NAME: Alfred L. Paul
ASN: 18136036
PLACE OF BIRTH:
DATE OF BIRTH:
DATES OF SERVICE: ?? Jun 1942 - 00 Jun 1963
UNIT ASSIGNED: 509th PIR
CAMPAIGNS: Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno
AWARDS: Parachutist Badge, EAME Campaign Medal with arrowhead and two campaign stars, WWII Victory Medal, Distinguished (Presidential) Unit Citation
SUMMARY OF SERVICE:
00 Jun 1942 - Enlisted in Arkansas
07 Dec 1942 - Pfc. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 Graduated from Parachute School. Possibly attended with Stanley Palaha
00 Jan 1943 - Was originally part of the group forming the 13th Airborne Division.
00 Feb 1943 - He and Stanley Palaha were pulled to be sent over to North Africa as replacements for the 2nd Bn 509th PIR
00 Mar 1943 - Pfc. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 assigned to 2nd Bn 509th PIR
28 Aug 1943 - 509th Pathfinders along with 504th and 505th Pathfinders move just outside of Enfidaville, Tunisia to test Eureka Set, Aldis Lamps, Krypton Lights, and 5G Becon. Sixteen C-47s equipped with Rebecca Sets participate. Eurekas were picked up about 20 miles out, 5G was susceptable to jamming and was not as effective, Aldis and Krypton Lights were seen 25 miles out.
30 Aug 1943 - Second Pathfinder test was conducted
Just before the Sicily invasion he was the only jumper in a C-47. There were three other C-47s with only one trooper in each plane. They (pathfinders?) flew out over the ocean (from Tunisia?) they eventually returned and jumped out. He thinks they were setting the radars on land and sea before the invasion. After landing on the ground, an officer who jumped told them not to move. They had landed in a mine field. He said the officer threw him a whisky flask. They stayed in the mine field all night.
05 Sep 1943 - Moved from Kairouan, North Africa to Sicily by air.
09 Sep 1943 - Scout Company, 2nd Bn 509th PIR conducted Amphibious Assault on the Island Venetone to capture a radar site for the invasion of Salerno.
14 Sep 1943 - Pfc. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 Combat Team Group 80.4 participated in amphibious operation on Island of Procida, Italy
Dad spoke of laying in a ditch outside a house. One of the Navy officers went to the house to knock on the door. If the person who answered the door did not have on a white suit with a red rose in the lapel they were to start shooting and take off. This event may have taken place on the Island of Capri or the Island of Ishia. They did recon on these islands also.
19 Oct 1943 - Having completed the island raids the Scout Company moved to Naples, Italy to rejoin the 509th PIR
He told me of an incident that happened while he was sitting in a civilian makeshift barber shop. Evidently Lt. Shaker recognized the barber. The barber was also a barber in Spain during the Civil War in which Shaker participated. They came and took the barber away as a suspected spy. A barber is a perfect job for a spy. My dad witnessed this event.
09 Nov 1943 - Pfc. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 509th PIB participates in combat operations in vicinity of Venafro, Italy
Once he was a runner and had to go down the mountain to deliver messages. He said it was exhausting even though he was in good shape. After handing the messages off, the medics took him to a place to rest and gave him a pill. He said it knocked him totally out.
In another incident he was on a mountain trail with some other troopers when they spotted a group of Germans leading some mules. He said a Chinaman (it had to be On Chow) went crazy with a BAR and literally cut one of the Germans in half.
He had heard that Stanley Palaha had been wounded. He crawled over to him. The medics told him not to give Stanley water. He got there and held Palaha. Palaha begged him for water but he told Stanley the medics told him not to give him water. At some point Stanley died in his arms.
14 Dec 1943 - 509th PIB withdraws from Venafro area and moves to Naples, Italy for R&R
After they came off the mountain Dad was on the burial detail. He went to a bar and someone made a crack about “panty waist” paratroopers. He decked the guy and left.
At one point, before or after Venafro, he and his buddies were in a bar in Naples. Carl Dunfry got in as argument with a limey Sargent. The limey said “Fuck Roosevelt” Dad said when Dunfry was about to fight he would remove a front false tooth and button it up in his breast pocket. Dunfry removed his tooth and placed it in his pocket. Dad said “No Dunfry, no!”. Dunfry said to the limey, “Fuck the Queen and Eleanor too!”. The fight was on. Dunfry got knocked out of the barroom door and came back in with a 3ft long frozen fish he took from a fish cart. Dunfry started swinging the fish like a baseball bat. Dad said there was blood and fish guts all over the bar. I think they left before the MPs arrived.
He said the 509th we’re assigned as body guards for Gen. Mark Clark. On night he was issued a 45 and sat behind General Clark while he was watching a movie.
22 Jan 1944 - Pfc. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 509th PIB Participated in Operation SHINGLE the amphibious invasion of Anzio, Italy
30 Jan 1944 - Pfc. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 509th PIB Wounded in Action
Dad wounded in the leg (calf) while on patrol around midnight January 30th/January 31st. They were on a patrol when a machine gun started firing on them. They dropped down on the road then the tracers started lowering down on him. He rolled over into a tank track rut and was hit in the leg. They moved him back to a forward aid station. He declined a morphine shot because he wanted to be clear headed if they were overrun.
31 Jan 1944 - Pfc. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 509th PIB Diagnosis: First Location: Leg; Causative Agent: Bullet, Pistol or Revolver Type of Injury: Casualty, battle Medical Treatment: Suture, not elsewhere classified Injured in Line of Duty: In line of duty Type of Discharge: Return to Duty Length of Service: 1 Year(s), 6 Month(s)
He was recovering in the hospital in Naples. He and one of his buddies sat on the very top of the hospital drinking grappa watching Mt. Vesuvius erupt. He said when there was an air raid he could fly down the stairs on his crutches.
00 Mar 1944 - Discharged from Hospital and returned to duty with 509th PIB
28 Feb 1944 - Pfc. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 509th PIB GO 31 Commendation for action 9 Sep - 19 Oct 43 The three officers and forty-eight enlisted men, named above, of the Parachute Scout Company, *** (2nd) Battalion, *** (509th) Parachute Infantry Regiment are commended for outstanding services performed against the enemy during the period 9 September 1943 to 19 October 1943. On *** September this group was given the mission of occupying the island of **** (Venetone), approximately eighteen miles from the Italian mainland. Landing on the island's beaches, the small force learned through native intelligence that ninety-five German soldiers occupied strongly fortified positions on the island. By clever deception they led the Germans to believe the island was occupied by six hundred Americans, and then made a daring capture of the entire enemy contingent. Sometimes together, and at other times acting in small, scattered groups, this force subsequently occupied three more islands in an equally daring and skillfull manner. During these actions, this group captured 113 German soldiers and three officers, and suffered only one slight casualty. The notable results obtained by this unit are testimony of the skill, daring and resourcefulness of each individual soldier who participated in these actions.
Was possibly attached to the OSS as a parachute rigger which may explain why he was not on the manifest for the jump into Southern France
00 Oct 1944 - Pfc. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 transferred out of B Co 509th PIB
18 Jul 1948 - Alfred L. Paul Hometown: Levy, AR on Reunion LIST B
00 Jun 1963 - SSgt. Alfred L. Paul 18136036 honorably discharged
He said the 509th was the best unit that he served in. He was very proud to be a part of that group. I have a couple of pictures of him from that time and a letter that he had written shortly after he came down from the mountain and had taken part in the detail that had just buried his buddies. The letter to his mother said, I lost alot of my friends, I will never forget them.
Married Maxie
(ALL IMAGES AND INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE IS PROPERTY OF THE OWNER/FAMILY AND MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. PLEASE CONTACT THE WEBMASTER AT THE E-MAIL BELOW)
©2006 to Present - 509thgeronimo.org. All Rights Reserved.