A friend of a family member has requested our assistance to possibly learn more about the ETO service of his great uncle, T/5 Ruby A. McKinney. A Fold3 search indicates that T/5 McKinney served in the 86th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Armored Division and was killed in action on August 5, 1944. He is buried in the Brittany American Cemetery near St. James, France. From an Internet search I was able to locate and download Combat History of the 6th Armored Division in the ETO. This document is primarily a compilation of material obtained from After-Action Reports prepared by the G-3 Section of the 6th AD. See link below. http://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/41/ The 6th AD landed on Utah Beach on July 18, 1944 and was initially tasked with taking the high ground NW of Coutances (located to the west of Saint Lo). On August 1st, the 6th AD was directed to drive down the Brittany Peninsula and capture the port of Brest. On the date of T/5 McKinney’s death, August 5th, the 6th AD was quickly pushing west and operating in the general vicinity of Huelgoat. Family members have stories of T/5 McKinney being horribly killed in an action related to the taking of a bridge, but they do not have many details beyond that. While the activities of the 86th CRS are mentioned in general terms several times in the referenced document, understandably there isn’t much small unit detail in a 182-page book attempting to document the entire division’s 10 months of action in the ETO. I am going to check other reference documents, but if anyone can share additional information about the activity of the 86th CRS during the period of July 18-August 5, 1944, especially August 5th, that would be appreciated. Thanks, Kevin
Hi Kevin, I count five river bridges on the eastern approaches to the town on Google Maps here. West to east, and not counting the one in the town, there are 'street views for only two: Pont Rouge Bridge B The westernmost, named on IGN maps as 'Pont Rouge', looks to be a particularly difficult prospect with the S bend and the high ground on the western side. Bridge B seems to span a small river or stream named 'Dour Yvonnic' and the ground is much more open and flat. I wonder how Pont Rouge acquired its name! Regards, Pat
Hi Kevin, I searched the doc for your referenced location and date. I copied both the 4th and 5th of Aug. " 4 August 1944 During the morning CCA. under the mission described above, reorganized and advanced northeast, reaching the vicinity of BROONS by noon when it was halted on Div order. The Army Commander arrived at the Div CP shortly before noon and directed that the advance on BREST be resumed at once. CCA (Taylor): Temporary organization untill200 4 Aug was: 9th Armd Inf Bn 83d Armd FA Bn 15th Tk Bn Co B 25th Armd Engr Bn 212th Armd FA Bn Rcn and A Cos 603d TD Bn Btry A 777th AAA Bn The Command proceeded north to JOUAN de L'ISLE. While orders were being issued to attack a reported strong force of enemy tanks and infantry near BROONS and while waiting for newly attached troops to arrive, the Combat Command was ordered to resume the mission of advancing on BREST with its original composition. Earlier in the day the Rcn Co of the 603d TD Bn liberated a B-24 crew of 6 officers and 8 enlisted men who had been prisoners of the Germans. CCA with its original troops resumed its advance to the west. It was forced to cross the BLANET CANAL north of PONTIVY because of a blown bridge at the latter point. CCB (Read): Resumed the march on BREST but was delayed by a blown bridge and mined fords at LOUDEAC. At 1800 the march was continued west of CARHAIX. It was halted at 050230 in march formation with the head of the column in the vicinity of LE MOUSTOIR. The Command was re-gassed at this time and resumed the march at dawn. Res Comd (Hanson): Followed CCB. 5 August 1944 Based on information from F.F.I., it was learned that CARHAIX was held by a German force of about 2,000 paratroopers who had destroyed all local bridges and were prepared to defend themselves in the city. Therefore, the Div Comdr ordered both columns to by-pass CARHAIX-CCB to the east and north; CCA to the south and west. This city was evacuated by the Germans two days later, after the Div had passed it. Then enemy withdrew west and reached BREST by way of the CROZON PENINSULA. CCA (Taylor): Having stopped early in the morning for maintenance, the Command resumed the march at 0800, turned north at GOURIN, and on Div orders by-passed CARHAIX to the south and west. The column continued toward HUELGOAT via LANDELEAU and PLOUVE. HUELGOAT and the woods to the north and east were held by a German force of about 500 men, only a few of whom were in the city when the Rcn Tr at the head of the column reached it. After a brief skirmish, leading elements pushed through the town and turned west where they ran into an enemy position including a battery of artillery. Between the time that the Rcn Tr passed through the town and the time the advance guard arrived, a considerable German force moved back into HUELGOAT from the woods to the northeast. In a stiff fight infantry, tanks and artillery of the advance guard were employed to clear the town. During the evening, the Command passed through and halted for the night in the vicinity of KERBRANN. Unknown to CCA. the Res Comd, approaching HUELGOAT on another route from the southeast, encountered the same group of enemy in the woods and defile east of town. CCB (Read): With orders to by-pass CARHAIX, the Command began reconnaissance for a suitable route. The march was resumed at 0830, passing east and north of CARHAIX. Enemy resistance was encountered east of LE CLOITRE at 1215 but it was reduced without difficulty. The Command lost several small vehicles but resumed the march at 1440. Information gained from prisoners disclosed that they were leading elements of the 85lst Inf Regt, .343d In£ Div marching east to ST BRIEUC. The advance guard made contact again on reaching LE CLOITRE and received light artillery and heavy mortar and machine gun fire. Since resistance could not be cleared prior to darkness, the Command was ordered to assemble near LE CLOITRE. Res Comd (Hanson): Resumed the westward march on BREST at 1404 from the vicinity of GOUAREC. At 1451 Div Hq (forward) was positioqed in column and the march continued. At 1652 the * 68 * advance guard reported that they had made contact with the enemy in the vicinity of POULLAOUEN. After this resistance was rapidly overcome, the march continued towards HUELGOAT which switched the column from the rear of CCB to the rear of CCA. The route from POULLAOUEN through HUELGOAT was a defile and when advance elements reached the vicinity of the HUELGOAT WOODS, considerable small arms and mortar fire was received from enemy estimated at 200. The advance guard commander immediately employed the leading tank element and the 105mm assault gun platoon. The infantry company in the advance guard was deployed on the right flank. The entire highway along HUELGOAT WOODS was heavily mined." In the facts section of the doc it say that 86th Cav Recon Sq was lead by Lt Col Albert E. Harris for the time in question. The document lists for the time from 1st Aug to the 17th Aug the 595th Amb Co in the Medics section.
Hans and Pat, thank you for posting the thorough summary from the reference document and the Google Map links. From the summary above, it is clear that the 6th AD’s movement towards Brest was fast moving, advancing well over 50 miles from the previous day. The division columns passed through numerous towns on August 5th, so I’m not certain that Huelgoat is the one of interest. However, the summary does indicate that there was a significant amount of interaction with German forces in the vicinity of Huelgoat that day, so that town is the best starting point for now. Hopefully, there is a more detailed accounting of the 86th CRS’s activity out there somewhere. I’ve also asked the family again if they can recall any additional details about T/5 McKinney’s service. According to the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) website, as a great nephew, the family member I’m working with doesn’t qualify for the headstone photograph service provided by the ABMC. It is a bit of a drive from the Normandy beaches to the Brittany American Cemetery near St James (about 70 miles/120 km), but if any resident Forum member is ever in the area and has the opportunity to take a picture of T/5 McKinney’s headstone, that would be greatly appreciated by the family. Just send the picture to me and I’ll forward it on. (T/5 McKinney’s burial site at the Brittany American Cemetery: Plot I, Row 12, Grave 6.) Thanks, Kevin
Hi Kevin, Your request for a photograph of T/5 Ruby A. McKinney's marker at St James has me wondering if we might integrate some form of 'Marker Photograph Request' section into the Forum's front page. Members could then post appeals for marker photos therein :idea: ... What do you guys think? Regards, Pat
Pat, Great idea! Such a section would provide for a central collection point for requests, making them easier to track and ultimately report as fulfilled. R/Kevin
Thanks Guys, Its up and running here. The link in the table should bring the user back to Kevin's post #4 in this thread. Let me have any suggestions for improvements or additions. Regards, Pat
Hi Kevin, I found under the link paisted below a more detailed account of what happened on 5th August " Heavily defended Carhaix was bypassed for alternate routes by CCA to the south and west and CCB to the north and east with the squadron starting route reconnaissance at dawn on August 5. 1st Lt. Alton L. House of Troop C was leading his platoon's scout section on a reconnaissance mission when he encountered a gun emplacement at a roadblock where three tanks had already been destroyed. He was killed leading his section into enemy fire in an attempt to reduce the obstacles. Capt. Roodman, Lt. Grossman and Lt. House all were awarded Silver Stars posthumously for their aggressiveness and leadership. Meanwhile, Troop A was given a mission of reconnoitering south and east of Le Cloitre and the squadron bivouacked in the vicinity of Le Cloitre for the night after marching 75 miles over a two-day period. Troop D, reconnoitering ahead of CCA, ran into heavy resistance five miles west of Chateauneuf and was forced to withdraw through Gorin after losing two officers and 21 enlisted men. A message received by squadron at 2205 reported the troop out of contact with CCA and requested squadron location. Killed in action in Chateauneuf were T5 Ruby A. McKinney, T5 Anthony J. Pilipaic, T5 Paul D. Shaver, T5 Stanley L. Turner, Cpl. Martin J. Clark, T5 Donald D. Roehm, Cpl. Dwight L. Neff, Cpl. Edward J. Powers, Cpl. Harold R. Yoder, Pvt. Chester Galloway, Pvt. John N. Hall of Troop D and Pvt. Hoyt A Cannon of Troop E. They later were honored with a memorial at Chateauneuf-du-Faou. On August 6 Troop D moved toward Huelgoat in an attempt to contact CCA. Resupply was accomplished through the FFI and when the rear guard of CCA was contacted four kilometers west of Huelgoat the troop was assigned rear guard duties for CCA trains. Meanwhile, Troops B and C performed route reconnaissance between Landiesian and Plouvourin and Troop A was assigned to a roadblock at Pleyber Christ." http://www.super6th.org/86th_cav/brittany.htm
Great work Hans, Following on from your link, it appears that T/5 Ruby McKinney was killed in an ambush when his unit returned to Chateauneuf de Faou. Apparently a small force of Germans opened fire from below the Chapel Notre Dame des Portes in the town. Regards, Pat
Again, my thanks to Hans and Pat. An Internet search for information on the memorial, directed me to the American War Memorials Overseas, Inc, website which provided a detailed summary of the action related to the death of T/5 Ruby McKinney. The following is posted on a granite pedestal at the memorial site on the place du marché near the Chapel Notre Dame des Portes in Chateauneuf de Faou. The Liberation of Chateauneuf de Faou On Sunday, July 30th 1944, the Royal Air Force bombed the "Château de Trévarez", used as a rest center for German and Japanese submarine crews based at the harbors of Brest and Lorient. The following week, the French resistance undertook several actions against the Germans who then retaliated by killing numberous civilians in the course of their retreat. Finally, on 5 August, the 86th Reconnaissance Squadron of the 6th US Armored Division entered Chateauneuf du Faou by the Pont du Roy. There was in immediate outbreak of joy in the streets of the town as the people showed their immense gratitude to their liberators. Unfortunately, this joy was short-lived. After the departure of the American squadron, four German soldiers on motorcycles made their way through the crowd and went to the Pont du Roy. They had observed the comings and goings of an American dispatch driver who was behind the armored division. From the bridge, they fired on the American and hurt him seriously, thus depriving our liberators of their liaison officer. Meanwhile, the US division had left the town and was fighting against the Germans three kilometers north, on the road to Châteaulin. They then decided to come back to Chateauneuf du Faou, not knowing that the enemy was lying in ambush below the Chapel Notre Dame des Portes, which offers a magnificent vantage point. From this high position, the Germans attacked the last of the American vehicles with grenades and machineguns, easily succeeding, on the sharp bend, in isolating them from the rest of the division. The Americans who had crossed the bridge were powerless to stop the slaughter of their comrades. Twelve American soldiers lost their lives in this fight for the liberation of Chateauneuf du Faou. On the occaision of the 50th anniversary of its liberation, August 6th 1944, the town of Chateauneuf du Faou, which holds the "Croix du Guerre" for its resistance during the war, erected this memorial in honor of those Americans who died on its soil. A group of American veterans, some of who had fought in the battle for Chateauneuf du Foau in 1944, were present for the unveiling ceremony. http://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=50&MemID=89 (This site might serve as a good reference source for other research.) Below is an overview of the area described above. From Google Earth Looking east from the center of Chateauneuf du Foau, memorial site is on the right, chapel on the left.] From Google Earth Close-up view of the The Liberation of Chateauneuf de Faou Memorial. Red arrow points to name of T/5 McKinney. "Châteauneuf-du-faou 2 Stèle commémorant les soldats amééricains décédés lors de la libération de la ville." by Moreau.henri - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – Below is a view from the Chapel Notre Dame des Portes looking down on the Pont du Roy bridge (bridge on left). This is the German vantage point mentioned in the memorial citation.[IMG=850x532]http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q565/kgmccarthy1/Bridge%20Overview.jpg[/IMG] From Google Earth View below the Chapel Notre Dame des Portes on the Place du Marché looking east. Pont du Roy Bridge is in the center and the road rising to the left leads to the “sharp bend” mentioned in the citation. [IMG=850x532]http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q565/kgmccarthy1/Bridge%20Bend.jpg[/IMG] From Google Earth The description of the activities of elements of the 86th CRS provided in the memorial citation above and details provided by T/5 McKinney’s family that describe his death as taking place in an action on a bridge points to the possibility that T/5 McKinney may have been killed in action in the ambush that took place in the area shown in the photograph above. Any corrections or anything to add? R/ Kevin Edited by Pat to reduce last two images to 850 pixels wide.
Hi Kevin, your account is what I also saw frequently cited in various articles. So I think this could be the location. I have come accross this map of the 6th AD quest to Brest. Chateauneuf is west but close of the CCA path, for which the 86th recon was operating. For ref. Next I have found this account from Rene Galand": Memoirs: The War Years". Here he writes: "On August 5, I was among the first from my group to meet the first Americans: two soldiers in a reconnaissance jeep, a driver and a machine-gunner, soon followed by other advance elements. A few miles further, they met with stiff German resistance: a couple of jeeps were destroyed by hand grenades, and one tank disabled by a panzerfaust . I saw a jeep returning with a wounded soldier: he was unconscious, he had been shot through the chest. We directed the driver to a doctor in a town nearby. The Americans did manage to push through, but they had lost eight men. One of our groups also managed to destroy a German light armored car, what they called a Spähwagen. By the end of that day, my hometown (aka Chateauneuf du Faou) was completed liberated." Also I found this one:JEDBURGHS: combat operations conducted in the Finistere region of Brittany, France from July-September 1944 from Elliot J. Rosner, his Master Thesis on militray history. See page 46/47. "On 5 August members of the 86th Reconnaissance Squadron (US) approached the CP in two Jeeps. Meanwhile, their main column had been ambushed by the Germans." In these 2 docs I found no mention about a ambush in respect to a bridge. What is mentioned is the libration of Chateauneuf du Faou on the 5th of August. The thesis is from 1990 so maybe a good try to contact Elliot Rosner directly. I will check in the doc reference list if more details can be surfaced.
Hi Kevin, here is more supporting info around the liberation of Chateauneuf-du-Faou (C-d-F). The division map shows Chateauneuf-du-Faou was on the boundaries for CCA's path towards Brest. The map is from the 'Combat history of the 6th Armored Division'. The french Wiki for C-d-F has also new details. Several villages are mentioned as places for severe fighting: Kervarziou, de Penn Broëz & de Magorven at C-d-F. They are north west of C-d-F. The article mentioned several farm houses were set on fire ('plusieurs fermes furent incendiées). I have placed the names of the villages on GE. In the super6th.org it is written 'Troop D, reconnoitering ahead of CCA, ran into heavy resistance five miles west of Chateauneuf and was forced to withdraw through Go(u)rin'. Rene Galand writes the same in his 'Memoirs of the War Years'. The 86th Cavalry Reconn had to withdraw through C-d-F to reach Gourin southeast of C-d-F. This was most likely done on the RN 787, which at that time was going through C-d-F directly. See the 2 IGN covers. The 1st from 1929 and & the 2nd from 1948. Image credit is IGN. . This all supports that T/5 Ruby A. McKinney, 86th Cavalry Reconn Squadron, 6th Armored Division was KiA during the liberation of Chateauneuf-du-Faou. Here is a link to a picture mentioned in the division history showing a reconn troop of the 86th reconn squardon later in September. "A published picture of the historic linkup (Page 118, "The Super Sixth") shows Troop B's Sgt. Louis Basil and his French counterpart reaching across their armored cars to shake hands with 2nd Lt. Vernon Hill, Cpl. Edgar Ellis and Cpl. Carl Newman looking on."
Hi Hans, I assumed the downstream bridge was a new, post war addition, but now I see from your aerial cover that there were two bridges during 1944. Thanks for posting the aerial extracts. Regards, Pat
Photograph of T/5 Ruby A. McKinney. Date/location unknown (at least for now). With permission of the McKinney Family. R/ Kevin
On behalf of the family of T/5 Ruby McKinney, I would like to thank Kevin (“Blainville50”) and his friend in France for their efforts to so quickly obtain this grave marker photograph. Grave marker of T/5 Ruby McKinney Brittany American Cemetery, Saint-James, France Again, my thanks. R/ Kevin
Hi Kevin, All, I have continued searching for more information pertaining T/5 Ruby A. McKinney and found a youtube video of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Chateauneuf-du-Faou (CdF) from 1994. In this video a resistance veteran is interviewed and vintage pictures are shown. Veterans from the 86th Recon Cavalry Mechz are interviewed as well. The link to the video is here: link The vintage pictures were taking while the 86th Recon Cavalry Mechz were celebrated by a crowed liberating the village of CdF and in addition 2 pictures from destroyed vehicles. A jeep and maybe a AMM8 or Halftrack are visible. In the account from the resistance veteran 2 places or views are shown which I could confirm with Google Street View as being the Place de Resistance and the Rue de Mairie in CdF. Especially the Rue de Mairie is the location shown while liberating the village. One vintage picture shows a AMM8 with the number D-21. From the SuperSix web page (link)we know T/5 Ruby A. McKinney was in the D Squad. 1994 Place de Resistance (Veteran's account) 2011 Google Street View 1994 Rue de Mairie (Veteran's account) 1944 Rue de Mairie AMM8
Hi Kevin, All, I have continued searching for more information pertaining T/5 Ruby A. McKinney and found a youtube video of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Chateauneuf-du-Faou (CdF) from 1994. In this video a resistance veteran is interviewed and vintage pictures are shown. Veterans from the 86th Recon Cavalry Mechz are interviewed as well. The link to the video is here: link The vintage pictures were shot while the 86th Recon Cavalry Mechz were celebrated by a crowd liberating the village of CdF. The clip shows in addition 2 pictures from destroyed vehicles. A jeep and maybe a AMM8 or Halftrack are visible. In the account from the resistance veteran 2 places are shown which I could confirm with Google Street View as being the Place de Resistance and the Rue de Mairie in CdF. Especially the Rue de Mairie is the location shown while liberating the village. One vintage picture shows a AMM8 with the number D-21. From the SuperSix web page (link) we know T/5 Ruby A. McKinney was in the D Squad. 1994 Place de Resistance (Veteran's account) 2011 Google Street View 1994 Rue de Mairie (Veteran's account) 2011 Google Street View 1944 Rue de Mairie AMM8 D21 1944 Rue de Mairie AMM8 1944 Rue de Mairie Jeep 1944 Rue de Mairie Halftrack 1944 Damaged Jeep 1944 Damaged Halftrack(?) On the web page from the 6th Armored Division Honor Roll, 6th Armored Division (link) we see the 86th Recon Cavalry Mechz moving out of the town and taking the same road out being the Rue de Mairie. This connects the location of entering and leaving the village of CdF. The pictures from the damaged vehicles are additional evidences of the ambush the 86th Recon Cavalry Mechz had to suffer on their way to Brest.
Great work Hans, My french is not good enough to understand the linkage in the 1994 video narrative between the Mosquito raid on Chateau de Trevarez and the town of Chateauneuf du Faou. The two locations are close, but is there more to it that just proximity? Thanks Hans, Pat
Hi Pat, the french wiki page for Chateau Trevarez (link) speaks about u-boot men from Germany and Japan stationed in Lorient were using this as a quarter in July 1940. It was picked as a target on 30 July 1944 based on the information of the french resistance but apparently it was not used at times of the attack. IWM has 2 records for Chateau Trevarez as well. (link) "Day attack by De Havilland Mosquito bombers of RAF FPU (Film and Photographic Unit) 21 Squadron on Gestapo headquarters at Château de Trévarez between Brest and Rennes, France. Filmed by on board cameras. Camera plane piloted by Flight Lieutenant Hester DFC." (link) "Still from film shot by the RAF Film Production Unit during a low-level daylight attack by de Havilland Mosquitos of No. 140 Wing on the Chateau de Trevarez, St Goazec, France, which was being used by the Germans as a rest centre for submarine crews. Damage is visible as smoke from exploding bombs envelops the target." I think one or both, a place to rest for u-boat crews and/or the Gestapo headquarter, are the reason for the air raid. At times of the raid the 86th recon cavalry mechz was listed to be close to Granville (link). For me to far away to make a connection between both events.