T/SGT. ARMAND J. TORRE

Armand was born in 1914 to Italian immigrant parents from Genoa. He worked as a delivery truck driver after graduating high school in 1933. Shortly after, he entered the service in March of 1942 from Hudson, NJ. He started as a private, but by 1944, he had progressed into the rank of a Tech Sergeant.

Armand was charged with supervising a platoon of 33 men from H Co. of the 12th Infantry Regiment, while also operating as a heavy machine gunner. He and his unit landed a few waves after the initial landings at H-Hour on D-Day, Utah Beach. 

The units pushed inland as rapidly as possible to reduce the enemy positions behind the beach and to also avoid enemy shelling which were beginning to rain down upon the beach. Armand carried two heavy machine guns across the beach that morning. In recalling his unit's initial landings for a newspaper interview, "We were on a boat going in, and it was raining. All of a sudden, the rain stopped, and everything started. We started to go in the water and had to carry everything on us. As soon as our guys hit the water, down they went, weighed down from all the equipment. Some of which started to drown. So, some of us threw off some of the supplies we were carrying. After we landed, people were getting knocked off very early.” (South Bergenite, 2014)

To increase the hazards of landing, the enemy had flooded the area just behind the beach up to a width of 2,000 yards. Only a few roads or causeways ran inland, and it was down these that the American troops advanced.

One vital objective of the 4th Infantry was to contact the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. Leading elements of the division contacted these paratroopers and reinforced them around Ste. Mere Eglise. As succeeding troops advanced straight in, then flanked to the north on an operation which would eventually cut off the Cotentin Peninsula.

Upon the successful conclusion of this phase of the operations, three infantry divisions began the final plunge for the port of Cherbourg. On the left was the 9th; in the center, the 79th; and on the right, the 4th. By this time a large number of the Germans troops in the Cotentin Peninsula, realizing the gravity of the situation, began to withdraw to Cherbourg to make a last ditch stand to prevent Allied use of the harbor as long as possible.

By June 25th, the 12th Infantry Regiment was at the outskirts of Cherbourg and during the night entered the city from the east. For the next several days, mopping up operations were required to clear the strong forts guarding Cherbourg harbor and those along the coast, east of the city. A little over a week, the 4th spent occupying Cherbourg and moving from one assembly area to another, scarcely any time could be devoted to resting. 

On July 6th, elements of the 4th moved into position of the 83rd Division preparing to launch an attack through the hedge-rowed country west of Carentan. Throughout this part of Normandy extended large areas of swampy land making it impassable to an advancing army.  

During the fighting there on July 7th, just west of Carentan, Armand was asked to carry a wounded soldier to the nearest aid post. “I weighed about 120 pounds and had to carry two guns and they tied him onto me, and I carried him for about four miles. On the way back, I got hit.”  Armand was seriously wounded from shrapnel that cut into his left leg, ribs, and upper body from a mortar round. This ended his time in Normandy and was evacuated to a hospital in England. Doctors planned to amputate his leg, but after treating another wave of patients that came in by boat throughout the day, the doctor came back later and noticed Torre’s leg looked better and enough to save it; relieved Torre said he “kissed the skies.” Back home, his family received the telegram and letter (shown) explaining the severity of Armand’s wounds. 

After recovery and months in the hospital, he was assigned to drive trucks in England, but Armand requested to go to the front after two months of not being able to stand his new non-combat duties. 

After returning, he was yet again wounded. This time in the Hurtgen Forest on November 23rd, 1944, by a German bullet to the arm. He recovered and went on to fight the rest of the war, getting back to the front lines towards the end of the Battle of the Bulge; assigned to the 99th Infantry Division at approximately this time. 

Even at a late age, Armand still had shrapnel inside his body from his wounds outside of Carentan, setting off metal detectors at the airport. By the end of the war, he amassed a silver star, bronze star, and two Purple Hearts during his service duties. He was able to visit Normandy in 2004, on the 60th Anniversary with his wife. In civilian life, Armand was a parishioner of St. Mary RC Church, Rutherford, NJ, a member of the Rutherford Old Guard, American Legion, VFW, and the Disabled American Veterans. He passed away at the age of 101 in 2015. Thank you for your service.