Fox Company
Fox Company at the Island (Part III)
Oct
From their arrival at Berg en Dal on Tuesday, October 3, until Thursday, October 5, 1944, Fox Company acted as divisional reserve for the 82nd Airborne Division. From October 5 until October 9, Fox Company was the 502nd regimental reserve and from October 9 until the 13th the company was the 101st divisional reserve.
Featured image: Clear unit markings on helmets of General Maxwell Taylor (at left) and General Anthony McAuliffe (Source: WWII Pictures).
Fox Company’s rotation schedule
On Thursday, October 5, at 1500 hours, the F/502 troopers moved from Berg en Dal to Elst. Their second assignment was being held in reserve for the regiment (regimental callsign: Kickoff) and they arrived in their new positions at around 1730 hours. The next day, they were “welcomed” by the Germans with numerous artillery barrages, as the company’s 1SGT Earl L.L. Cox noted in his diary. They would remain at Elst until Monday, October 9, when they moved to positions 500 yards west of Andelst at 0900 hours. They arrived at 1100 hours. Later that day, at around 1730 hours, Fox Company moved another 1,500 yards farther to the west to another position from which they were the divisional reserve (divisional callsign: Kangeroo) for the next four days. The paratroopers were once again “warmly greeted” by their opponents with an artillery barrage just 15 minutes after their arrival. It must have scared the hell out of them, as they probably had not been able to settle down and find a suitable and safe location.
On the frontline
On Friday the 13th, at 2200 hours, the Fox Company paratroopers moved to the frontline at the small hamlet of Hien, just west of Dodewaard, a town situated close to the Waal River on the southern parts of the Island. Friday the 13th may not have been the best day to start a new combat assignment, but they arrived at 2330 hours, and so the day feared for its bad luck was almost done.
This is a short story about the operations of Fox Company’s paratroopers in the Netherlands, as described in the book: From the Frying Pan to Mittersill, Fox Company, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (1942 – 1945). If you are interested in learning more about this courageous Fox Company paratrooper, order your copy now!
