1939 Joe as a Son of the Legion

January 18 aboard the Troop Ship Capetown Castle arriving nine days later in Liverpool, England. This period between April 1942 and January 1944 was one of intense training for these men: they were qualified in weapons, participated in realistic maneuvers in North Carolina, underwent extensive amphibious training and bonded together as a unit. David Roderick, a staff sergeant in Company H, 22nd Infantry, in his  biography credited military leaders with having the foresight to provide men such as himself with years of training before D-Day. In his words "I was fortunate to be in a highly trained outfit which was able to spend time in training before combat. I think it was a very important element". A collection of photos of the 1^st Battalion, 22^nd Infantry during the period of training in the U.S. and later in Europe, can be seen at the following web site

                http://1-22infantry.org/pics/photostitle.htm

OVER THERE-The Regiment docked January 28, 1944 in England and was billeted at different locations in Devonshire. First Battalion was posted at Newton Bend, England about 10 miles from the town of Torquay . Torquay is located on the south western portion of England, some 38 miles north east of Plymouth. According to David Rothbart, an author and veteran of the 22^nd Regiment in WW2, "Being stationed ten miles from Torquay is like being near Atlantic City. The town is built largely atop sheer palisades overlooking the English Channel. Even in wartime it maintains a 34-piece Municipal Symphony Orchestra". But it was not to be four months of sun and fun. The 4^th Division was to spearhead the assault on Hitler’s Western Fortress and the 22^nd regiment was to be part of the early assault units to hit the beaches. It was an intense period of preparation for the assault and securing of the beachhead as well as the breakout beyond the beaches. On May 15^th troops were marshaled in Torquay prior to boarding invasion ships on June 4 for the invasion that was expected for June 5. The highest level of secrecy was put in place and the area was highly controlled with no one allowed to leave. Meanwhile at the Portsmouth, England Headquarters of General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike), Supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, the general and his staff were pulling an all nighter laboring over the weather report which was abysmal for the planned invasion. Prudence called for postponing the invasion. The weather was such that the 5^th of June was a no go. Ike decided to wait it out and see what the forecast for the next day presented. The troops were held on board so that the secrecy of Overlord (the code name for the invasion) could be protected. One can only imagine what was going through the minds of men of the double deuce. Two years of intensive training had come down to this. Many of course thought of their families at home, wrote letters, some prayed and other less introspective men shot craps or played poker. Whatever their outlet, they were ready, willing and able to kick kraut butt and the following day they would get their chance when Ike gave the go ahead for June 6.

D DAY-It was to be like no other day. The greatest military invasion ever. All told about 160,000 men invaded the channel coast beaches of Normandy (and many more to follow). The channel was filled with vessels of all sorts, over 5,000 of them, 80% of which were smaller landing crafts, and the remaining larger craft, including 138 battleships that delivered tons and tons of explosives on the enemy fortifications. There were over 6000 aircraft (bombers and fighter planes) bombing enemy emplacements and strafing enemy positions. There were some 156,000 British, Canadian and American troops assaulting 5 different beachheads and the butchers bill for that day’s work was about 12,000 allied casualties, 50% of which were US. The official count is 6,603 of which 1465 were KIA and the rest wounded, captured or missing. The crossing from the Channel Ports was a choppy one even for the seasoned sailors and certainly added to the misery of their land lubber passengers. The 1^st and 29^th Divisions landing at Omaha Beach and the Airborne Troops landing inland took the brunt of the hits. The losses sustained by the 4^th Division assaulting the three mile wide Utah Beach were light (197 casualties) because of a combination of luck and weaker defenses from the enemy. The luck part of it was the strength of the tides which shifted the landing area about 1.2 miles placing the landing troops in an area with fewer exits but which was lightly defended. (4th Division troops wade ashore in photo at right) The commander on the beach at the time was Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who at 57 was the oldest person on any of the beaches, and had seen considerable action in World war 1 and had been badly wounded in action. In any case he assessed the situation and decided to not redirect the remaining assault boats to the original site but rather take advantage of this more lightly defended portion of Utah Beach. There was risk that the single exit would back up the remaining waves of troops but the decision was taken and the result was fewer casualties and expeditious movement out of the beach area. The following month he died of a heart attack on the day that Ike was prepared to promote him to Commanding General of the 9th Infantry Division. For his coolness and strategic thinking on that day, Roosevelt was later awarded the Medal of Honor, as was his grandfather for leading a gallant charge on Missionary Ridge during the Civil War, and an honor that his own father, Theodore, coveted but did not receive, for his exploits at San Juan hill during the Spanish American War. Many books, movies and stories have been floated about D-Day. Surely the most realistic portrayal of this critical day of WW2 was the movie, Saving Private Ryan, one which many veterans of D-Day have seen and acknowledged that the movie truly portrayed D-Day as it was.
The following is extracted (with some minor editing) from David P. Roderick’s biography. “The 1st and 2nd Battalions, 22nd Infantry Regiment landed on Tare Green Beach about 9:30 am. opposite la Madeliene. The beach was being shelled but we got across without any casualties. We crossed the beach and proceeded south to Exit #3. We then entered a flooded area, about waist high, behind the beach and walked through it for about two miles (not an easy task for men fully loaded with combat gear). We passed near St. Martin-de-Varreville and hit the main road that runs from Audoville-la-Hubert to St. Germain-de-Varreville where we took up defensive positions for the night after relieving the 502nd Parachute Regiment. The most difficult of the division assignment was given to the 22nd Infantry Regiment on the right flank. The 3rd Battalion had proceeded up the beach destroying beach fortifications and stopped for the night at Taret de Ravonoville; the first Battalion was at de Dodainville, the 2nd at St. Germain-de Varraville.” Although it was not a cake walk, Joe’s first day in combat was probably the last easy day that he was to enjoy for the next year (other than those brief periods out of the line and their one day pass through in Paris) as there were many deadly days of hard combat in store for the double deuce.
JUNE 1944 THE 1ST MONTH OF COMBAT-The V11th Corps objective (to which the 4th ID was attached) was to capture the Port of Cherbourg and to clear the Peninsula of Germans preliminary to breaking out of the foothold established following the invasion. It was important to gain a deep sea port to facilitate the huge tonnage of supplies needed to support the allied campaign to rid France and Belgium of Hitler’s Occupation Forces. The attacks of the 22nd Regiment began on D+1 and encountered stiff resistance from the outset. The immediate objective was to neutralize the heavily fortified and powerful coastal defenses at Crisbecq and Azeville, which guns threatened the beaches as well as shipping lanes, and to gain control of the Quineville Heights, a dominant position on the Eastern portion of the Cotendin Peninsula. The attacks and counterattacks continued for 8 days before the Quineville Heights were secured and the coastal defense positions neutralized. It was during this period that the regiment was first exposed to the “nebelwerfer” rocket mortars which were affectionately dubbed “screaming mimis”. Following is an extract of D+1 from the Official US Army Report of the Cherbourg Campaign:
“Immediate attacks were launched against both forts. The 2d Battalion tried for several hours to move forward against the Azeville position, but a counterattack drove it back to its line of departure with considerable losses. The 1st Battalion attack on Crisbecq was even more fiercely contested. As the battalion passed through St. Marcouf, it received heavy artillery fire from the Azeville battery to the southwest. Company C was organized into assault sections, in the same manner as the units had been organized for the assault on the beach on D Day. It was ordered to move up a narrow trail, along with the two other rifle companies of the battalion (A & B), to blow the blockhouses. This was the only approach the battalion could make, for to the east the ground dropped off to the town of Crisbecq and the swampland, and to the west the ground was high and open. As the three companies moved forward they suffered heavy casualties from shell fire. They inched ahead, up the thickly hedged trails, but as they reached the trail block and the wire obstacles on the perimeter of the position the Germans counterattacked their left flank. To contain the counterattack the 3d Platoon of Company B was moved behind Company A to the left. In the fields northwest of St. Marcouf it met a  strong enemy force supported by at least one tank. Capt. Tom Shields of Company A, who took command of the battalion when its commanding officer was wounded, decided that the position was too dangerous to hold and at 1600 he ordered a withdrawal. The battalion became increasingly disorganized as it retreated, still under heavy fire. Nineteen men of Company A were cut off on the left and probably captured. Another platoon on the right lost its way and wandered as far as the beach, which was still in enemy hands. Late that night these men found their way to the battalion, bringing with them 113 prisoners. The battalion withdrew to a line 300 yards south of de Dodainville. After dark the Germans counterattacked again but were routed by accurate naval fire.” Joe Bessette and his comrades from Company A had a hot introduction to the world of combat on D+1.  The link shown below contains the entire report for the invasion and the June activity on the Cotendin Peninsula:
                                http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/utah/utah.htm
 

Cherbourg fell on June 21 and the Regiment spent several days cleaning out pockets of resistance prior to going into bivouac on June 30 where the men enjoyed their first bath, change of clothing, mail and hot food since the invasion. It had been a costly operation. The casualty list since June 6 for the 22nd totaled 1970 (almost  2/3rd of the Regiment). Of the 1970 casualties 396 were KIA and 1664 wounded.

HEDGEROWS &BREAKOUT-From the 22^nd Infantry Regiment History of WW2 I have extracted the following description of the 12 day experience of fighting in the "bocage country". "On July 7, having been moved to an assembly area south and west of Carentan, the 22nd Infantry attacked, thereby beginning one of its bloodiest engagements of the entire war—the Carentan-Periers operation (otherwise known as "The Battle of the Hedgerows"). The objective of the operation was the seizure of Periers, a necessary preliminary to the forthcoming breakout from the peninsula. The attack moved with extreme slowness. Enemy resistance in the form of young SS troops and fresh paratroops was stubborn, and the ground was given up to the advance of the regiment yard by yard, and foot by foot. The nature of the terrain, hedgerows with some sections of dense woods, made the effective use of armor virtually impossible. Counterattacks were repeatedly launched; infiltration was incessant; the determination of the enemy was a thing to be respected. Colonel C. T. Lanham assumed command of the regiment on July 9, and, with the First and Second Battalions abreast, resumed the attack. The Third Battalion was committed in a flanking movement to the left, and the First Battalion, under Major George Go-forth, advanced to the outskirts of La Maugerie. After continuous attack the regiment was relieved by the 12th Infantry on the general line La Maugerie-La Roserie. The defense and delay by the enemy had been superbly executed, and as a consequence the advance which the inundated areas on both flanks restricted to a narrow front, was painful and laborious. The effectiveness of enemy fire coordination is reflected in the extreme number of casualties during what, according to later experiences, was a relatively short engagement. Those who were there will long remember the names of Sainteny (see photo) , La Maugerie, and Raids—all names of tiny French towns in the zone of advance." Sergeant Roderick called the attack on Periers the "Hedgerow Corridor of Death". By the time the Regiment was withdrawn on the 13^th the Regiment had sustained 1379 casualties during 7 days of combat (KIA 279, WIA 1100).

THE BREAKOUT-On July 19 the 22^nd Regiment was detached from the 4^th ID and temporarily assigned to Combat Command A, a unit formed to spearhead the planned breakthrough at St. Lo which would unleash General Patton’s 3^rd Army. The Regiment was to be combined with the 2^nd Armored Division under General Maurice Rose. The plan was to train the units to fight in tandem with the infantry deploying when needed to clear pockets of resistance so that the tanks could keep rolling. When not thus engaged the infantry would ride atop the tanks as they rapidly made their way once the breakthrough was achieved. On July 25 the St Lo Breakthrough began with a massive B-17 saturation bombing attack followed by flank attacks by the remaining elements of the 4^th ID. Next day Combat Command A got underway with the Regiment successfully attacking its objectives and gaining 10.5 miles after fighting all day and night. Some 300 prisoners were taken during this operation. The next day brought more fierce fighting as the enemy counter attacked the 2^nd Armored from three directions. With the assistance of the Double Deuce the enemy  was repulsed and the situation stabilized by nightfall. Combat command A continued its movements forward and by August 2^nd the 22^nd reverted to the 4^th ID. For its outstanding performance in this operation the regiment was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. The award was certainly merited as it was men like Joe Bessette and his fellow infantrymen of the 22^nd that led the way through. The following is extracted from the diary entry of one of the 2^nd armored tankers on this subject: " Historians and biographers would later claim that "BG Maurice led the fangs of Operation Cobra" which is accurate, up to a point. After the 30th Infantry Division made the initial breech in the line, the 120th Infantry Regiment held the door open for Rose and CCA. However, the venom in the fangs was led by Rose's 66th Armored Tank Regiment; appropriately code named, Python, commanded by Rose's successor, the 66th CO, Colonel John Howell "Peewee" Collier. The tankers of the 66th Armored Regiment Companies, with the 22nd Infantry Regiment, along with the men from the 82nd Recon Battalion were actually the true fer de lance that smashed through the German defenses, made the penetrations and kept going! Rose's tactics, as important as they were, totally relied on the company and field grade officers' decisions at ground level. In the fog of war, in close combat, guidance and directives from higher headquarters cannot make the split second decisions made by the man "on the line" with his hand on the trigger".

LIBERATING PARIS- Following the breakthrough and reversion to the 4^th ID, the Regiment resumed attacks on August 4 and continued the movement East toward Paris and points beyond. Several spirited fire fights were engaged in during the ensuing two weeks and concentrations of artillery and mortar fire resulted in severe casualties in the regimental command Post on August 9 during the battle for Chateau Lingeard . On August 17 the regiment was ordered to the vicinity of Carrouges (some 100 miles west of Paris) with the mission of supporting the French 2^nd Armored Division. Headed by General Henri Leclerc, a protege of Charles De Gaulle, the ceremonial honor of entering Paris first would be awarded to the French Tankers. By August 24 the regiment was in position to cross the Seine River . The enemy Resisted the crossing but after an initial attempt by the 3^rd Battalion was beaten back and a following attempt by the 2^nd Battalion was successful, a bridgehead was established.

Rather than destroy the legendary city if forced to surrender it as decreed by the Fuhrer, the German Commander, General Dietrich von Choltitz chose, after a 7 day battle with resistance fighters and the arrival of Lecrerc’s tank forces, to ignore the order and surrendered the city intact on August 25. Wikipedia describes the events of the Liberation of Paris as follows: "The Liberation of Paris (also known as Battle for Paris) took place during World War 2 from August 19, 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on the 25th and is accounted as the last battle in the Campaign for Normandy and the transitional conclusion of the Allied invasion breakout in Operation Overlord into a broad-fronted general offensive. The capital region of France had been administered by Nazi Germany since the Second CompiPgne armistice in June 1940 when Germany occupied the North and West of France and when the Vichy puppet regime was established with its capital in the central city of Vichy. The liberation was an uprising by the French Resistance against the German Paris garrison. On 24 and 25 August, the FFI resistants received backup from the Free French Army of Liberation and the uprising evolved to urban warfare with the use of barricades, submachine guns, snipers and tanks firing against the Nazis until the German surrender on 25 August. This battle marked the end of Operation Overlord, the liberation of France by the Allies, the restoration of the French Republic and the exile of the Vichy government to Sigmaringen in Germany."

Two days after the French "liberated" Paris, the regiment was then ordered on the 27^th to re-cross to the west side of the river and enter Paris, which they did that morning. What a heady experience it was for the men of the double deuce who had been through such fierce combat since June 6. The symbolic liberation of Paris, the heart of France, was certainly something they could be proud of . Also the jubilation of the French people was certainly a sight to behold. Here is how it was described in the 22^nd Regiment History: “During the morning of August 27th the 22nd Infantry entered the capital city, and upon the troops were heaped the plaudits and gratitude of the now laughing , now crying, flag waving, kissing, hugging, wine dispensing, champagne drinking, hysterical populace. Because of the enthusiasm and excitement of the Parisians movement was difficult; the regiment closed into its assembly area at 1300 hours. The attack was resumed immediately with the 2nd Battalion crossing the Canal de L’Ourcq, and the Third battalion seizing Villepinte, In two days the Regiment had Advanced a total of five miles and reached its objective, Le Mensil Amelot”. So much for enjoying the revelry of the “Liberation”.

OFF TO THE RACES- With the success of the breakthrough and the counter attacks of the German Army forcefully rebuffed, the race was on toward Eastern France, Belgium and the encroachment into the Fatherland. Here is how it was described in a History of the 4th Division in World War 2 published by Stars and stripes in 1945:
“Twenty six years earlier, a new and not yet famous 4th Div. had advanced northeast from Paris, The forward movement ended at Meaux after heavy fighting. The Ivy Division had entered its first battle along the Ourcq River where a week of bitter battling produced a gain of only five square miles. The Famous Fourth roared along the banks of the same river, sweeping German rear guards from hundreds of square miles each day. Passing the “Foret de Compiegne” where the armistice was signed in 1918, the division bridged the Aisne River in one afternoon, then raced through territory which Germans had held against all attacks in World War I. Double Deucers, riding hell bent for election, passed Soissons and Laon, swept through Crecy, Guise and Le Cateau. In two days they reached Landrecies, close to the border. On a broad front squarely across enemy escape routes, the 8th and 12th occupied the area near St. Quentin. Two days later, V Corps rushed eastward to the Meuse River, crossing it before reeling Germans could take advantage of excellent natural defenses. In the same sector where the Nazis had routed the French in 1940,
V Corps now surprised the Germans by spanning the Meuse and driving on the Fatherland.
For the next week, the 4th notched back the throttle as it pounded through Belgium, fighting German rear guards and liberating hundreds of towns. St. Hubert, La Roche, Houffalize, Bastogne, St. Vith fell before the division's surging drive. Everywhere, home-made Allied flags appeared on houses. At 2120, Sept. 11, 4th Div. patrols crossed the German border to be followed next day by the entire 22nd Infantry. The first proclamation of Allied Military Government was posted at Elcherat, Germany. "Sacred" Germany, safe from invasion since Napoleon's day, now was about to get the works.”
The movement into Germany was rapid but in short order the 22nd bumped into the Siegfried Line where the going slowed down and the enemy proved difficult now that they where fighting for the Fatherland. On September 14 the 22nd commenced its assault against the vaunted Western Wall with Third Battalion leading and the First Battalion on their heels. It was tough going against stubborn SS Troopers hitting them with small arms fire, mortar, artillery, and anti-tank weapons. All three battalions breached the line and achieved their objectives but heavy counter attacks against the 1st Battalion resulted in realigning the regiment along the Siegfried Line fortifications. On October 8 Joseph was assigned to a hazardous 22nd Combat Teams Patrol to complete a reconnaissance that several patrols had failed at the previous night. The results earned a Commendation for Meritorious Service for the members of that incident  ( to view commendation click page1 then page 2). On October 14 they moved to a defensive position of the line in Bullingen in the District of Liege. They would spend the month in this quiet area re supplying, receiving replacements for the losses sustained following the movement from Paris and the toll exacted by the stiff defense of the Siegfried line. When they were not out on patrol, ducking mortar rounds or artillery shells or other such activity the men were also able to take advantage of such amenities as a clean showers, movies, doughnut wagons,  and as young men are likely to do when the opportunity presents itself, getting acquainted with young Belgian girls. But all good things come to an end and on November 8 the 22nd regiment moved to an Assembly area near Zweifell, Germany where they would prepare for the most intensive and violent combat under the most trying conditions of their time in Europe. The Huertgen Forest awaited them.
LIKE PASCHENDALE WITH TREES- Ernest Hemingway compared the Hurtgen forest to the British Offensive in Paschendale during World War I. Many of the opposing German generals also compared the battle to those of 1917-18 and General von Gersdorf said it was more horrendous than any he experienced on the Russian Front. Hemingway (shown at left with Colonel Charles Lanham, 22nd Regiment CO) served as a Collier’s Magazine War Correspondent who spent 5 months with the 22nd Regiment including the period when the Double Deucers fought its portion of the battle. He had served as an ambulance driver in Italy during WW1 and sustained serious wounds. Paschendale, fought in 1917 by the British Empire Armies, was plagued by heavy rains causing unmanageable fields of mud, tremendous artillery attacks, and huge loss of men (310,000 British Tommies) with little to show for it. While the total U.S. casualties were considerably less, the conditions and result were similar. The conditions in the Hurtgen were described by Robert S. Rush, Historian of the 22nd regiment Society as follows: "The Hurtgen Forest was an horrible place in which to fight. Dark and dense, even the sun’s rays produced only a twilight effect at noon. The weather could not be much worse, rain and temperatures just above freezing during the day, dropping below freezing at night, freezing the water in the men’s foxholes. At night, the soldiers slept shivering in their foxholes wrapped in raincoats and whatever else they could find. Fires weren’t built because they brought down a rain of German artillery. Because of the constant rain and cold, many of them would end up with hypothermia and trench foot. Mud was axle deep. Jeeps got stuck and laced boots were pulled off soldiers’ feet. The dense forest made it nearly impossible for either side to adjust their artillery. Artillery shells bursting in the tree tops splintered the trees, showering the soldiers below with fragments of wood and steel. In 18 days of fighting 2802 soldiers of the regiment fell, which was 87% of its authorized strength. For their bravery the unit received the Distinguished Unit Citation. Those who fought there maintained, ‘Show me a man who was in the Huertgen and if he says he has never been scared, he is lying’. ”
The battle was the longest single engagement during the War, commencing on September 12, 1944 through February 10, 1945. Over 30,000 soldiers were killed or wounded there from the eight Infantry Divisions and two Armored divisions that fought there in the 50 square miles of thick, rugged, hilly wood full of German soldiers in a deadly network of bunkers and fortified positions. In a dense forest of fir trees death could come from any direction.
On November 18, 1944 the 22nd Infantry was inserted into this teeming cauldron of death. They would remain there until December 3 by which time they would have lost 2802 KIA & wounded, including most of their officers, and would have effectively been reduced to below a strength level that would permit effective operations. All this to for one village and six thousand yards of forest. David Rothbart wrote on December 6, 1944 the following about the condition of the men of the 22nd: "12/6/44 Hurtgen Forest will not soon be forgotten. At the end, the regiment was groggy; squad leaders hardly knew the men they were leading; many men did not know their company commanders, and first sergeants were not sure which men were supposed to be in their companies." An extract from Robert Rush’s narrative of the Hurtgen Forest Battle is appended. It should be read to have a better understanding of the day to day evolution of the 22nd Regiments 18 days of hell. The regiment was extracted on December and moved to a “quiet” sector East of Luxembourg to recuperate and refit.
                                                                                                                             1944 German Soldier in Hurtegen
THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE On December 16 Field Marshall Von Runstead set into motion the favorite movement of the German Army since World War 1, an attack through the Ardennes Forest. They had surprised Belgium and France in 1914, again in 1940 and now once more they managed to surprise the Allied Armies with a counter attack against a sector that was lightly defended with brand new divisions and seasoned divisions still licking their wounds from the Hurtgen maelstrom. Once more the Double Deucers were thrown into the breach, this time to shore up the southern shoulder of the Bulge and assist in the relief of 4th Division’s 12th Infantry Regiment units that were surrounded during the initial enemy attacks.
Despite the depleted condition of the 22nd Regiment, with all rear echelon thrown into the breach, the regiment helped to stabilize the southern shoulder of the bulge and relieve the surrounded units. They remained until January 17 when they were transported to the vicinity of Mailer to relieve portions of the 5th Division occupying a defensive position overlooking the Sauer River.

Joe Bessette’s service record does not credit him with having participated in the Ardennes Campaign so I have assumed that he needed some time to recuperate from the rigors of the Hurtgen Battle and did not accompany the Regiment to the Ardennes sector after the move from the Hurtgen Forest. The record also reports that GO #21 issued February 12, 1944 awarded a Bronze Star Medal to Joseph Bessette . This was one day before the orders were issued to commence attacks against the Siegfried Line and on to the Prum River.  Considering the delay in issuing such awards, the likelihood is that the Bronze Star was awarded for action during the Hurtegon Battle. Joe returned to the Regiment in time for the 2nd breaching of the Siegfried line by the 22nd.

JOE'S FINAL BATTLE-  On February 2nd orders were issued for the 22nd to again penetrate the Siegfried line in the Buchet-Brandscheid sector, one of war’s bitter ironies, the regiment had penetrated the line in the same sector back in September. It started off as a repeat of the same attack plan that had succeeded back then, but by February 6 the Regiment was ordered to redirect their attack in the direction of Prum. The town , which is East of Luxembourg, lies on the Prum River, a tributary of the Sauer River. It would be an essential jumping off point for crossing the Prum River. The Germans fiercely contested the Regiment in it’s approach toward Prum. It took at total of nine days of marching and fighting, including some heavily contested action within the town, but by February 12 Prum had been secured by the 22nd.  While it is not known exactly when Joe was wounded, the date of the award coincided with the date he was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster to his first Bronze Star (April 12, 1945).   His wounds took him out of action for the remainder of the war. There was still fighting to be done until May 1 when the Germans surrendered. By July the Regiment was on its way back to the states and were expecting to be re outfitted and shipped to the Far East to help finish the job there. With the Japanese surrender in August most of the men were released from active duty. Photos at left, Prum after the battle, and right GI"s searching for snipers in Prum.

In the eleven months and two days of combat the 22d Regiment suffered 9359 battle casualties; killed and wounded. Non-battle casualties were also high. The 4th Infantry Division reported 13,091 as non-battle casualties. Although no records listing non-battle casualties by regiment have been found, a proportional share of 4,000 would make the Regiment's total casualties more than 13,000 for the eleven month period. If we assume a replacement for each casualty, this means that a total of over 16,000 soldiers served with the regiment in action; and 81 percent, regardless of time in the unit, became casualties of one sort or another.
The introductory line to this story of Joseph Bessette’s experiences during World War 2 is the motto of the 22nd Infantry Regiment “Deeds Not Words”. The 22nd is a storied Regiment in the military history of our nation. It was originated during the War of 1812 and since then has participated in major and many minor conflicts of our nation. The sum of the engagements, the individual ferocity of the conflicts and the unusually high casualty rate sustained throughout it’s presence in the European Theater of Operations all attest to the motto’s premise that their deeds and actions did speak for them, and it surely did between June 6, 1944 and May 1, 1945.

Joe departed the ETO on October 20, 1945 and arrived back in the U.S. on 29 October. Six days later he was separated from the service at Camp Edwards in Massachusetts. His brother George, who had served in the Pacific and was part of the Guam and Iwo Jima Campaigns, received his discharge on October 19, 1945. As a youngster at the end of that war I remember a welcome home party held at their parents apartment for the two of them. It was a happy festive affair and I can still remember the words of one of the popular songs of the time that was played for them, “kiss me once, and kiss me twice, and kiss me once again, it’s been a long, long, time”.

In 1950 he married Olga Storzuk and they had four children, Diane, Wayne, Denise, and Joel. Joe followed in the Bessette tradition and became a carpenter, building houses in Holyoke and Chicopee. His son Wayne has continued the tradition and is also building homes . Joe joined the American Legion and served as Post Commander at one time. On June 6, 1964 he returned to Utah Beach with Olga and reminisced about those days one more time. Sadly he developed a fatal Lou Geringh's disease in his early 60's and passed away in September 1987, one of the long legion of World War 2 Veterans who served his country faithfully, lived a productive life after the war, and who are now dwindling into fewer and fewer numbers. To them we all owe a debt of gratitude, and to the men of the 22nd Regiment, a duty to not allow the record of what they accomplished to be swept into the dust bin of history.

Raoul R. Bessette
January 9, 2009



*********Extracts from Robert Rush’s narrative of the Battle of Hurtgen Forest***********
Following are extracts from Robert S. Rush’s narrative of the 22nd Regiment’s days in the Hurtgen. Colonel Charles Lanham commanded the regiment from D-Day and during this battle where was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his valor & conduct of the regiment during this trying time. Ernest Hemingway who accompanied the 22nd regiment for 5 months as a correspondent said about Lanham that he was “the finest and bravest and most intelligent military commander I have known”.Nov 16 “From that moment ( mid day ), until the 22d left the Hurtgen seventeen days later, the front line companies seldom made a move free from enemy fire.” “The Hurtgen's topography robbed the infantryman of two of his closest companions, armor and artillery. The few roads and steepness of the hillsides restricted the use of armor until the infantry could clear a path to open terrain and the denseness of the forest limited the use of artillery because the observers could not observe the targets at long distances. Tree bursts, caused by artillery rounds hitting tree trunks and branches, showered everything below with fragments. The shrapnel from the rounds was effective against attacking soldiers in the open, but had little effect on defending soldiers dug in with overhead cover. Almost nothing is worse for an infantryman's morale than to be wet and cold and he to hates stayed wet, and the dampness bred hypothermia and trench foot.”
“The morale and overall quality of the German forces facing the Americans in the Hurtgen was low. German division commanders in the Hurtgen sector ordered their soldiers not to retreat or surrender. Notwithstanding the threat of reprisals, many of the German soldiers saw surrender as the preferred solution for their plight. In the eighteen days of combat, the 22d Infantry captured 764 Germans, many of who either walked into the American lines and gave up or waited until the Americans were on top of their positions to surrender.”

Nov 17 “The Germans reacted violently to the 1st Battalion's advance the morning of November 17. Heavy barrages of German artillery and mortar fire crashed down as soon as the battalion began to move forward. The fire caused heavy casualties in Baker Company, leading the attack, and killed the 1st Battalion Commander, Major Hubert Drake”.
Nov 18 “Colonel Lanham planned on the eighteenth to renew the attack to the east. Hoping to mislead the enemy into expecting the attack to continue to the northeast, he had Baker Company plus artillery engage the Germans on Hill 210, while Able and Charlie Companies maneuvered to the east. They crossed both the Weisser Weh Road (Road W) and Stream and reached the high ground 500 yards beyond. The soldiers waded across the knee-deep water, almost all of them getting soaked. In an after action interview conducted with Able Company in December 1944, Private First Class John L. Page, squad leader and later platoon leader 2d platoon, commented, ‘I never dried out, and neither did most of the rest of us for the next two weeks. The heavy mud caused most of the boys to throw away their galoshes and the constant rain and sleet made us that much colder and wetter. Not so bad when you keep moving during the day, but not so nice when you sleep with your sopped shoes on in a foxhole which leaks’.
Three days of fighting had seen less than a square mile of the German defenses overrun and the main supply road for the 22d, (Road W) remained in enemy hands”

November 20 “On the morning of the twentieth, the 1st and 2d Battalions renewed the attack eastward. The 1st quickly advanced 600 yards to a point just west of the junction of Roads X and Y. The soldiers now used a different assault technique from the one they had used attacking across France. The soldiers moved in an open formation about five yards apart, reducing the likelihood that one shell would get more than a one soldier, and rather than stalking snipers or crawling up on machine-guns, the men listened for the whistle of incoming rounds. As one soldier put it, it was, ". . . a grim game of musical chairs, with everyone tensely watching for a possible location to dive while they had one ear cocked to the sound of the shells."

November 22 “On 22 November, Colonel Lanham again used deception with good success. He had the 1st Battalion, along with two battalions of artillery, engage the Germans just north of Road X, while the full strength 3d Battalion, with companies in column in the order King, Love, and Item, swung around the 1st Battalion's left flank. The 3d Battalion moved several hundred yards up the Schiefersiefen Creek to the head of the draw, where it turned south and passed behind the enemy facing the 1st Battalion, in the process capturing an anti-aircraft gun and two 88mm anti-tank guns. The 1st Battalion feint was not without cost, for the Germans replied to the 1st Battalion fire with a violent artillery barrage and inflicted heavy casualties even though the soldiers remained in their foxholes.”

November 23& 24 “November twenty-third was Thanksgiving Day. The soldiers in the front lines ate hot turkey sandwiches--the only hot meal they received during the entire battle. Four hundred and fifty-three replacements, including thirty-one officers, arrived on 23 and 24 November . Within the regiment, every battalion had lost its battalion commander and two of the three rifle company commanders and the fighting condition of the battalions varied dramatically. The 1st Battalion consisted of about 50 percent replacements.”

November 25 attack on Grosshau the targeted mission of the Regiment when entering the Hurtgen Forest “The 22d's objective on 25 November was Grosshau. Lanham's plan called for a combined attack of the 2d and 3d Battalions to take the village from two directions. The 3d Battalion would cut through the woods to the ridge north of Grosshau and assault the town from that direction, while the 2d Battalion was to make a secondary attack to the edge of the woods south west of Grosshau. From its new location the battalion could place direct fire on both Grosshau and Kleinhau. Each battalion was give a company of tanks in support. The 1st Battalion was ordered to occupy the 3d Battalion's old position west of Grosshau to cover the regiment's left rear. When word came down from 4th Division Headquarters to prepare to continue the assault the following day, Lanham told Lieutenant Colonel Delaney he would wait for a direct order from General Barton. Henley wrote the ‘Men are tired and sleepy and their nerves are about shot. Too much of anything is too much.’ Lanham, after hearing much the same thing from the 1st Battalion commander, agreed and said, ‘The general knows it too, but nothing can be done about it. The general has tried in higher echelons but it's just we or the Krauts . . . There is no relief in sight except in defeating the Krauts’."

November 27 Attack resumed “Halfway to the objective, Baker Company's attack was stopped by German machine-gun crossfire and artillery when it attempted to cross the open ground. Casualties were heavy with the company losing fifty-four out of seventy-nine soldiers, including the Lieutenant Donald Dickenson, the company commander, and two other officers. Seventeen of the eighteen men in the 1st Platoon were killed or wounded. The 2d Platoon tried to cross the same open ground and received almost the same treatment, with only twelve coming back. The desperate fighting stopped only when a German medic helped carry a wounded American back into the American lines. The company reorganized and tried again with the remaining thirty soldiers. The advance resumed when Marcario Garcia, a Private First Class squad leader who began the battle as a scout, single handedly destroyed one machinegun holding up his company. After being wounded by another machinegun, he went back into the woods and destroyed it gun also. The army later recognized his bravery with the Medal of Honor. The remaining soldiers of the company moved forward to the neck of woods located just west of Grosshau, and dug in.”
More on the 27th of November “The 1st Battalion was not so fortunate and reported almost half of the replacements sent forward during the day as casualties. Captain William Surratt, the Able Company Commander, was evacuated when a 120mm mortar round landed beside his foxhole. By 27 November, more than half the soldiers in the regiment had fallen”

November 28 the plight of the men was severe “The soldiers of the regiment had been in the forest for twelve days. Their miserable existence consisted of rain dripping through the trees, never-ending mud, never getting dry, never getting warm, no hot food, not enough sleep, and laying at night shivering, wrapped in raincoats in foxholes filled with cold water. The soldiers were becoming enfeebled even without enemy action. Trenchfoot, especially in the Second Battalion, was in the words of the battalion commander "approaching serious proportions." For days on end, the constant artillery fire kept soldiers close to their water filled holes.”

December 1 “The 1st Battalion had a dual mission on 1 December. First, it was to attack southeast across the open ground and then move through the woods to outflank the Germans holding up the 2d Battalion and the neighboring 46th Armored Infantry Battalion. With this first phase accomplished, the 1st Battalion would swing to the left, attack to the northeast, and come abreast the 3d Battalion. Major Goforth planned an artillery and mortar preparation before the 1st Battalion's attack, along with a feint from the 2d Battalion and decoy smoke to the east of the battalion's sector. The attack started late because, as the battalion reported to regiment, "we had to brief rookie officers." Favorable winds blew some of the smoke across the open ground so that it helped screen the 1st Battalion's movement. The battalion attacked with its companies deployed in column: Charlie Company leading, then Able, and then Baker. One platoon of tanks supported the assault company. Once again, the thick woods prevented the tanks from maneuvering or taking any part in the fighting. The flank attack evidently surprised the enemy. Charlie Company crossed the field unseen and overran an enemy battalion headquarters. Following Charlie Company, Able Company did not fare as well. By the time the company's turn came to cross the field, the smoke screen had dissipated. Able Company lost 65 percent of its strength crossing the field and the thirty-five remaining soldiers dug in on the left flank of the battalion. The 1st made its turn to the northeast early and advanced without much opposition to the north edge of the woods, but in the process did not clear the enemy completely from the 2d Battalion's left flank. There, on the right flank of the 3d Battalion, the 1st established a small semicircular perimeter facing north, east, and south.”

December 2-An early morning counter attack by the enemy was barely repulsed demonstrating the depleted strength of the regiment. Lanham was extremely concerned and General Barton, 4th Division CG finally came to the realization that the Regiment was spent. “General Barton understood that the 22d could not continue its attack because there were no veteran junior leaders left. Although the regiment remained above 75 percent strength, he realized the heart of the regiment was gone. There were few soldiers left in the squads willing to subordinate their personal survival to the regiment's mission. The only thing that kept the units in the regiment from breaking to the rear were the few remaining veteran leaders. When Lanham next talked to Barton, Lanham was unaware Barton had already decided to relieve the 22d. After Lanham related to Barton the condition of his regiment, Barton replied, "It will be taken care of." In a very brief message, at 1500 hours, Barton communicated to Lanham that, "You will be getting relieved tomorrow. . . . You will go to an assembly area”

December 3-The 22nd was finally being relieved from the of hell hole of the forest but not before one final engagement-“At 0845 hours 3 December, the 1st Battalion notified regimental headquarters that about 150 Germans were attacking Baker Company, located around a single house on the Gey-Grosshau Road. The German attack hit the company on its flank and began to roll the company position up, taking out one foxhole after another. American and German artillery pounded the open ground, keeping the Americans in their holes and preventing the main body of Germans from reinforcing the twenty-five soldiers who had broken through the American line. Lieutenant Westman, Baker's Executive Officer, used the headquarters platoon of radio operators, cooks, and other soldiers to help close the breach. Help also came from Able and Charlie Companies. Lieutenant Don A. Warner Jr., the Able Company Commander, arrived with fifteen soldiers from his company, obtained a machine gun from a nearby half-track, and prevented the attack from spreading. Staff Sergeant Louis Pingatore of Charlie Company, meanwhile, took two or three men from each platoon, all brand new replacements, and moved toward the house now occupied by the Germans.
When machine gun fire pinned down his squad, Pingatore employed an expression, or one similar thereto, that non-commissioned officers have used since the Greeks stood before the walls of Troy, "Well men, we can't do a f_____g thing sitting still." With that, the soldiers got up and began firing simultaneously. By 1245 hours, the 1st Battalion had regained the lost ground.
The regiment would finally move on to a “quiet” sector East of Luxembourg to recuperate.

For those interested in reading the full content of Robert Rush’s narrative of the 22nd Regiment in the Hurtgen Forest please click on the link:
                                               http://www.5ad.org/hurtgen.htm

References & sources used and Quoted in preparing Military Story of Joseph E Bessette
1. 1st Battalion 22nd Regiment History World War 2
2. Biography of David P. Roderick, S/Sgt, Co. H, 22nd Infantry Regiment
3.Famous Fourth: the story of the 4th infantry Division, Booklet published by Stars and Stripes as part of the GI Stories Series pertaining to World War 2.
4. Sgt. David Rothbart a veteran of the 22nd regiment during World War 2 whose jounals from that era were published as “A Soldier’s Journal”.
5. Diary Entry # 5, St. Lo Breakout by John R. Marsh, July 25, 1944. Marsh served with the 2nd Armored Division to which the 22nd was attached as part of Combat Command A.
6. Official Publication from Center for Military History, U.S. Army, Washington DC, “Pursuit and Breakout” by Martin Blumenson. . http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Breakout/index.html#
7.Hell In Hurtgen Forest: The Ordeal And Triumph Of An American Infantry Regiment (Modern War Studies) by Robert S. Rush Historian of the 22nd Regiment Society                                                         8. Wikepedia references used as needed  

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