Green Mountain State Has 18 Sons in 351st Regiment Attack

Fighters Help Free Rome, Harry Fleeing Nazis in North Italy After Short Respite

WITH THE FIFTH ARMY, Italy, -- Eighteen Vermonters are now serving with the 351st Regiment in Italy, one of General Mark Clark's Fifth Army units that helped to drive the Germans from the Carigliano (sic) River to the Arno.

Except for a brief rest period, the regiment marched and fought almost continuously for more than five months.

Vermont sons included are:

PFC Paul I. Mascitti, truck driver, Barre; PFC Rodney H. Bacon, cononeer(sic), Beecher Falls; PFC William D. Managan, 8 Church Place, Bellows Falls, canoneer(sic); PFC Henry W. Barnes, machine gunner, 63 North Avenu, Burlington; PFC Curtis E. Wheeler, rifleman, Cabot; PFC Kenneth A. O"Donnell, rifleman, Chelsea; Pvt. Junio R. Parks, rifleman, Chester; Pvt. Frank J. Chamberlain, cannoneer, North Clarendon; Corp. Arthur O. Bellamy, cook, Cuttingsville; Sgt. Joseph A. Perreault, platoon sergeant, East Barre; Pvt. Neil C. Gleason, aid man, Enosburg Falls; Corp, Bernarn J. Butler, mail clerk, Pvt. Frank L. Amerio, rifleman, PFC James E. Doran, rifleman, all of Fair Haven; Corp. Delwin G. Blish, squad leader, Huntington; PFC Alfred E Johnson, machinegunner(sic), Montpelier; PFC Walter F. Reagan, driver, Moretown; PFC Jess E. Taylor, rifleman, Newport.

MANY 'FIRSTS'

Part of the 88th Infantry Division, the first selective service infantry division to come overseas in World War II, the 351st was the first element of that division to enter combat. Over rugged mountains and across broad valleys, the 351st pushed forward and helped to liberate Rome.

Soon after the city's fall, the regiment was given a well-earned rest. Three weeks later, however, the driving 351st was again slashing enemy lines and backing the defeated Germans to the north.

In addition to being the division's first regiment to enter combat, the 351st was its first regiment to arrive overseas, first to arrive in Italy, first to earn a Distinguished Service Cross, and first to receive a battlefield promotion.

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From: Burlington Daily News, Saturday, September 2, 1944