259^th Infantry Regiment

The 259th Infantry Regiment was activated at Camp Shelby on August 16, 1943, as part of the 65th Infantry Division and reached France on January 21, 1945. After several weeks of training and movement, the division relieved the 26th Infantry Division in the Saarlautern bridgehead on March 9. The 259th entered combat in a compressed but difficult setting: a restricted bridgehead along the Saar, German West Wall positions nearby, and Third Army preparing to break open the Saar-Palatinate. Diversionary attacks began on March 13, and by March 18 the division was committed to the breakout.

The regiment's first major identified action came on March 19, when it captured Fraulautern and Ensdorf as the 260th cleared Saarlautern and the 261st expanded the fight toward Dillingen and Saarwellingen. During this fighting Pfc. Frederick C. Murphy, an aidman in the 259th, was killed while continuing to treat wounded men and received the Medal of Honor posthumously. With the bridgehead opened, the division pushed through the West Wall and captured Neunkirchen on March 21, then briefly assembled for rehabilitation while Third Army's pursuit carried the front toward the Rhine.

After the Rhine crossing, the 259th advanced with the division behind armored spearheads through central Germany. The division crossed the Fulda in early April, moved through the Berka-Waltershausen-Arnstadt area, and reassembled at Bamberg for the next drive. On April 18 the 259th and 260th attacked toward Altdorf; Neumarkt fell after a hard fight on April 23. The regiment then joined the drive across the Danube and into Bavaria. In the final Austrian phase, forward elements reached the Inn south of Neuhaus while the division moved through Passau, Linz, and the Enns line, where contact with Soviet forces ended the campaign.