Roy Pickel
started his training at Camp Croft,South Carolina and Ft. Benning.(jump school)
From there he went to Camp McCall and became a member of Easy Company, 506e
Regiment, 101ste Airborne Division. After a training in Tennessee and Frt.
Bragg he ended in Camp Shanks. Finaly, together with the others, he was shipped
from New York to Liverpool on the HMS. Samaria. In the spring of 1943 he trained
in Albournbe, England. After 25 jumps his leg got seriously injured and he
had to leave the paratroopers infantry. But Easy Company was uppermost in
his mind. Until now it still hurts him very much that he couldn't go into
combat with them. The men who he had trained and suffered with and with whom
he developed a very strong comradship. He was incorparated with the 9th Infantry
Regiment from the 2d Infantry Division: The "Indianheads".
But the contact with Easy Company is still there.
2d
Infantry Division ("Indian heads")
Maj. Gen. Walter M. Robertson
9, 23, and 38
Inf. Regiment
12, 15, 37, en 38 Field Artillery Battalion.
2 Engineer Combat Battalion
741 Tank Battalion
462 Anti-aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion
612 and 644 Tank Destroyer Battalion
Like Easy Company, The Indian heads was an Infantry Division. The difference is that the paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines and are trained to solve risky and dangerous operations. As a part of Operation Overlord, the Normandy Invasion, the Indian Heads were shipped from Fort Sam Houston to Ireland in 1943. On June 7th, 1944, D-Day +1, the Indian Heads landed on Omaha Beach. While other units couldn't move because of heavy German resistance, The Indian Heads pushed ones way through the Normandy hedge rows. (The so called Boccage)
After
a
39 days heavy battle the Division took the important harbor city of Brest
on September 18th, 1944. (The same day that Eindhoven was liberated by
the US Army, among them Easy Company) From positions in the neighborhood
of St.Vith in Belgium and during the entire battle of the Bulge, the division
kept their positions and prevented the Germans from taking the important roads
to Liege and Antwerp.
During the February 6th. 1945 offensive the 2d Div. helped to destroy the
Germans Wehrmacht. Though Roy did one's bit in the liberation of Europe, in
particular during the battle of St. Vith, Elsenborn and in the Tsjech Republic,
it still hurts him that he was forced to leave Easy Company after get injured
during his training. But, like Bill Guarnere once told him: "Once an
Easy Member, always an Easy Member."
As told,
Roy fought in the Tsjech Republic. He is an honored citizen of the village
of Rokycany.
After he visited his friends over there in July 2003 he stayed at my home
for one week. During that week I have learned to know him as a calm modest
man. He told me some stories about his experiences during the war that he
didn't want to be published on my web site, which I respect of course. He
doesn't like it when people call him a hero. It is very hard for him to visit
a cemetery because it reminds him to much of his deceased relatives and comrades
he lost during the war. It makes him to emotional. During the fighting near
St.Vith and Elsenborn he lost a lot of good friends.
According to Roy the first bomb in the Tsjech Republic was dropped on the brewery in the village of Pilzen.
Right: a tank in the streets of Pilzen during the liberation.
©Peter van de Wal
