551st Parachute Infantry Battalion
Details:
Located 550 meters southwest of Rochelinval on a forest road of the same name. The road is a very narrow farm road that ends in a Y intersect. The memorial is located in the center of this Y. Monument The memorial tells the story of the fierce fighting between the American 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion and German Forces that took place in Rochelinval on Jan. 7, 1945.
Monument Text:
551st Parachute Infantry Battalion
-Lest We Forget-
January 7, 1945: the small village of Rochelinval was the military objective for the battalion.
Company A: Lieutenant Durkee and his men lead the attach on the left flank and towards the town. The men ran into heavy and intense machine gun and small arms fire.
Company C: entered, following the macadam road, the center of the town, held by a battalion of the enemy, well dug in and fiercely defending their positions.
Company B: on the right flank, moved to the village across the open field, under direct and heavy fire from the line of defense from the enemy.
The three companies suffered heavy losses, resulting in the near-total annihilation of the original battalion that launched the counter-offensive in the morning of January 3, 1945.
Commanding Officer Lieutenant-Colonel Wood D. JOERG, in position of this marker, watched his men bravely attaching Rochelinval. Joerg was hit and evacuated to the Aid Station in Dairomont, where he died of his wound during the day.
Rochelinval, January 7.
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
551st Parachute Infantry Regiment
United States Army
Wars:
WWII
Battles:
Battle of the Bulge
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