James Chippy Gergon
The Keystone Division
28th infantry division,
110th regiment, Company L. U.S. Army
Keystone Uniform Patch
110th
Regiment Bocage France
We often
wonder what our Fathers or Grandfathers experienced during World War II. Where
were they, what battles did they fight in, and what little bit of history did
they contribute to that made a difference to our world today. Such is the story
of James Chippy Grdgon [Gergon]. We know from a published newspaper article
dated 22 August 1944 that he served with the 28th Division (Keystone
Division),110th regiment company L. The Germans called them the
bloody bucket because of the patch they wore on their uniforms. We know that he
spent time in different states for training, and then Wales and England. Most
noteworthy is his involvement in the battle of Normandie in the liberation of a
place called Percy. This is where James was wounded at; or near Percy, France on
31 July 1944 as reported in the Indiana Evening Gazette, 22 August 1944. This
on the heels of losing a brother John who was killed by Japanese bombs on May
6, 1942. The anxiety that his battle wounds caused his mother we do not know.
His mother Katherine was a Member of the Gold Star Mothers and at that time had
4 maybe 5 stars displayed in her window in Blairsville Pennsylvania. We do know
that James returned, healed, had a family and lived a productive life. Enjoy
the history and honor James Chippy Gergon’s service always. The price of
Freedom is not free but paid for in the service of our military Veterans.
28th Infantry Division – “Keystone”,
“Bloody Bucket”
The Keystone division, named for its
origins as a Pennsylvania National Guard unit, did not land in Normandy until
22 July. It was committed to the St. Lo battles and the breakthrough of Operation Cobra. Fighting
through the hedgerows they saw only modest advances against dug in and
determined enemies. They took Percy on 1 August closing a key staging point for
German troops attempting to breakout.
28th Infantry Division
US Infantry advance along a canal Order of Battle – 28th Infantry Division
109th Infantry Regiment
110th Infantry
Regiment
112th Infantry Regiment
Support
107th Field Artillery Battalion
109th Field Artillery Battalion
229th Field Artillery Battalion
108th Field Artillery Battalion (155mm)
728th Reconnaissance Troop (mechanized)
103rd Engineer Combat Battalion.[1]
Near St. Lo France
July, 1944
Clearing the Bocage July, 1944
Operation Cobra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation Cobra
M4 and M4A3 Sherman
tanks and infantrymen of the US 4th Armored Division in Coutances
Part of Operation Overlord (the
Battle of Normandy)
Invasion of Normandy
Operation Cobra was the codename for
an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the
D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II. American
Lieutenant General Omar Bradley's intention was to take advantage of the German
preoccupation with British and Canadian activity around the town of Caen, and
immediately punch through the German defenses that were penning in his troops
while the Germans were distracted and unbalanced. Once a corridor had been
created, the First Army would then be able to advance into Brittany, rolling up
the German flanks and freeing itself of the constraints imposed by operating in
the Norman bocage countryside. After a slow start the offensive gathered
momentum, and German resistance collapsed as scattered remnants of broken units
fought to escape to the Seine. Lacking the resources to cope with the
situation, the German response was ineffectual, and the entire Normandy front
soon collapsed. Operation Cobra, together with concurrent offensives by the
Second British and First Canadian Armies, was decisive in securing an Allied
victory in the Normandy Campaign.
Having been delayed several times by
poor weather, Operation Cobra commenced on 25 July with a concentrated aerial
bombardment from thousands of Allied aircraft. Supporting offensives had drawn
the bulk of German armored reserves toward the British and Canadian sector, and
coupled with the general lack of men and materiel available to the Germans, it
was impossible for them to form successive lines of defense. Units of VII Corps
led the initial two-division assault while other First Army corps mounted
supporting attacks designed to pin German units in place. Progress was slow on
the first day, but opposition started to crumble once the defensive crust had
been broken. By 27 July, most organized resistance had been overcome, and VII
and VIII Corps were advancing rapidly, isolating the Cotentin peninsula.
By 31 July, XIX Corps had destroyed
the last forces opposing the First Army, and Bradley's troops were finally
freed from the bocage. Reinforcements were moved west by Field Marshal Günther
von Kluge and employed in various counterattacks, the largest of which
(codenamed Operation Lüttich) was launched on 7 August between Mortain and
Avranches. Although this led to the bloodiest phase of the battle, it was
mounted by already exhausted and understrength units and had little effect
other than to further deplete von Kluge's forces. On 8 August, troops of the
newly activated Third United States Army captured the city of Le Mans, formerly
the German Seventh Army's headquarters. Operation Cobra transformed the
high-intensity infantry combat of Normandy into rapid maneuver warfare, and led
to the creation of the Falaise pocket and the loss of the German position in
northwestern France.
Percy, France 2
August 1944
Sources
[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=110th+infantry+regiment+28th+infantry+division&biw=1600&bih=763&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=dEBYVJexMIj8igK_yIGwDw&ved=0CEYQsAQ Accessed 3 Nov. 2014
http://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/eise/Military/WWII_normandy_VEday/GISt-Lo-July-1944.html
Accessed 3 November 2014.
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=297680 Accessed 3 November 2014.
1. Operation Cobra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cobra
o
o
Wikipedia
Operation Cobra was the codename for an
offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day
landings, during the Normandy ...
Background - Planning - Allied offensive - Aftermath
[1]
NARA, National Archives Identifier:
6928098
Local Identifier:
111-SC-192267-A
Creator(s):
Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office
of the Chief Signal Officer. (09/18/1947
- 02/28/1964) (Most Recent)
From:
Series : Signal Corps Photographs of American Military
Activity, compiled 1754 - 1954
Record Group 111: Records of the Office of the Chief
Signal Officer, 1860 – 1985, Photograph of Infantrymen Moving into the Town of
Percy, France, 08/02/1944,
http://research.archives.gov/description/6928098 accessed 3 November 2014.
Amazing how the footprints of our fathers crossed in Europe during WWII.
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