814th Tank Destroyer Battalion Troops Ambushed
Southwest of Sommerain, Belgium
December 19, 1944
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Contents
ordered by date created after Context & Composition

Context

The German Ardennes Offensive began December 16, 1944, along an 80-mile front. Now known as the Battle of the Bulge, it remains the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. The Germans met with initial success in most parts of their central thrust, spearheaded by Battle Group Peiper. Their plan was for the central thrust (by Sixth SS and Fifth Panzer Armies) to be buffered by parallel thrusts to the north (Fifteenth Army) and south (Seventh Army), which would prevent American reinforcements from reaching the flanks of the main thrust toward Antwerp. However, the American troops on the northern shoulder held most of their ground, thanks to the efforts of the 99th and 2nd Infantry Divisions. This allowed the U. S. 7th Armored Division to move, on the morning of December 17, from north of Aachen, Germany to the center of the front, at St. Vith, Belgium. The move was made on an eastern route bound for St. Vith and a western route bound for Vielsalm. The 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion was not an organic element of 7th Armored Division but was attached to 7AD in August 1944 for the duration of the war in Europe. 814 TD moved south in the western column, arriving at Vielsalm late on December 17.

Although the front lines to the east at St. Vith stopped the German advance, German units penetrated westward to the north and to the south of the defenses. By December 19, the Germans had penetrated far to the west of St. Vith on the south, to the point where normally rear echelon supply units came under attack 20 miles and more west of St. Vith. On December 19, a German tank was reported at Houffalize, and a small force of 814 TD Battalion was sent from the Vielsalm area to Houffalize. After finding no Germans at Houffalize, the force headed back to Vielsalm. But the Germans had penetrated their route at the village of Sommerain. There the Germans set up a position that the 814 TD force encountered as they climbed the grade rising from a stream up to the town.

This web page is about these men of the 814th Armored Division and their role in the combat that took four of their lives and left others wounded and captured. There has been an absence until now of detailed material about this event, and this web page is intended to provide that detail, to bring to light the men and events of this little-known battle.

Composition of the 814 TD Force

The force sent to Houffalize was never designated as a Task Force. But it did contain elements of both Company C and the Reconnaissance Company. The accounts and records show the following specifics. Clearly, more men took part in this battle, but only these have been identified thus far. The list order is by descending rank and alphabetically within each rank.

It is important to keep separate and not confuse the two officers named Reid/Reed, even though neither of them were in the force:
- Captain Donald E. Reid (C/814 Commanding Officer)
- Captain John P. Reed (Rcn/814 Commanding Officer)

The number in parentheses a name is the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) of the man.

Company C - 1st Platoon - one section: two tank destroyers

  • 1st Lt. Clifford Samuel Wennerstrand (1222 Tank Destroyer Unit Commander) - KIA
  • Sgt. Dale H. Dykes - Survivor
  • Pfc. Buford L. Mallot - Survivor
Letters he had not yet censored and mailed were found on Lt. Wennerstrand's body after his death. So these were C/814 men, but it is not known if they were part of the ambushed force.
Cpl Gerald Bulig
Pvt Leon O Edwards
Pvt Hiram S Felkey

Reconnaissance Company C - 3rd Platoon - Section 1: two M8 armored cars

  • 1st Lt. Leonard F. Ira (1204 ?Tank or TD Bn Recon Officer?) - Captured
  • Sgt. Marvin E. Stanley - Apparent Survivor
  • Pfc. Richard E. Beach (121 Utility Repairman) - KIA
  • Pfc. Sam C. Johnston (121 Utility Repairman) - KIA
  • Pfc. Glenn Marsee (610 Antitank Gun Crewman) - Wounded
  • Pvt. Donald N. Bryant (604 Light Machine Gunner) - Wounded and Captured
  • Pvt. William H. Harrington (745 Rifleman) - KIA
  • Pvt. Treyman C. Rapp (345 Truck Driver, Light) - Captured

After Action Report and Morning Reports
814th Tank Destroyer Battalion After Action Report (7 Jan 1945)

6. On 19 December a German tank was reported disabled in Houffalize and the 814th was ordered to send a small force up to knock it out. One section of TD's and one section of Rcn Co. went on this mission, but no tank was discovered. On the return trip the force was ambushed near Somouren with the result that two officers were lost, either killed or missing, and one destroyer with two 1/4 tons lost.

Morning Reports

Because the force consisted of small elements separated from their headquarters, the Morning Reports for 19 Dec 1944 show only the information for the two headquarters (C/814 and Rcn/814). The casualties were reported the next day, 20 Dec 1944, when the force reconnected with the headquarters. Because Missing in Action designations were delayed a few days in order to see if the man turned up, the reports of the missing men were not officially recorded until the Morning Reports of 23 Dec 1944, as of 20 Dec 1944. It was this date of 20 Dec 1944 from the Morning Reports that erroneously became the official date of death of the four men killed, even though the action and their deaths occured entirely on 19 Dec 1944.

The only man wounded and not killed or captured was Pfc. Glenn Marsee who was reported wounded on 20 Dec 1944, after the survivors had spent the night away from their headquarters and then returned to their headquarters. Thus although he was reported wounded on 20 Dec 1944, he was really wounded 19 Dec 1944.

Click on an image to see it full-size.
19 Dec C/814
19 Dec Rcn/814
20 Dec Rcn/814
23 Dec C/814
23 Dec Rcn/814

Contemporary Survivor Accounts

11 Jan 1945 C/814 Combat Interview

The most comprehensive account came from the 11 Jan 1945 Combat Interview of C/814 Commanding Officer Capt. Donald E. Reid and 1st Platoon members Pfc Buford L. Mallot and Sgt Dale H. Dykes. T/3 Linnell Jones of the 4th Information and Historical Service conducted the interviews.

The following transcription contains spellings as in the original. The correct name of 1st Lt. "Winterset" is 1st Lt. Clifford Samuel Wennerstrand. The correct name of the other MIA officer was 1st Lt. Leonard P. Ira. Sgt. Stanley's full name was Sgt. Marvin E. Stanley. And the correct name of the town was Sommerain.

19 Dec, Tues

In the morning, the company was notified by Col. Jones, through Maj Bowman, that a tank which had been immobilized but was still able to fire was being manned by the enemy in Houffalize. The company was ordered to send a section (2 TDs) to go to Houffalize and knock it out. The order was by Gen Hasbrouck.

The two TD’s and a recon platoon proceeded through Salm Chateau and Bovigny to Houffalize. The TD’s stayed on the outskirts of town while the recon platoon went into town. They found friendly troops in the town and no tank at all, so they turned around and came out.

The column was approaching Sommeraine on the way back. A peep with Lt Ira Leonard (MIA), platoon CO, was in front; Lt Clifford Winterset (MIA) of the 814th was in a second peep. Then came an M8, a third peep and the two TD’s.

The unit had come over the same road at 1500, prior to going to Houffalize. It was now about 1700. The column was going upgrade before getting to the town when it was caught in a crossfire which came from American machine guns manned by Germans. The column halted. Lt Winterset jumped from his peep and hit the ditch, as did the men of the recon platoon. They were with the peeps.

Meanwhile the Germans were firing at the M8, which was under Sgt Stanley of the Recon (first name not known), and Stanley opened up on the two machine guns. Presumably the guns were located in two buildings at the entrance to the town.

The Germans called to the Americans to surrender, but the men in the first two peeps refused to do so. The men from the second peep were still firing. The M8 started shelling at a range of 150 yards. St Winterset went forward, and a gunner saw him wounded by a German firing from a gully to the right. The gunner was wounded at about the same time. Sgt Stanley jumped from the M8, pulled the gunner on the M8, and backed down the slope, firing his 37. Meanwhile the German infantry was closing on the flanks of the two destroyers and were shooting flares and bazookas. One TD was hit twice by bazooka fires.

Two machine gunners on a TD opened fire on the infantry closing from the left. The right flank could not be brought into effective firing range because of the gully. Sgt Stanley ordered his M8 driver to evacuate the wounded man to Houffalize, thinking that there were medics in the town. He remained with the C Co TD’s.

Sgt Dykes of C Co and Sgt Stanley decided to try and save the guns, although bazooka fire was getting heavier. One gun fired one round of 90 and backed around to pull out in the opposite direction. The TD went into a ditch and stuck there and it was necessary to abandon it. Its gun could not be fired because of the angle at which the TD had assumed. Grenades were thrown at it to destroy it. Sgt Dykes gave the order for all men to load up in the remaining TD. At this time there was still some fire from the men from the second peep.

The column withdrew to the crossroads at Houffalize and there met the M8 which had withdrawn. They had found that the units that had been at Houffalize had withdrawn and there were no medics. They decided to take the highway to the right. They went about six or seven miles when they came to a road block where they spent the night with an artillery outfit from the 106th. In the morning they got the wounded man out and rejoined the company at Viersalm about noon.

Five EM, two officers were MIA. One EM was wounded.

Later Accounts

The remains of 1st Lt. Clifford Samuel Wennerstrand (C/814) were not recovered until February 1945, when they were recovered as Unknown X-12 by Graves Registration teams working out of the temporary U. S. Military Cemetery at Foy, Belgium. As part of the effort to locate and identify his remains, Graves Registration sought testimonial statements from men who might shed light on his case. These are the statements gathered in March 1945. Note that neither of the men making the statements were part of the force, so that all of their statements about the event itself are based on what they were told by others.

Important Note: Note that these later statements all erroneously place the ambush and deaths on 20 December 1944. Graves Registration either created or propagated this error by assuming that the Morning Reports and/or Battle Casualty Reports showing him (and the three KIAs of Rcn/814) MIA as of 20 December 1944 reflected the date of the action in which he was killed. But because the survivors of the 19 December 1944 combat were not able to return to their respective headquarters (both C/814 and Rcn/814) until 20 December 1944 and report the MIAs, the Morning Reports of 23 Dec 1944 (for both C/814 and Rc/814) show the date the MIA status was reported and not the actual date of the action in which the men became MIA. But Graves Registration apparently had no access to the earlier 814 TD After Action Report or Combat Interviews that clearly date the action at 19 December 1944. The men making the statements had seen a great deal of action since the events, so that their memory of the specific date was lost, and they clearly accepted the 20 December 1944 date that Graves Registration told them was correct and thus made erroneoues statements based on what GRS told them.

1st Lt. Maurice A. Yarter (C/814) Statement 5 Mar 1945

5 March 1945.

I, the undersigned, am the platoon leader of the 1st Platoon, Company "C", 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion (SP) and was present for duty, together with the following officers of Company "C" on 20 December 1944:

CAPTAIN DONALD E. REID, 0442897, FA - Co. Commander.
1ST LT JACK P. DILLENDER, 01824813, AUS - 2d Platoon Ldr.
1ST LT CLIFFORD S. WENNERSTRAND, 01825785, AUS - 1st Platoon Ldr.
2d LT HUGO T. BERTRUCH JR., 01824410, AUS - 3rd Platoon Ldr.
2d LT BRUNO P. ZAGANELLI, 01822213, AUS - Co. Executive.

On 20 December 1944, German armor was reported in the vicinity of Houffalize, Belgium. 1st Lt. Clifford S. Wennerstrand, 01825785, was assigned the mission of intercepting and destroying it. One (1) section of the Reconnaissance Company under the command of 1st Lt. Leonard F. Ira, 01823450, was attached to the 1st Platoon of Co. "C", for the mission. All evidence obtainable from eye witnesses reveals that the column was ambushed and Lt. Wennerstrand was last seen lying in the ditch on the side of the road, wounded. Attempts were made to reach him but bazooka, small arms and machine fire prevented it.

1st Lt. Leonard F. Ira, 01823450, was last seen lying in the middle of the road, knocked out as a result of two (2) Bazooka hits on his 1/4 ton. To the best of my knowledge 1st Lt. Leondard F. Ira, 01823450, was not wounded. Lt. Ira was leading the column and the intensity of small arms, bazooka and machine gun fire prevented his evacuation.

Captain John P. Reid, 0435581, FA, Reconnaissance Company, this organization, later found and immediately identified the body of 1st Lt. Clifford S. Wennerstrand, 01825785.

1st Lt. Clifford S. Wennerstrand, 01825785, was the only casualty in Co. "C" and the officers listed above are all presently on a duty status within the battalion.

There is no doubt in my mind that unknown X-12, Foy and 1st Lt. Clifford S. Wennerstrand, 01825785, are one and the same person.

[signature]
MAURICE A. YARTER, 01824218,
1st Lt., AUS,
Co. C, 814th TD Bn. (SP)

Subscribed and sworn before me this 5th day of March 1945.
[signature]
AL ORTIZ
CWO, USA
Assistant Adjutant

Captain John P. Reed (Rcn/814) Statement

S T A T E M E N T

I certify that I saw the body of First Lieutenant Clifford S. Wennerstrand, 01 825 785, Company "C" 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Having known the man for over a period of one year, I immediately examined the body and the examination revealed him to be dead. Arrangements have been made with Graves Registration Officer for proper burial. Personal recognition was the method of identification.

/s/ John P. Reed
/t/ JOHN P. REED
CAPTAIN, FA O 435 581
Commanding Rcn. Co.
814th TD Bn.

"TRUE COPY"
[signature]
AL ORTIZ
CWO, USA
Asst Adj
Post-War Published Accounts
Accounts in "Gare la Bête"

Calvin C. Boykin, Jr. served in 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion's Reconnaissance Company. In 1995, he published his book "Gare la Bête (Beware the Beast): A History of the 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion 1942-1945" (C&R Publications: College Station, Texas). The following accounts are from his book.

Page 74
Clarence J. Anderson, then radio sergeant in the Battalion's HQ company, reports further on the uncertain and hazardous situation at the time:
"When I was out with some of the firing companies I felt pretty safe; it was driving around "no man's land" trying to find them that caused the most concern. On one such occasion in the Bulge I was trying to find Lieutenant Wennerstrand (Clifford S. of Chicago, Illinois) who had two destroyers with radios not working. After driving several miles in my trusty jeep I decided to get out of there in a hurry. My hunch paid off. A day or two later they found that the Lieutenant and his crews had run into a German roadblock. They were all killed."
Corrections: While Lt. Wennerstrand was working in Chicago when he entered service, he was originally from Westboro, Wisconsin. He was the only member of C/814 killed in the action.

Pages 76-77
On 19 December a German tank was reported disabled in Houffalize and the 814th was ordered to send a small force up to knock it out. One section of TDs and one section of 3d Platoon RCN Company went on this mission. Two former members of 3d Platoon today remember this mission vividly, although the details of their accounts differ. Howard Watson then a section sergeant in 3d Platoon recalls:
"There were reports that there were some German tanks in Houffalize and my section was supposed to run down and check this out. I was preparing to get started when Lieutenant (Leonard F. of Lisbon, North Dakota) Ira came up and said you had better stay here and get your radio repaired and I will take the M8 from 1st Section and lead your section on the mission. As I found out later in prison camp from Treyman Rapp, they went to Houffailize but didn't see any tanks, and on their return they were ambushed. At first they though they were being fired on by our own troops, as they had American machine guns. Before they could do much (Sam C. of Iberia, Missouri) Johnston was killed, Don (Donald H. of Ottawa, Kansas) Bryant was wounded and captured. Bill (William H. of Red Cloud, Nebraska) Harrington was killed, Glenn Marsee got a shoulder wound. Richard (E. of Chanute, Kansas) Beach was killed and Lieutenant Ira was taken prisoner. The M8 was able to turn around and get away. They spent the night with another unit and came in the next morning with one of the tires shot off."

Donald Seem of the 2d Section of this 3d Platton reports his rememberances of the ambush of the Platoon's 1st Section and the ensuing casualties. His recollection includes the information that Lieutenant Ira , rushing up on foot from behind, was shot in the abdomen.Seem heard that a patrol had been sent to the ambush site the next day and found that Lieutenant Ira had tried to doctor his wounds with first aid, but the Germans had shot him again, dead. Other reports at the time from sources not remembered that Belgian citizens had seen a wounded Lieutenant (likely Ira) come to their home carrying a wounded soldier (though to be the dying Harrington). The lieutenant then was taken prisoner by the Germans. A few years ago Howard Watson recalled being a prisoner of the Germans at Hammelburg, and he believed that Lieutenant Ira had survived his wounds and could well have been in the officer group held at Hammelburg PW camp. Lieutenant Ira's name is not listed in the Address Directory by Colonel Jones as being among those of the 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion who died on the field of battle. Whether or not he survived the rescue and escape attempt at Hammelburg, if indeed he was there at the time, is unknown. Description of the 19 December mission, according to After Action Reports of the 814th Tank Destroyer Bn, month of December 1944, appear rather incomplete. A German tank was reported at Houffalize and the 814th was orderded to send a small force up to knock it out. One section of TDs and one section of RCN Company went into this mission, but no tank was discovered. On the return trip the force was ambushed near Someren with the result that two officers were lost, either killed or missing, and one destroyer with two 1/4 tons-vehicles lost.

Corrections: The information received by Donald Seem clearly confused Lt. Ira with Lt. Wennerstrand. The "Other reports at the time" are probably correct about the Lt. carrying the wounded man being Lt. Ira. Calvin Boykin confused the name of Someren, Netherlands, where elements of 7AD and 814TD were when they saw combat, with Sommerain, Belgium.

Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPFs)
Important Note: Note that the offical dates of death for all four men are 20 December 1944 and not their actual dates of death on 19 December 1944. Graves Registration either created or propagated this error by assuming that the Morning Reports and/or Battle Casualty Reports showing them MIA as of 20 December 1944 reflected the date of the action in which they were killed. But because the survivors of the 19 December 1944 combat were not able to return to their respective headquarters (both C/814 and Rcn/814) until 20 December 1944 and report the MIAs, the Morning Reports of 23 Dec 1944 (for both C/814 and Rc/814) show the date the MIA status was reported and not the actual date of the action in which the men became MIA. Graves Registration apparently had no access to the earlier 814 TD After Action Report or Combat Interviews that clearly date the action at 19 December 1944. Click on the man's name in the section title to see the PDF of his IDPF.

IDPF of 1st Lt. Clifford Samuel Wennerstrand C/814

Statements from two 814 TD officers included in Wennerstrand's IDPF are above in the "Later Accounts" section. His IDPF also contained the following information.

14 Feb 1945 Report of Burial as Unknown X-12 Foy on 10 Feb 1945
Unidentified: Belived to be a 1st Lt of Co C 814 T.D. He was wearing field jacket with T.D. patch on shoulder, an officer OD shirt, and a 1st Lt bar was found in trouser pocket. Two unmailed envelopes and a V-mail of various EM of Co C 814 T.D. Bn were also found in a pocket. Clothing marks and "20 BOU 16174" found on OD trouser. Fingerprints and tooth chart taken. Body brought to cemetery by Pfc Dudley 3024 QMGR CO.

[Personal Effects Found on Body]
No Currency
2 1st Lt Bars
V-Mail letter (unmailed return address Pvt Hiram S Felkey 36181388 Co C 814 T.D. Bn
2 envelopes (unmailed) return address
1. Pvt Leon O Edwards 341-139 Co C 814 T.D. Bn
2. Cpl Gerald Bulig Co C 814 T.D. Bn

[on back side of Report of Burial, in addition to descriptive information about the remains]
The 2 envelopes found in deceased's pocket were written by the following
1. Pvt Leon O Edwards 341-139 Co C 814 T.D. Bn
2. Cpl Gerald Bulig Co C 814 T.D. Bn
2 1st Lt Bars
V-Mail letter Pvt Hiram S Felkey 36181388 Co C 814 T.D. Bn
It appears that the deceased Lt was carrying the envelopes and V-mail preliinary to censoring them. A Red Cross brassard was found lying on top of the body.

IDPFs of Three Rcn/814 men
Pfc. Richard E. Beach
Pfc. Sam C. Johnston
Pvt. William H. Harrington

The IDPFs of these three men provide no information on the battle. But all three of them were recovered by Belgian citizens and buried in the community cemetery at Sommerain. So, it seems likely that they were all in the same M8 crew. Their remains were recovered by Graves Registration in February 1945 and re-interred at the temporary U. S. Military Cemetery at Foy, Belgium. All three IDPFs have the same map of the location where the Belgian citizens buried them. This one is taken from Beach's IDPF. (Click on the image to see it full-size.)

Prisoner of War Records

The Germans captured at least three men, all from Reconnaissance Company: 1st Lt. Leonard F. Ira, Pvt. Donald N. Bryant and Pvt. Treyman C. Rapp.

National Archives POW Database

The National Archives (NARA) POW Database is not complete. NARA presents only a tabular report on those included. NARA does have microfilm of some captured German POW files that give more extensive information and sometimes photos of the Kriegsgefangenen as the Germans called their prisoners (which led the men to call themselves "Kriegies"). The Stalag given in the record is normally the one at which the Germans first registered the man as a prisoner of war.

Click on an image to see it full-size.

Leoanard F. Ira
Donald N. Byrant
Treyman C. Rapp

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