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| Starlin
H. Hughes and Friends |
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(Photo
Courtesy of Carson B. "C.B."
Baker, of Johnson City, Tenn.)
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This photo
is courtesy of T-3 Sgt. Carson B.
"C.B." Baker, of Johnson
City, Tenn., who served as a medic
in the 47th Infantry Regiment during
World War II.
The photo shows former 47th Infantry
Regiment commander George W. Smythe,
left, and the 47th Infantry Regiment's
Lt. Col. James D. Johnston, right,
in the rear. The five soldiers in
front are unknown.
Brig. Gen. Lewis "Chip"
Maness, retired, of Rockledge, Fla.,
who assumed command of the 47th's
2nd Battalion in Germany shortly after
the Normandy and Northern France campaigns,
was ranked captain on June 22, 1944,
when Johnston was severely wounded
in action.
Johnston died a few days following
the drive to envelop the critical
port city of Cherbourg,
France. Johnston was wounded from
a German 88mm shell at Crossroads
114 near Acqueville and Le Motel.
Maness was serving as Johnston's S-3
operations officer and was standing
a few feet away from the lieutenant
colonel when he was wounded.
"We had taken a house on a crossroads
and Johnston wanted to use that as
an observation post," Maness
recalled. "Johnston said to me,
'I want to go back and get some tanks.'
"I said, 'We don't have any tanks
attached to us.'
"He said, 'I am going back and
find some'
"And when he stepped out the
door of that house, an 88 round came
in right at his footsteps, killing
the artillery liaison officer from
the 84th Field Artillery. He was with
Johnston and they were both hit at
that crossroads just outside Cherbourg.
I was inside the house when that 88
cam in. Johnston's stomach was cut
open pretty badly. I called the medics,
and the medics came up and got him
and took him off. The other man was
already dead. I knew Johnston wasn't
going to live after I saw the wound,
but we got the medics up there as
quickly as possible. We heard that
he died in the hospital a few days
later.
"Johnston was one of my dearest
friends," Maness said. "He
was a courageous man and a great leader
and he loved his men and would do
anything in the world for them. He
was always out there in front with
them. Johnston was one hell of a good
battalion commander."
Lt. Col. James D. Johnston, of North
Carolina, died Thursday, June 29,
1944. He is buried in Plot E, Row
26, Grave 37, at the Normandy American
Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer
above Omaha
Beach in Normandy, France. According
to the American Battle Monuments Commission,
which maintains the breathtaking 172.5-acre
Normandy cemetery and other memorials
and cemeteries in Europe, approximately
461 of 9,386 graves belong to 9th
Infantry Division soldiers in the
cemetery overlooking "Bloody
Omaha."
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