DISCLAIMER: I
don't know who owns the whole SPR story, but I sure as heck don't. And I ain't makin any money off it.
Anzio: 2nd Ranger Battalion, Charlie
Company
"DOWN THE
SIDES!" Screamed the Loadmaster of the
Liberty Ship SS John Brown.
Captain John Miller began waving his men to head over the sides of the
ship towards their landing craft. 2nd
Lieutenant Bob Briggs looked out over the horizon.
"Good day
for an invasion eh Captain?" Miller
pulled out his M-2 Thompson submachine gun, put in a fresh clip, and chambered
a round.
"Yes it is
Briggs."
"Looks as
if we're gonna catch the Germans with their pants down." With that, his
traditional Nebraska grin spread on his face.
"Get down
there Briggs. I'm gonna make sure we
got all of our men." Briggs saluted him
and secured his M-1 Garand Rifle.
"Aye aye
captain!" Briggs headed down the side,
with Sergeant Mike Horvath (M-1 Carbine) in tow. Serving in the army before the war had made him a valuable NCO
experience that Miller called on often. Already in the landing craft were
Sergeant Tom Brantz (M-2 Thompson and point man), T/4 Medic Irwin Wade,
Corporal Mike Doyle (Flamethrower), Private Daniel Boone Jackson (the squad
sniper with an M-1903 Springfield rifle), and Private James Reiben (on the Browning
Automatic Rifle or the BAR). Horvath
and Briggs made a head count as Corporal James Winchester (Explosives and an
M-1 Carbine), and Privates Adam Mellish (M-1 Garand) and Adrian Caparrzo (M-1
Garand) got into the boat with the rest of the company. Miller, still on the deck, hurried Private
James Beasley (M-1 Garand and also company interpreter) and Corporals Jack
Henderson and John Thompson (M-2 Browning Machine Gun Crew) to go down the net. Miller scurried below deck to make sure his
company was on their way down to the landing craft. He got down to the bottom and found Private Michel Veccio pissing
"V's" onto the floor.
"Veccio,
what the hell are you doin? Loadmaster
ordered us over the side! We gotta go
now!" Veccio quickly zipped up his pants.
"Sorry
sir. Peeing V for Victory. Just following Churchill's lead capt'n. V for Victory!" Miller picked up the M-1 Garand on Veccio's bunk and tossed it at
him. Veccio had his coat on and spun to
catch the rifle.
"I don't
think Churchill would piss on the Dowdling Street in London Mr. Veccio." As he shoved Veccio up the stairs to the
main deck. As Veccio headed down the
rope to the LCVP landing craft, Miller turned to the Loadmaster.
"Company C
on board sir. Permission to head
out." The Loadmaster nodded and Miller
scurried down the rope. The rope was
hauled up on deck as LCVP 201-03 made for Green Charlie beach. The men looked anxious as they headed for
the beach, a mile away. The men looked
anxious. For some it was their first
landing; others had made the 'Torch' landings at Oman in North Africa. Miller was up at the front of the landing
craft giving final orders.
"Gentlemen,
for some of us, this is the first landing.
For others, its walk in the park.
Just stay calm; we're not trying to break the Atlantic Wall, and the
Germans don't even know we are landing here.
Just keep those actions clear, and I'll see you on the beach." He returned to his place in the back to
await the Boatmaster's signal.
"Thirty
seconds! Godspeed!" Miller looked at Briggs, Brantz and
Horvath. They all looked back
reassuringly. Suddenly, they lurched
forward as the boat lodged into the beach.
The ramp fell, and they lead men were off. No shots were heard. The
men headed up to the beach to the rally point.
Their job was to take the port facilities at Anzio. They had landed a half mile outside of the
city.
"Alright
gentlemen, we have a job to do! Double
time!" With their weapons at ready
(save for the specialists), they headed off and entered the outskirts of the
Anzio. The German strength was
reportedly a reinforced company of engineers and a squad of infantry; no
artillery (Thank God). Miller took them
in, and set up his HQ in a blown out building.
He ordered his men to disperse, and Henderson and Thompson to find a
good position with Horvath in charge. Miller received new intelligence and took
half the company with him, including Medic Wade, Cpl. Doyle, Pvt. Jackson,
Reiben, Veccio, Beasley, and Cpl. Winchester with Sgt. Brantz as his second in
command. Briggs' men included Sgt.
Horvath, the M-2 Browning crew, Pvt. Caparzzo, and Mellish. Miller led the squad and soon encountered
one of the native Italians.
"Beasley! See if she knows anything." Beasley asked her, and soon told Beasley
everything she knew.
"She says,
sir, that the Germans have a machine gun ahead, and have about 20 men guarding
the docks." Miller nodded and told him
to thank her. He then sent Jackson off
to find higher ground, and snipe as many Germans down as possible. The rest of the squad moved up. Miller spied the machine gun nest, and heard
popping from Jackson's deadly rain of terror.
He knew a frontal assault by the majority of the squad would not be
phesable. He moved them very discretely
into a building right across from the nest.
He planned to send Winchester with explosives to blow up the nest and
the surrounding obstructions so they could get to the docks. He also sent Beasley back to call up the
rest of the company. He positioned
Briggs, Brantz, Wade, Veccio, Doyle, and the Browning with eight other riflemen
on the first floor to provide immediate cover for Winchester (except for Wade,
who was in position to tend to the men most under fire. Miller and Horvath
commanded Reiben, Beasley, Jackson (who joined the rest of the company),
Mellish, and Caparzzo with six other riflemen on the second floor to provide
high cover for Winchester. Winchester
was going to "quietly" approach the nest and obstruction's, throw down satchel
charges, and detonate them from a safe distance. The rest of the company was supposed to provide cover.
Miller gave
the signal, and the company opened up.
The machine gun immediately opened up on the Rangers. Miller watched as Winchester skillfully
weaved his way to the nest and the barricades the German's erected. Miller's explosive expert threw the satchel
charge in front of the nest and it landed exactly where Winchester wanted it to
go. He scurried back, but the 2nd
Battalion's luck would not hold. A
German enlisted man spotted Winchester as he darted through the rubble. As Winchester was setting the detonator, the
German opened up with a barrage of 9mm ammo from his MP-40 submachine gun. Winchester was hit several times, and he
fell over. Wade wanted to help him, but
Briggs on the first floor knew that Winchester was dead. Suddenly, Private Veccio ran out into the
hailstorm of bullets and set the detonator.
Briggs yelled after him, but speedy Sergeant Brantz was after Veccio in
a flash. Veccio landed in a sheltered
spot with the detonator. Brantz fell in
right beside him. As Veccio set the
detonator, he turned it, and was shot.
He collapse and the satchel charge did not go off. Miller ordered in haste for Jackson to blow
it up with a round from his sniper rifle. But then, Brantz jumped out to check
and reset the wires on the charge.
Miller ordered Jackson to hold his fire as Brantz crawled over to the
charge. Just then, one of the Germans
inside the machine gun nest, not realizing that there were explosives sitting
right outside the sandbags, tossed a potato masher grenade at Brantz.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Miller yelled as the grenade went off and
exploded the charge right in Brantz's face.
The charge blew up and the nest was no more. But Brantz's face was blown to pieces, and he lay motionless.
"TOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" Miller literally jumped out of the second
story window, following closely behind Wade, Horvath and Briggs. Wade made for Private Veccio and immediately
applied bandages. Miller ordered
Horvath take the rest of the company forward to the docks and signal the
waiting transports that they could offload new troops. Miller and Briggs stood over Brantz; Miller
leaned down and pulled off one of the dog tags and put it in his pocket. Wade was working on Veccio. He was shot in the lungs, and air could be
heard passing through the wound when he breathed. Miller and Briggs tried to comfort him as Wade privately
pronounced the wound as fatal.
"Cap'n. V for Victory."
"Yes
private. We thank you Veccio." Tears were running down his face. "You're gonna make it pal. You're goin' home." Veccio smiled and Mellish ran over and
reported to him.
"Captain
Miller, we have secured the docks and troops are landing." He smiled and looked at Miller, who was
looking at Veccio.
"We did it
Veccio. All because of you." Veccio's breathing became harder and harder
as he drew shallower and shallower breaths.
"Cap'n
Miller…it's been an…honor and a…privelidge to…serve under your command." Miller began to cry as Veccio breathed his
last. Miller reached down and snapped
off his dog tags.
"Forty one
and forty two." He turned and walked
away. "Briggs, you're in charge.
The 2nd
Battalion, Charlie Company received a well-deserved time in the reserve
formations during the rest of the time in the Anzio beachhead. In early March, all the company commanders
of the 2nd Ranger Battalion were assembled with Lt. Colonel Jacob
Hopper, CO of the 2nd Ranger Battalion.
"Greetings
gentlemen. You've all done one helluva
good job here. So much General
Alexander has recommended that we are pulled out and refitted." This brought a great cheer from the
commanders. "Also, we will be
officially changing commands. We will
no longer be attached to the Mediterranean Command. Instead, we will be move under the jurisdiction of the Supreme
Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force.
That's right gentlemen, we're going into France…"
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