23.2.12

Introduction


The primary purpose of this web site is to honor the memory of the men of the 112th Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, in World War II. I hope it will serve also as an educational tool for students of that period, and guide its readers to further and more detailed accounts. This is a "reader's site." Its centerpiece is a monthly record, a unit history, kept by Lieutenant Robert "Bud" Flynn of the 112th Regiment, 2nd Battalion. Along with this contemporary account I provide my own monthly summaries of the fighting, as well as relevant excerpts from numerous historical records. Together I hope that these readings will supply the student with a deeper insight into the nature of warfare and of the fighting man, in one particular time and place, not all that long ago.

The 28th Infantry Division, known as the Keystone Division, arrived in Europe in late July of '44, just as the Allied forces had begun at great human cost to "break out" of their narrow Normandy beachhead. They were "green," these troops of the 28th. As historian Martin Blumenson writes (in The Duel for France: 1944), "The 28th Division demonstrated the usual errors of a unit newly committed to combat, sustaining on its first day of attack almost 750 casualties." Yet all through this summer the men of the 28th were learning: they were learning how to fight, how to endure, how to take ground under fire, and even how, just maybe, to survive.

The German forces were eventually compelled to retreat, though at heartbreaking expense to the Allies. All the rest of that summer the Allied armies pressed the Germans eastward, across France, through Luxembourg and Belgium. The Allies were by now supremely confidant. Many believed the war would soon be over. But once within Germany's well-fortified border, Hitler's armies turned and fought, and now ensued some of the most bitter struggles of the war, in places like Arnhem, Aachen, and all around the little cross-roads town of Bastogne.

The 28th was in the thick of this fighting. Indeed, in November, in a rugged forest known as the Huertgen, the struggle was incredibly fierce, and for the Keystone Division tragic. Then, in December, this "band of brothers" would find itself directly in the path of a massive German counter-attack, known later as the Battle of the Bulge.

Lieutenant Robert "Bud" Flynn was a soldier in the 28th Division, 112th Regiment. He was his company's executive officer and its "unit historian." This meant that one of his responsibilities was to keep a log of his unit's activities. From day to day, this log was a simple record of where they went, the nature of their deployment, the kind of resistance they faced, and the number of casualties they took.

What follows is Lieutenant Flynn's unit history. It covers the period beginning August 1, 1944, and ending January 31, 1945. In itself it is not a particularly dramatic account, nor was it meant to be. The emotions of war reveal themselves here only in veiled and sometimes ironic guise. But if we read this history along with other accounts of the period, including personal memoirs of some who were there, a picture emerges. It is not exactly the "big picture." It is the picture of one Division, made up of mostly 18 to 20 year old men, whose experience over this six month period follows a trajectory from youthful cockiness and innocence, through demoralizing and mind-boggling tragedy (even, in the eyes of some, disgrace), and on again to yet another fight for survival in the snowy and corpse-strewn woods and fields of the Ardennes.

Lieutenant Flynn, in after-years, never talked about his wartime experiences. This was not uncommon. Other men who fought with the 28th did not begin to tell their own stories of that time until as many as fifty years later. All warfare is of course hard and bitter, but the nature of the fighting in Huertgen especially, and the deadly incompetence of some of the commanders, made the memories of that time especially gruesome and difficult to face.

Lieutenant Flynn died in 1978. His children never really understood what he had endured back in 1944, what he had given of himself, or what he had seen other men give. Of course no one who has not known war first hand can ever truly understand it. A gulf always lies between those who "were there," and those who were not. The historian's task is only a special form of the human task: that is, to bridge these gulfs between people. We hardly ever do this well, or for long. The ones who were there have to be willing to tell us what it was like, and the ones who were not there have to care enough to listen. Seldom do these two conditions seem to coincide.

10 comments:

  1. Hello I happened upon your blog while discussing WWII with my wife's grandfather who was in F company of the 112th. He didn't recognize Bud's name but in your chronology, he was identifying where he was at the those times and knows some of the people mentioned in your posts. Anyways we were just trying to get in contact with you to see what you know of the 112th or if you know anyone still living etc...

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  2. Hi Thomas. Thanks for getting in touch. I'm afraid I don't know anyone else from the 112th, although over the years I have been in contact with a few, here and there. Most of the informtion I have here was gathered from history books and published personbal accounts of the action, and from my father-in-law's company history. As you can imagine, most of these men passed on by now, but I'm very gratified that a veteran like your wife's grandfather has gotten something out of this.

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  3. This is very interesting reading, I’m working on a family tree. My wife’s grand father Wilder L. Hendricks
    Became MIA on or around the 9th of Nov. 1945 while serving with 112th Infantry 28th division.
    Do you have any thoughts on how to find out more about him and details of his service and disappearance?
    Thanks for any help and the history, John F.

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  4. My father was 1st Lt. William A. Anderson. He was with the 112th Infantry Regiment, Company K. His company was in Schmidt. I have recently uncovered a number of letters he wrote my mother during the 28th Division campaign in the 4th quarter of 1944. He was wounded at 3:00 a.m. on November 9, 1944. His story is not documented that I know of. According to my mother, he was one of three men who made it back to American lines after being behind enemy lines from about November 3-4 to Nov 9. This was after the German counterattack on Schmidt. He and the two others apparently left a number of other men to get help. I'm happy to discuss more of what I know and to discuss the letters.

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  5. Those letters must be fascinating, Greg. What a treasure. To both John and Greg, I would adviser you read all you can. In even the most detailed histories only a handful of soldiers are actually mentioned by name, but you can still learn a lot about what your Dad's unit went through from day to day. You might want to peruse the reading list on this website.

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  6. Mr. Spencer,
    A friend of mine in France has found the helmet and jacket of PFC Willard A. Burkhardt, DOW 12/Aug/44. His service number, beginning '36' indicates he was drafted from the area of 6th Corps (Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin). I would like to return these artifacts to PFC Burkhardt's, next of kin. Can you assist? I know online sites exist that by inputting the service number the location of where he entered service might get me closer to finding his next of kin-but I do not have that site ID. I have the service number.
    Don.........

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  7. Mr. Spencer,
    You can also reach me at: mackaydon@aol.com
    Thank you.

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  8. My father, Alexander "Sparky" Kisse was an infantry soldier in the 112th Regiment, F Company. He served with the division from April 1944 until he was wounded on December 2, 1944 in Sevenig, Germany while attempting to charge across an open field in direct line of fire of three pillboxes. Thank God my father is still with us at over 97 years of age! His wartime recollections are available at:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTE9BPmiZNo and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTE9BPmiZNo.

    My Dad resides in New Carrollton, MD and can be reached at 301-467-9723.

    GOD BLESS all these men who endured so much!

    With my greatest respect and admiration.

    Bill Kisse

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  9. Hi, Thomas! I came across this blog while researching the 112th Infantry. My Great Uncle was KIA on August 1, 1944. His name is listed on this blog - Ernest A. Filippetti. I just visited his gravesite yesterday, as I do every Memorial Day. Although he passed 39 years before my birth, I feel a strong connection to him. Wondering if your grandfather-in-law knew him? My email is jrorr616@yahoo.com.

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  10. Hello all, My uncle Charles E. Justice was with the 112th/28th Div and was killed in action on 8/8/44. He was the third of three cousins killed in Normandy. I believe he was in HQ company, but am not completely sure of that. I know time is moving on for our vets, but if anyone has any information on my uncle our family would greatly appreciate it! My email is willjust423@gmail.com

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