14-098 Garand Picture/video of the Day - 97 Inf Div

[Mark in Rochester]

Pictures courtesy of Harold Yeglin
Siegburg, Germany, April 9-10, 1945. Communications point is set up and riflemen of 97th Infantry Division protect a point in newly captured Siegburg, Germany.


Ruhr Pocket in Germany, April 1945. Walking single file through a German victory garden at Mulheim, Germany,
infantrymen of the 97th Division prepare to move northward toward the Rhine River. The army's after-action report on the
Battle of the Ruhr Pocket identifies 3rd Battalion of 303rd Regiment as unit involved at Mulheim.




97th Infantry Division was credited with firing the last official shot in the European Theatre of Operations
during World War II. This shot was fired by PFC Domenic Mozzetta of Company B,
387th Infantry Regiment,
97th Division, at a German sniper near Klenovice, Czechoslovakia shortly before midnight, 7 May 1945

97th Infantry Division Monument Was Dedicated
October 12, 2000 at Fort Benning, Georgia
The 97th Infantry Division was credited with firing the last official shot in the European Theatre of Operations during World War II. This shot was fired by Company B, 387 Regiment on the night of May 7th, 1945 near Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, ending the greatest war in the history of mankind (Pfc. Domenic Mozzetta of Company B, 387th Infantry Regiment, 97th Division, fired at a German sniper near Klenovice, Czechoslovakia shortly before midnight, May 7, 1945.). At a recent reunion, a committee of WWII Veterans from Company B concluded that an appropriate marker, to commemorate the “Last Shot”, be erected in the Memorial Park at Ft. Benning, Georgia. This monument will serve to preserve the memory of the historic role played by the 97th Infantry Division in that conflict. The memorial is made of black granite with a bas relief of an M-1 rifle, symbolic of laying down of arms and the end of war. Appropriate inscriptions are shown on the sides recognizing all military services that contributed in bringing the WWII hostilities to an end. The committee raised the funds from individual veterans, veterans’ organizations, businesses and other organizations. The monument was erected and was dedicated October 12, 2000. Homer Knight, of B Company, 387th Infantry, made the Dedication speech.

A SPECIAL NOTE:
Domenic Mozzetta who fired last shot in Europe suffered from Alzheimer's Disease and passed away 18 Dec 2001.
We have been advised by a member of the 387th Inf.: "Homer (Knight) informs that the rifleman credited with firing the "last shot" on the knight of 7 May 1945, in Czechoslovakia has passed away. He was Dominic Mozzetta of Co "B" of the 387th, of which Homer Knight was the Commanding Officer. Dominic, in recent years, had suffered from alzheimers and was unable to be present when the monument was dedicated".

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