Next to the French war memorial.

Monument

A brown block stone sculpture featuring an etching of a soldier on one side and the dedication on the other. The side where the commemoration message is engraved has the 137th Infantry Regiment and the 35th Infantry Division insignias followed by the photos of the two soldiers. The message is written in English and French. This memorial was inaugurated on November 11, 2022.

Hellimer was liberated from German military occupation on Nov. 21, 1944, by the men of Co. F, 2nd Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment, 35 Infantry Division of the U.S. Third Army. The Third army was under the command of Gen. George Patton; Co. F was under the command of Captain Giacobello. Captain Giacobello and Private Osborne were recognized as the first liberators of the village.

According to Guy Reichert, historian and president of the Gates of Memory Association in Hellimer, German Panther tanks guarded the village, patrolling its perimeters and a nearby forest.

CPT Giacobello was situated at a second-story window at 2 Rue du Rodeck when a tank rolled by. Giacobello leaped from the window onto the tank. He pried open the hatch and tossed in a few grenades, then slammed the hatch shut and clambered back into the window with help from his men.

Moments before Giacobello’s battle with the Panther, Private Osborne halted one of the tanks which had ambushed a supporting company of American soldiers as they entered Hellimer.

CAPT Joseph S. GIACOBELLO

PVT Julian Osborne

In memory of the men of the

137th Infantry Regiment - Co F- 2nd Bn

35th Infantry Division

Who liberated Hellimer,

November 21, 1944

A la mémoire des hommes du

137th Infantry Regiment Co F 2nd Bn

35th Infantry Division

Qui ont libéré Helimer, November 21, 1944