This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Brenda Brubaker, LT
to remember
Paulson, Bruce, MM1c.
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Following WWII, Bruce returned to teaching history and industrial arts and coaching basketball and football at Maple Lake, MN where he met his future wife.
They would relocate to Madelia, MN where their children were born and Bruce continued teaching and coaching football. He was forced to give up his beloved football when he became the Principal of Madelia High School.
The family relocated to Mankato, MN when Bruce joined the Education Department faculty of Mankato State.
Bruce was active throughout his life in the Boy Scouts and attained the honor of the Silver Beaver.
Other Comments:
Dad served aboard LCI-193 from it's commission in Feb 1943, until it was transferred to British control. LCI-193 saw combat in North Africa and participated in invasions in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Nettuno before participating in the Normandy invasion. LCI-193 made at least 22 crossings during the invasion. Following D-day, LCI-193 was released to the British Navy, and Dad was transferred to the Pacific Fleet joining the USS Finnegan for the remainder of WWII.
From War Diary:
List of shipmates aboard LCI-193 (photos available of most):
A Memorial has been added for each of these shipmates
Surname
First Name
Hometown
?
Frank
?
Pat
Bellville
"Doc" Gerald
Hartford, CT
Brown
Allen
Charleston, SC
Carr
Leonard William
Winding Gulf, WV
Ceachy
John Joseph
Chicago, IL
Cooper
George Walter
Freeport, IL
Costick
Thomas Gerard
Binghamton, NY
Crudele
Donald J
Currie
Davis
Wilson
Raymond E
Doherty
Raymond J—fatally wounded by enemy fire when ship grounded off-course
Description Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but the Allies landed in an area defended by German troops. Planned under the name Top Hat, it was supported by the deception plan Operation Boardman.
The landings were carried out by the US Fifth Army, under American General Mark W. Clark. It comprised the U.S. VI Corps, the British X Corps and the US 82nd Airborne Division, a total of about nine divisions. Its primary objectives were to seize the port of Naples to ensure resupply, and to cut across to the east coast, trapping the Axis troops further south.
In order to draw troops away from the landing ground, Operation Baytown was mounted. This was a landing by the British Eighth Army in Calabria in the 'toe' of Italy, on 3 September. Simultaneous sea landings were made by the British 1st Airborne Division at the port of Taranto (Operation Slapstick). British General Bernard Montgomery had predicted Baytown would be a waste of effort because it assumed the Germans would give battle in Calabria; if they failed to do so, the diversion would not work. He was proved correct. After Baytown the Eighth Army marched 300 miles (480 km) north to the Salerno area against no opposition other than engineer obstacles.
The Salerno landings were carried out without previous naval or aerial bombardment in order to achieve surprise. Surprise was not achieved. As the first wave approached the shore at Paestum a loudspeaker from the landing area proclaimed in English, "Come on in and give up. We have you covered." The troops attacked nonetheless.
The Germans had established artillery and machine-gun posts and scattered tanks through the landing zones which made progress difficult, but the beach areas were captured. Around 07:00 a concerted counterattack was made by the 16th Panzer Division. It caused heavy casualties, but was beaten off. Both the British and the Americans made slow progress, and still had a 10 miles (16 km) gap between them at the end of day one. They linked up by the end of day two and occupied 35–45 miles (56–72 km) of coastline to a depth of 6–7 miles (9.7–11.3 km).
Over 12–14 September the Germans organized a concerted counterattack by six divisions of motorized troops, hoping to throw the Salerno beachhead into the sea before it could link with the British Eighth Army. Heavy casualties were inflicted, as the Allied troops were too thinly spread to be able to resist concentrated attacks. The outermost troops were therefore withdrawn in order to reduce the perimeter. The new perimeter was held with the assistance of naval and aerial support, although the German attacks reached almost to the beaches in places. Allied pilots slept under the wings of their fighters in order to beat a hasty retreat to Sicily in the event German forces broke the beachhead.
