This Military Service Page was created/owned by
MAJ Craig M Young (JEDI 5; DOG 6)
to remember
Billings, James, LTC USA(Ret).
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Contact Info
Last Address Columbus, Georgia
Date of Passing Jan 07, 2004
Location of Interment Parkhill Cemetery - Columbus, Georgia
Other Memories I remember during one of my many times with Mr. James he talked about his war experiences. The one that had always stuck with me was the time he was voluntold to go negotiate the surrender of a German unit in and around Metz. The below copy of the operational report does not hold teh same. I wish do this day I could have recorded those times to give this story the right take.
Quoted from an Opertional Report "The reduction of Fortress Metz 1 September - 6 December 1944, XX Corps USA" located in Appendix No. 11:
"First Lieutenant BILLINGS of E Company advanced with a white flag and demanded the surrender of the fort. The German captain, (commanding the 3rd Company, 74th Infantry Regiment, 19th Grenadier Division), admitted being outflanked but would not surrender. The attack was then resumed at 1345 hours after three artillery battalions (medium) had laid a 45-minute concentration on Fort D'ILLANGE. Clearing the woods F Company double-timed in two waves across the open space between the woods and the wooded fringe surrounding the base of the hill upon which Fort D'ILLANGE was situated and here reorganized for the final assault. E Company (First Lieutenant James R. PENDERGRAST) on the left was unable to penetrate the enemy's forward positions along the edge of the woods, and so deployed to give fire support to F Company."