World War 2 Talk - View Single Post - 2nd Irish Guards

dbf · 16-03-2008, 08:57 PM

Hi Paul,
Have some info. found in IG Assoc. Journal; my father was in IG 3Bn.
Hope you are still around the site...
Dbf

IRISH GUARDS ASSOCIATION JOURNAL, MARCH 1972, pg 71
OPERATION MARKET GARDEN
FitzGerald’s History of the Regiment in the 2^nd World War on page 513 refers to a small action during Operation Market Garden in St. Oedenrode, when the 2^nd Battalion were working with the 101^st US Airborne Division:

“Sergeant McRory limping up the road in a lone tank, stopped to help a Battalion of the 101^st Division. The Americans were most appreciative of the number of Krauts he killed for them and sent a letter of thanks to the Battalion referring to him as our boy”

The Battalion Sgt. McRory helped was the 1^st Battalion 302^nd US Parachute Regiment and the Commander was Lieutenant Colonel Patrick F. Cassidy. 2723471 Guardsman Murphy was Sgt. McRory’s driver at the time of this action. He has now emigrated to Australia. This year he wrote to the Pentagon asking if they knew the whereabouts of Colonel Cassidy. Greatly to his surprise and delight he received the following letter, which he thought readers would be interested to see:

Dear Mr. Murphy,
Your letter which you wrote to the Chief of Military History in Washington, D.C. has been forwarded to me for reply. I was delighted to receive your letter and will try to give you the information that you asked for.
I remember very, very vividly when your tank broke down in the village square at St. Oedenrode. I also recall very vividly the terrific job you did against the attacking Germans to the North of St. Oedenrode. As I recall, you had a broken firing pin and had to use a screwdriver and hammer to fire your main gun. I also know that your tank was a big surprise to the Germans and that many of them were slaughtered when you fired your canister rounds. For about three days your tank was one of our mainstays at various times. I recall that my operations Sergeant Pinkerton climbed up on the tank and helped you in one operation. I also remember Sgt. J. McRory getting out of the tank, and we thought he was sneaking up on the enemy, but instead of that, he pulled out his pistol and killed a pig. Evidently you must have had a good supper that night! I lost track of your tank after you moved on North. I submitted to the United States Army a recommendation for our Legion of Merit Medal for Sgt. McRory. I never received a reply as to whether it was awarded or not.

Seven years after the war I wrote to the British War Office trying to find out something about Sgt. McRory. I never received a reply. Your letter was the first knowledge I had that Sgt. McRory was killed near the end of the war. He was a truly outstanding soldier of Irish descent, whom I would have loved to have had beside me in battle. If he has any next of kin that you might know of, I would be interested in their names and addresses so that I could write to them.
At the present time I am in Korea finishing up on my second year. The first year I commanded 1 Corps (Group) which is the tactical unit on the DMZ. It‘s probably the largest Corps in the world with over 100,000 US and ROK troops in it. This last year I have been Deputy Commander of Eighth Army and have just received my order to report to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, as the Fifth Army Commander. Fifth Army takes in approximately fourteen States from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.

I do not have my library with me, but when I return to the States and assemble all of my household goods, I will forward to you a history of the 101^st Airborne Division during World War II. It has a fairly complete account of the 1^st Battalion, 502^nd Parachute Infantry at St. Oedenrode, which includes a paragraph about your tank and Sgt. McRory.

I appreciate very much your letter and the descriptive sketch. I hope that I hear from you in the not too distant future. It will be some time before the book gets to you, but I promise that you will received it. The name of it is “Rendezvous with Destiny.”
With best wishes,
Sincerely
PATRICK F. CASSIDY,
Lieutenant-General, USA.

FYI:

Name: Patrick F Cassidy
Service Info.: LTG US ARMY WORLD WAR II
Birth Date: 22 Mar 1915
Death Date: 5 Jan 1990
Service Start Date: 10 Jan 1938
Interment Date: 12 Jan 1990
Cemetery: Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery
Cemetery Address: 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road San Antonio, TX 78209
Buried At: Section W Site 1019

16-03-2008, 08:57 PM	#7 (permalink)
dbf Silly old moo Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Co Down, Northern Ireland Posts: 805	Hi Paul, Have some info. found in IG Assoc. Journal; my father was in IG 3Bn. Hope you are still around the site... Dbf IRISH GUARDS ASSOCIATION JOURNAL, MARCH 1972, pg 71 OPERATION MARKET GARDEN FitzGerald’s History of the Regiment in the 2^nd World War on page 513 refers to a small action during Operation Market Garden in St. Oedenrode, when the 2^nd Battalion were working with the 101^st US Airborne Division: “Sergeant McRory limping up the road in a lone tank, stopped to help a Battalion of the 101^st Division. The Americans were most appreciative of the number of Krauts he killed for them and sent a letter of thanks to the Battalion referring to him as our boy” The Battalion Sgt. McRory helped was the 1^st Battalion 302^nd US Parachute Regiment and the Commander was Lieutenant Colonel Patrick F. Cassidy. 2723471 Guardsman Murphy was Sgt. McRory’s driver at the time of this action. He has now emigrated to Australia. This year he wrote to the Pentagon asking if they knew the whereabouts of Colonel Cassidy. Greatly to his surprise and delight he received the following letter, which he thought readers would be interested to see: Dear Mr. Murphy, Your letter which you wrote to the Chief of Military History in Washington, D.C. has been forwarded to me for reply. I was delighted to receive your letter and will try to give you the information that you asked for. I remember very, very vividly when your tank broke down in the village square at St. Oedenrode. I also recall very vividly the terrific job you did against the attacking Germans to the North of St. Oedenrode. As I recall, you had a broken firing pin and had to use a screwdriver and hammer to fire your main gun. I also know that your tank was a big surprise to the Germans and that many of them were slaughtered when you fired your canister rounds. For about three days your tank was one of our mainstays at various times. I recall that my operations Sergeant Pinkerton climbed up on the tank and helped you in one operation. I also remember Sgt. J. McRory getting out of the tank, and we thought he was sneaking up on the enemy, but instead of that, he pulled out his pistol and killed a pig. Evidently you must have had a good supper that night! I lost track of your tank after you moved on North. I submitted to the United States Army a recommendation for our Legion of Merit Medal for Sgt. McRory. I never received a reply as to whether it was awarded or not. Seven years after the war I wrote to the British War Office trying to find out something about Sgt. McRory. I never received a reply. Your letter was the first knowledge I had that Sgt. McRory was killed near the end of the war. He was a truly outstanding soldier of Irish descent, whom I would have loved to have had beside me in battle. If he has any next of kin that you might know of, I would be interested in their names and addresses so that I could write to them. At the present time I am in Korea finishing up on my second year. The first year I commanded 1 Corps (Group) which is the tactical unit on the DMZ. It‘s probably the largest Corps in the world with over 100,000 US and ROK troops in it. This last year I have been Deputy Commander of Eighth Army and have just received my order to report to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, as the Fifth Army Commander. Fifth Army takes in approximately fourteen States from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. I do not have my library with me, but when I return to the States and assemble all of my household goods, I will forward to you a history of the 101^st Airborne Division during World War II. It has a fairly complete account of the 1^st Battalion, 502^nd Parachute Infantry at St. Oedenrode, which includes a paragraph about your tank and Sgt. McRory. I appreciate very much your letter and the descriptive sketch. I hope that I hear from you in the not too distant future. It will be some time before the book gets to you, but I promise that you will received it. The name of it is “Rendezvous with Destiny.” With best wishes, Sincerely PATRICK F. CASSIDY, Lieutenant-General, USA. FYI: Name: Patrick F Cassidy Service Info.: LTG US ARMY WORLD WAR II Birth Date: 22 Mar 1915 Death Date: 5 Jan 1990 Service Start Date: 10 Jan 1938 Interment Date: 12 Jan 1990 Cemetery: Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery Cemetery Address: 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road San Antonio, TX 78209 Buried At: Section W Site 1019 Last edited by dbf; 16-03-2008 at 09:10 PM.