Walk Among Heroes is honored to welcome episode 16 guest, Crosby ‘Bing’ Powell, of Topeka, Kansas.  Mr. Powell was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943.  He deployed to North Africa and arrived at the end of the fighting in Tunisia.  He was assigned as a replacement in the 168th Regiment, 34th Infantry Division Red Bulls (the same exact regiment and division as Walk Among Heroes’ founder Jeff Wells’ grandfather).  Mr. Powell landed in Italy in September 1944 and was part of the brutal Italian campaign.  As the 34th Division attacked north, taking mountain-after-mountain from the Germans, the division suffered through brutal combat in one of the coldest winters Italy had ever seen. 

After crossing the Volturno River several times, the 34th Division found itself engaged in one of the most difficult and brutal battles in the history of modern warfare, the Battle of Monte Cassino.  Lasting more than four months, and consisting of four separate battles, Monte Cassino was the lynchpin of a stout German defensive network known as the Gustav Line.  If the Allies broke through the line, they would earn free passage into the Liri Valley and would easily capture Rome.  If the Germans continued to hold the Allies at Monte Cassino, they would create valuable time to reinforce their defensive lines in Italy and elsewhere in the world (Atlantic Wall, etc).

Mr. Powell is the only living member of the 34th Division we’ve met who fought in the mountains at Monte Cassino.  He participated in five days of attacks on the monastery in brutal conditions (reminiscent of World War I trench warfare), before being wounded by German artillery.  He saved another soldier’s life by pulling him out of German fire, before he succumbed to his own injuries and was evacuated on one of the mules used to transport supplies into the mountains (vehicles were unable to traverse the difficult mountainous terrain).  Also suffering from severe trench foot, Mr. Powell received treatment in Africa for three months before learning to walk again.  After rehabilitating from his injuries, he returned to combat with the 34th Division and continued fighting in Italy until the war ended in 1945.

Walk Among Heroes founder Jeff Wells learned about Mr. Powell from Mikell Burr.  Mikell, also a resident of Topeka, found a box of World War II documents and awards in her home that had been nearly buried for many years.  She tracked down Mr. Powell and returned the awards and documents.  Her grandfather also served in World War II as part of the 34th Division Red Bulls, making the encounter extremely special for her.  

This podcast episode was recorded on November 11, 2020 (Veteran’s Day), at Mr. Powell’s retirement home.  The episode is a conversation between Jeff Wells, Mikell Burr, and Mr. Powell.

As always, a very special ‘thank you’ to Shreyas Ganesh for donating your time as sound engineer for this podcast.