Brookline War Memorial
Andrew D. Orient

2nd Lt. Andrew D. Orient
United States Army (1941-1944)

Andrew D. Orient

United States Army (1775-present)

Andrew D. Orient was born on February 1, 1912, in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. He grew up working on the family farm his parents Michael and Magdalena Orient. Andrew enlisted in the Army on March 12, 1941. He entered the Tank Corps and attended Officer Candidate School, graduating as a Second Lieutenant.

Shortly after graduation, Lt. Andrew Orient met and married Brookline's Agnes D. Engel, a teacher at Brookline Elementary School. The couple moved into her home at 603 Fordham Avenue. Andrew was assigned as a Platoon Leader in Company B of the 756th Tank Battalion. During Operation Torch, Company B stayed back in staging at Fort Dix while Companies A and C joined the 3rd Division for the North Africa landings.

In February 1943, Company B joined the rest of the 756th Battalion at Port Lyautey in Morocco. The Battalion was relieved of attachment to the 3rd Division on May 7 and moved to Pont du Cheliff, Algeria under control of I Armored Corps. Its next move was to Petit Port in May and then to Magenta, Algeria early in June, where it trained with elements of the Fifth Army Tank Destroyer school.

        

               

The 756th was an independent tank battalion, which meant that it could be assigned to any division, depending on the need. The Battalion did not participate in the Sicily landings or the subsequent capture of that Island. Instead it spent its time in North Africa training with their new M4 Sherman tanks.

The first combat commitment of Company B and Lt. Orient's 3rd Platoon was during the Invasion of Southern Italy, at Paestum, on September 17. The entire Battalion was attached to the 45th Infantry Division. It aided in the breakout from the Salerno Beachhead and the advance to the Volturno Line, the first in a series of German prepared defensive positions on the route up the Italian mainland.

On October 1, the Battalion was attached to the 30th Division and participated in the advance north along the Volturno River to the German Barbara Line. The Battalion then reverted back to VI Corps control and was involved in support of several different units, through December 15, on the march north to the formidable German Gustav Line, located along the Rapido River near the town of Cassino.

After a short period of rest and reorganization the 756th Battalion was back on the line supporting the 34th Division on the first and second attempts at crossing the Rapido River, the second of which, on January 29, 1944, was successful. Lt. Orient and Company B of the 756th Battalion was the first Allied unit into Cassino. The Battalion continued in close support of the 34th Division until February 22, when it was relieved after having suffered heavy casualties in personnel and tanks.

M4 Sherman advances during the Battle of Cassino
An M4 Sherman tank advances near the Rapido River during the Battle of Casino.

Among the casualties during the Second Battle of Casino was Lt. Andrew Orient, who was wounded and taken to a rear area hospital. He was then sent back to the States to recover at his home at 603 Fordham Avenue with his wife Agnes. His stateside leave lasted until the end of June, when he was fully recovered and ready to return to his men in B Company.

On July 1, when Lt. Orient made it back to the 756th Battalion, the unit was in Qualino, near Naples, attached to the 3rd Division and training for the upcoming Invasion of Southern France. He had some catching up to do. During his absence, the men of his platoon had been involved in some historic events.

He was told about the final breakthrough at Cassino and the Battalion's race toward Rome. Then attached to the 88th Division, the tanks of the 756th passed through the ancient Roman capital and continued north, chasing the retreating German Army to the Trasimeno Line. They were relieved on June 10 and, after a much-needed week of leave in Southern Italy, attached to the 3rd Division at Qualino.

The men of Company B were glad to have Lt. Orient back with the unit. Over the time since they had first landed in Africa, as their lieutenant, he was admired for his combat leadership, fairness, and kind personality. Lt. Orient was an officer who always put the needs of his men first. They would need him more than ever during their next big battle.

Company B tanks being offloaded during Operation Dragoon    Tankers of Company B guarding German prisoners - Aug 15, 1944
DD Tanks of B Company being offloaded (left) and tankers of Lt. Orient's 3rd Platoon/B Company stand watch
as German prisoners are rounded up by the 15th Infantry Regiment and marched back to the beach.

Operation Dragoon, the Invasion of Southern France, began on August 15. Two companies, including Lt. Orient's B Company, of the 756th Battalion, were equipped with the modified Amphibious DD (Dual-Drive) Tanks. The 3rd Division landed at Yellow Beach, between Cavalaire and St. Tropez. Company B, with it's DD tanks, landed near St. Tropez and were instrumental in securing that landing area from the determined German coastal defenders. For his actions on that day, Lt. Andrew D. Orient was awarded the Bronze Star.

Only one depleted regiment of the German 11th Panzer Division and a few weakened Divisions of Volksdeutsche from Poland and Czechoslovakia, Ostlegionen and Ost Bataillone, equipped with outdated equipment, were in Southern France to oppose the invasion. Their feeble counterattacks on the first two days of the operation were quickly replused and they were forced to retreat north along the Rhone River.

The 3rd Division and the 756th Battalion gave chase along the river valley. It was near the town of Avignon on August 25 that Lt. Andrew D. Orient was killed. He was "buttoning up" his tank during a German artillery barrage, pulling shut the door halves of his turret hatch, when an airburst showered his M4 with hot metal. One piece slipped through near the hatch and struck him in the side of the head. He died instantly. His platoon was in a state of shock when they learned of his death.

Back home in Brookline, Andrew's wife Agnes learned of her husband's death in late-September, 1944. A requiem high mass was sung in his honor at St. Agatha's Church in Bridgeville on September 28. News of his passing was published in the Pittsburgh Presst on November 11. By then a Gold Star had hung in the window of Agnes Orient's Fordham Avenue home for over a month.

The 756th Tank Battalion and POlatoon 3,B Company continued on after the death of Lt. Andrew Orient. As part of the 3rd Division the tankers chased the Germans all the way to the Rhine River. Its hardest fight came during the Colmar Pocket battle in January 1945, in which accurate enemy panzerfaust, bazooka and tank destroyer fire accounted for much of its armor. The Battalion, in turn, exacted a heavy toll in enemy armor and personnel.

The 756th Battalion and its DD tanks participated in the amphibious crossing of the Rhine River on March 26, and then pushed into southern Germany with the 3rd Division. The Battalion ended the war near Salzburg, in Austria.

Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial

2nd Lt. Andrew D. Orient is interred in the Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial,
Draguignan, France. His body is buried in Plot B, Row 6, Grave 21.

Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial

* Written by Clint Burton: April 14, 2018 *




The Brookline War Memorial

The Brookline Veteran's Memorial.

Listed below are many of the sons of Brookline who gave their
lives to preserve freedom and contain aggression during
World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
General George S. Patton
 

United States Army (1775-present)  United States Army Air Services (1917-1947)  United States Navy (1775-present)  United States Marine Corps (1775-present)
United States Coast Guards (1790-present)  United States Air Force (1947-present)  United States Merchant Marine (1775-present)

World War I (1917-1919)

Percy Digby

Digby, David P.
Mayville Avenue
Army

Details

Raymond P. Cronin

Cronin, Raymond P.
Berkshire Avenue
USMC

Details

Charles Luppe

Luppe, Charles
Ferncliffe Avenue
Army

Details

WW1 Memorial - Washington D.C.
The World War I Memorial - Washington D.C.

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World War II (1941-1945)


Alm, William H.
Pioneer Avenue
Army

Details


Arensberg, Roy T.
Fernhill Avenue
Army

Details


Bracey, Bruce H.
Plainview Avenue
Army

Details


Brickley, Edward G.
Woodward Avenue
Army

Details


Capogreca, James J.
Merrick Avenue
Navy

Details


Copeland, Clarence R.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy

Details


Cullison, Thomas J.
Birtley Avenue
Army

Details


Dempsey, Howard F.
Berkshire Avenue
Army

Details


Dempsey, Walter F.
Milan Avenue
Navy

Details


Diegelman, Edward R. Jr
Norwich Avenue
Army

Details


Dornetto, Frank P.
Jacob Street
Navy

Details


Doyle, John F Jr.
Eben Street
Navy

Details


Fagan, Gerald B.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army

Details


Falk, Harold E.
Pioneer Avenue
Army

Details


Fehring, Robert M.
Fernhill Avenue
Army

Details


Gmuca, Joseph J.
Brookline Boulevard
Army

Details


Heil, Robert F.
Bayridge Avenue
Army

Details


Hynes, Richard E.
Waddington Avenue
Army

Details


Kestler, Paul C.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy

Details


Ketters, Robert C.
Berkshire Avenue
Army

Details


Mahoney, Michael J.
Oakridge Street
Army

Details


Majestic, Arthur B.
Starkamp Avenue
Army

Details


Mayberry, Alexander G.
Breining Street
Army

Details


Mazza, John
Alwyn Street
Army

Details


McCann, Robert F.
Edgebrook Avenue
Navy

Details


McFarland, Hugh R.
McNeilly Road
Army

Details


Meisner, Walter F.
Berwin Avenue
Merchant Marine

Details


Miller, William J.
Norwich Avenue
Army

Details


Napier, Edward J.
Brookline Boulevard
Army

Details


Nicholson, John D.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army

Details


O'Day, John R.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy

Details


Orient, Andrew D.
Fordham Avenue
Army

Details


Pisiecki, Raymond A.
Wolford Avenue
Army

Details


Reeves, Alfred M.
Brookline Boulevard
Army

Details


Reitmeyer, John P.
Bellaire Avenue
Navy

Details


Rhing, Vern M.
Norwich Avenue
Army

Details


Ruane, Roy J.
Berkshire Avenue
USMC

Details


Shannon, Harry C.
Midland Street
Army

Details


Shannon, Jack E.
Midland Street
USMC

Details


Simpson, James D.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army

Details


Spack, Harry
Linial Avenue
Army

Details


Tobin, Paul M.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army

Details


Vierling, Howard F.
Fordham Avenue
Army

Details


Wagner, Ralph G.
Shawhan Avenue
Army

Details


Wentz, Walter L. Jr
Woodbourne Avenue
Army

Details


Zeiler, Harold V.
West Liberty Avenue
Army

Details


WW2 Memorial - Washington D.C.
The World War II Memorial - Washington D.C.

<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>

Korean War (1950-1953)

Patrick Gallagher

Gallagher, Patrick J.
Bodkin Street
Army

Details

James Gormley

Gormley, James W.
Brookline Boulevard
Army

Details

Gerald Hilliard

Hilliard, Gerald G.
Edgebrook Avenue
Army

Details

James McKenna

McKenna, James E.
Bellaire Place
Army

Details

Korean War Memorial - Washington D.C.
Korean War Memorial - Washington D.C.

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Vietnam War (1965-1973)

James Robert Bodish

Bodish, James R.
Plainview Avenue
Army

Virtual Wall
Additional Details

James Gilbert Collins

Collins, James G.
Dunster Street
Army

Virtual Wall
Additional Details

James Charles Wonn

Wonn, James C.
Mayville Avenue
Navy

Virtual Wall
Additional Details

Vietnam War Memorial - Washington D.C.
Vietnam War Memorial - Washington D.C.




The Brookline Monument - The Cannon

Brookline Veteran's Park - April 26, 2014.

<Brookline War Memorial> <> <Brookline History>