8 April 2022 Garand Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

Advance Guard of US 29th Infantry Division entering St. Lo 1944

My Wifes Uncle Al was in this unit - wounded by artillery that morning. He was D-Day +1 and was forever changed by what he saw on Omaha Beach.



On the morning of July 17, Major Thomas Dry Howie phoned Major General Charles Gerhardt, the Division Commander saying “Yes, we can do it” and "See you in St. Lo!"; then issued orders for the attack. Moments later he was killed by shrapnel during a mortar attack. The next day, the 3rd Battalion entered Saint-Lô, with Howie's body on the hood of the lead jeep, at Gerhardt's order, so that Howie would be the first American to enter the town. The flag-draped body was placed in the rubble of the St. Croix Cathedral and soldiers filed past in a show of respect, local citizens came out and placed flowers at the site.

Major Thomas Dry Howie

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.