Doug~~I have just spent most of the afternoon reading through your very moving tribute to your Dad and your journey as you traced his steps in Holland. I enjoyed it thoroughly and you did a masterful job. I am the great niece of SGT Garland W. (Woodrow) "Tex" Collier, who was a machine gunner in the 3rd BN/506th PIR, HQ Company, a Gun Corporal in the 2nd squad, serving under "Doc" Dwyer. I realize the chances are slim that you might recognize any reference to Garland in any of the history and research that you have done on your Dad's service. But thought I would take a chance.
Garland was KIA on October 5, 1944, the same day your father was hit, near the railway station in the Opheusden battle. His remains were never returned to his family. His name is listed on the "Tablets of the Missing" in the American Military Cemetery in Margraten, The Netherlands. His name is also on a placque on a bridge in or around Opheusden erected by the Dutch in 1999 called by some the "Clawson Memorial," since the first soldier whose name is listed on the placque is that of Harry Clawson, who also was killed in Opheusden. I wondered if you saw this placque in your travels around Opheusden. I've also been in touch with a couple of gentlemen (one who lives in Belgium and one who lives in Holland) who have "adopted" Garland and have made efforts to give me what information they have found.
If you have found anything in your research, I'd appreciate your passing it along. If anyone else sees this message who can share any information about Garland... stories, anecdotes, any information surrounding his service and/or the circumstances of his death, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Garland was 25 when he was killed. He was a born and bred Texan, but actually joined up paratrooper training from Arizona in 1943. He trained at Toccoa, Ft. Benning, Camp Mackall; shipped over to Liverpool and trained further with his unit in Ramsbury, England. My understanding is that his troop carrier C-47 plane went down just off of Utah Beach on June 6, 1944 (D-Day) at around 1:30 am, and that he was wounded, but was transported back to Ramsbury. He of course did make the jump into Holland later.
I've been fortunate enough to make several other contacts, as has another cousin, who has been doing research on Garland for several years. However, it's always wonderful to be able to find out more.
Thanks again for this inspiring and emotional account.
Judy, Thank you for your kind comments, Garland was killed the same day my Dad was badly wounded! Wow ! You see my Dad me a story when I was in college that always stayed with me. It was about being wounded and a soldier came to check him out. Well this one soldier picks off the German that has shot my Dad. After this another soldier (who I believe was in How Company/506th PIR) helps him until the two Dutch civilians take them into their home. This man saved my Dad's life just like the two Dutch civilians. Thanks for visiting my site! doug wilber
Judy, Sorry about my response as it is Saturday. There was a soldier who helped my Dad back on October 5, 1944. All I know is this man helped my Dad until two Dutch civilians took him in. Who this GI was I don't know but I got to say he also saved my Dad's life. Who knows maybe it was Garland? One will never know. I guess only God knows that.
I might be wrong here but is Collier a familliar name in Texas ?
I know a veteran , Bert Collier , who was a sgt in D/501 . Bert still lives in Texas allthough planning to move back to Oklahoma . Any chance you might be related ? Bert's 90 by now .
Judy, Yes I saw that plaque that your uncle is on. It was erected by Bernhard Florissen, the historian for Opheusden and cousins of the two Dutch civilians that saved my Dad's life on October 5, 1944. The Clawson plaque is named after Harry Clawson who was seriously wounded on 10/5/44 and left behind with a Headquarters soldier by the name of Morris Thomas. The Germans looking thru Clawson's belongings found some Nazi metals and killed him on October 6th. Thomas had died from his wounds and the two were buried in an unmarked grave near the dual railroad lines. In 1971 a Dutch farmer digging there discovered their bodies. The Battle for the Island was a very deadly one for the 101st as the 506th PIR redeployed out of the village since it was too difficult to fight among the houses and the Screaming Eagles were outnumbered. After the German counterattacks were stopped outside of the village, the Germans pulled back.Later the Germans blew up a d**e and the area was flooded. Many of the men that died there were never found. I will see if I have a picture of that plaque.
doug wilber
ps Thank you for your kind comments, I really appreciate it.
Doug and Reg~~Thanks for the additional information. I had not been aware of some of the details, nor of Harry Clawson's story. Doug, I do have a photograph of the "Clawson Memorial" placque at the bridge. The contacts that I have in Belgium and in The Netherlands have sent one to me. I actually first received a copy of the photograph from Ian Gardner, author of the upcoming book "The Forgotten Battalion: 3/506th PIR." That's the first I knew of it. I'll try to post a copy of it here. Have no idea if my great uncle might have offered assistance to your Dad prior to getting aid from the Dutch couple. Guess we'll never know!
And Reg..I guess I can't comment with much accuracy on the name "Collier." I read about "Bert Collier" just yesterday on Mark Bando's "Trigger Time" site. As far as I know, there's no relation! My great uncle Garland would have been 90 years old this coming November 3rd...he had three brothers: Grady, Dee and Ralph. But as far as I know, there's no Bert in the family! Now, though, you have me curious, and I may have to go back into family records to see if there were any other Collier siblings who were brothers or sisters of my great grandfather Abner Collier (Garland's dad), who may have had children. But right off the top of my head, I'd say none with which I'm familiar!
Just thinking out loud. I still am puzzled about why my great uncle's name was included on this plaque. Obviously, many lost their lives in the fierce fighting around Opheusden. And I'm sure there are several other memorials around the village commemorating the bravery of US soldiers, as many of the photographs on your site demonstrate. Guess I'm just curious as to why Garland's name was among those to whom the Dutch paid tribute. I know that after he was killed, his buddies helped to prepare his body quickly so that graves registration techs could identify him readily. Guess I will always be puzzled by this...amazingly surprised, but puzzled nonetheless, that his name was among these few at this particular site that the Dutch officials chose to honor in this way.
Also about your uncle. Maybe they only had room for x number of people and your uncle was chosen since he is still missing. The Battle around Opheusden was very deadly with large amounts of artillery fire. It was a no man land for awhile after the battle calmed down and the area was covered with about two of water after the Germans blew up the d**e. After the war the Dutch and Americans had to clean up the area and due to the fact of many dead animals and humans there was a rush to bury the dead. This is why Captain Froemke, my Dad's commanding officer was buried in a mass German grave. It is very difficult to figure things out at times because of the lack of information, wrong facts, and wrong reasoning. Sometimes one will never know.
Thanks very much for the link. Yes, I've read about how the Germans blew up the d**e and how that whole area was flooded. I'm sure the carnage was intense, to say the least. It's no wonder that so many were never able to have remains properly recovered or identified. I guess it will always remain a mystery and we'll just never know about the specifics.
Many thanks again, Doug. I am continuing to research, discovering new sites and forums every time I sit down...am focusing on making contacts and getting whatever details I can. And thus far, I've actually learned a great deal. I'm grateful to those who have responded and who've been able to provide whatever information possible, as I am to you.
Gosh, I've looked so many places the past few days. Have just spent about 45 min looking through everything...and finally remember where I came upon a link to your website. Ron Stassen and I had been in communication a good bit (he has taken special interest in Garland..lives about 15 miles away from Margraten Cemetery; has the website~~http://www.bandofbrothers.nl/ ) I was looking for some more detailed maps, and he sent me links to several pages and photographs in your online site! So we have him to thank. Whew! Am glad I remembered. I looked back through every site I had bookmarked and went through several lists of links to articles and books and sites...could have sworn it was on the 506th Air Regiment Association /3rd 506th PIR...www.506infantry.org site.. but was wrong! Ron sent me directly to your work.
Judy, OK, Ron Stassen. I have visited his site and I believe he is on Don Burgett's forum and possibly Mark Bando's. Mark Bando has some excellant books on the 101st if you didn't know. Also you must know about "the Forgotten Battalion" which is about the 3rd battalion of the the 506thPIR. Amasing on the people you meet. Another great website and friend of mine is Marion Chard who you can link to on my links section. I have got to add more links. Another one is Domenic Biello.
Yes, I learned about Mark Bando's site this past weekend (and spent about 5 hours there), as well as Don Burgett's...and books by them both. I think I'd like to get "Avenging Eagles" by Bando. His website is incredibly extensive. I'm familiar with "The Forgotten Battalion" website and have had email exchanges with Ian Gardner, author of the upcoming book, as well as John Sushams, director of the film documentary, to be released soon based on the book. That's where I first met Ron at the Forum on "The Forgotten Battalion" site. Ian gave me contact information on a couple of men who were in my great uncle's company, one of whom, Tom Bucher, I'm delighted to report, has started an email exchange with me. I'm in the process of compiling some information for him this afternoon. I've also learned a great deal at the 506th PIR Regiment Association Site (www.506infantry.org/). Ron has gone to the Margraten Cemetery and has taken photographs for me. He's also sent me other photographs of Opheusden then and now. Another young man, Thijs Van Der List, has adopted my great uncle's "name" on the "Tablets of the Missing" at the cemetery. He also has a website and webpage dedicated to Garland and has been helpful in obtaining documents (MACR), AAR's from October 3-5 in Opheusden, and other information. My cousin who lives in Alabama has been researching Garland for several years, and has established contact with about four others who served with my great uncle within the past 2/3 years. So we've actually been able to discover quite a bit. I have information on how to contact The Red Cross in The Netherlands, so I may also pursue that. It's been amazing to have worked online on this for really so little time, and yet to have discovered so much. Yet there is so much more to learn.
I'll continue to check your site periodically to see if you've posted more links! Thanks again, Doug.
Judy, Very interesting story. I got started on my Dad's military days in 2002 when I was caring for my dying Mother. After her death the next year I was able to pursue my search-at first it was for the officer who died trying to help my Dad. It took me four months to find out what should have taken me four minutes if I knew what I was doing. After I discovered Captain Froemke's identity, I began looking for these two Dutch civilians. I found out their identity in about a month and a half. This is on my TV interview I did in 2003 which is on this site. It was very rewarding for me and also very important as I finally realized how much my Dad's war experiences effected me. As for Garland, there are still today over 78,000 Americans still missing in action from World War II. Each year about 100 or so are found and given proper burial, so don't give up, maybe some day Garland can return home. Where did you get your information about Garland's death and burial? I was all around Opheusden and plan on posting more pictures of the village including the dual railroad stations.
Doug: My cousin in AL, whom I mentioned, actually spoke with a fellow trooper in Garland's company who was literally in the next trench/foxhole to him on Oct 5, 1944. He witnessed a mortar exploding over Garland's area. Won't go into all the details, but he & another buddy went to Garland's body and prepared it for graves identification but I'm sure they had to go on with their mission. Another WWII reenactor who posts regularly on the Trigger Time site told a similar story of Garland's death...similar to what my cousin had heard several years earlier. My cousin has actually been in touch with the Trigger Time poster as well. Frankly, she's been at this much longer than I. Don't know really how she discovered Garland's fellow trooper and was able to locate him initially, but I think that was as long ago as late 2003. She's been able to establish contact w/at least four of the men who were in his company or their nearest relative. I was given a few names by Ian Gardner, author of the upcoming book "The Forgotten Battalion," and he put me in touch with another man in Garland's company...the one I mentioned above. He and I have exchanged emails just today, so I'm thrilled to get a chance to learn more from him. Unfortunately, although he trained with Garland for 2 1/2 years, this other trooper was injured seriously on the D-Day jump, and he never made the jump into Holland, as my great uncle did. But he shared some general memories of him with me, and that was really important. I've read several mentions of my great uncle on the 506th PIR website, and Ian says he is also mentioned in his book. There are a handful of photographs of him also at the 506th PIR website (www.506infantry.org/). My cousin really had so much information intially...I just recently started searching on my own about three months ago. Garland's direct nieces & nephews are interested in knowing what they can...one of my second cousins (Garland's nephew) actually has a pair of his paratrooper boots that Garland brought home on furlough in 1943, prior to shipping out ot England. Of course, they treasure them. My family was able only to erect a small stone memorial to Garland in a small community cemetery near their hometown in TX between the graves of his mother and father.
It would be wonderful if something could be found. The Clawson remains, as you said, were found in the early 70's. I plan to move forward with inquiries with The Red Cross in The Netherlands to see what I can find out.
I've heard of Garland all my life, although he died in 1944, eight years prior to my birth. My grandmother and her sisters and brothers used to speak of him with such admiration and reverance. And unfortunately, they were never able to get closure because of his body or remains not being returned.
Your dad's and your story is very moving...what a wonderful thing for you that you were able to go back and find these dear people and visit all the places that your dad had traversed in his long journey. I especially enjoyed all the pictures and history of the Opheusden area, since, of course, that is where Garland was killed.
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