Great job Erwin.
= Quoted from Erwin
Minerault Emile - OSS = Office of Strategic Services, he probably was an agent dropped behind enemy lines to monitor enemy movements.
Went missing in action, probably captured and executed but his body never found?
He was indeed assigned to special forces. Something like the CIA nowadays. They were with about 200 men and 150 of them got killed. They got a special training and parachuted back into their own country to help the resistance. Especially with the escape of airmen who were shot down. Like you said he is probably captured and executed. It happened often that resistance groups were betrayed.
Eric Fisher Wood fought a sort of guerilla war after his unit got captured by the Germans in the early days of the Ardennes Offensive. The 106th Division was virtually wiped out .... 7 000 PoWs in 3 days. The remaining Regiment (424th) fought in the Sankt Vith sector.
Lt. Wood and some other men fought the Germans in the wooded area around Meyerode.
At his gravestone his date of death is December 17. But that's the date that Americans saw him for the last time. Eyewittnesses reports that he fought in a forest and came into their village for food and went back into the forest. The last time they saw him was January 21 or 22. Later he was found and within a few meters there were 7 death German soldiers which were probably killed by him before he got KIA.
Severre Efteland - 99th Infantry Battalion; this unit was comprised of GIs from Norwegian decent. Not to be confused with the 99th Infantry Division (Checkerboard).
Additional information is that they were formed into 1 Battalion and they would be used for the invasion of Norway. But they fought in central Europe including Normandy. The chairman told us a story he heard from one of the survivors. Here it is:
When we came back in Norway in our American uniforms the Norwegian people thought that they were Americans and they were really surprised that all those American soldiers spoke the Norwegian language. They couldn't get the girls away from them. Then the Norwegian King came to them and 50 men were selected for as a guard. He said: Man, did we look sharp at that moment.
The GIs with date of death December 17, 1944 were PoWs killed by Waffen-SS at Baugnez (Malmedy Massacre).
Carl Genthner was driving in an ambulance. He was taken prisoner near Malmedy and the prisoners came together near Baugnez. The officers were standing up front and the soldiers stood behind them. Genthner was from German origine and 1 German said something to him. Genthner replied probably with the words: You can kiss my ass, but then in German. The German soldier didn't like that reply off course. He took his pistol and shot Genthner. Soldiers couldn't see what was happening but heard the shot. They started running and the Germans started shooting. When all the Americans were down. The German who shot Genthner was walking through the field and when he thought that someone was still alive he shot him. 3 Americans were still living. One of them shouted:"When you're alive you will have to run to the treeline now. They ran to the treeline and the few Germans who were still there started shooting and killed one of them. The other 2 escaped.
It has never been proved but probably Carl Genthner will be the first American soldier being killed at the Malmedy massacre.
Eugene Taylor - 16th General Hospital; he probably died when a V1 or a bomb from a German plane (I am not sure about which one) hit the hospital on December 24, 1944 (?).
I believe they were stationed in a Crystal making factory (Val Saint Lambert).
I am sorry but I can't give you more information about this one.
Alie B. Alie - 93rd Medical or Medium Gas Treatment Battalion (?).
In WW1 there were some attacks where the Germans used gas. This man was trained for a special task in World War 2 but I don't exactly know it. Sorry. Perhaps someone else, who is around here, can clear up some things. He came originally from Palestina.
Regards,
Frank
