Mike Bo's Blog!

June 5, 1944: The Forgotten Day!
Rome Diary
Friday, June 5, 2020
Partly Cloudy 72°F/22°C
in Roma, Lazio, Italia
Buongiorno amici miei!
“The first of the Axis capitals is
now in our hands. One up and two to go!” Franklin D. Roosevelt
Headline: June 5, 1944
The whole world remembers what
took place on 6 June 1944! What took place the day before was eclipsed by the
Allies’ invasion at Normandy. If 6 June 1944 is The Longest Day, as author Cornelius Ryan called it, the day before
– il giorno prima- has become Il giorno dimenticato - The Forgotten Day! While
everyone remembers General Dwight Eisenhower as the commanding general of
Allied forces at Normandy, the American commander of the forces that liberated
Rome has been overshadowed as well. In
leading the U.S. Fifth Army in the liberation of Rome, General Mark Clark had
disobeyed his orders to cut off retreating German forces and instead marched
into Rome. Ask what happened on 5 June 1944 and who was in charge and you will
draw a blank. But, if you ask any Roman, or any Italian, for that matter, 5
June 1944 was the day that freedom returned to the Eternal City.
In persuading FDR to launch an
offensive from North Africa, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred
repeatedly called Italy The Soft
Underbelly of Europe. But, as U.S. Fifth Army Commander Mark Clark would
write in his memoirs that “soft
underbelly” turned into a tough, old gut!
The Allies launched their first Italian invasion, Sicily in July
1943. When they landed on the Italian mainland at Salerno in September, the
Italian Army surrendered, but the hard-fought battles between Allied and German
forces continued. Both the Allies and German forces suffered heavy casualties
along the roads to Rome, and it took the Allies four major offensives between
January and May 1944 before Rome was in their sights.
After the fall of Mussolini,
Italy came under the complete control of Nazi forces and any Italian resistance to German control was ruthlessly dealt with by the forces of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring. Numerous atrocities were committed by Nazi troops against Italian civilians, and it was feared by many that the Germans would destroy the historic city rather than surrender it intact. By the time that American forces under General Clark had reached the outskirts of Rome on June 4th, 1944, Kesselring had declared it an Open City. Beginning on the fourth of
June 1944, Allied troops were pouring into Rome for a victory celebration
before continuing northward for the bloody battles that would lead to the
liberation of all of Europe.
June 5, 1944 - at the Coliseum!
Field Marshal Kesselring had
earned his reputation as being a ruthless soldier, but he had displayed a sense
of history, and he seemed to understand the historical importance of Rome.
While June 5th, 1944
is forever etched into the memories of every Italian, General March Clark’s
moment of glory was soon overwhelmed by the events of the following day when
General Dwight Eisenhower gave the order and initiated the largest seaborne
invasion of human history at Normandy.
Ciao,
MikeBo
© 2020 Mike Botula
[Mike Botula, the author of LST
920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! Is a retired broadcast journalist, government agency spokesperson and
media consultant].

The Roll of Honor:
LST 921, LCI(L)99, U-667
Brushy Creek Journal
Memorial Day
Monday May 25, 2020
Partly Sunny 63°F/ 13°C off Falmouth, UK
Sunny 61°F/ 16°C off La Pallice, France
Buonagiornata,
We have a shared responsibility to look
directly into the eye of history,
and ask what we must do differently to
curb such suffering again!
President Barack Obama at Hiroshima, May
27, 2016
When I was a little boy, Memorial Day was still
called Decoration Day and it fell on May 30th. My
mother told me it was a memorial event that started
at the end of the Civil War, because that’s when Americans would pay tribute to
the fallen who wore both blue and gray by decorating their graves with flowers.
The observance began with former slaves celebrating the Emancipation
Proclamation by decorating the wartime graves of African Americans who fought
for their freedom from slavery. Decoration Day quickly became a Memorial Day
honoring Americans who fell in all our country’s wars. After World War I, we
honored the fallen of The Great War on each November 11th. For
many years, November 11 was Armistice Day, and on the 11th hour
of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year
there was a moment of silence to commemorate the end of The War to End
All Wars. In 1968 Congress revamped our national holidays, combining
these hallowed days into a pair of three-day weekends. Decoration
Day is now Memorial Day and Armistice
Day is now Veterans Day. Today we will again honor
those who fought and died for their country. But, as the years pass, the real
meaning of both days is sometimes lost in the holiday atmosphere that
accompanies any long weekend.
When my father returned from his US Navy service in
World War II, he told my brother and I a story that is retold to each new
generation in my family as every new Memorial Day approaches. It begins with a
few terse lines from the LST 920’s Ship’s Log:
LST 920 Ship’s Log: Monday 14 August 1944
1654 hours: First hit on LST 921, directly astern of us.
Presumably by torpedo.
1654 hours: General Quarters sounded
1656 hours: LCI #99 (British) hit by torpedo presumably
1657 hours: All stations manned and ready; approximate position…50°54’
North, 4°45’ West
1657 hours: Relieved on conn by Captain Schultz and went to GQ station
Ensign John J. Waters, Officer of the Deck
My father, Lieutenant Charles Botula, Jr. died in
1965 without ever knowing the full story about the afternoon of August 14th,
1944 off the west coast of England. It has taken me years to research it. Neither
my Dad nor his Captain – Harry N. Schultz ever knew which enemy submarine
attacked them or what happened to that U boat after the LST 921 and HMS
LCI(L)99 were torpedoed. Most of the survivors of that terrible afternoon have
also faded from our midst, but their story is well worth the retelling. For in
the retelling, we can pay them a long overdue honor.
Monday, 14 August 1944 -16:54 hrs. - USS LST 920,
commanded by Lieutenant Harry N. Schultz and USS LST 921, under the command of
Lieutenant John Werner Enge were underway in convoy EBC 72 from Milford Haven,
Wales to Falmouth, England. They were suddenly attacked by the German submarine
U667, was under the command of Kapitӓnleutnant Karl-Heinze Lange. LST 921 was
hit by the first torpedo and broke in two with the aft section sinking minutes
later. Some survivors scampered to safety on the bow section. Others went
overboard into the chilly water. When the aft section sank, it took half of the
ship’s crew to the bottom. General Quarters was sounded on the
LST 920 and Captain Schultz came to the bridge. Seeing survivors in the water,
Schultz ordered his radioman, Seaman Fred Benck to send a request for
permission to turn his ship around to pick up survivors. Permission was denied
and the LST 920 was ordered to proceed to Falmouth. Shortly after receiving
these orders, Schultz ordered Radioman Benck to send the message again. This
time, Captain Schultz disregarded the order to proceed and ordered the LST 920
to turn around to rescue any survivors of the attack.
As my father watched from the bridge of the LST 920,
he spotted a torpedo coming straight at him. Just then, a British escort
vessel, LCI(L)99 came alongside, took the full brunt of the torpedo and was
blown out of the water. There is no way of knowing if the Captain of that
British escort vessel deliberately steered his ship into the path of
that oncoming enemy torpedo or if it was happenstance that put the crew of
LCI(L)99 into harm’s way. Either way, the Skipper, Lt. Commander Arthur
John Francis Patrick Reynolds, Royal Navy, died a hero.
The 920 came about and Captain Schultz ordered two
small boats into the water with Ensign John Waters in one and Ensign Harold
Willcox in the other, along with nine other sailors to rescue survivors.
Willcox tied a line around his waist and jumped into the water numerous times
to help pull survivors aboard. In his After-Action Report, Captain Schultz
singled out Waters and Willcox and the nine seamen for outstanding performance
during the action. In all, 48 survivors were rescued and brought aboard the LST
920. Seaman Joe Wallace tells this part of the story, I remember one
of the 921 crew members coming up to the bridge all wet and oily. I gave him my
locker keys and location, and he showered and put on some clean dry clothes. By
this time it was dark. We gathered the survivors and were on our way to
Falmouth. There, I had the task of counting the departing survivors - 42
walking and 6 stretcher cases.
A number of other survivors from the 921 as well as
the LCI(L) 99 were rescued by a British ship that joined in the rescue
operation. All told, about 65 survivors were picked up, but fully half of the
LST 921’s complement of 107 officers and crew had been lost. Years would pass
before a dusty and forgotten archive* would reveal the names of the sailors –
Americans, British and German who lost their lives on that August afternoon
more than seventy years ago. I would like us to remember:
LST 921
Baker, Thomas A., USNR
Seaman First Class
Banit, Roman J.,
USNR Seaman
Second Class
Bennett, Frederick W.,
USNR Seaman
First Class
Bent, Eugene E.,
USNR Seaman
First Class
Clements, Charles M.,
USNR Seaman
First Class
Dove, Raleigh J.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Feeney, Lawrence E.,
USNR
Fireman Second Class
Fitton, Edward Joseph,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Freely, James Joseph, USNR
Boatswain's Mate 1st Class
Furino, Louis A.,
USNR
Coxswain
Guthrie, Edward J.,
USNR
Ensign
Guziak, Walter V., USNR
Seaman Second Class
Hoak, William K.,
USNR
Gunner's Mate Third Class
Jerzewski, Chester R.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Jones, Oscar R.,
USNR
Coxswain
Kozlik, John H.,
USNR
Seaman First Class
Lowe, Samuel M.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Micheline, Carmine A.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Mindlin, Daniel,
USNR
Ensign
Monaco, Robert Chester,
USNR
Radioman Second Class
Moore, Charles H.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Mulholland, William P.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Newberry, Clyde,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Pizon, John J.,
USNR
Seaman First Class
Potasky, Joseph E.,
USNR
Seaman First Class
Progy, Henry,
USNR
Motor Mach Mate 3rd Class
Richard, Donald James,
USNR
Gunner's Mate 3rd Class
Siring, Ronald John,
USNR
Ship's Cook Third Class
Smith, Kenneth J.,
USN
Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class
Smith, Lee I., USNR
Seaman Second Class
Smith, Ray R., USNR
Seaman First Class
Sprague, Herbert K.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Suazoe, Ray M.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Totulis, Albert G.,
USN
Gunner's Mate 3rd Class
Trachsel, Ernest W.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Van Why, Henry, USNR
Seaman Second Class
Verity, Edward C.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Vitense, Glenn,
USNR
Seaman First Class
Widmer, Richard C.,
USNR
Seaman Second Class
Yavornitzky, Andrew J.,
USNR
Shipfitter Second Class
The British escort vessel – LCI(L) 99 was a much
smaller ship than the wounded LST 921. It was about 150 feet long compared to
the LST’s 328 feet. And, instead of a ship’s complement of 110 officers and
crew, LCI(L) 99’s casualty list shows a crew of eight – two officers and six
enlisted men, including the 19-year-old ship’s cook, Able Seaman William Todd.
Todd’s great-niece, Gillian Whittle told me in an email, Bill as he
was known was only 19 when he died, and he came from Chorley, Lancashire,
England. I imagine he was called up when he turned 18. He was acting able
seaman and he was the ships cook. We as a family are enormously proud of him
and I go to Kent, England when I can to lay flowers at the naval memorial. I am
afraid I do not know much else about my Uncle, but I have his medals and I had
the privilege of wearing them proudly on remembrance parade for him one
year and we keep his memory going.
Also, aboard the Escort Ship LCI(L) 99 on
that deadly August 14, 1944 were:
Lt. Commander Arthur
John Francis Patrick Reynolds, RN, Age
24
Sub-lieutenant Douglas Edwin Swatridge,
RNVR, Age 25
Leading Seaman Gordon Henry Astor House,
RN, Age 21
Able Seaman James Quine, RN, Age 21
Able Seaman Francis Ernest Dennis
Shacklock, RN, Age 19
Ordinary Seaman John Shields, RN, Age
unknown
Ordinary Seaman Donald Maurice Thompson,
RN, Age 20
Able Seaman William Todd, RN, Age 19
Toward the end of November 2018, I received an email
from Able Seaman William Todd’s great-niece, Gillian Whittle. In her
correspondence, she admitted that she never really knew her great-uncle, but
she thanked me for my efforts to keep the memories of all who died that day
fresh in the memories of Americans and Britons alike. She wrote, We, as
a family are immensely proud of him and I go to Kent, England when I can to lay
flowers at the naval memorial. I am afraid I do not know much else about my
Uncle, but I have his medals and I had the privilege of wearing them proudly on
remembrance parade for him one year.
Diver Christophe Moriceau atwreckage of U 667
The attacking submarine, U 667, had sunk four ships
including the LST 921 and LCI (99), the Liberty Ship SS Ezra Weston and HMS
Regina on what turned out to be its most successful cruise, as well as an RAF
bomber on a previous mission. But as it headed back to its base and a hero’s
welcome, its jubilant crewmen could not know that their luck was about to
change. In all the research I did for this story, the US Navy and German Kriegsmarine archives
revealed only that U 667 struck a mine on or about August 25th on
the way back to its home base. But, as I researched further, I found the
answer on a specialty internet site: uboat.net, which is
devoted to the archives of the Kriegsmarine and its unterseebooten. According
to the archives, the RAF had carried out a series of aerial mine-laying
missions off the coast of France in an area code-named Cinnamon right
after the U 667 left port on its final cruise. The RAF dropped mines into the U
667’s inbound route back to base. An RAF report that I read showed that
the coordinates of that August 1944 mine-laying sweep matches the location
where the U 667 was finally found and examined by diving crews. The loss of the
U 667 was recorded by the Kriegsmarine after it missed a
scheduled radio check-in on August 25th. When any U boat failed to
meet its daily radio check-in, Admiral Karl Dönitz’ high command assumed that
the sub had been lost. And so it was when U 667 missed its scheduled radio
check on 25 August 1944.
The exploding mine sent U 667 to the bottom of the
Bay of Biscay, where it remains with its entire crew. Along with the U
667’s Kapitӓnleutnant Karl-Heinze Lange, the identities of the
other sailors in his crew are listed from the roster of all the sailors who
served aboard her. They are:
Name
Rank
(In German)
Age
Lange,
Karl-Heinze
Kapitӓnleutnant
26
Bauch,
Walter
Omasch
30
Bensel,
Rolf-Rudiger
Olt.z.S.
21
Borowsky,
Helmut
MaschMt
23
Brübach,
Friedrich
MtrOGfr
20
Brunk,
Kurt
MaschOFfr
21
Drewes,
Gustav
MaschMt
23
Eder,
Franz
MaschOGfr
21
Ederer,
Hans
OfkMt
24
Ehrenfeld,
Kurt
OfkMt
25
Erasimus,
Johann
MaschOGfr
20
Faust,
Erich
Olt.z.S
23
Fickert,
Wilhelm
MtrOGfr
23
Figlon,
Herbert
MechOGfr
22
Flach,
Hans
OsanMt
23
Grimm,
Kurt
MaschOGfr
20
Hagelloch,
Hans-Georg
OLt.ing.d.R
23
Hahl,
Adam
MaschOGfr
21
Hantel,
Artur
MtrOGfr
22
Hochstetter,
Wilhelm
OMaschMt
23
Holle,
Oswald
MaschOGfr
20
Kabs,
Helmut
MaschOGfr
21
Krӧller,
Helmut
Olt.z.S
23
Laschke,
Kurt
MaschMt
21
Leisler-Klep,
Jürgen
Lt.z.S
n/a
Matthias,
Heinz-Karl
OMaschMt
25
Mӓurer,
Ludwig
FkOGfr
21
Mittler,
Arnold
MaschOGfr
21
Mrziglod,
Heinrich
BtsMt
22
Oehler,
August
MtrHGfr
38
Proske,
Walter
MtrOGfr
21
Reiβach,
Werner
StOStrm
30
Reitor,
Emil
MechOGfr
21
Richter,
Georg
OMasch
32
Richter,
Helmut
OMechMt
24
Sauer,
Helmut
MtrOGfr
21
Schӓfer,
Richard
MaschOGfr
19
Scheit,
Reinhold
ObstMt
27
Schӧmetzler,
Rudolf
MaschOGfr
20
Schrӧder,
Gerhard
MtrOGfr
21
Schrӧder,
Günther
Olt.z.S
30
Schulz,
Kurt
OMaschMt
24
Seeliger,
Willi
MtrOGfr
20
Senden,
Wilhelm
MtrOGfr
21
Steigerwald,
Wilhelm
FkOGfr
20
Warmbold,
Adolf
MtrOGfr
23
Weiβ,
Rudolf
MaschOGfr
21
Witzel,
Hans
BtsMt
23
Christophe Moriceau, the French diver who has
explored the U 667’s final resting place and photographed the site extensively
for his dive organization L’Expédition Scyllias and its web
site www.scyllias.fr explained to me that unlike the United
States and Great Britain, France has no legal protection for wreck sites that
might contain human remains. War graves carry the protections of international
law. But that protection does not exist in France’s territorial waters.
It is fitting that we remember all who perished.
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
US Navy Hymn
[Mike Botula, the author of LST
920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! is a retired broadcast
journalist, government spokesperson and media consultant. Mike’s book is
available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble Books. You can read more about Mike
Botula at www.mikebotula.com]
*LST 921; LCI(L)99; U 667 casualty lists via US
Navy Archives, Royal Navy and Uboat.net.
©
By Mike Botula 2019

DIARIO DI ROMA VI – Il Bambino!
Wednesday January 29, 2020
Sunny 58°F/14°C in Cedar Park, Texas, USA
Partly Cloudy 60°F/16°C in Roma,
Lazio, Italia
Buonagiornata,
And, suddenly,
it was over! My more than two months in the City of Echoes (la città
degli echi) was behind me, and I was aboard a Delta jetliner headed toward
New York’s JFK International Airport on the first leg of my flight home to the
Austin, Texas area and my cozy apartment in Cedar Park. During 2019 I had spent more than four months as a resident of
the eternal city. Actually, I hadn’t planned to return to Rome until the late
Spring. But, that all changed with Michael and Laura’s announcement that their
first child – a boy – would be born in November. Well now! I would HAVE to be
back for THAT EVENT! So, even though I had just arrived, I had to begin making
plans to come back!
Alexander Botula
And so, I did!
After suffering along with millions of other Europeans through a heat wave of
epic proportions in the early summer, I returned to my second home city on
November 21, 2019 planning to stay through the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New
Year holidays along with my birthday on January 17th and fly back to
Texas on January 22nd. The weather – which had been over 105°F/40°C at
times – had turned rainy and cold since I had been gone. Our first stop after
Michael picked me up at Fiumicino International Airport was to make a beeline
for Michael and Laura’s to meet my new grandson, Alexander Botula. There, I met
the little bundle of joy who was to play an important part in my life for the
next two months. As I held him in my arms, I could visualize a similar
experience 45 years before, when I held Alexander’s father in my arms for the
first time. Son, grandson…it was a testimony to the continuing cycle of life!
In our
effort to find an apartment for me on short notice, we reached out to everyone
that I had rented from in the past, starting with Stefania, my landlady on
Viale Oscar Sinigaglia, but that apartment was no longer available for
short-term vacation rental. My friend Mohamed’s place on Viale Cesare Pavese
was also booked. Then, I called Amina whose cozy little place I had rented
several times. Another strikeout – she had reserved it for her family members
who were coming from Paris for the holidays. But, Amina had a friend – Maria,
who had an apartment a few blocks away. She would check on my behalf as to
availability. Sure enough, word came
back about a week later that the apartment would be available at a
special rate because I was a friend of Amina’s. Problem solved, I thought,
until two weeks before my departure date, when Maria called me to say that the
contactors she hired to renovate the apartment would miss their deadline and
Maria’s apartment wouldn’t be available after all. Since I had purchased my
non-refundable plane ticket, I was suddenly in a very big bind.
Several
days later, my son called to tell me that he had put a deposit on a place just
off Viale Cesare Pavese – the notorious Vittorini Penthouse – whose
shortcomings have been recounted in an earlier Rome Diary! And so, my
adventure came full circle with my move to Via Laurentina 605. It was the
ideal, if expensive, solution to the problem. The new apartment came complete
with an affable pair of new landlords – Cristiano and Delia. Cristiano spoke
the better English of the couple, but Delia and I soon made good use of the
translators on our IPhones. Soon, we were chattering like magpies. She would
come in to clean the apartment every week. The result was that the place was
nearly always spotless. After all the
anxiety of getting shut out of one apartment and having to flee another, I had
found the perfect place.
I then
sent Mohamed a message asking when he would be in Rome. As it turned out, he
would not be in Rome until December 24th. Marsha would be traveling
back to the States in mid-December. There would be no December Rome Comedy
Night this year. So three of my close friends would either be traveling during
the holidays or they wouldn’t arrive for several weeks. As a result, I saw an
awful lot of Michael and Laura and the baby during my first several weeks in
Rome
Amina in Vietnam
Wasting no
time after all of the anxiety of my first days in Rome, I called Amina and
invited her for coffee. We met in front of my apartment and immediately
adjourned to a nearby bar for caffè. She would host her family
for the following week, she told me, whereupon she would follow them to Paris
for Christmas and the New Year. She would return to Rome briefly, then she
would be off for a holiday in Vietnam, of all places. Bottom line: we
would probably not be meeting up for coffee after that evening. But, in the
next breath, I agreed to be her guest for lunch the following day, at her place
of employ – FAO – the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. FAO is one of the
largest employers in Rome – 11,500 scattered throughout the city. Nearly 4,000
people, including my friend work in the massive complex built by Benito Mussolini
during the 1930’s as his colonial headquarters. The complex overlooks the Circo
Massimo! And so, the following day, I stepped aboard the bus that stops
conveniently in front of my building, to be whisked to the Laurentina Metro
Station and the subway ride to Circo Massimo and lunch with Amina in
the rooftop cafeteria overlooking the oval track where Ben-Hur raced in
an epic contest!
Thanksgiving
is not an Italian holiday! But,
my son has brought the holiday with him. This year,
Family Birthday Celebration
Michael ordered two turkeys.
One to smoke Texas-style in his smoker, and the other one to deep-fry. The Italian word for turkey is tacchino. Two
turkeys are tacchini. We had duè tacchini at our Thanksgiving,
primarily because with little Alexander’s arrival, the family has a lot to be
thankful for this year! Christmas and the New Year passed in similar fashion,
small, intimate gatherings with family and friends. Since Laura and I have
birthdays which are two days apart, this was cause for a special celebration.
And so, it was back to Tiziana and Pino’s apartment for the celebration. After
a hearty Italian lunch – a special birthday cake was brought out and everyone
joined together in singing Happy Birthday to Laura and me – in Italian,
of course!
A few days
later, I would board a plane for the flight back to Texas, and my other home.
Ciao,
MikeBo
[Mike Botula, the author of LST
920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! is a retired broadcast journalist,
government agency spokesperson and media consultant. Mike’s book is available from Amazon Books.
You can read more about Mike Botula at www.mikebotula.com...now with Google Translator for our international audience!]
© By Mike Botula 2020
LST 920: Charlie Botula's Long, Slow Target!
A welcome addition to your WW2 history collection from AMAZON BOOKS!
Just go to Books at Amazon.com and enter the title or my name in the SEARCH field. Paperback and Kindle!
DOWN UNDER:
LST 920: Charlie Botula's Long, Slow Target! Now available in Australia from Booktopia.com.au