2nd Lt. Andrew D. Orient
United States Army (1941-1944)
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.
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.
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.
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.
* Written by Clint Burton:
April 14, 2018 *
The Brookline
War 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
World War I
(1917-1919)
The World War I Memorial -
Washington D.C.
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World War II
(1941-1945)
Alm, William H.
Pioneer Avenue
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The World War II Memorial -
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Korean War
(1950-1953)
Korean War Memorial -
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Vietnam War
(1965-1973)
Vietnam War Memorial -
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