The Retan Rifles - Fork Union Military Academy

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George Owen Retan entered FUMA in 1937 as a freshman. Retan graduated as a senior in 1941. machines in private practice in New York. His early research on the treatment of a dangerous type of childhood intestinal blockage (known as intussusception) using a barium enema while observing the process by x-ray fluoroscopy was published and helped popularize this form of treatment. He also researched innovative treatments for childhood polio, and a chapter is dedicated to his efforts in a 1939 book entitled “Modern Miracle Men.” His controversial treatment methods became outdated, however, once the polio vaccine was developed. Cadet Retan George Owen Retan seemed to have inherited his father’s intelligence, and he began to distinguish himself as a student when he enrolled as a freshman at Fork Union Military Academy in September of 1937 and was assigned to C Company. His freshman year he earned a report card filled with mostly A’s and only the occasional grade of B. The society pages of the Syracuse newspapers often carried news of Dr. George Retan, the wellknown physician, and his family. Dr. Retan and his wife earned frequent mentions in the local press for their participation in various cultural and charitable activities in Syracuse, so when young George Owen Retan made the honor roll at Fork Union Military Academy, that news was prominently reported in the hometown newspaper. Cadet Retan earned officer’s rank during his four years of high school at the Academy and served as part of the editorial staff for the “Skirmisher” (the Academy’s yearbook) and as an officer in the Athenian Literary Society. His senior photograph shows a clear-eyed young man in an officer’s coatee with two stars at his collar. These stars were worn on the uniform at that time as “academic stars” indicating outstanding performance in the classroom, and the officer’s rank was worn on the sleeve. Retan’s academic achievement earned him admission to one of the nation’s top Ivy League institutions. He enrolled in the prestigious Cornell University following his graduation from Fork Union Military Academy on June 2, 1941. Winds of War As George Owen Retan embarked on his college career as a freshman at Cornell, the United States was facing the likelihood of greater involvement in the war that had been building on the European continent and stretching into Africa and Asia. Hitler in Germany and Hirohito in Japan were spreading turmoil across much of the world and the Americans would not be able to stand on the sidelines much longer. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise raid on Pearl Harbor, sinking many ships of the U. S. Navy and guaranteeing the Americans’ entry into World War II. The very next day, George Retan left the campus of Cornell University to visit his father in the office of his medical practice. He declared to his father his intention to leave college and join the military. Retan finished out his freshman year, even joining the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, but he made good on his plans to join the war effort in the summer of 1942. You’re In the Army Now On August 25, 1942, George Owen Retan enlisted in the United States Army. When he asked the recruiter where they needed men the most, he was told they needed paratroopers, so that’s where Retan volunteered to serve. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was to be a new “super unit” of elite fighters, kind of a precursor to today’s Delta Force or Seal Team Six. The 506th PIR recruited only men of better than average intelligence and physical condition, and sent them to Camp Toccoa in a remote part of Georgia to undergo the most rigorous training schedule any military unit to that time had been required to complete. Ed Shames recalls that he and Retan must have arrived at Camp Toccoa on the same train, as they ultimately were assigned together to Company I in the Third Battalion of the 506th. Shames describes the training they went through as “almost inhumane” as the men were winnowed from almost 7,000 recruits down to about 2,500 tough, hardened fighting men. Anyone who stopped running on the regular morning runs 3-1/2 miles up (and 3-1/2 miles down) Currahee Mountain was removed from the unit. Anyone who was unable to qualify at the “expert” level with their rifle, machine gun, or mortar was eliminated. When the regiment was sent to the large rifle ranges at Clemson University to finish perfecting their marksmanship skills, no trucks were on hand to transport them. They marched the 48 miles from Toccoa to Clemson. Anyone who fell out during the long march was removed from the unit. During this arduous training, a strong bond was formed between five friends in I Company, Shames reports. Joe Madona, Joe Beyerle, James Recruiting posters like this one encouraged men between the ages of 18 and 32 to join the Army paratroopers. Japhet, Ed Shames, and George Retan became fast friends, with George as kind of their leader. Retan seemed to know the ropes and helped them all through the training regimen, Shames recalls, displaying a level of leadership and experience that Shames now credits to Retan’s background as a FUMA cadet. “He must have learned that here,” Shames says. “I just tried to follow his lead.” Retan’s leadership abilities were noticed by his commanding officers, and Retan was soon promoted to Sergeant and placed in charge of a squad. In December of 1942, the regiment was to travel to Fort Benning for parachute jump school. First Battalion traveled by train from Toccoa to Benning. Second Battalion marched 102 miles to Atlanta in three days and then took a train to Benning. Third Battalion, Retan’s battalion, took the train to Atlanta, and then marched 136 miles in four days to arrive at Fort Benning, smashing a record for long distance marching previously set by the Imperial Japanese Army. The 506th PIR was attracting attention as an elite airborne unit like none before. More specialized training continued for the regiment and by February of 1943, Ed Shames had also been promoted to Staff Sergeant and moved to Headquarters Staff, but he still remained close with his buddies in I Company. On September 5, 1943, the regiment boarded the troop ship Samaria and sailed for England. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was soon to become one of the most renowned units of the 101st Airborne Division. George Retan and his buddies were going to war. Retan was promoted to Sergeant within months of his enlistment in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. 50 Call to Quarters www.forkunion.com 51
D-Day: The Normandy Invasion As the landing craft hit the beaches at Omaha Beach and Utah Beach at dawn on June 6, 1944, George Retan and his comrades had already been in combat for several hours. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was one of a number of airborne units that jumped into German-held territory in the hours past midnight. The Third Battalion of the 506th was to secure two bridges across the Douve River east of the town of Carentan, France. The Germans had built these bridges in recent months so they could quickly move reinforcements to the beach to meet the expected invasion. It was critical that these bridges be seized and controlled if the beach landings were to succeed. In the darkness, amid a hail of anti-aircraft fire, the transport planes bucked and swerved, trying to find their drop zones. Paratroopers jumped into uncertainty on that black night, very few landing anywhere close to their targets, most landing miles away from their objective. Retan’s buddy, James Japhet, never made it into the fight. His plane was hit and the right engine and wing caught on fire. The paratroopers were unable to jump and the plane crashed, killing all aboard. Joe Beyerle landed on a church in Saint-Cômedu-Mont and slid down the roof to the ground below. Alone, Beyerle tried to make his way toward his objective but was captured by the Germans and spent months in POW camps before escaping and joining up with Soviet Army forces with whom he fought through the remainder of the war. Joe Madona’s plane dropped him far from his intended drop zone and into the area of operations for the 82nd Airborne. He landed in a field flooded by the Germans to hinder paratroopers and had to act quickly to save himself and a nearby comrade from drowning on landing. Madona would survive Normandy but was killed in action at Bastogne in January of 1945. Ed Shames landed on the grounds of the Carnation Milk factory near Carentan, all alone. He quickly set about finding other paratroopers and leading the way, many miles, to the bridges that were their objective. Like his buddies, George Retan was dropped far away from his intended target, and within the first five minutes was wounded in the leg by shrapnel. He met up with Colonel Sink’s headquarters outfit and continued fighting for the next three days despite his wounds, until units from Utah Beach broke through and joined with them in the days following D-Day. Retan was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, though he evidently never spoke of the deeds that earned his medal for valor with his good friend Ed Shames. Shames recalls that Retan didn’t talk much about his injury or D-Day experiences, just wearing a patch on his leg. But then, most of the paratroopers landing behind enemy lines, including Shames, had wounds to show for their first experience in combat. In the weeks following the Normandy Invasion, Retan’s wounds were treated but not all the shrapnel could be removed. He was offered the oppportunity to return to the United States for further treatment, but he elected to remain with his unit. In the confusion and fog of war, Retan and Shames had each, separately, distinguished themselves in combat and demonstrated the special kind of leadership needed to command fighting men. They were both selected to receive battlefield commissions following Normandy and were promoted from Staff Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant rank, two of only three men in the regiment to receive this recognition. Ed Shames was transferred to E Company in the 2nd Battalion of the 506th and placed in command of the company’s “patrol platoon.” George Retan was moved to A Company in the 1st Battalion of the 506th as the Assistant Platoon Leader of the 2nd Platoon. A Quiet and Humble Leader Bill Chivvis was a young soldier assigned to I Company as a replacement in the days following Normandy. As the Normandy veterans began returning to Ramsbury, England, Bill Chivvis and his fellow replacements got to see Retan in action. “After a time we became aware of Retan visiting the Company ‘I’ area to greet his returning friends. On each visit he would stop and talk to the ‘know nothing’ replacements and try to answer our stupid questions. There is no greater gulf than that which exists between combatants and non-combatants but this did not affect Retan.” Retan’s behavior made an impact on this fresh young recruit. “From these brief visits, I learned a lesson which would follow me through the Holland and Belgium campaigns: I always took the time to talk to incoming replacements.” These few encounters with George Retan made a lifelong impression on Chivvis, who spoke of Retan in a 1995 letter to researcher and author Peter Hendrikx. “I will describe Retan as a quiet, humble young man, but very intelligent, very alert, and very focused. He was a natural leader who inspired confidence without even trying. He was a man of the highest character.” Operation Market Garden In just a few short weeks, the 506th was headed back into combat, part of the largest airborne invastion ever undertaken to that time. The plan was for American and British forces to capture a number of bridges in Holland, giving the Allies an access route into Germany around the Siegfried Line defenses. The 506th jumped in clear skies on the afternoon of September 17, 1944 into a large field near the town of Son. The daylight jump, made possible by Allied air superiority, was a big improvement on the confusion seen at Normandy. The regiment landed almost in formation and met little resistance as they left the drop zone. Company A was to capture the main bridge across the Wilhelmina Canal at Son. Almost half of 1st Platoon had been dropped some distance from the rest of the company, so 2nd Platoon was placed in the lead. Platoon Leader 1st Lieutenant Galarneau had broken his ankle on the jump, so it was up to 2nd Lieutenant George Retan to lead the regiment through the Son Forest toward their target. About 400 yards into their advance, the company engaged a number of German riflemen, suppressing their fire and continuing to push toward the bridge. When the company reached a point in the woods about 200 yards from the bridge, all of a sudden one of the three 88mm artillery pieces guarding the bridge opened fire into the trees. Sgt. Joe Powers of 2nd Platoon was hit by shrapnel and wounded almost immediately. Soon the other two large 88mm guns had lowered their barrels and begun firing into the woods. The 88mm gun is designed to shoot planes from the sky, but the Germans had found it to be a terrible and terrifying anti-infantry gun as well. The 88s were soon joined by the thump of 81mm mortars. “Men were being killed,” recalls Donald R. Burgett, a soldier in A Company. “We had to do something.” Company A faced only one choice. They had to attack headlong into the massed fire of three fearsome cannons. The soldiers raced through the woods and then across the grass straight into the muzzle blasts of the massive artillery pieces. After overwhelming the Germans at the guns and silencing the Retan and A Company of the 506th PIR led the attack on the bridge at Son, into the face of three 88mm artillery guns. 52 Call to Quarters www.forkunion.com 53
Page 1 and 2: Happy 50th Anniversary to The Retan
Page 3: Remembering Retan “A nation revea
Page 7: FUMA Remembers George Retan was not

The Retan Rifles - Fork Union Military Academy

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