Elburn Edward R. 29th Infantry Division 115th Infantry Regiment Medical Detachment

I - ENLISTMENT

Enlistment

Edward “Ringgold” Elburn enlisted in the Maryland National Guard on 1 December 1935 in Chestertown, Maryland. His oldest brother, William “Walter” Elburn, had already enlisted and encouraged Ringgold to do the same. At the time of his enlistment, the local guard unit had a waiting list for new recruitments. Ringgold had to wait until a soldier was discharged (Freddie Frank) before he could enlist. Ringgold enlisted at age 17. Eighteen was the minimum enlistment age, but birth certificates were not required for enlistment. Ringgold merely bumped his birth date back to 1917 to be eligible for enlistment. This “little white lie” would later cause problems with counting his total years of service, but it did afford him the opportunity to proudly provide 43 years of military service to our county.

Medical Detachment

The Chestertown National Guard Unit was a medical detachment of the 29th Division, 115th Infantry. Dr. Hines was the Company Commander. Other doctors who served with the unit included a Dr. Franklin from Western Marylandand a dentist whose name Ringgold can no longer remember.

Drills and Summer Camp

In 1935, the Chestertown National Guard Armory had not yet been built. Weekly drills were held above Gill’s Ice Cream Store on Cross Street in Chestertown. Guard members were paid $1 per drill – that is why Ringgold enlisted; for the “good money.” He was so excited to enlist that he even attended one drill without being paid! In the summer, the Chestertown National Guard unit was sent to Camp Ritchie, Maryland (now Fort Ritchie) for two weeks summer camp, earning $1 per day. Fort Ritchie is in western Maryland near Camp David, the President’s retreat. There the soldiers were issued tents which they pitched on cement slabs.

II - ACTIVE DUTY

Called to Active Duty

On 1 February 1941, the National Guard was called to active service for one year. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt announced that the National Guard would remain active “for the duration.” Their “one year” of active service fell short by two months! The Chestertown National Guard Unit was sent by train to Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. There they trained in first aid and took sick call as part of their training. Of course, none of this training would truly prepare them for the medical care they would ultimately be called upon to provide. They also trained in the Carolinas, A. P. Hill Military Reservation in Virginia, and Camp Brandenburg in Florida

War is Declared

The Chestertown National Guard Unit was in a convoy returning to Fort Meade from A.P. Hill Military Reservation when war was declared. They were assigned permanently to Fort Meade, however did rotate between Fort Meade and A.P Hill Military Reservation for training maneuvers. In the summer of 1942, the Chestertown National Guard Unit went via train to camp in Plattsville, New York, near the Canadian border, for three weeks of training. This would be their last summer camp before shipping out to England as a precursor to the invasion of Europe.

III - DIARY OF A MEDIC – WORLD WAR #2 BY PHILIP ELMER HAGUE

Ringgold and Philip Elmer Hague were together throughout the invasion, from Omaha Beach until it was time to ship home to the United States in 1945. Phil was requested by the Battalion Surgeon, Capt. G. R. D’Amato, to record the activities of the Medical Detachment after D-Day. Phil’s “Diary of a Medic – World War #2” documents the experiences of the division in general – those facts will not be reiterated in these memoirs. Instead, this document will focus on the specific details added to Phil’s account by Ringgold Elburn. The reader should refer to “Diary of a Medic – World War #2” by Philip Elmer Hague for the general story of the medical detachment’s involvement in the invasion.

IV - SGT, EDWARD RINGGOLD ELBURN’S PERSONAL MEMOIRS

Shipped to England

In September 1942, the 29th Division left New York for England, sailing on the Queen Elizabeth past the Statue of Liberty. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean unescorted; the ship changed direction every three minutes in order to evade the German U-boats. The soldiers were served English rations, which the American GIs did not like. Ringgold remembers standing in line for “Pepsi cola and candy bars.”

Oxford, Tidworth Barracks, and Launceston

The 29th Division was moved by lighters from the Queen Elizabeth ashore to Perrinporth. They moved by train to Oxford, where they were housed for two weeks in tin huts and then moved into Cowley Barracks. From Oxford, they were sent to Tidworth Barracks, an old British army cavalry post near Andover and the cathedral city of Salisbury. While there they lived in civilian houses on the post. They were then physically marched to Launceston – a walk that took about one week. Launceston is located near Dartmore Prison. The 29th Division trained at Launceston until the invasion of Normandy. In Launceston, the troops were forced to march 25 milesper day every Monday and Thursday. They were allowed to take only one sandwich and one canteen of water for the day’s march. The marches were intended to strengthen their endurance, but instead resulted in many blisters, fallen arches, and shin splints. The men wore hobnail boots – the soles covered with rows of nails and the heels resembling metal horseshoes. These marches had to be completed; drop-outs were forced to make up the marches on their own time. Ringgold remembers carrying the rifles of others in order to help them complete the march. Ringgold also remembers a soldier named Manning who always asked, “Sgt. Elburn, are we almost there yet?” Ringgold would laugh and say they still had about five more miles to go. After several of these exchanges, Manning finally conceded, “At least we’re holding our own!”

Mr. & Mrs. Stanley F. Ryder

Ringgold went to a small shop in Launceston to purchase a radio, in an effort to keep up with the news from the BBC and to listen to the tunes that reminded him of home and the new bride he had left behind. The shop belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Stanley F. Ryder, who quickly “adopted” a well-mannered, sincere American GI a long way from home and missing his family. They would become Ringgold’s family away from home. He would spend weekends at their house, luxuriating in hot baths and clean sheets on a real bed. He remembers Mrs. Ryder serving him breakfast, including a soft-boiled egg – an English delight, but a nasty horror to Ringgold. He remembers gulping it down as graciously as possible so he would not insult the Ryder’s kindness and hospitality. Ringgold talked to the Ryder’s of his bride waiting at home for him. In 1944, the Ryder’s sent a lovely china figurine to Mabel – “Peggy”, Carlton China, Made In England. They were to send the male figurine to accompany her, but Ringgold shipped out for preparation for the invasion. Neither he nor Mabel ever heard from the Ryder’s again. He does not know what became of them or their lovely home and little shop, but prays they survived the war and the German bombs.

Bill Lommerse

Bill Lommerse from Holland was an Elburn family friend prior to the war. He traveled to the United States every year to sell his Dutch flower bulbs. His sales included Elburn’s Florist and Greenhouses, Ringgold’s family’s business. While in Launceston, Ringgold received a letter from Mabel informing him that Bill Lommerse was stranded in England; the authorities would not let him return to his wife and eight children in Holland, which was under German control. Bill was staying in a boarding house at Perrinporth, working in a machine gun factory to support his English exile. Ringgold would hitch-hike to visit him on weekends, sleeping on a cot in his boarding house room. Immediately after the war, Ringgold and Mabel sent supplies to the Lommerse family in Holland – things unavailable to them so soon after the liberation. After the war, Bill Lommerse resumed his sales trips to the United States. He and Ringgold remained life-long friends. He visited Ringgold and Mabel on each trip and brought them beautiful bulbs for their yard.

Crossing the English Channel

The invasion of Europe was originally scheduled for 5 June 1944 but was postponed a day due to bad weather. The 29th Division crossed the English Channel on the landing craft LCI 553. The vehicles and drivers were loaded onto a separate landing craft and would come ashore later. LCI 553 did not have a bow door that dropped down to allow the troops to disembark. It had ladders down either side. Ringgold was the last man off the LCI, and remembers coming down the ladder on the craft’s starboard side.

Omaha Beach – The Landing

Ringgold Elburn landed on Omaha Beach in the second wave, at approximately 10:00 AM on 6 June 1944. The medics were the last to go ashore. The shoreline was rocky (Ringgold describes it as “cobblestone”) and hard. As Ringgold frantically tried to dig a hole for shelter, his Company Commander and Battalion Surgeon, Capt. G. R. D’Amato, shouted, “Come on, Elburn! Let’s get off this beach before we get killed!” Ringgold was carrying a heavy pack of splints, having drug it ashore from the LCI. He swung it to his back and followed Capt. D’Amato. He fell into a tank trap and found himself up to his chin in water, the heavy pack on his back pulling him under. He grabbed Capt. D’Amato’s pack and was pulled to safety, preventing his drowning.

The company climbed the cliff and proceeded through the mine field, marking the mines with bits of gauze bandage as they discovered them. Ringgold remembers that some of the men – most of who were only boys – could not handle the terror and sheer pressure. One man shot himself in the knee with his M1 rifle in an attempt to get sent back to safety. Unfortunately his shot caused so much damage that the medics had to amputate his leg before sending him back. The poor man got his wish, but at what a price to pay! But who can say that the loss of a limb was not better than the possible loss of his life?

Ringgold personally remembers one man just taking off running after a mortar hit nearby. He had to chase him down, tackle him, and sit on him in order to tag him to be sent back for a “rest.”

Medic’s Red Crosses Become German Targets

The red crosses on the medic’s armbands were intended as protection – an international sign of humanity helping the fallen and wounded. However the Germans tended to ignore the medic’s immunity and used the red crosses as targets to kill and maim those trying so desperately to save the lives of their comrades. T/5 John Howard “Blimp” Newnam became the second casualty in the company when he knelt on the beach to attend to the first casualty.  The Company Commander of E Company had been machine gunned across the groin. Blimp was shot through the red cross on him arm band, breaking the bone in his arm. He was sent back to England, not to return to the front for six months, on 6 December 1944. The first day back, he again drew fire, remarking, “Now isn’t this a hell of a reception?”

Memories and Stories of Individual Personnel

Robert D. “Bob” Rainey was a division replacement for T/3 Frank Bigelow, whose nerves finally became so bad that he had to be shipped back for a rest. Frank had been Ringgold’s foxhole partner. Bob replaced him, and he and Ringgold became life-long friends. Ringgold remembers sleeping in the foxhole with his boots on – he also remembers not taking his boots off one time for a period of 17 days! Needless to say, the medics treated many foot problems among the troops besides tending to the wounded.

T/5 Pat Gormley was captured by the Germans and held as prisoner of war until recovered by American troops 29 days later. If he had been held POW for 30 days or more, he would have automatically been sent home upon recovery. But for the lack of one day, he was sent back to the front. Ringgold purposely kept him “busy” in the aid station so he would not risk being recaptured or being shot. Gormley reported that he was treated fairly well by his German captors, but for the lack of supplies on the part of the Germans.

Omaha Beach to St. Lo

The company fought continuously from Omaha Beach to St. Lo, which fell on 17 July 1944, signaling the end of the Normandy invasion. After the fall, the men were given a very much needed ten day rest. The company traveled by trucks to Brest in Southern France. They were able to shower, received clean uniforms, and ate the first hot meals they had consumed since the landing.

Le Carrefour

Ringgold does not have much to say about Le Carrefour – he defers to his oral history of these events provided to Donald C. Van Roosen and documented in “Le Carrefour (“The Crossroads”), which was published in “The Twenty-Niner Newsletter” of July 1997. This article is included for reference.

Ringgold’s particular memories which he shared in his interview include:

· Cpl Richard P. Scott was taken prisoner

· Pfc Edward G. Amabile was taken prisoner and held for the duration of the war

· Lt Col William E. Warfield was killed in action

· 1st Lt Edward B. Tucker was killed trying to deliver hot food to the troops – his body was reverently covered with roses by the local French women

·  Maj Gen Gerhardt accused the 29th Division of being “yellow bellies” and of running away from combat

After all the American casualties had been attended to, the medics turned their attention to the German wounded. They found a German soldier with a serious lung wound that they treated before sending him back as a wounded POW. Ringgold remembers him begging in English for a cigarette that the medics would not give him due to the seriousness of his wound. They made other German POWs carry the wounded man’s litter back to the aid station.

Brest and the Aftermath

The 29th Division were bombed and strafed every day from St. Lo to Brest. They fought at the Brest sub pen until September 1944, eventually knocking out the German’s air defense and water supply. This timeframe is when the P-38 plane first came into use in battle. Ringgold remembers going up on the roof with Bob Rainey to watch them fly over to bomb and strafe the Brest sub pen.  Ringgold defers the details of the Brest conquest to the article in the Twenty-Niner Newsletter of July 2006 by Joseph Balkoski, Command Historian, Maryland National Guard – “The 29th Division in World War II: The Brest Campaign.” (Copy included for reference.)

60,000 Germans surrendered at Brest. Ringgold says that the Brest sub pen was like a city built in a big stone bank. It even had herds of horses to slaughter for food. Ringgold went in with the surrender party but, since he was carrying a carbine, was not allowed to enter the bunker. He went instead to the German medical station in search of the American wounded captured by the Germans before the surrender. The Germans wanted to surrender the hospital to Ringgold, but he deferred. After attending to the American GIs, the medics also treated the German wounded.

As recorded in Phil Hague’s diary, the American GIs heavily looted the Brest sub pen for souvenirs. Ringgold relates that the 29th Division was referred to as “2 a-shootin’ and 9 a-lootin’.”

Into Holland and Germany

After the conquest of the Brest sub pen, the company took a train headed for Germany. They disembarked in Belgium and were trucked into Holland.

They went through the Siegfried Line to Gillrath, Germany. They were stationed there for a period of time. It was there that some of the men shot a hog and dragged it back to camp. They had no means to scald it, so it was hung and skinned. Howard “Smitty” Smith was a butcher by trade, so he did the honors. Along with T/5 Max Moffett, a part-time cook, the men roasted the hog and devoured every scrap. Ringgold foraged a local orchard and found apples that they baked in the oven to accompany the pork.

Captain (Father) Eugene P. O’Grady, the Regimental Catholic Chaplain, shared their pig roast with them. He would later be killed in action at Kirchberg.

Ringgold remembers the fighting in Germany to occur mostly in open country, unlike the infamous hedgerows of France. The company waited in Germany for the Russians to arrive. Ringgold remembers being there the day the U.S. troops met the Russians, but he was in the background.

Casualties

Kirchberg is where PVT Paul Casbeer was shot. The litter bearers were carrying a litter with their heads above a hedgerow when the Germans fired at them. Casbeer was shot and evacuated. Ellis and Kaine were also killed; however the injured man on the stretcher was not. Ringgold did not know that Casbeer had died from his wounds until the 50th anniversary trip to Normandy with the 29th Division Association, when he saw his name in the register at the Britain Cemetery in France.

The first death in the unit was T/5 Lawrence E. Meeks on 17 July 1942. Other deaths that Ringgold recalls include PVT Hyman Hill and PFC Gilbert Archuleta.

Ringgold remembers the medics walking across an open field in Pattern on a Sunday afternoon with the Germans shooting at them. PVT Legg was killed in action while tending to a wounded man; both died.  Ringgold was tagging the dead when he found Legg’s remains – one leg and a field jacket with his name tag still intact. Ringgold imagines they either stepped on a land mine or took a hit from a mortar shell. These two men were Ringgold’s own personal last two casualties of the war.

Medical Supplies and Treatment

The medical corps followed the battalion. The U.S. medics had plenty of supplies – bandages, splints, and morphine syrettes. Vehicles constantly traveled right up to the front line to deliver the suuplies. The Germans, however, suffered for medical supplies. Ringgold remembers them using newspaper for bandages.

Some wounded were treated in France; the worst cases were sent back to England. The aid stations collected casualties in the rear, then forwarded them to France or England as required.

A neighbor at home in Chestertown, Maryland – Jim McCauley – credits Ringgold with saving his life. Ringgold remembers pulling him from the line of fire and tending to him, thinking he would not make it.  Jim walks with a limp to this day, one leg being shorter than the other.

The medics had plenty of morphine, which was a blessing to the wounded. The medics would patch up the wounded as best they could, administering morphine to ease the suffering. Litter squads carried the wounded to the rear if they could not walk.

The End of the War and Coming Home

The 29th Division was on the way to Denmark, which was still under German occupation, when the BBC announced the war was over.  The troops were taken to Bremen, Germany and housed in German homes while they waited for their turn to be shipped home. The troops would search the German homes for food to supplement their rations. Ringgold remembers finding a pot of peeled potatoes in water on the back of the stove – just as if the German housewife had left them there in preparation for cooking them for dinner. Of course, the American GIs had those potatoes for dinner.

Ringgold remembers his wife’s cousin, Marie Miller, sending him ice cream mix. He mixed up a batch of “home-made” ice cream with powdered milk and froze it in ice cube trays (the German homes still had electricity). What a treat that was!

Ringgold also acquired a few souvenirs of the war while staying in these German homes. The mementoes include a German edition of Mein Kampf, A photograph book entitled “Adolf Hitler,” and an original Iron Cross.

Ringgold left Bremen, Germany to return to the United States on 23 May 1945 – his 27th birthday. He says that is the best birthday he ever had!

The troops came home on Liberty Ships, which were slow, work-type boats. One engine on Ringgold’s ship broke down several days out of port, so they limped into New York, once again passing the Statue of Liberty. The troops unloaded and took the train to Fort Meade, Maryland. Since they were one of the first companies to be discharged, Fort Meade had not yet received their paperwork. They were sent home for the weekend and told to return on Monday to be formally discharged. Ringgold returned on Monday in civilian clothes, accompanied by his wife. The Army would not discharge him in “civvies” so he remembers having to draw a new uniform to wear to be discharged. He was discharged on (Ringgold cannot remember the exact date).

V. SGT. EDWARD RINGGOLD ELBURN’S PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

Purple Heart

Ringgold Elburn was awarded a Purple Heart for shrapnel received while attending to the wounded. The shrapnel lodged in his face next to his nose, but was not serious enough for him to leave his medic duties; he continued to attend to those less fortunate than himself.

Bronze Star – His Most Memorable Experience

Ringgold Elburn was awarded a Bronze Star for rescuing a wounded soldier while under fire.  He heard a very weak call for help over in a bank away from the protection of the hedgerow. He found a soldier from the 175th Regiment (known as the “Baltimore Wharf Rats”) in a fox hole with a broken femur. The soldier’s fellow troops had deserted him. Ringgold remembers the man being so dehydrated that his dentures would not stay in his mouth. Ringgold immediately administered morphine, gave him water, set his leg, and called for the litter squad. He gave him more morphine before the litter squad attempted to move him. The litter squad shoulder-carried the wounded man out with the German soldiers watching them from behind. Ringgold does not know to this day why they all were not massacred.  He states, “It was a really bad feeling, walking up that hill with the Germans across the valley watching our backs.”

The wounded man told Ringgold, “I’ll never stop thanking you for coming to get me!” Ringgold never knew the man’s name nor whatever became of him.

A Silver Dollar – His Good Luck Charm

Ringgold first noticed the silver dollar in his pocket at the Army camp in New York. The troops had been quarantined so they could not reveal deployment plans or other sensitive information. Mabel and other wives and girlfriends had traveled to New York to be with their men as long as possible; but a line of MPs on motorcycles separated the troops from the civilians. Ringgold was flipping the silver dollar and catching it. He missed a catch and it fell into one of the motorcycles. Ringgold and the MP had to search the vehicle to find it.

Ringgold continued to carry that same silver dollar throughout the war and until today – 64 years later! One time it disappeared for a month; it fell out of Ringgold’s pocket while riding in a jeep at the A.P. Hill Military Reservation. Ringgold figured it was gone for good – however, about a month later while again at A.P. Hill, it was recovered when a fellow soldier was power washing the jeep and blew it out of hiding.

The silver dollar has lost all markings, and Ringgold does not recall what year it was coined.

Ranks

When Ringgold was called to active duty, he was a PFC. He skipped the rank of Corporal and was promoted to SGT E5, then to Staff SGT. After rejoining the National Guard in 1947, he was promoted to 1^st SGT, which rank he maintained until retirement.

Furlough to Nice, France

Ringgold stayed on the front line the entire time he was in Europe, except for a 15 day furlough to Nice, France. The furloughed men went by train, with four men to a compartment. It was so crowded that Ringgold remembers sleeping in the overhead clothes rack. While in Nice, they went to the casinos and got clean clothes, good food, and a warm bed to sleep in. Ringgold had his photograph taken to send home to his family.

Mail Call and Entertainment

Ringgold received lots of mail from home; Mabel always sent him cookies. Sometimes they were nothing but crumbs, but they were mighty good crumbs! When the name “Elburn” rang out at mail call, everyone gathered around because they knew what to expect! Mail call came fairly often, although not regularly – Ringgold might get a bundle of letters at one time.

Ringgold saw a USO show once in Germany, near the front lines. Dinah Shore sang for the troops while standing in the back of a truck. Ringgold remembers her red hair and that she had freckles. While still is England, an Italian violinist performed for them at Tidworth Barracks, but Ringgold cannot recall his name.

Rations

Rations for the troops consisted of either K rations or C rations. K rations were in a wax-coated box similar to a Cracker Jack box and contained four cigarettes, a candy bar, and some hard crackers. C rations contained two cans – one of an entrée of some description and one with cookies, toilet paper, etc. C rations also contained cigarettes. Ringgold used to beg and borrow to get the C rations that contained baked beans. They were the most edible, especially cold. Ringgold remembers that the stew was the worst.

The troops became adept at “supplementing” their rations. In Germany in the winter, Bob Rainey and Ringgold shot rabbits, which Smitty skinned and cooked. Ringgold remembers that he could not eat them, but watched the rest enjoy them.

T/5 Max Moffett was invited to a home in Holland for dinner and was enjoying what he thought to be rabbit. However, his host smiled and asked, “You have not seen our cat, have you?” Desperate times call for desperate measures!

A Death in the Family at Home

Ringgold’s youngest brother, James E. “Jimmy” Elburn, drowned on 11 July 1943. Ringgold did not get to come home to the funeral of his favorite brother. Some of the other troops knew of the death from letters from home before the Red Cross got notification to his Company Commander. He was called into the Captain’s office and a fifth of whiskey set before him. He was told to take a drink before hearing some bad news. It impacted Ringgold very deeply; he was very close to his youngest brother. Ringgold remembers drinking almost the whole fifth of whiskey in a vain attempt to assuage the pain.

(Submitted by his daughter: Joan Elburn Farley)