LLewellyn Chilson (original) (raw)

1942
17MAR Selective Service sends out a draft notice to Llewellyn N. Chilson giving him about a week before he would be inducted

28MAR inducted into the Army in Akron, Oh.

3APR Private CHILSON has been moved from Fort Benjamin, Harrison MD. and reported to Camp Livingston, La.
&JUN Transferred to 112th Infantry for further training.

1943
4MAY Wheel of a 105 falls on right Leg giving Cpl CHILSON a severe contusion but not eliminating him from duty.

14MAY The 112th has been in Camp Gordon Johnston, Fla. since the fall and now Cpl CHILSON is transferred to Camp Pickett VA to join the 45th. Division preparing to leave f or Africa. CHILSON has spent 3 months in Basic training, 5 months in rifleman training and 2 months as a tank driver.

8JUN 45th shipped from Patrick Henry, Virginia in convoy.

22JUN Drop anchor at Oran, Algeria and the 45th begins immediately to practice for the assault on Sicily. Chilson is with Anti-tank platoon, HQ Co, 2d Bn, 179th Reg, 45th Div but is now back to Pvt and is assigned duties as a machine gunner.

10JUL 0001, Llewellyn Chilson participates in the invasion of Sicily.

31JUL The 45th Infantry after its first 22 days of real combat against the German enemy, taking over 12,000 prisoners and establishing itself as an effective fighting force. The green troops, new equipment and German soldiers were quickly turning this National Guard unit into one of the most effective fighting forces this world has ever known. They had been instrumental in Patton's victory in the race with Monty to the city of Messina.
Pfc CHILSON IS AWARDED THE BRONZE STAR FOR MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT in GROUND OPERATIONS AGAINST THE ENEMY (29AUG49).

11AUG to 3SEP the 45th is given its first rest in a camp S mi W of Cefalu.

2OAUG The 179th marches to San Nicolo.

6SEP assigned to Gen Mark Clark's 7th Army, 179th goes to Termini and boards British ships to head towards Italy and a rendezvous with an allied amphibious force.

8SEP On board ships it is announced that Italy will surrender and expected that the Germans will continue to withdraw. A few hours Later plans had changed and German bombers were attacking the ships in the convoy off the coast of Italy. At night enemy planes were out dropping flares to Light up the target 5 drifting off the Italian coast. During one alert CHILSON did not get down in the hold with the vehicles and the other Americans but manned a multi-barreled British Bofor and shot a Large aircraft directly above the ship. It was a British barrage balloon.

9SEP At 0330 with British N and U.S. to the S, VI Corps invades S of Salerno near the ancient Roman ruins of Paestum.

1OSEP 179th lands in the morning as Corps reserve force and march single file to the assembly area 3 miles north of Paestum. At nightfall they start N to a junction and then head E to the Calorie River and toward Ponte Sele to block German troops massing to attack from the direction of Eboli.

11SEP By dawn the 179th was spread out up to 22 miles inland and far into no-mans land with 2nSn off to the right below the German held town of Alta villa perched atop a Large hill between them and the beachhead far to the rear. The Germans counterattack the 179th from the high ground and across the plains near Eboli. By afternoon 2nBn is cut off from the rest of the Regiment, which is now cut-off from supplies at the beachhead. The coordinated attack of the 179th and 157th is stalled and, except for the 2nBn, the 179th is encircled and in an untenable position. The Germans do not realize how desperate the situation is for the 179th and let up some of their pressure, the Regiment regroups and save themselves to fight again.

2OSEP The 3d Div joins the 45th and they start N into the mountains with the 45th on the R along Highway 91.

245EP move through Eboli to Olivetti.

25SEP 2nBn takes Calabritto.

1OCT Naples falls to the Allies consolidating a northward front to the W of 45th, moving up the valleys towards Rome while the Germans are hardening positions on the hillsides to stop the advance. 45th becomes known as the 'Falcon Division' to the retreating Germans in their path. 179th's CP is a half-mile from Materdomini.

3OCT 179th has jumped 33 mi deeper into mountains to 1 mi from Grottiminorda.

20OCT After clearing the right flank of the Corps the 45th is withdrawn into Corps to regroup retool and rest after 43 continuous days of combat under terrible weather and in grueling terrain.

2NOV 179th and 180th in place to attack Venafro.

3NOV G Co (179th) crosses Volturno R. towards Venafro but it is driven back.

4NOV 179th crosses behind the 180th, who had jumped the R a day earlier, and fights its way into Venafro taking the town, preparing immediately for the inevitable counterattacks. Through the night, the Germans counterattack but gets nothing.

5NOV Germans moving Lines back further into the increasingly foreboding hills N.

6NOV 2nBn up against strong defense S of Filagno.

7NOV 179th starts the drive for Hill 769.

8NOV 179th under heavy pressure from artillery deep in the mountains, taking fire from German position-s near Viticuso and S. Pietro. The Luftwaffe is also very active in and around the town of Venafro.

9NOV The Regiment has only taken 25 yards and Hill 769 becomes Mt Kemmerer.

22N0V Gen Middleton is relieved by Gen Eagles. Middleton goes to the -states with an arthritic knee for surgery. Eagles is moved on up from the 3d Division. The 179th has lost ground in waves of German counterattacks.

29N0V 0600 179th renews attack but 2nBn is decimated after starting over the top of Hill 750 and the Regiment must fall back to Hill 700 to regroup once again.
3ON0V 179th moves up again to just short of Hill 750.

6DEC Hill 750 finally cleared.

7DEC CHILS0N's Anti-Tank Plt. and E Co eliminate resistance surrounding Hill 769.

9DEC 179th finally takes Hill 769 with a coordinated Time-on-Target mortar attack and begins to move forward again. The 34th has been badly damaged on the R flank of the 45th. and was being relieved by the 2d Moroccan Div.

Until JAN, the 45th would fight with these new French forces and move ever so slowly forward while scaling cliffs and climbing mountains in the process. The whole Division earned the respect of these French troops and was awarded the French Cross de Guerre w/Palm Leaf for "the victory of Aquafondata" against a very stubborn and professional enemy.

1944
3JAN 179th begins to be relieved by the 3d Algerian Div and was moved off the frontlines back to San Potito, SE of Piedemonte. By this time, the 179th had already experienced over a 100% casualty rate!

6JAN 45th receive-s a letter of commendation from General Mark Clark and promises to the men that he will do "everything possible . . . to make your period of rest a comfortable and profitable one."

9JAN The 45th is finished being relieved. It had been in Italy 121 days and in combat 110. They had suffered 870 KIA, 2,550 WIA, 256 MIA and 61 captured. During this same time, they had suffered over 10,000 casualties due to accidents and disease. By far the worst offender in this statistic was trench foot. (Llewellyn always knew how to take care of his feet and prided himself with this knowledge. He never once suffered the fate of those many that rotted away part of their body while on duty in Italy.) "I always had a clean dry pair of socks."

15JAN 179th moves to staging area near Qualino and is placed under the control of the 1st Armored Div in preparation for another amphibious assault, near Anzio.

22Jan U.S. Fifth Army begins 3 simultaneous landings at Anzio. The
179th is on shore in the first 24 hours and moves forward steadily. The Germans are not ready with. Their defenses and the rest of the 45th continues to unload from the leapfrogging LSTs ferrying the invasion force N from Naples. The first casualties for the Regiment are from our own flak guns raining spent shrapnel on the troops on the beachhead.

29JAN 179th holds defensive positions on the R flank of the Corps along the Mussolini Canal.

3OJAN Darby's Rangers have been cut off and wiped out trying to attack forward from the canal. Out of 810 men only 7 had escaped, most had been taken prisoner.

By 1FEB, the entire 45th is ashore but the entire VI Corps is now on the defensive. The attacks of the 3d Div and the 24th Guards are stalled, and the casualty list is growing rapidly. The Germans are managing to fortify their positions as fast as the Allies are able to unpack. 179th is reconnected to the 45th as roving center to stick in the hot spots.

3FEB Germans counterattack into the Campoleone salient the British had won in the center of the Corps east of Aprilia. The enemy gains significant ground but fails to take their objective, the set of buildings known as 'the Factory'.

7FEB The main enemy counteroffensive begins.

9FEB The Factory is now in German hands and they begin using it as a staging area for their continuing counteroffensive. Time after time groups of tanks and infantry would spill out into the corridors toward the center of the Allied beachhead.

10FEB 179th begins replacing the British 168th Brigade in the middle of the weakest spot just S of the Factory.

11FEB 179th assisted by 191st Tanks attacks to recover the Factory.
1st Bn reaches the objective but is driven back.

12FEB Another attack by 45th thwarted.

15FES 2d Bn goes on line S of Factory with G Co's position on the Left flank and straddling the "bowling alley" or RR bed, just to SE of Carroceto overpass. CHILSON AWARDED PURPLE HEART from shell fragment.

16FEB 0600 Out of eerie silence German guns erupt from behind the factory and the Allies counter, turning the battlefield in a solid cloud of smoke and explosions. This was the beginning of a series of counterattacks directly in front of the 2d and 3d Bns. They began to move down the Anzio-Albano road 'the Bowling Alley' and though they were taking heavy losses, the sheer numbers were overwhelming the entire 179th sector. By mid-afternoon both sides were threatening to crack in this game of chicken but CH1LS0N and his squad had run out of ammo and it was all over. The 179th held that day but only by a thread and grave weak spots had been punched into the defense of the entire beachhead. The 157th was less successful to their Left, and E Co of the 157th had moved back opening up a hole to the left of G Co. Chilson and 3 other-s with him were spared from being killed and taken prisoner to help carry ammo and stretchers on the other side. The attack by the Germans had not been altogether successful. Far too many of their soldiers were now casualties too and the easy victory they had been promised had certainly not materialized.

17FEB In the early morning another wave of 60 tanks come out of the underpass and head right up the flank of G Co, wiping out or taking captive most of the men. 2nPlt Commander Lt Reiman is one of many lost in no-man-s land on the wrong side of the front, alone, silently trying to find a way across back towards the beachhead.

18FES The Germans increase their coordinated air and ground effort in offensive against the Anzio beachhead but spare the 179th from the brunt of the attack, shifting to their right and the relatively fresh 180th. This was a miracle for the men of the 179th that were still left in what had become a shredded regiment. Germans attain deepest penetration of the campaign. The 179th is all the way back to the original beachhead.

2OFES Allies decisively beat Germans in the middle of the salient with the use of coordinated TOT artillery barrages from all of the artillery batteries, ships and tanks within range, thus ending the German attempt to breakthrough the beachhead. CHILSON uses this barrage to take advantage of the German's panic and captures some German prisoners bringing them and valuable information back across the lines resulting in the capture of 40 more Germans
AWARDED SILVER STAR.

21FEB 45th begins to be relieved from the front lines and digs into new defensive positions as artillery continues.

MARCH The supply lines had been so terrible for the Anzio invasion that the men ended up eating whatever they could find. At one point, CHILSON's men were so desperate they shot and ate a ram. (CHILLSON would never eat lamb again.) The battle has reached an undeniable stalemate, however, and the troops are given periods of rest. CHILSON goes to Naples and bivouacs on an ancient lava flow of Mt Vesuvius near Pompeii.

18MAR Mt. Vesuvius erupts at 1640 hours. CHILSON is realty beginning to wonder what is happening now.

2OMAR The Mountain erupts again and this time a lava flow begins. CHILSON wants to go back to Anzio.

27APR The 45th is moved back to the front lines to begin a coordinated offensive to push off the Anzio beachhead.

1MAV 45th is waiting for the final push for Rome.

2MAY H A Meyer becomes CO of the 179th.

11MAY Drive on Rome begins along the entire Gustav Line. Cpl CHILSON makes asst. squad leader.

18MAY Mt Cassino finally falls.

23MAY At 0545, the 45th and the rest of the Anzio Beachhead begins to move forward after 3 months of stalemate. In coordination with the rest of the Allied force in Italy, Operation Buffalo begins to drive out of the Anzio beachhead with the 45th on L flank.

24MAY 179th repulses German counterattack.

28MAY 2nBn strikes NE astride Anzio-Albano Rd. 179th moves in between 45th and 34th. 2nBn seizes ridges by Corioli and take Campoleone by dusk.

29MAY Anti-tanks and tanks take high ground one by one. F Co takes Colle Cavaliere and then E moves to Red House.

31MAY E, G & F Co's spearheads the Division into the Albano Hills S of Rome.

1JUN F Co swings around G & E and assaults K-9. Fighting heaviest resistance of the entire drive for Rome.

3JUN G Co takes Corioli. Final German defenses are finally breaking up. In the evening the Tiber R, S of Rome reached and crossed. 45th establishes bridgehead.

4JUN When liberation was imminent the 1st Am Div and the 35th pass through the 45th. While the celebration goes on in Rome the 45th is left to hold the bridgehead and then to continue north to bivouac in a cornfield to the W of the Vatican.

11JUN Cpl CHILSON goes to Rome for two days from Latonia, without permission.

13JUN Upon returning CHILSON is given extra duties training replacements.

19JUN CHILSON takes off again and this time is thrown in the stockade upon his return on 3OJUN.

4JUL invasion of S France changed from Anvil to Dragoon. There has been a solid We-stern Front established and being strengthened everyday by the cross-Channel supply lines.

9JUL Chilson is Given Special Court Martial for two counts of AWOL. His
SILVER STAR is taken back; he is busted to Private once again, charged
$40 a month for 4 months and given 4 months confinement (suspended).

CHILSON is released from the stockade, transferred to G Company from Antitank Company. He begins training for the next invasion, this time in the French Riviera.

12AUG Sail from Naples.

15AUG 0800 45th lands between Nice and Toulon near St. Maxine, The French Riviera. 45th is in the center of VI Corps and secures the beaches but the town holds out until noon. 179th held in reserve as 45th clears to Blue Line.

16AUG G Co takes a strategic hill holding out near Chaume.

25AUG Daily showers have turned to -solid rain and the retreating Germans are beginning to show sign-s of stiffened resistance.

27AUG 179th w/45th takes Bourgoin, midway between Grenoble and
Lyons. On the western front Paris has fallen and elsewhere Turkey has
thrown in the towel, while Finland and Bulgaria are talking peace and the
Red Army with their Rumanian and Yugoslav allies are advancing from the
E. 2nSn moves by train to Grenoble to hook up with rest of 179th.

3OAUG 2nBn crosses Rhone R at 1830 and heads toward Meximieax.

31AUG Germans fighting hard to break through 7th Army between them and Germany. F Co attacked hard at roadblock midway between Lagnieu and Meximieux.

4SEP Bourg is taken. General Patch's Seventh Army has moved 318 miles in 19 days. Entire German divisions heading back to defend the fatherland have found out that they are being cut off by the Seventh Army moving north. Entire units surrender intact and on a few occasion-s are left organized and armed to march to the rear away from the vengeance of the French FF1 and to the relative safety of Allied POW camp's.

7SEP 45th has motorized N and crosses the Doub's River near Baume-le's-Dames.

8SEP 2nBn returns to 45th control & drive's S of Doubs River towards Clerval-de-la-Doub's and attacks East towards Clerval up against a largely German population for the first time. Private CHILSON has been assigned to S-2 since the French invasion and has been gathering and interrogating prisoner's in the quick move north as the 7th Army has been trying to catch the retreating German soldiers in a pinch between them and the 3d Army. At 0900 CHILSON sustains an injury from one prisoner who must have resented the questioning. He bit Llewellyn on the right hand and that night CHILSON went to the aid station. They told him it was nothing and sent him back to duty.

13SEP Back in the aid station and being regarded as AWOL Private

24OCT 179th takes Mortagne on enemy side of Mortagne R and gains a foothold entering into the Lorraine region of N France.

280CT Germans counterattack inflicting heavy casualties and forcing a temporary retreat, but soon a new Line was formed that could be defended. Around this time, CHILSON would capture a heavily defended hill and 25 prisoners that G Co had been trying to dislodge for some time. He had snuck around their flank and surprised them. Lester Pinion was a witness to this event and would tell the Awards board in 1947 but CHILSON never received an award for this action either.

31OCT Lt MILLWEE OWENS joins G Co and becomes CHILSON's Platoon Leader.

2NOV 2nBn trucks from Fraipertuis to Baccarat and sets up a N-S defensive line with the 117th Ran Trp until 5NOV.

7NOV 2nBn relieved from the front and 'sent to bivouac far from the war near Xertigny with the Division occupying a line running for 33 miles W of Epinal. In 540 days overseas, the men of the 45th had been on the line fighting this war 352 of them.

22NOV 45th has passed to XV Corps of the 7th Army.

24NOV 2nBn sent toward Denshein to sever the road leading west out of Mutsig. Tech/Sgt CHILSON is AWARDED SILVER STAR for an action just west of Denshein, France. On this day, he single handedly moved against a roadblock getting to within 20 yards of a German position protecting the western entrance to Mutsig. He threw 2 grenades and opened fire with his Thompson, killing 3, taking nine prisoner, and thus interdicting the road and materially aiding in the capture of Denshein.

29NOV A pre-dawn patrol of the 179th's 2dBn drew a saturation response of heavy tank and mobile gun fire on the attacking echelon near Muhlhausen, but by 0915 they had won the high ground NE of Engwiller

3ONOV G Co holds some heights in a forest less than 2 mi SW of Gumbrechtshoffen. The Germans attempt to break the drive of the 45th once again and send waves of infantrymen across a clearing and down a slight hilt toward 2nPlt's position in a section of the woods where it was impossible to dig foxholes because of the root system in the forest. CHILSON is recommended for CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR by his Lt OWENS for being primarily responsible for successfully holding that position that day. Waiting until the Germans were just a few yards in front of him he would stand in the open and lay down the firepower of his Thompson 45 cal sub-machine gun at close range cutting down all who dared attack. An indefensible position was thus held and 100 Germans were left lying in piles just a few yards in front of their position. Also this same day General Eagles was injured by a German mine and relieved of duty.

1DEC The 45th takes Zinswiller. They have cracked through the Vosges Mtns and are looking at the Alsatian Plain of the upper Moder R.

3DEC 179th has reached Gumbrechtshoffen. Gen Fredricks has taken command of the 45th.

4DEC 179th takes Gundershoffen and occupies the village of Lauterbacherhof drawing large amounts of fire as the German determination to stop the Allied advance is strengthening.

6DEC G Co takes Lauterbachen.

7VEC Counterattack repelled w/help of 103d. The 179th on West of the Falkenstein River prepares for assault across.

5DEC 45th attacks North to Niederbronn. A deception program simultaneously begins to lead the enemy to expect a Rhine crossing in the Strasbourg or Bischwiller areas to the SW of the 45th's positions.

14DEC The 45th advances through the Maginot line and clears Lembach and Wingen.

15DEC At 1245 elements of the 45th Div cross into Germany and are the first troop-s of the 7th Army to penetrate.

17DEC 45th reaches West wall.

18DEC Elements of 45th attack across the Lauter River penetrating the Siegfried Line. CHILSON reports to Bn Aid 'station with a fever but given no treatment and sent back to the front.

21DEC it is getting clearer that the 45th has outrun the rest of the Allied drive and is becoming more vulnerable to being cut-off. The Germans are moving more and more troop-s into the Upper Vosges Mountains to the left of the 45th. CHILSON begins to get noticeably -sicker.

24DEC The 45th is given a warning that the Germans are massing for an offensive.

27DEC CHILSON makes Platoon Sergeant.

28DEC CHILSON is diagnosed as having acute infectious hepatitis (From bite to the hand)and evacuated to the 58th Evac. Hospital.

1945
1JAN German's launch counter-offensive creating salient in Bitchie region. 2d and 3d Bns of 179th positioned near Lembach. 45th contains enemy by Phillipsbourg after major penetration has been affected and hard won territory lost. Several German divisions were thrust up against some new divisions of GIs. The 45th is forced to attack into the salient and try to regain an Allied front. The German soldiers were among the fiercest they would ever encounter and were made up of SS elements from all over Germany, whose mission it was to break through the Allied front lines toward-s their Headquarters at Luneville.

3JAN Enemy expands Bitchie salient entering Wingen and Phillipsbourg.

6JAN Germans continue building up W of Rhine on NE flank of Corps. GWOREK captured.

7JAN 45th reach heights overlooking Althorn. Lt OWENS earns Bronze Star.

10JAN OWENS wounded and evacuated.

17JAN 3d Bn of the 157th attacks and gets cut off N of Hill 363.

18JAN G Co of the 179th (with a 1st Bn 157th force) strike northward towards the road junction west of Reybach in order to seize the ridgeline between Hills 415 and 390, especially Hill 363. 0800 G Co moves out but is forced to hold up and dig in when its men reach the southwestern slope-s of Hill 363.

19JAN Attempts to rescue the 5 companies cut-off and under imminent threat of annihilation by 55 Troops were again halted.

2OJAN Orders are given for the men of the 157th that were isolated to try and break out themselves. An hour later there were only 125 men left of the 5 companies and they were ordered to disband and try to infiltrate back. Only 2 made it.

12FEB CHILSON is released from the hospital and heads back to duty having missed most of the German's winter offensive, which had taken a large toll on the 45th.

17FEB The 179th is moved into a reserve area near Luneville.

22FEB Llewellyn's older brother Alvin is killed in action in the Philippines.

13MAR Sgt CHILSON is on the AWOL list again.

16MAR CHILSON is back to work for a final crescendo of war. The
45th ha-s jumped off from the Sarrequemines area entering Germany and has swept through to the left of the industrial Saar. The 2d Bn is on the attack north up the Blies River valley leading the 179th, which is now in the middle of the 45th attack.

17MAR The 45th reaches the West wall with the 179th in the center near Blieskastel.

18MAR The enemy's defenses on the Siegfried Line in front of the
45th's -sector are punctured and broken. The 45th begins assault on pillboxes 6 dragon's teeth of the West wall. 2d Bn is assaulting the pillboxes in the high ground NE of Webenheim. The German defenses have been thrown into disarray by Patton's forces slicing in front of the 45th's sector.

2OMAR Breakthrough of West wall as the 45th captures Homburg.

21MAR The 179th is motorized and reinforced for the drive to the Rhine R at Rhein-Durkheim. Patton's 3d army has broken E all the way to Worms on the Rhine and opened up a path for 45th to drive straight to the banks of the Rhine River North of Worms.

23MAR Patton's Third Army to the N crosses the Rhine.

26MAR The 45th begins assault at 0230 without any artillery support or air cover. On N or L flank of the 7th Army the 179th in amphibious assault crosses between Hamm and Rhein Durkheim and drives Corps across and through the German defenses. G Co is on the extreme L of the 7th Army and spearheads the drive to contact the 3d Army to N and to take the town of Gernsheim. CHILSON AWARDED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS in crossing of Rhine when CHILSON takes charge of the assault platoon after 2 Platoon Commanders are wounded: Lt Steven CERNAN and Lt Michael Sarubbi. By his own initiative, he organized the platoon into an assault force leading his men East down the bank of the river against heavy fire and towards their mission. His action resulted in 11 enemies dead and 225 of the 1,047 prisoners the Division rounded up that day. He personally destroyed an ammunition vehicle, 2 heavy machine guns, captured 2 others and destroyed 3 enemy flak vehicles while suffering no casualties among his men during his command!

27MAR G Co bivouacs near town of Stettbach and prepare for further advances, in Akron Oh. The local DAV chapter sends a request to the Army to have CHILSON returned to the states to an ailing father and a mourning family.

2SMAR 45th has reached the Main R between the ancient city of Aschaffenburg and Obernau and crosses on an old RR bridge.

29MAR 179th on both sides of R attacking in Sellback region and trying to close in around the heavily defended city of Aschaffenburg. G Co is in the outskirts of Schweinheim near Aschaffenburg.

3OMAR 0700 G Co moves out, as right flank protection for the Bn. CHILSON's platoon is R flank security for company and ordered to dig in on a strategic hill above Obernau. In order to reach it however a well-defended roadblock must be taken out. CHILSON acts and climbs on top of a tank in clear sight of the roadblock and directs the firing of 3 tanks in front of the roadblock. The enemy trains all available firepower on tanks for a 40-minute firefight. CHILSON did not get off that tank until the roadblock was eliminated, 2 enemy dead, 40 captured and G Co was moving again to the hill overlooking Obernau.

31MAR CHILSON takes a 5-man combat patrol into Obernau. and finds a German to capture. He finds out about German defenses from the prisoner and upon hearing about one machine gun position near the entrance to the town he approaches that position by himself, crawling to within 50 yards he throw's 3 grenades into the position killing the entire crew. Only then did he order his patrol to follow him. They then proceeded to fight into the town, house to house. One of his men was shot under the eye and temporarily blinded. CHILSON ran the 50 yards to him through machine gun fire where he picked him up and ran with the man to a place of cover where he removed the bullet. Resuming the fight CHILSON found another 4 enemy soldiers ensconced in a house. He smoked these out with grenades and shot them as they fled. Only then did he return to the Company. He was AWARDED the BRONZE STAR for this action. G Co then moved N from Obernau along the ridge circling south of Aschaffenburg, again with CHILSON's platoon in the lead. From prisoners they learned that a ranger's house in nearby woods was also a heavily defended German position. AGAIN, CH1LSON went alone to reconnoiter and ran about 75 yards from tree to tree through heavy fire to get to within 25 yards of the house finding cover by a woodshed. He then threw some grenades in and called out for the men inside to surrender. They answered with heavy fire instead. Chilson went back and got his platoon to establish a Forward Observation position for the 3 supporting tanks to fire on the house. After about 35 minutes of tank fire 6 of the enemy had been killed and the other 7 had surrendered to CHILSON. His platoon went back on the advance and followed

the ridge towards the town of Hessenthal. Proceeding down an open slope above the town of Hessenthal they were hit with fire from 2 flak wagons behind the town and numerous positions in front of the town pinning down the platoon. CHILSON got up, ran 300 yards back to the woods, and found another tank to climb on top of. He rode this tank to a good location above the town to fire. He stayed here in conspicuous sight until 1 of the guns was silenced, 6 enemies were killed and another 7 captured. He was AWARDED SILVER STAR for this action. These three medals for valor were given to CHILSON in DEC 1946 by President Harry Truman along with 4 others. These three were given because the War Department had turned down the European Theater's recommendation to give CHILSON the MEDAL OF HONOR for these actions collectively. CHILSON was also AWARDED the LEGION OF MERIT for exceptionally meritorious achievement for this period of 26-31MAR. This award is very rarely given to an enlisted man and was given to CHILSON because he was functioning in the position of an officer .

1APR CHILSON turns 25 as LtCol Smith's 2nSn is on the R flank of the
45th with the 3d Division to their right. They move through Hessenthal and then Strass-Bessenbach with G Co spearheading the drive u-sing CHILSON's platoon as a 3 or 4 jeep patrol. CHILSOW ha-s now acquired a distinctive outfit and looks 'something like a Cossack. He ha-s a brown leather jacket, a black caracul's hat, bandoliers, a saber and 2 Belgian .45 pistol's looking very much like the leader he was.

2APR Aschaffenburg finally fall's and 2nBn start's moving faster than their tank support, NE to Heinricthstal with CHILSON's men leading the way.

3APR G Co takes Aura and then 1stBn moves through to take the lead for a while.

4-7APR The 179th takes Zeiflof's, Badbruckenau, Zuntersback, Motten, Dalherda and Rodenbach and on the 7th is given a. rest.

5 Apr 2nBn leads the way through resistance in Thundorf, Stadt Lauringen, Mailes and Wetzhausen. The forward element's reached Birnfield.

9APR 2nBn cleans any enemy out of Wettringen, Aidhausen and Happerthausen. In the afternoon, Lt REIMAN reconnoitered in Hofheim and found 2 lovely freuleins. That night both REIMAN and CHILSON had an unauthorized good time and got to know the two German ladies who were very happy to see the American liberator's come into their village.

10Apr 3rd 6 45th mass Corps NW of Nuremberg (Nurnberg) and roll through Hofheim towards Bamberg.

20APR After furious battle Nuremberg falls. CHILSON and his partner Frenchy Little field were the first 2 Allied soldier's into the city, leading Lt Owens's' platoon, and were interviewed by the BBC soon after. On this same day back in the states the Army is turning down the Day's request that CHILSON be 'sent home.

21APR 45th alerted to continue drive to Munich.

22APR 1st & 2n jump off abreast with 2nBn on L and make 20 mi against resistance.

23APR Zn is in woods NW of 1st. Hit's Gohren at 2015.
24APR 2nBn jumps Atmuhl River at Pappaheim then drives to Solnhofen.
25APR in the morning 2nBn meet's and smashes a German convoy retreating S to the Danube. CHILSON AWARDED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS when his company was opened up on by 20mm guns shortly after entering the town of Meillenholen.

Z6APR Danube is crossed and heavy fighting in Neuberg. CH1LS0N AWARDED PURPLE HEART.

27APR AWARDED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS for action in the fighting S of Weuberg. CHILSON found himself and his platoon in a bad situation, halted by automatic weapons fire from an apartment house. He rushed across the fire-swept -street, into the building, ran upstairs, and destroyed the position with a grenade. 2 dead, & captured. Immediately after in a courtyard he got a bullet in his right arm and fell back, breaking a bottle of cognac he had helped liberate earlier. He then got mad, for the first time in combat, and fired on the enemy position killing 2 and 'sending another fleeing. He chased and caught this soldier and beat the unwounded German until both of them were unconscious. At first, his men had a hard time getting medical attention for their wounded Sergeant. Because of a very strong smell of cognac, the medics thought he was just drunk. This when his outfit disappeared.

28APR War is over for CHILSON as he meets his wife to be, his nurse, Lt. Mary Armstrong in the Army hospital in Stockbridge, England.

& MAY V-E Day. The men of G Company having captured Nazi Party headquarters in Munich write letter-s of Victory back to their loved ones on Hitler's personal stationary.

1946
3SEP Brigadier General B. M. Fitch writes a letter to CHILSON explaining that the recommendation for the CMH had been carefully considered in the War department and that, "the gallantry displayed was not considered sufficient to warrant the award of the MEDAL OF HONOR.

6DEC President TRUMAN awards CHILSON 7 MEDALS at the White House established as first time in History of War Dept as the most medals given to a person at one time. Paradoxically this moment of honor will shortchange him later. When the media counts his medals after that they usually overlook a few because he had been awarded even more medals than he had received that day. AUVIE MURPHY was given the CMH and went into the movies, thereby entering history as our most decorated hero. it is overlooked that CHILSON was possibly the greatest war hero of the last European War. His name would not be mentioned in any of the accounts of the war written by the Army, in fact, the Army doe-s not even include LLEWELLYN CHILSON on the list it has that names the VSC winner's, and Chilson won 3 of them (only Gen MacArthur would match that)! CHILSON'S CMH award was the only recommendation turned down that was submitted by the 45th Division and this denial means that the 179th RCT, having compiled one of the finest records of the whole of WW II did not have even one of its men bestowed with that highest of all honors. They had been too busy with war, to worry much about bureaucracy.

1947
17NOV CHILSON reenlists in Akron to serve in the Army again, this time as recruiter, waiving his 40% disability for the wounds he received in Neuberg.