“The Old Gray Mare”

Based on information from Harry Kemp’s book “The Regiment”

The 109^th was federalized on February 17^th, 1941 at Fort Indiantown Gap, PA.  Before being shipped overseas, the 109^th took part in the Louisiana, Virginia, and the Carolina maneuvers.  The 109^th trained at Camp Livingston, Camp Carrabelle, Camp Picket, and Camp Gordon Johnston before heading to Wales in October of 1943.  In April of 1944, the Regiment was moved to Wiltshire, England.  In April, the 28^th Division was transferred from Bradley’s First Army to Patton’s Third Army, thus giving Patton an amphibious trained division in case problems arose when the Third Army followed the First Army’s beach landing.  This is why the 28^th Division did not participate in the D-Day landings.  The Regiment landed in France on July 20, 1944 to begin their fighting in the Hedgerows.  After the capture of Gathemo on August 10th, the Regiment took part in the closing of the Falaise Gap to entrap the fleeing Germans.  A highlight came on August 19^th; the Regiment went through their first hot shower since arriving in Europe on July 20^th.  After the capture of Le Neubourg, the Regiment took part in the parade celebrating the liberation of Paris with a parade down the Champs Elysee on August 29^th.  From Paris, the Maremen made their way into Belgium, Luxembourg and onto the Siegfried Line at Sevenig by mid-September, all in eleven days.

            After Sevenig, the men advanced onto Roscheid and took heavy casualties in their efforts to capture Hill 515 and Kopp Hill on September 18^th and 19^th.  The rest of the month was a period of reduced combat operations, which gave the Regiment time to replace worn equipment and absorb troop replacements, consisting of 40 officers and 981 enlisted men.  A highlight for the men came on September 30^th when the Red Cross “Donutmobile” arrived in their area.  By October 3^rd, the Regiment was relocated to Elsenborn in Belgium this began a brief rest period for the Regiment.  The men then advanced eastward to attack another section of the Siegfried Line and began a time of training, re-equipping, and defensive operations on the Line.

            October and November saw the Regiment fighting in the famed Huertgen Forest.  The Regiment was now at 150 officers and 2,987 enlisted men, all of whom would be needed as they would attack Huertgen, Vossenack, and Schmidt.  During the Battle of the Huertgen, the Regiment lost 1,367; many were non-combat related victims of the weather conditions.  On November 18^th, the Regiment was relieved of its position in the forest and moved to a quieter section of the front line, the “Ardennes”.

            December 16^th, 1944 found the Regiment at the junction of the Our and Sure Rivers near Diekirch, Luxembourg.  After absorbing replacements in early December, the regiment was at about 86% strength with 150 officers and 2,817 enlisted men.  They would all be needed to defend an eight-mile front that was assigned to the 109^th.  The Regiment was pushed back, like many units, and became the southern shoulder of the “Bulge”.  The 16^th and 17^th were desperate times for the Regiment and yet they held their ground at all costs.  Company E in Fouhren was totally surrounded and continued to fight a member of Company E, Joseph Zrowka, informed his daughter that eight men survived. The eight men held the town and later received a Luxembourg medal from the mayor of the town, and a plaque with their names on it was erected in the town square. On the 17^th, the Regiment suffered casualties of five officers and 58 enlisted men.  The situation was getting so bad for the 3^rd battalion, that on the 18^th the commander ordered all of the cooks, clerks, drivers, and wiremen of the battalion to their left flank for protection.  The Regiment was regrouped to a new defensive position on the southern shoulder of the Bulge.  In the first three days of the battle, the Regiment expended 280,000 rounds of rifle and machine gun ammunition.  The Regiment lost over 500 officers and men as casualties within those first three days.  December 23^rd brought a brief rest for the Regiment as it was relieved from its front line duties.  The next day it would be on the move to push the Germans back and regain the lost ground.  The battle was over for the Regiment late on December 26^th, as they were pulled out of the line with the rest of the 28^th Division.  During the entire month of December, the Regiment suffered 1,174 casualties. 

            January found the Regiment on the Meuse River in France, at this time the Regiment received 921 replacements.  The Regiment was transferred from their quiet area to the Voges Mountains to help push the Germans out of the Colmar Pocket and back across the Rhine River.  The men would have to contend with the bitter cold and heavy snowfall of the mountains, and also the enemy.  During the month of January, most of the 185 non-battle casualties were caused by frostbite.  The end of the month found the Regiment in a line just north of Colmar ready for the advance.  Colmar was liberated on February 2^nd at a cost of 125 casualties, by the 9^th the Regiment was at the banks on the Rhine River and the Colmar Pocket was closed.  The next week was spent absorbing replacements and new equipment.  The Regiment was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for their actions in the Colmar Pocket. 

            On February 19^th the Regiment was moving north to Schleiden, Germany, they were in position by the 24^th and ready to take the town.  By March 7^th, Schleiden was in the hands of the 109^th and the shooting part of the war was over for the Maremen.  From March 8^th to April 21^st, the Regiment was moved around to different rear areas since other forward moving divisions squeezed them out.  This time period brought extra training for the Maremen to keep them in shape for their next possible assignment, Japan.   The end of March found the Regiment scattered in Stolberg, Dirmerzheim, Sinzig, and Monschau, providing security and occupation details.  At this time, the Regimental Red Cross director was able to establish USO shows in the area for the Regiment.  Many others were getting passes for Paris, Brussels, and the French Riviera.  Another sign of the coming peace came on April 2^nd, when camouflage nets were ordered removed from the helmets. On April 10^th, the Regiment was reunited in Bardenberg, Germany and began to administer camps for the Displaced Persons (DP) until the 20th.  From the end of April until July 4th, the Regiment was at Kircheimbolandem, Germany providing security and other occupation details; morale was very high at this time.  On April 30^th, orders came down that all officers had to wear neckties and that Hitler had committed suicide. 

            May 8^th, VE Day, was a clear and warm day as the Regiment continued with its occupation duties.  The policy of sending men to units not scheduled

for the Pacific Theater based on their Adjusted Service Rating points began. These men were replaced with those who had not earned enough points to be discharged.  On June 26^th, the Regiment received orders to be prepared to move; the 28^th Division was slated to go to the Pacific.  On July 8^th, the Regiment arrived at Camp Pittsburgh, near Reims, France to prepare for the departure from Europe, and on the 25^th training took place on the identification of the Japanese Army uniforms and fighting methods.  The Regiment began to sail from France on the 28^th and by August 7^th all parts of the Regiment had arrived in New York.  Within a couple of days, everyone in the Regiment was given a 30-day pass for some R&R at home with orders to report to Camp San Luis Obispo, California at the end of the 30 days.  With the surrender of Japan on September 2^nd, orders were changed for the men to report to Camp Shelby, Mississippi for inactivation. By mid-September everyone was in Camp Shelby and began a period of training for life after the Army.  The Regiment’s Federal service ended on October 22, 1945.

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