US AIRBORNE

Many thank you to Gregory de Cock for the article about Lynn. Thank you Lynn and his family for their kindness.

From the child of Saint Paul to the parachutist of Camp Forrest

Wayne Herbert DeHaven was born on June 15, 1923, east of the town of Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, USA. His father, Walter DeHaven, of French Canadian origin had in 1917 married Borghild Mickelson, daughter of Norwegian immigrants, with whom he had two children : Geraldine and Wayne. The boy had to leave school before completing his studies to help his mother. His first job was in a gas station and, at just twenty years of age, whilst worhinl in a naval shipyard at Bremerton, in the State of Washington, he was drafted by the American govemment to serve his country. The young man headed to Saint Paul to report at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, the nearest military garrison from his home town. At the time of his induction in the United States Army on July 19, 1943, Wayne was a white race American citizen, single, with no dependents, and a semiskilled pattem and model maker. The new recruit DeHaven was enlisted as #37572909.

« Very soon after I joined the Army, I volunteered to join the parachute troops. The reason was twofold : there was a fifty dollar bonus and I had a challenge to take up. I knew a girl then with whom I’d grown up. She’d read an article in Life Magazine about airborne troops and I happened to say that was exactly what I was considering as a specialy. She didn’t think I’d make the grade though, so as a dare I set out to show he I could ! Unfortunately for me, I never could prove it to her because she died before I qualified as a fully-fledged paratrooper. »

Wayne DeHaven photographed at the beginning of his military career.
Note the patch of the 13th Air Division

Soon after his application was accepted, he joined F Company, 2nd Battalion, 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, under the command of Captain William E Jakes. It was based at Fort Benning, Georgia.

The 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment (513PIR) was created on December 26, 1942, and activated on January 11, 1943, at Fort Benning as an administrative unit within the Parachute Replacement Pool of that base. On May 31, the regiment lost its administrative statuts to become an operational unit. On Friday August 13, it was attached to the 13th Airborne Division, although not yet actually incorporated unit. The specific parachutist training of the three battalion began progressively on October 16,20 and 24, 1943.
Imediately upon arriving at F Company, Wayne started this intensive physical and moral endurance training. It consisted of running, gymnastics, obstacle courses, and man-to-man combat. A though fitness regime tailored especially for future airborne units and to sort the men from the boys so to speak.

« This first preparatory phase was so hard I more than once wondered if I’d get through it. The first week, stage A of the training, really was all about physical fitness and endurance. I also learned close-combat and how to fold and inspect my own parachute. During stage B, I was taugh how to position my hamess, exit the aircraft, control my chute canopy, and how to land afely. My pals and I first had to jump from a podium, and then from a wooden model. The third week, stage C, the towers were of differing heights. My highest jump then was from 300 feet. The last week, all I had to do to qualify was complete four daytime and one nighttime jump from a C-47, with and without combat gear. Several times I recalled the words of the officer who had greeted us in the camp’s main auditorium soon after I’d arrived. How right he was saying thet any guy who says he’s not scared is a liar ! I never did chicken out of a jump though. The slightest hesitation before jumping from the plane meant you were disqualified anyhow. I had a jump in my throat on one particular nighttime jump in really heavy rain and stormy conditions. The pilot returned to the airfield because it was just too risky. One General certainly didn’t like that and he ordered that the paratroopers be made to jump come what may. The pilot had enough gumption to refuse outright and saved us from disaster. At the start my regiment was independent, but it was attached to the 13th Airborne Division even before I’d finished my paratrooper training. »

Having been parachute qualified, on November 15, 1943, the regiment was sent to Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville, North Carolina, where it actually joined the division, all the while continuing further advanced individual training for thirteen weeks.

On January 15, 1944, the 513PIR and the division arrived at Camp Mackall, near Hoffman, North Carolina. Six days later, Lt. Col. James W Coutts, a very charismatic officer, graduate of the West Point Military Academy nd already with a very accomplished career behind him, took command of the regiment. As of then, he could count on the experience of lt. Col. Allen C Miller, his regimental Executive Officer, second in command. On February 19, 1944, Miller went on the head the 2nd BattalionBattalion of the 513th PIR (2/513PIR). He made quite an impression on his men, so much so that they respectfully nicknamed him Boots and Helmet. The bataillon’s Executive Officer was Major Erwin Edwards. Both were highly regarded by the troop and made for a very effective duo. As for the 1/513PIR, it was commanded by Lt. Col. Alton R Taylor, while Lt Col. Edward F Kent headed the 3/513PIR. It was at Camp Mackall that soldier DeHaven became Private First Class.

On March 4, 1944, Wayne and his regiment took part in a week-long major maneeuver near Nashvill and Lebanon, Tennessee, a vast exercice under combat conditions with other allied units. The weather was foul, with the men having to endure severe cold, damp, snow and heavy sleet and rain. On March 10, the 513PIR transferred to the 17th Airborne Division which had been acivated at Camp Mackall on April 15, 1943, under the command of General William M Miley. Having undergone this drill, the division arrived on March 24 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. Conditions there and the premises themselves were better than at Camp Mackall.

According to the table of organization and equipment for airborne troops, each parachute regiment had to include specialists, especially in omunications. A call for potential recruits was put out. With several comrades, Wayne volunteered for the Communication School and its one hundred and seventy-five hours of training. There they were instruted in the handling, maintenance and repair of all communications equipment needed for airborne missions : radios, telephones, signaling flags, optics and phonics Morse code, encryption and pigeon breeding. After the final aptitude test, Wayne qualified as Messenger with rank of Tachnician Fifth Grade (Tec5).

Wayne DeHaven in the center with two comrades during training at Camp Forrest. 

Then Came Europe

On August 11, 1944, the division left Camp Forrest for Camp Myles Standish, near Taunton, Massachusetts, where it set up base two days later. Six days after that, it headed for Boston Port of Embarkation, Massachusetts. On August 20, Wayne and his comrades in arms boarded the USS Wakefield bound for Liverpool, United Kingdom. The crossing took eight days. From that British port, F Company traveled by train to the tent camp at Tidworth Barracks, near Windmill Hill, Wiltshire, where it set up base on August 29. On its arrival in urope, the 17th Airborne Division was put on reserve for Operation Market-Garden, whicch was to take place three weeks later. From that moment on, it joined the XVIIIth Airborne Corps of Major General Matthew Ridgway, itself under the authority of the 1st Allied Airborne Army of Lieutenant General Lewis Brereton. The outcome of the battle was unfavorable for the Allies and High Command decided not to engage the division in combat. Training jumps and various drills continued by day and night, with frequant perdiods of leave in London.

« In England it wasn’t like in the States. In the evening, I used to go to into town as I could easily get a pass when I wanted, probably because of my good behavior. Lots of soldiers were refused leave so I took advantage of the many passes available ! ».

From October 1 to 4, 1944, the 513PIR moved on to Barton Stacey, near Andover, Hampshire.

Capt. Jakes, having revently been hospitalized, was replaced on October 5, 1944 at the head of F Company bt Capt. Marshall M Reynolds. Though small, his physique, strengh of character, and good nature were impressive. He was the very image of a real leader taking part in the training drills and everything his soldiers had to endure. Strict but fait, he had the respect and trust of his subordinates. Meeting up with Reynolds was decisive for Wayne :

« Soon after he took over command, Reynolds saw me with other soldiers busy analyzing a tactical problem by drawing it on the ground. He turned to me and said : -Ah, now that’s how I like to see you working !-. I felt then he appreciated us as much as we did him. We used to call him Bud or even Cannon Ball. I don’t know why he chose me as his personal radio-operator, but that’s how and why I joined the company’s headquarters. To assist me I chose my very good pal, Tec5 Neal Haggard, whom I’d known since Fort Benning. He’d also taken the specialist communication class. My main apparatus was the SCR-300 transmitter-receiver, a backpack set. During my company’s training, I was never far behind the Captain in case he nedded me to radio any messages. My special status meant I was in contact with the company’s officers. Reynolds had with him his second in command, Lieutenant Dean. The 1st Platoon was commanded by Lt. Robert J Gilles, the 2^nd Platoon by Lt Samuel Calhoun and the 3rd Platoon by Lt Charles D Puckett. Our 1st Sergeant was Royal W Donovan. »

Prelude to hell

On Decembre 16, 1944, the Germans launched a massive offensive in the Belgian Ardennes and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Two days later, the 17th Airborne Division was placed on alert ready to move into action. All leave was canceled and the men set about preparing personal and collective equipment. For reaso of discretion, they were required to unstitch their insignia and rank. Transfer of the 513PIR to the continent began from Barton Stacey in three echelons owing to bad weather conditions and the mobilization of all available aircraft to supply the besieged town of Bastogne. Wayne was part of the third echelon including the 2 and 3/513PIR. It left Chilbolton Airfield aboard a C-47 on Decembre 24 at 10 :05 landing at 13 :30 on airfield A70 in Couvron-et-Aumencourt, Aisne, France, situated 6 miles to the north of Laon, Aisne. From there, it went by truck to Camp Mourmelon-le-Grand, Marne. Having arrived separately, the three echelons assembled in the late afternoon at the French camp that was covered with a thin layer snow. The division was placed under the authority of the VIIIth Army Corps of Lt Gen. Troy H Middleton, subordinated to the 3rd Army commanded by General George S Patton. The F Company was then comprised of eight officers and one hundred and fifty troopers, and morale was high.

« The next daya round 19 :00, having had only a C-Ration as a Christmas meal, I was taken by truck to a secret destination. We all huddled together to keep warm. My company arrived at Stenay, Meuse, on December 26. It positioned itself on the approach road to the town, one and a half mile to the north-west, for our first combat mission. We had to lay landmines, set up road blocks and outposts to halt any German incusrion beyond the river Meuse. My closest comrades and I were in a kind of paper mill near the bridges we had to guard. We often had to repair telephone lines that had deliberately been cut. I don’t know if that was done by German sympathizers or people forced into it by them. »

F Company was not only one to take up position near the Meuse as of December 26. The Regimental headquarters occupied Chatel-Chéhéry, the 1/513PIR set up in Omicourt, the 2/513PIR in Stenay, and the 3/513PIR in Verdun. Once in place, the division relieved the 11th Armored Division which had arrived in France Shortly before.

The rigers of winter made themselves felt with thick snow, mist, damp , and below zero celcius tempratures. On New Year’s Day, at 10 :30, Tec5 Wayne DeHaven and his company left Stenay by truck for Aincreville, Meuse, where the cooks off F Company were preparing turckey to celebrate New Year.

On January 1, 1945, the regiment left France to join the front line west of Bastogne, in Belgium. It passed close to Montmédy in mid-afternoon before crossing the border on the Florenville side. Around 22 :00, the unit arrived at one mile to the north-west of Berchaux to bivouac for the night.

The next day, the men boarded trucks at Bercheux to finally arrive at 08 :30 at the crossroads formed by the main road between Neufchâteau and Bastogne and the secondary road leading to Morhet, south-west of Bastogne. This was the regiment’s assembly point prior to going up to the line. Tec5 DeHaven and his comrades figured they were nearing the front as the artillery resounded in the distance. Now on foot, they crossed the first eight of F Company’s victims : one dead and seven wounded. The paratroopers veered off towards Jodenville to the east following a narrow and winding road that had been turned into a quagmire by the snow and vehicles of the 11th Armored traveling along it earlier. The state of the terrain made it heavy going for the marching men and handcarts loaded with all the weapons and munitions. The 513PIR then passed by the hamlet of Floharmont where Lt Col. Coutts set up his first command post. The outskirts of the village of Lavaselle were littered with burnt-out vehicles, abandoned equipment, as well as the bodies of Germans and Americans frozen stiff and covered in snow. The soldiers began to realize what hell they now found themselves in. Chenogne was the last village the regiment passed through before entering the Bois de Fragotte where, shortly before midnight the 1 and 2/513PIR took up position whilst the 3/513PIR remained on standby in Jodenville.

On January 3 at 08 :00, the 2/513PIR relieved elements of the 11th Armored in the village of Mande-Saint-Etienne and the hamlet of Monty. A few hours later, coming from the north, nine enemy tank along with the infantry of 29. Panzergrenadier Refiment and mortar and artillery cover attempted to take advantage of the change of situation. However, they were pushed back after four of them succumbed to American bazooka fire. The Germans withdrew to the north-west in the woodland overhanging the area. The battalion soon found itself in quite a predicament, but had organized solid defenses by setting up road blocks on the toutes leading to Champs and Bastogne. At 18 :00, when Genral Miley gave his orders for the next day, the 513PIR constituted the right flank of the 17th Airborne Division, close to the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. A first tactical problem arose in the late aftermoon on the regiment’s left flank. It was noticed that there was an unoccupied space of half a mile separating the 1/513PIR and the 550th Infantry Airborne Battalion serving as third battalion to the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment. Liaison patrols were dispatched by the two units to secure the area.

For Wayne, the Battle of the Ardennes had begun ! The wintry weather was atrocious, with a thick carpet of snow covering the frozen ground, the sky completely overcast, and the temperature averaging 27°F. Very soon, the first case of frostbite and chilblains started arriving at the first-aid posts, even before some of the men had even been into battle. The soldiers had to keep stomping their feet the whole time just to avoid them from freezing. The lack of warm apparel was cruelly felt. Digging a foxhole for protection was agony for the soldiers shovelling frozen ground, an ordeal made worse by the total darkness prevailing under the pinde trees.

« Often we took shelter in German foxholes which were wider and better built, sometimes covered with logs, branches and vegetation. The German didn’t skimp when they made their holes. Unlike us, they’d had time to do a good job of it. »

Into battle at the height of winter

The 17th Airborne Division attacked on Thursday January 4, 1945 at 08 :15 in the bitter cold. At the crack of dawn, Lt Col. Taylor’s 1/513PIR came under artillery, mortar and machine gun fire as they struggled across fields and woodland. Panzers moving in from the north-west made matters even worse. The battalion first sought to reach the hamlet of Cochelonval situated along the main road between Marche-en-Famenne and Bastogne. From there it was to take Flamisoul, its final objective. Enemy shelling had cut off all communication with troops at the rear making any call for counter-battery fire impossible. The situation rapidly deteriorated into an impasse.

For Lt. Col. Miller’s 2/513PIR, the woods north-west of Mande were the first objective to be reached. Its F Company was at the ready in the west of the village and its D company to the east of it. Three 57-mm towed guns of the 155th Anti-aircraft Battalion came in support. In spite of the landmined zones, the two advancing companies encountered no strong opposition. But optimism soon waned in the face of growing resistance from the III/115 PzGrd Regt., 15. PzGrd Div., entrenched in woodland on the left flank and ahead of F Company. The Germans had opened such sustained fire that the paratroopers could hardly tell where it was coming from. Shots were resounding on all sides and visibility was very poor. They could progress no further. Only 2^nd Lt Charles Puckett’s platoon made it to the edge of the wood, but was pinned down by shooting from the rear. Wayne and his comrades found themselves exposed in open terrain unable to react. Lt Richard Manning’s platoon from E Company was sent in support of F Company. Lt Samuel Calhoun’s platoon took advantage of this and charged at the enemy with bayonets. In some forty-five minutes, they had swept through the woods and captured twenty-three prisoners. This intervention allowed DeHaven’s unit to reorganize what men it still had ! Now that they could cross the woodland, the first objective was reached at 11 :30. Forging ahead, the men of F Company crossed another wood and destroyed two enemy tanks using Gammon grenades before reaching Flamisoul, the final objective. On the right flank, up against the II./115. PzGrd Regt., 15 PzGrd Div., D Company pressed on northward forcing the enemy out of the woodland 700 yards east of Flamisoul. Meanwhile, behind the front line, German tanks were approaching Mande from the east, but finally turned back when they unexpectedly found themselves facing three 57mm guns.

At 14 :30, Lt Col Coutts, having advanced his command post into the Bois des valets, decided to halt his regiment’s attack to avoid putting it into needless jeopardy. Given the difficulties encountered by the 1/513PIR south of the main road and its heavy losses, it was replaced by the 3/513PIR. Taylor’s battalion returned to the Boid de Fragotte it had left that very morning and also spread out to the Bois des Valets. Meantime, Miller had received orders to halt his advance and safeguard the ground gained by digging defensive positions. This meant excluding from combat the rest of E Company on standby in the south-eastern part of the village. The battalion was indeed in very bad shape, for what few men it still had been dispersed, munitions were lacking, and enemy artillery was regularly shelling their location. A German sniper up in Mande’s bell tower was threattening the soldiers carrying a radio or equipment, as well as the battalion’s command post set up on a farm north-west of the church and cemetery. American artillery put paid to this threat despite the heavy snow storm and reduced visibility. Many men had to be evacuated to the rear lines, but this could only be done after nightfall. The first-aid post south of the village soon ran out of medical supplies and plasma as the numbers of wounded grew.

By late afternoon, although it had stopped snowing. Tec5 DeHaven’s company was in an untenable position up against the German attack lanched from Flamièrge to the north-west. The two platoons entrenched between Flamisoul and Mande took the brunt of it and retreated south-west of the village. They passed through E Company which was also withdrawing. E Company was thus left as the last line of the village’s defense. Until 23 :00, this withdrawal took place in stages and small groups in an attempt to slow down the attack. However, since there were no signs of life from the men having reached Flamisoul, they were presumed to have been taken prisoner. In Mande, F Company had paid a very high price. Of the one action ! The final toll was sixteen killed, thirty-five wounded, and ten evacuated due to frostbite. That still left six officers and ninety-five troopers.

In a few hours, both Taylor and Miller’s battalions had suffered heavy losses, were shell-shocked and in total disarray. All in all, the 513PIR had five hundred and thirty men no longer fit for combat ! This first engagement also meant having to reorganize the front line : under cover of the night, the 193GIR positioned itself east of Mande-Saint-Etienne to support the stricken regiment.

During the night, in freezing cold, some supplieds did manage to reach the village despite several enemy attempts to infiltrate. These were fought off with rifles, grenades, and a knife-point. The attack plan for 08 :15 the next day involved replacing D Company by E Company to pressure the enemy located in the woodland ahead of F Company. The position had to be held and consolidated before advancing towards Flamisoul. No easy task in heavy snowfall, mist, and visibility down to about a hundred yards.

As of the morning of January 5, Wayne DeHaven’s battalion came under attack several times from the Panzergrnadiers and tanks moving in from Flamièrge, backed up by the Nebelwerfers and artillery. They approached the American lines, but were pushed back with bazookas and 81-mm mortars. Braving the blizzard, the 513PIR reorganized and set up patrols to check out enemy positions. The sky was still too overcast to permit airborne intervention. At night, the American artillery bombed the hills north of Flamierge to keep the enemy forces at bay. This was probably when Wayne accompanied an artillery observer to spy on the Germans.

 « I was ordered to leave the village and go to the top of the hill with a comrade and an artillery observer. We found a good foxhole next to a tree that the observer climbed into. As he scouted around giving me coordinates, we came under fire. He jumped out of the tree into the  hole my shell-shocked comrade was in. We carried him back to the rear to safety. »

F Company that day lost only ten men, killed, wounded or evacuated due to frostbite.

On January 6, the American deployment was as follows : the 1/513PIR was entrenched in the northern part of the Bois des Valets, the 2/513PIR occupied the east of the Bois des Valets and the west of the Bois de Fragotte following its recent withdrawal from Mande and Monty, whereas the 3/513PIR took the zone between Monty and the Bois de Fragotte. Eleven tanks of the 11AD arrived to support the paratroopers, but could not hold out long as the German response was so fierce and four of them were lost. That day Wayne’s company lost eight men. The second order to attack reached Lt Col. Coutts in the evening. The next day, his regiment was to set out north-west to seize the village of Flamièrge and the uplands south of the main road. A few hours prior to this new offensive, Wayne was preparing for action with what he had.

 « I didn’t have much because my kit-bag had vanished since leaving Chibolton. I had my uniform on under a long woolen coat ; I was wearing several pairs of socks and woolen gloves. For equipment, I only had the SCR-300 radio and a .45 caliber automatic pistol. I was wearing just my jump boots, but my feet never got too wet. I think guys from Minnesota and the northem states of the US were far more resistant to the cold, unlike men from the south who complained a lot. The C-rations weren’t great but edible, as were the K-rations. I especially liked the spaghetti and chili. I smoked cigarettes supplied with the K-rations, but I never did understand why there were no matches ! »

A day etched in his flesh

On Sunday January7 at 09 :00, after an artillery preparation, the 513PIR left its positions and set out from Bois de Fragotte and Bois des Valets towards its new objectives : Flamièrge and hill 510. That day weather conditions defied the imagination. A fresh layer of snow knee-deep in places had fallen during the night, the clouds very low with constant fog severely reducing visibility and the temperature close to 21°F !

The 2/513PIR remained on stanby in the woods ready to intervene, whilst the 1/513PIR progressed south of the main road heading for hill 510. The 3/513PIR, marching north of the road, set course for Flamièrge. Heading this latter unit was Major Morris Anderson who had taken over command from the recently injured Lt. Col. Kent. To facilitate the progression and make for speeder movement, the men were ordered to carry only the strictest minimum by way of equipment. And there would be no aerial support due to the thick low cloud. Once they had been spotted, the men became the target of German mortars, machine guns and artillery. In spite of this, Anderson managed to enter Flamièrge at 11 :55. Five minutes later, the enemy counterattacked with tanks waiting in ambush to the north of the village and from Flamisoul. The two battalions found themselves up against the Remer Brigade, an element of the SS Führer Begleite Brigade, as well as the III/29. Pzgrd. Regt. In Flamierge, the very heavy onslaught forced the American to retreat.

However, Lt Col. Coutts remained confident and confirmed the order to the 1/513PIR to take the uplands. On the way, this battalion did destroy three German armored tanks, but was unable to continue its advance owing mainly to the losses suffered on January 4.

Coutts dispatched the 2/513PIR to support the effort, but it was soon attacked by the II/15. Pzgrd. Regt. On its flank and a Kampfgruppe of the 9. Pz. Div. Up in front. The company’s headquarters and D and F Companies remained south of the road, with only E Company crossing to the north side.

Each kept up the fighting as it advanced in skirmish lines. As they neared the hilltop, the gun fire and Nebelwerfers shelling gradually intensified, chuming uo the fields which were by now strewn with bodies and pieces of equipment. The snow was bloodstained in various places and the medics were rushing to gather up the wounded. Often the men could only hole up in a small ditch or the bed of a stream as the terrain offered little else by way of shelter. Still, it was better to keep moving than to stay put and at the mercy of fate. Like several comrades, Tec5 DeHaven found himself under bombardment :

« We were marching close to  the road when the bullets hit the ground by my foot. The German doing the shooting was perched on a telegraph pole, but was killed by my squad. When large-bore shells started to fall, my pal Neal Haggard figured we’d been spotted by an enemy artillery observer. I was busy transmitting a message for Captain Reynolds at the rear to tell the rear we were stuck close to a farm. Neal was next to me keeping a look out to protect our headquarters group that was following 2^nd Lt. Puckett’s platoon. A mortar or 88-mm shell then exploded right up cose to us. I immediately sensed all was not well. I heard it whizzing past and the explosion went off in mye ars as loud as Big Ben. I slid the radio off my shoulders when Edward Dahlberg and Willis Grice came running to help me. Thay saw that bits of shrapnel had pierced my helmet in several places. There was a big hole at the back and several others everywhere. But, thank God, I was alive ! Neal picked up the radio to continue the mission, but it took him only a few seconds to realize that it was riddled with shrapnel and the top control panel had been smashed. My radio was dead, cut almost in half, but it probably saved my life by taking most of the hits. Soon after that, I was evacuated by ambulance to a first-aid post. »

It was not until that artillery barrage had ceased and Wayne got injured that the lead platoon of F Company reached the crossroads formed by the main road and the one leading to Flamièrge to the north. On the left, there was a sunken road leading to a small rectangular wood, which was the unit’s objective. The hilltop and fields up to it later became known in the 17th Airborne Division’s history as Dead Man’s Ridge. Indeed, the previous day, several unseccessful attempts had caused the death of many within the 194GIR and 513PIR.

Despite the presence of Germans holed up on hill 510, Taylor’s men did conque rit, with those of the 2/513PIR following at their heels. The 3/513PIR was meantime still battling against self-propelled guns and tanks to retake the village, which it managed to do at 17 :15. Taking these two objectives had, however, created a salient in the front line that could prove fatal to paratroopers caught in a stranglehold and isolated from the rest of the division. Anderson’s men made ready to resist by preparing a system of defense. Having understood this predicament, the enemy tried all night to drive out the Americans by attacking on their three flanks with tanks and infantry. For all, the falling snow and bitter cold was an added hazard as the warm clothing had been left at the departure positions that morning. During this important second day of combat, F Company lost twelve soldiers, including the wounded Tec5 Wayne DeHaven.

Wounded, but the History did not stop there

As Wayne was being evacuated from the front line to a field hospital for treatment, his comrades of F Company battled on under very harsh winter conditions against an enemy ever determinated to resist. On January 8, 1945, his regiment was forced to retreat and abandon the territory gained the day before to avoid being wiped out by the Germans. In the following days and weeks, the 513PIR finally succeeded in advancing north-eastward in pursuit of the enemy troops carrying out a general withdrawal up to the German border. In February, the regiment went on to combat in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, along the Our River, in a bid to create a bridgehead in Germany before it was pulled out for rest, leave and training in preparation for Operation Varsity. This large-scale operation took place on March 24, 1945, on the bank of the Rhine between Hamminkeln and Wesel, in Westphalia, Germany. Coutt’s unit suffered losses, but successfully completed its mission. For a month, the regiment rapidly advanced up to Münster driving out the collapsing German troops. After two months spent as the occupying force in Oberhausen, in the Ruhr, the regiment’s soldiers were transferred to Tantonville, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France, prior to their return to the United States or redeployment on the Pacific front.

From one hospital to another on the way back to civilian life

The shrapnel injuries sustained by Tec5 Wayne DeHaven were superficial, with no severed nerve or artery, which meant he was classed as slightly wounded. His head wounds were treated with penicillin to prevent infection. He underwent surgery for removal of the shrapnel lodged between his shoulders and lower back. This and his lengthy convalescence in several military hospitals excluded his return to F Company.

 « After I’d been evacuated from te battlefield on January 7, 1945, I was taken to a field hospital not far from the front, might have been in Bastgne, but I can’t say or sure. That’s where surgeons removed the bits of shrapnel. The next day I was already ablt to get up and walk. There I spent a few days and got to meet up with some of my comrades in arms who’d also been wounded. I was then taken to a first convalescence hospital, then a second one in Paris, which gave me a chance to see the Eiffel Tower. I wrote to my mother saying I’d been injured, but in good health. My letter reached her before the army’s office noticd did ! I then went by boat to England and soon after that I was able to board a ship bound for New York. On April 12, 1945, during the Atlantic crossing, I learned the death of President Roosevelt. After a change of course, I finally docked in Boston, a little disappointed I hadn’t got to see the Statue of Liberty ! On arrival, oneof the first things I did was phone my mother so she’d know I was back. I continued having treatment at the 91st Schick General Hospital in Clinton, Iowa. Though I did have quite a long time there, I did get medical leave to stay for a while with my parents. The hospital at Battle Creek, Michigan, was the last convalescence plase I was in before being demobilized as disabled on October 7, 1945. The ay I see it, all those days spent in hospital were furloughed as there wasn’t much to do to pass the time. I was asked what I wanted to do after I left the army. To avoid re-enlistment I replied I wanted to be a farmer and to drive agricultural machinery. I figured the army wouldn’t need farmers to keep it going ! »

Wayne was officially pronounced fully recovered a few days before his discharge after two hundred and seventy-three days spent in military hospitals, ninety of which overseas. Despite all the surgery, some fragments of shrapnel between his shoulders and lower back remain with him to this day !

On June 12, 1945, whilist on medical leave, Wayne DeHaven proposed marriage to his girlfriend Delores Otto, daughter of German immigrants. They had met at a dance hall in Saint Paul when he was on leave from training in the United States. Dolores’ cousin, who was also there, had gone to the same school as Wayne. The young lady asked her cousin to introduce them so that’s how they first met. At the time, Dolores was employed in a subcontracting factory of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing that was also working for the war effort. After he was demobilized, Wayne took the train back to Saint Paul to resume civilian life and join his fiancée. They were married on September 19, 1946, at Saint-Bernard Catholic Church in Saint-Paul, and settled in Roseville in a house opposite that Dolores’ parents. In 1951, the couple built a home of their own, still in Roseville, on land given to them by the Otto parents. They had three children : Sharon, born on August 29, 1947, Gloria, on December 9, 1949, and Wayne Junior, on June 9, 1951. The couple also has five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. To this day, sixty-five years on, Wayne and Dolores still live in the same house. After the war, the eteran paratrooper worked for a short time at Martin’s Bakery, and after that at Cottage Donuts, at Central Warehouse, and in the Roseville School District as a custodian. That as his last job before his retirement in 1985.

At the many get-togethers, he has attended with his veteran comrades of the 17th Airborne Division Association these past decades, he often spoke of his desire to return to Europe and revisit the places he had been to in 1944 and 1945. He never thought his wish would come true until the chance to do so came along completely unexpectedly. Accompanied by his son Wayne Jr., this trip of a liftime took place at the end of March 2016, as he approached his 93rd birthday. Wayne is also a member of the following patriotic associations : Veterans of Foreign Wars, Americal Legion, Disabled American Veterans and the Military Order of Purple Heart.

Technician Fifth Grade Wayne H DeHaven is credited with the following campaign : « Ardennes-Alsace ». He is the recipient of the following decorations : Parachutist Badge, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Purple Heart Medal, Good Conduct Medal, American Theater Medal and European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal with one Bronze Star.