333rd Artillery Battalion (United States)

The 333rd Field Artillery Battalion was an African-American United States Army unit that saw combat during World War II. In the Battle of the Bulge they provided badly needed fire support for the 101st Airborne Division during the Seige of Bastogne. Eleven of them had become separated from their unit after being ordered to evacuate their positions during the battle and they made their way to the town of Wereth, Belgium, where a farmer, Mathias Langer, sheltered them. However, a Nazi sympathizer revealed their presence to members of the 1st Waffen SS Panzer Division. They surrendered, but were taken to a field, where they were tortured, maimed and shot on December 17th, 1944. The victims were part of an all-black unit of the then segregated US Army. On May 23rd, 2004 a memorial was dedicated to the Wereth 11 of the 333rd. The battalion suffered more casualties at Bastogne than any other artillery unit in the VIII Corps. Six officers and 222 enlisted became either casualties or prisoners of war. In 1960 the Battalion was changed to a Artillery Regiment; in 1971 the unit was changed to a Field Artillery Regiment.

Names

The names of the victims were::Technical Sergeant William Edward Pritchett of Alabama:Technical Sergeant James A. Stewart of West Virginia:Staff Sergeant Thomas J. Forte:Corporal Mager Bradley of Mississippi:Private First Class George Davis of Alabama:Private First Class James Leatherwood:Private First Class George W. Morten:Private First Class Due W. Turner of Arkansas:Private Curtis Adams of South Carolina:Private Robert Green:Private Nathanial Moss

Curtis Adams was a medic. Thomas J. Forte was a mess sergeant.

Memorials

*In May 2004, a memorial was dedicated to the 11 in Wereth on Langer's land.
*In 2006, veterans with the Worcester, Massachusetts chapter of [http://www.battleofthebulge.org/index.html Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge] dedicated what is presumed to be the first memorial to the 11 on U.S. soil. It was dedicated at the Winchendon Veterans' Memorial Cemetery on August 20th.

External links

* [http://www.wereth.org/index.htm Wereth.org, an organization set up to remember the 11]
* [http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=42807&archive=true Stars & Stripes account of memorial]
* [http://www.wereth.org/Wereth_Story_2.htm Mobile Register account of memorial]
* [http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/FA/333FieldArtilleryRegiment.htm 333rd FA Battalion page]
* [http://tmg110.tripod.com/usarmyh8.htm 333rd FA Battalion]

References

* [http://lowellsun.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?articleId=4361796&siteId=105 Lowell Sun article focusing on the Massachusetts memorial]