On April 4, 1945 Company E of the 397th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division. was on the road to Neckargartach, near Heilbonn Germany, with the mission to clear the area of enemy resistance. The 398th Regiment had crossed the Neckar River near Neckargartach and had established a beachead that had been counterattacked by heavily armored German forces.Company E was called upon to cross the river and attack the glass factory area where much of the enemy fire was coming from.

Crossing the river in rubber boats, 6 members of company E reached the administration building of the glass factory where they prepared to holdout against a German counterattack. The Germans fired automatic weapons and panzerfausts at the building and used grenades, both fragmentation and incendiary, setting the building on fire. It was soon an inferno and the men of Company E abandoned the building, leaving behind the bodies of six of their dead comrades. These six men were PFC Olan Dabbs, 2/Lt. Peter P. Petracco, Sgt. Earl H. Leland, PFC Harold E. Miller, PFC Jason S. Miller, Jr., and PFC William A. Bresnahan. They were all cremated in the fire. Little was found of them other than their dog tags and their remains were buried in a common grave in France.

The fighting at Neckartgartach and Heilbronn was to be the last major battle of the war for Company E. One month later, Germany surrendered.

Peter P Petracco