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Walter Bingham
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Sergeant George Evans

BAR Gunner, Squad Leader

1st Platoon, I Company, 142nd Infantry Regiment

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     George Evans was born on June 1, 1924 in Pennsylvania, it was not long before George and his family moved to the bustling metropolis of Detroit. His parents were both of Austrian descent, his father having moved to the United States only a few years earlier with his mom the daughter of Austrian immigrants living in Pennsylvania. In fact, his birth name was not even Evans, it was Ivan, which he changed later in life to anglicize it. Their move to Detroit was characterized by his father’s longtime job as a press operator at the Chevrolet Gear and Axle Plant No. 1. A major subplant of Chevrolet nestled within Detroit’s renowned automobile industry, the factory was home to a considerable number of immigrant workers such as George’s dad. While George was in high school he watched as his father and his coworkers grappled in the Depression-era labor fights, partaking in numerous strikes and walk-outs. The factory supported nearly 7,000 other Chevrolet workers, and thus a key in the entire company’s operation.

     When war broke out in 1941, George and his parents were living in a small suburb near downtown Detroit. Less than two years later, upon his graduation from high school, George was drafted into the U.S. Army. Officially enlisting on March 1, 1943, he went through basic training for several months before shipping off for Europe that July. With the campaigns of North Africa complete and the invasion of Sicily underway, George knew he was either bound for England or North Africa, where he would likely partake in the future invasion of Italy itself. Arriving in North Africa in August, he, along with many other replacement troops, was assigned to the 9th Replacement Battalion. He was with this unit on September 9, 1943 when news came that the invasion of Italy was underway. Alongside British troops and American paratroopers, the U.S. 36th Infantry Division had hit the beaches and marked a new phase in the European war. No doubt eager to get into the fight, now nineteen-year-old George waited until October to receive his permanent assignment and travel to the mainland. On November 19, he made it to the frontlines, officially a member of the 36th Infantry Division.

     

     Arriving to the 36th, George was put in 1st Platoon, I Company, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Infantry Regiment. Still containing many Texas troops from its national guard days, the 36th Division had taken substantial casualties during the initial landings at Salerno. By the time George joined, the division was participating in the Allied push towards the Gustav Line, holed up in the mountains of south-central Italy. I Company in particular was dug in surrounding Monte Camino, a strategic mountain recently captured by British troops. Assigned as a BAR gunner in the company, George’s first combat experiences were less than ideal. Most combat action consisted of patrols or artillery sent back and forth between the German and American lines, however, their worst enemy was the conditions. Weather was poor throughout the month, with continuous rain and cold affecting both sides drastically. Extra warm food, blankets, socks, and gloves became necessities for the soldiers as they tried to hold the rocky outcroppings of the mountain. 

 

     Early December found George in his first offensive action when the First Special Service Forces (FSSF), an elite group of American and Canadian commandos, was assigned to the 142nd to help secure a set of German strongpoints. With the FSSF tasked to the towering cliffs of Monte La Difensa, I Company and the rest of 3rd Battalion attacked Hill 370, an occupied hill just southwest of the main mountain. German snipers and infantry did their best to hold it, but the battalion’s advance was too much and by the end of the first day it had been seized. Less than two days later, without any further enemy threats, the entire battalion was withdrawn and tasked to carry rations to other, more heavily engaged units, requiring George and his comrades to lug heavy packs up and down the hazardous and difficult mountain terrain to support the fight. A few weeks later they went back into action during the Battle of San Pietro, where they spent three days conquering Monte Lungo while the rest of the division focused on San Pietro Infine. 

     The next three months were rather uneventful for George. At the outset of 1944 the entire 142nd Infantry was placed on rest, only coming back at the end of January to sit in reserves while the 36th Division suffered its most horrendous losses at the Rapido River. Survivor’s guilt was surely present while the 142nd GIs sat back and watched their sister regiments, the 141st and 143rd, be ripped to shreds on the Rapido’s shore. February was full of more mountain fighting, primarily stagnant action with patrol-based combat. On March 3, however, the elements finally got to George and he was evacuated to the 300th General Hospital for trench foot, a common ailment among 36th troops during the mountain campaigns. He spent the entire month recovering before heading back to I Company on the 28th. April and most of May were similarly spent in relaxed positions, allowing the division to rest and recuperate from its losses over the last six months.

 

     On May 22, 1944, the 36th Division made its landing at Anzio to support the 5th Army breakout towards Rome. It was not until the 30th, however, that the 142nd got to join in the fight. With the 141st and 143rd engaged at the strategic town of Velletri, George and the entire 142nd Infantry snuck through a German gap in the lines, climbing up Mount Artemisio, the main ridge north of Velletri, to flank the entire enemy position. The Germans were taken completely by surprise and were now surrounded. Despite desperate attempts to drive off the maneuver, they ended up falling into a total retreat. Chasing the Germans further and further towards Rome, George’s battalion spent the first days of June combatting various German delaying forces, including enemy armor, with great success. On June 4, while attacking Grottaferrata about ten miles from Rome, the order came to “proceed to Rome” as fast as possible. 3rd Battalion jumped onto trucks and rushed forward but were stopped after a brief firefight in the suburbs outside of the city. 

     At 0230, the motor march continued, with the 3rd Battalion riding on top of artillery trucks with their gun crews. Driving into the “eternal city,” the GIs first found the streets largely abandoned until people slowly began to appear on balconies and in the streets with torches, cheering on their American liberators. Moving past the Colosseum, the Tiber River, and the Vatican without problem, it was not until the column moved five miles outside of the city when German forces renewed their attack through an ambush. Enemy mortars, machine guns, and infantry opened up on 3rd Battalion, forcing George and his comrades to dismount and spend the entire day fighting from strongpoint to strongpoint. With tens of thousands of rounds fired by both sides, 3rd Battalion achieved the final victory with eighty-three enemy casualties and dozens of gun emplacements captured.

 

     The 142nd moved out once again on June 7 with a motor march towards the city of Civitavecchia, making contact with the 34th Infantry Division that evening to take over an assembly position in preparation for an upcoming attack. The assault began on the morning of the 11th near Capalbio, with the intent to support a division advance up Highway 1, a key supply route right along the western Italian coast. A new German division had set up in the area, keeping the 141st Infantry from seizing a key junction of the highway. The 142nd was sent to attack through a series of valleys near Capalbio, traveling northwest along streambeds to help flank the German troops attacking the 141st. I Company held the right flank of the regiment and was sent to take Hill 425, which was already abandoned by the German troops. Realizing the enemy had actually fortified more heavily in the 2nd Battalion sector, 3rd Battalion was quickly sent to seize Hill 233 and begin a swing westward to envelop any German troops making their way to 2nd Battalion. During the attack on this hill, George performed an incredible act of heroism that earned him the Silver Star Medal. His citation reads:

 

For gallantry in action on 11 June 1944 in Italy. Private First Class Evans was an automatic rifleman with the right leading squad of the first platoon. When the forward element was pinned down, Private First Class Evans, instantly aware of the danger to the left flank, crawled under heavy hostile fire to an advantageous position. Although he was exposed to incessant small arms fire, he put his weapon into action and, by firing steadily into the midst of the attackers, he enabled the platoon to escape the enemy force. He received a painful hip wound; but, although it was bleeding profusely, he refused to withdraw and continued to fire until his platoon had achieved its objective. After this engagement he ignored his severe wound and, unassisted, marched for twelve hours without complaint. His gallant action reflects great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States

 

Playing a key role in his platoon’s success that day, and despite suffering a severe injury from enemy artillery shrapnel, he pushed on until the day was won and the entire area secured. Although he survived the battle, he was evacuated for his injuries and spent the next three months recovering, only leaving the hospital after the 36th Division had landed in Southern France in Operation Dragoon. 

     George rejoined I Company on September 23, 1944. While he was away, the division had landed near Saint Raphael in Southern France, initiating a second front in the invasion of France. By the time George returned, however, they had largely driven the Germans out of the south and into the Vosges, an ancient and heavily-forested mountain region where the enemy planned to make their stand. At the time he joined, the company was holding the center of Remiremont, a key town along the Moselle River which had been a major battlefield in the days prior. 3rd Battalion moved out the next day, with I Company taking up a roadblock between Le Tholy and Eloyes. They were attacked the following morning by a heavy German force preceded with artillery and mortar fire. The fighting was fierce with one anti-tank gun lost and several casualties taken, requiring the immediate support of an ambulance to evacuate the heavily wounded. It wasn’t until the rest of 3rd Battalion joined them that they were able to hold back the German attempts to outflank them. George was back in the action, to say the least.

 

     The last few days of September were spent pushing back against several other key points in the sector, clearing a nearby valley, setting up roadblocks, organizing various defensive positions, and capturing Tendon. The Germans were putting up an extremely tough fight through the rolling forests, seeking to exploit the American attacks at any point they could. Battle casualties were heavy but by the start of October the battle shifted eastward, along the Tendon-Le Tholy road near le Creux. Here the Germans had created a major roadblock armed with anti-tank and machine guns. I and K Company flanked it from the northwest, fighting for the high ground above the roadblock, sweeping down to take it after an intense firefight. On October 3 the 3rd Battalion was given some relief from the line, waiting in Xamantarupt as they absorbed nearly sixty replacements, bringing total company strength to around 160 men. 

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     3rd Battalion went back onto the line on the night of 10-11 October, moving to positions from Le Creux to Rupt along an extended hillside opposite of suspected German emplacements near Rehaupal. Here thee battalion dug in, creating complicated and heavily reinforced positions that were improved over the next three weeks, as the battalion remained in the same positions to hold the division line. Much of the offensive action was going on farther north or with other division. For their part, 3rd Battalion of the 142nd was simply to hold their sector. A day after they arrived George was actually promoted to sergeant, becoming a squad leader in I Company. In this role, he would lead a group of about ten to twelve men and work under the direct orders of his platoon leader. In October, this mostly meant that he was leading and organizing combat patrols when I Company was selected to send them out. These were constant throughout the month as they sought to continuously test and probe the German lines, often reaching the enemy only to come under fire, return it, and retreat back to their foxholes. Although seemingly inconsequential at times, it allowed for experienced combat veterans, like George, to train up new replacements. 

     In early November the division made a successful advance towards Les Rouges Eaux, a major valley at the northern edge of the division line. 3rd Battalion was relieved from their positions and ordered up to the valley to help exploit the advances there. On November 4, the 3rd Battalion moved from its reserve position to positions just east of Les Rouges Eaux to prepare for a renewed attack. The valley itself was a long narrow flat bed with open clearings ranging from 2-400 yards piercing a densely forested wilderness rising up the sharp hills on either side. Advances were planned along the forested treeline to avoid the open ground as rain, mist, and snow began to signal future difficulty. Early in the morning of November 5, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 142nd jumped off in their attack, George’s 3rd Battalion advancing rapidly while the 2nd was bogged down by strong enemy fire. By the end of the first day the 2nd was still struggling to make their objectives while George and his comrades had taken three enemy hills and pushed back the light oppositions. The next morning countered this initial success, however, as they came under heavy mortar, artillery, and small arms fire while attempting to assault a heavily defended German position on Hill 652. 652 was a large knobbed hill overlooking the entire Le Rouges Eaux valley and thus was critical to ensure a successful advance. By nightfall the battalion took the ridge but the day after was spent holding it and a neighboring hill from determined German counterattacks. On November 8 George’s battalion sent patrols into the first town, Chevry, where they met GIs of the 3rd Division’s 7th Infantry Regiment. Rather than continue the advance on their own, it was decided that some of the men would move to support the lagging 2nd Battalion. Early in the morning on November 9, a platoon from I and K Company went south of the battalion to flank the enemy pressing against the 2nd Battalion line, successfully cutting around them and fighting a distraction until their ammo was exhausted and communications were cut. Unsure of their location, they spent a night in a railroad tunnel until a French civilian reconnected them with the unit. Thankfully, the maneuver had the intended results and the 2nd Battalion was able to break through the counterattack.

 

     On the afternoon of  November 10, George’s battalion was moved to regimental reserve and for the next five days attempted to rest amidst a torrential winter storm that blanketed the wet and muddied mountains with a thick coat of snow. Moved back up to the line on the 15th, the 3rd Battalion took over 1st Battalion positions near Corcieux in the early predawn hours. The town, still possibly held by Germans, was intended as a next possible target but required probing before a full attack could begin. Later that day, once darkness had fallen, the battalion sent out patrols to take the nearby village of Rennegoutte. Although resistance was light and signs of enemy withdrawal were apparent everywhere, the real sight for the T-Patchers was the deep orange glow lighting up the black sky as the town of Corcieux, only a mile and a half away, now sat ablaze. The following day found I Company attacking a small village just south of Rennegoutte, Mariemont. Although a small settlement, it was occupied by an entire company of Russian volunteers of the German 360th Cossack Regiment, a veteran of the Eastern Front. The Russians put up a difficult fight, making the GIs fight house to house throughout the day until they finally cleared the village with an additional 30 prisoners to their name. As they settled into the new position that night, a patrol to Corcieux found it totally abandoned, destroyed, and heavily burned. At this point it seemed as though a large chunk of the German forces in the region were making a withdrawal, hastening the movement of the T-Patchers to prevent any sort of defensive build up they might have been planning. Despite the apparent retreat, the 142nd was unable to act as they were withdrawn to division reserve on November 18 where they remained for five more days until they were alerted for potential emergency movement to support the 143rd Infantry in its own attack. Little did they know, but this upcoming assault would earn the 3rd Battalion some notoriety amongst the division.

     The call came on November 23 and the 3rd Battalion, waiting in Herplemont, started out on trucks at 0930. The road they were taking, however, was sighted in by enemy machine guns and mortars, thus delaying their support until some friendly tank destroyers and artillery fire could drive the enemy off. With their delay, the 3rd Battalion’s role was replaced by the 2nd Battalion and for the duration of the 24th they traveled alternate routes until they reached a supporting position at Verpelliere. The following day they continued the push eastward through Basse Mandray to Wisembach. It was here that the battalion split into two groups with the battalion commanding officer guiding George’s unit, I Company, and K Company to exploit a forest trail that led out onto the main road connecting St Marie-aux-Mines and Fenarupt. The other group, led by the battalion executive officer, played the part of the diversion by leading armor and infantry up the main road in full enemy view. The target for the day was St. Marie-aux-Mines, a larger city in the region that acted as a supply base for the German forces operating in the Vosges. It was heavily connected with roads leading from Alsace into the Vosges and essential to the German defense, thus a likely place for the enemy to bolster with reinforcements as the GI’s approached. 

 

     The flanking detachment had a difficult path as they attempted to circumvent the large mountains overlooking the city but after several hours of careful movement, they arrived on the northern outskirts of the city. To their great joy, the ploy had worked. While the diversionary force had been held off at a roadblock a good ways south of the city, the two flanking companies found a German garrison enjoying their morning with utter disregard. I Company moved down from the hills and across the city’s railyard only to find Germans strolling the streets, eating breakfast, and riding bicycles as if there was no war going on at all. The attack was decisive as the T-Patchers drove through the city with ease, capturing over 150 Germans throughout the day with house fighting lasting sporadically until dark as they sought to clear out scattered pockets of disorganized resistance from those who evaded the initial assault. By the end of the day, the two companies had conquered the stronghold with a grand total of zero casualties, only suffering two minor wounds and a light snowfall to mark their victory.

     With St. Marie secure and the Les Rouges Eaux valley falling into Allied hands, George and the 3rd Battalion prepared to do their part in the final Vosges breakout that would bring them into the Rhine River valley. On November 26-27 they trucked toward Fertrupt and were routed to the town of Chatenois. Their immediate target, however, came in the imposing fortress of Chateau du Haut Koenigbourg. Nestled atop a mountain overlooking the wider Alsatian Plain, the aged castle was known to host a German garrison defending the mouth of the nearby valley. To best meet the enemy, George and the rest of his battalion dismounted from their trucks and began a steady but silent march through dense woods leading towards the castle. At 1715 the force met a few civilians at a small inn who warned them of German forces inside the fort, leading the battalion commander to organize an evening surprise attack. The assault commenced at 1930 but proved unnecessary as the battalion found the castle entirely abandoned. With its thick stone walls and courtyards empty, the T-Patchers were pleasantly surprised they did not have to spend the time trying to capture the stronghold. Enjoying a comfortable night inside the structure, the battalion spent the next twenty-four hours sending out patrols and calling in artillery coordinates on German convoys and positions spotted from the castle walls. On the final day of the month, I Company left its medieval residence to attack a small German roadblock, which was overcome easily, before they regrouped with armor from the 753rd Tank Battalion for an attack on Chatenois the next morning. Compared to October, the month of November was one of great movement as the line moved fifty-five kilometers, forty of which were gained in the final week of the month. Trucks and logistics became essential in maintaining the advance and flexibility of unit operations and by the start of December the fighting in the mountains seemed close to an end with the flatland of Alsace in view.
 

     December began with George’s company leading a pre-dawn assault on Chatenois with a northern flanking attack supported by K Company. Despite the town’s size and proximity to the castle, the town similarly appeared abandoned, allowing the companies to quickly rejoin the battalion for its major target: Selestat. Connected by several major roads and situated in the middle of the Rhine River Valley between Colmar and Strasbourg, Selestat stood as a critical supply and transportation hub for German troops operating across the front. Most importantly, Selestat supplied essential material needed to upkeep the thousands of German troops slowly being encircled in the “Colmar Pocket.” Given its strategic importance, the mission of taking the town fell to both the 36th and 103rd Infantry Divisions, both of whom were tasked to provide two battalions to capture the heavily defended city. For the 103rd this fell to the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 409th Infantry Regiment, both assigned to move in from the north. For the 36th, it was the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Infantry, and 2nd Battalion, 143rd Infantry, who were ordered to move in from the south and west, respectively. 

     Following the morning successes at Chatenois, 3rd Battalion began moving towards positions south of Selestat as they waited for their armor support to navigate around a German roadblock. After a little while the armor finally arrived and the battalion was split up for the attack. The primary assault team was spearheaded by I Company but was additionally supported by heavy weapons from M Company, two M4 Shermans of the 753rd Tank Battalion, two M10 tank destroyers of the 636th Tank Destroyer Battalion, and the battalion Headquarters company. The advance started out through a small farm road towards Neubruch, a farm south of Selestat, but became slowed by heavy shelling and small arms fire near Kintzheim from a delaying force. It disorganized the battle group but before long the Germans occupying the spot were routed and a prisoner revealed that several units of the 716th Infanterie Division were holed up in the city, preparing for a fight. The battalion continued moving forward, eventually arriving at the farmhouse and barns of Neubruch. 

 

     I Company set up on the left flank of the battalion, along the main road leading into Selestat, and prepared for the full-scale assault set to take place the next morning. While waiting, however, a six-man German patrol ran into their lines. Taken prisoner, the soldier explained that they were from Kampfgruppe Bittermann, a hodge-podge unit under the 716th that was helping to defend Selestat. They warned of defenses throughout the city and an especially heavy roadblock guarding the southern entrance that I Company planned to storm in the morning. 

     Tragically, George would not live to see this attack.  German artillery spotters had picked up on the location of 3rd Battalion around Neubruch. In the early morning hours of December 2, an intense artillery barrage began pounding along the battalion front, ripping through trees and the exposed troops in their foxholes. Tragically, this is where George met his fate. During the barrage, an artillery shell landed near George and his men. Shrapnel from the round hit George directly in his head and upper torso, killing him instantly. Of the intense barrage, he was one of only three men killed, the other two also coming from I Company. Finding that he was unable to be saved, medics from the battalion wrapped his body in a mattress cover from the nearby farmhouse and left his body to be taken by graves registration. George was one of the first casualties from the 142nd in the battle for Selestat, making the ultimate sacrifice only hours before the main attack on the city began. 

 

     When graves registration came to take his body several days later, they found a number of items on his body which they prepared to send home, such as his combat infantry badge, various souvenirs, a pocket watch, money, prayer books, and more. On December 8 he was taken to the U.S. cemetery at Epinal and buried alongside two other T-Patchers. It was not until weeks later that his parents found out that their only son had been killed in action, particularly breaking the heart of his mother. She wrote to the Army over the course of the next several months begging for the opportunity to bring him home. One February 1945 letter reads:

 

I would like to know if I could get my son's body home after the war from France. At least I could see him over here if I couldn’t see him while he was alive, at least I shall have his body here. We never saw him in a uniform yet because he never had a furlough at all, which they took him from one front to the other from Italy to France. The only thing I wish I could see him only once because he was the only child I had, so you know what a broken hearted mother I am, and I would like to know where he is buried or does he have a number and how was he killed please let me know.

 

Her pleas were mostly met with hand-wringing and apologies, as the government simply had no measures to meet her request yet.

     In the fall of 1945 George was officially awarded the Silver Star Medal, for his actions in Italy, and the Bronze Star Medal, for heroic service throughout his time in the 36th Division. His mother had to write to the government once more in order to receive these medals, which are pictured above. A year after her initial request, his mother once again requested his body, explaining that George was “the only child I had,” and that she “want[s] to be buried by him if I die.” “[L]ike those that are living and came back,” she cried on behalf of all gold-star mothers, “we want our boys back.” 

 

     In April of 1947 George’s mother was sent a photograph of George’s grave in Epinal along with a pressed flower from a bouquet laid at it. This was the first time she had seen anything of George since he joined the Army four years earlier. Brigadier General G. A. Horkan, in the accompanying letter, assured her that “this is a place of simple dignity, neat and well cared for,” where George rested among “the remains of a few of those heroic dead who fell together in the service of our country.”

     It was not until May of 1948 that George was finally authorized to come home. Leaving Epinal by rail on June 2, he shipped from Antwerp at the end of the month and arrived back on American soil that July. Escorted by an honor guard to Detroit, he was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, where he remains to this day. In honor of his valor and sacrifice, the city of Detroit later named the George Evans Recreation Center after him, a place of community gathering until it was closed just a few decades ago. The building with his name, however, still stands; honoring a long lost son who died fighting to free Europe from Nazi tyranny.

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