The Cross of Lorraine Division: The Story of the 79th

The following is from a small booklet covering the history of the WWII 79th Infantry Division of the US Army --

On October 25, 1944 the G-2 report of the Nazi 361st Volksgrenadier Div. addressed the following warning note to its subordinate units:

"The 79th Division is said to have fought particularly well in Normandy, and is considered as one of the best attack divisions in the U.S. Army."

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Ocracoke Island native, Major General Ira Thomas Wyche was the Commanding General of the 79th. General Wyche, son of Rev. L. O. Wyche and Lorena Howard, was born on Ocracoke Island in 1887.

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The booklet explains that This was the division ...first to enter Cherbourg...first across the Seine...the division that swept through France like an avenging flame...the division with a combat itinerary like a railroad time table...the division that by sheer guts and a fighting devotion to duty had ousted a desperate foe from the hell that was Foret de Parroy...this was the famed Fighting 79th -- the Cross of Lorraine Division -- back at the task it had thought completed 26 years ago.

You can read the entire booklet here: http://www.lonesentry.com/gi_stories_booklets/79thinfantry/index.html.

And you can read more about General Wyche here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news092110.htm.

Our latest monthly Newsletter is the story of the Ocracoke Orgy. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news032115.htm.