World War II Honoree

Vincent Orenzo

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Bronx, New York

Honored By

Joe Orenzo, Sr. & Joe Orenzo, Jr.

Relationship

Son & Grandson

DRAFTED JULY 24th 1943. TECHNICIAN 5TH GRADE, 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION, 1st SIGNAL COMPANY. SENT TO Camp Upton in New York. He was trained as an Infantryman and on August 5, he qualified as a Marksman with the M1 Rifle. He was sent to the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was part of the 1st Student Training Regiment. While there, he took a course in Radio Repair, completing it on April 4, 1944. At the time, he was a Private First Class and was then sent to Fort George G. Meade, Maryland and the AGF (Army Ground Forces) Replacement Depot. HE Shipped out from the New York port on May 3, 1944, arriving in England on May 15, 1944. He was assigned to the 1st Signal Company as a Radio Operator. The unit was attached to the 1st Infantry Division, which landed at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. HIS company was a part of the 3rd tide to arrive. HE took part in the Cobra Breakout, seeing action at St Lo, and Marigny in July, 1944, before driving across France to the German border and taking Aachen in October. HE moved through the Hurtgen Forest to the Roer River and wAS then moved back for rest and refitting. HE WAS Soon sent to the Ardennes front with the occurrence of the German offensive and the Battle of the Bulge. After helping to turn back the Germans, hE attacked the Siegfried Line and moved across the Ruhr River in February 1945, driving onto the Rhine, crossing the bridge at Remagen in March. Took part in the Ruhr Pocket offensive and had pushed through the Harz Mountains to Czechoslovakia when the war in Europe finally ended. SINCE HIS late entry INTO THE SERVICE required him to stay, he was transferred to A Company, 610th Tank Destroyer Battalion, which had taken up occupational duties with many other TD units. HE WAS Relieved of those duties on September 27th and moved back into France and Camp Detroit to await shipment home. THIS TOOK PLACE ON December 14, 1945, aboard the Athos II, from the port in LeHavre, France. After six days at sea, the ship hit a hurricane and suffered major damage. HE ended up having to hold up in the Azores AS THE SHIP NEEDED repair. HE Was then loaded onto the USS Enterprise for the rest of the journey. He arrived back in the U.S. on January 14, 1946, and left the service on January 19 at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He had reached the rank of Technician 5th Grade and had received the Distinguished Unit Badge and French Fourragere for his service with the 1st Signal Company.