The Georgia Guard Response to the Flood of 1994

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

ALBANY, Ga., July 7, 1994 - Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion 121st Infantry Regiment construct 

a protective sandbag wall around the Palmyra Medical Center in Albany, Ga. following Tropical Storm Alberto. 

Photo by Spc. Mike Carr, 124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Operation Crested River

In July 1994, the Georgia National Guard conducted its largest natural disaster response in history up to that date. On July 3, 1994, Tropical Storm Alberto began tracking north across Georgia inundating the state with unprecedented rainfall. Twenty-one inches of precipitation was recorded in 24 hours in Americus Georgia. With the ground already saturated from previous rains, Alberto swiftly overloaded streams and rivers with surface runoff. Flooding was widespread from the southwest Georgia counties to Atlanta. 

MONTEZUMA, Ga. July 8, 1994 - Flood waters from the Flint River flooded downtown Montezuma to the rooftops leaving approximately 2,000 residents 

stranded. Georgia Guardsmen with the LaGrange-based Company C, 560th Engineer Battalion repaired bridges so that water and food could be delivered. 

Georgia National Guard photo by Spc. Rob Hainer

By July 6, the rain had washed out roads and dams, and the Georgia National Guard had opened six armories as shelters for people displaced by floodwaters. The next day, the units of the Macon-based 48th Infantry Brigade under the command of Col. William Thielemann began to mobilize. By the end of the July, more than 3,600 Guardsmen had been called to active duty. They came from units ranging from Toccoa to Valdosta and from Savannah to Columbus. They came together with one mission — to help Georgians in need. The response became known as Operation Crested River.[i]

The Infantry Company Executive Officer[ii]

Lieutenant General Thomas Carden, former Adjutant General of the National Guard, was

 Soldiers of Headquarters Company, 
2-121 constructed a sand bag dam to protect
an emergency power generator at an Albany, Ga.
hospital.  Photo by Spc. Mike Carr, 124th MPAD.

a first lieutenant when Alberto struck in 1994. As the executive officer of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Carden was responsible for a detachment of Soldiers at the Georgia National Guard armory in Tifton. Following a declaration of a state of emergency by Governor Zell Miller, Carden and his detachment reported for duty.

“We rallied at Cordele and were sent to Albany,” said Carden.

Upon reaching Albany, the 2-121 Soldiers were tasked with building a sand-bag dam for a local hospital.

“Some of the patients were too weak to evacuate,” recalled Carden. “The power was out and the critical patients at the hospital relied on a generator to supply power to ventilators and life support. “If that generator went out those people would not have survived.”

Thanks to backbreaking effort, the dam constructed by the Soldiers of 2nd Battalion held, and the patients were saved.

The Army Veteran on His First Guard Response Mission[iii]

Retired State Command Sergeant Major Phillip Stringfield was also assigned to 2-121 during Crested River. Having recently transferred into the Georgia Army National Guard from the 82nd Airborne Division, Stringfield was on his first disaster response mission.

“It was my first call out as a Guardsman for state activation,” said Stringfield “It was a unique experience because I will always remember how the service members, whose homes were destroyed, reported for duty. That was so amazing to me, and that will always remain in my mind as an example of the true character of our service members and what we do in this organization.”

Despite the passing of time, Stringfield still vividly recalled details of the flood response.

“I remember driving through Albany and feeling amazed at the destruction of all those buildings,” said Stringfield. “The cries for help from the people in the area were devastating.”

Stringfield was among the first Guardsmen to reach Albany. With 24,000 evacuees in the area, large public facilities were converted into temporary living quarters for displaced families.

“I was assigned to a shelter that I worked at during the day,” Stringfield said. “We provided security and brought hot meals for citizens who had been displaced. Once the permanent housing became available, we transported them there.”

With trucks and tactical vehicles capable of negotiating damaged and debris-strewn roads, transportation became a key component of the Georgia National Guard response. In areas such as Leesburg that were completely cut off by flood waters, Georgia Guard helicopters delivered relief supplies and transported residents and medical personnel.[iv]

A UH-1 Iroquois of the Marietta-based 148th Medical Company delivers relief
supplies through southwest Georgia following Tropical Storm Alberto.

“We also transported doctors and first responders who couldn’t get to their jobs because of the flood,” noted Stringfield of operations in Dougherty County.

The Engineer[v]

Retired Lt. Col. Matthew Shannon was a captain with the Statesboro-based 648th Engineer Battalion (now the 177^th Brigade Engineer Battalion of the 48^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team). Working as the battalion's assistant operations officer, Shannon relayed assignments from the 48th Brigade to subordinate units.

“(The operations center was) located on a college campus and we were tasked to assist local police,” Shannon said. “Part of the mission was recovering bodies that had come up through the graves because of the flood.”

Shannon described how the Soldiers of his unit recovered bodies dating back to the Civil War while also ensuring artifacts were recovered.

“I remember them saying they recovered a lot of sabers, other weapons and artifacts from the Civil War,” he said. “They would then take everything to a central location for graves registration. Their goal was to try to put as much back together for re-burial.”

Shannon recalled how strange it was to have so much flooding in the south when much of the rain had fallen in the north of the state.

“It was such an oddity because there was a lot of sun and a lot of water,” he said. “It’s not something you would have expected to see.”

Engineers of the Georgia National Guard assess roads in southwest Georgia
following Tropical Storm Alberto.

Engineer units of the Georgia National Guard were pressed into service surveying damage and repairing roads. Soldiers of the Columbus-based 560th Engineer Battalion worked around the clock to construct a berm around an ammonia tank in Bainbridge. Had flood waters breached the berm the entire town would have had to evacuate.[vi]

By July 18, command and control of response operations shifted from the 48th Infantry Brigade to the 265th Engineer Group. Throughout their portion of the response, the Soldiers of the 48th Brigade operated more than 500 vehicles filled nearly 55,000 sandbags and transported more than 400,000 of drinking water.

The Operations Sergeant Major[vii]

The Georgia Guard coordinated the statewide response from the tactical operation center in Atlanta. Retired Sgt. Major Jacqueline McKennie was assigned to the TOC Emergency Operations Center during the flood relief.

“The EOC was the central command and control facility over all of the National Guard units—both Air Guard and Army Guard—throughout the state of Georgia,” said McKennie.

McKennie was responsible for personnel control. She assisted with the mobilization of units and made sure the units knew where they were supposed to go while maintaining accountability for personnel. Once the units were dispatched, the EOC handled the command and control for each of them.

A Soldier with the Georgia Army National Guard's Decatur-based 170th Military
Police Battalion provides directions to citizens following Tropical Storm Alberto.

From July 6 to August 5, a myriad of units with specialized equipment and capabilities were dispatched across the state. The Decatur-based 170th Military Police Battalion augmented law enforcement in impacted areas. Airmen of the Georgia Air National Guard’s

A Georgia Air National Guard Airman of the
116th CES monitors water filtration
at Lake Tobesofkee in Macon.

116th Civil Engineer Squadron were dispatched to Macon after the city’s drinking water source was overwhelmed. The 116th conducted water purification operations with the assistance of 20 Alabama National Guard Soldiers of the 1,200th Quartermaster Company as well as the Fort Stewart-based 559th Quartermaster Battalion.[viii] The massive purification and distribution mission resulted in the production of nearly five million gallons of drinking water for Bibb County residents.[ix]

“It was kind of hectic at first, because the flood hit so hard and so fast that it caused so much death and destruction,” said McKennie. “But things eventually returned to normal once we got people into place where help was needed.”

The Aftermath

Flooding from Tropical Storm Alberto claimed 30 lives in Georgia[x]. The ages of the victims ranged from 2 to 84 years old. The storm forced more than 35,000 citizens from their homes and caused more than $203 million in infrastructure damage. The Georgia National Guard responded by mobilizing nearly 3,700 Guardsmen - nearly one third of the state’s force. In the weeks that followed, These Guardsmen, in partnership with first responders and civil authorities from impacted counties, distributed more than 10.2 million gallons of water, served 154,000 meals and repaired hundreds of miles of damaged road.[xi] For those who served, the memory of the response remains, and the lessons learned have been applied to ensure that the Guard remains ready to respond.

In the years following the flood of 1994, the Georgia National Guard has honed its ability to respond to natural disasters. From Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to Hurricanes Matthew, Irma and Michael of recent memory, the Georgia National Guard has responded and partnered with state and local agencies to assist Georgia’s citizens in times of emergencies and to minimize the impacts of natural disasters. For those who participated in the response in 1994, the memory of Operation Crested River remains fresh.

“It does not seem like it was so long ago,” said Carden. “Helping our fellow citizens is one of the most rewarding things we do in the National Guard.”[xii]

---

[i] “The Georgia Guard Response: Our Communities Under Water." The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, September 1994, 4.

[ii] "Interview with Col. Thomas Carden." Interview by author. May 19, 2014.

[iii] "Interview with Command Sgt. Major Phillip Stringfield." Interview by author. May 20, 2014.

[iv] The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, 20.

[v] "Interview with Matthew Shannon." Interview by author. May 11, 2014.

[vi] Operation Crested River. Produced by James Driscoll and the124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. https://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiaguardhistory/48191055782/in/album-72157645103919701/.

[vii] "Interview with Jacquelin McKinnie." Interview by author. May 22, 2014.

[viii] The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, 8-9.

[ix] Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report 1994. Marietta, GA: 1994, 19.

[x] "Flood-Related Mortality -- Georgia, July 4-14, 1994." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed July 02, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00032058.htm.

[xi] The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, 24.

[xii] "Interview with Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden." Interview by author. July 3, 2019.

Georgia Guardsmen on D-Day, Part I

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Introduction

Operation Overlord, launched on June 6, 1944, established an Allied foothold on the German-held European continent and made possible the successful drive to Berlin and the defeat of Nazi Germany. The events of D-Day have been the subject of countless books and major motion pictures such as The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan. But while these works have cataloged, in detail, the planning and execution of D-Day and the subsequent Normandy Campaign, no works have focused on the Georgia Guard’s contribution to these great events. This two-part feature is intended to shed light on the role individual Guardsmen played in D-Day.

In September 1940, nearly 5,200 Georgia Guardsmen entered federal service. While the majority would enter combat with Georgia Guard units, such as the 121st Infantry, 118th Artillery and 101st Antiaircraft Weapons Battalion, many Guardsmen would end up serving in active duty units in the Atlantic and Pacific Theater. They would volunteer for the Army Air Corps, the Airborne, and for other duty assignments. On June 6, 1944, many of these Georgia Guardsmen would enter combat from the sky and from the sea. This first article will focus on those Guardsmen who participated in the Airborne landings while a follow-up article will examine the beach landings.

A Mighty Endeavor

As dawn broke on the morning of June 6, 1944 the greatest armada ever assembled stood off the Normandy coast. Thirty-two Allied battleships and cruisers, more than 100 destroyers and more than 70 landing craft were part of a landing force of nearly 5,000 ships. Naval bombardment of the coast detonated mines and weakened enemy defensive positions before more than 100,000 Soldiers stormed the beach under heavy fire. It was, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt described, in his radio address of June 6, 1944, “a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve… our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity.[i]”

Approaches of Allied assault forces on D-Day. U.S. Airborne routes are depicted north and west of Cherbourg. Harrison, Map VII

Airborne Landings on D-Day

Critical to the success of that mighty endeavor would be the efforts and sacrifice of the Soldiers who would enter the battle from the air, parachuting from C-47 transport planes into darkened skies lit only by flak and machine gun fire. The United States Airborne effort at D-Day consisted of two Airborne Divisions comprised of six parachute infantry regiments[ii]. Of these regiments, the 501st and 506th were activated at Camp Toccoa in north Georgia while the 502nd, 505th and 507th were activated at Fort Benning.

On the evening of July 5, 1944 more than 13,000 paratroopers loaded into nearly 1,100 transport aircraft. These aircraft took off from numerous marshaling fields in England just before midnight and converged on the Cotentin Peninsula of France just after 0100 June 6, 1944[iii]. The main body was preceded by specially trained pathfinder units who jumped in nearly one hour ahead of the assault force to mark drop zones on the ground.

The Airborne assault plan for D Day.  Harrison, Map VIII

The 101st Airborne Division

The paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division were assigned the mission of seizing the boundary of the flooded areas west of the beaches from Pouppeville to St. Martin De Varreville. In addition, the 101st was tasked with protecting the flank of the VII Corps south in the vicinity of Carentan. This first mission fell largely to the 502nd and 506th PIR. As the planes carrying these regiments approached the drop zones their formations were broken up by German antiaircraft fire. The bulk of the 2nd Battalion 502nd thus dropped well outside their assigned drop zone and was unable to assist materially in achieving the division’s objectives. Additionally, only one of the six artillery howitzers of the 502nd’s assigned artillery support was serviceable after the drop.

Drop pattern of the 101st Airborne Division. Harrison, Map IX

The paratroopers of the 3-502nd did not experience the difficulty of its sister battalions. Landing east of St. Mere Eglise, approximately 250 Soldiers of the battalion concentrated near Audouville-la Hubert at the western edge of the causeway after determining that their assigned objective, the coastal artillery battery at St. Martin had been relocated. They thus secured two of the four exits from Utah Beach.[iv]

Landing near St. Germain de Varreville, the 1-502 had a much more difficult fight to secure their assigned objectives. Finding the northern beach exits in his sector already clear, Lt. Col. Patrick Cassidy, commander, 1-502 dispatched paratroopers to secure the crossroads west of St. Martin and to clear a series of buildings killing or capturing over 150 Germans in the process.[v]

Moving to the sounds of the fighting was Pvt. James D. Hogue of Macon, Ga. Hogue had entered federal service with the Georgia National Guard’s Headquarters Company, 121st Infantry Regiment August 1, 1940[vi] at the age of 19. He volunteered to serve in the Airborne and was assigned to Headquarters Company, 1-502[vii]. Hogue landed well north of the battalion’s designated drop zone and was moving with a small group of paratroopers south towards St. Martin. Reaching Ravenoville approximately two miles north of where Lt. Col. Cassidy was directing his battalion’s action, Hogue was killed by a German sniper[viii].

Pvt. Albert Cobb in 1941. 

Landing in the vicinity of 1-502 were the paratroopers of the regimental headquarters company. Among them was Pvt. Albert Cobb. Cobb had joined the Georgia Guard’s Savannah-based Battery F, 118th Field Artillery Regiment September 30, 1940[ix] at the age of 18. He was wounded in action near Brandeville and later killed by German forces after being evacuated to the beach[x].

To the south of the 502nd, the paratroopers of the 506th PIR succeeded in capturing and holding their assigned beach exits at Houdienville and Pouppeville thanks largely to the rapid consolidation and movement of the 2-506. It would be in Pouppeville where the first link up between airborne forces and seaborne troops occurred when Soldiers of the 8th Infantry Regiment successfully expanded their beachhead[xi]. 

Among those Soldiers of the 2-506th who helped secure the exits from Utah Beach was Pvt. Albert Gray of Atlanta Georgia. Gray had enlisted in the Georgia National Guard’s 122nd Infantry Regiment May 15, 1939[xii] at the age of 15. After the 122nd was reorganized as the 179th Field Artillery Battalion, Gray volunteered for the Airborne and trained at Camp Toccoa. Gray would survive the Normandy Campaign but was killed in action January 2, 1945. He is buried in the Henri Chapelle Cemetery in Belgium.[xiii]

The 82nd Airborne Division

Church in Ste. Mere Eglise in 2023. Photo by Maj. William Carraway

Within hours of landing, the 101st Airborne Division had largely achieved their
objectives of securing the western edge of the flooded areas west of the beaches and securing the beach exits for Utah Beach. Meanwhile, the 82nd Airborne was still facing strong opposition. 

Dropping along the banks of the Merderet River, the mission of the 82nd Airborne was to clear the western portion of the beachhead from the Douve River to the town of St. Mere Eglise. The 505th PIR was to seize St. Mere Eglise, secure crossings on the Merderet and to tie in with the 502nd PIR. At the same time, the 507th and 508th were tasked with consolidating the bridgeheads and establishing a defensive perimeter west of the Merderet[xiv]. 

T/5 Carl Kleinsteuber in 1941. Georgia Guard
Archives

Of these objectives, only the capture of St. Mere Eglise was accomplished as originally designed. Taking part in this action was T/5 Carl G. Kleinsteuber. In January 1941, Kleinsteuber had enlisted in the Georgia Guard’s 118th Field Artillery[xv] at the age of 19. After arriving at Fort Jackson, S.C. Kleinsteuber volunteered for Airborne service and was assigned to the Regimental Headquarters of the 505th. He was killed in action in the early hours of June 6 and is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery.[xvi]

While the 505th PIR repelled savage counterattacks on St. Mere Eglise, the 507th and 508th struggled to move into positions west of the town. Unable to land on their original drop zones due to the presence of enemy forces, these regiments were widely dispersed, and precious time was required for the forces to consolidate.

Drop pattern of the 82nd Airborne Division. Harrison, Map X.

Consolidation and Casualties 

By noon, three companies of paratroopers successfully crossed the causeway near la Fiere; however, German artillery and small arms fire drove the bridgehead back. By the end of the day, the 82nd held St. Mere Eglise and had successfully beaten back enemy counter attacks. Additional paratroopers and equipment would arrive by glider the afternoon of June 6 and June 7 while landing craft continued to bring troops ashore on Utah and Omaha Beach. By that time, the 101st had managed to assemble less than half of its 6,600 men while the 82nd had assembled approximately 30 percent. D-Day casualties for the 101st Airborne Division were 1,240 while the 82nd suffered 1,259. Of these, 338 were killed while more than 1,200 were declared missing[xvii]. The terrible cost paid by these paratroopers bought time and precious terrain vital for the success of the allied beach landings.

Next Chapter: Georgia Guardsmen in the Beach Landings

---

[i] "A ‘Mighty Endeavor:’ D-Day." FDR Presidential Library & Museum. Accessed May 02, 2019. https://www.fdrlibrary.org/d-day.

[ii] Harrison, Gordon A. Cross-Channel Attack. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. of the Army, 1951, 279.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Ibid, 280.

[v] Ibid, 281.

[vi] General Orders Number 13, Military Department, State of Georgia, October 7, 1941, Sion B. Hawkins, The Adjutant General

[vii] Carraway, William. "Biographical Sketches of Georgia National Guard Fallen Soldiers from WWI to Afghanistan." Unpublished.

[viii] “A Brief History of the 502nd and 2nd Brigade” Ryan P. Niebuhr. Accessed May 15, 2019 http://www.d1501.org/D1501/Stories/STRIKE%20History%20for%2005%20June%20-%2011%20June%202016.pdf

[ix] Hawkins

[x] Niebuhr

[xi] Harrison, 283.

[xii] Hawkins

[xiii] Carraway

[xiv] Harrison, 289.

[xv] Hawkins

[xvi] Carraway

[xvii] Harrison, 300.

Fallen Soldiers of the 121st Infantry Regiment Honored and Remembered in France

By Maj. William Carraway
Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Private 1st Class William Grey of Company C, 121st Infantry Regiment was honored during a ceremony at the Brittany American Cemetery in Montjoie St. Martin, France September 29, 2019. Grey was killed in action September 17, 1944 near Brest, France at the age of 23. Joining representatives of French patriotic associations in honoring Grey are Capt. Dan Nichols of the Georgia Army National Guard; David Bedford, Superintendent of the Brittany American Cemetery and Jean Francois Pellouais. Photo by Nathalie Robillard.

In August 1944, the 121^st Infantry Regiment of the Georgia National Guard swept into Brittany, France. By September, the 121st, as part of the 8th Infantry Division, had captured the fortified port city of Brest France and eliminated German resistance on the Crozon Peninsula. Seventy-five years later, during a ceremony at the Brittany American Cemetery in Montjoie St. Martin, French citizens and veterans remembered the fallen Soldiers of the 121st and other American Soldiers who fell during the Normandy and Brittany campaigns.

“We have a duty to remember,” said Jean Francois Pellouais, master of ceremonies who has arranged tributes to the fallen since 2011. “I take part and organize these tributes to promote the duty of memory so that these young men do not return to the shadow of history.”

Citizens and representatives of eleven veteran and civic associations gathered in the Chapel of the Brittany American Cemetery on a rainy Sunday morning for the commemoration ceremony. Inside the chapel, flanked by color bearers of French patriotic associations, were the images of fallen service members. Among those honored were Pfc. Elbert B. Griffin, Pvt. John T. Taggart, and Pfc. William P. Grey of the 121st Infantry Regiment who fell in Brittany.

The Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of the 121st Infantry honored during the ceremony were, (left to right) Pfc. William P. Grey, Pfc. Elbert B. Griffin and Pvt. John T. Taggart, and Pfc. William P. Grey. Photo by Nathalie Robillard.

Pellouais opened the ceremony with introductory comments before reading a poem that had been provided for the occasion by Yuri Beckers of Holland. The poem, titled "We Must Remember," was written in tribute to the 9th Infantry Division Soldiers and all those who reside at the Brittany American Cemetery.

Five-year-old Violette and Capt. Dan Nichols of the Georgia Army National
 Guard prepare to place a rose in honor of fallen American service members
during a ceremony at the Brittany American Cemetery in Montjoie St. Martin,
France September 29, 2019. Photo by Nathalie Robillard.

Among those participating in the wreath laying ceremony was Capt. Dan Nichols of the Georgia Army National Guard. Nichols was attending school in the United Kingdom when he learned of the commemoration.

“To be a part of the ceremony was an honor, said Nichols. “This is my second time witnessing the gratitude of the French people for the American sacrifice in World War II, and it is genuine.”

A solemn procession of citizens came forward following the wreath-laying to place roses in remembrance of the nearly 5,000 fallen and missing American Soldiers who are memorialized in the 28-acre Brittany American Cemetery. Among those was 5-year old Violette who joined Nichols in the laying of a rose. Following a moment of silence, the somber notes of Taps filled the chapel as the French associations’ colors dipped in salute.

The chapel at the Brittany American Cemetery in Montjoie St. Martin, France
where fallen American service members of World War II were honored by French
 citizens during a ceremony September 29, 2019. Photo by Nathalie Robillard.

The ceremony continued on the cemetery grounds as the French citizens placed roses on the graves of fallen service members. In addition to rendering honors to the fallen Soldiers of the 121st Infantry, ceremony observed the placement of a rose and minute of silence at the graves of MC1 Richard Neil Johnson, Pvt. Charles P. Rock, Pfc. Roland Vanderkerkove and Pvt. Harvey E. Hyllested. The final visit was to the grave of an unknown American Soldier, where honors were rendered on behalf of all of the fallen.

The ceremony concluded with words of thanks from Mr. Jean-Francois Pellouais to Mr. David W. Bedford, superintendent of the Brittany American Cemetery in which Pellouais offered final words of gratitude and “a last gesture of Franco-American friendship towards these young soldiers who are resting for the eternity for one word: ‘Freedom.’"

Nichols summed up his experience at the memorial with an expression of gratitude to those who had arranged the ceremony and invited him to attend.

Images of the American Service members, who fell during World War II, that were
honored by French citizens at the Brittany American Cemetery in Montjoie
St. Martin, France during a ceremony Sept 29, 2019. Photo by Nathalie Robillard. 

“There are no requirements, or quid pro quo for the French veterans and citizens who perform these memorials,” observed Nichols. “They ask for nothing, and quite often no Americans are present. Yet they do them anyway. Their children and grandchildren do them. It is out a sense of honor that they remember the sacrifice of our Soldiers, and it was an honor for me to share this moment with them.”

Pellouais had a special message for the members of the Georgia National Guard.

“I wish to say that the French, young or old, humble and respectful, are bearers of your story,” said Pellouais. “We evoke the sacrifice of the soldiers of the National Guard of Georgia whose blood has mingled, like thousands of other GI's, with the soil of our land to give liberty to our parents, to France but especially to the whole world. Long live the Franco-American friendship that has united our two countries since Lafayette.”

The Fortified City: The 121st Infantry Regiment Returns to Brest, France

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

A US tank destroyer M36 fires its 90mm gun point-blank at a Nazi pillbox emplacement to clear a path through a side street in Brest, France. Brest France, 1944. Sept. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/90707669/.

The Lead Scout

Pfc. Gilbert Wallje at Jefferson Barracks
 in 1943. Courtesy of Timothy Harter

Private 1st Class Gilbert Wallje was a long way from home on the morning of September 8, 1944.

Just six days shy of his 24th birthday, the five-foot, five-inch Wallje was one of two lead scouts maneuvering ahead of Company L, 121st Infantry as the regiment moved towards Pontanezen Barracks, formidable works just outside the fortress port city of Brest, France. Wallje was one of the newest Soldiers of the 121st Infantry having arrived as a replacement Soldier in mid-July. Since then he had been in near constant action. Born and raised in St. Louis, Mo., Wallje, a former salesclerk trained with the 89th Division at Jefferson Barracks before shipping overseas. Days after arriving in France, Wallje was assigned to 1st Platoon, Company L, 121st Infantry. He participated in Operation Cobra and was part of the Lost Battalion at Dinard. Though only weeks into his combat service, “Bud” Wallje was already a seasoned veteran, but nothing could prepare him for the events of that September day.

Prelude

Map of the approaches to Brest with the hand-
written notes of Pfc. James Lowman, Company F,
121st Infantry Regiment.

The 121st was no stranger to the fortified naval port of Brest. The regiment arrived in Brest Harbor for World War I service in October 1918. Its commanding officer, Col. James Thomas, who gave the regiment its nickname, Gray Bonnet, died there October 16, 1918.[i] Brest had withstood assaults for centuries. English and Dutch fleets had failed to take the port from the sea[ii] and formidable land defenses now confronted the Allied Soldiers of the VIII Corps who were assigned to take the town.

Soldiers of the 6th Armored Division had reached Brest more than one month before but had lacked the combat power to invest the city. Accordingly, the 8th Division had been dispatched west after the successful assault on Dinard. The 8th arrived in the vicinity of Kervallan August 20, 1944[iii]. After a series of probing actions, the 121st was placed in the center of a three-division line with the 29th to its right and the 2nd to its left.[iv] From its position in the center, the 8th Division and the 121st participated in assaults of August 25 and 26. Wallje described the actions of those days.

After about two days of patrolling it was decided that everyone (would) move up. Company L sent one platoon to reconnoiter a hill to our direct front. The First Platoon was ordered to go, along with one section of M Company heavy machine guns. We went up but very few came back. The next morning a patrol was sent up again, but Jerry had pulled back, so everyone moved up.[v]

Over the ensuing days, the 121st Infantry engaged German positions. Company A overran two German pill boxes September 1.[vi] Meanwhile, the other companies of the 121st advanced into a steady curtain of artillery fire. More than 600 81 mm mortar rounds were fired into the town of Kergroas before elements of Company I were able to take the town. [vii] German resistance was cunning and made effective use of deception. Sergeant John Minick and Lt. Henry Schwartz were alarmed to see a Sherman tank of the 6th Armored Division train its gun on Soldiers of Company I. The men moved swiftly to the tank and captured the five German Soldiers who had crewed it. One of the Germans was captured wearing an American uniform.[viii]

Father Son Tragedy

The American assault was greatly assisted by the efforts of the Army Air Corps which flew sortie after sortie against Brest and its surrounding fortifications. The presence of aircraft drew the attention of antiaircraft machine gun fire away from the attacking infantry allowing them to consolidate their positions. On one occasion, the antiaircraft fire scored a direct hit on an attacking American P-47 Thunderbolt. The aircraft burst into flames and crashed in a fireball just in front of the lines of the 121st Infantry. The pilot of the aircraft was Maj. Harry Stroh. He was the son of Maj. Gen. Donald Stroh, commander of the 8th Division.[ix]

Assaulting Pontanezen

Following a short reprieve, the Soldiers of the 121st were ordered to be prepared to participate in an all-out assault on September 8. Maneuvering in the center of the VIII Corps, the 8th Division and the 121st would assault Lambezellec heights by way of the Pontanezen Barracks. Rather than initiating a direct frontal assault on Lambezellec, the infantry would seize the barracks to the east then move upon Lambezellec from the flank.

Camp Pontanè̀zen. Brest, France. ca. 1919. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2010648280/.

On the morning of September 8, the 121st advanced on Pontanezen. The 3rd Battalion was in the lead with Company K and L abreast. Company K was raked by machine gun fire prompting the 1st Battalion to move up in support with flame throwers. These were employed with great effect against German pillboxes. Fifty German Soldiers were captured rather than be subjected to the clearing effect of the flame thrower.

Scouts Out

While Company K and 1st Battalion was unleashing a fiery hell upon fortified German positions, Wallje was advancing well ahead of Company L with another scout feeling the way forward on the approach to the Pontanezen Barracks. Suddenly there was a crack of machine gun fire from Wallje’s right. The St. Louis Soldier was struck six times by 8 mm machine gun rounds, one of which perforated his intestines. Collapsing, Wallje hugged the earth as rounds passed over him. Tank destroyers blasted armor piercing rounds into the walls of the Pontanezen Barracks. In response, Germans unleashed machine gun and artillery fire. For perhaps half an hour, Wallje and his fellow scout lay in the middle of a cacophonous exchange of fire before the advancing Soldiers of the 121st reached them. The Gray Bonnet Regiment pressed the attack securing the barracks.

Wallje was borne from the battlefield on a stretcher. After receiving treatment at the battalion aid station, Wallje was transferred to a field hospital and eventually evacuated to England where, after four months of treatment he was discharged. He received promotion to corporal and ended the war assigned to the 1075th Army Air Forces Base Unit in Miami, Fla.[x]

Fort Bouguen

Having taken the heights of Lambezellec, the 121st turned south to face the impregnable fortress of Fort Bouguen. The centuries old castle walls rose to heights of up to 35 feet and were surrounded by a moat. Following a breach by heavy artillery on September 10, the infantry surged forward gaining the walls and the moat but were driven back. Subsequent attacks of September 11 were also fruitless and prompted a change of tactics from seizure to containment. Accordingly, the 121st was moved out of the front lines for a brief period of rest before maneuvering south of Brest to maneuver up the Crozon Peninsula.

These Are My Credentials

Lieutenant General Hermann Ramcke after being captured by
US Army forces on 19 September 1944. Blumenson

The Crozon peninsula spread like a glove with four fingers due south of Brest. Army intelligence estimated between 1,500 and 3,000 Germans on the peninsula. On September 15 the 121st initiated the attack and sustained heavy artillery and mortar fire. Despite the heavy fire, the attack surged forward breaching enemy defenses. By the evening of September 17, 1-121 had entered the town of Crozon. German resistance on the peninsula collapsed shortly thereafter.

With the outcome obvious even to the most diehard hold out, Lt. Gen. Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, commander of the garrison at Brest requested terms of surrender after having refused such terms less than a week previous. Brigadier General Charles Canham, deputy commander of the 8th Division was the senior officer present to accept the German general’s surrender. Canham as a colonel had served as the commanding officer of the 116th Infantry Regiment during the Normandy landing on Omaha beach. Shot through the wrist, Canham refused evacuation and instead remained on the beach encouraging his Soldiers forward. For his actions, Canham would receive the Distinguished Service Cross and the star of a brigadier general. Ramcke was unaware of this and was instead perturbed at the prospect of surrendering to an officer of lesser rank. Indignantly, Ramcke asked for Canham’s credentials. Canham gestured to his Soldiers saying, “these are my credentials.”[xi]

On September 23, Maj. Gen. Donald Stroh presided over an awards ceremony for the 121st Infantry Regiment. Soldiers of the Gray Bonnet Regiment received 11 Silver Stars and 62 Bronze Stars.[xii] The Crozon effort had extracted a terrible price. From Sept 5 to 19 the 8th Division suffered 72 killed and 415 wounded.[xiii] Three Georgia Guard Soldiers of the 121st were among those killed in action during the taking of Brest. Staff Sgt. Clarence Breeland of the Brunswick-based Company E was killed September 11, 1944. Private 1st Class. William Grey of Macon was killed September 7, 1944 while serving with Company C. Private 1st Class Elbert Griffin of the Albany Rifles of Company H, was killed September 12, 1944.

Staff Sgt. Clarence Breeland, Pfc. William Grey and Pfc. Elbert Griffin, 121st Infantry Regiment were killed in action during the campaign for Brest, France.

While the Allies had succeeded in taking Brest it was a Pyrrhic victory. The Germans had successfully destroyed the port facilities thus preventing the Allies the logistical port they desired.[xiv] After the costly siege of Brest, the allies would no longer attempt to take German held port cities preferring instead to isolating these pockets of resistance, many of which would be held until the end of the war.

For the 121st Infantry the war in France was over. From Crozon the Gray Bonnets would be sent to Luxembourg in anticipation of the drive to Germany.

Next Chapter: Huertgen, Hell with Icicles.

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[i] 121st Infantry Regiment. The Gray Bonnet; Combat History of the 121st Infantry Regiment. Baton

Rouge, LA: Army & Navy Publishing Co., 1946, 37

[ii] Ibid, 37.

[iii] Ibid, 86.

[iv] Ibid, 41: This edition belonged to Pfc. James W Lowman of Company F, 121st and contains his handwritten notes throughout.

[v] Wallje, Gilbert. Undated letter courtesy of Timothy Harter.

[vi] 121st, 38.

[vii] Ibid,39.

[viii] Ibid.

[ix] Ibid, 40.

[x] Wallje, Gilbert. Honorable Discharge. Courtesy of Timothy Harter.

[xi] Patterson, Michael Robert. Charles D. W. Canham, Major General, United States Army, http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/cdwcanhan.htm.

[xii] 121st, 46.

[xiii] Blumenson, Martin. Breakout and Pursuit. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1984, 652.

[xiv] Blumenson, 655.