It was a cold, freezing night – January 21, 1944. The treacherous Rapido River in southern Italy awaited them. They were the Boys of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 36th Infantry Division, U.S. 5th Army. They were boys mostly from Bowie High School, but their Commander Gabriel L. Navarrete, had graduated from Cathedral High School. Company E was known as an experienced intelligence gatherer and knowledgeable about evaluating the enemy’s strength.
The Boys from Company E were known as a rough and tough unit, one of the best in the U.S. Army. When Navarrete was ordered to lead a patrol across the Rapido River to reconnoiter, to determine the position of the enemy and to find a suitable crossing point to get vital information on the strength of the Germans, he received his seventh wound in action. However, he did return to report that in his opinion, crossing the Rapido River would be suicide.
He wasn’t alone. General Fred Walker, Commander of the 36th Infantry Division, was quoted as saying: “I do not know of a single case in military history where an attempt to cross a river that is incorporated in the main line of resistance has succeeded. So, I am prepared for defeat.”
Well, he may have been prepared for defeat, but, the Boys of Company E had no choice. They too knew that to attempt the crossing was suicidal, but they were brave, they were Chicanos and, yes, they loved their United States of America enough to sacrifice their lives. These brave boys turned men did not hesitate. They attempted the crossing under cover of night.
Roque Segura was the strongest swimmer in the unit. He volunteered to swim across the Rapido to set up a rope system that included small boats, which the men could then use to get to the other side. The freezing water made it very difficult, but Segura swam across the river time and time again to get as many troops across as possible. Other men followed, other men died. Segura was killed by enemy fire. Others died by that same violent upheaval created by the German Army. Many men died.
Before the crossing, however, when then-Captain Navarrete had reported his findings to Walker, the General only told him that he admired what he had accomplished and, word has it, would recommend Navarrete for the Medal of Honor. Navarrete, however, wasn’t having it. He knew that his men were going to be murdered, decimated by the eagerly awaiting Germans. Navarrete told Walker that if his men were sacrificed, despite the report, he would go gunning for justice. Walker did not heed Navarrete’s report, however, and ordered the crossing to proceed. The disastrous crossing claimed the lives of more than 1,700 men – including the 300 all-Chicano company from El Paso.
When Navarrete heard that his men had been sacrificed after all, he went gunning for whoever had ordered the fatal crossing. The Army wasn’t about to allow that to happen, so Navarrete was transferred out of Italy and to a stateside hospital to recover from his wounds. For years, then, the Boys of Company E languished in obscurity, prevented by the Army from talking about the fiasco. It was a total blunder for which the U. S. Army has not accounted. For years, they were the forgotten heroes of World War II, a war in which more Hispanics received Medals of Honor than any other ethnic group.
But, no more. Thanks to efforts of such stalwarts as Silvestre Reyes, U.S. Rep., D-El Paso, City Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and his wonderful staff person Diana Ramirez, Peter Brock, who works with Reyes, Santos Super Sanchez, Javier Diaz, Esther Perez, Julieta Olvera, Robert Navarrete, David Navarrete, Ricardo Palacios Jr., yours truly, and many others without whose help this couldn’t be possible, the Boys of Company E are on the verge of getting their due rewards, their long-awaited recognition.
Even as I write this, three representatives are in Washington, D.C., where they will be honored, feted, wined and dined by Reyes and his staff and by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. They will receive a Resolution honoring their military service. However, only one of the three is an original member of the Company. Those few who remain are too ill to travel. But, Ricardo Palacios Sr. was healthy enough to go. His son, Ricardo Palacios Jr., is accompanying his elderly father. Another important member of this little party is David Navarrete, the son of Company E Commander, Gabriel L. Navarrete. After all these years, finally, acknowledgement of their bravery, of their fearlessness, of their love of country, love of city – El Paso – and love for each other. They were the rough and tumble guys of Company E. Recognition and honors have finally arrived. Thanks to everyone who made this happen.
Sin Fin
Katherine Brennand
May 26, 2008
It would have been a nice inclusion in this article to have mentioned the fabulous public art piece that will honor the
".Boys of Company E."
Virginia Hooten
May 26, 2008
This is a heart-rending story but I am very glad to know about it. It surely makes me proud of those young Hispanic men! Thank you to them and their families and to those of you who have brought them acknowledgment.
Manuel Ornelas
May 26, 2008
How well I knew the boys of Co. E. I left them in Camp Blanding Floridato go to OCS at Fort Benning Ga.bUT STAYED in touch with the boys until the war was over.most are gone now except dfor one or two of them. Thanks for remembering the boys of Co. "E" on the Memorial Day.
Marta Duron Hernandez
May 26, 2008
What a fitting story for Memorial Day. Thank you Joe and to all
the people who have persevered to get the "Boys of Company"
the recognition they deserve.
Joe, I always enjoy your stories. Thank you.
Albert R
May 27, 2008
The Commander of Company at the Rapido River crossing on January 22, 1944 according to many sources I've seen was Captain John L. Chapin, who was killed in this action and subsequently awarded the Silver Star along with Staff Sgt. Roque O. Segura.
Gabriel L. Navarrete was Cpt. Chapin's Lieutenant. Chapin was to be promoted to Major though had not received official notice at the time of his death at the crossing as some surviving Co. E members recall. There seems to be a descrepency in the sequence of who was commanding Co. E as stated in your article. Some clarification would help.
Being the son of a Company E member, I grew up knowing many of the men in Company E; they having formed a social club after the war that held monthly dances, even bringing the Glen Miller Orchestra to the El Paso Civic Center on one occassion. They all shared war stories at their gatherings, colorful and terrible in their accounts. Many of these men had grown up in the same neighborhood, what was then known as East El Paso, the area now between Five Points and Concordia Cemetery. They enlisted together in the Texas National Guard because they were truly a band of brothers. World War II saw the induction of the Texas National Guard into the army, into the famed 36th Division, the "T" patchers.
Chapin is commemorated in a statue in the rotunda at John L. Chapin High School on Fort Bliss. The names of all the members of Company E including my father are inscribed in the same rotunda above. Segura is commemorated at the VFW Post named after him located near the intersection of Dyer and Pershing streets.
Albert R
May 29, 2008
More of the story:
According to Ricardo Palacios, Company E Staff Sargeant at the time of the Rapido River crossing, when asked, stated that Gabriel Navarrette, Lieutenant at the time was order to reconnoiter the enemy side of the river along with Roque Segura and Edwardo Romo, late of El Paso. Navarrette was wounded and sent back across the river in the raft and rope system mentioned in your article.
He was not a participant in the actual pre-dawn suicidal crossing which took place at 3:00 a.m. Cpt. Chapin lead the crossing and was later found dead on the enemy side ot the river. According to one source Chapin was not found until a week after the assault, in a foxhole with his radio still in his hand.
Palacios recounted this when he and two other surviving members of Company E gathered at the sculpture studio of Julio Sanchez de Alva on the 700 block of Texas Street, El Paso. Sanche de Alva has been commissioned by the city to create a memorial bronze depicting Company E and their campaigns in Italy, including the Rapido River crossing.