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Sgfs. Swank Reunited at ShanksCmp shank*, N. Y.—When the th Infantry was shipped overseas. M/Sgt Galan W. Swank, a veteran of 23 years' service with that outfit, including overseas duty during the first World War. was left behind because he was considered too old for combat duty.However, he had the consolation of knowing that the family name was represented with his old outfit. His son, S/Sgt. Marcell Swank, who had joined the th as soon as he was 16. was among those who went over. Now. after 26 months of duty in England. Ireland, North Africa. Sicily and Italy, during which time he transferred from the th to the Rangers. S/Sgt. Swank recently rejoined his. father here.The younger Swank participated in three D Days—North Africa, Sicily and Italy—but of all the action he saw he says the Dieppe raid, in which the Rangers collaborated with the Canadians. was the most terrifying. For that reason itis probable he'll never forget Aug. 19. 1942.We were ashore nine hours; says Swank, and it was the bloodiest fighting I’ve ever seen. Of the 5.000 men participating in the raid there were 3.300 killed, wounded or captured. I received a shrapnel wound in the right forearm.”Returning to the beach Swank found his boat so filled with wounded that he swam out to another and was pulled aboard by a Canadian lieutenant. They were bo.nbed and strafed all the way to a destroyer anchored in the channel. There Quentin Reynolds interviewed him right after he climbed aboard and the interview was later incorporated in Reynolds' book. Dress Rehearsal.”I knew nothing could happen to me.” said the younger Swank. ”1 had a mascot with me—a Bible my father carried in the last war. He never got hurt, and so when I left this country he gave it to me.”
Newspaper Details
Yank
New York, New York, US
Fri, Sep 15, 1944
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Julie B.
ME, USA 17 Nov 2017
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