The 2nd Chemical Battalion and Pope Benedict XVI

[Valin]

The Red Dragons

 

Liberating the Pope

 

On the afternoon of 3 May 1945 Major James Quimby was driving through Bavaria looking for a place to spend the night. As Executive Officer of the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion, attached to the 45th Infantry Division, one of his jobs was to reconnoiter with his HQ detachment select a location for the battalion Command Post. At the rate the Allies were advancing, this meant a new location every day for several weeks.

Major James O. Quimby

 

The Germans had lost the ability to fight as an army. Entire units were without orders or supply. Many surrendered at first contact with the Americans. Correspondents described the action as “pursuit” but the men in the lines were cautious. The Germans had been “near defeat” many times before, but if one of them shot you it didn't matter if his unit was disorganized. The 4.2-inch mortars of Quimby’s battalion found plenty of work providing smoke to screen river crossings or raining high explosive on roadblocks, machine guns and anti-tank emplacements.

 

Quimby passed up several possible CP locations and decided to take a look at the little town of Traunstein. Even a village offered more resources and comforts than barns and cow pastures. The convoy, a mixed bag of a couple of dozen jeeps, ¾ ton weapons carriers and deuce-and-a-half-trucks, had reached the main street before Quimby realized that every uniform in sight was German field gray. Traunstein was still held by the Germans!

 

(Snip)

 

Later Quimby got word that Seventh Army had credited 2nd Chemical with capturing the town. “I’m sure it was the only instance in the whole war in which a chemical mortar battalion, by itself, captured a town. And without firing a shot!"

 

Several men in Quimby's detachment recalled the police chief's 18-year-old son Joseph. He was a quiet kid, and it turned out that he had just returned home after deserting from the German Army. The Americans told him that with the war nearly over he should make sure his record was clean, and they told him to go put his uniform on so they could process him as a POW. Sergeant John Smith recalled that “When we took him outside, all the neighbors laughed and pointed. For some reason it seemed like it was a big joke to see this kid in uniform.”

 

 

The young man, son of Police Chief Ratzinger was named Joseph. He is better known to you as Pope Benedict XVI. This connection was first identified by Dr. Phil O'Connor, who was researching the life of Pope Benedict XVI shortly after his election. Dr. O'Connor has many connections in the Church, and authored a guidebook to places in Rome that have significance in World War II.

 

The day after Traunstein was captured C Company of the 2nd Chemical Mortar Bttalion was detailed to move 25,000 POWs to a collection point near Bad Aibling. PFC Elliot Stalnaker recalled, “They gave me a rifle and told me there were about 200 POWs for every one of us and to shoot anybody that gave me any trouble. We lined 'em up in the biggest column you ever saw and marched 'em right down the Autobahn.”

 

In his memoirs, Pope Benedict referred to this long dusty column as “a river of humanity.” Sixty three years later, an interviewer told Stalnaker “I’m glad you didn‘t shoot the Pope!” Stalnaker shrugged. “I’m glad he didn’t misbehave.” And so it was that the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion first liberated the future Pope, and then captured him.

(Snip)