Martin H. Bente
| "Everybody was young...you do the job and try to get it over with." |
| Name: Martin H. Bente
Date of Birth: 4/21/25 Branch of Service: Army Dates of Service: July, 1943 to March, 1946 Location of Military Service: France, Germany, and Austria |
| Mr. Bente served during World War II in the United States Army.
He served in Co. I of the 222nd Infantry in the 42nd Division ("Rainbow
Division") as a
sergeant. This division fought bravely against the Germans along a
30-mile line with little or no artillery backing them up. He trained in North Dakota in the
ASTP Program.
He was then sent to Camp Grouper, Oklahoma for advanced training and was
then sent to Marseilles, France. He traveled by boxcar to the
Maginot
Line. Mr. Bente fought bravely and was awarded the
Presidential Unit Citation and the Purple Heart. the Presidential Unit Citation was given for the fighting the unit did on the night of January 24, 1945 in the Bois D'Ohlungen and the vicinity of Schweighausen and Neuborg, France.. The 222nd Infantry Regiment, under strength by half a Battalion of riflemen, and extended over a 7500-yard front, was attacked by five regiments from the 7th Parachute, 25th Panzer and 47th German VG Divisions which were supported by heavy artillery. They were ordered to hold at all costs and the Regiment withstood the enemy's attempts to break the Seventh Army Moder River Line. After the war, he spent 6 months in Vienna during the occupation. He achieved the rank of S/Sergeant. |
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