Operation Dragoon - After Action Reports

Record of Events

Service Company - 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment

APO 469          U.S. Army

15 August 1944 

            Service Company personnel, totaling 92 men and officers boarded six planes at Orbetello Field, Italy, at 0133 hours.  The group, under Lt. Col. Melvin Zaiz was composed of 45 plane loads consisting of personnel of Service Company, the 3rd Battalion, and one platoon of the 596th Parachute Combat Engineer Co.

            The group left the field at 0255 hours and landed by parachute about 500 yards West of Callian, France, at 0445 hours.  Upon landing, Service Company was assembled into two groups.

            Group #1 consisted of the men from planes #83 and 86.  Captain Sigel kept the men in an assembly area in the woods while Lt. Freund, with two EM entered the town of Callian to determine the location of the town in reference to the DZ and to find out the enemy situation.  Returning to the assembly area, contact was made with elements of the 3rd Battalion under Lt. Gibbons, senior officer present at the time, and it was decided that we should consolidate forces and proceed to our objective at a location Southwest of  Le Muy.

            Consolidation and reorganization was accomplished in the town of Callian and the column started toward the objective at 1200 hours.  Service Company formed the rear guard and the point for the column at this time until British troops in a similar situation joined the unit just East of Bagnoles and became the rear security.

            Group #2 consisted of men from planes #87, 88, 89 and 90.  Upon landing, Lt. Skutaik and M/Sgt. Coil assembled as many men as was possible under the circumstances and went to a Red Cross building.  A French patriot brought a message to Lt. Skutnik about American soldiers and elements of the FFI engaged in a fire fight in the valley Southeast of Callian at a road intersection.  Lt. Skutnik and M/Sgt. Coil with 15 men went with the messenger and they joined the battle.  Two enemy vehicles were destroyed and ten German soldiers were killed.  Sixty prisoners were taken and turned over to the French for disposal.

            After the fight was over, Lt. Skutnik assembled the men and went back to the Red Cross building.  There, two men who were wounded by small arms fire and four men who were injured from the jump, were taken care of by the French Red Cross.  Lt. Freund contacted this group and took 10 men with him to Callian to form part of the rear guard.  In the meantime, more men had assembled at the Red Cross building who had just found their way from the far side of the mountain where they had landed.

          With about 25 men, Lt. Skutnik moved cross-country to contact the head of the column.  The march continued until 1500 hours before a break was taken and then continued again at 2110 hours.  At 2330 hour, the column had reached a point about five miles North of Bagnoles and established a bivouac for the night.  Upon talking with the men, it was found that Tec 5 Schneider, Rigger Section, 596th Parachute Combat Engineer Company, attached to Service Company, had carried a wounded man down the steep slopes of the mountain to the Red Cross building and then made numerous trips up and down the mountain side assembling small groups of men and leading them to the 3rd Battalion Assembly Area.

16 August 1944

            At 0700 hours, march was resumed and after covering a distance of approximately 25 miles, the 517th Parachute CP was reached at Chateau St. Roseline. One American and six British paratroopers protecting two wounded men dropped back during the march, and approximately 10 minutes later made contact with the enemy. The British paratroopers were equipped with shaped charges and succeeded in knocking out two trucks loaded with German soldiers and driving the remainder of the Germans, in three trucks, back in the direction from which they had come. 

17 August 1944

            Personnel of the Company were divided into sections and sent out to retrieve equipment bundles dropped by parachute.  The ammunition accumulated was sufficient to carry the combat team through the attack for the next two or three days.  Another re-supply came by A-20 Bombers.  All bundles were retrieved.

KENNETH B. FREUND
1st Lt., 517th Prcht. Inf.
Commanding