With World War II raging, Allen Francis Wolfenbarger was inducted into the United States Army on November 7, 1942, at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Allen was assigned to the 60th Infantry, 9th Division, 2nd Platoon. After one week he was transferred to Fort Hancock, New Jersey, for three months basic training. Upon completion of basic training he was transferred to Fort Meade, Maryland, and later departed New York Harbor on the Luxury Liner, The Queen Mary. This ship had been converted to a troop transport ship. After 16 rough days at sea he arrived in Europe. Then it was on to South Wales, England. He remained there until three days after “D-Day,” on June 6, 1944, a date known ever since as D-Day, when a mighty armada crossed a narrow strip of sea from England to Normandy, France, and cracked the Nazi grip on western Europe.

At Normandy Beach, it was “HELL ON EARTH.’’ At St. Lo, France, he was wounded in the right shoulder and chest. Shrapnel remained in his body the rest of his life. He was in a U. S. Army Hospital in England for three months. After he was discharged from the hospital he was returned to the front lines at Normandy Beach (Hazenfelt Battle). At 4 am at Harpers Force, South Africa, his Company surprised and captured a whole company of German soldiers. Allen fought in battles at Normandy, Northern France; Ardennes, Rhineland, Tunisia, and Central Europe. When he was 50 miles from Berlin, they met up with Russian soldiers at the Woofin River–at that time the Russians were “Friendly Forces.”

This Combat Chronicle of the 9th Infantry Division was obtained from the Museum of Military History:

The 9th Infantry Division, which was activated 1 August, 1940 at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, saw its first combat in the North African invasion, 8 November 1942, when its elements landed at Algiers, Safi, and Port Lyautey, with the taking of Safi by the 3rd Battalion of the 47th Infantry Regiment standing as the first liberation of a city from Axis control in World War II. After two years of intensive training the 9th Division was combat ready by the fall of 1942 and was redesignated the 9th Infantry Division. The division was divided into three Regimental Combat Teams (RCTs); the 39th RCT, 47th RCT and 60th RCT.

With the collapse of French resistance, 11 November 1942, the division patrolled the Spanish Moroccan border. The 9th returned to Tunisia in February and engaged in small defensive actions and patrol activity. On 28 March 1943 it launched an attack in southern Tunisia and fought its way north into Bizerte, 7 May. In August the 9th landed at Palermo, Sicily, and took part in the capture of Randazzo and Messina. After returning to England for further training, the division hit Utah Beach on 10 June 1944 (D plus 4), cut off the Cotentin Peninsula, drove on to Cherbourg and penetrated the port's heavy defenses.

After a brief rest in July, the division took part in the St. Lo breakthrough and in August helped close the Falaise Gap. Turning east, the 9th crossed the Marne, 28 August, swept through Saarlautern and in November and December held defensive positions from Monschau to Losheim. Moving north to Bergrath, Germany, it launched an attack toward the Roer, 10 December, taking Echtz and Schlich. From mid-December through January 1945, the division held defensive positions from Kalterherberg to Elsenborn. On 30 January the division jumped off from Monschau in a drive across the Roer and to the Rhine, crossing at Remagen, 7 March. After breaking out of the Remagen bridgehead, the 9th assisted in the sealing and clearing of the Ruhr Pocket, then moved 150 miles (240 km) east to Nordhausen and attacked in the Harz Mountains, 14-20 April. On 21 April the Division relieved the 3d Armored Division along the Mulde River, near Dessau, and held that line until VE-day.

The division saw a lot of combat in Northern Africa and Europe during the war. It was after the divisions performance during the Battle of the Bulge that it was nicknamed "Old Reliables." After the war the division was inactivated in Germany on January 15th, 1947.

Chronology of the Ninth Division
Activated 1 August 1940
Arrived UK 27 November 1943
Arrived Continent (D+4) 10 June 1944
Entered Combat 14 June 1944 [First elements in combat in North Africa 8 November 1942; entire Division entered combat NATOUSA 26 March 1943]
Days in Combat 264

Casualties:
(Tentative)
Killed 2,905
Wounded 14,066
Missing 792
Captured 868
Battle Casualties 18,631
Non-Battle Casualties 15,233
Total Casualties 33,864
Percent of T/O Strength 240.4

Campaigns
1. Africa (Tunisia November 7, 1942 - May 13, 1943; Algeria-French Morocco 8 - 11 Nov 1942) 2. Sicily – July 9, 1943 - August 17, 1943
3. Normandy – June 6 1944 - July 24, 1944
4. Northern France – July 25, 1944 - Sept. 14, 1944
5. Rhineland – Sept. 15, 1944 - March 21, 1945
6. Ardennes – December 16, 1944 - January 25, 1945
7. Central Europe – March 22, 1945 - May 11, 1945

Individual Awards to those serving in the 9th Division:

Medal of Honor 1
Distinguished Service Cross 86
Legion of Merit 6
Silver Star 1,789
Soldiers Medal 55
Bronze Star 5,518
Distinguished Flying Cross 1
Air Medal 124

Prisoners of War Taken
Total: 113,324

Allen was wounded a total of three times. At St. Lo, France, medics were picking up bodies and putting them on trucks. He raised his hand to motion that he was still alive and was taken to an Army Hospital. He was awarded the Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters; Good Conduct Medal; Combat Infantry Badge; Sharpshooter Badge; Distinguished Unit Badge and European African Middle Eastern Service Medal with five Bronze Stars and “The Bronze Star.” If I am understanding military history, the five Bronze Service Stars and “The Bronze Star” tells us that he participated in six of the seven major battles of The War. I am told that Allen is the second most decorated Union County War Hero. I do not know the name of the most decorated hero, but I would like to know. Sadly, Allen was so shy about recognition that when Winnie McDonald and I published Union County Faces of War, we missed the record of his important service.

Allen was in France when World War II ended in 1945. He was transferred to Camp Elsberry, Indiana, then to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he received an Honorable Discharge. Allen returned to Union County, Tennessee, on October 25, 1945 and there resided the remainder of his life. Allen died of a massive stroke on September 9, 2007. He was buried September 12, 2007, with Full Military Honors at Wyrick Cemetery near Clear Branch Baptist Church, Luttrell, Tennessee, where he was a member. He was the oldest son of the late Burl Henry Wolfenbarger and Emmaline Rebecca Worthington Wolfenbarger. He was also preceded in death by brother Hubert and sister Opal Inez. He is survived by his brother, Jimmie Dale Wolfenbarger, and sister, Ethel May Wolfenbarger Woods, who provided most of the information for this column. Thank you, Ethel.

Allen Wolfenbarger - 2007 - Age 86
Bonnie Heiskell Peters
Union County Historian