This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SGT Bruce Coulter
to remember
Coulter, Roy, Cpl.
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Date of Passing Mar 16, 1995
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Anzio Campaign (1944)
From Month/Year
January / 1944
To Month/Year
May / 1944
Description On January 1944, in conjunction with a frontal assault, the Allies attempted to turn the Gustav Line by landing troops at Anzio. But the frontal attack failed, and the Allies were unable to break out of the beachhead at Anzio until the Gustav Line was breached in May 1944.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1944
To Month/Year
May / 1944
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
People You Remember The 504th was activated May 1, 1942 at Fort Benning, Ga. In August, the regiment was made part of the 82nd Airborne Division. According to "The Devils in Baggy Pants," the combat record of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, upon being attached to the division, it became "the oldest parachute regiment in the oldest airborne division in the United States Army." My dad was a member of Charlie Co.,504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division and served from 1 Dec. 1943 to 17 Jan. 1949. While with the 504th, he served under Col. Reuben H. Tucker, the regimental commander. In addition to two Distinguished Service Crosses, Tucker was also awarded the Bronze Star and was entitled to wear three stars on his jump wings, denoting three combat jumps. The regimental staff included Lt. Col. Warren R. Williams Jr., executive officer; Capt. Edson R. Mattice, S-1; Maj. Fordyce Gorham, S-2; Maj. Mack C. Shelly, S-3; and Maj. William A.B. Addison, S-4. (If anyone is looking for the names of battalion company commanders, shoot me an e-mail. Unfortunately, while there are pictures of battalion staff, only the batalion commanders' names are listed. The book also has phots of a number of companies.
Memories The 504th left New York City aboard the troopship USS George Washington on the morning of April 29, 1943. Approximately two weeks later, on May 10, the ship arrived at the North African port of Casablanca, and marched eight miles to a temporary home south of Casablanca. Several days later, the unit loaded onto trucks to a camp in Oujda, Algeria. There, training intensified, as did the number of reviews and parades for Allied generals. Generals Eisenhower, Clark and Patton, the Sultan of Morocco, and officials from every Allied nation watched the 504 go through its paces as it prepared for the invasion of Sicily. "Practice jumps were held and one, staged in a 30-mile wind, put nearly 30 percent of the regiment in the hospital with broken bones, sprains and bruises. Finally the order came and the regiment moved by truck to Kairouan, Tunisia, which was to be the 82nd Airborne Division's point of departure for the invasion of Sicily."
"America parachutists - devils in baggy pants - are less than 100 meters from my outpost line. I can't sleep at night; they pop up from nowhere and we never know when or how they will strike next. Seems like the black-hearted devils are everywhere ..." -Found in the diary of a German officer who opposed the 504 on the Anzio beachead.
