Marino M. Michetti

B Company 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment

82nd Airborne Division

At dawn on December 16, 1944, approximately 12 enemy divisions pushed through the lightly held Ardennes in Belgium. Three American divisions, the 28th, the newly committed 106th, and the 7th Armored were trying to hold on a pathetically thin line. The Ardennes had seemed the least likely spot for a German counter-attack because of the unlikely success of a lightning thrust with armor through the thickly wooded area and rutted roads.

At 2000 on December 17th, the 508th Regiment, still attached to the 82nd Airborne Division, was alerted for immediate movement to Belgium. That night we spent in packing personal belongings, drawing weapons from supply, and getting set for our move early in the morning. By 0900 on December 18th, the 508th, loaded in huge tractor-trailer trucks (Red Ball Express), joined the division convoy as it left Sissonne, France, and headed for Werbomont, a small village in Belgium.

At 1800 on December 19th, 12 hours after the regiment had arrived at Werbomont, we got orders to move to Chevron, two miles East. This move was made on foot. Here we could not dig down too far, because we hit water after digging a foot in the snow. Marching in the snow covered road, we met soldiers and tanks of troops moving to the rear. I did not know where we were going except to meet the Germans somewhere where these other soldiers had run into a hell of a lot of them. In the afternoon on December 20th, the regiment was alerted for another move. We still had not made any contact with the enemy. The 504th Regiment and 505th Regiment had already met the enemy to the east at Haute Bodeux. Due to a shortage in transportation, the entire regiment could not make the ten mile trip by truck and still be in position by dawn. I was in the group making an all night road march.

By first light on December 21, despite the fact that no one had had any sleep, the regiment, still out of contact with the enemy, was tactically disposed along Thier-du-Mont, a ridge a thousand yards south of the Belgium village of Goronne. Jeep patrols moved constantly across the front, searching for the first signs of the approaching Germans. The entire 82nd had changed position and now was pushed out like a long finger into the middle of the north side of the wedge the enemy had driven into the American lines. At the tip of this finger was the 508th, supported by the 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion.

Behind us, we had a small house for our CP. Later that afternoon, on my way to get some "K" rations, I passed a building, full of large bags of GI bread. I saw a plane flying low, one of our fighter planes--the next thing I knew, the plane began strafing the ground next to the building, I just fell to the ground.

That evening, parachutes were dropped out of the sky, over our heads. I later learned that the Germans dropped 300 of these chutes. Everyone that had a weapon must have opened fire, including myself, on what we thought were German Paratroopers. These parachutes were found to have been holding dummies, to see where we had our firepower. On XVIII Airborne Corps' order, the 82nd Airborne Division withdrew, beginning at 2100 hours on Christmas Eve, blowing bridges and sowing mines. The 504th Regiment established positions to the right of the 508th Regiment. The 505th Regiment pulled back and dug in on the high ground west of Trois Points, linking (on the left) with the 30th Division. The 508th Regiment, deployed near Vielsalm, was attacked in force--and skillfully fighting off several aggressive 9th Panzer Division armored task forces pulled back to take positions on the right of the 505th Regiment.

With a covering force of one platoon per rifle company, it was a different story. Now that less than one-third of the regiment was holding the same ground, contact was nearly impossible. The early evening was quiet enough for the men on the ridge, but at 2300, the fireworks began. Artillery began falling in the 1st Battalion area, and a few casualties were sustained by "B" Company. Shortly after the artillery barrage reached its fullest intensity, the range was shortened, and smoke was substituted for high explosive. With the river and both banks shrouded by smoke, the advance elements of the Germans made a crossing. In the "B" Company platoon all was quiet. Suddenly the shriek of a Jerry whistle was heard, and several Germans seemed to rise suddenly out of the snow and smoke. "B" Company's machine guns split the enemy formation with bands of steel and the troopers held.

The reason for this penetration was to bring relief to the units surrounded in the initial fighting in the counter-attack. Elements of the 7th Armored, 106th and 28th Infantry were fighting in a perimeter a few miles southeast of the 82nd Division. Any elements which could reach the banks of the Salm River, would be evacuated to the rear through the escape channel for regrouping.

In the 3rd Battalion area a five man jeep patrol led by Corporal Robert Mangers of the S-2 Section, in a radio message back to battalion headquarters, "Tanks rolling by, 50 yards apart. Two columns of Panzer Grenadiers are marching down the road at close interval." At 0900 on December 23rd, Corporal Mangers transmitted his last message. He was not heard of again and was picked up on

the morning report as missing in action.

In the 2nd Battalion area--enemy armor was moving Northeast towards regimental area and attacked the town of Salmchateau, several miles in front of the battalion position. A heavy volume of fire was directed on the Germans from the commanding ground of Thier-du-Mont ridge. One tank, a Mark III, was KO'd in front of "D" Company. ["F' Company was west of "D" Company near the village of Comte (Note: Allen H. Sein, Newport News, Virginia)].

In the 1st Battalion area--our mortar squad was on Thierdu-Mont ridge. I had carried six rounds of 60mm mortars on top of my full field equipment. We were north of Rencheux, where we had taken defensive positions. "C" Company was north of us and "A" Company to our south. Some other GI's had dug my foxhole for me and the other three men in our squad. I could look down on the Germans who were on the other side of the river. We could see some distance to the east. In the afternoon, we set up our mortar behind our foxholes, one trooper with the base plate and another with the tube. A corporal, our squad leader, directed our fire into the Germans. Fifteen hundred yards was not too far away--we were out of rifle range. I could see little barrages explode when the mortars hit and the Germans run for cover. The corporal was the only one that knew anything about the mortar. I had previously been with the 782nd A/B Ordnance Company, where I handled all the ammunition used by the division.

About midnight, I heard shouting and noise--a group of Americans and Germans were in an open area behind us, on the ridge. I asked the trooper in the foxhole to my left, "What should we do?" I remember us getting out of the foxholes with our hands behind our heads! My whole world seemed to have crumbled around me. What would my friends think of me now? I really felt ashamed! I was seeing flashes of my childhood, when I saw the white lights from the tracers in the burp-gun firing at me! The Germans were all around us. The Germans huddled us in with a small group of other prisoners, prodding us with their rifles. They had come up on the ridge behind us.

I was back at the house we had used for our CP, only this time the Germans were using it to interrogate the prisoners they had taken. I had to take everything out of my jump pants pockets. I had quite a collection, because we had just received some Christmas mail before we left Sissonne, France. I -remember some nice white handkerchief someone had sent me. Pocket knife, fountain pen, three packs of cigarettes, five packs of razor blades, wallet with some English money (four 1f notes) and two $1 bills. I remember having bread and coffee with the Germans at daylight, Christmas morning--"Merry Christmas" Farther south, in the vicinity of the ridge, "A" Company's covering force commander, Lt. Lamm's platoons straddled the road from Vielsalm to Goronne, a few hundred yards west of the bridge. The main weight of the German attack fell upon the 24 "A" Company men. After visiting all his squad positions, Lt. Lamm returned to his CP to dispatch a runner to Capt. Benjamin Delamater, commander of the 1st Battalion covering force. I never got the word to pull back.

The platoons from all three battalions reported to Lt. Col. Shanley, covering force commander, and the seven-mile trek to the new positions began. By 0800 on Christmas morning the entire regiment was assembled in their new positions. Although not participated in by the whole regiment, the delaying action of this covering force was one of the best pieces of fighting in the 508th Parachute Infantry's history.