Paul E. Gosnell has served his country well. A decorated World War II veteran, Paul served as a cadet in the Army Air Corps and as an Army combat infantryman in Europe.

“At that time Europe was up in the air, Hitler was trying to take over everything, and we didn’t think he should do that,” Paul said. “Defending my country was everything to me, because it was my home, and my future. Everyone was joining at the time, and it was the thing to do. I’ve never regretted it.”

The BCN asked Paul why America is different from other countries, and Paul replied, “America

is my life, and I fought for it. Here we’re free to do as we please, and we have all the opportunities of our choices. Because of being an American I’ve lived a good life. I appreciate our country, and am very blessed.”

Early years

Paul was born on Dec. 30, 1922, and prides himself on being an “Okie from Muskogee.” Although he was a child of the Great Depression, Paul never really felt it, and his childhood was happy. He was raised in the country on an oil lease, and his mother always had a big garden and plenty of chickens. Paul credits his father, Elmer, with teaching him the basics of

mechanics that served him so well. Elmer served in the Army during World War I, but never deployed overseas. Elmer always spoke positively of the Army, so Paul was predisposed that way.

Military Service

According to his son, Wayne Gosnell, Paul joined the 45th Infantry Division of the Oklahoma

National Guard for one year as a high school junior. Because Paul was only 17, his parents

signed papers so he could join. Paul was a mechanic in his division and was glad to go home when the year ended.

Paul worked in the Oklahoma oil fields until his draft notice came. He was assigned to an

Army field artillery division with training in Mississippi, and was asked to test to become a pilot in the Army Air Corps. Paul was one of 90 who passed, and he trained in Mission, Texas for pilot/navigator training on AT-6 trainers. Paul did well there as an airplane mechanic.

Paul went to St Xavier University in Ohio for classroom training, but the class was unexpectedly notified that their flight training was suspended, and all cadets were to return to their original units. This was very disappointing – no pilot wings, no officer rank, no aerial combat against the enemy, no silk scarf.

Paul was assigned to an infantry regiment, and shipped out for Europe after six months of training in Mississippi. Paul’s division, the newly formed 75th Infantry, landed at the Port of

LeHavre in Europe on Dec. 13, 1944. The division participated in three major campaigns: Battle of the Bulge, Battle of the Colmar Pocket, and Battle of the Ruhr.

European Theatre

When asked about the European Theatre Paul said, “It wasn’t very nice and not the place to be.” Throughout the war Paul served in the 291st Regimental Combat Team’s Reconnaissance and Intelligence Platoon. Because their job was to go out in front of the lines and locate the enemy with orders to advance until shot at, this was usually done at night.

The Battle of the Bulge was Paul’s first combat mission. The attack was unexpected when the Germans mustered a surprise attack from the East that ripped through the American lines. Instead of being in charge of five miles of front the 106th Infantry Division from Puerto Rico was spread out over 26 miles. The division was decimated by the fast-moving Nazi forces.

“That division had been overrun by the advancing Germans and as the American soldiers were running for their lives, we stepped in to fill the gap and pushed the Germans back,”

Paul said. Paul’s initial platoon leader was lost, as well as Paul’s best friend. The men were in their jeeps talking when a German shell landed near them, and Paul was lucky to survive.

Of the Battle of the Bulge Paul says, “I hate to even remember it, it was bad. We had a lot of ice and snow and cold and freezing, just misery.” Paul choked up as he added, “I have trouble even talking about it. I was on the front for a long time. I can’t even remember how long that was.”

Paul told the BCN about the Battle of the Ruhr where the division fought its way through the

bombed out terrain of Nazi Germany’s industrial heartland. “It was just total devastation,” he

added.

Return to Europe and Colmar Pocket

In1989, Paul and wife Sybil visited Wayne, where Wayne served as an Army colonel at the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, and Europe in Mons, Belgium. With the help of a small book of memories Sybil had kept from the war, Wayne obtained some large-scale maps from the military map depot and mapped out the 75th Infantry Division’s axis of advance through the Battle of the Bulge, the Battle of The Colmar Pocket, and the Battle of the Ruhr. Paul, Sybil, and Wayne drove this route for two weeks, stopping at places of particular importance to Paul.

In small villages, people stopped Paul on the street because they recognized that he was probably an American soldier from World War II, shaking his hand vigorously and thanking him. Paul teared up when he visited the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg, where rows of white crosses marked the cost of the battle.

Of the day Paul located the site of his personal role of the Battle of the Colmar Pocket, Wayne recounts, “There I was, driving our new Saab sedan in southern France on a wonderful spring day with Dad and Mom at my side, Mom smiling at all she saw. We were driving through a beautiful forest just southwest of the small village of Wolfgantzan in Alsace-Lorraine, west of the Rhine River. We were on a mission as we had literally snuck through an unlocked gate into the forest in search of a very special place etched into Dad’s

memory by events that had taken place in the ditch along this very road 44 years earlier.”

“Dad suddenly said, “’Stop, here.’” He got out of the car and I tried to keep up with him as he strode confidently into the woods. We stopped in front of an old, dilapidated concrete structure almost covered in vines with a single door, no windows, and quite small. “’This is

it,’” he said. “’This is where we were that night.’”

Colmar Pocket Campaign and Decoration for Valor

“That night” was in February 1945. Technical Corporal Paul E. Gosnell, age 23, was a combat infantryman in the 75th Infantry Division. Corporal Gosnell was a jeep driver for his platoon leader, a lieutenant in the Reconnaissance and Intelligence Platoon of the 291st Infantry Regiment.

Wayne told the BCN, “The division was ordered to move several hundred miles south in the harshest of winter weather. They were to buttress the French Army that had bogged down

trying to reduce the Colmar Pocket, which was a large area of Alsace-Lorraine on the western side of the Rhine.”

“The French were unable to push the Germans back, and received help from the combat-hardened 75th Infantry Division. The division’s objective was the strategic transportation hub of Neuf-Brisach just west of the river, and the village of Wolfgantzen lay in the way.”

“The attack on Wolfgantzan was dependent on Division artillery softening up Nazi defenses prior to the infantry’s assault the next morning. The effectiveness of the artillery was dependent on reports from the forward observation post. These reports were conveyed over a small communication wire that Dad and his fellow soldiers had placed in the ditch. He manned a forward observation post in the same small concrete building we would revisit 44 years later.”

“When the artillery barrage began, German defenders started counter-battery fire, using their

own artillery to hit the American guns or at least destroy the communications between the

forward observation posts and the American headquarters.”

“The battle raged for hours, and at least three times, the German shells struck the squad’s

communications wire that went back to headquarters. Each time, Corporal Gosnell grabbed

his repair kit and crawled through the snow and mud, under fire, and down the ditch to repair the wire and reestablish communications with headquarters.”

“At dawn they learned the Germans had withdrawn toward Neuf-Brisach because of pressure from the Americans’ highly accurate artillery barrage. The way was clear, the Battle for Wolfgantzan was won, and the larger objective fell the next day.”

“It was rough,” said Paul, “but we did it.”

Wayne told the BCN, “Corporal Gosnell was awarded the Bronze Star medal with “V” device for his actions that night. The “V” is for “Valor”…Valorous Action in combat. He would later be awarded a second Bronze Star along with the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and a chest

full of other decorations.”

Family and Career

After returning home Paul married his teenage sweetheart, Sybil Lee Henderson. They were

married almost 70 years, until Sybil’s passing in 2011. Their sons are: Wayne, Larry, who lives in Humble, and David, who lives in Athens.

Paul worked for the Western Company in the West Texas oil fields, becoming an expert in building and operating fracking units, and pioneering that technology in the 1950s and 1960s. He later worked for Stewart & Stevenson, a large diesel engine application manufacturing and supply company based in Houston. Paul rose to the position of general service manager and retired as director of engineering. By that time, Stewart & Stevenson had become a billion-dollar corporation.

Paul’s later years

Paul spends most of his time in Blanco, with Wayne and Martha. He regularly attends Trinity

Lutheran Church here, and also visits his Livingston, Texas home, and sons Larry and David.

At age 97, Paul’s capacity for hobbies are limited, but he previously loved fishing at the family home on Lake Livingston and driving his motorcycle with friends all over East Texas. An accomplished creator of stained glass art, Paul made two transom windows for Wayne and Martha’s home, and a very attractive “Lady in Red” hanging that is the focal point of Wayne’s study.

Reflections on military service

Paul is thankful that he sustained no injuries during the war, except frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge. This injury was common and the Army did not award Purple Hearts for it.

Paul attended a 75th Infantry Division reunion once in New Orleans with his family. He enjoyed it, but didn’t know anyone. Paul did maintain contact with his old lieutenant, who has long passed, like most of the rest of his division.

“We did all right. We fought them fair and came out of it on top,” Paul said.

Wayne added, “Though he rarely talks of his experiences, and especially the loss of many

of his personal friends, Dad is a true American hero, a warrior who put the country and the

mission at hand above his own personal safety. He had the ‘right stuff’ and his generation

was truly the greatest.”