Joseph Estacio ARRUDA

Parents:  Louis E & Marion R FERRIE

Siblings: Manuel, Delphine, John, Angelina, Anthony, Patricia, Julio, Frank, Helen, Louise, Alice, & Madeline

 CEMETERY TEMPORARY of  Blosville N°3508

Story of Cemetery Temporary 

Map of Normandy American Cemetery

The third of 14 children, Joseph Arruda was born in 1921 in Maine. With the arrival of their third son, Louis and Marion Rezendes Arruda moved the family to Taunton, Massachusetts to begin anew.

Louis, who had immigrated from the Portuguese islands of the Azores in 1903, became a grinder in a local foundry while his wife cared for their growing family. Like many boys his age, Joseph attended grammar school with his brothers and sisters during the day and returned to help with his younger siblings in the evening.

Unfortunately, as with many immigrant families, the Arrudas could not afford to continue the education of their children any further.

To support the family, Joseph took on a job as an unskilled laborer in the rubber industry while his siblings all found their own sources of income as well. Having spent his life in Taunton, never leaving rural Massachusetts, Joseph dreamed of adventure and found his chance in Ocober 1942, when he left home for Boston to enlist in the army. He wasn't alone, though, as his eldest brother Manuel had done the same shortly before.

Placed in the 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division, Joseph was deployed immediately to England where, even after months of basic training back home, he was subjected to still more training in preparation for Operation Overlord. On D-Day, June 6, Private First Class Arruda was in one of the first landing craft bound carrying his Company F toward the Uncle Red sector of Utah Beach.

After a brief struggle, 2nd Battalion pushed ashore against minimal resistance, with Company F forming the spearhead. A short but fierce firefight saw the crucial WN4 captured, after which little stood between them and their objective at Les Forges. Unfortunately, at some point between the landing and the fall of WN4, PFC Joseph Arruda was killed in action; as he was in the first wave ashore, it is likely he was among the first men killed on Utah Beach, though this is not confirmed.

Tragically he would not be the only casualty for the Arruda family, as his brother Manuel, in the 1st Engineer Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division, was also killed in the bloody assault on Omaha Beach. The two brothers are buried in the Normandy American Cemetery. They left behind their parents, 5 brothers, and 7 sisters, all of whom remained in Taunton for the duration of their lives. 

4^th INFANTRY DIVISION - IVY

Activated/Activé	Normandy/Normandie
1 Jun 1940	Days of Combat/Jour de Combat  299
	Casualties/Victimes 22 660
Entered Combat/Entré au combat
6 Jun 44 D-Day
Commanding Generals/Commandants généraux Maj. Gen. Walter E. Prosser (Jun 40 - Oct 40) Maj. Gen. Lloyd R. Fredendall (Oct 40 - Jul 41) Maj. Gen. Oscar W. Griswold (Aug 41 - Sep 41) Maj. Gen. Harold R. Bull (Oct 41 - Nov 41) Maj. Gen. Terry de la Mesa Allen (Dec 41 - Dec 41) Maj. Gen. Fred C. Wallace (Jan 42 - Jun 42) Maj. Gen. Raymond 0. Barton (Jul 42 - Dec 44) Maj. Gen. Harold W. Blakeley (Dec 44 - Oct 45)	Campaigns/Campagnes Normandy (6 Jun 44 - 24 Jul 44) Northern France (25 Jul 44 - 14 Sep 44) Rhineland (15 Sep 44 - 21 Mar 45) Ardennes-Alsace (16 Dec 44 - 25 Jan 45) Central Europe (22 Mar 45 - 11 May 45)
PLAN DE ROUTE DE LA CAMPAGNE - CAMPAIGN ROUTE MAP
DIVISION CHRONICLE The 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Division was one of the first Allied units to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-day, 6 June 1944. Relieving the isolated 82nd Airborne Division at Ste. Mere Eglise, the 4th cleared the Cotentin peninsula and took part in the capture of Cherbourg, 25 June. After taking part in the fighting near Periers, 6-12 July,, the Division broke through the left flank of the German Seventh Army, helped stem the German drive toward Avranches, and by the end of August had moved to Paris, assisting the French in the liberation of their capital. The 4th then moved into Belgium through Houffalize to attack the Siegfried Line at Schnee Eifel, 14 September, and made several penetrations. Slow progress into Germany continued in October, and by 6 November the Division reached the Hurtgen Forest, where a severe engagement took place until early December. It then shifted to Luxembourg, only to meet the German winter offensive head-on, 16 December 1944. Although its lines were dented, it managed to hold the Germans at Dickweiler and Osweiler, and, counterattacking in January across the Sauer, overran German positions in Fouhren and Vianden. Halted at the Prum in February by heavy enemy resistance, the Division finally crossed 28 February near Olzheim, and raced on across the Kyll, 7 March. After a short rest, the 4th moved across the Rhine 29 March at Worms, attacked and secured Wurzburg and by 3 April had established a bridgehead across the Main at Ochsenfurt. Speeding southeast across Bavaria, the Division had reached Miesbach on the Isar, 2 May 1945, when it was relieved and placed on occupation duty.	CHRONIQUE DE DIVISION Le 8e régiment d'infanterie de la 4e division fut l'une des premières unités alliées à débarquer sur les plages de Normandie le 6 juin 1944, jour du débarquement. Soulager la 82nd Airborne Division isolée de Ste. Mère Eglise, le 4e défricha la presqu'île du Cotentin et participa à la prise de Cherbourg le 25 juin. Après avoir pris part aux combats près de Periers, du 6 au 12 juillet, la Division a franchi le flanc gauche de la Septième armée allemande, aidé à endiguer la route allemande vers Avranches et, à la fin du mois d'août, s'est installée à Paris, aidant les Français. dans la libération de leur capitale. Le 4e s'est ensuite déplacé en Belgique par Houffalize pour attaquer la ligne Siegfried à Schnee Eifel, le 14 septembre, et a fait plusieurs pénétrations. Les progrès lents en Allemagne se sont poursuivis en octobre et, le 6 novembre, la division a atteint la forêt de Hurtgen, où un engagement sévère a eu lieu jusqu'au début du mois de décembre. Il s'est ensuite déplacé vers le Luxembourg, seulement pour affronter l'offensive allemande d'hiver, le 16 décembre 1944. Bien que ses lignes aient été bosselées, il a réussi à tenir les Allemands à Dickweiler et Osweiler et, contre-attaquant en janvier à travers la Sauer à Fouhren et Vianden. Arrêtée au Prum en février par une forte résistance ennemie, la Division a finalement franchi le 28 février près d'Olzheim et a couru à travers le Kyll, le 7 mars. Après un court repos, le 4 mars traversa le Rhin à Worms, attaqua et sécurisa Wurzburg le 29 mars et, le 3 avril, il établit une tête de pont sur le Main à Ochsenfurt. Accélérant le sud-est à travers la Bavière, la division avait atteint Miesbach sur l'Isar, le 2 mai 1945, quand elle fut relevée et placée en devoir d'occupation.

Manuel E. ARRUDA

1^st Engineer Combat Battalion

1^st Infantry Division