| 3 United States Army soldiers, probably from the 35th Infantry Division, cautiously approach the valley city center in Saint-Lô. American troops were constantly under mortar fire during the battle. From the 35th Infantry Division history: “Just before dawn on July 16, the 1st Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment started across the mined fields under enemy fire toward Hill 122 itself. As the battalion started up the slope, the [Nazi Germans on the] hill spewed lead like an exploding ammunition dump, but the doughboys pushed on. The Germans counterattacked the steadily moving line and were thrown back. Despite the mounting losses, the 1st Battalion edged uphill against the apparently impregnable enemy defense line. Finally, Hill 122 fell. The advance was slowed down by insistent infiltration of small parties of frantic enemy [soldiers]. It took a series of hand-to-hand engagements to subdue these parties. This was a typical Nazi maneuver. The men in these suicide squads meant nothing to their leaders; it was time that counted. But this costly delay, for which the Germans paid a high price, allowed them to complete their lines and be in position to launch a counterattack also on July 16. As the 3rd Battalion started moving down the right flank of the 134th, opposition was fierce, for the enemy was well aware that once his flank was penetrated he would not again be in a position to drive the Yanks from the dominating hill. As the day passed, the Americans could not be dislodged, the German attacks slowed down, but the enemy’s artillery fire continued in intensity. While the 1st Battalion held tenaciously to Hill 122, the 2nd Battalion, in a sunset push, attacked at 2000 and gained about 600 yards (550 meters). The cost in men and equipment had not been low. The 134th had lost 102 killed in action, 589 wounded and 101 missing. The expenditures of sweat and blood can never be measured. But Hill 122 had been taken and the road into Saint-Lô was open. Already some agents of the 29th Division Counter Intelligence Corps team under the command of 1st Lieutenant Warren Colgan (December 15, 1911 – August 2, 1989) had wormed into the city and assured a group of citizens herded together in the L’Ecole Normal, that shortly the American Army would arrive to liberate them. Penetrating almost to the center of the city to assure other groups, they made their escape only a few minutes ahead of a Nazi patrol. The city, which for days had been subjected to the bombardment of American air forces, and more recently to the precision of American artillery, was a mere shambles. Hundreds of citizens, unable to escape, had been caught between the 2 armies and lay buried beneath the mounds of rubble. The enemy still held the city, but used it mainly as a defense point while their troops shifted to high ground to the south. About 1950 Hours on July 18, Major Dale M. Godwin (September 28, 1902 – October 1, 1975), S-2, and the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon of the 134th entered Saint-Lô from the northeast. The Platoon, under the command of 1st Lieutenant John F. Tracy (March 14, 1919 – October 8, 1982) of Brooklyn, New York, consisted of Technician 5th Grade Charles N. Piercy (June 22, 1915 – January 8, 1989), Elgin, Tennessee; Corporal Joseph L Stefonsky (December 19, 1919 – December 29, 2003), Cleveland, Ohio; Private 1st Class Eutimio Espinoza (December 10, 1918 – July 4, 2012), Blanca, Colorado; Private 1st Class Arthur E. Peck (June 3, 1915 – May 6, 1992), Saint-Lôuis, Missouri; Private 1st Class Robert E. Lee (December 20, 1912 – February 29, 2000), Newberg, Oregon; Private 1st Class Elgin A. Wilkinson (September 6, 1920 – April 1, 2005), Venice, California; and Private Edgar C. Hale (March 31, 1919 – March 23, 1983), Little Rock, Arkansas. Under constant mortar fire they advanced to the center of the city, reconnoitered and returned by the northeast route. On the same day elements of the 29th Infantry Division, attacking from the east while the “Santa Fe” Division was attacking from the north, closed in upon Saint-Lô. The Stars and Stripes now floated over the objective of 1 of the most bitter battles on French soil. On the night of July 19, the 134th relieved the elements of the 29th Infantry Division and completed the occupation of Saint-Lô. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0498.jpg |
| Image Size | 206.66 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1300 x 944 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 20, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | France |
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| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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