Sgt
Rosenkrantz was apparently wounded in Sicily
because he rejoined his unit later in Italy,
where he fought with the 504th in Naples and
Anzio.
The 504th did not
participate in the Normandy invasion, as it was
still recuperating from the losses sustained in
Italy. On 17
September 1944, however, Sgt. Rosenkrantz jumped into Holland during
Operation Market Garden.
Sgt. David
Rosenkrantz (picture courtesy of Dr. Philip
Rosenkrantz)
Operation Market Garden, the
airborne landings in The Netherlands, aimed to capture the bridges over the Waal and
Rhine rivers. This would open up the possibility
of thrusting north over the Rhine and then into
Germany, bypassing the feared
Siegfried line.
Sgt Rozenkrantz also participated in the now
famous Waal river-crossing. After days of
fighting the 82nd had liberated Nijmegen, but
did not control the Waal bridge, which provided
access to Arnhem, where the beleaguered 1st
British Airborne Division was fighting a heroic
battle against two German SS division. Heavily
outnumbered and out-gunned, the British Para's
held out, waiting desperately for the link up
with the ground troops. For the ground troops to
reach Arnhem, the Waal bridge needed to be
taken. But as the Germans held the north end of
the bridge, a frontal attack was out of the
questions.
The 504th were ordered to attack across the Waal
river in small boats, during daytime. The attack
was set for September 20. The smoke screen,
provided by British tanks was largely blow away
by a strong wind and the Americans crossed the
river in full view of the German. Despite heavy
losses the Americans reached the opposite site
and dislodged the Germans from the north end of
the bridge. Sgt Rosenkrantz was probably in the
first waves of attacking boats.
About a week later, on 28 September, H company
found itself in woods near a farmhouse called
Den Heuvel. Sgt. Rosenkrantz's unit was lying
down in the woods. Unknown to them, the Germans
were counter-attacking along the Wylerbaan road
towards the Den heuvel Farm, and had surrounded
the unit. At one point, Sgt. Rosenkrantz stood
up to take a few shots at Germans in the
distance. A buddy, Ted Finkbeiner, called out to
David to get down. At that point Sgt.
Rosenkrantz was shot in the back by a machine
gun.
During the day, the Americans were dislodged
from the woods and fighting continued. Sgt.
Rosenkrantz's body was not recovered and he was
Missing in Action for over 50 years.
Sgt Rozenkrants's
nephew, Dr. Philip Rozenkrantz has an amazing
website about his uncle, full with pictures,
letters and his search for his uncle. You can
visit this site at
http://www.csupomona.edu/~rosenkrantz/paratroop/sgtdave.htm
