Europe will mark V-E Day's 80th anniversary as once-unbreakable bonds with the US are under pressure
THIMISTER-CLERMONT, Belgium — The memory of blood dripping from trucks loaded with the mangled bodies of U.S. soldiers arriving at a nearby war cemetery straight from the battlefield in 1945 still gives 91-year-old Marcel Schmetz nightmares.
It also instilled a lifelong sense of gratitude for the young soldiers from the United States and around the world who gave their lives battling the armies of Adolf Hitler to end World War II in Europe.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
WW2 veteran Cas Salemi of Mass. has seen the horrors of war. On Flag Day, he will turn 103
World War II veteran Caster 'Cas' Salemi, a longtime Massachusetts resident, will turn 103 this weekend, on Flag Day. Salemi, of North Attleboro, served in the Army's 251st Field Artillery Battalion in the South Pacific during the war. He served in two of its major campaigns, New Guinea and the Philippines. He's among the few remaining members of American war heroes known as the 'Greatest Generation,' said Air Force veteran Natalee Webb-Rubino, who reached out to Boston 25 to share Salemi's story. Nearly 131 World War II veterans die each day and of the 16 million men and women who served during the war, just over 100,000 remain, Webb-Rubino said. 'This 'Greatest Generation' are a rapidly dwindling sector of Americans that we should honor most reverently,' said Webb-Rubino, a Franklin resident. OFF TO WAR After training in Paris, Texas for a year, the 21-year-old Salemi set off on a 30-day ocean voyage to New Guinea, Webb-Rubino said. He had no fresh water on the journey. Soldiers had to wait for rain to shower. As they neared the coast, soldiers saw lush green fields of grass -- 'kunai' grass. Salemi and others had to use their bayonets to cut through the tough, fibrous blades of thick grass to make camp. At camp, Salemi was handed a can of British Bully Beef (C-Rations) that were from World War I, and made 28 years earlier. 'When we opened the rations the Palm Trees wilted!' Salemi said, as told to Webb-Rubino. Having run the enemy off to the West Coast of New Guinea, his unit prepared for their next campaign in the Philippines. Salemi and the 251st were among the first soldiers to land in Luzon. As they offloaded the vehicles from their boat, the truck containing all of Salemi's communications equipment slipped into a sink hole. With his truck and supplies gone, he had to sit on the beach for three days waiting for their replacement. DANGEROUS MISSION In 1941, in Manila, Salemi and his unit provided critical defense, Webb-Rubino said. Over 100,000 Filipino civilians were killed by the enemy. 'Cas and his unit bravely fought the enemy for 165 days without rest,' Webb-Rubino said. Radio frequencies in the thick and hilly jungle terrain of the Philippines would not work and had to be dangerously hardwired. As a T-4 or Technical Sergeant, Salemi's job was to lay vital communications wire between the 251st firing batteries and its command base. He recalled to Webb-Rubino one dangerous mission where his unit had been pinned down in a valley between two mountains under heavy artillery action. The enemy would roll out cannons from a cave and fire upon the Americans, he said, as told to Webb-Rubino. With no way out, the men completely disassembled an M90 Howitzer cannon and dragged it across to the other mountain where they could see the enemy's cave. 'When the enemy once again rolled out their deadly cannons, the soldiers of the 251st were ready and successfully brought an end to the enemy's carnage in this Valley,' Webb-Rubino said. In another routine mission, the men positioned their allotted four cannons and created a perimeter around them. Soon after, they heard and felt the ground rumbling. The enemy had stampeded a whole herd of carabao, or water buffalo, directly in their path, Webb-Rubino said. 'The men ran for cover under the guns, anywhere, just to get away from the animals to avoid death by trampling,' she said. NUCLEAR BOMBS, WAR INJURIES In 1945, Japan ended its aggressions after nuclear bombs were dropped on its cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, respectively. Japan surrendered days later, on Aug. 14, 1945. Salemi was severely injured with 'jungle rot,' a condition caused by prolonged exposure to moisture with the inability to keep skin dry leading to a fungal infection. The North Attleboro veteran could barely walk, covered in the fungus on his hands and feet, he said, as told to Webb-Rubino. He was medically evacuated on a ship back to the United States. During the 17-day trip home, in the aftermath of Typhoon Queenie, Salemi experienced sustained winds of 90 mph and rough seas with 50 to 60-foot swells. While recovering from his severe injuries in California, he and other GIs in his ward heard a strange noise reminiscent of an incoming artillery fire. The loud noise, which was a jet flying overhead, prompted the soldiers to jump off their beds, Salemi recalled, as told to Webb-Rubino. They dove underneath them believing they were once again under attack. To this day, the Massachusetts centenarian remembers bonding with other soldiers 'from all walks of life' while serving with them during their darkest hours. 'Learning how to live with others from all different walks of life creates that special bond or camaraderie that soldiers share,' Salemi said, as told to Webb-Rubino. 'We learned to depend on each other which proved to be a critical component in warfare,' Salemi said. He also compared his wartime service to that of soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War. 'The difference between World War II and the Vietnam conflict was a matter of trust,' Salemi said. 'While there was brutality with the Japanese, the soldiers knew where and who they were fighting. The Vietnam Conflict was rifled with distrust and high anxiety.' 'The enemy dug tunnels throughout the Vietnam landscape making it nearly impossible for a soldier to know who, when or where the enemy attacks were emanating from,' Salemi said. LIFE AFTER THE WAR Salemi was honorably discharged from the military in 1946. He was awarded several medals for his service: the Good Conduct, World War II Victory, Asiatic Pacific Campaign (with two stars for the New Guinea and Luzon campaigns) along with an Artillery Pin and the Philippine Liberation medals. Not long after his discharge, he married the love of his life, Virginia, in 1949. While he was born on Flag Day, his wife was born on Veteran's Day. The couple enjoyed 37 years together and raised two sons and a daughter. Salemi moved to Massachusetts in 1972 while working for Sylvania Electric Products. He worked in research and development for 39 years through its mergers with GTE which ultimately became Verizon. A 35-year resident of North Attleboro, Salemi remains active in several military organizations and is a former member of the town's Veterans Advisory Board. He is a Past Commander of the North Attleboro Disabled American Veterans Post 56. In 2004, Salemi organized and escorted fellow veterans to the grand opening of the World War II Museum in Washington, D.C. He has also traversed the Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization for veterans to visit memorials built in their honor. He attributes his longevity to three things: Love what you do, don't smoke or drink hard liquor, save for an occasional glass of wine; and good genes. Stories of service are what have inspired Webb-Rubino, who is also a military veteran. She said she joined the Air Force in 1976, becoming its first female Aircraft Mechanic Crew Chief and while at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan. In 1999, she founded the 11K road race in Stoneham created to honor and recognize veterans. In 2009, she became the City of Melrose's first female Veterans Service Officer. 'I firmly believe we need to recognize these 'Greatest Generation' men and women as often as we can,' she said. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. 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New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Marthe Cohn, a Wartime Jewish Nurse Who Spied for the French, Dies at 105
Marthe Cohn was barely 25 on April 11, 1945, and Jewish, but, being blond and blue-eyed, she could pass for an Aryan. She was French, from northeastern Alsace, but spoke German fluently. She was a nurse and, at 4 feet 11, somewhat inconspicuous. She was so keen and inquisitive that her comrades nicknamed her Chichinette, translated loosely as a pain in the neck. She was also a spy, working with the French resistance to Nazi occupiers in World War II. On one mission, after 14 failed attempts, she managed to cross into Switzerland, crawl through scrubby underbrush and emerge onto a road that defined the border between the Swiss town of Schaffhausen and the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. She then slipped past two German sentries, identifying herself to them with an audacious 'Heil Hitler' salute. Then she headed deeper into Germany, pretending to be the only child of parents killed in an Allied raid and saying she was searching for her missing fiancé, 'Hans.' The ruse worked. She soon encountered a wounded Nazi storm trooper, who bragged that 'he could smell a Jew a mile away.' When the soldier collapsed in mid-conversation, Ms. Cohn ministered to him. He invited her to visit the front lines to continue the quest for her missing boyfriend. As a result, she was able to glean two strategic military secrets about Wehrmacht maneuvers, a feat that would win her medals from France and also from postwar Germany — for saving lives by helping to hasten the end of World War II even by a few weeks. The war in Europe ended on May 8. Marthe Cohn died on May 20 at her home in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., in Los Angeles County, where she had settled with her American husband, a doctor, long after her wartime exploits, her family said. She was 105. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
The overlooked Army division that held off the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge during World War II is often associated with the 101st Airborne Division's heroic stand at Bastogne in Belgium. But it was the 28th Infantry Division's tenacious defense at the start of the battle that delayed the Germans long enough to allow the 101st to move into Bastogne. Nicknamed the 'Bloody Bucket' by the Germans for the red keystone patches its soldiers wore on their uniforms, the 28th Infantry Division had just suffered about 5,700 casualties during the grueling battle of the Hürtgen Forest. During the start of the Battle of the Bulge, 28th Division soldiers were outnumbered 10-to-1 by Germans in some areas. Almost immediately, the German advance shattered their lines and communications, leaving the soldiers of the 28th to fight in squad and platoon-sized elements, on their own — arguably more perilous conditions than faced by others who were able to keep their lines together as the Germans came on. Still, they put up a dogged resistance that bought other Army units valuable time. Eventually, their lines broke and the division withdrew West. By the time it was pulled off the front lines in December 1944, only about 200 soldiers remained in the division. 'The Germans basically bypassed many of them and cut them off. Because they had to fight in so many little pieces and parts to the point of being broken down into squad- and platoon-sized elements, that story is a lot harder to tell, it's a lot harder to document as compared to an entire division defending a city like Bastogne,' said Peter G. Knight, director of Historical Studies at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. In honor of the Army's 250th birthday on Saturday, this is the story of the 28th Infantry Division's bravery during the Battle of the Bulge, which has largely been lost to history. 'The 28th Division was incredibly important in delaying the German timetable,' Knight told Task & Purpose. 'If they had not made their delaying action, if they had simply cut tail and tried to retreat instead of fighting them as they did so, then the 101st wouldn't have been able to reach Bastogne.' When the Germans launched their offensive on Dec. 16, 1944, they planned to cross the Meuse River within the first 72 hours of the attack as part of their effort to capture the port of Antwerp in Belgium, thus splitting Allied forces, Knight told Task & Purpose. But the soldiers in the 28th Infantry Division were able to delay the Germans for about three days by holding their ground and trying to inflict as much damage on the overwhelming enemy as possible, Knight said. At the start of the battle, the 28th Infantry Division had already lost about 36% of its total strength from the fighting in the Hürtgen Forest, he said. Nearly all the casualties came from infantry regiments, and the division had lost many of its enlisted leaders and combat-experienced officers. 'And so, these units were newly reconstituted to about 80% strength when the Germans launched their offensive,' Knight said. 'And those units were three regiments that had to cover a 25-mile line of territory along the Luxembourg border with Germany overlooking the Our River. That's nearly four times the doctrinal allowance for a division's coverage.' The soldiers in the division were spread thin because the Allies had not expected the Germans to attack through the Ardennes Forrest, Knight explained. From the very start of the Battle of the Bulge, soldiers with the 28th Infantry Division were plunged into brutal fighting, he said. Pfc. Alexander Hadden of the 112th Infantry Regiment — the division's northernmost unit — later described the German attack on his position in his book Not Me: The World War II Memoir of a Reluctant Rifleman. 'At 0:600 hours, the Germans had struck his outpost, and they knocked it out and stormed the first and third platoon CPs [command posts],' Knight said. 'Hadden wrote that his company commander was killed in the first few minutes of the fighting, and in the ensuing battles – some of it hand-to-hand – the Germans lost 150 men with 73 captured. Meanwhile, Baker Company, his company, had lost 95 men killed, captured, or missing.' Separately, soldiers in the 109th Infantry Regiment expended 280,000 small arms rounds, 5,000 mortar rounds, 3,000 grenades, and 300 bazooka rounds in just three days of fighting, Knight said. For the most part, 28th Infantry soldiers fought as squads or platoons to trade space for time, Knight said. For example, Sgt. J.J. Kuhn, of the division's 110th Infantry Regiment, called in fire and directed machine guns in Marnach, Luxembourg, for two days until his position was overrun by a German Tiger tank, Knight said. Lt. Col. James Rosborough, commander of the 107th Field Artillery Battalion, was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for organizing a counterattack to reach an encircled gun group near Hoscheid, Luxembourg. 'Encountering intense small arms fire, he then fired his submachine gun and directed effective fire of two tanks in eliminating the hostile resistance,' his award citation reads. 'Reaching the battery position, he led a vicious assault upon the numerically superior enemy force, which resulted in 150 Germans killed and 40 prisoners captured.' With the help of the 10th Armored Division, the soldiers in the 28th Infantry Division put up a tenacious defense at Wiltz, Belgium on Dec. 19, that bought enough time for the 101st Airborne Division to move into Bastogne, Knight said. They actually cobbled together units – their own divisional band among other supply units in the area – actually put up a bit of a defense in conjunction with the armored force,' Knight said. 'That last bit of delay bought just enough time, because the 101st arrived in Bastogne on the 19th.' One reason why the 28th Infantry Division was so successful at delaying the attack on Bastogne was that the German tanks could only travel by roads, and that's where the division placed its strongpoints, he said. On Dec. 20, the division was withdrawn from Bastogne to France shortly before the Germans completely encircled the town, Knight said. Over the course of the first few days of fighting, the 28th Infantry Division lost its cohesion, Knight said. It began the battle with close to 16,000 soldiers, but it was reduced to about 200 soldiers when it was pulled off the front lines, with many of its soldiers joining adjacent units. Eventually, both the 112th Infantry Regiment and 109th Field Artillery received a Presidential Unit Citation, the highest award for combat valor a unit can receive. Both were also cited by the Belgian army for their heroism during the Battle of the Bulge, Knight said. The entire 28th Infantry Division received the Croix de Guerre from Luxembourg. 'These were company strong points, and the Germans basically bypassed many of them and cut them off. Because they had to fight in so many little pieces and parts to the point of being broken down into squad- and platoon-sized elements, that story is a lot harder to tell, it's a lot harder to document as compared to an entire division defending a city like Bastogne.' A Marine Corps reply-all email apocalypse has an incredible real-life ending Army shuts down its sole active-duty information operations command Army plans to close more than 20 base museums in major reduction Former Green Beret nominated to top Pentagon position to oversee special ops The Navy's new recruiting commercial puts the 'dirt wars' in the past
