Paris Goes To War

War came Paris, Texas on December 7, 1941. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declarations of war of the Axis countries of Japan, Germany and Italy against The United States brought World War II literally to the doorsteps of Paris.

The U.S. response to war hit Paris like a tidal wave and the results were everlasting.

This small East Texas town responded as hundreds of small towns across America did. Its sons, daughters and citizens joined the war effort.

But Paris began to develop its own uniqueness with the opening of Camp Maxey just a few miles north of the city limits in 1942. Two major divisions, the 102d Infantry Division and the 99th Infantry Division, trained there. It is estimated that over 200,000 troops and civilians trained and worked at Camp Maxey during its short 4 years of existance.

Camp Maxey was also selected as a site, as were many other training camp sites in Texas, to house German prisoners-of-war. More than 6,000 Germans were hosted there until well after the last shots of anger were fired in Europe in 1945.

Paris, as was the whole country, was like a stirred pot. The young men and women who came to Camp Maxey to train spent their leaves in town. Many of them met, courted, and married local men and women. Likewise, Paris sons and daughters who left were meeting their future spouses. The long historic ties that had held Paris together as a tight community were stretched around the world.

To and from Paris the letters streamed in and out from friends and families: from the battle fronts, from far-away hometowns, from Washington D.C., to Europe, to The Pacific and literally all points of the globe.

Sad news of soldiers being killed, exciting news of the birth of a new baby, common news about town gossip all swirlled around this small town of Paris. Paris was making its contribution to march the country toward victory.

In 1941 Paris Goes To War.


How To Add A Story & Pictures To Paris Goes To War

If you have stories, pictures or items of interest to contribute to these web pages, please email them to steelyfamilias@yahoo.com. You can send written articles in doc or pdf formats and pictures are preferred in jpg format. Contributions will be posted according the their relevance to Paris, Lamar County, Camp Maxey and World War II. All contributions may be used on these blog web pages as well as any future publications that may appear on the subject.

Friday, August 24, 2018

In Memory of Thomas O'Brian, KIA, Trained at Camp Maxey, 26th Infantry Division, 101st Infantry Regiment, C Company

A Picture Worth Remembering...Thomas O'Brien KIA WW2



Written By Bob Lessard, published in Middleboro Gazette,May 27,1999.

It was a discarded book from a library sale, that prompted this Memorial Day story to be written. Entitled “the History of the 26th Yankee Division,” the book covers the history of the famed military unit from its inception on Aug. 13, 1917 until its deactivation on Dec. 29, 1945. Published by the Yankee Division’s Veterans Association, it is the historic account of the division’s battles, heroics and casualties of the First and Second World Wars. One picture from the pages of the book was a stark reminder of the sacrifices of all servicemen who served and fought during those two World Wars. It is quite a picture. Middleboro resident Cpl. Thomas F. O’Brien of the United States Army is pictured during the Battle of the Bulge campaign in January, 1945.

He was a technician fifth grade with C Company of the 101st Infantry, Yankee Division, and was seen sitting on a snow bank eating a meal from his mess kit. The story line with the picture reads:  

“Blanketed in all the clothing he could commandeer to try to keep out the penetrating cold, Infantryman Thomas O’Brien, Middleboro, Mass., squats in the snow on the Western front to eat a cold ration in a momentary lull in the fighting of his regiment, the 101st Infantry.”

The picture grabbed the attention in many circles. After the war it was published in books in Germany and France. It was included a PBS special called “Battle of the Bulge-An American Experience,” which was televised several years ago. Born on June 10, 1921 at Providence, R.I. and raised in Woonsocket, O’Brien resided at 45 West Street in Middleboro, where his widowed mother had moved the family in June of 1941.

O’Brien, called “Red” by the family for his bright red hair, entered the service on Nov. 28, 1942. Following training at Camp Maxey and Camp Swift in Texas, O’Brien was shipped to England for assignment. He saw action in France and Belgium during the first years of the War.

His mother, Mrs. Madeline O’Brien, who had moved to 56 School Street, had received government notification on Feb. 12, 1945 reporting that her son was “missing in action as of January 25.” She was notified a week later, on Feb. 19 of his death in Luxembourg on the Western European front.  Besides his mother he left three brothers, George, Robert, and James, and, a sister Dorothy.

The picture of O’Brien published in the Yankee Division’s History book had been taken on Jan. 12, 1945 in the village of Meecher-Dundkrodt. Arthur Hertz, a US Army Signal Corps member of the 166th combat photographers unit, took the picture for the military newspaper “Stars and Stripes.”

Only 13 days after the picture was taken, O’Brien was killed by sniper fire, while guarding a crossroads in the village of Chervaux near the German border.  A front-page story in the Feb. 23 “Middleboro Gazette” told of his death. The one column-wide headline read: “Corporal Met Death in Luxembourg Sector.” The story then told of his death, the government communiques to his mother and his military record.

Cpl. O’Brien’s body wasn’t returned to the United States. He is buried in an American military cemetery at Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. The cemetery covers 57 acres and contains 7,989 graves of US servicemen. There is also a list of the names of some 450 soldiers who are listed as missing in action.

On May 2, 1995, during the 50th anniversary of the Second World War, Dorothy O’Brien Sliney of Oak Street,” Red” O’Brien’s sister, visited Henri-Chapelle cemetery with her son, James Ditano of Thorndike, Maine.

Interviews with Mrs. Sliney and James revealed their extensive research into the military service and death of their brother and uncle.

Mrs. Sliney talked about the picture of her brother appearing in many publications and of its significance. “That picture shows the real hardships which all the boys suffered during the war, “she said.

Her son James told of meeting with Joseph Shoettert of Winsler, Luxembourg, who at age 14, watched the American forces liberate his village during the final stages of the Battle of the Bulge. Shoettert told of his family hiding in a wine cellar for narly 30 days during the battle, according to James.

“Shoettert invited us to his home, where he had books from Germany and France that had my uncle’s picture printed in them,” said the Maine resident. “That was a real surprise.”

“Another irony concerning my uncle’s death, was the fact that his brother George William, who died in 1991, also fought in the Battle of the Bulge with the 99th Infantry,” Ditano told the Gazette. “In fact, he was the first to learn how uncle “Red” got killed.”

“His unit ran into members of C Company and it was those people who gave him eyewitness accounts of how uncle “Red” got shot in the neck by a sniper and killed instantly.”

Upon seeing the PBS film on the Battle of the Bulge, Ditano read the film credits and learned that a special division of the Smithsonian Institute had supplied the still pictures.

“I called the Smithsonian to see if I could obtain a copy of the picture. The gal I talked with remembered that particular photo among the millions stored there. Within days she supplied me with a negative and the name of the Signal Corps photographer, A. Holz,” Ditano said. “Later, I found Mr. Holz living in Rochester, N.Y., where he was retired from Kodak Company. I explained the search for information about my uncle and he invited me to his home.”

“He showed me his photo log book, which contained the date, location and the name of my uncle. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really remember much about talking with my uncle.”

“Red” O’Brien was killed after fighting for more than two years in Europe. The day he was killed, Jan. 25, 1945, was the turning point of the Battle of the Bulge and the war in Europe ended only months later.

Thomas O’Brien is just one of the thousands of young men who failed to return home to their loved ones. Memorial Day is that chance for the rest of America to remember those who served the nation.

His picture was circulated to the nation's news media by the Army Signal Corps through Globe-Acme with a caption which read: "COLD RATIONS in the snow are consumed, if not enjoyed, by Thomas O'Brien of Middleboro."

O'Brien's name is listed on the main casualty monument in Middleboro's Veterans Memorial Park.



Corporal O'Brien's remains were buried in an American Military Cemetery at Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.
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