Through my Father’s Eyes.
In this blog, you can follow my father’s heroics and exploits when, as a teenager, he entered and fought on the “Forgotten Southern Front” in Europe in World War II.
These blogs contain over 400 of his letters home and significant excerpts from my nearly 16 years of research that led to the publication of a multi-award-winning book, At First Light: A True World War II Story of a Hero, His Bravery, and an Amazing Horse.
Each blog listed below represents what he and the men with whom he was fighting were doing 80 years ago on the exact day of the blog, starting with January 1, 1944 and ending at the war’s end on May 8, 1945 (although, if the blog is received well, I may do a couple of years of his unbelievable post-war activities as a war amputee fighting for amputee officers to be able to stay in the Army he loved, during 1945-1947).
A timeline for some major event in Dad’s life before the day of the first blog (January 1, 1944)
- 1/4/25 Philip B. Larimore, Jr., was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Philip B. Larimore, Sr. and Ethel McClanahan Larimore
- 5/30/30 Graduated from Miss Lee’s School of Childhood
- 5/29/36 Promoted to the seventh grade
- 02/06/37 Joined the Boy Scouts of America
- 09/07/38 Entered Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport, Mississippi, as a 13 year-old freshman
- 05/17/42 Graduated from Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport, Mississippi, While there he meets and falls in love with Marilyn Fountain from Des Moines, Iowa
- 09/21/42 Entered Infantry Officers’ Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Benning, Georgia
- 12/17/42 Graduated as the youngest-ever graduate from OCS
- 01/04/43 Phil’s 18th birthday
- 01/20/43 Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant at age 18 years, 16 days, as the youngest commissioned Army officer in WWII
- 01/22/43 Sworn into the Army
- 01/25/43 Entry into Active Duty at Fort Wheeler, Georgia
- 02/06/43 Phil’s mother accepted his Eagle Scout award in his absence
- 02/15/43 Transferred to Glider Troops of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
- 02/15/43 – 07/01/43 Platoon Leader, Company C, 1st Battalion, 326th Glider Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
- 03/01/43 Left for Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for Army Air Base, Alliance, Nebraska, serves as Train Quartermaster
- 03/03/43 – 06/30/43 Infantry training at the Army Air Base, Alliance, Nebraska
- 07/01/43 – 07/19/43 Battalion S-2, HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 326th Glider Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, Alliance, Nebraska
- 07/20/43 – 10/26/43 Battalion S-1, HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 326th Glider Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, Alliance, Nebraska
- 10/27/43 – 10/31/43 Platoon O, Company C, 326th Glider Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, Alliance, Nebraska
- 11/01/43 – 11/20/43 Parachute Demolition School at Fort Benning, Georgia
- 11/25/43 – 12/04/43 Company C, 1st Battalion, 326th Glider Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, Alliance, Nebraska
- 12/04/43 Took train back to Fort Bragg, North Carolina
- 12/07/43 – 12/31/43. Awaiting assignment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
- Here is a list of blogs:
January 1944
- January 1, 1944 – A teenage WWII hero was prepares to ship out – Part 1 – Fort Bragg
- January 2, 1944 – A teenage WWII hero prepares to ship out – Part 2 – Final leave
- January 3, 1944 – A teenage WWII hero prepares to ship out – Part 3 – Last visit with Marilyn
- January 4, 2024 – My hero would have turned 99 today
- January 10, 1944 – A teenage WWII hero prepares to ship out – Part 4 – Fort Meade Replacement Depot
- January 17, 1944 – A teenage WWII hero prepares to ship out – Part 5 – Coast Guard Beach Patrol
- January 19, 1944 – A teenage WWII hero prepares to ship out – Part 6 – Final letter home
- January 22, 1944 – The 3rd Infantry Division’s D-Day at the Anzio Italy Beachhead
- January 24, 2024 – A newly discovered eyewitness account of my father’s last WWII battle in which he lost his leg and almost his life
- January 30, 1944 – A teenage WWII hero prepares to ship out – Part 7 – Boarding the ship
February 1944
- February 10, 1944 – Arrives in North Africa
- February 11, 1944 – Writes home from French Morocco
- February 12, 1944 – Rides a famous Berber war horse in Morocco
- February 13, 1944 – Rides a train to the war
- February 15, 1944 – Ships out to Naples
- February 16, 1944 – Future units pinned down on Anzio
- February 17, 1944 – Meets a dressage master
- February 18, 1944 – Rides a master dressage stallion – Magellan
- February 19, 1944 – Ships out to Anzio
- February 20, 1944 – Arrives at his new unit on Anzio
- February 21, 1944 – Arrives at his new battalion on Anzio
- February 22, 1944 – Meets his Ammunition & Pioneer platoon
- February 23, 1944 – Faces his first death on the front line at Anzio
- February 24, 1944 – First days on the front-line in war
- February 27, 1944 – Writes home from Anzio
- February 29, 1944 – Surviving a vicious attack on Anzio
March 1944
- March 3, 1944 – Dad is part of the ‘Rock of Anzio’
- March 4, 1944 – Letters home from Anzio
- March 5, 1944 – The grim and deadly struggle for life on the beachhead of Anzio
- March 6, 1944 – Farm houses and foxholes at Anzio
- March 7, 1944 – Rest Camp on Anzio
- March 8, 1944 – Trenchfoot and the smell of death at Anzio
- March 9, 1944 – Letters home from the Anzio beachhead
- March 10, 1944 – Dad comes down with malaria
- March 11, 1944 – Hospitalized on Anzio with malaria
- March 12, 1944 – Dad’s admiration for the amazing Army nurses
- March 13, 1944 – Stories of Army nurses in WWII that will swell your heart
- March 14, 1944 – Skirmishes increase on the Anzio front line
- March 15, 1944 – Baptism by fire (Part 1)
- March 16, 1944 – Baptism by fire (Part 2)
- March 17, 1944 – Dad’s first medal of valor caused Mount Vesuvius to blow her top
- March 18, 1944 – To seize a beachhead like Anzio was one thing—to hold it indefinitely was another
- March 19, 1944 – Not a single spot on Anzio Beachhead is safe from enemy gunfire
- March 20, 1944 – On Anzio a beachhead order to the men to wear steel hats or pay fine
- March 21, 1944 – Bombing brings new suffering to Anzio hospital but swimming and baseball continues
- March 22, 1944 – Rest camp, replacements, and those amazing LSTs
- March 23, 1944 – Was Ernie Pyle, the most famous correspondent from WWII ever scared?
- March 24, 1944 – Supply lines at Anzio
- March 25, 1944 – Fate of Anzio Beachhead rests heavily on the ‘Ducks’
- March 26, 1944 – A well-deserved break at a rest camp
- March 28, 1944 – Sometimes you hear shells coming, sometimes you don’t on Anzio
- March 29, 1944 – Living in a covered foxhole for 45 consecutive days on Anzio
- March 30, 1944 – Deserted city where Nero fiddled while Rome burned
- March 31, 1944 – A long letter home from Anzio
April 1944
- April 1, 1944 – An intensive training schedule was underway, but for what?
- April 2, 1944 -Soldiers in the hell of a foxhole on the Anzio beachhead
- April 3, 1944 – Movies on the Anzio beachhead
- April 4, 1944 – Fresh bread at Anzio—Yanks ignore shells to keep bakery humming
- April 5, 1944 – Phil awarded his first medal of valor, the Silver Star
- April 6, 1944 – Memphian, Phil Larimore says life at Anzio far from ‘Beer And Skittles’
- April 7, 1944 – Good Friday on the Anzio beachhead while a war correspondent looked back on successes and failures
- April 8, 1944 – Troops back from the front line have that ‘look’ in their eyes
- April 9, 1944 – Easter on Anzio celebrated while hospital bombed yet again
- April 10, 1944 — Nazi Shells Coming Faster Than You Could Count Them
- April 11, 1944 — What It’s Like With The Yanks In Their Anzio Dugouts
- April 12, 1944 — Phil writes home after being ordered back to the front line
- April 13, 1944 — Allies on beachhead stronger than ever; new drive is near
- April 14, 1944 — Anzio—Where our men held. Generals may have erred, but doughboys didn’t
- April 15, 1944 — Mules to the Rescue on Anzio
- April 16, 1944 — Flat battleground at Anzio has driven entire U. S. Army into dugouts
- April 17, 1944 — Even the dead are not safe on the Anzio beachhead
- April 18, 1944 — Army finally comes thru with a practical front-line stove and candles
- April 19, 1944 — Adopted kids at Anzio
- April 20, 1944 — Enemy names given to the Germans on Anzio
- April 22, 1944 — At the Anzio beachhead preparations for a breakout took on a febrile intensity
- April 23, 1944 – Front line rifle companies at Anzio were seldom at full strength except by accident
- April 24, 1944 — A letter home to mom from Anzio
- April 25, 1944 – German intelligence increasingly confused and anxious about the coming Anzio breakout
- April 26, 1944 — Tank-led Americans gain a mile at Anzio
- April 27, 1944 — The lull before the coming massive breakout at Anzio
- April 28, 1944 — Planning for two massive campaigns at once
- April 29, 1944 — A disaster unfolds for Phil and his men
- April 30, 1944 — Final training for the upcoming breakout from Anzio beginsList of my January 2024 Blogs on “Where was Dad 80 years ago today?”
May 1944
- May 1, 1944 — Training for Operation Buffalo to breakout from Anzio
- May 4, 1944 — Many men wrote their final letters home from Anzio
- May 8, 1944 — Phil and his men don’t know it but the war in Europe will end one year from today
- May 9, 1944 — Phil writes his mom from Anzio about his first possible promotion
- May 10, 1944 — Continued preparation for a giant all-out attack to smash out of Anzio
- May 11, 1944 — Every man on Anzio could feel that they were the next to breakout
- May 16, 1944 — The horrific casualty statistics from Anzio
- May 17, 1944 — On Anzio Phil received his first promotion to 1st Lieutenant
- May 18, 1944 — On Anzio the front-line men realize a vast operation is coming
- May 19, 1944 — D-Day for the Anzio breakout set
- May 20, 1944 — The first warning order to move up and out from Anzio
- May 21, 1944 — Phil’s last letter home before the Anzio breakout commenced
- May 21, 1944 — The horrific number of casualties on Anzio
- May 22, 1944 — Finally! Breaking out of Anzio
- May 23, 1944 — At daybreak the breakout began, and it meant kill or be killed at Anzio
- May 23, 1944 — The first day of the Anzio breakout saw the 3rd Division suffering nearly 1000 casualties – the heaviest on our side
- May 24, 1944 — “The bitch is dead” at Anzio
- May 25, 1944 — Phil and his men continue toward Rome
- May 26, 1944 — A deadly mistake by US pilots costs over 100 casualties on the road to Rome
- May 27, 1944 — A brief rest allows Phil to write home
- May 28, 1944 — Fierce fighting on the road to Rome
June 1944
- June 1, 1944 — The final drive to liberate Rome begins
- June 2, 1944 — Hitler decides not to draw a line in the sand at the outskirts of the Eternal City
- June 3, 1944 — The mad dash to liberate Rome
- June 4, 1944 — The liberation of the Eternal City begins – as do the arguments – “Who got to Rome first?”
- June 5, 1944 — Rome is liberated (part 1)
- June 5, 1944 — Rome is liberated (part 2)
- June 6, 1944 — Rome is liberated (part 3) but quickly overshadowed by Operation Overlord (D-Day)
- June 7, 1944 — Rome is liberated (part 4)
- June 7, 1944 — Rome is liberated (part 5)
- June 8, 1944 — Rome is liberated (part 6) Memphian writes Dad about fall of Rome
- June 9, 1944 — Rome is liberated (part 7) Another Memphian writes about fall of Rome
- June 10, 1944 — Rome is liberated (part 8) The Roman holiday ends and back to war
- June 11, 1944 — All of Dad’s enlisted men sent to the hospital except for two
- June 13, 1944 — New orders can only mean one thing, amphibious training
- June 14, 1944 — Dad has enough time to write a long letter to his best friend
- June 15, 1944 — The Roman Holiday ends
- June 16, 1944 — Dad’s division bivouacs at Lido di Ostia
- June 17, 1944 — The 3rd Division moves to Pozzuoli by train to train
- June 18, 1944 — The most uncomfortable back massages in the history of the Army
- June 19, 1944 — I was very homesick and the training was intense
- June 20, 1944 — Sgt. Norman Mohar writes home from Italy
- June 23, 1944 — Where would the final D-Day in Europe occur?
- June 26, 1944 — Dear Mom, If people only knew how much mail means to soldiers overseas
- June 27, 1944 — The last few days in June and the entire month of July were devoted to rigorous training
- June 28, 1944 — Intensive training for the coming large-scale amphibious operation (D-day)
JULY 1944
- July 1, 1944 — Please send some candy
- July 6, 1944 — The men were training like dogs, while Phil was learning the value of hope in the ranks
- July 11, 1944 — Phil writes home, don’t use V-mail and send another package!
- July 20, 1944 — The intense training for the next D-Day carried on and approached its conclusion
- July 21, 1944 — The timing of the next D-Day was a secret no more
- July 27, 1944 — Phil writes home, “This darn war still don’t look too good!”
- July 29, 1944 — A horrific accident as one of the men is blown up and it could have easily been prevented (Part 1)
- July 30, 1944 — A horrific accident as one of the men is blown up and it could have easily been prevented (Part 2)
AUGUST 1944
- August 1, 1944 — A last-minute name change for the upcoming D-Day
- August 2, 1944 — A final summary of the Italian Campaign (Part I)
- August 3, 1944 — A final summary of the Italian Campaign (Part 2)
- August 4, 1944 — The coming D-Day to be dramatically different from the 3rd ID’s previous four D-Days
- August 5, 1944 — Phil writes home, “Please leave the Vienna sausage out from now on!”
- August 6, 1944 — The coming D-Day in southern France (Part 1)
- August 7, 1944 — The coming D-Day in southern France (Part 2)
- August 8, 1944 — The coming D-Day in southern France (Part 3)
- August 9, 1944 — Sailing for the southern France D-Day (Part 1)
- August 10, 1944 — Sailing for the southern France D-Day (Part 2) – Phil & Ross see Churchill
- August 11, 1944 — Sailing for the southern France D-Day (Part 3)
- August 12, 1944 — Sailing for the southern France D-Day (Part 4)
- August 13, 1944 — Phil’s final letter home before D-Day
- August 13, 1944 — Sailing for the southern France D-Day (Part 5)
- August 14, 1944 — Sailing for the southern France D-Day (Part 6)
- August 15, 1944 — The southern France D-Day (Part 1)
- August 15, 1944 — The southern France D-Day (Part 2)
- August 15, 1944 — The southern France D-Day (Part 3)
- August 16, 1944 – D-Day +1 in southern France
- August 17, 1944 – D-Day +2 in southern France – a light and dark side to the invasion
- August 18, 1944 – D-Day +3 in southern France
- August 19-20, 1944 – D-Days +4-5 in southern France
- August 20, 1944 – D-Day +5 in southern France
- August 21, 1944 – D-Day +6 in southern France
- August 22, 1944 – Phil’s first letter home from southern France and instructions for V-MAIL
- August 23, 1944 – Chasing the retreating German Army up the Rhone Valley with the help of the French Resistance
- August 24, 1944 – Sgt Norman Mohar writes about chasing Nazis up the Rhone Valley
- August 25, 1944 – Dad takes a break from chasing German soldiers to write an optimistic letter home
- August 26, 1944 – The horrors of the Battle of Montelimar
- August 27, 1944 – Dad and his best friend create a life-long memory fighting together as one
- August 28, 1944 – The horrors of Montelimar for the retreating Germans
- August 29, 1944 – One of my Dad’s most memorable equestrian missions of WWII – Part 1
- August 30, 1944 – One of my Dad’s most memorable equestrian missions of WWII – Part 2
- August 31, 1944 – One of my Dad’s most memorable equestrian missions of WWII – Part 3
SEPTEMBER 1944
- September 1, 1944 – Dad uses a new technique for his men to fight house to house
- September 2-3, 1944 – Dad and his units ordered to let the French take Lyon
- September 4, 1944 – The Germans were in full retreat and greatly disorganized
- September 5, 1944 – The Battle of Besançon was a shaping up to be a doozy
- September 6, 1944 – “Get your asses out of the mud! Let’s kick some Kraut butt!”
- September 7, 1944 – Dad had been awarded a hat trick of medals—a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and now a Bronze Star
- September 8, 1944 – Dad’s Bronze Medal exploits covered by newspaper articles back home
- September 9, 1944 – Troop fatigue was affecting both officers and men as casualties climbed
- September 10, 1944 – A momentous and historic turning point in the European Battles of WWII
- September 11, 1944 – WWII heroes Winston Churchill and Audie Murphy write about the coming hell in the Vosges
- September 12, 1944 – The capture of Vesoul officially ended the Campaign of Southern France
- September 13, 1944 – After only 29 days the US heroes had moved over 400 miles into France
- September 14, 1944 – The toughest nut in the Nazi’s long defensive line from the North Sea to the Swiss border lay just ahead of Dad and his men
- September 15, 1944 – The life expectancy of the front-line men was getting ready to plummet to 21 days
- September 16, 1944 — US GIs now face an obstacle that no army in the history of modern warfare had ever overcome—an enemy defending the Vosges Mountains
- September 17, 1944 — In the Vosges Mountains every battle was difficult or deadly or both
- September 18, 1944 — Phil, his men, and Love Company receive their first Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation
- September 19, 1944 — In France it is said war comes and goes yet in many ways it never changes
- September 20, 1944 – Phil’s 3rd Division battles toward the Moselle River
- September 21, 1944 – Phil’s 30th Infantry began some of the most bitter and exhausting fighting in its entire history
- September 22, 1944 – Gen Truscott writes his VI Corps troops, including Phil and his men
- September 22, 1944 – The dye was cast. Phil and his men were being sent to the deadly Vosges Mountains
- September 23, 1944 – Dad saves a platoon with a near miraculous shot
- September 24, 1944 – Dad writes home as an early autumn and terrible weather descends
- September 25, 1944 – Dad receives a shocking “Dear John” letter from home
OCTOBER 1944
- October 1, 1944 – The next month, the men could sense, was going to be hell
- October 2, 1944 – The “jungle” fighting was just beginning
- October 3, 1944 – The fighting was fierce but with slow, continuous gains
- October 4, 1944 – The weather stayed firmly on the side of the Germans and our GIs quickly bogged down
- October 5, 1944 – Poor weather favored the Germans in almost every way
- October 6, 1944 – The generals call Phil in to discuss using mules again
- October 7, 1944 – Part 1 – Some of Dad’s favorite quotes
- October 8, 1944 – Part 2 – Some of Dad’s favorite quotes
- October 9, 1944 – Audie Murphy’s poem about Anzio
- October 10, 1944 – The fight northward in France cost the lives of 600 GIs
- October 11, 1944 – The fighting intensified with increased bombardments and casualties
- October 12, 1944 – Part 3 – Some more of my Dad’s favorite Infantry quotes
- October 13, 1944 – Part 4 – Some more of my Dad’s favorite Infantry quotes
- October 14, 1944 – Part 5 – Some more of my Dad’s favorite Infantry quotes
- October 15, 1944 – Bruyères was the beginning of a far different kind of fight than Italy
- October 16, 1944 – A huge and successful diversion totally fools the Germans
- October 17, 1944 – To the shock of Dad and his men, General Truscott was leaving them
- October 18, 1944 – After two months of non-stop fighting, Phil and his men were exhausted
- October 19, 1944 – Our GIs exhausted by months of day and night fighting get much needed help
- October 20, 1944 – Dad’s 3rd Infantry Division begins new attacks against fresh German units
- October 21, 1944 – No post
- October 22, 1944 – General Devers takes over command
- October 23, 1944 – No post
- October 24, 1944 – Phil and his men enter the deadly Mortagne Forest
- October 25, 1944 – Phil’s mule teams designated “war horses”
- October 26, 1944 – This fight was worse than any Phil Larimore had faced before
- October 27, 1944 – Part One – Facing 600 of Germany’s best infantrymen in a battle to the death
- October 27, 1944 – Part Two – Facing 600 of Germany’s best infantrymen – Phil is seriously wounded
- October 28, 1944 – Part One – Phil defies death at point-blank range
- October 28, 1944 – Part Two – Phil defies death at point-blank range
- October 29, 1944 – Part One – The army had a regulation against dying inside an aid station
- October 29, 1944 – Part Two – Phil taken to the OR again and then wrote home
- October 30, 1944 – Phil begins his recovery
- October 31, 1944 – Phil is transported 90 miles to a field hospital