Seventy Years Ago This Week - June 1944: This highlight is from the memoirs of COL Harold Samsel. He was the operations officer of the 117th Cavalry at this time. On June 1, 1944, the 117th Cavalry was attached to the First Special Service Force. Their mission was to seize the town of Collaferro and cut off a sizeable number of German forces. Many were captured. On 2 June 1944, the Squadron was approaching the outskirts of Rome from the southwest. The last town before the Eternal City was Valmontone. The battle lasted for 3 days before crashing into what was left of this town of 10,000 Italians. On the morning of June 5th advanced from the northeast and entered the heart of Rome at around 5PM in the afternoon. The scenes were unbelievable as millions of Italians completely swarmed throughout Rome, climbed into our tanks and armored cars. It was our first great experience as true liberators of an oppressed population. On 6 June, many Americans attended mass in St. Peters Basilica celebrated by the Pope. Speaking in English, he expressed the heartfelt thanks of the Italian people to the brave Allied Army that had freed their great city from the Nazis. June 5th found the 102nd Cavalry Group and 102nd Cavalry Squadron on LSTs (Landing Ship Tank) sailing from Cornwall England across the English Channel as part of the greatest armada ever launched against a hostile shore. They arrived off Omaha Beach on D-Day June 6,1944. They witnessed the 29th Infantry Division’s assault on the beach that history would call Bloody Omaha. On June 8th LST #16 carrying Troop C debarked on Omaha Easy Red Beach between St. Laurent-Sur-Mere and Isigny. The 102nd had completed its debarkation and moved into assembly area by the early hours of June 9th. They received their first combat mission on June 10th. Thus would begin the long march that would lead the 102nd Cavalry Group through the boscages of Normandy, into Paris, through the Siegfried Line, across the Rhine and to a historic meeting with the Russians on the Elbe River.
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 18:03:10 +0000
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