239923 S/Sgt. Melvin Howard "Dutch" Lachelt Bronze StarUnited States Army 3rd Btn., G Coy. 320th Infantry Regiment from:Glenwood, MN My dad, Melvin Lachelt, entered the Army, but would have rather joined the Marines. He would laugh and say he never was in the Army, because he was at the rear of a large group of men being inducted, he did not raise his right arm when the induction ceremony was held.
He did his basic training at Camp Wolters, TX. He was deployed to San Luis Obispo and then redeployed to the east coast for training in preparation for moving oversees. He also trained in England near Exeter, and moved with the 35th Infantry Division, 320th Infantry Regiment to Normandy about 3rd of July 1944.
He marched to St. Lo and took part in the battle to liberate St. Lo. He became part of Patton's 3rd Army and started the sweep around Paris. They passed through Pithiviers and Chateaudun. He witnessed female collaborators having their heads shaved in Chateaudun. They moved to the Moselle river region, between Nancy and Metz. My dad fought and was wounded on 31st October 1944 in the battle near Foret de Gremecey. He remembers the awful tree bursts of artillery that showered wood splinters down on soldiers. He ended the war near Le Havre recuperating from wounds. When he left the line there were only four men left from the original group that landed in Normandy.
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