The 561st Field
Artillery Battalion was activated on 7 September 1943 at Camp Joseph
T. Robinson, AR. The 561st consisted of five batteries. Three of
these batteries were firing batteries with each firing battery
having four 155mm guns. The guns were known as "Long Toms." The
561st was not assigned to any particular division or unit. It was a
battalion which was built right into the system, meaning that it
could pick up and move to provide artillery fire support to a
division whose own artillery might not have had enough fire power to
get the job done.
The 561st landed
at Utah Beach in Normandy on June 29, 1944. From that point on the
men of the 561st were continually involved in combat until the War
ended on May 8, 1945. They were involved in five major campaigns,
including the battles for Normandy and Brest in France. From October
of 1944 until December 16, 1944 the 561st was dug in just East of
St. Vith, Belgium, near the village of Schlierbach. This was the
exact spot where German Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt sent
his Panzers to attack the American lines in what became the Battle
of the Bulge.