60 years later... Phillip Broncheau

[Walt's Daughter]

I wrote back to Phillip and forwarded the email to Don. Today I heard back from Don. Ah, another happy ending to a search. Small and wonderful world. Once again thanks to the internet for making this all possible.

 

Don if you are reading this, God bless you sir for all your help and your continued friendship. It's a great feeling putting people together. Here's to the CHIEF!

 

Michael Finley,

 

A close friend, Marion Chard, of Michigan, hard working champion of all veterans, passed your email on to me feeling that I knew Phillip Broncheau of A Co., 506. Marion is right, I did know Phillip Broncheau, not well as a best friend of months or years but very well as one Trooper to another.

 

Broncheau, (we always called each other by our last or Family names,) came to our Company just a day before our ride to Bastogne and another "Rendezvous with Destiny." I described our first meeting in my book "Seven Roads to Hell," page 37 and following pages, Presidio Press in hard cover, the same title published by Random House in paperback. Seven Roads to Hell is still available in book stores in paperback. I am not pushing my book but Broncheau's and my first meeting is described as I recall it from my heart and memory.

 

We were just recently out of 72 continuous days of combat in Holland and sorely in need of trooper replacements and new weapons. Our new or old repaired weapons had not yet arrived; but new replacements came in a constant stream, for we had lost many men in 72 straight days of battle. Phillip Broncheau was one of the last to arrive before "The Battle of the Bulge," erupted. Many such men as your Phillip Broncheau came to us in large groups at that time and we had no way to record their names on the Company roster before the "Bulge" happened and we were loaded into open semi-cattle trucks and raced to Bastogne to hold that city. Our last order on leaving was " You will hold at all costs. There will be no surrender, no withdrawal."

 

At that time no one including our command knew just where our destination was to be. They knew only that the entire American front had collapsed and in full retreat, and the 101st Abn. div. had to stop and hold the enemy in place. We detrucked in a small town named "Champs" slept in an open field that night below freezing, without blankets and walked five miles into Bastogne before daylight the next morning 19 December 1944.

 

First Bn. including Company A did make the attack into Noville 19 december 1944 approximately 13:30 hrs. while 3rd Bn., 506 dug in at Foy as secondary line of defense. Second Bn. including the now famous "Easy" Company stayed billeted in barns and houses in the outskirts of Bastogne in a suburb known as "Luzery," as reserve. Easy Company along with most of the second Bn. remained in and close around Luzery until after the first week of January 1945 when we all made a coordinated attack back into Noville.

 

Our first Bn. held Noville for better than 24 hours against heavy artillery and German armor. Company A was reduced from approximately 160 men 19 December 1944 in our initial attack into heavy odds of enemy troops, armor, and incoming artillery in the first four and one half hours. We held through the night and on 20 December 1944 we were ordered to withdraw from Noville to Luzery where we would take positions on line.

 

Noville had been surrounded during the night and we had to fight our way out, carrying our wounded with us. It was in the dead of night and dark as the inside of a whale when we had fought our way back to Luzery to re-group. We reformed into Companies, platoons and squads, then counted troops present. Many were missing but we, at that time did not who was prisoners, wounded, or KIA.

 

It was weeks later that we received a body count, Phillip Broncheau was among the KIA in our first hour of attack into Noville. With so many new replacements at that time I never recalled his name or could find his name for years afterward. We referred to him as "Chief" as is the custom with all American Indians coming into the military. Sherwood Trotter, an American Indian who was in our company from its conception made all the missions and survived the war. Trotter became an airborne firefighter after the war, I believe in Colorado for years, retired and passed away about three years ago.

 

I recall that "Chief" 'Broncheau' was quiet and eager to enter combat very unafraid. He never hesitated but was among the very first troopers heading east on the Bourcy Road out of Noville into the oncoming enemy and tanks under command of German SS General Pieper. We lost most of our men in that initial attack with so much artillery hitting, Phillip Broncheau was among those killed at that time.

 

I am so very sorry that his name went unknown for so long, but so did many, many others due to the situation of coming out of prolonged battle in Holland. The sudden breakthrough attack of The Battle of the Bulge and no time to record names of new replacements. There are names, 62 years later, that are still unknown. But still showing up.

 

Phillip Broncheau was a quiet hero. A man, who, if he had lived, would have been a trooper one could count on. A man who would have gone down in the history of the 101st Airborne Division, First Battalion, Company A as a warrior.

 

Phillip Broncheau did honor to his people and tribe.

 

Michael Finley, you may thank Marion Chard for her web site, her consideration and her quick action. I thank her for allowing me the honor of writing you in regards to Paratrooper Phillip Broncheau, A Co., 506 Rgt., 101st Screaming Eagle Airborne Division. Hero.

 

You may email me at the above email address, or by snail mail:

 

(left off for privacy)

 

Currahee, (506 Rgt.)

Donald R. Burgett