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Warning Graphic Content: This photo will not be unfamiliar to many, but it is one of those photographs that I always stop and stare at whenever I am flicking through a book. It is tragic, but shows the compassion of a battle-hardened Parachute Artilleryman who's thoughts at /1
time can only be guessed at. The photograph was taken in Prata, Italy, in November 1943 and shows Pvt Dickie L Hensley of B Battery, 376th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, holding an Italian girl killed when the Germans blew up a road block. Dickie Lee Hensley was born on /2
independence day 1918, making him above the average age for a Paratrooper in WWII. From Gregg County, Texas, Hensley had jumped twice with the Division by the time this photograph was snapped, and had survived the friendly fire incident over Sicily. His Battalion would provide /3
Artillery support at Anzio for the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment as well as the 509th PIB, the Ranger forces under Colonel Darby, and elements of the 3rd Infantry Division. At the time the photograph was taken, The 504th Regimental Combat Team, of which the 376th PFAB was /4
a part, were moving North-East along the Volturno River Valley in what was the most difficult, rugged terrain they faced in WWII. It was necessary here for them to use mules to carry their equipment, something the 75mm Pack Howitzer was designed for a perfectly suited as it /5
could be broken down into small enough pieces. The Germans had blown up a road-block in order to impede their movements, the consequences of which are shown in the photograph. As tragic as it is, it's also reassuring to see that the effects of war on the innocent are not lost /6
on someone like Dickie Hensley. I often wonder if he, being 25, had his own daughter? Or a younger sister? That I've not been able to find out.
