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Scott County the Beginning

SSGT. Ralph Blevins

Ralph Blevins was born in Scott County, his parents were Rev. J. Wheeler and Ruby Blevins. After his induction into the US Army his training started at Fort Benning, Georgia with the 17th Engineer Battalion (Armored) and assigned to the 2nd Armored Division. After organizing the new battalion, training in engineering skills started. The battalions average age of the enlisted men was 22 years. Then men had two and a half months of basic training. Training included: M1 carbine Rifle marksmanship, mines,  minefields, Demining fixed dry gullies bridge construct, floating Pontoon bridge construct, road repair-making, Military engineering vehicles-DU KW use, and other field combat problems. Training include Live fire exercise and live mine exercises, to make the men battle ready. Colonel George S. Patton was in charge of training the new 2nd Armored Division.

17th Armored Engineer Battalion moved with the 2nd Armored Division to North Africa, Sicily, England, France, Belgium and Germany. As part of the North African Campaign, and Operation Torch the 17th took part in landing French North Africa’s Algeria and Morocco. The major task in North Africa was landing clear and mine removal. 17th landing were early morning on November 8, 1942. In Morocco the landing was in Safi as part of Operation Blackstone. As part of Operation Husky order of battle in the Sicily Campaign, the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion with the 2nd Armor Division landed in Gela, Sicily in south-central Sicily, on July 11, 1943. Before the landing the 17th used M4 Sherman tanks with Scorpion Mine flail exploder to clear the way. The operation captured Butera and participated in the Battle of Mazzarino, then moving on to Palermo. After Sicily the 17th moved to England to train and prepare for D Day.

On June 9, 1944, D-day plus 3, along with other battalions, the 17th battalion landed on Utah Beach in Normandy as a part of the Normandy landings and Operation Overlord. They cleared lanes for landing craft by destroying the mine-bearing steel structures that the Germans had implanted in the intertidal zone. They bulldozed roads up the narrow draws through the cliffs lining the beaches, also used to clear barricades, mine fields, fill in craters and break through thick hedgerows the 17th used M4 Sherman Tanks mounted with M1 bulldozer equipment. From Omaha Beach the battalion pushed through the Cherbourg Peninsula and built a bridge across the Seine river in France. As part of aftermath of the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael, the 17th and 82nd Armored Engineer Battalion worked to build a Bailey bridge across the Albert Canal at the village of Kanne. The first try failed as the bridge fell into the canal. On September 15, 1944 with the help of a boat for support the bridge was completed. Albert canal functioned as a defense line for the retreating enemy. September 18, 1944 the 17th built a bridge across the Geleenbeek stream near Kathagermolen. All the bridges across the Geleenbeek stream around Schinnen were destroyed by the retreating army. During construction machine gun fire came from the woods, missing the engineers. A tank fired some grenades towards the woods and machine gun fire stopped. Two 60 feet Beam bridges where completed one at Kathagermolen and one at Schinnen. The 17th saw lots of action fighting in the Alsace, during this time in the heavy fighting Staff Sgt. Ralph Blevins was killed in action, he died of wounds on 7 October 1944, and is interred at A,8,26 Henri Chapelle American Cemetery, Henri Chapelle, Belgium. Staff Sgt. Ralph Blevins was awarded the Silver Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.