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Wartime Heritage
ASSOCIATION
Remembering World War II
Name:
Roger B. Powers
Rank:
Private
Service Number:
1102370
Service:
Company A, 33rd Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Division,US Army
Date of Birth:
May 21, 1917
Place of Birth:
Massachusetts
Date of Enlistment:
September 26, 1940
Place of Enlistment:
Boston, Massachusetts
Address at Enlistment:
Danvers, Massachusetts
Age at Enlistment:
23
Marital Status:
Single
Date of Death:
July 10, 1943
Age:
26
Cemetery:
Holten Cemetery, Danvers, Massachusetts
Roger Powers was the son of Aaron S. Powers (1874-1961) and Ethel E (Purdy) Powers (1881-1976). His
father was born in Yarmouth, NS, on November 5, 1874; his mother – in Wenham, Mass. (Ethel’s father
Stephen Purdy was also born in Nova Scotia). Roger’s parents married in Danvers, Mass. on June 10,
1903. Roger had four sisters – Ina, Madeline, Claire and Jean.
Roger served with the 33rd Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Division. After participating with the Division in
the "Carolina Maneuvers" and training in England, the Battalion participated in the first of its 3 assault
landings near Les Analouses, North Africa. At 0832 hours on November 8, 1942, while firing in support of
the 26th Regimental Combat Team, B Battery fired the first US artillery rounds in the European Theatre.
Throughout the North African campaign, the 33rd Field Artillery continued to support the 26th
Regimental Combat Team, including at the battle of Kasserine Pass where the Battalion provided both
indirect and direct fires.
On July 10, 1943, the 1st Infantry Division hit
Sicily in Operation Husky. The 33rd Field Artillery
landed at Gela and fought along side the Rangers
and the 26th Infantry. The gun positions were
less than 500 meters from the sea when the
Herman Goering Division launched a counter-
attack. Regimental Forward Observers directed
the cannon fires and naval gunfire to stop the
counter-attack just short of the beach. 8 German
tanks were destroyed by direct fire from the
105mm Howitzers, while many others were
damaged and pulled back.
Roger Powers died on this first day of the Sicily
Landings, July 10, 1943. His body was
repatriated to the United States and he is buried
in the Holten Cemetery in Danvers,
Massachusetts.
Roger B. Powers