Memories of the Battle for Best

The battle for the small town Best was one of the fiercest battles during WWII for the paratroopers of the 502nd ParachuteInfantry Regiment (PIR), and Fox company in particular. It was the first clash of the Fox Company troopers with their German opponent on Dutch soil after their combat jump into the Netherlands on September 17, 1944. The Fox Company men would fight the Germans for at Best for two days. 

Featured image: LtoR: Unknown soldier, SGT Al Mazzeo, CPL Joe Pistone (Courtesy of M. Bando collection).

Captain “Legs” Johnson

Their company commander, Captain LeGrand King “Legs” Johnson, recalled the start of the battle years later:

“During that period of the year, dawn was quite early. So, the attack went off, probably around 0530 hours, with Dog Company on the left of us, commanded by Francis “Bud” Rainey. German fire came in murderous volumes, and it seemed that Dog Company never left the line of departure that morning.”

Due to a severe head wound, Johnson’s war was over after the second day of the battle at Best. PFC Patrick G. Fergus remembered the loss of their commander and some of his buddies.

“Monday night we moved into a pine forest. The following day we attacked Best. This was where CPT Johnson, Al Mazzeo, John Hovey, and many others were hit. We took a beating until about 1400 hours, when British tanks came to help us.”

Sergeant Ted Blazina

Besides losing Legs Johnson, four Fox Company troopers were killed in action at Best on September 18, 1944. PVT Byron “Pop” Sykes would succumb to his wounds the following day. Another six paratroopers were killed in action on the second day of the battle. Two more troopers would die on September 21, two days after they were wounded. One of them was SGT Albert Mazzeo, who had been with PFC Dan McBride since the day they enlisted as a paratrooper in 1942. The other one was SGT Ted Blazina, a paratrooper from Red Lodge, Montana.

In just two days a staggering total of 13 Fox/502 paratroopers had given their all to win that hellish battle. At Best, Fox Company had lost almost 15 percent of its combat strength. Lest we forget!

This is a short description of the battle at Best from the book: From the Frying Pan to Mittersill, Fox Company, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (1942 – 1945). If you are interest in learning more about Fox Company, order your copy now!