William H. Schildroth, Sr. – Colonel, United States Army

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Your site is wonderful but it is missing information concerning Colonel William H. Schildroth, Sr. (and his wife). Both are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Colonel Schildroth was Regimental Commander of the U.S. Army 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, from 8 April 1944 until his death on 17 September 1944.

On 9 September 1944, Colonel Schildroth received the Italian Bronze Medal for Valor for valor in the liberation of Rome.

I cannot find a listing for him as being a Casualty of World War II although the full report of his death is in the web site cited.  I found five history reports for the 34th Infantry Division by doing a search on http://www.google.com.  His Son (my husband) said he also was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross but have thus far not found listings for these.

Would love to see COLONEL WILLIAM H. SCHILDROTH honored on your very impressive web site.

THANKS
Freda Schildroth

Celebrating Salerno Day, 9 September 1944, the Regiment was given an informal presentation of decorations and awards by Major General Charles L. Bolte, Commanding General of the 34th Infantry Division.  Twenty decorations and awards were presented by the General, consisting of the following: 1 Silver Star, 12 Bronze Stars, 6 Division Citations, and 1 Italian Bronze Medal for Valor, which was presented to the Regimental Commander, Colonel William H. Schildroth, for valor in the liberation of Rome.

History, 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division

Colonel William Schildroth lead this regiment until 17 Sept 1944 when he was killed near Mangona. He was awarded the Italian Valor Medal for the liberation of Rome.

Just before dark, Colonel William S. Schildroth, the Regimental Commander, went forward to confer with the Battalion Commanders on plans for the coming day.  On his return trip, at about 2115 hours, his peep stalled about four or five hundred yards from the Regimental Forward Command Post.  The Colonel and his radio operator started to walk the balance of the way to the Command Post, leaving the driver with the vehicle. In the darkness, they took the wrong fork of the trail, strayed into a minefield and both the Colonel and the radio operator were killed as the result of setting off a Schu-mine with a prepared detonation charge under it.  The terrific explosion was heard in the Command Post but the bodies were not found until daylight due to the difficulty of getting through the minefield. Mine teams were delayed in arriving at the location and as a result it was not sure it was the Colonel and his radio operator until dawn, when the bodies were found. Until then, there had been a faint possibility that the two had merely become lost in the hill surrounding the Command Post.  Division Headquarters was immediately notified and the Regimental Executive Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sarratt T. Hames, was ordered to take command of the Regiment.  This he did, arriving at the Forward Command Post about midnight.

Storming ahead, the 135th Infantry penetrated the Gothic Line September 16, 1944, and the 133rd Infantry seized St. Margherita. On September 18, Colonel William Schildroth was killed in a minefield and Colonel Gustav J. Braun was assigned the 133rd Infantry command. A gap exited in the lines, so General Bolte closed it with the 168th Infantry, and by September 22 had seized Trondale. That sector of the Gothic Line had been completely shattered by the Red Bull regiments.

SCHILDROTH, WILLIAM H

  • COL AGF UNIT 133RD INF 34TH DIV
  • DATE OF DEATH: 09/17/1944
  • BURIED AT: SECTION 8  SITE 4 W H
    ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

SCHILDROTH, MARY E WIDOW OF WILLIAM H

  • DATE OF BIRTH: 01/24/1904
  • DATE OF DEATH: 05/01/1968
  • BURIED AT: SECTION 8  SITE 4 E H
    ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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