I am trying to get together history of my father’s, Robert H Breon, Military service. I know he was with the 45th division, 179th infantry, company military service. I know he was with the 45th division, 179th infantry, company E. He was wounded at Anzio and became a POW at that time. He was a first scout for the company and when he was wounded, It was the second scout, Augustus Bentz, and the sergeant, V. R. Wittenbeck, That got him out, however they were all captured. Because my dad had mortar fragment in his hip, And was able to speak German he was able to convince them to not execute him, and actually got the Germans to help the ones that were wounded. But Augustus (Gus) and Sergeant Wittenbeck were sent to other POW camps, While my father ended up being operated on one and Italian kitchen table. If it would be possible for me to get the AAA our reports especially for February 16, 1944, I’m hoping I can find out more information about my father Robert Breon, and Augustus Bentz in particular, but even if I can learn more information about any of their people that were in his unit it would be a great help Thank you in advance to anyone that can help Dorothy
Thank you. Like many post I see here, my father did not talk about his time in the service. It is since his passing that I have now been going through letters and paperwork that I never knew existed. And now I really wish I knew a lot more than what I do. Some of the things I have read about just breaks your heart from start to stop. So that was why I was so excited when I found this website that maybe people out there can help me yet. Thank you for all the work everybody does
I don't have particulars, but this might give you some insight The story of a regiment, a history of the 179th Regimental Combat You can also look at this thread http://ww2f.com/threads/179th-infantry-regiment-after-action-reports.22674/ Dave is a master when it comes to Italy. If those AARs are not in there, contact Dave directly by PM to see if he has what you want.
Welcome to the Forums, Dorothy. According to his POW record, he was in the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 45th ID. Of course, the POW record could be wrong.
Interesting, I need to look at this. I do have a health issue, that I don’t see things correctly and once something gets stuck in this head, it’s hard to undo it. But now I will have to check to see if it’s 179th or the 157th. Thank you in advance
You are correct, it should be the 157th infantry and not the 179th. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention
Sorry, for Wharever reason I had the wrong infantry in my mind. My dad was in the 157th infantry company and not the 1/79. Thank you to everyone for their help on straightening me out on this one
No need to apologize, Dorothy. We recently had another situation where the Army had erred (or at least did not catch the error) on a fallen 157th Infantry Regiment soldier's Headstone Application. It had the Division as the 43rd instead of the 45th. That's a much bigger error, since it presumably ended up on his grave marker. Presuming that he was in E Company of the 157th Infantry Regt., I found the following grim account from mid-Feb 1944 on the 157th Infantry page of the 45th ID website: "On 7 February 1944 3rd Battalion was hit hard by a German night attack, directed principally by L Company. The GI line held, but there were terrible casualties, including the Battalion Commander, who was killed. By early the next morning the German attack had bypassed L Company and fighting was going on deep behind the American lines. L Company withdrew and 3rd Battalion headquarters withdrew as well, under direct enemy fire. Once again, a beachhead was in danger. Artillery rained down on the Germans -- 24,000 rounds in a single 2 1/2 hour period and 3rd Battalion's own mortars poured out an incredible 9,200 rounds. The German attack was stopped. Once the lines were straightened and reorganized, the regiment was relieved by British forces and moved to the center of the Allied line, taking positions forward of the "overpass," along the Albano-Anzio Highway. The very next day the Germans launched a tank-supported attack against the regiment. E Company was destroyed, and G Company held its ground only after the Company Commander called artillery fire on his own positions. The 2nd Battalion Adjutant, Captain Felix L. Sparks, was sent forward to take command of the remnants of E Company, but the German attacks were so fierce and concentrated -- the Germans drove right up to the foxhole line in tanks and fired the main guns directly into the holes -- that only Sparks and two men survived from the company. This level of combat continued for the next several days; there was hand-to-hand combat and at least one more incidence of calls for artillery fire on friendly positions. In the end, the regiment held, but at a terrible cost: 3rd Battalion lost 324 men (68 were left in I Company which landed with 165 men); 2nd Battalion, which had landed with 713 men and 38 officers, had only 162 men and 15 officers still on their feet. Things were quieter from that day -- but still quite deadly -- until the breakout for Rome, which started on 23 May 1944."
Confusion is endemic in research. You can get more information about the 157th here http://ww2f.com/threads/us-157th-infantry.20762/ or here http://ww2f.com/threads/157th-infantry-regiment-after-action-reports.27397/ Once again, Dave is a master of all things in the Italian Campaign.