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(US
Army Photo Public Domain)
Rangers
enter Comiso, Sicily
We-the
living Rangers will never forget our fallen comrades. They and
the ideals for which they fought will remain ever-present among
us. For we fully understand the extent of their heroic
sacrifices. We will carry their spirit with us into all walks of
life; into all corners of America.
Our
hearts join together in sorrow for their loss; but also our
hearts swell with pride to have fought along side such valiant
men. They will never be considered dead, for they live with us
in spirit.
When
this war comes to an end, most of you will return to the way of
life which you fought so hard to return to- to pick up the
threads of your civilian pursuits. You will bring back with you
many nostalgic memories of your fighting days- both bitter and
pleasant. But above all, you will bring back with you many
personal characteristics enriched by your experience with the
Rangers.
William
O. Darby
(courtesy
James Altieri author of Darby's Rangers)
Outside
links to Ranger recommended book lists:
Airborne
Ranger Reading List
Ranger.org
Reading List
An
excellent comprehensive account of all six Battalions:
Rangers
In World War II
by
Ranger Robert W. Black
The Darby Foundation
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My short, but vivid
memories served with F Company of the 1st Ranger Battalion were
now history. We survived the Arzew landing with a surprise
attack taking out the big coastal guns on the high ground
overlooking the Bay of Arzew. The French called this Superiur
with Ft. Du Nord to the right. We trained night and day at Arzew
until we were called for a mission in Tunisia. The object
mission was Sened Station, a raid with Companies A, E, and F.
The Battalion was airlifted to an airport near Gafsa. We had
very little information about this raid other than to get about
ten prisoners and wipe out this outpost. I called this one a
good mission; it was what we had been trained for.
We were saddened at
the loss of Elmer Garrision, F Company.
After the Tunisia
campaign on April 19, the battalion returned to Nemours to form
up two new battalions to be known as the 3rd and 4th Rangers. E
and F companies were to form the 4th Battalion. Captain
Roy Murray with Captain Walter Nye as his executive officer,
was in command of the 4th Battalion. We were now getting many
volunteers to complete the battalions and get ready for our next
mission, which was Sicily.
On boarding ship, I
was struck down with an appendix attack. Dr. Hardenbrook ordered
me taken off this ship to a station hospital in Oran, where I
had surgery. The next news I heard was that the Rangers had
landed in
Gela,
Sicily on July 10, 1943. This was where my good friend Walter
Wojcik lost his life when a mine exploded on the beach.
After my one-week
hospital stay and month long recovery period, it appeared that
no attempt was going to be made for me to rejoin the 4th Ranger
Battalion. That was the way the Replacement Centers operated. I
decided to go AWOL with three other soldiers. We got to Palermo,
Sicily where we commandeered a car, got some C-rations and Jerry
cans with gas. We struck out to look for the 4th Battalion,
which we found near Caltanessetta. The 4th Battalion was now
outfitting and getting ready for the Italian invasion. Again, we
trained night and day for who knows what lay ahead.
Our next mission was
the beachhead at Maiori, Italy. The 4th Battalion landed after
midnight September 9, 1943 and occupied the town. Quickly, the
1st and 3rd Battalions passed through the town and occupied the
high ground overlooking the plains of Naples and Mt. Vesuvio. The
1st and 3rd occupied the Chiunzi
Pass area and stayed there about three weeks where
many battles were fought. The 4th Battalion occupied the extreme
left flank of the Lattari Mountains, where it stayed about three
weeks. The element of surprise was the Rangers answer to a good
mission.
Finally, the 8rh Army
reached us and the Germans pulled back to the winter line north
of the Volturno River. We had a brief rest in Naples, then were
pulled back to the sinter line north of the Volturno River. We
had a brief rest in Naples, then were pulled back to Sorrento
for rest and refitting. The 4th Battalion occupied a large
schoolhouse and the Tramontano Hotel. We had a good time there;
the food and weather were both better. Also, we had a few trips
to the Isle of Capri.
Some soldiers were
fighting malaria and jaundice. I came down with jaundice about
October 15th and it laid me low. The medics said to eat white
bread and candy. I hadn't seen either of those since the
States.
Our next mission was
on November 4th to cross the Volturno River to occupy Mt.
Cannavinelle and prevent German forces from getting through the
hairpin curve on Highway 6 going to Venafro. We were told three
U.S. divisions were to cross the Volturno and make an
envelopment on our positions to relieve us on the 4th or 5th of
November 1943.
Captain Nye, with E
and F companies in his command, led us to our next objective,
which we reached by sun-up. At 6:30 a.m. on November 4th, we had
the two companies take a break to eat and smoke in a draw near
our objective. Captain Nye and I cut the wire to take their OP
out. It was probably occupied, but we didn't check it out. We
didn't go far as we saw three German companies coming up the
hill towards us. They stopped when they saw us, about 200 yards
away.
Captain Nye said,
"Don, you cover me and I will indicate they should
surrender." About one minute later, they went right and
left into fire position. Nye, the radio operator and I got over
the ridge and dropped back about 200 yards in a good defensive
position. We decided to bring E Company up. When they got to us,
I sent one platoon to the left flank where Captain Nye was and
one platoon was with me to watch the right flank. It wasn't long
before the Germans came over the ridge in the wide open. I would
guess there were about fifty men. They were company front and
coming over open terrain. At 100 yards, I gave the order to
fire. The Germans stopped and ran off the hill below the
ridgeline. They left their casualties behind.
About fifteen minutes
later, below us on Highway 6, tanks and armor moved up and took
us under fire with 88 shells. Again, the Germans sent their
companies against us and again the Rangers turned them back.
This time, I had two wounded men in a draw below me. I went down
to see what I could do. They were in bad shape. I was just about
to give them morphine when I looked up to find I was covered by
eight Germans. Behind them were Lodge, Ryan, and Rodriguez with
their hands up. They had run out of ammo and were flanked and
taken prisoner. I had to help carry wounded Germans as I was led
to Venafro.
We came to a building
where inside about 50 Germans lay on the ground. My captor, who
had a Luger barrel to my neck, said, "Look!" They
wanted me to see their casualties. Shortly, a German lieutenant
who spoke good English, came up and said, "Are you Lt.
Frederick?" I said, "Yes." He held out his hand
and said, "Congratulations on the firefight we had
today." He then asked why so many of his men were shot
through the head. I said, "You came at us three times and
then dropped back to Hill 689 where you had prepared positions.
This was the only target my men had." He said that was
true. Then he told my captors to get me some food and anything
else I could use. We shook hands and he said, "Tomorrow, I
may be in your position."
I believe this
lieutenant probably saved my life by showing up when he did.
They were going to fly me to Berlin, but due to weather
conditions, we took a boxcar with eight British officers to
Berlin. My war was now over, or was it just starting?" This
was not a good mission-no air, artillery, or tank support. You
don't fight tanks with M-1 rifles.
I was in solitary
confinement a month, then sent to officer camp in Poland. It was
here that I met Captain "Bing" Evans, Captain
Kitchens, Lt. Teal, and other Ranger officers who told me about
how the Anzio
campaign ended. After 17 months, on January 21, 1945, we started
walking back into Germany. My diary says it was about 576 miles
before we reached Hammelburg, Germany. It was there I was
liberated by Captain Baum of the 4th Armored Division, and
recaptured. The war was soon to end.
Col.
Murray spent a week at my home in 1998. We re-fought many
battles, some good missions and some bad. He sent me a 4th Ranger
cap after this and I treasure it. A good Battalion C.O. for the
4th Rangers and I was glad to be under his command.
-Contributed by
Donald S. Frederick
1st & 4th
Ranger Battalion
Ranger
Frederick was a POW at Oflag
64, (an officers POW camp) for 18 months.
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