SAN BENE BOYS WERE HEROES IN BLOODY ITALIAN CAMPAIGN

Special to El Rrun-Rrun
It was September 9, 1943 when the original American landings were made in Italy.
Embedded in archives of the Brownsville Herald of 1944 the headlines read, “Salerno Spearheaded by Valleyites.”

The third battalion of the 141th Infantry regiment, 36th
Infantry Division – composed of Texas Guardsmen – of which many were from San Benito’s Company “M,” were the first to set foot on the beaches of Salerno.
This National Guard unit distinguished itself as a hard fighting crew that included Valley boys of which many hailed from San Benito.

The Texas group were engaged without interrupted fire for ten days in hard fighting with other units of the Fifth Army under Gen. Mark W. Clark.
Although the division was withdrawn after causalities mounted and thus reducing its effectiveness, the bravery of the regiment on the battle field was noted and rewarded
with a presidential citation for heroism.

There is no doubt that the San Benito boys were well involved in the attack at Salerno and were certainly not bewildered by the challenge before them.

A Brownville Herald report of March 1944, revealed that the Valley company, a heavy weapons outfit, was included in the force that stormed the beaches at Salerno on September 9, 1943. Other Texans in the group were from San Antonio, Luling, Gonzalez and Waelder.
Gen. P.A. Weatherred, declared then “that the Texas Guardsmen, who were mobilized under his command, should feel highly honored to be permitted to lead the invasion.”

The War Department after making the citation public said,” that the battalion landed in one of the initial assault waves at Salerno, facing a withering artillery machine gun and mortar fire.”
While our boys were facing a barrage of enemy fire, they were still able to throw back a series of enemy counterattacks, including two assaults by Nazi tanks.

Cut off from supplies and reinforcements by the deadly enemy force, the citation said,” “the assault units nevertheless continued their advance against enemy positions while under continual enemy shelling.” The citation added that “only through their courageous performance was the initial divisional objective achieved.

San Benito should be flattered for the significant role and contributions that its home town heroes made in the Allied campaign in Italy, especially at Salerno.
J
ulio was born and raised in San Benito and just like the many of our Valley boys, when called to serve, left the friendly confines of home to face the ugly face of war.
It was not before long that he found himself in the middle of a fierce battle at Monte Casino. Newspaper reports described the battle as one of the longest and bloodiest engagements of the Italian campaign of WW II.

It was here where Pvt. Carpio along with a cherished companion, Pvt. Antonio Falaska of New York City, New York, displayed uncommon valor.

A bulletin from Temple, Texas read as follows: “Julio Carpio of San Benito, anti-tank gunner with the 36th Division, was one of the two soldiers credited with knocking out four German trucks before he was wounded.”

His injuries were serious enough that Carpio, along with many others were eventually transported to McClosky General Hospital in Temple, Texas. The facility had a reputation for having an outstanding orthopedic, amputation and neurosurgery departments.
Carpio, suffered the personal agonies of war as he was wounded twice during his service in the European Theater. His first injury came on December, 15, 1943 and was wounded for second time on February of 26, 1944.

He was awarded the The Purple Heart, The American Defense Service Medal, and the European African Middle Eastern Service Medal.
It was men like Julio Carpio and the many others that served, who were ordinary Americans, that performed extraordinary deeds.