Mr. J. L. Friel, Etched in Stone, Part 2

By Christopher Miller

This is a 2 part story being published between 2 weeks: this issue (March 4, 2021) and last week’s issue, (February 25, 2021). Below is part 2.

Enter J. L. Friel of Renovo.

The following information was borrowed from Heritage Fund and the Maritime Archaeology Trust website:
Corporal James Leo Friel served with Company D, 141st Infantry, 36th Infantry Division.

James Leo Friel was born on the 9th March 1923 in Renovo, Clinton County Pennsylvania. He was the fourth of six children born to Sherman and Mary Friel, both native of Pennsylvania. The 1930 and 1940 census show the family living at the same address in Renovo with James registered as a student, and his father as a carpenter/laborer.
James’s draft card dated June 30, 1942, shows the 19-year-old is now employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in Renovo. He was enlisted with the rank of Private on July 22, 1943. He acquired an army nickname, Harpo, on account of his red hair, after the curly red wig worn by Harpo Marx. It is not known where James trained, but a year later, on July 1, 1944 he set sail from the United States to the ETO (European Theatre of Operations).

We (Maritime Archaeology Trust) know from a photograph he signed that James served with the 141st Infantry, part of the 36th Infantry Division. The First Texas or the Alamo Regiment as they were known, had sailed from New York a year earlier in April 1943 landing in North Africa. They went onto Salerno, Monte Casino and into Rome. James’ obituary states that he served in the Rome-Arno Campaign, so he must have joined the unit there in May or June 1944 as a replacement. By the time they reached Rome, the 141st had suffered 3,000 battle casualties. The 141st returned to England before making their third amphibious landing in Southern France on the August 15, 1944.

The regiment drove up through the Loire Valley into the Vosges Mountains. After clearing the Colmar Pocket, the 141st faced fierce resistance as they pushed through the Haguenau Forest in Germany in March 1945. Having taken Bad Toelz on May 1, the 141st ended the war in Austria. The regiment returned to the United States in December 1945. James could have carved on the wall in Southampton, United Kingdom prior to Italy, or more likely prior to France in August 1944.

Richard Friel remembers his Uncle James talking about being wounded and left behind enemy lines. This probably relates to an incident referred to as the Lost Battalion. Assigned to clear a ridge deep in the Vosges Mountains, the battalion was cut off by Germans on October 24, 1944, after orders to withdraw failed to reach them. The other two battalions could not break through to relieve them for some time. A hospital record for James shows he was admitted as a battle casualty in November 1944 with shell wounds to his back. This earned him a Purple Heart. James suffered further injury in January 1945, admitted to the hospital with chest wounds sustained after falling into a hole or ditch. A third hospital record in June 1945, while on occupation duty and waiting to return home, he attended an aid station suffering from tonsillitis.

Back in Pennsylvania, James returned to work at the Pennsylvania Railroad in Renovo, where he worked as a pipefitter and sheet metal worker until 1966. He married Catherine and raised two children, living on the same street as his parents. After their divorce, Catherine and the children moved away. James married again to Helen. James remained in Renovo until his death on 20th September 1968 aged just 45. Richard describes his Uncle James as a very quiet man and not close to anyone. His obituary states he was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, the American Legion, Emerald Hose Company and the West Branch Social Club.

Images and documents shown in this article were shared with Maritime Archaeology Trust, provided by James’ nephew.

Please visit https://maritimearchaeologytrust.org/ddaywalls for more information about the D-Day: Stories from the Walls project and Maritime Archaeology Trust.

Thank you to Helen Wallbridge, Project Officer at Maritime Archaeology Trust, and Mrs. Mel Mullane, both of Southampton, United Kingdom, for their time and energy in compiling the amount of data they have amassed in this project and bringing the stories of the men who passed through Southampton during World War II to life.