End of WWII in Czechia: US veterans recall how they helped liberate Western Bohemia

In May 1945, Western Bohemia was liberated by US forces under the command of General Patton.  Few veterans who took part in the liberation effort are still alive to tell the story. Czech historian Jiří Klůc was able to locate a number of them in the United States.

 “Trident division” liberated large parts of Western Bohemia

Photo: City of Plzeň

The 97th Infantry Division, nicknamed “Trident division” because of its shoulder patch (a vertical trident in white on a blue background), took part in some of the heaviest fighting involving Western Allied forces in the final weeks of World War II on the territory of Czechoslovakia. The unit has a number of memorials in the Cheb and Mariánské Lázně regions and a new memorial to the troops who liberated this part of the country is to be unveiled in May of this year in Pilsen.

The famous 1st Infantry Division, with "BIG RED ONE" on its emblem, also made a significant contribution to the liberation of the Sokolov and Karlovy Vary regions.

This division suffered the heaviest casualties of any American unit and also liberated the largest territory in Western Bohemia. In recent months, I have been able to locate and reach out to two veterans of the 97th Infantry Division in the United States who participated in these difficult battles - primarily for the town of Cheb.

John Burke “ BARman” in the battle for Cheb lost a close friend in the fighting

John Burke|Photo: Jiří Klůc

John Burke, now 99 years old, fought with the 387th Infantry Regiment of the 97th Infantry Division just outside Cheb on April 24-28, 1945. Today, the former teacher lives with his family in a small house in Massachusetts on the east coast of the United States. He proudly dons his WWII camouflage jacket with his name and division emblem. Although his memory no longer serves him well, he still remembers his experiences in Czechoslovakia:

"I was a so-called “ BARman” - a rifleman with a BAR rifle, which was used as a light machine gun. I fired one after another. I didn't stop to look if I hit someone. But we lost a lot of guys at Cheb. One of them was Henry Neidert, whom I knew well."

Neidert was from Ohio and was killed on April 25, 1945, at the age of just 20 . Today, he rests in the U.S. Military Cemetery in St. Avold, France.

Marian „Bob“ Shipe from California helped liberate the Mariánské lazně spa town

Marian „Bob“ Shipe|Photo: Jiří Klůc

The second survivor of the fighting for Cheb is Marian "Bob" Shipe, whom I met last year during the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. For a long time it looked like he would also take part in the celebrations in the Czech Republic, but unfortunately a serious illness prevented him making the journey.

Bob Shipe was born in December 1925 in California. He grew up during the Depression and as a teenager worked on fishing boats to help support his family. Shortly after graduating from high school, he was drafted into the army and started military training in December 1943. After serving at Camp Roberts, he was assigned to the 303rd Infantry Regiment, of the 97th Infantry Division. With the unit, he advanced toward Marienbad (Mariánské lázně) , the liberation of which he remembers most. He also fought as a rifleman with a BAR rifle. When the war ended he was in the Tachov region, from where he was sent back to the United States shortly afterwards - only to be redeployed to  Japan, in August 1945.

Al Morfee from Florida fought with the famous 1st Infantry Division

Finding a veteran of the famous 1st Infantry Division, which later replaced the 97th Infantry Division in Western Bohemia, seemed almost impossible. It was this unit, with its rich combat history from World War I to the Omaha Beach landings to the final campaign through Europe, that helped liberate parts of Cheb, Sokolov and Karlovy Vary.

Al Morfee|Photo: Jiří Klůc

And it was to this division that Al Morfee from Florida belonged, but his story is markedly different from the others: he did not join the unit until the spring of 1945, and he joined it as a "replacement"  for a fallen soldier. But he remembers all the more from the last days of the war.

How did I discover him? By accident. I was returning from the beach one evening and noticed on the list of addresses that one of them was nearby - in a heavily guarded building. He didn't have a phone, so there was no choice but to ring his doorbell. Miraculously, they let me through the security gate and I rang the apartment with the veteran's name on it. After the initial shock, and after I introduced myself, the mood changed and his wariness evaporated.

"Yes. I was in Czechoslovakia at the end of the war," the smiling old man told me.

I didn't know where he had served or his story - I had just been given a tip that a WWII veteran lived there. After a while, we both cried. It turned out that he was a member of the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, which had directly liberated Sokolov - the area where I myself grew up. Morfee had never given an interview before. Until I turned up.

Al Morfee|Photo: Jiří Klůc

It is impossible to ask a centenarian for exact details of the names of villages and towns, but thanks to further study of the sources, it was possible to determine where his unit had passed. The first casualties were recorded in the 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division shortly after their arrival on Czechoslovak territory - near the village of Horka, during the battle for an elevated point. Enemy troops in the area included sailors from the sunken warship Admiral Scheer, who were deployed as a ground force to slow the advance of US troops into the Sokolov region.

"We didn't take part in the big battles, but gradually moved from village to village. But then we reached a bigger town and liberated a concentration camp! I saw dead prisoners, some were still alive and speaking Russian," Morfee recalls.

It was a branch of the Stalag VIII B prisoner-of-war camp - a lazaretto in today's Vítězná housing estate. Archival records confirm that it was indeed located there in May of 1945.

By that time the war was coming to an end and thousands of German soldiers were surrendering to the American troops - they knew they had a better chance of survival than with the Soviets.

“They were surrendering to the Americans in large numbers - often with armoured vehicles. We captured an entire division. They had armored vehicles, mainly half-tracks. But we just disarmed them and passed them on," Morfee says.

Around May 11, he reached Karlovy Vary, where he also met Red Army soldiers for the first time.

"We got to know what they were like - they looted and raped women. We were welcomed by everybody, they were welcomed by nobody. Then we started to retreat," the veteran, who was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery, concludes his story. This year, in mid-April, he celebrated his 100th birthday among his family.

Many other units took part in the liberation of today's Karlovy Vary region - for example, the 9th Armoured Division, famous for capturing the bridge in Remagen, and smaller independent units whose stories are often forgotten.