| Original caption: “United States soldiers begin to uncover a comrade who has been buried in the debris of a building hit by a bomb during a Nazi air attack in the Cerasuolo area, Italy.” Near Cerasuolo, Italy, after 59 consecutive days of fighting on the line by the 3rd Chemical Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Stark (June 16, 1904 – January 12, 1944), the battalion commander, met with his 5 company commanders to coordinate fire support for a Moroccan Goumier attack on a vital enemy position. During this meeting, the position was bombed by 2 German planes, and Lieutenant Colonel Stark was killed along with his company commanders and 10 other officers and enlisted men. It was the battalion’s worst day of the entire war. 2nd Lieutenant Quentin R. Unger (March 11, 1919 – March 15, 2017), of D Company’s 3rd Platoon, testified: “It pains me to write this day. Fired in support of the French attack by their 1,225 men at 5:45. All stewed up about relief. We need it. We were on our last mission before we were to be relieved – firing on Mount Trochio. We had been on the front for fifty-nine straight days.” “1505 Hours – I’ll never forget it.” “I was taking a nap a hundred and fifty yards away in my bedroll outside my tent, Fred, too. We were bounced about six inches (fifteen centimeters) out of bed. Twelve Messerschmitt Me-109s bombed in and around town. Got a hit on the C Company Command Post.” “We worked like bastards shoveling debris. Some shock. They all unthinkingly parked their jeeps around the same building, creating an obvious target of opportunity. I worked as hard as I ever worked in my life that day. I worked the flesh off my hands digging out the survivors from the gravel and rubble.” “Colonel Stark always said that after the war, he was going to buy a thousand acres in Colorado and give one acre to each man in our Company. He said we had enough talent and skill in our Company to start our own community, but he never made it.” The blast killed Colonel Stark; Captain Henry V. Waehli (July 21, 1916 – January 12, 1944); Captain Henry Raysor (February 4, 1919 – January 12, 1944); Lieutenant Berwyn Brown (June 1, 1915 – January 12, 1944); Lieutenant Robert D. “Bob” Arnold (September 22, 1919 – January 12, 1944); 1st Lieutenant George Arner (December 12, 1913 – January 12, 1944); Sergeant Robert Horace “Bobby” Hillard (March 15, 1915 – January 12, 1944); Technician 5th Class Alexander Dudich (May 16, 1915 – January 12, 1944); Sergeant Stephen S Hampton (July 19, 1908 – January 12, 1944); Private 1st Class Emil Josephs (April 27, 1918 – January 12, 1944); Private Willard R. Tussey (September 1, 1908 – January 12, 1944)and Private 1st Class Gothery R. Fergerson (1917 – January 12, 1944). Also, 3 other enlisted men were killed, and onw was missing in action. The 3rd Chemical Battalion was 1st constituted on January 1, 1942. It was activated at Fort Benning, Georgia. The unit was reorganized and redesignated as the 3rd Chemical Mortar Battalion on March 11, 1945. It was inactivated on January 2, 1946, at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia. The unit reactivated at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on September 18, 1950, but again inactivated there on February 5, 1953. This photo was nationally syndicated in March 1944. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0627.jpg |
| Image Size | 886.69 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2940 x 2352 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 12, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Cerasuolo |
| State or Province | Molise |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-65686(6) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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