Private Franklin Eugene Ladd

Franklin Eugene Ladd was born in Mosquero NM on May 11, 1925 to Thomas and Ethel Ladd. He graduated from Mosquero HS in 1942 and enrolled at NMAMC the next fall to study Agriculture. In July 1943, immediately following his freshman year he entered the US Army. By June of 1944 he was a part of the 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division when it went ashore at Omaha beach on D+2, June 8, 1944. Assigned to take Brest France, the unit engaged in some of the most bitter house to house combat of the war with the German 2nd Paratroop Division. During the battle for Brest Private Ladd was wounded by machine gun fire. Scrambling for cover in a basement, he was bleeding from wounds to his right leg and left hand, yet managed to kill two German soldiers before returning to his unit. From there he was evacuated to England for treatment of his wounds. He returned to the 23rd Infantry and in January 1945 was assigned to Company “E” as their automatic rifleman. During the period of 13 to 23 Jan., the Regiment fought under the most severe climatic conditions. It spearheaded a drive that broke the determined enemy resistance in the vital Ondenval-Iveldingen Pass to clear the way for armored thrusts into St. Vith, Belgium. Soon after, the 23d Infantry Regiment was again on the offensive in the Siegfried Line, pushing through the Schleiden Forest to reach the vitally important Roer River dams. Early in March the Regiment drove to the Rhine. The crossing was made on the 23rd of March in the vicinity of Niederbreisig, five miles south of the famed Remagen Bridge. Then on April 6 it gained a crossing of the Wesse River, driving further to the east. On April 8, 1945, while moving forward against intermittent small arms fire near the village of Varlosen Germany, Pfc Franklin Eugene Ladd was struck and killed by machine gun fire. He died 32 days shy of his 20th birthday. Today his remains rest in the Mosquero NM Cemetery.