Robert T. Murrell: Patton's 3rd Army - 80th Infantry Division Company M 318th Infantry Regiment

            Robert Murrell was drafted into the U.S. Army on 21 July 1942 and assigned to the newly reactivated 80^th Infantry Division, aka the 80^th Blue Ridge Division. Murrell had served before in the Army Air Corps’ 325^th Observation Corps and thought he had served out his time with the military. However, he was called back to do another stint and help with the American war effort. The 80^th had been reactivated only a few days prior and Murrell was among the first assigned to it.

            The first few months were spent in training, during which time he was promoted to Corporal. His first assignment was as an instructor in the 2^nd Ranger Battalion at Camp Forest. When the Ranger Battalion was sent overseas, Murrell was sent back to his original post and the Division was moved to Camp Phillips, Kansas. Here they received further training and sharpened their skills with all weapon types.

            After this they moved to Camp Laguna, California and/in the Mojave Desert. They left in March 1944, boarding trains for Fort Dix, New Jersey. While there they received their overseas orders and taken to Camp Kilmer, where they boarded trains to take them to the Queen Mary. They boarded the Queen Mary on 28 June 1944 and made the voyage across the Atlantic. For the trip across the pond, Murrell was made Sergeant of the Guard. He wore an MP armband and button, letting others know of his job. As a perk of his special assignment, Murrell could choose his own time to eat and could go to any part of the ship. The entire trip took only seven days. Murrell remembered the “S” wake caused by the ship changing course every 5-7 minutes to prevent a u-boat from laying a course on her fast enough to fire a torpedo and hit her.

            About half way through, a drill took place to allow gunners to practice firing their anti-aircraft guns at drones pulled by aircraft. Not everyone had upfront knowledge of this drill and as a result, initially thought the ship was under attack. Murrell was one of them. However, it soon became apparent that it was only a drill and all were relieved.

On Day 7, the Queen Mary reached the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. The men were finally setting foot on European soil. The men and their gear were unloaded and a train boarded for Manchester, England. The troops went to different local areas with the 80^th bound for Tatton Park, where they honed their weaponry and map reading skills. Murrell said that during their free time they would craft rings out of Silver Fluorine. “We would pound them on the edge until they were reduced in size and flared out. Then we would punch a hole in the center so we could wear them. I lost mine in France on the battlefield,” he recalled.

The men stayed in England for two months and on 26 July they moved toward Southampton and then crossed the English Channel. On 3 August, the 80^th reached the French Coast. They saw sunken ships and aerial balloons moored by the cables to prevent strafing of the landing site. On 5 August, they climbed down a rope ladder to the LCI (Landing Craft Infantry). Unfortunately, when the LCI was pulling alongside the ship it rammed and punctured a hole in the hull. Murrell said the Captain raised cane about the repairs he would have to make.

The first thing Murrell saw when the LCI ramp was lowered was a bombed out gun emplacement. The men loaded into trucks and traveled all day. At dark they unloaded at a field and made camp. Murrell remembered that night saying, “I recall hearing artillery firing but was too inexperienced to know it was our artillery and not that of the Germans.”

The next morning they again loaded up and headed out. Their route took them through St. Lo where the jeep Murrell was riding in was fired upon from the steeple of the town church. He also witnessed his first aerial fight between a German and American plane. The American plane won and the German pilot bailed out, landing in a nearby field.

The men loaded back up and headed for St. Hilaire, 75 miles away. The roadways were littered with the bloated bodies of dead animals and soldiers. The next morning they drove two miles to the vicinity of Vaiges, where they camped overnight. The following morning they headed on to the area of Chammes and continued through several villages. Sniper fire and booby traps were a constant threat. The men were warned not to pick anything up as it could be booby trapped.

Mines were one of the other big threats and as the men came upon them, they would take the time to defuse each one. They traveled through St. Suzanne and Sill Le Guillaume which was defended by the 9^th German Panzer Division. Along the way they encountered several roadblocks where they received artillery and small arms fire. Fortunately the surrounding landscape was one of rolling hills and thick wood areas….the perfect place for the 80^th to halt their column.

They fought a few enemy troops but it wasn’t enough to hold them back. The 80^th suffered several casualties, including one by sniper fire and an officer by means of booby trap. Regarding the bomb damage sustained by France Murrell said, “Everywhere we moved, buildings had been totally destroyed by either bombs or shells.”

The men were told of a large build up of enemy troops SW of Falaise with the mission of cutting the 3^rd Army’s supply lines. (This would lead to what we now know as the ‘Falaise Gap’.) This was the 80^th’s first major battle of fighting through hedgerow’s. One after another, the men had to make their way through them, some being five to six feet high and made out of earth and rock with trees and bushes tightly packed together growing on top. Murrell said that the hedgerow’s were so tall and thick that a German could be on side and an American on the other, neither aware of the others proximity!

A tank would go over the hedgerow and its bottom would be in the air. The German’s would fire a round into it, knocking it unusable. Someone came up with the idea to attach a plow point to the front of the tanks to break through the hedgerows. This proved to be invaluable ingenuity.

The 80^th was assigned to attack and take Argentan. On 19 August 1944, Murrell set up his Machine Gun (MG) section in what he believed to be good positions…..on an embankment overlooking a roadway that ran left to right and turned into a heavy wooded area. He also had some of his MG’s overlooking a grain field. Surrounding his position in front and on both sides was barbed wire fencing. Suddenly one of the men yelled ‘Tanks!’ Murrell looked up and saw a tank coming up the road toward them, with its MG firing. He ordered one of his sergeants to shoot a grenade at the tank with his Springfield rifle that had a grenade attachment. The shot landed right in the turret, killing the entire tank crew!

During all this action, Murrell had his pistol belt shot off and a bullet went through his helmet. Neither time was he wounded! He began trying to clip the barbed wire in front of him when several MG rounded took care of it for him. Again, he was uninjured. The Platoon Officer and two Sergeants were killed only a few feet from Murrell and a rifleman had his leg blown off by a shoe mine. “This was my first experience of what war was like,” Murrell shared, “It wasn’t too much longer and I became battle hardened.”

The men of the 80^th advanced forward to the wood area where they found a wire stretched between a couple of trees and branches thick with foliage hung along it, creating a blind allowing the Germans to freely move without being spotted by the Americans. After a total of three days heavy fighting, Combat Team 317 came to the aide of the 318^th (Murrell’s), relieving them of their positions on the line on 21 August. The men had captured Argentan, after which they moved out to meet up with the Canadian Army.

On 22 August near Pilou, a member of Murrell’s MG section told him he was going to surrender. Murrell tried his best to talk the soldier out of it but to no avail. The last Murrell saw of the man was as he disappeared into a wood area down the hill toward enemy lines. (Note: In 1983, Murrell returned back to the battlefields. When visiting HAMM Cemetery, he saw the young man’s name on the wall as being MIA.)

On 26 August, the men loaded into the trucks and headed for La Riviere nearly 250 miles away. From there it was on to Jalons, another 330 mile trip. The men traveled an additional 45 miles to Les Grandes Loges where they engaged the enemy. As the Sergeant of a MG section, Murrell would give covering fire for the advancing infantry. Once the infantry would get close to the line of the MG’s, the MG sections would move up and repeat the process. This was accomplished by watching where their tracers were hitting.

The infantry fought several minor battles over the following weeks. One such battle took place on 10 September when the German’s counterattacked at Belleville, France. A good friend of Roberts commented that he was tired of having to dig in each night. He chose not to dig in that night and unfortunately there was a night attack, during which time his friend was hit in the head. Five days later the comrade died.

Soon the men crossed the river Moselle at Dieulouard and fought through Loisy and Atton. The 3^rd Battalion captured Mousson Hill (a lookout spot that’s vantage point went for miles). The enemy launched two counterattacks and was finally successful on 15 September in cutting the supply line that ran from the bridgehead area to Mousson Hill (and the 3^rd Battalion). The enemy retook Atton (1.5 miles south of the hill) and the adjacent area.

The 3^rd Battalion, two platoons of an anti-tank company, along with Company M and its MG’s, 81 mm Mortars, and Tank Destroyer Units were cut off from the bridgehead area and surrounded by the enemy. The battalion was low on ammo, radio batteries, and medical supplies. Volunteers were needed for a patrol through enemy lines for the much needed supplies. Murrell volunteered to lead the patrol of four other volunteers. The men reached the bridgehead without being spotted and received the much needed supplies.

All five were loaded down with as much as they could squeeze into their packs and pockets (rations, mail, medical supplies, batteries, etc.).  Just as they had made it through enemy lines, the patrol was spotted. Murrell remembers one of the men having a box of rations shot off his shoulder and exclaiming, “No German is going to stop us so get the he*$ out of here!” The men did just that and safely reached their own lines. The group was received with a grand welcome. They found out that in their absence, an L-4 Artillery Spotter plane had dropped supplies to the men. Murrell received the Silver Star for leading this patrol and safely returning with the entire group.

After a few days, Company B 319^th Infantry Battalion fought through enemy lines, breaking the German encirclement. Brig. Gen. Searby (Commander of the 80^th Artillery) was killed from an MG burst on the hill during a counter attack. The 318^th headed on to Millery where, from 22 – 24 September, they fought the enemy before moving on to Bratte. While in Bratte, Murrell was walking down a path beside the woods. He thought he heard German voices. Patiently listening intently, Murrell saw two German soldiers talking and walking towards him, rifles slung over their shoulders. They were oblivious to Murrells presence. He shouldered his weapon and shouted “Halt!” The Germans surrendered immediately. While walking them towards the encampment, so the men could be taken to the POW cage, he noticed the safety was on on his rifle. “I just about crapped,” Murrell said of the realization.

On 22September, Murrell’s MG section was assigned to Company I 318^th with the objective of capture the high ground on Hill 351 (500 yards west of Morey). Note: The dates in the above two paragraphs are correct. Murrell was in two places, so to speak, on the same day. It was captured before dark and the men settled in to the foxholes dug by the Germans. Two men were assigned to Murrell’s MG section. He told one which squad he would be in and sent him to it, while the other was to stay with Murrell in his foxhole until morning.

Before morning, the two Germans who had dug the foxhole Murrell and the young man were in returned. At the time Murrell was asleep, as it was not his turn at guard. One German jumped down into the foxhole and landed on Murrell’s thumb. The young comrade of Murrell’s, having no combat experience, acted immediately and like a combat hardened veteran. He stabbed the German who had jumped into the foxhole with his bayonet and then, taking the German’s gun off him, promptly shot the other one who was standing at the edge of the foxhole. His quick action saved Murrell and his own life.

Company I (which Murrell was still attached to) had captured several German’s and were temporarily being held in a slit trench. The American artillery began shelling the hill the next morning. Company I sent up flares for the day but he artillery either was without a codebook or in the dark as to the code used by Company I. As a result, the Company had to vacate the hill and one of the German POW’s found this hilarious. He didn’t laugh for long, as one of the riflemen tossed a grenade into the trench with the solo German.

October brought rain and lots of it, causing the levels of streams to rise above their banks. The muddy conditions led to the troops being unable to move and the Division took up defensive positions near Lixieres. They remained there until 8 October when they moved to engage the enemy at Clemery. While in Lixieres, Murrell received a 3 day pass to Paris. He described the sites, such as the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame Cathedral as “awesome and inspiring”.

Any front line troops on liberty, wore a green shoulder loop letting MP’s know who they were. Speaking of this Murrell said, “It made one feel good to know and see so many others wearing that green loop. If anything was to happen and you needed help, we were all together to settle the problem.”

After his R&R, Murrell returned to his own unit which continued to fight across France. On 26 November at Fort Bambiderstroff, the group came upon a pill box setting in a valley with a road leading to it. The ground in front of the pill box was completely barren and surrounded by barbed wire. Murrell led a group of several men into the pill box and discovered it had 5 floors below ground level with tunnels connecting it to other pill boxes. While clearing the pill box the men captured several German soldiers.

From there it was on to St. Avold and Longueville, and then on to Bettwiller where the men were readied to cross over into Germany. Before this move, new orders came for them to pack up and be ready to move out on an hour’s notice. Word came down on 19 December for Murrell and the other men to board their vehicles and travel ~150 miles to Fischbach, Luxembourg without delay. General Patton had learned of the German breakthrough in the north. Murrell’s group was to be part of the efforts to stop the German counterattack. The men were to drive as fast as possible and not to use the cat lights (head lamps completely covered except for a thin slit which made them look like a cat’s eyes). This battle in the north is what we now know as the Battle of the Bulge. The vehicles used by the 80^th were open to the elements and the temperature was at freezing point. The men were in a battle to stay warm on top of trying to defeat the Germans. They huddled up together, under blankets and anything that would help them to stay warm.

They arrived at their destination on 20 December at 1500 hours. On the morning of 22 December, they moved out on foot to Colmar. Upon reaching the outskirts of Ettelbruck, the 80^th attacked the Germans. Artillery shells filled with white phosphate hit only a few yards in front of them. Railroad tracks cut through the field and the 80^th noticed a column of Germans who hadn’t yet noticed them. Having the upper hand, they killed many of the unsuspecting Germans.

It was the worst snow the area had seen in quite some time. At a depth of about one foot or more, walking was difficult for the men of the 80^th and so was the battle for Ettelbruck. Eventually they were successful. After this, the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions were withdrawn from the positions of the 318^th and attached to the 4^th Armored Division. They were to relieve troops surrounded in Bastogne. This left the 3^rd Battalion (Murrell’s) to cover the ~ 10 mile area of Ettelbruck (and surrounding areas).

On 23 December, Murrell was approaching the two MG’s he had set in a valley facing northeast, when a direct hit was made on one of the crews killing every member. A few seconds later and Murrell would likely have shared the same fate. The men continued holding the town until 2 January 1945 when they went into the Corps Reserves. The snow was still deep and temperature’s extremely low. Speaking of the deadly and unfavorable conditions Murrell said, “If a man were wounded he had to try to keep moving as he would freeze to death if he lay down.” He also recalled the water in their canteens freezing, forcing them to scoop snow for drink.

The morning report following the capture of Ettelbruck noted the losses of Company M 318^th: 1 Officer & 6 Enlisted Men KIA, 7 lightly wounded in action, 3 seriously wounded in action, 4 lightly wounded in action and 5 non-battle casualties. Murrell’s group left Ettelbruck on 23 January and traveled to Wiltz in Regimental Reserve. They received one of a few hot meals in many days and were entertained at a USO show.

They left for Bedford on 27 January. Once there they took up defensive positions and engaged the enemy from 27 January until 15 February. During their time in Bedford, Captain Kessler (Company Commander) told Murrell to send Bill Ewing (a good friend of Murrell’s) to the Command Post (CP) because he was being given a 90 day furlough. Murrell was not to tell Bill why the Captain wanted to see him.

Seeing a golden opportunity to have his buddy shaking his boots, Murrell said to him, “What the heck have you done? The Captain wants you at the CP on the double.” The two headed for the CP. Bill gave a perfect salute to the Captain and stated ‘Staff Sergeant William E. Ewing reporting as ordered sir.’ Captain Kessler told Bill the good news at which time Bill turned to Murrell and exclaimed, ‘I’d knock you off your butt if you weren’t such a good buddy!’ He then grabbed Murrell, the two hugged and cried, Bill ecstatic at going home for a bit and Murrell happy for his pal to be off the battlefront for a while. Before Bill could return the war ended but the two men remained in contact afterwards, often visiting one another, until Bill’s death in 1983.

On 16 February Murrell and his fellow infantrymen crossed from Bedford, Luxembourg into Biesdorf, Germany.  They took up defensive positions, received replacements, and engaged the enemy near Cruchten. They fought their way south through numerous towns and villages. Finally they reached a town called Serf, which was where they crossed the river Rhine into Weiskirchen. The pace at which the men were moving greatly increased, blowing through towns at lightning speed.  They reached Kassel on 3 April and from there moved to Siebleben to Apfelstadt to Gotha to Egstad to Jena to the outskirts of Chemnitz, where they were halted. Company M 318^th was assigned to reconnoiter positions on the far outskirts of the town.

They pulled up alongside an anti-tank gun and asked where the roadblock was. The men pointed ahead of them so the Company M 318^th continued on until realizing they had run their own roadblock and were right in front of the German’s roadblock! The driver of the jeep Murrell was in quickly turned around in an attempt to escape their mistake. Unfortunately a shell hit them on the broadside of the vehicle. The men jumped into the ditch closest to them, each on opposite sides. The ditch Murrell was in overlooked a building with German soldiers all around it. He shouldered his carbine and took a shot, but couldn’t determine if hit anyone.

Murrell jumped up and ran to the other side of the road where he took cover behind some buildings. Just as Murrell was peeking around the corner, a brick just above his head was chipped by a bullet. The men commandeered a couple of bicycles and rose like the wind back to their own lines. Thinking of this ride Murrell said, “I often wonder what the crew of the anti-tank gun thought as we rode past them on bikes. I remember the day better than any other day in the war because it was my 3^rd wedding anniversary (16 April 1945).

The 80^th Infantry Division was notified that the Russian would be taking Chemnitz, so they reversed their direction and headed back to Gera then to Nuremberg. The 3^rd Infantry Division had recently taken the city and it was where Hitler gave many of his speeches and held massive rallies. Murrell and his buddies were assigned to mop up and patrol the town until 27 April. After their stint at Nuremberg, they loaded into the trucks and headed to Hordorf on 4 May. They then crossed into Braunau by walking the framework of a railroad bridge blown up by the Germans. The men remained in this town for a short period, patrolling streets and maintaining order.

On 7 May the men boarded a train to Attnang, Austria. Before getting on the train, they took time to purchase tomatoes, onions, and bread to make sandwiches. A few bottles of wine were also procured. On 8 May, the war in Europe was declared over and Company M 318^th celebrated until they had to move out on patrol in the Mondsee Mountains. Murrell was riding in a jeep that had a water-cooled MG mounted on it. Along their journey they happened upon a pocket of Germans who were unaware of their country’s surrender and a short fire fight took place before the men could convince the German’s that the war was over. Company M headed back to Attnang.

The German 6^th Army surrendered to the 80^th after General McBride told the German General that all his men who were across the river would become American prisoners while those who didn’t get across before midnight would have to go to the Russians. The 318^th Infantry Regiment became guards who patrolled the city. Word soon came down that they were to travel to Sonthofen, Germany (a place where the Hitler Youth, aka: Hitler-Jugend, were trained).

While in Sonthofen, an NCO (Non-Commissioned Officers) club was formed and Murrell was made Liquor Control Officer. The club was located in the building of the former chow hall of the Hitler Youth. The top 3 grades of NCO’s were issued a bottle of whiskey and it had to be controlled by the club. Each one was issued a card that allotted them 23 drinks. Each time a drink was served the NCO’s card would be punched. Once the card had 23 punches, the NCO was cut off.

To supplement their liquor, Murrell managed to procure some potato schnapps. He took the German who served as bar keep with him and they were able to obtain 15 gallons of pure uncut schnapps. They cut it with 3 parts water and served it as an added drink. During his time as an officer in the NCO club, Murrell learned he had accumulated enough points to go home and be discharged.

He was sent to Camp Lucky Strike for processing and asked if he wanted to switch his 80^th patch for that of the 6^th Armored Division which he would be travelling back to the states with. “I refused”, Murrell stated, “wearing the 80^th patch all the way.” He boarded the Rock Hill Victory ship in Marseilles, France. He sailed through the Mediterranean Sea, past the Rock of Gibraltar, and on to New Port News, Virginia. The entire voyage took 23 days. Murrell was sent to Camp Atterbury, Indiana and discharged on 26 October 1945.

In 1973, Murrell learned about the 80^th Infantry Division Association and joined. Over the years he has served in various positions with the association, including as National Commander (1982-83) and as National Secretary/Editor/Historian for 19 years (retiring in 2009 from the post. He remains active in helping the children of men KIA in the Second World War find out about their father and has even written several books on the 80^th.