Leo St. John in April, 1944

MEMOIRS OF ANZIO "On The Lighter Side" by Leo St. John

Foreword by Art Minguez
Son in law

Leo St. John was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts.  He was the only son of a widowed mother. After graduating high school and trade school, he worked as a machinist.  Leo joined the Army Air Corp in 1942 shortly after America entered the war.  His first assignment was as a crew chief.  He served here for 10 months before volunteering for the paratroopers in August 1943.  After completing paratroop training, Leo went to North Africa and Italy for further training.

Leo was assigned to the 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was part of the 82nd Airborne Division. The 504 was colorfully known as "The Devils in Baggy Pants".  In January 1944, due to the slow progress of the war in Italy and at the urging of Winston Churchill and other allied leaders, the Anzio Invasion was planned and executed.

The allies at this time were building forces in England.  Most of the 82nd Airborne was sent to England.  However, the Army had different plans for the 504th paratroopers.  They participated in the Anzio Operation.  Later in the war, Leo was involved in the airborne invasion of Holland and in perhaps the most famous battle of the war after D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge.  On January 7, 1945, he was severely wounded.

He spent the next several years in army hospitals undergoing extensive reconstructive surgery.  He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Presidential Unit Citation.  The 504th was the first unit to ever receive this last honor.  He left the army in November 1947, and despite his status as a disabled veteran, he managed to have a successful career as a mechanical and sales engineer.

My friend Laddie and I were together at Anzio.  This was our first combat mission, and believe me when I say, we were scared as hell.

The first thing our C.O. (Lt. Frank Smith, a southern boy) did was to place us in a forward machine gun position.  "Forward" was defined as in front of our lines.  This placed us across the Mussolini canal, and at the bottom side of an embankment.  If the enemy attacked, we would hear, see, and meet them first--in the dark of course.  Our actions would alert the men behind us.  I've begun to wonder if our C.O. didn't like us damn Yankees!

To make our first night more pleasant, a cold rain fell all night long, turning our post into a mud hole.  Our highly polished paratrooper boots leaked like a sieve.

Just before daylight, we would climb back over the embankment, returning to the front line. We would spend our daytime hours there, nice and comfy, listening to the sounds of constant shelling, from our guys and the enemy.  Overhead we would watch our planes engage in dogfights with the enemy.

My buddies and I decided to pool our rations.  Since I had experience as a short-order cook, I was designated as the cook.  Our food consisted of "C-rations" (little cans of food) and 5-in-1 rations (dehydrated food, a real luxury).  Of course my friends gave the usual culinary critique of my cooking, especially Roy, who grew up in the mountains.   Laddie and I had no problem eating, but Roy became angry with me because I refused to put bacon grease into the pot as Roy's Dad had done when he was young.  Somehow, we survived despite the lack of bacon grease.

After a few weeks of up and back position changes, where we somehow managed to survive, we were "promoted" to the forward "listening post".  The listening post was a deserted stucco house, approximately 100 hundred yards in front of our lines, in no-mans land.  We would creep out to the house before daybreak. Staying hidden inside all day, we would take turns keeping watch for the enemy with a telephone in our ear.  If an attack started, we would telephone our troops and run like hell back to our lines.

This was my first introduction to combat and my education continued to expand.