Valor Friday

513th Parachute Infantry Regiment

Earlier this week, SecDef Hegseth re-renamed Fort Bragg. Instead of naming it after the legendarily bad Confederate General Braxton Bragg, the sprawling facility (one of the world’s largest by population with more than 52,000 military assigned) is now named for a WWII hero of the Battle of the Bulge.

Private First Class Roland Bragg earned the Silver Star during the that frigid December of 1944 against the last gasp of the Nazi Reich. Bragg stole an enemy ambulance to transport a wounded comrade. He got the wounded soldier to a Belgian hospital after traversing some 20 miles. He wouldn’t know for nearly 50 years if the man he’d tried to save lived or died. It wasn’t until 1993 that he received a letter from John Martz, the man he’d saved. Martz wrote about his eternal gratitude, and the men would be reunited in person sometime later at Martz’s California home.

Bragg’s unit, the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, a part of the 17th Airborne Division, isn’t as well known as some of the Army’s other airborne units during that time. The actions of the men of the 17th Airborne have been overshadowed in history by those of the 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne. This is largely because the latter two divisions were much more combat experienced.

The 82nd Airborne was the Army’s first airborne division and saw action in North Africa and Italy before taking part in Operation Overlord, the D-Day invasion of Normandy. The 101st Airborne joined them in Normandy, where they were first blooded, and together the two divisions fought across France, the Netherlands (both jumping again for Operation Market Garden), into Belgium, and eventually Germany.

The 17th Airborne was late to the party, not arriving in Europe until after Normandy. While still conducting their in-theater run up, they were passed over for Market Garden. They did pick up the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which had been an element of the 82nd Airborne during Normandy, and was tasked to remain in England as a unit held in reserve for Market Garden.

The 513th PIR, and the bulk of the 17th Airborne Division would soon see action though when they were put under Patton’s Third Army during the Bulge. While the other two airborne divisions had been in France and thus arrived early in the battle, the 17th Airborne was socked into England by bad weather. They arrived on 23 December 1944 in France and were trucked to the front.

It was then that Roland Bragg earned the third highest award for combat gallantry. Who else was among the men of the 513th PIR?

Frank Gaylord

Frank Gaylord was a 19-year-old draftee when he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he went to college, and became a granite sculptor. Initially making gravestones, he was soon being asked to create life-size and larger-than-life sculptures. By the 1990s he was an accomplished artist. He was commissioned to make the 38 (later reduced to 19) soldiers of “The Column” that make up the hauntingly powerful Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Best experienced on a cold, rainy (or snowy) day, the figures Gaylord carved capture a group of men on patrol. Dressed in full combat kit, they are 14 soldiers, three Marines, one Corpsman, and one Air Force forward air controller.

The Battle of the Bulge started on 16 December, and went over the Christmas holiday, it continued until the end of January 1945. The most widely known part of the overall battle was the Siege of Bastogne. The Germans had cut off and encircled the small town, stranding the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division from 19 December until they were reconnected to Allied lines on 26 December. The men stuck in Bastogne had been cut off with minimal cold weather gear, limited supplies, and the overcast weather prevented resupply by air as well as any close air support.

As the battle continued into January, the 513th PIR was defending the town of Flamierge, Belgium on 4 January 1945. Isadore Siegfried Jachman was a 22-year-old staff sergeant in Company B.

Isadore Jachman

Jachman had been born to German-Jewish parents in Berlin. They emmigrated to the US two years later, but he still had many family in Europe. Among those lost to the Holocaust were six aunts and uncles. When the US joined the war, it’s little wonder that Jachman would enlist to fight the Nazis.

Sergeant Jachman’s company was pinned down by two enemy tanks, supporting an attack from infantry, and were sustaining enemy artillery and mortar barrages. As men were falling left and right, Jachman saw some of his fallen brothers in the open, as the enemy tanks approached. One of the dead or wounded soldiers was armed with a bazooka, which Jachman would need to have any hope of stopping the German Panzers.

Jachman left his position of cover and ran over open ground, in full view of the enemy, who were now taking him under fire, to the bazooka. With the Germans concentrating their fire on the man preparing to fire the anti-tank weapon at their armor, Jachman fired the bazooka alone. His aim was good, and one of the tanks was damaged, and both decided to retreat. This broke the stalemate and allowed his company to repel the attack.

Unfortunately, Jachman was fatally wounded in the effort. He received a posthumous Medal of Honor for his final act of bravery under fire. He is one of only 17 Jews to have received the medal, with just three of them being for actions in World War II (all three posthumously, including one of my personal heroes, Captain Ben Salomon).

J.D. Tippit was a replacement for the 513th PIR. He arrived in January 1945, just after the harrowing fighting of the Bulge. He saw combat in Operation Varsity, the airborne drop across the Rhine in March. He earned a Bronze Star Medal in addition to his service awards, and remained in the Army until 1946.

J.D. Tippit

Post-war, Tippit returned to Texas. He tried a few different professions over the next several years before becoming a Dallas police officer in 1952. He served in that role for 11 years, being cited for bravery more than once. Despite that, he still worked two part time jobs, including spending his weekend evenings working at a barbecue joint and his Sundays working at a theater. He was on patrol on the day that JFK was assassinated.

After the President was shot, Tippit was among the many responding patrolmen assigned to concentrate in the downtown area. Soon a suspect description of Lee Harvey Oswald was aired out by radio to patrol cars. Tippit spotted a man walking alone that matched the description and so pulled up to him to talk.

Tippit pulled alongside him, and Oswald went over to the car. The two men exchanged some words through an open vent window, and Tippit then opened his door and got out. As he was walking around the front of his squad car, Oswald suddenly drew a .38-caliber revolver. He shot Officer Tippit four times in quick succession, thrice in the chest and once in the temple when he was already on the ground.

Oswald was arrested a short time later after he was observed acting suspiciously and ducked into a theater without purchasing a ticket. When they took him into custody, he still had the revolver in his possession. Two days later he in turn would be assassinated by Jack Ruby.

Tippit’s widow would receive calls that night from Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and newly sworn-in President Johnson. Jackie Kennedy would write to her about the bond they had through the shared tragedy of that November day. The nation mourned the loss of Tippit along with the President, and nearly $650,000 was donated to Tippit’s family (equal to about $6.5 million today). The largest donation was from Dallas businessman Abraham Zapruder. After selling his film of the President’s assassination to Time Magazine, he donated $25,000 to Tippit’s widow.

Officer Tippit was posthumously awarded several police bravery decorations. His wife would later re-marry twice, and resumed using the Tippit lastname after divorcing her third husband (her second husband, a Dallas Police lieutenant had died in 1982). She passed away in 2021. Together the Tippits had three children, two boys and a girl.

Stryker

The Stryker Combat Vehicle, well known to GWOT-era Army veterans (and those who served near them), is partially named for another man of the 513th PIR. Both PFC Stuart Stryker and Specialist Four Robert Stryker are namesakes of the infantry fighting vehicle brought into service in the early 2000s.

Stuart Stryker

Stuart Stryker earned a posthumous Medal of Honor during Operation Varsity in March 1945. Varsity is one of the largest combat airborne drops in history. Nearly 10,000 paratroops were dropped from 72 C-46 Commandos, 836 C-47 Skytrains/Dakotas, and 906 CG-4As gliders, which were supported by hundreds of other aircraft.

The 513th PIR, through some pilot error, had been dropped on the wrong landing zone. They were dropped onto a British LZ, but despite this hiccup, the overall operation was a success.

Moving east down the Rhine, Stryker’s Company E was halted by a large German building being used as a headquarters. Staffed with numerous defenders, the position was well defended by small arms and automatic weapons as well as four field pieces. Halted about 250 yards from the structure, one platoon made a frontal assault and was mowed down before they made it 50 yards.

The men that weren’t killed or injured were pinned down by accurate enemy fire. Stryker, though just a PFC, left his position of relative safety, and without orders to do so, ran to the front of the stricken platoon. Armed only with a carbine, he did this in full view of the enemy, and being exposed to enemy fire he’d just seen hit several of his brothers.

Stryker implored the men to get back to their feet and to follow him. Leading the charge on the enemy building, he led the men into a increasing volume of German fire. Just 25 yards from the structure, Stryker was cut down by the relentless fusillade. Though he lie dead, his example inspired not just the men of that platoon, but his whole company. He was just 20 years old.

Stryker’s Medal of Honor citation notes;

His gallant and wholly voluntary action in the face of overwhelming firepower, however, so encouraged his comrades and diverted the enemy’s attention that other elements of the company were able to surround the house, capturing more than 200 hostile soldiers and much equipment, besides freeing 3 members of an American bomber crew held prisoner there.

Robert Stryker

The other Stryker namesake, Spec 4 Stryker, was a 22-year-old grenadier in the 26th Infantry Regiment fighting in Vietnam. On 7 November 1967 near Loc Ninh, Stryker was involved in a heavy firefight. He fearlessly fired grenades into the surrounding jungle, silencing enemy sniper positions. When he saw the enemy attempting to encircle his unit, he fired grenades into the enemy, enabling his comrades to prevent their being surrounded. During the fighting, Stryker saw several wounded comrades in the blast range of an enemy claymore. Without hesitation, and no regard for his own life, he jumped on the enemy mine as it was detonated. While he didn’t survive, the lives of at least six of his fellow soldiers were spared. He too received a posthumous Medal of Honor.

Returning to the fighting along the Rhine, two other men earned their nation’s highest honors on the same day as Stuart Stryker, but on different parts of the line.

George J Peters

Private George Peters of Rhode Island was with Company G 507th PIR. Just 21 years old, he earned the Medal of Honor on 24 March 1945 as well. His award citation reads;

Pvt. Peters, a platoon radio operator with Company G, made a descent into Germany near Fluren, east of the Rhine. With 10 others, he landed in a field about 75 yards from a German machinegun supported by riflemen, and was immediately pinned down by heavy, direct fire. The position of the small unit seemed hopeless with men struggling to free themselves of their parachutes in a hail of bullets that cut them off from their nearby equipment bundles, when Pvt. Peters stood up without orders and began a 1-man charge against the hostile emplacement armed only with a rifle and grenades. His single-handed assault immediately drew the enemy fire away from his comrades. He had run halfway to his objective, pitting rifle fire against that of the machinegun, when he was struck and knocked to the ground by a burst. Heroically, he regained his feet and struggled onward. Once more he was torn by bullets, and this time he was unable to rise. With gallant devotion to his self-imposed mission, he crawled directly into the fire that had mortally wounded him until close enough to hurl grenades which knocked out the machinegun, killed 2 of its operators, and drove protecting riflemen from their positions into the safety of a woods. By his intrepidity and supreme sacrifice, Pvt. Peters saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers and made it possible for them to reach their equipment, organize, and seize their first objective.

Frederick Topham

Frederick Topham of Toronto was a 27 year old corporal (medical orderly) with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. He received the Victoria Cross on 24 March 1945. His citation describes the reasons;

The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the VICTORIA CROSS to: —

No. B.39039 Corporal Frederick George TOPHAM, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.

On 24th March, 1945, Corporal Topham, a medical orderly, parachuted with his Battalion on to a strongly defended area east of the Rhine. At about 1100 hours, whilst treating casualties sustained in the drop, a cry for help came from a wounded man in the open. Two medical orderlies from a field ambulance went out to this man in succession but both were killed as they knelt beside the casualty.

Without hesitation and on his own initiative, Corporal Topham went forward through intense fire to replace the orderlies who had been killed before his eyes. As he worked on the wounded man, he was himself shot through the nose. In spite of severe bleeding and intense pain, he never faltered in his task. Having completed immediate first aid, he carried the wounded man steadily and slowly back through continuous fire to the shelter of a wood.

During the next two hours Corporal Topham refused all offers of medical help for his own wound. He worked most devotedly throughout this period to bring in wounded, showing complete disregard for the heavy and accurate enemy fire. It was only when all casualties had been cleared that he consented to his own wound being treated.

His immediate evacuation was ordered, but he interceded so earnestly on his own behalf that he was eventually allowed to return to duty.

On his way back to his company he came across a carrier, which had received a direct hit. Enemy mortar bombs were still dropping around, the carrier itself was burning fiercely and its own mortar ammunition was exploding. An experienced officer on the spot had warned all not to approach the carrier.

Corporal Topham, however, immediately went out alone in spite of the blasting ammunition and enemy fire, and rescued the three occupants of the carrier. He brought these men back across the open and although one died almost immediately afterwards, he arranged for the evacuation of the other two, who undoubtedly owe their lives to him.

This N.C.O. showed sustained gallantry of the highest order. For six hours, most of the time in great pain, he performed a series of acts of outstanding bravery and his magnificent and selfless courage inspired all those who witnessed it.

Topham joined the short list of 99 Canadians to have earned the VC. Just sixteen Canadians received the VC during World War II (six posthumously). Topham was a veteran of the airborne drop on D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. After the war he rarely participated in veterans activities. He briefly was a constable for the Toronto PD before undertaking a career with Toronto Hydro (an electrical utility). He died in 1974 at the age of 56 from a heart attack.

Topham’s medals had been on loan to the Canadian War Museum, but his wife’s will specified that they were to be sold upon her passing in 2001. The sale of Victoria Crosses (as well as named sets of lesser valor awards) has become very big business. The current record for the sale of a VC was set in 2023 when the 1857 Victoria Cross of Thomas Henry Kavanagh (an Irish civilian) was sold for £930,000. I surmise that Mrs. Topham selling the medal after her death was done to provide her family with an inheritance.

At the time of her death, a VC would be expected to go for somewhere around £50,000 at auction. The numbers shot up from there. By 2004, the VC and medals awarded to Norman Cyril Jackson (whose bravery I discuss here) had gone for £200,000. The current record was set in 2023 and stands at nearly £1m.

Members of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion Association and The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada began raising money to purchase Topham’s medals. They were eventually able to raise $300,000 to purchase Topham’s medals from the family. In 2005, on the 60th anniversary of his bravery in Germany the medals were officially presented to the Canadian War Museum where they are on permanent display.

Category: Army, Historical, Medal of Honor, UK and Commonwealth Awards, Valor, We Remember, WWII