Donald E. MYERLY was a member of 110th Field Artillery
Bn, 29th Infantry Division and entered service from Westminster (MD) He was
Killed in Action on June 7, 1944 at the "Vierville crossroads" while
driving an ammunition truck of the B Battery. When the truck arrived at the intersection
it was caught by a german artillery round.
Donald E. MYERLY is buried at
the American Normandy cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach - Colleville sur Mer.
IN MEMORIAM Robert
M. MURPHY, Col. (retired) Combat veteran of 505th PIR with 3 combat jumps,
died on 3 october 2008. Pvt. Murphy lied about his age of 16 to join the Army.
At 17 made his first combat jump at Salerno. On the night of 5 / 6 june 1944 was
one of the first groups of Americans to land in Normandy as a Pathfinder. Photographs
taken at North-Witham on 5 june 1944 and at Sainte Mere Eglise, 59 years later.
S/Sgt.
John E. Montgomery (110th FA) married English nurse, Jean Crickmore while training
in England. Upon learning that John was mortally wounded on D-Day+1 near Omaha
Beach, Jean miscarried a double tragedy.
Staff Sgt. John E. Montgomery
was a rather short fellow but "Monty" was apparently well respected
by his fellow soldiers. He was an "old timer" compared to most of them
as he had served in the Maryland National Guard during most of the Depression
years having enlisted on his 21st birthday.
Sgt. Richard Herklotz served
with John in B Battery. He remembered that, if they were in a bar somewhere in
England, and Monty said, "Lets Go! everyone quickly followed.
According
to Jerry Fitzgerald, a member of Monty's gun crew, their gun (a 105mm howitzer)
consistently had the highest accuracy scores during training exercises in England.
Monty would use a piece of chalk to do quick mathematical calculations on one
of the legs of the howitzer. If an officer that he particularly disliked came
sniffing around to see what his secret was, he would quickly erase the calculations.
Bill
Boykin, B Batterys Commander on D-Day, described him as a "fine soldier."
And, the commander of C Battery, Art Flinner, said that he almost certainly
would have been promoted to Second Lieutenant had he not been killed shortly after
landing at Omaha Beach.
"The History of the 110th Field Artillery"
written by the then Lt. Col. John Purley Cooper includes an account of the incident
in which S/Sgt. Montgomery was mortally wounded. It reads, Military police,
directed the 110th column into a transit area about 500 yards west of Vierville.
Service and A Batteries arrived without mishap, but only five minutes after landing,
Headquarters and B Batteries passed through the village and heavy enemy artillery
fire crashed down, with Battery B suffering severely. Two guns and several vehicles,
including an ammunition truck, were hit and lost. Among the casualties were Staff
Sergeant John E. Montgomery, one of the battalions beloved old-timers, who
was chief of the first gun section. After evacuation to England, he died.
John was only 33 having served his country for 12 years.
A few years ago,
Bill Boykin arranged to have a plaque on the church wall in Vierville that reads,
June 7, 1944 next to the Church in Vierville-sur-Mer, B
Battery, of the 110th Field Artillery Battalion, was attacked by enemy artillery
fire. Severely disabling four trucks and two howitizers, wounding many men and
killing S/Sgt. John E. Montgomery. This honors them. Signed William A. Boykin
III, Captain, Commanding.
Capt. Boykin was wounded shortly afterwards himself
and didnt know that two others had lost their lives in this incident. Corporal
Donald Myerly was one of those who died.
Ranger Sgt. Leonard G. Lomell climbed
the cliffs at Pt. du Hoc and would later find the "Big guns" which had been moved
from their emplacements. They were across the coastal road in an orchard. The
gunners were away from the guns and Lomell destroyed them with thermite grenades.
(Photo by Len Lomell, via Frank South)
D+1, Ste. Mere Eglise. Captain Bob Piper,
Regimental Adjutant of the 505th Parachute Inf. Regt. In front of wrecked Horsa
Glider, which was one of many that crashed into hedgerows. Armed with a "greasegun",
Bob had gotten rid of the carbine he jumped with on Sicily and Salerno. Piper
would also serve in Korea and Vietnam, and retired as a colonel. (Photo courtesy:
Col. (Ret.) Bob Piper)
Click image to enlarge
Long
Overdue! Francis M. Lamoureux, (rear rank, 3rd from left) with fellow Pathfinders
of 508th Para Inf. Regt. on June 5th 1944. These men would be some of the "first
americans" to parachute into "German-occupied Normandy". Equipped with "Eureka
radar sets and halophane lights", these men had an hour to be operational for
the main body of paratroops at "Drop-Zone N". Almost 57 years later on 31 March
2001 Lamoureux would recieve the "last" Bronze Star Medal for service in Normandy.
Presenting the award was his "D-Day commander", Colonel Louis Mendez.(Both men
are in the new book: Beyond Valor).
L to R: "Francis Lamoureux", after receiving "Bronze Star Medal".
Panama veteran: "David Nielson" 1st Ranger Bat., David, 2 weeks prior had walked
over 700 miles from Ft. Benning, Georgia to Washington, D.C.,leading the fight
against the Chief of Staff of the Army,"Gen. Eric Shinsecki",for the rangers to
keep there "coveted black beret", and not waste over $35 million dollars issuing
it to the entire army! He attempted to present the beret, which belonged to a
comrad killed in Panama to" Senator John Warner" of Virginia. Warner refused the
beret saying, "I can't accept it, I didn't earn it". Omaha Beach veteran "Sid
Salomon" C-company, 2nd Rangers. "Sids" unit was the first to climb the cliff,
near enemy position WN 73 and the Gambier house. Of the 37 men in Sid's landing
craft, only 9 were alive at the end of D-Day and all but 2, had been wounded.
Noble Bierman 457th.
Anti-Aircraft Arty bn. of Urbana, Ohio. Photo taken at: Weston-Super- Mare, England,
prior to shipment to Omaha Beach-East. Courtesy (Mr. Brian Jones) of Weston-Super-Mare.
5 old C.O.E 5th Bn.
Rangers enjoy 50th anniversary of D-day in France. Left to right: Gale Beccue,
Simon Loesch, Cecil Gray, William Fennhahn (deceased) and Victor Miller.
Hitler's "eagles
nest" liberated in 1945 by 101st Airborne Division. PFC Charles Kestler,327TH
Glider Infantry Regt. Of Elkridge,Maryland. Bastogne to Germany, with the "Screaming
Eagles". Presently commander of V.F.W. Post 8097.
"The Mapman",hitch-hiking
from 40th anniversary celebration, 2200hrs 7 June 84. Bayeux,France to aeroport
de paris,"orly". 2 rides and 8 hours later, "I made the flight".
Lawrence H. Dunlop
at 23. Old 9th Division area, Fort Bragg, N.C. mid May 1942. Original member H-co,
3rd bat. 504 para. inf. reg., 82nd airborne div. Combat jumps, "Sicily, Salerno,
and Holland". Made the "suicide" crossing of the Waal river as a member of Julian
Cook's daylight assault to take the Nijmegen bridge, A Bridge Too Far. Sicily,
Anzio, Salerno, Holland, Belgium, Germany. Resides in Bennington, VT.
S/Sgt. Victor
J. "Baseplate" Miller, COE. 5th Ranger Bn. Special Weapons, D-day Vzt. Dog-white
sector, Omaha Beach-west. Photo - Arlon, Belgium, Nov. 1944. Resides in Chandler,
AZ.
Gale
"Beck" Beccue - The photograph was taken in september of '44, just after
the 5th Rangers participated in the Brittany Campaign. Near a german position
they had captured at a place called Le Conquet, west of Brest. He is holding the
.45 Thompson and he is wearing a Spanish .45 revolver he took from a german officer.
Gale
"Beck" Beccue - In late '45 when he was close to being discharged from
the Army hospital in Battle Creek, MI. He is wearing the "new" style
Ranger patch on both shoulders.
MD BOY GUARDS
NAZIS. Two thoroughly whipped Nazis are pictured near Altdorf, Germany, with
Corporal Maxwell Moffett, of Rock Hall, MD, of the Ninth Army. They were captured
in the fighting for the Nazi town. Max was a medic on D-day at Omaha "easy red"
sector, a busy place for a medic. He was in all major actions with the 115th Infantry.
He currently resides in Ocean City, MD.
Mr. Bernie Ertel
of Bandon, Oregon. worked at Selfridges Dpt. store and handled "BIGOT" documents.
L to R, Joe Campbell
of Aberdeen,Ohio and T5 Walter Dietz of Cookeville,Tenn., Taken in Brussels,Belgium,October
44. Formerly of 325th Glider Inf. Regt. Now assigned to 82nd Airborne Div HQ's.(Photo
by Ms. Bobbie Dietz, Nashville, TN.)
Ranger (medic) Frank South of Newark, Delaware.
Taken shortly after D-day South saw action at Pt. du Hoc. (Photo taken by) Ranger
Lt. Sid Salomon of C-co. 2nd Ranger Bn. Sid landed in front of "The fortified
House WN73 at Omaha-West and received the Silver Star.
Click Image to Enlarge
Somewhere in England:
B Battery 110th Field Artillery Battalion, 29th Inf. Div. From Left to right,
1st row: Cpl Donald E. Myerly of Westminster, Md (KIA at Vierville), Cpl Charles
Farver (PH),T/4 Richard Herklotz (PH), Sgt Mossi, Sgt. Barnes, S/Sgt Arnold, 1st
Sgt Brough, Lt Hermes (PH), Capt Davis, 1st Lt Sherman, S/Sgt John Montgomery(died
of wounds recieved at Vierville), S/Sgt Tenneson (PH), Sgt Wojick, Sgt Leo Bussen,
Sgt Ernie Sengebusch, Sgt Bud Poist, Sgt Joe Pilkerton, Cpl Thomas Scott (PH),
Cpl Herbie Becker (KIA), Cpl Greenhawk, Cpl Fred Spence. 2nd Row: Pfc Renoff (Killed
in "Operation Tiger"), T/5 Mike Cerni, T/5 Carpenter, Pvt William Langdon (KIA),
Cpl Brown, Cpl Ward Knepp (KIA), Pfc Emmons, Pfc Patrick Carlin, Pfc Berner, Pfc
Kemp (KIA), Pfc Butanavase (PH), T/5 Sam Knouse, Pfc Jim Reese, Pfc Henry Laniewicz,
Pfc Day, Pfc Schaesser, Pfc Schnauble, Pfc Lewis (PH), Pfc Barber, Pfc Fleming,
Pfc Ebert. 3rd Row: Pvt Thomas Monahan (PH), Pvt Clay Owens, Cpl Zorko, Cpl Tegthoss,
Pvt Wilson, Pfc Tom Barron, Pvt Glover, T/5 Barbe, Cpl "Jerry" Fitzgerald, Cpl
Leginini, Pfc Farley, Pfc Krause, Pvt Stevens (PH), Pfc Thomas Wilson (KIA), Pvt
Colley, Pvt Young (PH), Pvt Gambrill, Pvt Destephono (PH), Pvt Migliori (PH),
Pvt Jones. 4th Row: Pvt Cumbie, Pvt Fallon (PH), Pfc Bird, Pvt Cipriano, Pvt Andrew
Churky (PH), Pvt Frank, Pvt Ernest Bruce (KIA), Pvt George Milo (KIA), Pvt Guterriez
(KIA), Pvt Ernest Troxell (KIA), Pfc Banahan, Pfc Bankard, Pfc Jones, Pvt Dan
D'Adairo (PH), Pvt Earp, Pvt Kubachi, Pfc Benjamen Kyte (PH), Pfc Quinn, Pfc Kline
(PH, POW), Pfc Gannon, Pvt Macabe, Pvt Larson (PH). Photo by Jerry Fitzgerald
Young artilleryman: Three young boyhood friends ages 16
in 1939 joined B-Battery, 110th Field Artillery Bn, 29th Division. Notice cavalry
britches and boots. The trio would each earn a Purple Heart. L to R: Tom Scott,
Waymoth "Jerry" Fitzgerald (with Bozo), and Richard Herklotz. On 7 June 1944 (D+1,
Scott recieved a severe head wound when an ammo truck took a direct hit at the
Vierville-sur-Mer crossroads. He was returned to england and later returned to
the unit). Richard Herklotz stayed in the unit as a sergeant and retired a colonel.
He died in October 2002 at the 29th's annual convention and is missed by all.
(Photo by Jerry Fitzgerald).
1967 photo of Gen. Dana Tawes (center)
with Gov. and Mrs. J. Millard Tawes at the Maryland Governor's Mansion.