Richard W. Reno, Sr., U.S. Army

(Now deceased)

Excerpts from a newspaper article by Durhl Caussey and Jo Ann Holt

At the age of 89 and in a wheelchair, disabled Richard W. Reno Sr. still has more spunk and spirit than people half his age. While he endured tremendous hardships and disabilities in WW II, he remains proud of his country and insists he didn’t do anything that “any other soldier wouldn’t do.”

Reno’s ability to get things done, coupled with a deprecating wit and sincere humility, has made him a longtime leader in the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and he has helped bring about numerous positive changes for veterans hospitals, including the hospital where he has been a patient.

Mr. Reno was awarded the title of Outstanding Veteran Patient for the State of Texas at the 105th Annual State Conference of the Texas State Daughters of the American Revolution. The Old Chisholm Trail Chapter of TSDAR, Regent Bobby Cutler Hill, nominated him for the honor, and the award was presented at the Defense Banquet at the Adams Mark Hotel in Houston in March. Since winning the state award, Reno has gone on to win the title of Outstanding Veteran Patient, South Central Div. of the U.S. Texas chapters have learned that Mr. Reno has been chosen the National outstanding Veteran Patient and the award will be presented at the July Continental Congress in Washington, D.C. Regent Bobby Cutler Hill will be present for the ceremony.

Here is a capsule version of this soldier’s story, as told by Mr. Reno, who was born in Forney, TX in 1915 and graduated from high school in Pecan Gap in East Texas.

“I volunteered for the service in December, 194, was sworn into active duty Jan. 31, 1941, and sent to Camp Bowie in Brownwood, assigned to Company K, 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division…made up entirely of men from Texas. Because of the extreme emergency the U.S. faced, the normal 18 weeks of training was crowded into two weeks, and we joined our company. I asked for the weapon platoon and was assigned to the machine gun section.

“The company then went on peacekeeping maneuvers in Louisiana, and after Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor, Company K, 143rd Infantry Regiment was sent to Dallas to put the city under military protection. Primary objective was Love Field and other strategic targets such as Dallas Power & Light Power Station on Mountain Creek Lake. The company then went to various locales including the Florida Everglades, North Carolina and Cape Cod, for intensive training in jungle warfare, amphibious landings, desert warfare, commando training, and even mountain climbing.

“Some of the men volunteered to help start what was later called the U.S. Rangers, and some helped start the Tenth Mountain Climbing Division”, Reno said. “But most of us wanted to stay with the 36th Division because of the love and admiration of Sgt. Manuel Jones, Sgt. Billy E. Kirby, Cpl. Richard W. Reno and Cpl. Edwin Will. We had the best machine gun section in the 36th Div., and we were determined that no one but the Germans would break us up. We sailed from the U.S. April 1, 1943, landed in Oran, North Africa on the 13th of April. The battle of North Africa was soon over, and we kept busy with more intensive training with the Navy.”

“In September of 1943, the company sailed for Italy as part of an invasion force for Salerno Bay. The day before we landed, Italy surrendered. We were notified on board ship that no Naval support or air support was necessary as Italy had surrendered and was now an ally, but somebody forgot to tell the Germans, who hit us with everything they had.

“The First Battalion of the 142nd Regiment took Altavilla when we got an urgent call from them saying the Germans were making a terrific countercharge. We were about 10 miles away so we started a force march and made it in just over two hours, but the Germans had already massacred the First Battalion. The Germans let us retake Altavilla with little resistance. Of course, after you take a place, there are two things that happen. One, you secure your perimeter, and then have an emotional letdown. Their counterattack hit during that ‘letdown’ period. They bisected the company, cutting some riflemen, our platoon lieutenant and myself from the rest of the company. I ended up with both machine guns and Cpl. Will’s squad, and none of my own. We fought our way into the one building that commanded the whole valley, wondering what happened to the rest of the company.

“Private Zazzali told me that down in the bend of the Appian Way there was ammunition left by the First Battalion, and also a three-quarter truck. We took the truck and hauled the ammunition up the steps of the building, and put it in all 40 rooms. We finally made contact with headquarters, but they couldn’t tell us exactly what had happened, requesting that we hold on as long as we could. Our wounded were suffering and needed attention, so Zazzali again drove the truck and we went searching for the Battalion Aid Station. We found doctors, but they refused to go back with us. We knew Captain Monroe and told him he was going with us, but he refused again. Zizzali was armed with a B.A.R. and I had a Tommy gun. We brought them to port arms and stepped where I could hit his head and he could hit his stomach, and when we told him he was going back with us either conscious or unconscious, he decided to go.

“That afternoon, after our return to the ‘castle,’ Private Wheeler (manning one of the machine guns on the balcony) was shot. We needed the machine gun and we needed to treat Wheeler, so I crawled out and pulled him back in with the machine gun, but he died in a few minutes. We didn’t have any artillery. We had one 37 mm antipersonnel shell for us.

“We wondered why the Germans would make a strong attack and then back off, but late that afternoon they brought in their tiger tanks and wave after wave of infantry troops…talking almost shoulder to shoulder and perfect targets for machine guns. We were firing both guns at rapid fire. Capt. Loughlin decided to get as many infantry troops out as possible, ordering them out in squads of five. It is the duty of the machine gun to cover all withdrawals.”

(Then Capt. Loughlin was wounded and Cpl. Reno was hit in the head and back with bullets shattering his upper left femur.) “Some of the men who were leaving last wanted to carry me with them, but that was an unsafe idea and I would not go. After they all left, I removed the plate off the machine gun, pulled the bolt out and threw the extractor out the window, rendering the gun useless. The other gun was across the room and I couldn’t get to it. The first German that arrived on the third floor picked up the machine gun and it fired two or three rounds, and the bullets went through the palm of his hand and blood started spurting. I was lying on the tile floor and couldn’t keep from laughing at him…a German soldier came rushing up the stairway and I guess he thought I had shot the other soldier, so he hit me on the left side of my face with the butt of his rifle, but the German who had been shot told him what had happened, and they left with our machine gun.”

(By midnight, Reno’s pain had become almost unbearable.) “The next morning the Germans returned with enough American prisoners to carry the wounded out of the building. We were placed in two-wheel carts and taken to the Catholic Convent. We still hadn’t received any medical treatment, and they didn’t seem to have any. About noon the Navy ship began bombarding the city, so the Germans pulled back, leaving the wounded. The shelling lasted until sundown, when the Germans returned, loading the wounded in trucks captured from the Americans. They put four on the bed of the truck, then cross planks and four more, and then more cross planks above the second tier. When the American planes strafed that night, they killed some of the soldiers who were on the top tier. Sept. 16 they placed us in another convent somewhere in the Alps Mountain near their headquarters, and I was operated on sometime that afternoon.”

(German Field Marshal Kesselring visited the convent, where the 28 wounded American soldiers were recovering, and Capt. Loughlin somehow convinced him to leave them there as they retreated, instead of shooting them, as rumors had it. Sunday, Sept. 25, the Germans – the 16th Panzer Division – retreated, leaving one American doctor, two candy bars for each man, and give gallons of water, but no medical supplies. Stripped of all clothing, the wounded were lying in a partial shelter with corn stalks for the floor. (The wounded men were rescued on Sept. 29 by soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Div.)

“Each of us was given a dose of morphine and taken to American Headquarters, then placed in an evacuation hospital. The next day they operated on us and then flew us to Africa in a C47. I was placed in the 81st Station Hospital in Bizert and stayed until March, 1944, then transferred to a hospital in Oran, Africa, and finally loaded on a hospital ship sailing for the U.S.A.”

“My decorations include Combat Infantry Badge, Silver Star (for gallantry in action), Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, European Theater Operation Ribbon with one invasion arrow and the campaign star, American National Defense Ribbon, Pre-Pearl Harbor Ribbon, Prisoner of War, and Expert Rifleman.

“The only explanation that can be given to the fact that I returned to the U.S is that the Lord was with me each step of the way. And I am still here because I have had wonderful care and treatment from the Army doctors and nurses over the years and also from the Veterans Hospitals. (He later married his nurse, Delma.)

Reno remained for six months at Bizert for treatment from over 21 bullets/shrapnel (some still remain) entering his body. He was transferred to a hospital ship April 1, 1944 and celebrated his 29th birthday. April 14, 1944 in the hospital at Charleston, S.C. He then arrived at the McCloskey General Hospital in Temple and was reunited with his parents for a belated birthday celebration. He spent several years in that hospital, learning to walk with crutches and cane. Despite his rigorous therapy, he found the strength to accompany Gov. Coke Stevenson on numerous War Bond drives; he also established a USO committee during his hospital stay.

During his many hospitalizations, he acquired a septic infection, which later involved his one good right leg. The sepsis and battle wounds deteriorated both legs, requiring a double amputation above the knees in the spring of 2002 in the Dallas Veterans Administration Medical Center to save his life.

After being discharged in Aug. of 1945, Reno entered the office supply and printing business in 1946, retiring in 1980 as vice president. He worked in the Special Education Dept. of First Baptist Church in Dallas for 22 years, serving as superintendent for eight years. A life member of the Disabled American Veterans since 1947, he served as national chief of staff in 1988-89. He is also a life member of The Military Order of the Purple Heart and Ex-POW. He married Delma B. Whatley in 1945 and the couple had two children, Dianne Reno Holt and Richard W. Reno, Jr., and four grandchildren. After the death of his beloved Delma, Reno married a widow who attended church with him. After the death of his second wife, Virginia, in 1995, he lived with his son’s family in Midlothian.

Cpl. Reno received the DAV State Distinguished Service Award in 1967, along with numerous other awards and commendations from the DAV, the Exchange Club, Kiwanis Club, churches, schools and community organizations. Reno stated the “Grant-A-Wish” program for the Nursing Home/TCU patients at the Bonham VA and the Dallas VA – a birthday gift granted to patients in these facilities – secured equipment such as wheelchairs and furnishings for waiting rooms and patient rooms at the Dallas VAMC; obtained coffee service for waiting rooms and staff/patients on five floors; worked with VA service reps. to meet the needs of patients; and continues to participate in Christmas parties for VA and local chapter of DAV.

He shared the miracles of his life with others, providing encouragement not to give up on life, and always attributed his success in life to his faith in God and his family.
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Comment by Robby Campbell:

I knew Richard for over fifty years. The thing I remember most about him is his dedication to working with special needs children and young adults at First Baptist Church Dallas, and his sense of humor.

Being a country boy, Richard liked to go fishing. I always told him 'that's fine, go fishing, but be careful not to fall into the creek. You have so much lead in your body, you might sink to the bottom.'