Remember two Claremont soldiers who died at Normandy

By WAYNE MCELREAVY
Claremont Historical Society
CLAREMONT — In a couple of weeks, we will mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The Battle of Normandy began June 6, 1944 with a massive Allied invasion of the French coast held by German forces. D-Day was merely the beginning of Operation Overlord, which didn’t end until August when Allied forces crossed the River Seine. 

When the battle ended, over 23,000 Americans had been killed. Over 9,300 of them are buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, and two of those men are Claremonters. 

So when all is said and written in the coming weeks about the D-Day anniversary, remember that two Claremonters made the supreme sacrifice in the Battle of Normandy.

 

Walter

Harold Matheson

Walter Matheson was born March 30, 1917 in Somerville, Massachusetts, where the Matheson family had immigrated from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. At the time of his birth, his father, Leslie G. Matheson, was short of his 16th birthday, and the identity of Walter’s mother remains a mystery.

During his early childhood, Walter lived with his father and grandparents on a 250-acre stock farm in the Dodge Hollow section of Lempster. When his grandmother died in 1929, the farm was sold, and Walter moved with his father and grandfather to the home of Carleton and Hazel Morse on Elm Street in Claremont. Hazel was his father’s sister, and she essentially became Walter’s adoptive mother.

Walter finished high school at Stevens in 1934 and entered the work force. 

Railroad records indicate he was a track laborer in 1937. He was employed at the Windsor Manufacturing Company, a subsidiary of Goodyear, when he enlisted in military service on Aug. 7, 1941.

When the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment was being formed in October 1942, Walter volunteered. After extensive training, the regiment was shipped overseas in December 1943 for more training before being attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. 

Their assignment on D-Day was to parachute into France shortly after 2 a.m. to take strategic points to aid in the massive invasion that would start at 6:30 a.m.

Walter’s body was found on June 7. The bodies of six German soldiers were found nearby. Nobody knows exactly what happened, but it appears Walter Matheson went down fighting. He was single with no dependents.

The 508th continued to fight the Germans until being relieved on July 7. Of 2,056 paratroopers of the 508th, Walter was one of 307 to be killed with another 754 wounded.

 

Louis

Alphonse Dubreuil

Louis Dubreuil was born Oct. 11, 1921 in Claremont to Alphonse and Rose (Nolet) Dubreuil. His parents were from Ontario. Louis grew up in the family home at 24 Spofford Street. He attended St. Mary schools and then went to work at Kimel Shoe Corporation on Crescent Street.

On Dec. 27, 1941, Louis married Alma Gendron. Their only child, Louise, was born June 5, 1942. Louis enlisted in the U.S. Army on Dec. 30, 1942 and reported for active duty on Jan. 1, 1943. 

After training at Camp Swift, Texas and then Camp Berkeley, Texas, Louis was assigned to the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was a sister unit to the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Like the 508th, the 507th was also assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division and was training for the D-Day invasion. They had the same objectives as the 508th, which were primarily to secure the crossings of the Merderet River.

Though Louis survived the landing operations, the 82nd Airborne saw severe combat for 33 straight days without replacements and took heavy casualties. In one two-day period in late June, the 507th lost nearly 200 men. Among those lost was Louis Dubreuil, who was killed in action on June 25. Out of over 2,000 men of the 507th to have parachuted on D-Day, only about 700 remained when the unit was returned to the United Kingdom in July.

Louis’ brother, Wilfred Dubreuil, had been killed in action in Italy on Feb. 29, 1944, making the brothers the only Claremont siblings to perish in World War II.