LT. WILLIAM DOLD JR.

Lt. William Dold Jr., 36th Infantry Division, Texas Division, 111th Combat Engineer Battalion, Company "A", receives the Silver Star from Lt. General Mark W. Clark at Fifth Army Headquarters at Madalane, Italy in March of 1944.

The 36th (Texas) Infantry Division, 111th Combat Engineers, Company "A" were involved in many combat operations during World War II. One of the costliest battles was the infamous Rapido River Crossing in the Liri Valley along the banks of the Rapido River in Italy during January of 1944. This action took its toll on the T-Patchers as the casualty rate was extremely high as more than 2,100 men were KIA, WIA or MIA.

From the Book:

A River Swift and Deadly by Lee Carraway Smith

On January 17, 1944, Major Luther H. Wolff, a physician in the Eleventh Field Hospital, noted, "The infantry of the 36th Division is now on the left bank of the Rapido River, and we are getting an epidemic of horrible mine wounds with traumatic amputations of one or both legs. The Germans are using a new type of nonmetallic mine called shue mines which cannot be detected except by probing."

From the Book:

The Texas Army: A History of the 36th Division in the Italian Campaign by Robert L. Wagner

"The responsibilities of the combat engineers were always heavy, but during the Rapido River operations they were made doubly so by the presence of an unfordable river to their front, enemy-controlled heights on either flank, and ground sown with demolition mines on both sides of the Rapido."

On January 27, 1944, my father, Lt. William Dold Jr., and three other men, Lt. James N. Mueller, S/Sgt. Edwin B. Haynes, and Sgt. James D. White, took part in an operation in the Liri Valley along the banks of the Rapido River, in the vicinity of Mt. Trocchio. The Liri Valley is located below Monte Casino Abbey which was relentlessly bombed and subsequently devastated by Allied bombing. These men were awarded the Silver Star for their meritorious actions in this mission. The official Silver Star Citation reads as follows:

R E S T R I C T E D
SECTION II - Award of Silver Star

Under the provisions of Army regulations 600-45, a Silver Star is awarded each of the following named individuals:

JAMES N. MUELLER, 0462796, First Lieutenant, Company A, 111th Engineer Combat Battalion. Entered the Service from Macon, Georgia.

WILLIAM (NMI) DOLD JR., 01103141, First Lieutenant, Company A, 111th Engineer Combat Battalion. Entered the Service from Boston, Massachusetts.

EDWIN B. HAYNES, 20818169, Staff Sergeant, Company A, 111th Engineer Combat Battalion. Entered the Service from Victoria, Texas.

JAMES D. WHITE, 16062625, Sergeant, Company A, 111th Engineer Combat Battalion. Entered the Service from Detroit, Michigan.

For gallantry in action on 27 January 1944 in Italy.

These individuals voluntarily accompanied a group on a hazardous reconnaissance mission along the Rapido River. The party, all disguised as peasant shepherds, herded 261 sheep through enemy mine fields near the river bank, being, at many times, in full view of enemy observation posts just across the river. Even though they were under constant threat of enemy fire at comparatively short range, the party executed the mission with admirable calmness and efficiency. Upon reaching a small branch creek, the sheep refused to advance further and, instead, turned about and headed back over the route by which they had come. This act aroused the suspicion of the enemy observers, who opened fire on the reconnaissance patrol with several machine guns. Through their courageous and determined action these individuals accomplished a three-fold result. They cleared the mine fields of trip wires and booby traps; they noted possible approaches for infantry advances to the river; and observed, at close range, enemy positions on the opposite bank. This information made possible an effective artillery barrage upon enemy positions and was of great value in formulating plans for subsequent operations by our troops.

This Web page is my tribute to my dad, William Dold Jr., 36th (Texas) Infantry Division, 111th Combat Engineer Battalion, Company "A", to the 36th Infantry Division, to all the men of the 111th Combat Engineers, and to all veterans of all wars.