- JOINED SERVICE FROM CLAFLIN, KS IN DECEMBER 1942.
- COMPLETED BASIC TRAINING AT CAMP CLAIBORNE, LA IN APRIL 1943. ASSIGNED TO
- 4O9TH, D-COMPANY, 1ST PLATOON, .30 CAL WATER-COOLED MACHINE GUNNERS.
- PROMOTED TO CPL IN JULY. PARTICIPATED IN LOUISIANA 3RD ARMY MANEUVERS
FROM
- SEPTEMBER 15TH THROUGH NOVEMBER 15TH OF 1943. MOTOR MARCHED FROM MERRYVILLE,
- LA TO CAMP HOWZE IN GAINESVILLE, TX. PROMOTED TO BUCK SGT. IN DECEMBER.
- DIVISION RANKS FILLED WITH FORMER ASTP STUDENTS IN MARCH OF 1944. ZACK
- WAS PROMOTED TO STAFF SGT. IN APRIL AND GIVEN RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE 2ND
- SECTION OF THE 1ST PLATOON. HIS SUPERIORS WERE T/SGT CHUCK CERONSKY
- (PLATOON SGT), WILLIAM HOLLIS (1ST SGT), 2ND LT. LOUIS DALOISIO (PLATOON LEADER)
- AND 1ST LT. IRA WITHAM (COMPANY COMANDER). LEFT CAMP HOWZE, BY TRAIN,
- ON SEPTEMBER 14TH AND ARRIVED AT CAMP SHANKS, NY ON SEPT. 28TH. BOARDED
- USS MONTICELLO AND DEPLOYED FOR THE SOUTH OF FRANCE ON OCT. 6TH.
- WEATHERED HURRICANE AND ROUGH SEAS BUT FINALLY ARRIVED AT MARSEILLES,
- FRANCE ON OCTOBER 20TH, 1944. SPENT TWO WEEKS AT STAGING AREA NEAR CALAS.
- DEPARTED FOR THE FRONT ON NOV. 5TH. ARRIVED ON NOVEMBER 10TH AND RELIEVED
- THE 3d INFANTRY DIVISION IN THE VICINITY OF EPINAL/CHARMOIS/DOCELLES. COMMITTED
- TO BATTLE ON NOV. 11TH AND FOUGHT WAY THROUGH THE VOSGES MOUNTAINS AS PART
- OF LT. GENERAL ALEXANDER PATCH'S 7TH ARMY. PARTICIPATED IN LIBERATION OF ST. DIE
- (NOV 22ND) , PROVENCHERES, COLROY-LA-GRAND ON THANKSGIVING DAY (23RD), LUBINE
- ON THE 24TH. 1ST BATTALION (BN) ORDERED 7 MILES OVER ROUGH MOUNTAINOUS
- TERRAIN AND BEHIND ENEMY LINES TO ATTACK STEIGE ON THE 25TH. OBTAINED
- COMPLETE SURPRISE OF ENEMY FORCES AND CAPTURED 121 PRISONERS.
ZACK WAS PROMOTED TO T/SGT AROUND NOVEMBER 29TH FOR "THE EFFICIENT
- AND CALM MANNER IN WHICH HE DISCHARGED HIS DUTIES IN A RECENT TRAGEDY
- AT THE STAGING AREA". (THIS "TRAGEDY" IS ASSUMED TO BE THE COMMUNICATION POLE
- THAT FELL AT THE STAGING AREA AND KILLED A D-COMPANY SOLDIER.)
1ST BN MOVED OUT TO TAKE DAMBACH-LA-VILLE ON NOV. 30TH. 409TH THEN RECEIVED
- ORDERS TO MOVE SOUTH TO SELESTAT. ARRIVED LATE AFTERNOON ON DECEMBER 1ST.
- ON DECEMBER 2ND, THE 36TH ID T-PATCHERS WERE TO ATTACK THE CITY FROM THE
- SOUTH, THE 409TH - 2ND BN FROM THE WEST AND 1ST BN FROM THE NORTH WEST.
- D-CO HAD ENTRENCHED AT A BRIDGE ON NORTHWEST OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY. THEIR
- ORDERS WERE TO BLOCK THE GERMAN'S ESCAPE ROUTE BY WAY OF THIS BRIDGE.
IT IS UNCLEAR, TO THIS DAY, AS TO WHO GAVE THE ORDER FOR B-CO RIFLEMEN TO
- TAKE THE FIRST FEW HOUSES ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN ON THE EVENING OF DEC. 1ST.
- THE ASSAULT OF SELESTAT WAS NOT TO TAKE PLACE UNTIL THE FOLLOWING
- MORNING. NONE-THE-LESS, THAT IS WHAT THEY DID. THE ENTIRE 1ST PLATOON OF
- D-CO MACHINE GUNNERS WAS ORDERED IN TO SUPPORT THE RIFLEMEN OF B-CO.
- THIS MOVEMENT EXPOSED THE FLANK OF THE APPROXIMATELY 140 MEN OF B AND
- D COMPANIES AND PROVED TO BE A DISASTROUS TACTICAL MISTAKE.
AROUND 3:15AM ON DECEMBER 2ND, 1944, 3 TO 6 GERMAN TANKS WITH APPROXIMATELY
- 600 SUPPORTING INFANTRY ROLLED DOWN THE STREET IN FRONT OF THE HOUSES THAT
- WERE TAKEN BY THE B-COMPANY RIFLEMEN. THE LEAD TANK WENT PAST THE HOUSES,
- ONLY TO BLOW THE BRIDGE THAT HAD BEEN VACATED. THE GIs ESCAPE ROUTE WAS GONE
- AND THEY HAD NO ANTI-TANK WEAPONRY. ONCE THE BRIDGE WAS GONE, THE TANKS
- FOCUSED ON THE MACHINE GUNS IN THE HOUSES. THEIR JOB WAS TO TAKE OUT THE
- MACHINE GUNS SO THEIR INFANTRY COULD SWARM THE HOUSES. THIS COULDN'T HAVE
- BEEN TOO DIFFICULT SINCE THE TANKS WERE AT POINT BLANK RANGE. THE FIRST
- 88 DESTROYED A MACHINE GUN. THIS SHOT INSTANTLY KILLED SGT. VERNON SWANSON
- AND SERIOUSLY WOUNDED JIM PRICE AND ZACK. THOUGH ZACK WAS THE RECIPIENT
- OF SHRAPNEL THAT BROKE HIS RIGHT FEMUR, HE MANAGED TO PULL DOWN THE
- CURTAINS THAT WERE NOW AFLAME. HE ORDERED JIM AND DOUG MERRILL (NOT
- INJURED IN BLAST) TO HIDE THEIR HAND GRENADES AND RID THEMSELVES OF ANY
- GERMAN ARTIFACTS THAT THEY HAD RETRIEVED . IT WAS NOW APPARENT THAT THEY
- WOULD BECOME POWS. HE KNEW THAT THE GERMAN TROOPS WOULD SOON BE ON THEM.
- THAT IS WHEN DOUG MERRILL TOOK OVER. HE CARRIED JIM PRICE TO THE BASEMENT AND
- THE THREE PLAYED DEAD. WHEN THE GERMANS CAME IN THE HOUSE. THEY ASSUMED THE
- WORST AND LEFT. HOWEVER, THEY REMAINED OUTSIDE THE HOUSE FOR SOME TIME.
AT DAYBREAK, ASSUMED TO BE 3 OR 4 HOURS LATER, THE THREE BATTERED GIs HEADED
- FOR THE RIVER AND SAFETY. DOUG CARRIED JIM AND ZACK HOBBLED AS BEST HE COULD.
- ZACK COLLAPSED AT THE RIVER BANK AND DIED FROM SHOCK OR BLOOD LOSS. JIM
- SURVIVED, THANKS TO DOUG'S HEROICS, BUT LOST A LEG AS A RESULT OF THE TANK
- BLAST.
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- THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT DOUG,
VERNON
- SWANSON, JIM PRICE AND ZACK
SIGLER
- WERE IN ON DECEMBER 2ND, 1944.
- THIS PICTURE IS HOW IT
APPEARED WHEN
- D-COMPANY RETURNED TO
SELESTAT
IN 1985. THOUGH IT HAD BEEN
- RECONSTRUCTED, SHRAPNEL
MARKING WERE
- STILL VISIBLE ON THE
STRUCTURE.
- DOUG, JIM PRICE AND
D-COMPANY
- VETERANS & FAMILY ARE
SHOWN
- STANDING OUTSIDE THE HOUSE.
- (Notice the close proximity of
the street to the
- house. The German Tanks were
in the street at
- point blank range.)
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