417^th Infantry Regiment

The 417th Infantry Regiment was organized at Fort George G. Meade on June 15, 1942, assigned to the 76th Infantry Division, and trained at A.P. Hill Military Reservation and Camp McCoy. It staged at Camp Myles Standish, departed Boston on November 24, 1944, reached England on December 4, and landed in France on January 11, 1945. The regiment crossed into Belgium on January 22 and Luxembourg on January 25. Attached to the 5th Infantry Division from February 3-11, it opened the 76th Division's combat record during the Sauer crossing near Echternach.

Companies A and B crossed in the first assault wave on February 7 through swollen current, German fire, and repeated boat losses. The regiment cleared pillboxes on the heights northeast of Echternach, absorbed a small tank-infantry counterattack, and held isolated positions while engineers struggled to bridge the river. After reverting to the 76th Division, the 417th helped drive through Echternacherbruck and the West Wall, taking Ernzen by February 14 with the 5th Division. In the late-February advance it reached the Kyll on March 1, then served under the 10th Armored Division from March 4-12 while helping defend the Ruwer River bridgehead.

The regiment later joined the Rhine phase, crossing at Boppard with the 385th on March 26-27 and fighting house to house at Kamberg against determined German officer-candidate forces. In April it relieved the 304th after that regiment attacked Zeitz, taking over the assault on April 14 so the 304th could continue toward Altenburg. Zeitz fell on April 15 after this handoff. The 417th then moved with the division into the Zwickauer Mulde bridgehead near Chemnitz, holding that line until hostilities ended in May.