Nebraskans on the Front Lines
 12 of 13

Nebraska's National Guard:
The 134th in Europe

The 134th Fords River in France
The Second Batallion (Bn.) 134th Infantry Regiment fords the Madon River in single file as they move up to the western bank of the Moselle River, just south of Nancy, France. The Madon River near Pierreville. Lt. Col. Roacker, C.O. This Bn. suffered 80% casualties 12 hours after this picture was taken.
See a video segment on the 134th in Europe here.
Miltonberger led the 134th through extensive training at various camps in the United States and finally departed from New York on May 12, 1944, for Europe. The unit arrived in England 15 days later. The unit continued its training in England and was inspected by Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton and Paul Baade.

Eisenhower was especially impressed with the 134th and, "told them ... that he was a Kansas boy ... and that he was very proud of this Nebraska Regiment and he souped the men up no end."

Gen. Eisenhower
Gen. Dwight Eisenhower (from left), Gen. Baade,
Col. Miltonberger, General Patton and an aide
review the 134th in Cornwall, England, June 1944.

The 134th was ready to join the fight to liberate Europe and nearly a month after D-Day, July 5, 1944, the regiment landed on Omaha Beach. The first combat that Miltonberger's men faced was the battle of St. Lo in France. After four days of continuous fighting, the 134th occupied St. Lo. The regiment was then thrust into the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne in December to relieve the 101st Ariborne Divison. The regiment suffered 10,000 casualties while advancing over 1,500 miles in combat during its 10 months in Europe.