August 1943
“THE LONG TOM. This was the largest U. S. piece of artillery in Sicily. A 71/2-ton 6 x 6 prime mover truck towing a gun into position. (155-mm. gun with standard carriage.)” (1)
While I cannot say this is Dean’s unit, his Battery did fire 155-mm artillery pieces.
Full letters can be read here.
While Sicily had not yet completely fallen to the Allies, for the Thunderbirds, it was quiet, with one exception: the 157th Infantry, with a unit of field artillery attached, was sent to back up the 3rd Infantry Division as they took Messina on 17 August 1943. The rest of the Division spent their time in a bivouac near Cefalu, training and reorganizing.
Dean finally had the time to sit down and write a letter to Aileen postmarked 3 August, though likely written a day or two earlier. Jack & Chas are all doing well, and Dean promises that “when I get to be with you again, I will make up for all the lost time. How will you like that?” He sent her a money order to fix Dona Lu’s teeth, he was adamant that he would ensure there was the money for that.
A Field Artillery Battery firing in an orchard, unknown location in Sicily, 1943
The second letter he was able to write is dated 3 August, postmarked 7 August. He starts telling Aileen he wanted to tell her so many things but couldn’t, and everyone will have to wait until he gets home. He was very conscientious of the censors. He is sitting in his peep, which, as an aside, I thought peep was a misspelling, but before they became known as Jeeps, the GIs called them peeps. (2) He refers to the war as “this thing,” as in, “When this thing is all over I am never going to leave you again.” He is pleased that his lieutenant and men who were assigned elsewhere were returning to his unit, and he was “sure glad to get them back.” The country “here is funny to be in - In the day time you sweat and at nite is really cool.” (The average temperatures in August in Sicily are 34/94 Highs and 18/64 Lows, and average humidity of 46%)(3) He closes for the evening and starts again the next morning. He’d gotten five letters from Aileen, which made him very glad. He tells Aileen that he says his prayers daily, and
”on several occasions I say them during the day. We have plenty of opportunity for that.” This is as close as he gets to hinting at the danger he is in regularly. Aileen had written to him that she wanted to buy a house, “I want one with plenty of sunlight coming in.”
Map showing location of Trabia, Sicily: where the 189th Field Artillery spent the latter half of August.
The rest of August was spent in training, moving to Trabia, Sicily. The unit was being resupplied and readied for Operation Avalanche, the invasion into Salerno.
1) Greenfield, Kent Roberts, ed. Pictorial Record. Vol 1: The War against Germany and Italy: Mediterranean and Adjacent Areas. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1951.
2) “Forged in War: The Birth of the Jeep in World War II.” CitizenSoldier. Last modified June 24, 2019. https://citizen-soldiermagazine.com/forged-in-war-the-birth-of-the-jeep-in-world-war-ii/.
3) “Best Time to Go to Sicily, Italy.” The Weather Network. Accessed June 13, 2024. https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/vacation/it/sicilia/sicily.