Lilevjen, Hugh collection

Tech Sgt Hugh A. Lilevjen. WWII. US Army.

Notes provided by donor:

Dear Folks---Just a line to let you know that I’m OK Hugh Lilevjen’s letters* to his parents written during his service in WWII Cannon Company, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division

Minnesota to Hitler’s Eagles Nest

*Letters word-processed and family and war history narrative written by Karen Lilevjen LaBat, Hugh Lilevjen’s daughter.

Chapter I. Introduction and background

Letters written by Hugh A. Lilevjen while a soldier during WWII—from training at Camp Roberts and Fort Ord, California; travel on a troop train from California to Camp Picket, Virginia; through the North Africa Campaign (Morocco, Libya, Tunisia), Invasion of Sicily; Anzio Beachhead; the march to Rome via Montecasino; into southern France; Germany and Austria. The letters also span the time that he was on furlough in Minnesota—I believe traveling through Great Britain and New York to return home. After his furlough, he returned to Europe, rejoining his unit in the 3 rd Division. He stayed in Europe for a period of time after V.E. Day (visiting Paris), then returned home via Brazil.

Letters are addressed to his parents, unless otherwise indicated, which accounts for the generally positive upbeat tone of the letters; although I could sense a change in tone from the early days training in California to years throughout the war. Some more frank comments about the war and the enemy appear starting with the days in Sicily. He makes some comments on the society of the time, so recall that period and the language used, for example “Negro” was used at the time—the label shifted from “Negro” to “Black” in the 1960’s (Bell, 2013).

Transcription

The first transcription of the letters included all information including: information on the envelope (mailing address, return address, postmark, censors stamp and signature); letter salutation; description of letterhead or indication of no letterhead; full text of the letter (original spellings, grammar, etc.); date of letter and place where written; and Hugh’s address at the time of letter.

Transcripts were then minimally edited for this document to reduce unnecessary length by removing redundant addresses, e.g. if Hugh was located at the same address for a series of letters the address was deleted. The address is given in full if he is in a new location or if he had received a promotion and changed rank that is indicated in his address. Annotations

Footnotes include: historical term and slang descriptions, family relationships, descriptions of famous (or infamous) historical people, and descriptions of geographical and cultural landmarks. My thoughts and notes within the text are indicated with bracket [ ] and text is italicized within the brackets.

Historical Context

Resources were consulted to provide context for the letters. Historical events are inserted in the text and credited with original sources that are listed in the Reference List at the end of the document. The most helpful resource that provided a sense of the realities of war the and vivid descriptions of the commanding officers and the soldiers on the front was the 3-volume set of books by Rick Atkinson (An Army at Dawn: The war in North Africa, 1942-1943; The Day of Battle: The war in Sicily and Italy, 1043-1944; The Guns at Last Light: The war in Western Europe, 1944-1945). The other very useful resource was the official History of the 3rd Division, written by Taggart and published in 1947. The book is detailed describing actions in specific battles. The appendix lists names of those soldiers who died during the war. Other WWII history books are cited within the text and listed in the References.

Photographs and memorabilia

Photographs included with this text are from Hugh’s photograph albums, one album includes photos he (and his soldier buddies) took during the war. Photos were also found in family photograph albums. Photos and memorabilia were scanned. Some items (especially 3- dimensional) were photographed. All originals are in the author’s possession. Additional photos from other sources, e.g. web sites and history books are included with sources listed.

Family Background

Hugh Allen Lilevjen was born on Sept. 20, 1917 in Appleton, Minnesota to Henry and Ella (Mehegan) Lilevjen. He had one brother, Clarence, who was often called Clar (pronounced Clair). Clarence Silas Lilevjen was born on May 3, 1914. 1 Hugh grew up in a small Midwestern town—Appleton, Minnesota, near the Minnesota-South Dakota border. He graduated from the local high school. 2 After high school he worked at an auto shop/gasoline station and opened a café in Appleton. The café was very small—counter service with 5 stools and table service with 3 booths. 3 The apt-named Mill Café was located across the street from the big industry in the town—the W. J. Jennison flour mill. The café was a handy place for breakfast and lunch for the mill workers. The family had always been in the hospitality business. Ella Mehegan Lilevjen was the daughter of William Mehegan who owned the large (for a small town on the Minnesota-South Dakota border) hotel, The St. James Hotel. 4 Henry Lilevjen was in the wholesale grocery business. Henry was also a talented musician who played in the town band and in a small combo with his brother, Oscar Lilevjen. They also played in the Appleton Municipal Band. 5 Henry’s grocery experience no doubt helped in understanding how to stock supplies for the cafe. Ella knew about quantity cooking from observing activities in her father’s hotel kitchen. Hugh served as chief “cook and bottle washer” for the café while his

1 Photo Section: Family photo from the 1920’s.

2 Photo Section: Hugh Lilevjen graduation photograph

3 Photo Section: Mill Café (first location) in Appleton, Minnesota

4 Photo Section: St. James Hotel, Appleton, Minnesota, established in 1883.

5 Photo Section: Appleton Municipal Band, 1937, Henry standing far right, Oscar seated first chair, first row, right.

mother was the baker, making pies, cakes and other goodies in her home kitchen and then transporting the goods to the café in a Ford Model-A. 6 Pie racks built into the back window of the Ford provided safe transport for the baked goods. Business was good and the family soon moved to a larger building on the same block, retaining the name Mill Café. 7 Throughout the war letters, Hugh asks his parents about the business, for example voicing concerns about rationing of sugar and coffee, suggesting how to pay taxes and sign up workers for social security. Hugh’s experience as a cook and managing a café no doubt resulted in his early army training as a cook while at Camp Roberts, California. But, he also had experience as a mechanic and had a good mind for mathematics—perhaps influencing his later assignment to a “Cannon Company” requiring calculating target locations and maintaining equipment.

Hugh’s older brother, Clar was married by the time Hugh went into the army. Clar’s wife, Fran, had been widowed and had 2 sons from her first marriage. Throughout the letters Hugh inquires about Clar and Fran and the “kids” (Fran’s boys, Dick and Corky). During the war Clar and Fran had a baby girl, Kay (Catherine) who Hugh often refers to in the letters as “the baby”. Clar was a football star during high school and after high school graduation attended the University of Minnesota where he was #59, an “end” position on the “Golden Gopher” football team during the famed Bernie Bierman years (Star Tribune 1939 roster). After graduating from the UMN, Clar became the football coach at the Belle Fourche, SD high school. The whole family was interested in sports—especially local teams and University of Minnesota teams. An early hobby was flying small airplanes. An article in a March 11, 1940 Appleton Press states: First of the present local flying enthusiasts to fly alone was Hugh Lilevjen who made his solo flight at the Appleton airport last Friday. Lilevjen made four take-offs and landings after having completed eight hours of dual instruction as required by the Civil Aeronautic Authority. 8

A story he told me was that he quit flying after a minor accident when he flipped a small airplane on landing at the Appleton Airport.

On return from his service in WWII he rejoined his parents to continue to run the Appleton Mill Café. There is some evidence in Irene Wilkening’s (my mother) scrapbook that they dated before the war and while Hugh was on furlough, and they continued dating when he returned from the war. 9 He married Irene Wilkening on May 29, 1946. 10 On March 27, 1947 I was born in the Appleton Hospital. 11 In the 1950’s Hugh and Irene sold the Mill Café and Hugh was hired by the city of Appleton as the first hospital administrator for the new Appleton Municipal Hospital. 12 I recall how exciting those years were as Hugh helped supervise the building of the hospital. Hugh A. Lilevjen was born September 20, 1917 and died June 7, 1978.

6 Photo Section: The model-A Ford and Hugh Lilevjen.

7 Photo Section: Mill Café, 2 nd location larger establishment located around the corner from the first café.

8 Photo Section: One page from Hugh’s flight log (In author’s possession). Photo of Hugh with airplane.

9 Photo Section: Hugh and Irene dating. Photo probably taken on the Wilkening farm.

10 Photo Section: Wedding photo of Hugh and Irene.

11 Photo Section: Photo of baby Karen and Hugh, 1947.

12 Photo Section: News photo of ribbon cutting for the new hospital.

Military/War Background:

September 1, 1939: first day of a war that lasted 2,174 days, claimed 27,600 lives every day (one death every 3 seconds).

June 14, 1941: Hitler invades Paris and a Nazi flag was hung from the Arc de Triomphe. Philippe Petain emerges as leader of the rump government. Hitler negotiates establishment of the Vichy government in Vichy, France which rules the southern 40 percent of France and the French overseas empire of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. (Atkinson, 2002, pg. 6). December 7, 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor.

“General Erwin Rommel reached Tripoli in mid-February 1941 and launched a campaign that would surge back and forth across the North African littoral [within a certain distance of the shore—i.e. Mediterranean] for the next two years, first against the British and then against the Americans” (Atkinson, 2002, pg. 7).

Hanson (2017) explains that GI’s of 1941 were different than other generations: “Most young recruits had grown up during the Depression, a time that tended to lower material expectations and made even the Spartan conditions of army life seem preferable to civilian poverty. Times were harder in the late 1930’s than in the Roaring Twenties or the 1950’s and 1960’s. The army of 1941 was also the first in which millions of Americans had grown familiar with first- and second generation internal- combustion engines, from tractors and delivery trucks to cars and motorcycles.” (pg. 224)

Hugh’s Military Assignment

Hugh was assigned to the 7 th Infantry, 3 rd Division, Cannon Company. The 3 rd Division was the oldest in continuous service in the U.S. Army, also known as the “Rock of the Marne” because they stopped the Germans on the Marne turning the tide of WWI. 13 More information is included throughout Hugh’s letters. In 1947 the government published the official history of the Third Division in World War II, edited by D. G. Taggart, 1947. It is a very detailed account of the Division’s campaigns in French Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Southern Italy, Anzio, through southern France, over the Vosges Mountains, through the Colmar Pocket, and across Germany to Berchtesgaden in Bavaria and Salzburg in Austria. Hugh was in the amphibious assaults against Casablaca in French Morocco, Licata in Sicily, Anzio in Italy and Cavalaire in Southern France.

13 See History of the Third Division (1947), by Taggart. The Battle Record of the 3 rd Division is included in the Appendix.

The 3rd Division patch—worn on the left sleeve.

The entire division was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for several operations during WWII. The Division’s campaign in France was recognized by the Provisional Government of the French Republic (Decision No. 975, signed at Paris, 27 July 1945, by General Charles de Gaulle, President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic and Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces of France) which authorized the members of the 3 rd Infantry Division to wear the fourragere in the colours of the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 (See photo of Hugh in the last chapter of this document).

o 3rd Infantry Division "Marne Division" – For service during WW I with the III Corps, US First Army, AEF & in WW II with VI Corps, US Seventh Army, Sixth US Army Group, AEF

Dwight Eisenhower said of the 3 rd Division, “The Third U.S. Infantry Division entered World War II with a reputation for gallantry and reliability already established by its brilliant performance in the First World War. Never once in World War II, either in the Mediterranean or in the Western European theater has the Division failed to add a still greater luster to its record” (Taggart, 1947).

What is a Cannon Company?

Hugh was originally trained as a cook, but as was typical during WWII, he was later trained on artillery and assigned to a Cannon Company before being deployed to North Africa.

As the author of this piece, I certainly am no expert on military operations. My descriptions of a Cannon Company are based on what I’ve read in official documents, books, and in my Dad’s letters. So—here’s my understanding as it relates to my Dad’s letters. During WWII from July 1943-1945, each infantry Regiment was allotted one Cannon Company that provided indirect fire support. The Cannon Company had 118 men and was equipped with a total of 6 M3 105mm towed howitzers (Matsuyama, 2020). The US Army Cannon Company training manual (1944) describes the composition:

The cannon company of the infantry regiment consists of a company headquarters and three cannon platoons. The company headquarters is composed of a command group and an administration group. [In at least one letter Hugh describes going through the countryside to find a suitable location for the company headquarters.]

There were several configurations within the unit (see chart below with equipment and army ranks). A Cannon Company provided heavy fire for the infantry and required many functions to work as a unit and carry out the mission. The company had to move the guns into position, often digging them into a pit and camouflaging them. A constant supply of ammunition had to be assured, the soldiers in the unit had to be fed so each unit had its own cooks, and in case of injuries medics were included in the unit. Communication was a key element as the big guns had to be directed to targets determined by those in command. Orders had to flow from command to the soldiers manning the guns and phone lines had to be strung to soldiers at the front to properly position and aim the guns. There were no wireless cell phones, drones, etc.

Although never stated specifically throughout the letters, I believe that Hugh carried out several different functions throughout the war depending on the rank he held at the time. He probably was a reconnaissance sergeant, communication sergeant, radiotelephone operator, and basic duty soldier.

Smith (1993), an officer in a Cannon Company in the South Pacific, describes what it was like to man an observation post to control indirect fire and to communicate with the gun crews. The OP was always placed so that the observer could see the enemy positions and if the enemy discovered that fire was being directed from the position, they would certainly fire on that position. “It was hazardous duty” (pg. 52).

Smith (1993) also describes part of the process for establishing fire saying, “It was necessary to establish a base point within the target area—usually a prominent land feature, easy for the Forward Observer to identify. Adjusting fire on this base point enabled the Forward Observer to give fire commands to the gun position by ‘sensing’ the distance of the target from the base point. The executive could then translate this into fire commands for the gun crews” (pg. 80). See the cipher strip in the Photo Section. 14

14 Photo Section: Cipher strip (In author’s possession).

The Cannon Company manual (1944) describes several special operations: Attack in woods, attack of towns, attack of a river line, attack of a fortified position, raids, desert operations, tactical employment in the establishment of a beachhead, and mountain operations. The manual also describes defensive actions in different settings and procedures for withdrawal. How to move large equipment is also described—over water, over embankments, and more.

Pyle (1944), a journalist who was embedded with troops throughout the war in Europe, describes in his book Brave Men, the day-to-day life in a Cannon Company. Of the big guns he says, “Lordy, did they make a noise? The six-ton gun fires a shell so big it is all an ammunition carrier can do to lug one up to the gun pit” (pg. 105).

Pyle (1944) says:

In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred an artilleryman never sees what he’s shooting at, and in nine cases out of ten he never even knows what he’s shooting at. Somebody just gives him a set of figures over his telephone. He set his gun by those figures, rams in a shell, pulls the lanyard, and then gets ready for the next one. Hanson (2017) states that by 1945 the American infantryman had the “most accurate artillery support of the war” (pg. 214).

Pyle (1944) continues:

All four guns were connected to the battery’s executive post by telephone, and the chief of each crew wore a headphone all the time he was in the pit. An executive post might be anything from a telephone lying on the ground under a tree, clear up to the luxury of an abandoned cowshed. But it was always within a few yards of the battery. An officer in the executive post gave the firing directions to the four guns of his battery. He got his instructions from the regimental command post half a mile or so to the rear, which in turn received its firing orders from the division command posts and from its own observers far ahead in the mountains (pg. 109). 15

15 Photo Section: Shooting sequence for the Howitzer, Empty ammo cans. From Hugh’s photo album.

U.S. Army Units and Sizes Army Unit & Size Number of Soldiers Commanding Officer Field Army = 2 or more Corps

50,000-250,000 Four-Star General

Corps = 2 -5 Divisions

20,000-45,000 Three-Star Lieutenant General Division – 3-4 Brigades 10,000-15,000 Two-Star General

Brigade/Regiment* = 3-5 Battalions

3,000-5,000 Colonel

Battalion/Regiment* = 4-6 Companies

200-1,000 Lieutenant Colonel

Company = 3-4 Platoons

50-200 Captain

Platoon = 3-4 Squads

15-40 Lieutenant

Squad = 10 Soldiers`

10 Staff Sergeant

The number of soldiers in each unit varies depending on where it is deployed, its mission, and the available personnel, or individual unit strength.  Before 1957, regiments were brigade-level units of about three thousand men, containing three battalions, artillery, and other supporting units, commanded by a colonel. Since then, the army has largely eliminated regiments as a command unit, with a few exceptions.

From Hugh’s spiral notebook A tiny spiral notebook belonging to Hugh (I think possibly carried during the war) lists war location dates, promotion dates, enlistment and separation date, and addresses that were apparently important to him.

Addresses (in order from the book): Miss Irene Wilkening [Hugh’s future wife and this author’s Mom] 3707 Grand Ave. South Minneapolis, Minn. Apt. 203; Tel LO6607

Note: Inclusion in the notebook is an indication to me that he knew her (and possibly dated her?) before going into service. Also must be the time period when she worked at Young Quinlan Department Store in downtown Minneapolis as a clerk and hat model. She returned to Appleton to be with her mother after her brother, Clifford Wilkening, died in New Guinea of typhus on March 31, 1943. At that time I think she worked in the Appleton Forsberg Department Store. A scrapbook from her bridal shower (1946) mentions 4 years of her waiting for her soldier. Remainder of addresses are located in the Appendix.

Timeline of War Service Inducted: April 9, 1942: Fort Snelling, Minnesota Ranks: Pvt. April 9, 1942, SS. Act. PFC Sept. 25, 1942 0#3 Cn Co. 7ty Inf. Cpl (TW) Feb. 25, 1943 So#25 Hq 7 th Inf. Sgt. (TW) Sept. 14, 1943 So#102 Hq 7 th Inf. S/Sgt (TW) Jan. 13, 1944 So#7 Hq 7 th Inf. T/Sgt (TW) May 1, 1945 So#63 Hq 7 th Inf.

Remainder of spiral notebook notes are located in the Appendix. ________________________________________________________________________ This document includes this chapter—Chapter I with background—and then traces Hugh’s time in the army in WWII by presenting his un-edited letters in 5 chapters with historical background: Chapter II. Training Camps: Camp Roberts and Ford Ord, California; Troop train to Camp

Pickett, Virginia, 1942

Chapter III. North Africa: French Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, November 1943-July 4, 1943

Chapter IV. Sicily, Southern Italy, Anzio Beachhead, July 1943-August 1944

Chapter V. France: Cavalaire (point of landing in southern France) through Besançon

Chapter VI. Furlough to the U.S. via Glasgow and South Hampton, Scotland; return to Germany (Nuremberg, Augsburg, Munich, and Berchtesgaden and more) and on to Austria (Salzburg); Discharge and return to the US after the war, 1945.

Sample letters from Chapter V. France: Cavalaire (point of landing in southern France) through Besançon. (Allied forces focus moves to France and advancing toward Berlin, Germany) Aug. 29, 1944, Southern France Postmarked: Sept. 1, 1944 Stamped: Passed by Army Examiner 02342, signed G.E. Guckert, 1st Lt. Letterhead: none Letter written in pen

Dear Folks: Boy, last night was a red-letter night for mail call. I received six letters, one package, two presses and five Mpls. Papers. Thanks a lot for the package, it came through in good shape. One thing though you say you are short of candy and gum so don’t send me any in the packages as we get quite a bit. As far as cigarettes, we get all we want. When we buy them they cost us fifty cents a carton, but we usually get them free. As far as my 1943 salary in the army, it was approximately $975.00. I will find out the exact figure as soon as possible but it might take a little time as I will have to get it through personnel. The reason I ant figure it exact is that I had a couple of promotions and don’t remember the exact dates. Here goes on the pictures, 16 #1 Cpl. Stanizewski from Amtranack, Mich—the good old days at Anzio; #2 part of my section in a relaxing period. Bottom row L to R Smith Mississippi; Red Birt, Colordao; Joe Onder, Youngston, Ohio. Top L to R, Mac McDonald, Mass; guess who from Minn. Ronald VanDittie, New, N.J. #3 another shot of the section fixing coffee while resting. L to R VanDittie, unknown, Seymour Wright, Fla.; Lloyd Sheridan, Youngstown, Ohio; Henry Wartela, Woren?, Mich. #4 Prisioners on the way back. #5 You can see why we called Anzio the pool table. #6 One of the many places we’ve been. Cisterna kind of wrecked. #7 Joe shelitto in our foxhole we build them good. #8 Just a picture of a beach and smoke screen. #9 Some of the guys playing Black Jack. Don Glaskie?, Birt and Wartella. #10 a moonlight night on a beah. #11 Wartella shaving. #12 Cpl. Tearaly from Wisconsin taking a bath. It was winter time so the wool underwear shirt when you get washed that far down. Note the stove at the left, our pride and joy. Half a gallon gas drum and the pipe is made from old spam cans. #12 Stanizewski and myself enjoying a cup of coffee in our fox hole. A place we will never forget—ask me about it when I get home. #13 It’s a problem to get your back washed even over here but “Willy” Siebert from Brooklyn, receives some help from Clyde Milton of Bemidji, Minnesota. We sure were lucky to have the pail we usually just have our helmets. Well, Dad I guess the heading on the letter will show you where I am as close as I can tell you so you see you guessed wrong. I had a letter from “Tom” and one from Kathleen last night, boy it is hard to realize they are practically grown up. For this time, I had better close. Take it easy and don’t worry as I am O.K. Love, Hugh Sept. 26, 1944, France Postmarked: Sept. 28, 1944 Stamped: Passed by Army Examiner 02342, signed R.E. Horton, Capt. Letterhead: none Letter written in pen Dear Folks: 16 Refers to photos in the Siciy/Italy Photo Section.

Long time since I wrote but just didn’t seem to get at it. Will try and do better next time though. Funny thing remember I once wrote that one of the things I missed most over here was wooden buildings. Sometime ago over here I saw my first one, it was just an old wooden shed but it sure looked good after all the stone and cement buildings I saw in the last couple of years. Then in the course of the operation we had to shell it and blow it down. Funny isn’t it that after waiting that long to see a wooden building it would be part of my job to destroy it, the first one I ran into. I will stick in a couple of negatives again in this letter they aren’t much good but all I have right now.

I sent home a pair of wooden shoes 17 the other day. When they wear them they have a piece of leather that goes over the instep to hold them on. Then they wear a knitted slipper so when they go in the house they leave their wooden shoes outside. I had a lot of the guys put their name and address on the shoes. Hope they don’t get wet as their names are on them in just plain ink. Maybe when I get home I can either shellac or varnish them to keep the names on. Well, I suppose winter will soon be here, boy I sure hate to think of spending another one over here. I don’t mind anything else so much but the cold and wet sure get me. As long as a guy is warm and dry he is O.K.

Just thought about what one English soldier said about us, maybe I told you before. Anyhow, guess it is true, he said, “The American soldier must be crazy, they belch and say excuse me, fart and laugh like hell.”

Well, not much to write about as you must know after that last one so will close for this time.

Love, Hugh