Ted Livas was with his buddies at the neighborhood drugstore on Southport & Grace in Chicago when he learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor. At that time he was engaged to his wife, Loretta. He was eventually drafted into the U.S. Army with the 3rd Infantry Division. He was inducted into active service at Camp Grant, Illinois on November 17, 1942 and was then moved to Camp Wolters for 13 weeks of basic training. During basic training, they learned the proper use of arms, equipment and strategies of combat. At the end of training, meningitis was suspected in the group; they were quarantined and denied any furloughs. Although under quarantine, they were transported by train to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, a Port of Embarkation.

Under the veil of secrecy, they departed New Jersey on the British ship S.S. Andes and headed to North Africa. They arrived at Casablanca on March 23, 1943 and the quarantine was lifted. From Casablanca, they traveled to Mostaganem, Algeria. At this point, Ted was assigned to “K” Company, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. This is where he met his best buddy, Earl Ravenscroft, who Ted deems as “a real hero”. During their time in Mostaganem, they received extensive ground training and practiced amphibious landings off of LST’s (Landing Ship Tank), descending from rope ladders onto landing crafts and circling in formation before heading toward the beachhead.

Ted recalls his first experience in combat - the attack of Hill 609 near the end of the Tunisian Campaign. While guarding and transporting German prisoners, their convoy came under air attack. “The German prisoners believed, and rightly so, that they were going to America because the war was over for them and just starting for us!”

From Tunisia, Ted’s unit forged on to the invasion of Licata, Sicily on July 10, 1943. The landing took place in the dark, and the battle lasted 40 days. It was here that the unit saw their first actual combat under fire with casualties, including the loss of a friend. After the taking of Palermo in Sicily, Ted fell ill with hepatitis (“Yellow Joe”). Following his recovery, he returned to his unit after the invasion of Italy at Salerno with the 36th Texas Division. From Salerno, the unit moved to the Naples-Foggia Campaign. After many miserable days on the line, enduring desperate fighting and a muddy quagmire, they were unable to penetrate the German line. The Division was eventually relieved and prepared for another amphibious landing at Anzio.

The start of the Anzio Campaign, January 24, 1944 began successfully, as the Germans were caught under surprise attack. It was stalled at the beach due to lack of flank protection. The Germans moved in on the high ground, heavily armed. From then on, as Ted recalls, “all hell broke loose”. This campaign lasted for approximately four months, and the division sustained heavy casualties during this time.

On March 15, 1944 Ted was wounded while on outpost duty. “Laying in my watery foxhole, under direct German tank fire, shrapnel pierced my helmet and lacerated my head,” he said. He was bandaged and given first aid by the company medic and eventually arrived at the 3rd battalion medics, where he says he “almost felt human again with a dry bed, clean sheets, hot food and a tent over my head”. He was quickly recalled to combat.

From Anzio, the unit was en route to Rome, which was eventually taken on June 4th and declared an open city. It was in Rome that the group learned of the Normandy Invasion and some of them began to think the war would soon be over. In August of 1944, the unit invaded St. Tropez. The beach was bombarded by planes, destroyers and all types of artillery. They covered much ground during the early days of this invasion, and moved northward through the Rhineland-Ardennes campaign.

After fighting through Africa, Sicily, Italy and France, Ted and his buddy Earl Ravenscroft were afforded some long overdue R&R and were relieved from combat duties. Ted was reassigned to a facility for German prisoners of war. While waiting for assignment, the Battle of the Bulge ensued. Ted was nervous that he was going to be again sent into combat, but thankfully, based on the points system, he was eligible to come home. He left France on a Liberty Ship and headed back to the USA!

Ted was highly decorated during his service: Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal and the European-African, Middle East Campaign with Two Bronze Service Stars and one Silver Service Star with Arrowhead. He participated in seven campaigns. As a whole, the 3rd Division operated in ten campaigns and sustained 24,344 casualties; 4,922 killed in action, 18,766 wounded in action and 646 died from wounds received in action.

After the war, Ted married Loretta and had a son and a daughter. They now have two grandsons, one granddaughter, a great grandson and a great granddaughter. In 2008, Ted was awarded the Knight of the Legion of Honor medal and named a “Chevalier” by the French Consulate as a tribute to solders who did so much for France and Western Europe. Also, in 2008, the Village of Roselle issued a Proclamation in recognition of Ted’s service to the country and his community. He is also a Lifetime Member and past commander of American Legion Post 1084 Department of Illinois. What an honor to spend time with an American hero! We hope Ted enjoyed his Honor Flight with his son, Jim. Welcome home!

-Shellie Zaberdac Dell

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