Willie Edmon Bludsworth was killed in action while engaged in defense against German tank attack. 1

The 83rd Division had manned the Carentan sector in Normandy since 27 June 1944. A road center and small seaport, Carentan was extremely vulnerable to German attack. A German counterattack in mid-June had come close to retaking the town and German field artillery continued to target the town and the bridge across the Taute River. If the front line could be advanced south of Carentan, the danger from the Germans could be eliminated. In addition to the Carentan defensive considerations, was the need to gain a portion of the Coutances-Saint Lo highway. The 83rd was selected for the offensive and jumped off on 4 July. At the end of its first day of combat, the division had lost almost 1,400 men. The commander of the German parachute regiment in opposition, Col. Friedrich A. Freiherr von der Heydte, returned American medical personnel his forces had captured with a note stating that he thought the 83rd Division’s General Macon needed them—he was right. The German resistance and the Cotentin marshes and hedgerows had stymied the Americans and the offensive was discontinued. 2 However, the 83rd continued to sustain German attacks until relieved on 15 July. 3

The funeral service for Pfc. William Edmon “Willie” Bludsworth was held on Wednesday, 12 December 1948, at Rocky Mount Church followed by interment at Carroll Cemetery.4

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

SBTSProject/Alabama/Dale

1 83rd Infantry Division Documents, 83rd ID, 330 IR – AAR – July 11, www.83rdinfdivdocs.org.

2 Martin Blumenson, The U.S. Army in World War II: European Theater of Operations: Breakout and Pursuit (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1961) www.history.army.mil.

3 83rd Infantry Division Documents.

4 “Funeral Announcement,” The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, AL) 12 December 1948.

Blackwell, Berta Gold Star Soldiers of World War II from Dale County, Alabama, April 2019, page 29-30.

Willie E Bludsworth