Posted by Allan Wilford Howerton on November 27, 2007, 4:41 pm, in reply to "my great-uncle PVT Richard Flores"
172.136.113.95
Richard E. Flores was a member of Company I, Third Battalion, 335th Infantry. He was killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge but there is a discrepancy in the records as to the exact date. The division roster notes "KIA 1.7.45" beside his name. This would have been during the battle for Devantave, Belgium which occurred on the fourth day of the January Allied counteroffensive to close the northwest salient of the Bulge. However, the historical data report for Company I for the month of January 1945 lists the date as January 10, 1945. If this is correct, he would have been killed during the battle for Samree, Belgium, a nearby village, which followed the capture of Devantave.
Both battles are described in detail in my memoir "Dear Captain, et al.: the Agonies and the Ecstasies of War and Memory." At Devantave, the attack was led by Company I with medium tanks and my unit, Company K with light tanks following. At Samree both companies led a joint infantry-tank attack with Company L following in reserve. For the information of anyone who reads the account in my memoir, there is an apparent error as related to Company I casualties. It indicates that only one Company I man was killed in action at Devantave. The number, per the historical data report for Company I, is four (George Whalen, Charles Keithley, Teofil Horowski, and William Menweg) with Richard Flores listed as KIA 10 January 45. Horowski is noted as having died of wounds on January 7 and may or not have been wounded at Devantave. Personnel records of the 335th Infantry were destroyed in a battle action near the end of the war and had to be reconstructed. As a consequence there are some discrepancies.
| 102 |
|
Message Thread:
|
