PVT 11099747 | 28TH DIVISION | 109 INFANTRY
Born november 1 1922 - Died november 19th 1944
28th infantry IN EUROPE
OMAHA BEACH | July 22 | 1944
28th Infantry Division |109th Field Artillery Battalion
The Keystone division, named for its origins as a Pennsylvania National Guard unit, landed in Normandy on 22 July in the midst of First Army’s preparations for Operation Cobra. The division was committed to the St. Lô battles. Fighting through the hedgerows they saw only modest advances against dug in and determined enemies. Individual heroism, careful planning, and teamwork helped see the Keystone men trough the bloody hedgerow fighting.
Closing the Gap
On 1 August, the division took Percy and closed a key staging point for German counterattack troops. The 109th Infantry Regiment attacked and took Gathemo after four days of bloody fighting. The rest of the division moved south and joined the rapid Allied advance to trap the German army in France.
LIBERATION ROUTE
109th Field Artillery Battalion
28th Infantry Division
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April 15, 1944: Chiseldon, England
July 24, 1944: Trévières
July 29, 1944: Agneau
July 31, 1944: La Denisière
August 2, 1944: La Tilandière
August 3, 1944: Margueray
August 4, 1944: Courson
August 6, 1944: La Vannerie
August 10, 1944: Saint-Sever Calvados
August 12, 1944: Champ-du-Boult
August 14, 1944: Gathemo
August 15, 1944: Sourdeval
August 21, 1944: Ger
August 22, 1944: La Barre
August 23, 1944: Beauche
August 24, 1944: Damville
August 27, 1944: Quittebeuf
August 28, 1944: Versailles
August 29, 1944: Paris
28th infantry IN EUROPE
1943
8 October 1943
The division trained in the Carolinas, Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, and Florida and went overseas on 8 October 1943, arriving in South Wales. Having conducted specialized combat training in everything from offensive maneuvers in mountainous terrain to amphibious warfare, the Division's intensive training agenda culminated in its deployment to England.
1944
22 July 1944
After another 10 months of training in England and Wales, the first elements of the Division entered combat on July 22, 1944, landing on the beaches of Normandy.
28 July 1944
From Normandy, the 28th advanced across western France, finding itself in the thick of hedgerow fighting through towns such as Percy, Montbray, Montguoray, Gathemo and St. Sever de Calvados by the end of July 1944.
29 August 1944
The 28th pushed east towards Paris. In little more than a month after landing at the Normandy beachhead, the men of the 28th entered Paris and were given the honor of marching down the Champs-Elysées on 29 August 1944 in the hastily arranged Liberation of Paris.
The advance continued through the Forest of Compeigne, La Fere, St. Quentin, Laon, Rethel, Sedan, Mezieres, Bouillon and eventually across the Meuse River into Belgium. The Keystone soldiers averaged 17 miles a day against the resistance of German "battle groups." The city of Arlon, Belgium, fell to a task force as the Division fanned out into Luxembourg in early September.
11 September 1944
A small night patrol of the 109th Infantry Regiment began the division's protracted struggle on the Siegfried Line on the Dragon's teeth fortification infested Westwall. The patrol crossed the Our River by bridge from Weiswampach, Luxembourg into Sevenig, Germany, making it the first of the Allied armies to reach German soil.
12 September
The 109th began hammering at the Siegfried Line, destroying pillboxes and other fortifications.
1 October
The 109th moved north to Elsenborn, then returned on the 6th for patrols and rotation of troops.
2 November
Attacks in the forest began November 2, 1944. The 28th Infantry Division stormed into Vossenack, Kommerscheidt and Schmidt amid savage fighting and heavy losses.
10 November
The 28th began to move south, where it held a 25-mile sector of the front line along the Our River.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 19TH
The Division moved south to hold a 25-mile sector along the Our River in Luxembourg.
On this day, Elliot was captured and classified as a Prisoner of War. (POW). Only later was it announced that he also died on this day. And that seems to me incorrect!
Various documents show that Elliott was taken to the Mariawald Monastery seriously injured by the Volksgrenadieren on November 19, 1944. Elliott was taken care for by employees of the Red Cross. From the documents I have collected over time, it appears that Elliott died of his injuries on November 22 at 9:30 am. The date on his gravestone at the US Cemetery in Margraten, Holland therefore does not seem correct to me. Elliott R. Corbett II died on November 22, 1944 in Mariawald Monastery. And that is the only correct date of death. (See page documents)
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