SeanPaulMurphyVille: My Family: Uncle Buzzy and The Boys In Company B

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

My Family: Uncle Buzzy and The Boys In Company B

Private Anthony Rosenberger

My great-uncle Anthony Ignatius Rosenberger -- aka Uncle Buzzy -- died on 1 February 1988.

He lived with his brother Norbert, his sister Rita and her husband Bob on Evergreen Avenue in Northeast Baltimore. Although he certainly had the means to do so, Uncle Buzzy never bought his own house. Buying a house with your parents and siblings was The Rosenberger Way. It wasn't a question of a failure to launch. It was a question of why launch at all? The idea itself was absurd. When I bought my own home, my uncle Norbert was aghast. Why was I leaving my parents? I wasn't even married.

The evening he died, Uncle Buzzy enjoyed a spaghetti dinner prepared by my grandmother before going down into the basement to work out on his exercise bike. When he came upstairs to watch television in the living room he tumbled over as a result of a massive heart attack.

That was also The Rosenberger Way. Alive and well one second, dead the next. No warning. No waiting.

I raced over to their house. I picked up my uncle Norbert and followed the ambulance to nearby Good Samaritan Hospital. When we arrived, the paramedics said Uncle Buzzy was dead. They asked Norbert if he wanted to see him. He said no. I drove him home. Uncle Norbert took the news very stoically. That was also The Rosenberger Way. Their unique mix of Bavarian/Bohemian genes didn't lend itself to much outward displays of emotion.

Uncle Buzzy was 64-years-old.

At the time of his death, Uncle Buzzy seemed old to me. Now, as I approach his exit age, I find myself saddened by a life cut too short. In many ways he was in the prime of his life. He had retired from his job as a pipefitter in the Annapolis area. Although most Rosenbergers were inwardly focused toward their families, Buzzy had a lot of friends. He enjoyed hanging out with them. He would spend the afternoon with them in bars before returning home for dinner.

Uncle Buzzy, circa 1980.

Uncle Buzzy also had a real passion for fishing, particularly on the Chesapeake Bay. He participated in many tournaments and won a number of awards. I joined him on a few outings when I was very young but my proclivity toward seasickness ended my career as a fisherman before it began. When I posted my first online memorial to him, I used the picture below. My mother objected, saying that there were better pictures of him. I replied that I thought it was the perfect picture. He loved fishing and he was obviously proud of that catch.

As time passes, I find myself missing him more. I wish he was alive when I began doing the family tree. I found it difficult to pry many details concerning the Rosenbergers from my surviving relatives. That wasn't a result of any shame. They just didn't talk much about the past. What was the point?

Looking back, Uncle Buzzy was definitely the most outgoing of my immediate Rosenbergers. He was friendly and didn't seem to mind talking. I'm sure he would have regaled me with stories of his parents and grandparents. He could have brought life to my list of names and dates.

I would also love to have talked to him about his experiences during World War II as a member of Company B, 304th Engineer Combat Battalion, 79th Division. Uncle Buzzy was a volunteer, but he was too young to sign up himself. He needed his parents permission to fight and they gave it. I don't remember him talking about his experiences much. Once he told me his favorite day during the war was liberating a wine cellar in Luxemburg. He also let us see the battlefield souvenirs he brought home with him like Nazi armbands and even a German pistol. I also heard that he visited our family's hometown in Bavaria while he was in Europe.

He didn't seem to mind talking about his experiences. When one of my girlfriends needed to interview a veteran for a school project, Uncle Buzzy was only too happy to talk with her. I wasn't present for the interview and I never saw the paper. I wish I had a copy of it now! However, I did find an unique memento of his World War II service long after he died.

When I dove into genealogy, I started scanning all of the family photo albums I could find. I found one belonging to Uncle Buzzy. It contained page after page of photos of the guys from his unit. One hundred and thirty in all. They were arranged on pages by states: New York would have five pages, Maryland would have two pages, Georgia would have one, etc. I was impressed. Obviously, the guys in his unit were important enough to him that he got all of their photos, and he knew them well enough to remember what state they came from.

Photo of Company B at rest

Usually, when I scan photo albums, I scan a page at a time and digitally cut out the individual photos later. That's how I started with this album, but I had a problem. The paper was so fragile it was pointless to try to scan whole pages. I had to remove the photos from the pages. When I did, I discovered that the names and addresses of the men were written on the back. Now the faces had names.

After I scanned the photos, I began looking the men up on genealogical search engines. I couldn't identify all of them. The addresses often weren't specific enough. Obviously, for example, there's more than one Joe Smith in Brooklyn. However, I found a surprising number of the men. As I did, I got the answer to a question I had been wondering about: Did they exchange photos before they went overseas or when they came home? The answer was before they went overseas. How did I find out? Because a number of the men were killed in action.

I would like to honor a few of those men here. I only wish I could tell you about all of them, but I only have room for a few.

Let's start with Lt. Warren F. Hall, Jr., who was born on 4 October 1916 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Lt. Warren F. Hall, Jr.

These stories below will give you an idea of the kind of jobs Company B of the 304th Engineer Combat Battalion performed.

The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, California), 22 Aug 1944, Tuesday:

Doughboys Catch Enemy Completely by Surprise

In Bridging Seine 25 Miles Northwest of Paris

By Hal Boyle

WITH AMERICAN FORCES NORTH OF THE SEINE RIVER, Aug. 21 (AP) -- American doughboys in an operation which caught the Nazis completely by surprise have established and solidified a bridgehead across the vital Seine river 25 miles northwest of Paris.

The first troops crossed by ferry and assault boats Saturday night in the vicinity of Mantes and Glassicourt and now are so firmly established that they have no fear of a Nazi counterattack.

"We are all set and waiting for them -- with plenty of that artillery they met before," said Lt. Col. A.C. Dorhmann, of Seward, Neb., who said that in the first hours of the attack across the river American infantry outflanked and captured eight German 88-mm. guns overlooking Mantes and Glassicourt.

Realizing that this spearhead threatened the retreat of all their hodge-podge elements which they had been able to ferry across the bridgeless Seine, the Nazis began to move troops, but American artillery immediately took them under fire.

One German company was caught by a heavy barrage as it was trying to move in from the east to strengthen the garrison in Limay, a small village across the Seine northeast of Mantes.

"One German who gave up as soon as he could find somebody to take him prisoner said we have destroyed 75 per cent of his company," said Sgt. Leon Moss, Canton, Ill.

This was subsequently confirmed by higher officers.

Capture of the German 88-guns was accomplished by quickly advancing doughboys who surprised the Nazi crews eating breakfast Sunday morning and shot up or captured all except a few who fled on bicycles and in civilian automobiles they had stolen.

Lt. Warren Hall, of Johnstown, Pa, said:

"One of our boys killed six of them running across a field, with eight shots from his rifle. Later, he, himself, was shot through the neck with a tracer bullet. You could see daylight through it -- but he is going to come out all right."

The crossing of the Seine was made on the largest bridge of its type constructed by the American Army in France during this war. It was completed six hours from the time the first pontoon was floated in rain and midnight blackness.

I made a tour of our bridgehead across the Seine this afternoon and failed to see a single German. I had an eerie feeling driving past forests and ravines which offered natural positions for German emplacements and yet finding no sign of Nazi defense.

The inspection emphasized that the original German defenses in France consisted of nothing more than a brittle crust.

A longer version of the AP story in a Pennsylvania newspaper gave Lt. Hall a greater opportunity to elaborate on the crossing, and the role of the 304th. (I am only including the portion with Lt. Hall.)

The Daily American (Somerset, Pennsylvania), 22 Aug 1944, Tuesday:

.....Lt. Warren Hall, of Johnstown, engineering officer, told how the speeding Yanks surprised the Nazis by crossing the Seine, several miles from the point where the Germans had set up static defenses.

"First we took the doughboys over in our rubber assault boats," he said. "Each held a dozen infantrymen and three combat engineers who had to bring the boats back.

One Burst of Fire

"There was only one burst of fire from downstream during the whole operation--and nobody was hurt. The enemy was eating breakfast on a hill and as they ate our advanced infantry surrounded them and opened fire. Only one gun was manned by them and its crew ran away.

"We killed or captured all who did not surrender or get away by bicycle or motor car. They didn't have a chance once we opened up on them.

"One of our boys killed six of them running across a field, with eight shots from his rifle. Later he, himself, was shot through the neck with a tracer bullet. You could see daylight through it--but he is going to come out all right."

"Yes and he was the calmest guy on the river," said Pvt. John Thompson, Passaic, N.J.

John Thompson, quoted above.

Building bridges and surprising the Nazis? Sounds like a great adventure, but the stakes were high. Not all of the boys in Company B came home alive.

Meet Private Ray Vivian Patton. He was a farm boy born in Georgia on 2 January 1924 and died in France on 3 August 1944. I could not find any details regarding his death aside from a brief mention of him in a Georgia newspaper in 1948 which said he died on a Normandy beach. At the time of his death, Ray had three brothers fighting abroad: Two in Italy and one in New Guinea. I hope they made it home safely.

Ray Vivian Patton

Meet PFC Grady Y. Brannon. He was born on 12 May 1918 in Calhoun, Mississippi. He was married and working on a WPA project when he registered for the draft. He died 29 March 1945 in Europe, presumably Germany. I could find no details regarding his death.

Grady Young Brannon

Meet Dewey Bundy He was born on 3 August 1914 in Isabella, Michigan. He worked for the Isabella County Road Commission prior to his entry into the service. Dewey was killed in France on 22 June 1944. Once again, I could find no details about his service and death. That's frustrating. With all of the information available online today, you'd think there'd be a database where we could read about the sacrifices of our American heroes.

Dewey Bundy

Meet Arthur Porche. He was born on 18 June 1918 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He died four days after his birthday on 22 June 1944 in France. Arthur was probably the first member of the 304th killed in action. I believe the unit arrived in France on D Day Plus Two, which would be the 8th of June. That meant he was killed within fourteen days of arrival.

Arthur Porche

Meet Sgt. August Herman Schillenkamp. He was born on 20 April 1906 in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. He was killed on 3 April 1944 in France. He was thirty-eight-years old when he died of wounds. I initially thought, since he was a Sergeant, that he might have been a career soldier. Not the case. Thirty-eight seems to be pretty old to go to war. You have to admire him.

Not all the heroes died. Some lived to tell their tales. For example, there is Rayford Lee Fain who won four Bronze Stars during his time with the unit. He worked for RJ Reynolds in North Carolina and died in November 2015 at the age of 94.

Rayford Lee Fain

Donald Leroy Morris was another hero. He was wounded in 1944 in France. He received the Purple Heart with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, the American Defense Service Ribbon and The European African Theater Ribbon with three Bronze Stars. He was a master auto technician in Indiana and died in July 1995 at the age of 75.

Donald Leroy Morris

Finally, let me introduce you to William Carl Riddle, Jr. He was born on 20 November 1921 in Durham, North Carolina. He was married and working for a bottling/packing company prior to his service.

I don't know much about his service with the unit. I am including him because I liked the photo below taken on his 50th wedding anniversary. I'm glad he managed to enjoy a long and healthy life prior to his death on 10 August 1998 at the age of 76.

I am proud of my Uncle Buzzy's service with this tremendous Band of Brothers. I am glad he kept a photo album to remember them by and I am happy to tell their stories now. I will keep researching this group of American heroes who put their lives on the line to maintain our freedom.

Don't be surprised if I continue to add more stories in the future.

See all of the photos here: Company B, 304th Combat Engineers

See their graves here: FindAGrave

Click here for more of my genealogical blogs:

My Family: Christmas 1967

My Family: My Granddaughter Emma Renee Schwalm

My Family: The Diaries of Mary Elizabeth McLane, Part 1
My Family: The Back River Tragedy

My Family: My Three Nuns
My Family: The Murder of Adam G. Robertson
My Family: Uncle Buzzy and The Boys In Company B
My Family: 1st Lieutenant Charles Edward Farber, KIA
My Family: Cousin Tillie's Balcony
My Family: The Public Suicide of Carl "Ernie" Stark
My Family: The Public Suicide of Frank Kostohryz
My Family: Mary Marshall Mirfin, Hero
My Family: Rita Cecilia Rosenberger Protani Pollock
My Family: Vincent Klima and the Spanish Influenza
My Family: A Festival of Fathers
My Family: The Honorable George Farber
My Family: A Celebration of Mothers
My Family: The Mystery of Frank John Murphy
My Family: Kristina Bednar Kostohryz
My Family: Great-Grandmom Assunta's Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Be sure to check out my memoir The Promise, or the Pros and Cons of Talking with God, published by TouchPoint Press. It is my true story of first faith and first love and how the two became almost fatally intertwined.

Here are some sample chapters of The Promise:

Chapter 1 - A Photograph

Chapter 2 - My Death

Chapter 3 - Childhood

Chapter 4 - Saved!

Chapter 5 - The Promise

Chapter 6 - The Mission

Chapter 7 - Mission Accomplished
Chapter 15 - Quarter To Midnight

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