Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume], July 19, 1945, SECTION B, Page 1, Image 13

About Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1931-1948

Image provided by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC

                
SECTION "B" SECTION "B"
9 DIAL R-326 ALL DEPTS._THURSDAY, JULY 19,1945_SECTION B—PAGE I
Distinguished Unit Citation
Awarded Sasser's Outfit
The 313th Field Artillery Battal
ion, then under the command of
Lt. Colonel Frederick W. Ellery,
Riverside, Cal., crossed the Moselle
River in France September 12,
1944 over the first assault bridge
to give close support to the In
fantry and in four days battling
against incessant German attempts
to overrun its positions wrote one
<®bf the most gallant epics of Am
erican artillery annals. The bat
talion's official citation, dated
April 10 1945, reads in part:
“On 12 September, 1944, the 313th
Field Artillery Battalion crossed
the Moselle River to positions in
the vicinity of Bezaumont. That
night and the following four days
the forces that crossed the river
were repeatedly attacked by tanks
and infantry supported by artillery,
fjmortars, and machine guns. These
attacks were in all cases repulsed,
on two occasions only after pene
tration of the firing positions ot
the 313th Field Artillery Battalion.
On 14 September the situation be
came critical. An attack by enemy
infantry and tanks, supported by
heavy concentrations of mortar
and artillery, was directed against
our lines. The attack suceeded in
penetrating deep into our posi
/jjtioas. Without hesitation and based
upon sound plan, all men of the
313th Field Artillery Battalion,
including Service Battery and
Headquarters personnel, except the
minimum necessary to serve the
pieces, were deployed as infantry
Making use of bazookas, machine
guns, carbines, and their primary
weapons, the 313th Field Artillery
Battalion, from their defensive
positions, repulsed the attack with
^out the loss of materiel. Two
^enemy tanks were destroyed in
this action. The 313th Field Ar
tillery Battalion was the only artil
lery unit east of the Moselle
River during the period 12-16 Sept
ember 1944. During these four days
the battery positions were repeat
edly subjected to small arms, ma
chine gun, mortar and artillery
fire.
During tne eariy morning nours
#of 16 September 1944, an attack by
tanks and infantry, directed prin
cipally against the left (north) of
the front lines, was repulsed by
the infantry supported by the 313th
Field Artillery Battalion and other
artillery with the Division (from
positions west of the Moselle), but
only after the enemy had infil
trated to the rear of the 313th
Field Artillery Battalion and some
infantry elements had been forced
back across the river. The 313tli
9 Field Artillery Battalion distin
guished itself in battle by extra
ordinary heroism, exhibited such
gallantry, determination, and ■ es
pprite de corps as to set it apart
and above units participating in
the same engagement. The magni
ficent courage and devotion to
duty display cu UJ au uicmucia ui
the 313th Field Artillery Battalion
are a credit and inspiration to the
armed forces of the United States.”
After compiling a brilliant re
cord in pre-embarkation maneuv
ers the 313th Field Artillery Bat
talion unlimbered its guns for the
first time on Continent in support
of the 317th. Infantry’s advance in
to the French city of Argentan to
close, the Argentan-Faiaise Gap.
Day and night the battalion’s 106’s
ss__ -r-■ ___ .. .... . •
hurled destruction into the ever
thinning ranks of the battered
German Seventh Army.
Dashing across France with
other 80th "Blue Ridge” units in
the vanguard of General George
S. Patton’s Third Army, the bat
talion followed up the bloody
Moselle fighting by blasting the
way out of the bridgehead and
supporting the infantry’s attacks
in the campaign to outflank Metz.
Sweeping across the Lorraine
plain the Artillerymen set up their
howitzers to smash through the
“Incincible” Maginot Line into the
mineral rich Saar Basin and as
sist in the seizure of St. Avoid.
When vin Runstedt’s winter of
fensive broke through Luxembourg
into Belgium the Artillerymen
roared northward 150 miles to sup
port the 80th Division’s attacks
against the southern flank of the
Bulge after successfully shielding
Luxembourg City. Upholding their
battle-coined Division motto, “The
80th Only Moves Forward,” the
honored battalion went on to sup
port the assault crossings of the
Our and Sauer Rivers, twice threw
its destructive fire into the Sieg
fried Line, and added its weight
to the fall of the 80th Division
and the Third Army of such key
German cities as Bitburg, St.
W(endel, Kaiserslautern, Weisbad
en, Kassel, Erfurt, Weimar, Jena,
and Gera. V-E Day found the
battalion south of the Danube
after the Third Army’s south
eastward shift and across the Inn
River at Braunau, Hitler’s birth
place, deep in the heart of the
Austrian Alpine region.
The 313th Field Artillery Bat
! Devil Dog Retrievers I
Corporal Perry P. Norsworthy (left) of Padncah, Ky., and Private
First Class John A. Faglione of YVceliawkDn, N. J„ dig into mud
and water on the outskirts cf Naha to reclaim ammunition for
Leatherneck 105mm guns. Both men are with the Sixth Marine
Division on Okinawa. (U. S. Marine Corps Photo)
talion is commanded by Lt. Col
onel James McM. Shepherd, RFD
11, Richmond, Va., and Major
James P. Strauss, 143 Erie Ave.,
Decatur, 111., is Battalion Executive
Officer.
Warning Given
On Brucellosis
The critical meat shortage
should be an incentive for farm
ers to be increasingly alert to the
prevalence of swine brucellosis.
When sows fail to breed, or when
pigs are born dead, or die shortly
after birth, brucellosis should be
suspected. In such cases, the ani
mals should be blood tested, and
reactors should be fattened and
disposed of — or if the herd is
badly infected, it may be well to
dispose of the whole drove and
make a fresh start.
In France there is an ivy vine
so old its stem is 40 inches in
diameter. Just thought you might
like to know.
We permit Germans in Nazi uni
form to direct traffic and guard
doors. No wonder they still hope
to make suckers of us.
Tobacco Crop Is
Reported Larger
North Carolina’s 1945 tobacco
crop is now expected to be ap
proximately 3 percent larger than
for last year. Prospective produc
tion, based on conditions of the
crop on July 1, was placed at 774,
875.000 pounds as compared with
755.606.000 for the 1944 season.
This is the second largest crop
on record, being exceeded only in
1939 when farmers produced 821,
207.000 pounds of tobacco. Prelimi
nary reports indicate that North
Carolina producers planted around
728.000 acres of tobacco this year
—5 percent more than grown in
1944. All belts within the State
showed an upturn from a year
ago. This year’s acreage is the
fourth largest on record, being
exceeded in 1929, 1930, and 1939.
Stands are generally goocT
throughout the State. Although
plant growth is somewhat irregu
lar, the crop was much further
advanced on the first of July than
at the same time a year ago. The
number of leaves per plant for
extra early tobacco is less than
average, but a gain in weight per
leaf is expected to ooffset part
of this loss. The outlook for to
bacco transplanted somewhat later,
however, is very promising.
Cool weather, followed by high
temperatures and deficient mois
ture, held back the crop at the
first of the season. Rainfall since
mid-June, however, has been very
favorable in the Border Belt and
in eastern North Carolina and crop
prospects improved rapidly. Earn
ing is well underway in the Bor
der Belt and is becoming fairly
general in eastern counties.
I Glad you drifted over... Have a Coke I
... refreshment time for the younger set
Wherever the gang gets together, those friendly words Have a Coke
play a big part in the fun and refreshment. Whether it’s served from
the family refrigerator or from a bucket of ice down at the pier,
Coca-Cola draws a smile from everyone. Be sure to keep a supply
j of Coca-Cola on hand.
, BOTTLED UNDER AUTHORITY OP THE COCA-COLA COtlPANT BY/
WELDON COCA-COLA BOTTLING WORKS, Inc
i \
Pfc. Louis E. Sasser, 414 Mon
roe Street, Roanoke Rapids, is a
rnember of the 80th “Blue Ridge”
^Infantry Division's 313 Field Artil
lery Battalion, which recently re
ceived the coveted War Depart
ment Distinguished Unit Citation
in the name of the late President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, as announc
ed in orders of the War Depart-!
ment, Washington, D. C., signed
by Chief of Staff General of the
Armies George C. Marshall. The
decoration accompanying the cita
tion is a gold framed blue ribbon,
wivorn on the right chest, the only
American decoration so worn.