By the Summer of 1944, the war in Europe had evolved and the momentum was definitely on the side of the Allies. The Soviet Union was on the offensive, pushing their way through Eastern Europe towards Germany.

The Allies secured North Africa, and were making slow progress up the boot of Italy. It was now time to open another front in the West.

The much anticipated invasion of Normandy took place on June 6,1944, dropping 150,000 fresh Allied troops on Germany’s doorstep. There had been discussion about invading Southern France on the same date, but due to the logistics involved, there was no way to support both operations on the same date. Instead, my Father would participate in Operation Dragoon on August 15, 1944. This would place Allied forces in the Southern half of France, an area under the authority of the Vichy French regime, and left largely undefended by Germany. – Harrison Woodard

The Woodard Boys Go to World War II

From Anzio To Provence – Part 6

By Hollis Hood Woodard

(1917 – 2009)

Virgil and I didn’t get much sleep that night because he was bringing me up to date on what had happened since I left home to come overseas. When he left the next morning I almost cried. He was my little brother just eighteen years old and having to go back on the line. Again I started praying really hard for his safety as well as mine.

Before Frank went to Anzio his fox hole mate had told me that he thought Frank was getting sick. I watched him loose weight and talked to our Battalion Doctor about it. He told me he thought Frank was worrying too much. After Anzio, he really started going down and I really became concerned. While he was back with us training for the Southern France invasion, he went with his Battery on a twenty-five mile hike. I was watching when the Battery came in and Frank wasn’t with them. I asked what happened to him and they told me he had to sat down and rest and told them to go on and he would catch up with them. Well, he did come walking in about thirty minutes later. I went with him to his tent and told him something was wrong with him and he needed medical attention. He wanted to argue with me but I told him to get everything together and go with me to the Medical Department. I think Frank realized that he wouldn’t be coming back and told me to take care of his equipment and see that it was turned in. I told him I would and when we got to the Medical Department they were fixing to carry some soldiers to the Hospital in Naples. I asked the Medical Officer to take Frank back and see if they could find out what was wrong with him. He agreed and loaded him on the ambulance. That night I noticed the Ambulance come back and also noticed that Frank was not on it. I went down and asked the Captain what happened to Frank and he told me he had sugar diabetes and would be returned to the United States after a stay in the hospital in Naples. H. L. and I decided to find what hospital he was in at Naples and go and check on him. Well all this area had quite a bit of war damage and all street signs were gone. When we met in Naples we decided to ask some Italian directions to the hospital. We found one that could speak some English and asked him. He took us out into an open space and pointed to a big building about two miles away and told us that was the hospital. There was no bus service in that direction so H. L. and I started out walking but he started having trouble with his feet and we had to stop for awhile. Later an Italian came along with a donkey hitched to a cart and we flagged him down and got into the back of the cart. It so happened that he didn’t go all the way so we had to start walking again. Finally, we arrived and were able to locate Frank and had a nice visit. At the time I realized that Frank and H. L. would both be going back to the states and I would be left in Italy. Right after they left we were alerted to go to Southern France.

I will never forget that trip to Southern France. We were loaded on a LCI (Landing Craft Infantry) for the trip. These boats were flat bottom and right away we ran into a little storm out in the Mediterranean and we had to tie ourselves in our hammocks in order to stay in them to sleep. I was bothered about going into Southern France and didn’t know what we might run into. It so happened that the place where we went in wasn’t occupied by German troops. In fact after we got everything unloaded and got into our trucks we were able to drive quite a distance inland before we faced any German troops. When we started hitting the mountains in Southern France we found we were in the same type of war we had been in Italy. Here in Southern France we had some help that we never had in Italy. The French Resistance really started giving the Germans trouble. I shall never forget one long hungry Frenchman that rode out of the mountains on his bicycle one night just before dark. He had two heavy army rifles and two belts of ammunition on his shoulders. He came down wanting more ammunition and told us he was one of the Resistance leaders in the nearest town and that Germans had run him into the mountains trying to kill him. He also told us that they had killed his wife and two sons trying to get him to come down. As he was getting on his bicycle to go back up into the mountains, he turned and told us that twenty-five Germans would have to die for each member of his family and as he rode away he yelled back, “My wife I have avenged”. We all wished him good hunting.

There was some hard fighting there in those mountains. One battle I remember was the Colmar Pocket. This was a section of the front that the French were trying to take. They had so much trouble that we were sent down there to help them take that area. It was in this area that I met General de Gaulle of the French Army in the middle of the street one day. He was very impressive looking and looked very businesslike. Each little group of mountains gave the Germans something to hide behind. Another problem we had in this area was the fall of the year and the rains starting. We all knew that winter and snow wasn’t far behind. We were able to get into Alsace Lorraine and found that we were running into people speaking German. Then I remembered that Germany and France had fought over this little piece of land for centuries. I was amused by one of the natives that spoke English asking me if they were part of America now that the Americans had invaded. I told them I didn’t think so. Another interesting thing happened in the first town we went into; as we came into town they put American Flags in their windows. The Germans counter attacked, and we had to let them have the town back for a short time. As we left the town they took the American Flags out and put up German flags. In a very short time we were back again and they got to keep the American flags out for good.

After Frank and H. L. were sent home, I was doing pretty well thinking that the only person’s welfare I had to look out for was my own. But I got a letter from my sister Ruth which let me know that I would have another in a very short time. She wrote that my brother Virgil was on his way to Europe. I knew there was only one place he could be going and that was the area of Europe that I was fighting in at the time. The only other possibility was that he might be assigned up on the Northern Front. Later I found out that he was coming on to the Southern Front and I went back to the Replacement Depot to get some replacements for our outfit and had every intention of getting Virgil, if he was still there and unassigned. But when I asked about him they told me that he had been assigned to the 103rd Infantry Division. It so happened that we were supporting the 103rd at the time and I put out the word for men in my outfit to keep me posted and tell me if they found his company. In the meantime, Virgil was looking for me. He walked into one of our forward outposts and asked about me. He said the guy told him he knew when he walked in that he was my brother. Our Colonel was at the outpost and heard that Virgil wanted to come back and spend the night with me. The Colonel told Virgil he was heading back to where I was and he could ride back with him, and then ride back to the front with him the next morning. Virgil and I didn’t get much sleep that night because he was bringing me up to date on what had happened since I left home to come overseas. When he left the next morning, I almost cried. He was my little brother, just eighteen years old, and having to go back on the line. Again I started praying real hard for his safety as well as mine.

Virgil Woodard — U. S. Army

H. L. and Frank had given me scares in Italy but I wasn’t ready for what happened to Virgil. His company was crossing a little stream at night and Virgil’s squad was the first one across when the Germans opened up on the others. They made it so rough for them that the other members of the company were called back leaving Virgil and six other soldiers across the stream. They were lucky in that they had the platoon sergeant with them and when he realized what had happened he got them down and they crawled through the German lines and got in back where they could figure out how to get back to their outfit. I learned right away that Virgil and some of the men in his company had crossed the stream and were probably behind the German lines wandering around. This made it hard for this older brother. I wanted to try to help and not knowing where they were and what they were up to made it harder. Three days later my colonel came back from the line and told me my brother was safe that they had slipped back through the German lines. He laughed and told me each man brought back a German prisoner. He said Virgil told him to have me contact home as soon as possible and tell Dad and Mother that he was alright because he was sure he was on a missing in action report. Knowing our Mother I realized what a missing in action report would do to her. I rushed to see what I could do. I found that I could send a telegram to Grace in Dallas and mention that I had seen Virgil on a certain date, which would be a date after he had been reported as missing in action. I did that but found out later it didn’t do much good the report that got to Mother and Dad was that I had been hurt. Dad went to Winnsboro and called Grace and had her read the telegram and the report that I got overseas was that he realized I was telling him that I had seen Virgil after the missing in action report was turned in and that he was alright. The fact that I didn’t mention anything about being hurt made them realize that the report they had got third hand was wrong.

Note: The Champagne Campaign – The allied invasion of Southern France, was an important final straw on the Western Front. However, it is largely forgotten by the much larger Normandy invasion that occurred two months earlier. For a good summary of the invasion and campaign – Southern France and Operation Dragoon – The Forgotten Campaign!

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6 – Part 7 – Part 8

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