83rd Infantry Division Documents

Hero

Name	Paul S Thompson
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Army Serial #	O-17537
State	Oklahoma
Date of death	1944-08-10
Plot, Row, Grave	H, 18, 3
Cemetery	Brittany American Cemetery, St. James, France, Google Maps
Role	Batallion commander
Unit	908th Field Artillery Battalion, 83rd Infantry Division
Awards
Remarks	Battle hardened by the bloody Normandy campaign of July 1944, the 908th met its greatest test at La Marchandais, a small farm in Brittany about 10 km south of the seaport cities of St. Malo and Dinard. There, on August 10, 1944, as the 908th fired its 105mm guns directly into the St. Malo fortifications, the battalion was subjected to fierce German counter-battery fire. A German 150mm gun began to probe the Headquarters Battery area. Lt. Col. Thompson was in a small stone building when a German shell struck it. According to Goodridge, the shell entered one wall, and then struck the opposite wall causing the shell to explode on the inside of the building. Thompson was killed. More information can be found on the website of Dave Curry here and on the West Point Alumni website here.

Grave	Soldier