Raymond D. Zomerfelt
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Raymond D. Zomerfelt entered the Army April 27, 1943, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Home at entry: Duluth, Minnesota.
He served as a Technician 5th Grade and low speed radio operator and mine field clearer with the 158th Combat Engineers in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe. Attended basic training at Camp Maxey, Texas, and assigned to the 158th Engineers C Battalion. Twenty and twenty-five mile marches were nothing new.
On February 28-9, 1943, the battalion was engaged in an assault crossing the Red River. March 16th left for Camp Shanks, N.Y., where masks were issued and tested in gas chambers. At 0550 hours boarded the USS Thurston and began a 212 mile zag across the ocean which took 13 days to reach Cardiff, Wales. Took a train to an area near Strood, England, on May 17th.
Trained in firing tommy guns, bazooka, and grenades. On June 24, 1943, at South Hampton, England, boarded the SS Robert L. Vann setting sail for France. Landed on Utah Beach at 1950 hours on June 26th. Cleared a four mile area of mines, grenades and booby traps, most were in the hedges, for the Third Army going through St. Lo to Paris.
At one point in France, Companies A, B, and C with the Headquarters in a local castle. Near the castle was a garage with a room upstairs with his radio. That night a German plane flew over and strafed the motor pool and his sergeant in the legs. Received a message on the transmitter indicating that the Germans had broken through the American lines. Ran the message to the castle and gave it to a captain who said that he had to write urgent on the message.
In radio school was instructed that he could not write on the message. The first lieutenant told him that he was correct. The next day the companies were to move out. The captain put him out in the field all by himself and told him to catch a ride when his outfit came. Luckily his sergeant came by and said, "What are you doing here?" Informed his sergeant what the captain had said and his sergeant replied, "He must be crazy!"
Went toward Bastogne for three days until the 1001st relieved them and they were sent back to reorganize. He and two buddies were sent to a farm house to relay messages to our battalion. Heard Germans getting close to their location so they buried the radio. Cut off from his outfit, he hooked up with a supply outfit for over two months. When he reconnected with his company, was told that the Germans asked the couple in the farm house, "Where are the three Americans that were on the radio?"
He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and three overseas service bars.
Mr. Zomerfelt was honorably discharged on October 31, 1945, at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 368.
