, Sarah, and brother-in-law, Tim, and nephew Will. A special thanks goes to the staff at the Siena College Library, especially Gary Thompson, Sean Conley, and John Vallely, who supported me during the writing of this book. Also thank you to Dr. Amy Gelinas and the staff at St. Joseph Central High School for your continued support. Thank you to Chris Begley and Lindsay Silverblatt for letting me stay with you during my trips down to the Archives. Thank you to the 10th Armored Division Veterans Western Association for your support. Thank you Howard Liddic for helping with any problems I had while researching at the Archives. Thank you to Warren Watson of the Old Hickory website for your support, knowledge, and help with photographs for this book. Thank you to Frank Towers for continuing to preserve the 30th Divisions history and for co-writing the foreword. Thank you to Lt. Col. Wes Morrison who co-writing the foreword so we will not forgetthe legacy of the 30th Infantry in todays conflicts. Finally, thank you to the 30th Infantry veterans who shared their story with us, especially my good friend Francis Currey. I hope this book will help memorialize the soldiers who did not return home, but whose sacrifice helped Old Hickory succeed during World War II.