Met dank aan Best Defense Foundation en Mission Margraten Plus
Dominick Critelli Born: April 8, 1921
US Army; Staff Sergeant from October 28 1942 to November 21 1945
95 th Infantry Division, Headquarters Battalion, Artillery Aviation Unit
Mr. Dominick Critelli was in the 95th Infantry Division, a member of the Headquarters Battalion’s Artillery Aviation Unit. It was his job to keep his Artillery Unit’s aircraft flying intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. His Unit
identified and observed enemy troop formations, their supply lines, ammunition depots, and the location of enemy fortifications and documented their coordinates.
Mr. Critelli’s Unit was at the tip of the spear for General George S. Patton’s 3 rd Army, as it aggressively stormed across
Northern France, the Rhineland, Belgium, and Germany. In the winter of 1944, when many American troops thought they
would soon be heading home, Hitler launched his last offensive of the War. Over 500,00 German troop s with 1000’s of tanks and artillery pieces would surprise American forces. The battle would soon be known as the “Battle of the Bulge.” General Patton, with Dominick’s Artillery Aviation Unit wheeled his 3 rd Army a sharp 90 degrees and raced north one hundred miles with 200,000 men and less than 250 tanks to rescue the 80,000 encircled American troops in Bastogne. General Patton’s aggressiveness and quick-thinking strategy pushed the German Army across the Rhine and set up the final push for the liberation of the Netherlands.
In November 1944, Mr. Critelli was one of the brave men from the Aviation Unit to fly behind enemy lines in his small two passenger observation aircraft to drop much needed supplies to isolated American troops stuck on the enemy side of the Moselle River. Over a 4 day period, brave Americans flew 120 resupply missions to the isolated troops, of which Mr. Critelli volunteered to fly fourteen of them. When icy wings and frozen carburetors on these tiny planes forced other pilots to stay grounded or to turn back, Mr. Critelli’s plane continued to drop blood plasma, blankets, socks, gloves, sleeping bags, cigarettes and two bottles of cognac (for medicinal purposes) on the isolated American troop below. As Dominick’s little aircraft flew just eight meters above the ground, he could hear men shouting and see men waving franticly while standing in their foxholes. Several dozen bullet holes pierced the fabric wings of Mr. Critelli’s aircraft as he dropped the much needed supplies and medicine next to their foxholes.
For his heroic and meritorious action, Mr. Critelli would earn the Air Medal. In February of 1945, his Victory Division deployed to the province of Limburg near the city of Maastricht. The 95th Infantry Division is one of 36 US Army Divisions credited with liberating sick and starving prisoners from several Nazi camps.
Mr. Dominick Critelli would spend 151 days in combat, in addition to his Air Medal, he would earn the European - African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 Campaign Stars, the American Campaign Medal, the WWII Victory
Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. In June 2024, on the 80 th anniversary of D-Day, Mr. Critelli received France’s highest military decoration, `the Legion of Honor.
Mr. Critelli, looks forward to returning to the Netherlands for his fourth time with Mission Margraten Plus. He has participated in over a dozen virtual and in-person Educational Bridge Programs since partnering with Mission Margraten Plus and strives to teach the young and old, the world over, that the lessons of World War II are as important today as they were in 1945.
Ms. Mae Krier Born: March 21, 1926
WWII on the Homefront “Rosie the Riveter”
Rosie the Riveter was the star of a campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for defense industries during World War II. The strong bandana clad Rosie became one of the most successful recruitment tools in American history and the most iconic image of working women in World War II. Women who worked to produce tanks, ships, planes, and other weapons during World War II called themselves “Rosies .”
American women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers during the war, as widespread male enlistment left
gaping holes in the industrial labor force. The aviation industry saw the greatest increase in female workers.
More than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry in 1943, making up 65 percent of the industry’s total workforce, compared to just 1 percent in the pre-war years. By 1945 one out of every fourmarriedwomen in America worked outside the home.
Mae Krier, an original Rosie the Riveter, worked at Boeing Aircraft in Seattle producing B-17s and B-29s for the war effort from 1943 to 1945. She worked alongside Gold Star mothers that lost sons and widows who lost their husbands and she was humbled by them, they did not quit. They kept working despite their terrible losses, doing what their Country needed of them. One of Mae Krier’s proudest moments was on May 12, 1944, when she signed her name on the 5000th B-17 Flying Fortress to leave the Boeing factory since the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Bomber was signed inside and out by the men and women who constructed her. Mae recalls how the men went off to fight, and the women went to the factories to build everything they needed. When the war was over, Mae says “The men came home to parades; we got pink slips.
During the COVID pandemic, Ms. Krier produced over six thousand Rosie the Riveter inspired face masks with the iconic red bandana with white polka dots for essential workers. Boeing even flew her bandana to the International Space Station in 2021.
Rosies were past due for some recognition, and in 2019, Mae succeeded in getting March 21st recognized as
“Rosie the Riveter Day” .
In 2019, the Unites States Congress awarded Ms. Mae Krier the Congressional Gold Medal for her continued service to America.
Mission Margraten Plus is proud that Mae will join us a second time to The Netherlands with her inspiring “We can do it!” message that young women around the world will continue to reach new heights.
TEC5 Cletis Bailey, Born: November 30, 1925 in Bradley County, Tennessee
333RD Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division
Shortly after graduating from high school, he was drafted into the Army on August 4, 1944.
In January 1945 he was shipped to Europe as a replacement. On February 2nd he was assigned to Co K, 333rd Regiment, 84th Infantry Division. He joined them when the 333rd regiment came out of the Battle of the Bulge.
The 84th division lost a lot of soldiers, and Cletis was one of the new replacements.
On February 23, 1945 Cletis was part of Operation Grenade, the crossing of the Roer River. His unit had to cross the footbridge on heavy mortar and small arms fire. Within ten days the 84th division reached Homberg on the Rhine River. From there Cletis and his unit fought their way to the Elbe river, where they met the Russian army on May 2, 1945.
Cletis was discharged on June 26th, 1946.
Upon returning from WWII, Cletis remained in the Army under Active Reserves for nearly 3 years while attending National School of Business.
In 1968 he enlisted in the United States Air Force, achieved the rank of Master Sergeant and served in Vietnam.
TEC4 Clayton Baum, Born: June 1, 1923 in Cleveland, Ohio
268th Field Artillery Battalion, 9th Army
After graduating from high school in 1941. In 1943, he was drafted into the US Army and attended basic and advanced training in Vancouver, WA and Camp Sutton, NC. Clayton served in the 3013th Quartermaster Bakery Company.
Clayton was sent to England in October, 1943. In mid-June, 1944 he landed on Utah Beach in Normandy, France. While serving with the 3013th QM Bakery Co., they were with the 1st Army. Clayton held a number of jobs including company clerk and even instructed in the use of the .50 cal machine gun. Also he was the moral support for his company. During the war, he wrote letters to the families of the soldiers who were killed in action in his company.
Clayton’s unit was attached to the 9th Army, near Liège, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. He was also in Kohlscheid, Germany where he witnessed groups of displaced people, left behind by the retreating Germans. Later in the war he was assigned to the Service Battery, 268th Field Artillery Bn. which carried 8 inch guns. Also he worked as a
typist clerk for the Battalion.
Clayton was in several campaigns Normandy, Northern France,
Rhineland, and Central Europe before being honorably discharged on
December 22, 1945
TEC5 Arlester Brown, Born: April 1, 1924 in Homer, Louisiana
599th Quartermaster Laundry Company
He spent a great deal of his life in Shreveport, Louisiana.
At age 18, he was drafted on July 6, 1942 into the U.S. Army. After attending basic training at Camp Ellis in Peoria, Illinois, Arlester sailed to Southampton, England. Arlester was deployed in various locations across Saint Lo and Normandy, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and the Rhineland area in Germany.
He worked as a Quartermaster engineer with the 599th Quartermaster Laundry Company which was known for its involvement in the historical cleaning and supply for the front line. The supply line was formed by all Black troops who worked tirelessly to keep the troops’ clothing and cleaning supplies in line while the soldiers were in and out of combat
during World War II. He also assisted in providing the soldiers personal hygiene and clean clothing.
Arlester and other black soldiers were treated with more respect and equality in Europe than home in a highly segregated American culture. His most memorable time in World War II was in January, 1945 when an unmanned buzz bomb exploded near him and he was hit by shrapnel.
Arlester was discharged at Camp Shelby on December 28, 1945.
CPL John Foy, Born: October 12, 1925 in Rochester, New York
347th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry Division
enlisted in 1943 in the ASTP.
Due to heavy losses in the European campaigns, the Army needed infantrymen. He was assigned to Company A, 347th Infantry Regiment, 87th Division.
On October 12, 1944 he was shipped over to England. John served as a front line machine gunner in the Battle of Northern France, and then went on to serve in the Battle of the Bulge. During the Battle of the Bulge, his company fought two German tanks and hundreds of soldiers. The Germans launched a high explosive shell about a hundred yards from John and shrapnel smashed his machine gun. His assistant gunner was hit in his chest, so he put the cellophane from a cigarette pack over the wound, put a belt around him, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him to cover. He helped load the seriously wounded man on a jeep, never expecting to see him alive again.
Fighting through the Siegfried Line, his company of 200 men lost a total of 80, and more than 100 men were wounded. They then crossed the Mosel and the Rhine River and continued to fight across Germany to Czechoslovakia, where they met the Russian Army at the end of the war.
Jack was discharged on April 11, 1946.
PFC Fred Nungesser, Born: September 5th, 1925 in Union City, NJ.
334th Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division
He was drafted into the army in July, 1944 after he graduated from high school and was brought directly to Fort Dix, NJ. He attended basic training at Camp Wheeler in Macon, GA. Following his training, Fred was deployed to Europe.
He boarded a troop ship in Boston and arrived in Le Havre, France, in early January 1945. From there he was transported to Belgium where he was assigned to Company M, 334th Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division. Joined by his close friend, James F. Maloney, they would be assigned to different companies.
Fred served as a heavy weapons machine gunner during his time in the 84th Infantry Division. He operated a .30 caliber water-cooled machine gun. One notable engagement he participated in was the Roer River Crossing into Germany on February 25, 1945. It was during this battle that his close friend, James F. Maloney was killed in action. The 84th Infantry Division continued its advance through Germany, ultimately reaching the Rhine River and then the Elbe River.
Fred re-enlisted in the Army for occupational duty and was assigned as an MP 3rd Division. He spent 3 years in the Army and was discharged in 1947.
CPL Jack Meyers, Born: June 17, 1923 in Williamsport, Maryland.692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion, 104th & 42nd Infantry Division
One of thirteen children,
In 1943, he was drafted into the Army and trained to be a gunner with the 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion.
Arriving in Cherbourg, France, on September 23, 1944, they rapidly advanced to the southern part of the Netherlands to support the 104th Division and British forces in the battle of Antwerp, Belgium.
Soon after, the 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion advanced to Aachen, Germany and the Siegfried Line. His battalion occupied defensive positions along the Roer River during the Battle of the Bulge and supported the 104th Division from the Roer to the Rhine River and helped capture Cologne. After clearing more Siegfried Line fortifications, they crossed the Rhine on March 31, 1945 and drove across Germany to advance to Munich by April 30th.
Jack and the 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion were attached to the 42nd, 63rd and 104th Infantry divisions during World War II, and they were also involved in the liberation of Dachau concentration camp when attached to the 42nd Infantry Division.
CPL Joe Picard, Born: June 25, 1925. in Springfield, Massachusetts
552nd Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Army / 18th Airborne Corps
He was drafted into the Army on August 10, 1943 and was trained as a Cannoneer of a 240mm Howitzer at the Field Artillery Training Center. He was appointed Battery Clerk and in April, 1944 sent overseas to England.
On June 28th and 29th, his unit disembarked on the French coast at Utah Beach. They started firing their guns on June 30th, 1944 and until early September, they supported the 1st Army. Later, they were moved to Aachen, Germany and fought in the Battle of the Bulge supporting the 18th Airborne Corps.
On November 5, his best friend, Raymond A. Bolduc was killed by an incoming artillery shell.
After the Bulge, they made their way further into Germany where the 552nd fought from the Roer River to the Rhine River and supported the Remagen bridgehead. After the war ended, they served occupation duty.
Joseph was discharged on January 1, 1946
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