Raoul Arceneaux

ASN:34273009

Raoul Joseph Arceneaux registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. Born December 28, 1915 in Carencro, Louisiana, he was employed by Theo Breaux in Carencro, Louisiana, at the time of his registration. 

This twenty-six year-old enlisted in the US Army on March 5, 1942. He was 6’-0”, 210 pounds with a light brown complexion, brown eyes, and brown hair. No identifying physical characteristics were listed at the time of his registration.   

Raoul Arceneaux entered the service at Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. 

He initially trained at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, and later transferred to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina for training in November, 1942. He became a member of Headquarters-Battery, 319th Field Artillery, 82nd Airborne Division.

Arceneaux traveled with the battalion aboard the SS Santa Rosa to North Africa arriving in Casablanca May 10, 1943.

Company Morning Reports

Company Morning Reports were produced every morning by the individual Army units to record personnel matters. The following events for Raoul Arceneaux were reported:

1. November 19, 1943:

   • Rank: Private, First Class

   • 319th Headquarters Battery roster of soldiers sailing on USS Dickman from Naples, Italy to Ireland.

2. January 15, 1945:

   • Appointed to Corporal effective as of the 13th, MOS 761. Station: near Becco, Belgium

3. April 22, 1945:

   • Appointed to Staff Sergeant

   • Station: Berrenrath, Germany

4. May 7, 1945:

   • Duty to furlough for seven days. Location: US Riviera recreational area

5. June 23, 1945:

   • Transferred to the 17th Airborne Division, MOS 821. Station: Epinal, France.

Raoul Arceneaux fought in the major campaigns of Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Normandy, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe. See a map of the 82nd Airborne Mediterranean-European Theater of Operations.

In July of 1943, the 319th Glider Field Artillery was called on to participate in the invasion of Sicily, known as Operation Husky. Stationed near Bizerte, Tunisia, it was to be the 82nd Airborne’s first large-scale operation and one which called for close co-operation with our naval forces. Sadly, when tragic errors resulted in airborne personnel being killed by friendly fire, the role of the 319th was canceled at the last moment.

On September 11, 1943, the 319th sailed from Tunisia, North Africa, and received orders to land immediately at Maiori, Italy, with the mission of supporting an existing Ranger force. (1st, 3rd, 4th Battalions) That evening the 319th landed on the beach at Maiori at 2250 hours and immediately occupied a mountainous position 5 miles north of the beach known as the “Chiunzi Pass.”

For the next 19 days the 319th fired more than 12,000 artillery rounds over the mountain range and through the Chiunzi pass targeting truck columns, troop movement and supply dumps, road junctions, enemy 88-gun positions and ammo supplies, tanks and rocket batteries as well as other enemy activity along Highway 18 just outside of Naples.

On October 1, 1943, the 319th entered Naples, Italy, for occupational duty. Their occupation duties involved several days of combat beginning October 5th, at the Volturno River near Villa Literno, Italy.

During the winter of 1944 the 82nd Airborne Division was now stationed in Market Harborough, a town near Leicester, England, preparing for the Allied invasion of northern France.

The 319th was bivouacked at Papillon Hall, a 300 acre estate built in 1620. Market Harborough was also a British Royal Air Force station, a place for allied military training, and also where glider troops went for training (see photo below) and replacement soldiers. Papillon Hall itself was a large structure, set-out in a butterfly pattern (Papillon means butterfly in French) with four distinct wings. The soldiers lived in the main building and a cluster of Quonset huts. But no space was wasted, soldiers also slept in horse stables and barns.

During the Normandy D-Day invasion Raoul Arceneaux glided into Normandy with B-Battery the evening of June 6, 1944. He rode in a British Horsa glider and landed in the German front lines just north of the town of Ste Mere Eglise, France, which resulted in 2 officers and 15 enlisted men killed, 6 officers and 86 enlisted men wounded.

With more than 30 days of intense fighting the 319th was relieved of combat duty on July 12, 1944. The following day they were issued new uniforms and boots then marched from a staging area three miles to Utah Beach. The 319th departed Normandy by sea on LST 212 (Landing Ship Tank) to their rear echelon base camp at Papillon Hall, Market Harborough, England.

The 82nd Airborne spearheaded the invasion of Holland in September 1944, and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge and combat operations near Hurtgen and Cologne, Germany. Throughout these campaigns Cole was generally assigned to the B-Battery gun section of the 319th.

Following both the Holland and Belgium campaigns, the 82nd Airborne was resting and training at its base camps in Sissone, Suippes and Laon, France.

The 319th was also bivouacked at Camp Suippes, the RAMP camp (Recovered American Military Personnel) in Sissone and “Camp Chicago” in Laon, France, as well.

The 319th passed a division review and made mandatory glider flight training at “Camp Chicago.”

The unconditional surrender of the German Army was signed on May 7, 1945. Following a final series of qualifying glider flights at the Marchais Airfield, the 319th was loaded on board a train for Epinal, France, some 200 miles southeast of Laon.

The most popular topic of conversation continued to be the Army’s new Adjusted Service Rating Score (ASR) point system governing who would be eligible for discharge and who would be retained, perhaps including redeployment to the Pacific theater of operations. 

Staff Sergeant Arceneaux was one of many “High Point” soldiers with a score over 85 points, who were transferred from the 82nd to the 681st Glider Field Artillery of the 17th Airborne division. They returned to the USA arriving in Boston, Massachusetts on September 14, 1945.  Cole was discharged September 24, 1945.

His service was awarded with the Good Conduct Medal, Distinguished Merit Badge,  Purple Heart, European/African Middle Eastern Service Medal, Belgian Fourragere, one silver service star, one bronze service star, and bronze service arrowhead.

Raoul Arceneaux, 87, died April 12, 2002.

God Bless this hero.

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