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PRIVATE BERTON
FLOYD MITCHELL, JR
37 533 017
589th Field Artillery BN
(see
his info in 106th/589th)
&
PRIVATE ERLE C. MORRIS 37737834
in THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE 1944 |
08/04/2019
I can remember listening to my parents and grandparents talk
about World War II. I was a young child of six or seven
years. It seem like a whisper when my Grandmother Grace
would say "Sonny died in the Battle of the Bulge". When she
said that, the conversation usually stopped and things got
quiet. At the time I didn't know who "Sonny" was or anything
about the Battle of the Bulge. In later years I learned that
"Sonny" was the son of Uncle Bert and Aunt Effie Mitchell.
His remains were never recovered. Aunt Effie was an older
sister of my Grandfather John Tincher.
All through my school years we learned a lot about World War
II, however I'm not sure I even knew where the Battle of the
Bulge was other than somewhere in Europe. Keep in mind that
this was long before the Internet and the ability to
"Google" for information. I always had an interest in "Sonny
Mitchell" and why no one ever knew what happened to him.
Fast forward to around 1985. I enlisted in the Army National
Guard while still in high school in 1957 and nearly thirty
years later was now the Commander of the 35" Infantry
Division Artillery in Hutchinson, Kansas. The Command
Sergeant Major, James Morris asked me to present a long
overdue Prisoner of War Medal to his father who had served
in World War II. During a regular monthly Guard drill and
after the formation of troops. the citation was read and the
award was presented to Mr. Morris. I asked Mr. Morris to
stay for lunch and visit with us.
I recall Mr. Morris telling me about his experiences during
the war especially the Bale of the Bulge. He told me that he
was in the 1O6 Infantry Division and that the dvision had
the reputation of being the poorest equipped and eas trained
division in the U.S. Army. This certain caught my attention.
I will expand on this subject later. It was always in the
back of my mind to do further research about this battle. It
seemed that I never found time in my schedule to complete
it. Fast forward again nearly thirty years to 2014. I was
now retired and recovering from a knee replacement. Having a
terrible time of getting my sleeping habits back to normal,
I was awake at night on a regular basis. I decided that I
would finally start the research about the Battle of the
Bulge, although I was somewhat lost at to where to begin.
To start with I was not sure what "Sonny's" full name was
and when you get on any website listing World War II deaths
and POW's there are a lot of Mitchells. It finally came to
mind that Sonny might be a Junior to his father Bert. Sure
as the world turns, I punched in Bert Mitchell, Jr and there
it appeared, Berton F. Mitchell, Jr, Kansas, 106th Infantry
Division. This is the also the division Mr. Morris mentioned
when I visited with him.
Since then, I have spent a tremendous amount of time trying
to research this unit and I found that Berton was a member
of B Battery, 589th Field Artillery. He was also listed as
being in G Battery at one time. Further research found that
589th Field Artillery Battalion was in direct support of the
422nd Infantry Regiment, 106th Infantry Division. I will
cover actions of the division later, but now I think it is
time to research Mr. Morris who had told me that he was in
the 106th Division.
Back to "Google" and after many hours, I find Erie C. Morris
to be a member of the 422 Infantry Regiment. Bingo! I can
hardly believe my eyes. The only two men I know of to be in
the 106th Division, one a relative and the other a friend's
father. I can tell you now, these two soldiers, both
Privates served within three to five miles of each other.
Sonny in an Artillery Battery and Erie in an Infantry
Company.
Before trying to summarize the 106 Division actions in the
Battle of the Bulge. is doubtful that I will be able to add
much to the stories of Sonny and Erie. Sonny was listed as
killed in Action on either 16 or 17 December 1944 and Erie
as Prisoner of War the same day. Sonny is now listed as
Missing in Action on those dates. I'm not sure why this was
changed. All of Sonny's immediate family and their children
have long since passed. Mr. Morris died in 1997 and his son.
CSM James Morris died in 2005.
It is difficult to summarize the history of the 106th
Infantry Division, but I will make an attempt. I would
certainly encourage anyone who is interested to simply
google 106th Infantry Division" and you will find pages
after pages of history. Much of it was written by soldiers
who served with the Division.
The Division was activated on 15 March 1943 in Fort Jackson,
SC. In January 1944 it was moved to Tennessee and
participated in the Tennessee Maneuvers. When this was
completed it moved on to Camp Atterbury, IN. This Division
was the last of 66 Infantry Divisions activated for WWII.
Before leaving the states they had provided over 7,000
soldiers to other divisions and replacement depots. During
the summer of 1944, the Division was filled with draftees,
air cadets and individuals from the ASTD Army Specialized
Training Program). The air cadet and ASTP programs are
another history in themselves. When the 106th Division for
Europe many individuals were only partially trained. The
Division arried in the Corswolds area of England on 1
November 1944 and after a very short training period started
their move to the continent near Rouen. France on 26
November 1944 with some units closing as late as 5 December
1944. Most units had arrived in the St Vith, Belgium area by
8 December 1944. From this point the 106th Division relieved
the 2nd Infantry Division in what was thought of as a very
peaceful area. The Division was responsible for a
twenty-seven mile front (about 4-5 miles was normal). The
Division officially entered combat on 10 December in the
VIII Corps, First US Army area. Six days later on the
morning of 16 December, the Division was one of the first
units to be hit at the start of what would be called "The
fiercest battle in the entire European conflict". Over the
next few days, two of the three Division's Infantry
Regiments (the 422nd and the 423rd) and supporting units
were overrun, surrounded and forced to surrender to German
forces on 19 December 1944. The 106 had over 8,600
casualties in 63 days of combat. The actions of this unit is
too much to summarize in a short piece. but I hope this
gives the reader an idea of what these soldiers (mostly
young) sacrificed for their country.
Now I go back to the story of Sonny Mitchell and Erie
Morris. The 422nd Infantry Regiment (Erie's unit) was
occupying the first belt of pillboxes of the Siegfried Line
in the area of the Schnee-Eifel. The enemy communication
center for this area (Prum, Germany) was at maximum range
(12,000 yards) for the 589th Field Artillery. The firing
batteries of the 589th FA were located near Laudesfeld,
Germany about 1.5 miles west of Auw, Germany.
For B Battery, 589th FA (believed to be Sonny's unit),
although he is sometimes listed in C Battery had 4 killed in
action, 10 missing in action, and 8 prisoners of war in the
first two days, 16-17 December. Their later figures thru 24
December show 4 KIA, 24 MIA, 12 POW's and 5 wounded in
action. This was about 45% of the unit. Although Sonny's
family was told his remains were never recovered he is now
listed as missing in action. Is this just a decision by the
fact his remains were never discovered or couid he possibly
have been a POW? A story that was told to my cousn. Johnny
McPherson might be a clue. Years later, Johnny drove through
the small town where the Mitchell's lived (Gueda Springs.
KS) and visited with a fellow who said he went to high
school with Sonny. He claimed that after the war some
soldier paid a visit to the Mitchells and gave them Sonny's
wallet and dog tag(s). Perhaps this is a clue as to why his
remains were never identified?
Although I could not find numbers of casualties for the
422nd Infantry Regiment (Erie's unit). most of the POW's
were marched to Geroistein. Germany (about 20 miles) and
then moved by railroad box cars to POW camps in Germany.
ErIe was liberated on 2 May 1945.
There are still things I woud like to know, about my 2nd
cousin Sonny (who I don't think I ever met). I know he
wasprobably 1- years old, but was he a draftee, a volunteer
or could he hae been in college and a member of the ASTP
program? What was his military assignment in the firing
battery? Was he a cannoneer. a driver, a fire direction
computer? I spent over half of my military career in the
artillery branch. I would like to know. This December 16th
will be 75 years since Sonny died (?) Will I ever know more?
Hopefully.
Erie was born 5 August 1912. That would have made him over
thirty-two when he was captured. Why would a father of a
least one child (maybe more, as I don't know the ages of his
children) be in combat unless he volunteered. I feel very
fortunate to have met Erie and I only wish I would have
spent more time hearing his story.
I have made contact with a gentleman in Belgium who has
studied the Battle of the Bulge and knows a lot about the
106th Infantry Division and the 589th Field Artillery. He
says he can show me the turf where they marched and fought.
Hopefully my health will hold out until I get there. Thanks
for reading my story.
Ron Tincher
08/04/2019
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Page last revised
08/04/2019