Today is the 80th Anniversary of the first non-fighting day for the men of my dad’s 337th Infantry Regiment of the 85th Infantry Division of the U.S. Fifth Army.
Translation: May 25, 1944 - Fifth Army in Terracina. Colonel Stanley R. Laufersky directs his platoon of anti-tank miners of the 337th Infantry Regiment in the "cleaning" of the beaches of Terracina.
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On the following day, May 26, 1944, my dad’s Army Regiment moved to Sabaudia next to Terracina, where the 337th men took their first rest after 15 days of continuous combat operations against the Axis Powers.
During these two days, soldiers had a chance to swim, following the clearing of a beach of mines by the Army engineers.
Read my earlier issue about their first WWII battle - May 11 at 11 pm
Fast Forward to March 20, 2020, Alan Cicotte (pictured next to left) posted this picture below on his Facebook page and wrote the following:
As we look out over the world today, it may seem that hope is lost and darkness is setting in. Fortunately, this is not the case.
The Lord declared through His prophet Isaiah, "I will make darkness light before them... these things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."
I testify that there is no darkness so dense, so menacing, or so difficult that it cannot be overcome by light. He is The Light, and He will never forsake us.
On the same day, I shared this picture on my Facebook page and typed the following:
My Washington state friend, Alan Cicotte (second from left), shares it. They are on a 2-year missionary in Italy.
They were standing in the area where my dad and his 337th Regiment fought in May 1944.
How did I know? I had a friendly FB chat with him two Mondays ago and sent him copies of my dad's war routes. He is a history buff.
Could you look at a small mountain on the left of this picture? It is Mount Circeo, off San Felice Circeo.
Blessings to our four brave young men!
Alan responded to me, “So awesome! I'm sure when your father was here, he too was thinking of the currently dark state of the world and the light that comes from Christ!”
“Yes, indeed, all we need is faith,” commented Gary Haskins, who visited the same area where his father, Private First Class Gary Haskins Sr. (337th/D), helped to liberate Terricina on May 25.
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May 26, 1944, was just 15 fighting days, and my dad’s 85th Division continued fighting for 11 more months (until May 2, 1945.)
Mount Circeo
Soldiers swam and washed clothes. | Photo by Life Magazine
Southward view from Hotel le Dune in Sabaudia, Italy, on September 27, 2016, by Howie Gorrell.
Find Terracina (the corrected name of Terrecina on the map) on the deep center bottom next to Hitler Line. Following an abortive seaborne effort to take Terracina, troops of the 337th and 338th Infantry Regiments, 85th Division, fought for three days to capture the town.
Look at the picture below. Steve Cole, the webmaster of Custermen.com (about the 85th Infantry Divison), explained the below.
"This is my first draft at sketching out how the 377th Infantry Regiment advanced on the town of Terracina.
The advance elements proceeded along the coastal highway but were stopped by gunfire from the sheer rock cliff. The Germans had occupied the mountain overlooking Terracina and had defenses set-up in a cemetery.
The local Italian historians had researched the battle on top of this ridge. They located debris from an artillery battery which matches the Operations Reports of the 328the Field Artillery.”
I have to interpret it for you.
“Look at the blue line on the left side. On the morning of May 22, 1944, my dad’s First Battalion advanced toward the city around the bluff, but was stopped by the enemy’s deadly automatic fire (located between the bluff and the mined beach). They withdrew.
Then the 2nd and 3rd Battalion moved to Mount Croce (see the blue line on the right side) and climbed up. They reached at the top by the midnight.”
Pointing to the cemetery, where the Germans fired from. | Photo by Alessandro Campagna on October 5, 2015
On May 24, 1944, my dad's 337th Regiment fought all day to rage for possession of the cemetery (see the photo above) on the outskirts of Terracina.
By 7:30 pm, they took this cemetery (below picture) and one hill.
By midnight, the Regiment was on the outskirts of this town.
Photo by Life Magazine.
The Army engineers cleared rocks from roads, so the Allied units went around this location to advance to ROMA (Rome).
The building on the top is the Temple of Jupiter Anxur | Photo by Alessandro Campagna on October 5, 2015
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At the Memorial Service for Capt. Paul Edward Gorrell, on September 9, 2013, Don Jones, Historian of the 337th Infantry Regiment, spoke:
“After taking the beautiful seaside resort of Terracina on May 26 and enabling the link-up with men coming from the Anzio beachhead, the men were finally allowed two days of rest in Sabaudia. They then fought their way into and through Rome on June 4th, the first Axis capital to fall to the Allies, only pausing to rest several days later.”
Jones paused:
“During our dad’s second major battle in Terracina, Paul’s company executive officer was killed, and Paul took over as Company Executive Officer. A short time later, his Battalion Command Post was hit by artillery fire, killing the battalion commander and two staff officers. Paul’s company commander was moved to the Battalion, and Paul was named as acting company commander. Here Paul was a 135-lb farm boy from the hills of West Virginia, 27 years old and scared nearly to death, responsible for over 200 draftees and himself.”
The tall man in the front row was Captain. He was killed in the Battle of Terracina on May 24, 1945. Consequently, my dad (third on the front from right) was promoted to Acting Captain. (Gary Haskins’ father stood third from the third row.)
I firmly believe the Battle of Terracina could be my dad's worst war battle.
Present View of Mount Circeo from the Temple of Jupiter Anxur | Photo by Howie Gorrell on October 5, 2015.
