War Stories: By Eduardo Botello
To Hell and Back: On January 1st
the Germans attacked the 7th U.S. Army
I WAS THERE
Often one remembers things that happened in our lives,
things that change our lives forever. This remembrance I am about to speak of
is one that transformed me from a teenager to an adult.
On May 19, 1943, I celebrated my eighteenth, at which time I registered for the draft.
I was then a junior at Martin High School. Ninety days later I was inducted
at Dodds Field in San Antonio, Texas. I was in the U.S. Army. I was sent to Camp Gruber, Oklahoma for infantry basic training.
Upon completion of my basic training with the 42nd Rainbow Division, I was transferred to the 79th Infantry
Division. The 79th Infantry Division was ready for overseas duty when
I joined them. We left the U.S.A. in March 1944.
We arrived in England 16 days later.
The division did more training in England until we shipped out for France. We
landed in France on June 12, 1944. Immediately we were attached to the 1st
U.S. Army under General Omar Bradley. We went into combat four days later. We engaged the Germans and attacked Cherbourg.
We liberated Cherbourg a few days later. From Cherbourg we attacked east
to St. Lo, Avranches. When we broke out of Normandy, we were transferred to Pattons
3rd U.S. Army. We raced across France for the Germans were on the
run until they stopped on the Moselle River, where they decided to fight again. This
was already the month of September and we were the extreme right flank of the U.S. 3rd Army (Patton). The U.S. seventh Army (Patch) was coming up from the south, after landing in Southern France. After a short time, we were transferred to the U.S. 7th Army while it was attacking east in
the vicinity of Luneville. We liberated Luneville in the latter part of September. After Luneville, we attacked the Forest of Parroy where we had a hard time in dislodging
the Germans.
It was here that I became a casualty on October 13, 1944 after being hit by a mortar shell. I was wounded in my left thigh, right calf, and neck. I was
flown from Southern France to Naples, Italy where I was interned at the 225th Station Hospital. While in the hospital, I was awarded the Purple Heart. This
was in November 2, 1944.
After recovery, I was returned to my unit in December 1944. My unit was
fighting in the vicinity of Strassbourge, France. On January 1, 1945, the Germans
launched an attack on the 7th U.S. Army in our sector. It was here
that on January 16, I was hit again by motor fire in Hagnue, France and I was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster to my Purple Heart.
In the month of February 1945, the 79th Division was transferred to the 9th U.S. Army (General
Simpson) to Holland to train for river crossing. This was the last barrier to
the Rhine River. We crossed it on March 24, 1945 at Walsum, Germany. Around April 4, 1945 in the vicinity of Duisburg, I was blasted by cannon fire from a German tank inside
a building. The concussion was so severe that I was hospitalized in Krefeld,
Germany. A medical board examined and treated me.
The board opted to relieve me from combat duty. This was a month before
the end of the war. I was reclassified from the infantry and sent for reassignment
to Versailles, France. I was in a replacement depot in Verviers, Belgium when
V - E Day came and we celebrated there.
I ended my military overseas service in Berlin, Germany. In November 1945,
I left Berlin for the U.S.A. and arrived in New York on December 20, 1945. On
December 23, 1945 I was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. I had come home
for Christmas in 1945.
This coming May 8, 1995, 50 years later, I will celebrate V-E Day with my beloved wife Carlota P. Botello, sons, Eduardo
Botello Jr., Ruben G. Botello, Carlos D. Botello, daughters, Nydia B. Garcia and Marissa B. Leal and their husbands and my
sons wives. Also my two granddaughters and my three grandsons.
Medals
Mr. Eduardo Botello earned and was awarded the following medals:
Combat Infantry Badge; Bronze Star Medal w/ V, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster; ETO
Campaign Medal w/4 Major Campaign (Normandy, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe); World War II Victory Medal;
German Occupation Ribbon with 1 Bar; Presidential Unit Citation; Expert Shooting Badge (Automatic Rifle) and Sharp Shooter
Badge (M-1 Rifle).
Laredo Morning Times
Wednesday, April 10, 2002
Page 4A
Your Opinion
Reader Reminisces About Boyhood Hero
To the Editor:
A picture of Eduardo Botello in his original U.S. Army uniform, which appeared recently in the Laredo Morning Times,
brought back fond memories of my childhood war hero.
The Botello family lived across the street from our house on Garfield Street.
So, when he came home from the war, badly wounded, it was a great day, not only for his parents, his brothers and sisters,
but for the entire neighborhood.
It was a great day, although we didnt get to see him for several weeks.
We got all the information about his condition from his brothers and sisters (Rosa, Tacho, Olga, Alicia and Benny). We knew he was doing well when he started playing an accordion he had brought back
from Germany. His favorite tune was a song titled Evening Shadows Make Me Blue.
We would all listen from our house because we got a kick when his accordion wouldnt follow the tune and he would start
all over again. The only time we saw him was when his girlfriend would come by
his house, pick him up, and take him for a ride.
That was in 1945. A year or so later, he want back to Martin High School
and received his diploma. Shortly thereafter, he finally recuperated and got
a job with U.S. Customs.
Many years later, after I was named Webb County Veterans Service Officer, he would occasionally drop by my office to
talk about old times. He would stand in front of a picture of the Brandenburg
Gate in Berlin that a friend of mine had taken when I visited the German capital. He
would stare at that picture for the longest time, as if possessed.
And then, he would give me a detailed description of how it was in Berlin after the Russians had completely devastated
the city. During my tenure as service office for 6,500, I never met a prouder
man, and that included pilots, sailors, soldiers, and marines.
We were all proud to have served. They were all proud to have served,
but none prouder than my boyhood hero, Eduardo Botello, simply known as Lalo.
Signed,
Felix Garcia
