Evening star., 1944-07-07
Yank paratrooper
Nearly AnnihiIates
One Nazi Platoon
BY WALTER McCALLUM,
Star War Correspondent.


Star War Correspondent.
GOURBESVILLE, France (By
Nail --Gourbesville is just a little
spot on the map of France, only a
dot on the Normandy Peninsula.
Probably you couldn't locate it on
any but large-scale map.
1t has only about 100 inhabitants
living in perhaps 20 houses of the
gray brick type so common In
France. It has no claim to any,
thing but its rich dairy cattle and
the once splendid home of its May
or, friend of Admiral L LEmmonier
of the French Navy.
Yet here occurred one OF the
most heroic deeds of the war. Here
an American paratrooper died after
storming and almost wipings out a
German platoon, quartered in the
now fire-swept home of the, Mayor,
burned by the Germans when they
left after being blasted out by an
American division. And here the
one-man army died, shot by Ger
man named Poll.
Planning Memorial.
The town is going to erect
nc mortal to this American after
the war. The Mayor already has
told the 7th Corps he wants to do
something to commemorate the
brave deed of Paratrooper James r.
Hattrick.
Hattrick was a tall, good looking
boy. Tho hailed from the little
Florida town of GAINESVILLE. Perhaps,
his home folks didn't know him a$
a hero, but he proved himself one
in Gourbesville.
Single handed he killed about
dozen Germans with accurate fire
from his carbine. Single handed he
attacked and attacked, guarding two
wounded comrades with flanking
fire when he could have retreated.
The Graves Registration officer
told me fragments of the story. The
Mayor, a personable man of about
S.. got up from his lunch table to
show me the place and tell me the
story through an interpreter His
name (he signed it in my notebook)
is Michel Delaune, and he has been
Mayor of Gourbesville long time.
Owned Biggest Chateau.
He owned the biggest chateau in
the entire countryside. It must have
been a beautiful place before the
Germans burned it as they left
setting fire to each room individ-
ually. I ate some of the Mayors
strawberries in garden still Uttered
with l55-mm. shells and smaller
items of sudden death.
The Germans had an ammunition
dump in his front yard. 1t was de-
stroyed by the Americans, but the
shells still are around, unexploded
and dangerous. One two sides of
the chateau were fish ponds 'front.'
ing on a meadow. where German
prisoners were digging graves for the
Mayors slain cattle.
In voluble French. the Mayor ex-
planned that Hattrick and two of his
comrades of the 82d Air-borne Divi-
sion landed by parachute early on
the mording of D-day, June s, and
headed for the chateau, which, as
they suspected. contained Germans.
The paratroopers attacked and the
Germans returned their fire. HAITI
ricks two comrades were wounded.
but the Florida youth kept on at
tacking, harassing the Germans all
through the day with carbine fire
killing at least nine.
Kept on Attacking.
During the afternoon of D-day,
the Mayor walked out alone through
the fields and the hedgerows, at
tempting to find Hattrick, on the
preteXt that he wanted to bring in
a horse. He couldn't find the Amer
ican or his comrades, so we'll were
they camouf1aged.
Hattrick kept on attacking and
killing Germans. Only the Germans
know just how many he killed, but
Poll went out about 5 o'clock that
afternoon and located him and shot
the one-man army who could have
retreated from superior force but
didn't.
The Germans brought his body In
and buried it in the little cemetery
behind the church, beside the bodies
Of nine Germans, many of whom
Hattrick had killed. 1t stood on the
end of the line, the helmet deco
rated with flowers. The inscription,
in French, on the wooden marker
said: "Soldat Amercain, JUN 6,
1914"
No one knew who he was until
I asked Graves Registration to ex-
hume the body and identify it, which
would be done anyhow. All Amer
leans killed in France are buried in
American cemeteries. Around the
neck was hung one dog-tag, reading,
James r. Hattrick" His insignia
showed him to be from the 82d Air
korpo division