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The 291st Infantry Regiment was constituted on the 24th December 1942 and assigned to the 75th Infantry Division. The regiment was activated on the 15th April 1943 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The regiment saw action in the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe.
The 2nd Battalion of the 291st was cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes.
The 291st was inactivated 26 November 1945 at the New York Port of Embarkation.
I have seen entries from a couple of people from the 291st Regiment. I was just wondering if they may have known, or remember, my dad, TSgt Troy Shue, from Texas. If anyone has any information or recollections of Sgt. Shue, I would love to hear from you. I am trying to piece together my dad's war experiences, since he never talked about it. I look forward to hearing from anyone who may have known him.
My father Chester Devoid Gainey and his army buddy Merle Inman were part of the 291st Infantry. On Jan. 1, 1945 Chester and Merle along with 17 other soldiers were on a scouting expedition 3 miles behind enemy lines. As they were crossing a road, German troops surprised them and opened fire. My dad hit the ground. He was wearing several shirts and as he fell the shirts billowed out from his body. After the gunfire was over and the germans had taken the surviving american soldiers as prisoners,my father counted 14 bullett holds through his shirts. A bullett had grazed his head and he was shot in his right arm. (The bullett was never removed, it remained there his whole life) Only 7 of the 19 survived. Merle had been shot in the chest but he survived. He dug the bullett out of his chest himself.
Chester and Merle lived a horrible existence until the end of the war at Stalag 1V B. They were fed once a day. My father said the soup was thickened with cow feed and the cow feed had worms in it. Snow was deep outside and they had 2 blankets and 4 boards each. They combined their blankets and boards and slept together to stay as warm as possible. Chester and Merle took care of each other when they each came down with pneumonia.
At the end of the war the Russians were allowed to take over the compound. Not knowing what the conditions would be under the Russians, they escaped through a hole in the fence. When they made it to Camp Lucky Strike, they found they weighed less than a hundred pounds each. In the fall of 1945, they and other POW's were honored at a ceremony in Miami Florida in which General Dwight D. Eisenhower pinned their Purple Hearts on them.
Chester and Merle lost contact and didn't talk with each other for 57 years until the fall of 2001. My father had said quite often through the years that he would like to see Merle. My Aunt (Sue Jennings Banks )found Merle's phone number by searching the internet. Chester called Merle and he came to visit our family on 12-24-2001. It was the most wonderful Christmas for all of us. My father died 2 months later from lung cancer. It was so fitting that the person with whom he had gone through so much was reunited with him before his death. My father was a man of character and perseverence. He lived his life with integrity. He married my mother, Mina Mae Jennings in Sept. 1944. She was a "Rosie the Riveter" in Evansville Ind. They had 8 children and we all miss him very much.
Mona Gainey Lanier.
Photographs
If you have any Photographs you would like to share please get in touch.
List of those who served.
- Chester Devoid Gainey Read his Story
- Merle Inman Read his Story
- Col. Harry S. Robertson. CO.
- TSgt Troy Shue Read his Story
- Albert C. Walsh. C Coy.
If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.
If you have a story which you would like to share, or a website dedicated to an airfield or aircrew, please get in touch.
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