The Wyandotte news-herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1943-1963, 1945-04-12
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The Story of
Americas l06th
Infantry Division

A great weight has been lifted
from their breasts Once again they
know the Joy there is in living.
Frank Schooner is alive! Word
that he is prisoner. of war was
flashed from Washington on Mon
day.
A member af the badly mauled
i06th Infantry Division, Frank was
reported missing back in December
when the 424th Regiment was al
most cut TO pieces near Saint With.
Cedric Foster, News Analyst for
the Yankee Broadcasting chain
tried to tell the bloody story of the
Inflated 1o6th :. but in the middle
of his talk he was cut off from the
air waves. A tight censorship was
clamped down on the curdling story.
But now with government
permission +. it can be told.
When I spoke to Franks mother
.. Mrs. Frank N. Schooner, who
lives just around the corner from
our own home, she said, Tell the
story II you'd like but also tell
them i won't be looking for any
medals pinned to my sons uniform.
I Just want to see him alive"
Mrs. Schooner has seen the pub
lished pictures of our soldiers just
released from German prison
camps. She has seen how the in
human Nazis have starved our men
and she knows those pictures
are OF soldiers from the 106th.
I'VE Just want to see him alive"
she repeated. IF he's thin and needs
fattening up well take care of that
when they send him home"
Today there may be told the
story which. in its dual aspects, is
one OF the most tragic and yet one
OF the most glorious episodes in
the history of American arms
The story of Americas 106th In
Eantry Division.
Brand New Division
The American 106th Infantry
Division was activated at Camp
Jackson, Mississippi in March of
1913. Major General Alan w. Jones,
who commanded it at that time ..
told the 1O6th Infantry Division -.
you are brand new. You have no
past history to live up to. You have
no past sins to live down" Tonight
the iO6th Infantry Division has
past history to live up to, but 1t
stfn has no sins to live down. 1t
fought gloriously and it fought
heroically in the full flush of Ger
man power on the 18th Of last De-
cember. Two of its regiments were
ali but eliminated from the war.
They were the 422nd and the 423rd.
Three hundred men out OF those
two regiments were all who sur
viyed. Most of the others are pre-
surned to be prisoners Of war.
German Artillery Barrage
On the 18th Of December the
1O6th Division was in a sector OF
the front designated as quiet"
The division had not been in &C
ton. As a matter of fact the 106th
Division had engaged IN nothing
more dangerous than a few night
uatrol skirmishes. Five days later
ON the 18th these men Of the Col
den Lion Division were struck by
an avalanche of German steel and
fire. The attack got under way just
before six o'clock in the morning.
In the battle that followed, the
division suffered eight thousand, six
hundred sixty-three casualties. 416
were killed. 1916 were wounded,
1000 we're missing.
Division Spread Thin
Censorship can now reveal that
the lo6th Division was spread IN
a manner described as "pitifully
thin" along a front of twenty-seven
miles. 1t was holding a sector along
the Schnee Edfel -. the Eifel For
est which Is just northeast of the
frontier of Luxembourg, Belgium,
and Germany. This was in the gen.
eral sector of the Belgian town OF
Saint With twelve miles south
east of Malmedy. The Germans first
laid down an earthshaking artillery
barrage. They directed this against
the lo6th positions which curved
to the north from the center of the
Eifei woods positions which
were held by the 14th Cavalry Group
an armored group attached to
the infantry. A field artillery bat
talon. which was also attached to
the lO6th, was the net target. In
thirty-five minutes more than one
hundred rounds Of German fire had
landed squarely IN the must OF
this battalion. At six o'clock the
Germans opened up on Saint With
itself. Civilians of Saint With were
all In their cellars. They were pro-
German and the Huns had told
them by radio that the barrage was
impending. When the barrage was
over at two o'clock in the afternoon,
the civilians came out.
Tanks and Infantry Follow
The 422nd and 423rd Regiments
bore the brunt of the German fire.
This fire was followed by German
tanks and infantry. When dawn
- ~~~x dov noc II the