US Army WORLD WAR II
Captain John T. Compton KIA
Hometown: Oklahoma
179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division
Service# O-406922
Awards: Bronze Star, Purple Heart
From FAG #48023659
Biscari massacre
Captain John T. Compton, “C” Company, First Division, 180th Regiment does not sleep since three days. Since the day of the landing, in practice. At 11 a.m. of the morning of July 14th , captain Compton leads his Company to attack the Biscari airport. There is some resistance: mortar’s shots and snipers. If a GI is shot, the snipers open fire on the medics went out from the shelters to help him. Left his shelter in the attempt to localize the snipers’ position, Private Raymond Marlow reaches a blockhouse from which more than forty Italians, hands up, come out. Some of them wear civilian clothes, others wear the uniform. An interpreter asks them if they are snipers, but nobody answers. Lieutenant Blanks, instead, asked by Captain Compton, answers they are snipers. Shoot them!, is the captain’s order.
General Omar Bradley, commander of the Second Corps, is, temperamentally, the Patton’s opposite: calm, thoughtful, careful. He has known by King about what has happened at Biscari and he speaks about this event with Patton. Sergeant Barry West, “A “Company, First Division has shot in cold blood thirty-six Italian POWs while he was escorting them to headquarter for the interrogation. Captain John Compton has made shoot more than forty of them. These are war crimes and we can not be silent. Keep calm, Patton answers, keep calm. Why not saying they were snipers? The POWs are dead and we can not do anything for them.
Bradley ignores the “advice” of his superior and he leads the issue to an end. Both West and Compton are deferred to the Martial Court. Both defend themselves by claiming they have executed the Patton’s orders.
“You will tell your men that”, the “Iron General” had told the Thunderbird’s officers. “They must have the killer instinct” and “the killer are immortal”.
Sergeant West was found guilty, life sentenced, demoted and after six months in jail, he was sent to the front again. According to someone he fell in Normandy.
Captain Compton was found not guilty and kept in service. He fell at Cassino.
Captain John T. Compton KIA
Hometown: Oklahoma
179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division
Service# O-406922
Awards: Bronze Star, Purple Heart
From FAG #48023659
Biscari massacre
Captain John T. Compton, “C” Company, First Division, 180th Regiment does not sleep since three days. Since the day of the landing, in practice. At 11 a.m. of the morning of July 14th , captain Compton leads his Company to attack the Biscari airport. There is some resistance: mortar’s shots and snipers. If a GI is shot, the snipers open fire on the medics went out from the shelters to help him. Left his shelter in the attempt to localize the snipers’ position, Private Raymond Marlow reaches a blockhouse from which more than forty Italians, hands up, come out. Some of them wear civilian clothes, others wear the uniform. An interpreter asks them if they are snipers, but nobody answers. Lieutenant Blanks, instead, asked by Captain Compton, answers they are snipers. Shoot them!, is the captain’s order.
General Omar Bradley, commander of the Second Corps, is, temperamentally, the Patton’s opposite: calm, thoughtful, careful. He has known by King about what has happened at Biscari and he speaks about this event with Patton. Sergeant Barry West, “A “Company, First Division has shot in cold blood thirty-six Italian POWs while he was escorting them to headquarter for the interrogation. Captain John Compton has made shoot more than forty of them. These are war crimes and we can not be silent. Keep calm, Patton answers, keep calm. Why not saying they were snipers? The POWs are dead and we can not do anything for them.
Bradley ignores the “advice” of his superior and he leads the issue to an end. Both West and Compton are deferred to the Martial Court. Both defend themselves by claiming they have executed the Patton’s orders.
“You will tell your men that”, the “Iron General” had told the Thunderbird’s officers. “They must have the killer instinct” and “the killer are immortal”.
Sergeant West was found guilty, life sentenced, demoted and after six months in jail, he was sent to the front again. According to someone he fell in Normandy.
Captain Compton was found not guilty and kept in service. He fell at Cassino.
US Army WORLD WAR II
Captain John T. Compton KIA
Hometown: Oklahoma
179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division
Service# O-406922
Awards: Bronze Star, Purple Heart
From FAG #48023659
Biscari massacre
Captain John T. Compton, “C” Company, First Division, 180th Regiment does not sleep since three days. Since the day of the landing, in practice. At 11 a.m. of the morning of July 14th , captain Compton leads his Company to attack the Biscari airport. There is some resistance: mortar’s shots and snipers. If a GI is shot, the snipers open fire on the medics went out from the shelters to help him. Left his shelter in the attempt to localize the snipers’ position, Private Raymond Marlow reaches a blockhouse from which more than forty Italians, hands up, come out. Some of them wear civilian clothes, others wear the uniform. An interpreter asks them if they are snipers, but nobody answers. Lieutenant Blanks, instead, asked by Captain Compton, answers they are snipers. Shoot them!, is the captain’s order.
General Omar Bradley, commander of the Second Corps, is, temperamentally, the Patton’s opposite: calm, thoughtful, careful. He has known by King about what has happened at Biscari and he speaks about this event with Patton. Sergeant Barry West, “A “Company, First Division has shot in cold blood thirty-six Italian POWs while he was escorting them to headquarter for the interrogation. Captain John Compton has made shoot more than forty of them. These are war crimes and we can not be silent. Keep calm, Patton answers, keep calm. Why not saying they were snipers? The POWs are dead and we can not do anything for them.
Bradley ignores the “advice” of his superior and he leads the issue to an end. Both West and Compton are deferred to the Martial Court. Both defend themselves by claiming they have executed the Patton’s orders.
“You will tell your men that”, the “Iron General” had told the Thunderbird’s officers. “They must have the killer instinct” and “the killer are immortal”.
Sergeant West was found guilty, life sentenced, demoted and after six months in jail, he was sent to the front again. According to someone he fell in Normandy.
Captain Compton was found not guilty and kept in service. He fell at Cassino.
Captain John T. Compton KIA
Hometown: Oklahoma
179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division
Service# O-406922
Awards: Bronze Star, Purple Heart
From FAG #48023659
Biscari massacre
Captain John T. Compton, “C” Company, First Division, 180th Regiment does not sleep since three days. Since the day of the landing, in practice. At 11 a.m. of the morning of July 14th , captain Compton leads his Company to attack the Biscari airport. There is some resistance: mortar’s shots and snipers. If a GI is shot, the snipers open fire on the medics went out from the shelters to help him. Left his shelter in the attempt to localize the snipers’ position, Private Raymond Marlow reaches a blockhouse from which more than forty Italians, hands up, come out. Some of them wear civilian clothes, others wear the uniform. An interpreter asks them if they are snipers, but nobody answers. Lieutenant Blanks, instead, asked by Captain Compton, answers they are snipers. Shoot them!, is the captain’s order.
General Omar Bradley, commander of the Second Corps, is, temperamentally, the Patton’s opposite: calm, thoughtful, careful. He has known by King about what has happened at Biscari and he speaks about this event with Patton. Sergeant Barry West, “A “Company, First Division has shot in cold blood thirty-six Italian POWs while he was escorting them to headquarter for the interrogation. Captain John Compton has made shoot more than forty of them. These are war crimes and we can not be silent. Keep calm, Patton answers, keep calm. Why not saying they were snipers? The POWs are dead and we can not do anything for them.
Bradley ignores the “advice” of his superior and he leads the issue to an end. Both West and Compton are deferred to the Martial Court. Both defend themselves by claiming they have executed the Patton’s orders.
“You will tell your men that”, the “Iron General” had told the Thunderbird’s officers. “They must have the killer instinct” and “the killer are immortal”.
Sergeant West was found guilty, life sentenced, demoted and after six months in jail, he was sent to the front again. According to someone he fell in Normandy.
Captain Compton was found not guilty and kept in service. He fell at Cassino.
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Oklahoma.
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