Military Career of Wendell Fountain
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Wendell knew that he would eventually be one of those drafted into service for World
War II because he was the only single fit male of draft age in his area of Minnesota. Wendell
determined that he would have a better chance of obtaining a position of his choosing if he
enlisted rather than wait until the draft started. In February of 1940 he enlisted in the U.S. Army.
The U.S. passed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 by one vote on July 1st of 1940
and first started drafting men for WWII on July 18. Wendell first went to Fort Snelling in Minnesota. He then went to train in Texas before going to
to Ireland for training. He probably took part in an exercise known as Operation ATLANTIC which was conducted in Northern Ireland between Belfast
Lough and Lough Meagh from 1 July to 8 July 1942. This was an operation to test cooperation
between United States and British Troops. On June 1st, 1941 the 36th Engineer Regiment was formed at Plattsburgh Barracks, New York. On August 1st, 1942 the unit was renamed the 36th Engineer Combat Regiment. Wendell became a part of the 2nd Battalion of this regiment. |
| The 36th Engineer Combat Regiment Coat of Arms |  |
The 36th Engineer Combat Regiment was originally planned to be a boat regiment. Although this never happened, the unit kept the seahorse as its unit symbol. Ironically, the unit would still participate in five major amphibious operations. |
The 36th Engineer Combat Regiment became part of the 34th Infantry Division. This was a division created from National Guard troops from Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas and Nebraska. They were known as the "Red Bull" division and their patch is in the shape of a Mexican water jug. Their slogan is 'Attack, Attack, Attack' You can read more about them here. |
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The 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division Shoulder/Sleeve Insignia |
Operation TORCH
We know that Wendell later trained in Scotland. Historical records show that U.S. engineers trained in Rosneath, Scotland with other troops for Operation TORCH which he was definitely a part of. Wendell recounts that survivors of the Boat Raid on Dieppe trained him.
Rosneath House became American staff headquarters and the planning centre for 'Torch' as
thousands of U.S. navy, marine corps and army personnel arrived at the base to practise
amphibious landing techniques at Rosneath and around the Clyde sea-lochs. The densely
wooded Green Isle area near Rosneath House provided cover for living quarters capable of
holding some 6,000 men. American troops were also billeted with local families in the
Helensburgh area, along with British commandos with whom they trained for the African
landings.
http://www.gareloch.org.uk/history/war2.cfm
Wendell may have also been in Inverary, Scotland where there was a pre-dawn practice landing on
the beach there for the operation.
Wendell departed England in the Center Naval Task force of Operation TORCH around October 14, 1942. Wendell was part of 39,000 U.S. troops that landed at Oran, Algeria. A British Radar operator named Gardner L. Friedlander was in that task force and gives a detailed account of it. German subs actually intercepted and sunk part of the task force.
Oran was held by Vichy French troops at the time of the landing on November 8th, 1942. Although there was stiff resistance to the landing the French eventually surrendered. You can read a lot of details about the operation at the site World War II Plus 55.
It was in Africa that the three battalions of the 36th Engineer Combat Regiment were first united. From this time on they would stay together until their reorganization near the end of the war.
Wendell recalls building railroads, sewage dumps, and many other things in North Africa. North Africa, particularly the port
of Oran, would be a place where many troops would both train and organize for later attacks on Fortress Europe.
Operation HUSKY
The second invasion of WWII that Wendell was a part of involved him landing at Licata,
Sicily. His landing invasion was part of Operation HUSKY and took place on July 10th, 1943.
The 36th Engineer Shore Group supported the assault landings in the "Joss" Area and was the
largest of the four Engineer shore groups. On assembly for the invasion, it totaled 4,744 officers
and enlisted men. Its core was the 2,088-soldier 36th Engineer Combat Regiment and the 623-soldier 2d Battalion, 540th Engineer Combat Regiment.
http://www.quartermaster.army.mil/oqmg/Professional_Bulletin/1996/Winter/sicily.html
Operation HUSKY was the largest landing prior to the Nomandy Invasion. The operation
almost failed due to near gale force winds on the day of the invasion. However, the weather was
worse than the defenders. The entire campaign to conquer Sicily took 38 days. Although the
Italian VI Army with 300,000-350,000 men was on the island the fighting was made extremely
difficulty by the presence of two German units. These units were much more skilled than the
Italian units which helped in a very successful evacuation of the island. These troops would later
fight the Allies in Italy.
Operation AVALANCHE
On September 8th, 1943, Wendell was in his third landing invasion. The U.S. Armies objective of this landing was to capture Naples, Italy and involved a landing at Salerno, Italy. This landing was part of Operation AVALANCHE.
The landing started on the September 8th, 1943, the same day that the Italians surrendered. The landing continued through September 10th. German planes actually bombed the landing zone but due to dense smoke all their bombs missed the troops. Overall, Operation AVALANCHE went much smoother than Allied commanders had feared. However, the defense of the invasion at Salerno was so intense at one point that the general in charge, General Mark Clark, had to arm as infantry two artillery battalions, the regimental band, all the HQ orderlies, and the cooks in order to avoid getting surrounded by the Germans at the Battle of Ponte Bruciato.
Wendell remembered that in Naples German guns were on the mountain side. The Combat Engineers repaired crater filled roads and built new ones so the troops could get to Naples. The Engineers were stationed to protect these roads a night from sabateurs.
There were Moroccan night fighters fighting alongside the engineers. on duty never heard the Moroccans coming. The Moroccan's would sneak up on a man, feel the rim of his helmet,
and would say ''merri-kan'. they avoided being shot. Wendell remembers next day he saw German Soldiers dead further up the mountain which were probably the Moroccan's handy work.
Operation Shingle
Wendell’s fourth invasion of WWII that he would take part in would be his worst. This was the invasion at Anzio beach in Italy on January 22nd, 1944 as part of Operation SHINGLE.
In this invasion Wendell's regiment was assigned to reinforce three ranger battallions as part of the 6615 Ranger Force. The first Ranger battalion had been created when Wendell was in Scotland and he trained along side these men there who had been mainly from his 34th Infantry Division.
Anzio is located 30 miles south of Rome, the objective of this operation. The beach is 15 miles wide and the Allies made it 3 or 4 miles inland with virtually no resistance. During the next four month some of the most fierce fighting during all of WWII took place on Anzio beach. On the beach itself, the U.S. 36th Engineer Combat Regiment bulldozed exits, laid corduroyroads, cleared mines, and readied the port of Anzio to receive its firstlanding ship, tank (LST), an amphibious assault and supply ship, by the afternoon of D-day. This allowed most of the forces to successfully land. Go here to read more.
Unfortunately, within a week the Germans had recovered from their surprise by the landing. Hitler ordered all his forces to crush what he called the 'Anzio abscess’. The beachhead became surrounded. The 36th Engineer Combat Regiment was made a reserve fighting unit and ended up being called to the front lines. The worse part of the many months of the campaign was the constant bombardment by the Germans. The Allied troops had to face the biggest gun in the world at the time called "Anzio Annie”. The 36th Engineer Combat Regiment hold the credit for capturing that gun.
Wendell remembers at one point hiding under a corn kiln during the fierce shelling at Anzio. He and his squad buddy dug into it, put branches over the top and covered it with rain coats. His buddy started shooting out of it which gave the Germans their location. They were then hit by a large shell. The concussion dropped sandbags down on each of Wendell's shoulders. The man with him doubled over, so Wendell took him to the Aid station. The medic noticed Wendell had hurt his hand. He vividly remembered the charcoal dust from the kiln had been peppered into their skin by the force of the explosion, and they were literally black.
After the Allies finally broke out of Anzio and took Rome, Wendell got a day of furlough.
This allowed him to a chance to see the capital of Italy, a short but cherished bit of time in the
midst of the war.
Operation DRAGOON
The final landing Wendell would take part in was the invasion of Southern France called
Operation DRAGOON. Originally, this operation was called ANVIL but the name was changed
because it was believed the German’s had discovered the significance of the code word.
There were multiple landings as part of this operation. They all took place on August 15th,
1944. Some of the places troops landed on were the Island of Levante, Baie de Cavalaire, and
Baie de Bugnon all between Toulon and Cannes on the French Riviera. This was the second
largest invasion of Europe when airborne units are counted. Winston Churchill actually watched
this invasion from a British destroyer in the invasion fleet.
Only 138 lives were lost in this landing. The Germans failed to get their machine guns set up until many waves of troops had already landed. The paratroopers entered towns that had already been captured by partisans. There were quite a few mine fields that the engineers had to clear though.
Operation NORDWIND
The winter or 1944 was one of the coldest Europe experienced for years. Wendell remembers making it through with a coat that he had hired a French woman to modify for him. She communicated she could sew on his coat for him, and to give her a blanket. When he got it back it was lined with the blanket and had rabbit fur around the hood.
Between the Normandy invasion and the fall of Berlin, the only other major occurrence in WWII that is generally talked about is the Battle of the Bulge. However, the Germans made a second major attack on the allies in Souther France Alsace region called Operation Nordwind.
The main thrust of this attack was through the French Bitche region. The 36th Engineer Combat Regiment, assigned to the 45th Infantry Division, is called up to the front lines to stop the German attack. This happens because normal infantry losses have been very high due to both the Battle of the Bulge and because Europe has one of the coldest winters on record in 1944.
The Germans commenced their attack on January 1st, 1945. They actually broke through part of the Allies line. On January 14th, Wendell’s regiment was ordered to attack along with the 157th Infantry. Upon their advance they were almost immediately pinned down by artillery and mortar fire. The 3rd Battalion of the 157th Infantry did make it 2,000 yards to capture two hills. However, the 11th Regiment of the 6th SS Mountain Division nearly encircled the 3rd Battalion. The remainder of the 157th Infantry, along with Wendell’s 36th Engineer Combat Battalion, battled from January 16th to the 20th to try and get the 3rd Battalion out to safety or at least get them supplies. On January 20th, after their fifth attempt had failed, the 157th Infantry were ordered to withdraw.
At 1530 hours, 20 January, the rearward forces began to fire rifles and automatic weapons into
the air to bewilder the Germans; and the radio from the five companies broadcast "'We're
coming out. Give us everything you've got." Firing continued for three minutes; smoke rounds
were lobbed in to cover the break. But one hour later the radio reported that the enemy cordon
could not be broken. Only two men out of the five companies got out. Only some 125 out of the
original force of about 750 men remained unwounded; but they had to be abandoned, together
with the wounded and the dead. By nightfall they had been engulfed by the enemy. On the
following day the 157th Infantry was withdrawn from the line.
http://www.trailblazersww2.org/seventh_bitche.htm
Staff Sergeant Albert R. Panebianco of the 157th Infantry was in the battle and fought along side
Wendell. His account of the fighting can be found here:
http://home.nc.rr.com/alpanebianco/new_page_3.htm
The allies suffered over 29,000 casualties during Operation NORDWIND with over 7,000 dead. As a result of the losses, on the 16th of February of 1945, the 45th Infantry Division was relieved by the 42nd Infantry Division. The 36th Engineer Combat Battalion, was reorganized and redesignated on February 15th, 1945.
Wendell remembers building a bridge with his unit before he left it. From his stories it appears that he left prior to January 1st and Operation NORDWIND. He would always agonize over the fates of the members of his unit during the German attack.
Wendell recalls leaving the front on cattle cars. He had to leave all of his equipment at the front for the combat troops
to use.
Homecoming and Discharge
Wendell went home on leave in March of 1945. He was discharged following VE Day (Victory in Europe) on May 8th, 1945. The 36th Engineer Combat Battalion redesignated units would be deactivated later in the year.
Wendell left the Army at the rank of Sergeant. During WW2 this was the 4th rank from the bottom, the middle enlisted rank. It was a 'Grade 4' in a system where grades were counted from the top down. Wendell also had earned 6 'Overseas Service Bars' which means he had served over 36 months overseas. Information on his insignias can be found here.
Before Wendell had gone off to war he had bought a new Ford. Wendell was very greatful to his father who had stored his car at the Allis Chalmers warehouse,
and had lovingly started it every week while Wendell was away.
