Grouping, Maj. James Lanier, Medic, 242nd Field Arty Bn., 79th Infantry Division, ETO

James C. Lanier III was born on March 29th, 1918. Due to the need for trained medical personnel in WW2, James was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the US Army Medical Corps Reserve immediately after his graduation in June 1942. Lieutenant Lanier would be saving lives as a doctor with the Medical Detachment, 242nd Field Artillery Battalion, which was armed with truck drawn 105mm Howitzers. Captain Lanier would train with the battalion as they moved from station to station across the United States, finally ending at Fort Sill. After over a year stateside, the 242nd Field Artillery was alerted for overseas deployment and disembarked from the US on July 1st, 1944, landing in Scotland later in the month, and at Utah Beach on August 24th.

Beginning on September 10th, Lanier’s unit would be attached to the 79th Infantry Division, and experience their first taste of combat four days later. For the rest of September, Captain Lanier’s unit would continue to support infantry operations, including the Meurthe River crossing and the attack on the Foret de Parroy, where they would experience their first fatal casualty. From this point on, Captain Lanier and the 242nd’s Medical Detachment would be busy treating casualties and conducting health checkups for the troops. In October, the battalion operated near Fort Manonviller in support of the 314th Infantry Regiment.

On November 1st, they were reassigned to the 7th Corps to support the breakthrough at Avricourt and to protect the northern flank at Strasbourg. As Captain Lanier and the 242nd continued to advance, they also supported the attack on the Maginot Line and pummeled forts located at the Simserhof Ensemble which was a crucial target to clear. The next month of January would see Captain Lanier busy once again, with the battalion vigorously defending against a German offensive launched across the Saar River during the last hours of 1944, and after successfully beating it back, moved to support the Rhine crossings by the 2nd Infantry Regiment, which were unsuccessful. At the end of the month, they would be attached to the 101st Airborne Division near Hagenau and Pfaffenhoffen along the Moder River until February, when the 242nd was attached to the 34th Infantry Division. Luckily for Captain Lanier and the Medical Detachment, the next few months would be uneventful in terms of casualties, but they would be busy making sure all soldiers were healthy, and treated wounded German civilians as well. At the end of March, the 242nd supported the 103rd Infantry Division’s advance on the Siegfried Line, fired on targets on the east of the Rhine River and finally crossed the Rhine on April 14th, and then the Danube River. 

On May 1st, the 242nd Field Artillery were relieved from the line to begin guarding and transporting the influx of German soldier’s surrendering, with Captain Lanier treating those who were wounded. Only a few days afterwards, the German surrender was announced, and the 240 day combat lineage of the 242nd Field Artillery ended. Due to the need for trained medical personnel in WW2, James was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the US Army Medical Corps Reserve immediately after his graduation in June 1942. He would not be the first member of the Lanier family to serve. His great grandfather Colonel Thomas Cleveland Lanier, served during the Civil War with Company B, 2nd Alabama Infantry, and later as Colonel of the 42nd Alabama, being wounded twice. However, instead of fighting, Lieutenant Lanier would be saving lives as a doctor with the Medical Detachment, 242nd Field Artillery Battalion, which was armed with truck drawn 105mm Howitzers. Captain Lanier would train with the battalion as they moved from station to station across the United States, finally ending at Fort Sill. After over a year stateside, the 242nd Field Artillery was alerted for overseas deployment and disembarked from the US on July 1st, 1944, landing in Scotland later in the month, and at Utah Beach on August 24th. 

Beginning on September 10th, Lanier’s unit would be attached to the 79th Infantry Division, and experience their first taste of combat four days later. For the rest of September, Captain Lanier’s unit would continue to support infantry operations, including the Meurthe River crossing and the attack on the Foret de Parroy, where they would experience their first fatal casualty. From this point on, Captain Lanier and the 242nd’s Medical Detachment would be busy treating casualties and conducting health checkups for the troops. In October, the battalion operated near Fort Manonviller in support of the 314th Infantry Regiment. On November 1st, they were reassigned to the 7th Corps to support the breakthrough at Avricourt and to protect the northern flank at Strasbourg. As Captain Lanier and the 242nd continued to advance, they also supported the attack on the Maginot Line and pummeled forts located at the Simserhof Ensemble which was a crucial target to clear. The next month of January would see Captain Lanier busy once again, with the battalion vigorously defending against a German offensive launched across the Saar River during the last hours of 1944, and after successfully beating it back, moved to support the Rhine crossings by the 2nd Infantry Regiment, which were unsuccessful. At the end of the month, they would be attached to the 101st Airborne Division near Hagenau and Pfaffenhoffen along the Moder River until February, when the 242nd was attached to the 34th Infantry Division. Luckily for Captain Lanier and the Medical Detachment, the next few months would be uneventful in terms of casualties, but they would be busy making sure all soldiers were healthy, and treated wounded German civilians as well. At the end of March, the 242nd supported the 103rd Infantry Division’s advance on the Siegfried Line, fired on targets on the east of the Rhine River and finally crossed the Rhine on April 14th, and then the Danube River. 

On May 1st, the 242nd Field Artillery were relieved from the line to begin guarding and transporting the influx of German soldier’s surrendering, with Captain Lanier treating those who were wounded. Only a few days afterwards, the German surrender was announced, and the 240 day combat lineage of the 242nd Field Artillery ended.