Looking Down Our Throats”
I
n the mountains north of the Salerno beachhead, Lieutenant Kellogg and his NCOs got his stick of 1st Platoon, Company C, engineers prepared to move out. “Three German patrols had been sighted during daytime, but we were not discovered. We broke camp at dusk and continued southwest through the mountains and climbed Mount Taggiano. We bivouacked on the southwest slope, overlooking Highway Number 7, and the Tavernole intersection and bridge. German convoys were observed moving in both directions, to and from Avellino. German guards were on all known water holes. No water or food was available.”1At 12:01 a.m., on September 18, Colonel Tucker’s 3rd Battalion, less Company H, was relieved from attachment to the 325th RCT. Companies G, I, and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, supported by the 1st Battalion, 325th moved out to break through to the regiment. As they walked in column across the valley floor, Staff Sergeant George Leoleis, a platoon sergeant with Company I, heard incoming enemy artillery. “We scattered and tried to crawl between the rocks, but soon realized that this was even worse, because as the shells exploded, the chips from the rocks became shrapnel. I figured that they could not reload and traverse as fast as we could run. I yelled to the men nearby to drop their packs and pass the word that we would make a run for it. The men passed the word to all the men, and then I yelled, ‘Go, go, go!’ and all joined in, yelling, ‘Go, go, go!’ and everyone moved like ‘big birds’ as the saying goes.
We kept running as fast as we could; it seemed that the Germans had hundreds
of guns, because the sky lit up, bursts fell everywhere, the men kept running and falling, picking themselves up and running again and again. We finally turned [behind] one of the hills and out of range. I still don’t know how we survived, but I believed that run saved most of us. (We did not run away from the Germans, but toward them.) After catching our breath and taking count of the men we had left, we moved on Hill 344. . . . Everyone distinguished themselves, knocking out position after position.”2
About 3:00 a.m., the battalion broke through German resistance to occupy Hill 344 and contact the 2nd Battalion on the unnumbered hill northeast of Albanella. At dawn, a Company A combat patrol moved out from Hill 424 to contact the enemy. They moved through the ruins of Altavilla and then about a mile north, returning two hours later without finding any Germans. A second combat patrol was then sent north to gain contact with the Germans.
A mule train carrying supplies arrived early that morning, providing the first meal for most of them in the last forty-eight hours. During the afternoon, the second combat patrol returned without contacting the enemy. After establish-ing outpost security, most of the men were finally able to get their first real sleep in almost seventy-two hours. For his leadership and heroism during the capture and subsequent fighting for Hill 424 and the surrounding area, Colonel Reuben Tucker was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Near Avellino, while the remainder of his men hid, Lieutenant Kellogg led four men on a scouting mission. “This party found a way across Highway Number 7 and a good location to use our remaining six mines and two TNT bags. The location was a very well defiladed single-span concrete-arch bridge.
“This night the twenty-seven men crossed to the southwest side of the road and the north side of the bridge, and took up defensive position upon a heavily wooded slope. Sergeant [Warren G.] Hayes, Sergeant [Paul D.] Kratsch, and I took up a position by the bridge, which was well covered by our men’s fire [if we were spotted]. We allowed one serial of a convoy to pass unmolested and then mined the bridge with three mines (U.S. M1A1) and two TNT bags with pressure-type firing devices, and connected the five explosives with Primacord.
We then withdrew and waited.
“The first truck of a serial went through the bridge and the second vehicle hit the mines. This vehicle was a troop-carrying truck headed for Avellino.
Two armored personnel carriers arrived at the bridge and shot machine guns all around the hills attempting to draw our fire. Everything subsided in a half hour, and we had three mines left. The procedure was repeated, and another troop carrier was blown up. Within four minutes, two Mark IV tanks were at the bridge and fired 75s into the hills—we still had no definite targets, so we did not betray our positions. A company was observed starting to envelop our flanks, but we were well protected by heavy brush.
“Germans On The High Ground Looking Down Our Throats”
“During the resulting confusion, we withdrew to the top of the mountain, and the German patrols became mixed up and fired into each other. We then changed course to the west, and the only other enemy resistance was a plane dropping flares. We went into bivouac at 0700 after finding a water hole.
“Score: two German troop carriers and an estimated twenty-four German casualties.”3
During the previous eight days, Company H, attached to the ranger force, had held the railroad tunnel and Chiunzi Pass against almost daily German attacks. During that time the German force was estimated to outnumber the ranger force by as much as eight to one. Providing invaluable support to Company H and the rangers in repulsing the attacks was the 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, while the D, E, F, and Headquarters Batteries of the 80th Airborne Antiaircraft Battalion protected Maiori and relieved the Rangers on outpost duty.
There was little activity on September 19. The 36th Infantry Division relieved the 504th that morning, while Company H continued to hold the Chiunzi Pass.
That same day, the 3rd Battalion (less Company H) was trucked to the beach near Paestum, then at 3:00 p.m. the following day boarded LCIs and LSTs and sailed to Maiori, landing about 6:30 p.m. The 3rd Battalion made the long, hard climb up to the Chiunzi Pass to relieve their own Company H troopers who had been holding the pass and the key railroad tunnel against German attacks since arriving there on the night of the 10th of September.
Lieutenant Edward Sims and his Company H platoon had defended the railroad tunnel, denying German forces a route south to attack the left flank of the beach landings. “During the ten days we defended in this area, the Germans made a number of attempts to get through, but were repulsed. They did get a few small patrols into our position and on one occasion, took two of my men prisoner. During part of the time in this position, we received supporting fire from a 4.2-inch Chemical Mortar unit and from the 319th Glider Field Artil-lery Battalion.”4
As part of the ranger force, Company H; the 2nd Platoon, Company A, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion; the 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion;
D, E, F, and Headquarters Batteries, and the Medical Detachment of the 80th Airborne Antiaircraft (Antitank) Battalion were later awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for this action. This was the first of several awarded to units of the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II.
By the night of September 19, Lieutenant Kellogg and his engineers were exhausted and hungry, having not eaten for three days. “We moved down to San Stefano del Sale at dusk and obtained food and rested that night, after
discovering that Avellino was still in German hands. We bivouacked at San Stefano del Sole”5
The following evening, September 20, one of the Lieutenant Kellogg’s troopers, Private Dale H. Wood, had injured his leg on the jump. Wood hadn’t told anyone and had moved through the mountainous terrain with the group, carrying his heavy load as a member of a machine gun crew. His injury had worsened to the point that he could no longer keep up. Kellogg “sent Private Wood to [an Italian] hospital. We observed a large concentration of German troops moving back into the valley of Santa Lucia. They went into bivouac and started stringing wire. We moved out south, going about two hundred yards above the German bivouac area, and attempted to cross the valley at Santa Lucia; but ran into heavy concentrations of German troops. We bivouacked at 0300 on the west slope of the mountain east of Santa Lucia.”6
The area around Avellino had been the site of the jump by the 2nd Bat-talion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the prior week and was thick with German troops still hunting them. Kellogg and his men moved out again at dusk on September 21, and “went further south down the valley through a small German bivouac area. We were surprised by an airplane flare in the middle of the bivouac—there were no casualties, but we were forced to retreat to the hills by large German patrols. We bivouacked on the mountainside above San Sossio—no food and water.”7
The following night, Kellogg led his men south along the mountains. “We arrived at the top of a mountain at 0700 in the morning, and were bombed by American planes at 0730, before we had finished digging in. We found a sheep wounded by the American Air Force and cooked it . . . still no water. We were bivouacked at the top of a mountain between San Sossio and Volturara.
“We obtained water and found a potato field. The men rested all day and tried to regain strength. Our patrols discovered that the Germans had moved from Volturara, with only patrols left in the hills. The men were now consid-ered too weak to fight. There was continual artillery fire.”8
That day, the 376th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion sailed from Sicily to join the 504. One of the troopers on board was Technician Fourth Grade James Crosbie, with Battery B. “We sailed from Termini, Sicily, on an LST to the Salerno beachhead on September 23, 1943.”9
On the 24th of September, Kellogg’s men “continued to rest, and fourteen men went to try to find food. A British bomber flying over exploded in the air.
Two men parachuted down, and I was able to rescue Sergeant J. L. McAninch, R-78612, 24th Squadron, SAAF [South African Air Force]. During our rescue, our positions were bombed, and the chute of the sergeant caught a stick. The sergeant had his foot almost shot off and was badly burned all over. I used
“Germans On The High Ground Looking Down Our Throats”
morphine, sulfanilamide powder, and sulfadiazine tablets to administer first aid. All water this day went to the sergeant. The other aviator was captured by the Germans. We kept the same bivouac. Patrols of our men found that Germans had moved bivouac close to Avellino. There was continued heavy artillery fire.”10
Major William R. Beall, the executive officer of the 3rd Battalion, was acting as the battalion commander, while Major “Hank” Adams recovered from malaria. Sergeant Robert M. Tallon Sr., with Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, was digging his foxhole on a hillside on the evening of September 24, when Beall and his aide approached. “Beall had his orderly construct the major’s foxhole into the side of a terrace with about four feet of soil on top of it. This would prevent shrapnel from hitting him when we were attacked with aerial artillery [bursts].
“About 2230, a shell hit about thirty feet from me. Moments later a runner from one of the line companies, lost in the dark, fell into my foxhole, saying he had a message for Major Beall. I said, ‘He’s just a few feet away,’ and then I called in a low voice, ‘Major Beall?’ No answer . . . Then I called again . . . No answer. Suddenly my heart seemed to jump into my throat as I thought about the dirt on top of the major’s foxhole.
“As quickly as I could, I scrambled over to his foxhole. It had caved in and buried him under four feet of dirt. I called for help and medics. We dug as fast as we could with hands and helmets.”11
Lieutenant Moffatt Burriss, the 3rd Battalion S-2, was nearby. “I was one of those who started digging with his hands as I tried to reach the major in time.”12
After digging frantically in the darkness, they uncovered Major Beall.
Tallon could tell that they were too late. “When we reached his body, we didn’t need the medic to tell us that he was dead.”13
Burriss could sense the sadness that the battalion felt as the news spread of Beall’s suffocation. “His death was a great loss to our unit. He was an outstand-ing soldier—a leader whom we had confidently followed into battle.”14
Major Hank Adams returned from the hospital a few days later to resume command of the 3rd Battalion.
The following day, September 25, Lieutenant Kellogg “obtained food for my men and water for all, including the wounded [air]man. We attempted to cross the valley of Santa Lucia with the wounded man, but were driven back by artillery fire. Patrols found that the Germans had withdrawn from Santa Lucia”.15
As the Allied forces approached, Kellogg’s group was subjected to
“bombing, strafing, and artillery fire all day [on September 26]. I attempted
to find a doctor for the wounded man and food for the men. Sergeant [Paul]
Kratsch and four men discovered the location of a German patrol. The German patrol moved before we could get our men to capture it.”16
That same day, the 504th and 505th RCTs began moving from the vicin-ity of Castelcivita to the Sorrento Peninsula, and the division command post was established at Maiori. There, General Ridgway took command of a task force, consisting of the ranger force and the parachute elements of the divi-sion. The Eastern Force was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William O.
Darby, the ranger force commander, and included the 504th. Colonel James Gavin commanded the Western Force, consisting of the 505th. On the night of September 27, the Eastern Force began a push through the Chiunzi Pass. The Western Force supported this main effort with a push north from the Agerola-Gragnano tunnel. Both forces were lightly opposed and reached the Sarno Plain the following morning.
Exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, Lieutenant Kellogg and his men set out again on the evening of September 27. “We moved out of the Volturara area and attempted to take Sergeant McAninch to Montello, which we had heard was in the hands of the English. We had to abandon Sergeant McAninch at an Italian house, after carrying him over one mountain. The men were in bad physical condition. It rained all night and we continued on course to Montello.
We encountered four German patrols, which were making much noise. They fled in the dark woods, so we had no targets. We sighted no friendly troops. . . . No food, no sleep, no water.”17
The following evening, Kellogg and his engineers, nearing the end of their endurance, moved out at dusk toward Montello. “At 2200, we ran into a patrol of Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry, 3rd Division at Montello. We aided in taking a German patrol and were relieved at 2400. We guided patrols to Sergeant McAninch.”18
Through the leadership of Lieutenant Kellogg, his 1st Platoon, Company C, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion troopers had destroyed power and tele-phone lines, a railroad track, a tankette, two personnel carriers, and killed at least twenty-four of the enemy. For his extraordinary leadership and heroism in bringing the men in his platoon through miles of mountainous terrain, infested with enemy troops, Lieutenant William W. Kellogg was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
On September 28, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Billingslea joined the 504th as regimental executive officer, replacing Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Freeman, who had been wounded during the fighting on Hill 424. From September 28 to 30, the 504th and 505th RCTs converged on Castellamare. At
“Germans On The High Ground Looking Down Our Throats”
noon on the 30th, the 3rd Battalion, 505th, led the advance along the highway to Torre Annunziata. The following day, the battalion once again moved out in trucks around noon, escorting General Mark Clark and General Matthew Ridgway into Naples. The 504th and the remainder of the 505th RCTs fol-lowed, occupying the city and conducting patrols before nightfall.
When the 504th arrived in Naples, they found that the retreating Germans had destroyed much of the city’s infrastructure. Shortly after arriving in Naples, Private First Class Reed S. Fassett, with Battery A, 376th, heard a series of explosions in the distance. “Several of us went to see just what happened, and on the way there, we were told what had occurred. Naples did not have potable water. The Germans had put sewer water in fresh water mains, so it could not be used for useable water. No electricity, no food until [the arrival of] tons and tons of American flour and other ingredients for turning flour into usable food (bread). Water lines were laid on top of the ground to various points in the city for military and civilian use, and bakeries were reopened. It was necessary to have guards at water points and at the bakeries. I saw one woman very badly cut-up with a broken gallon jug, because she tried to cut into the waiting line.
I also saw a woman who appeared to be pregnant get in the bread line and another woman pulled a knife and slit the first woman across the abdomen. I held my breath until I saw feathers fly; the pregnancy turned out to be a pillow.
I have never seen such warm weather turn so cold as in Naples.”19
Sergeant Albert Clark and the rest of Company A occupied “an abandoned school building near a bombed-out railway station. It was a pretty devastated area.”20
Other units, such Private First Class Neil D’Avanzo’s Battery B, 376th, were billeted in a museum. “I believe it was just off Via Napoli. It was a big place and had a balcony on the side street that was almost a block long. We used to sit on the low wall and throw ‘bon-bons’ down to the children that sat on the curb across the street, but more important was the warehouse that was on the corner.
We found out that stored in the warehouse were 25,000 bottles of cherry brandy.
Now, when you have so many goodies so close, you have to find a way to get to it.
Guards had been posted at the main doors on the next block, but the battalion kitchen was set up against the rear wall of the warehouse, and someone made the suggestion that if there was a hole in the wall of the warehouse, we could get to the brandy. We figured that the best place for a hole would be behind one of the big GI stoves. We moved a stove out and made a nice two-foot hole for access
Guards had been posted at the main doors on the next block, but the battalion kitchen was set up against the rear wall of the warehouse, and someone made the suggestion that if there was a hole in the wall of the warehouse, we could get to the brandy. We figured that the best place for a hole would be behind one of the big GI stoves. We moved a stove out and made a nice two-foot hole for access