Introduction

During World War II, 1.2 million African-Americans served in America’s Armed Forces. Fully 125,000 served overseas. 708 were killed.

Among these were The Wereth Eleven. Their story was lost to history. Until now.

Outline

On the morning of 17 December 1944, during the early days of the Battle of the Bulge, 11 American soldiers were separated from the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion – an all-Black Army unit serving in the European Theatre.

The unit had been overrun by German forces in Belgium, and most of its men were either killed or captured. The 11 artillerymen who escaped found refuge in the nearby forest and later arrived in the village of Wereth, where a villager fed and sheltered them.

Shortly after the soldiers arrived in Wereth, however, their whereabouts were reported to a German unit. German SS soldiers soon arrived at the residence, capturing the 11 soldiers and marching them to a nearby pasture where they were subsequently tortured and executed. Their bodies were recovered several months later after local residents led Army representatives to the site.

This war crime would come to be known as the Wereth Massacre. While the US Army launched an investigation into the killings, it was closed two years later without resolution.

The “Wereth 11” were:

• Private Curtis Adams
• Corporal Mager Bradley
• Private George Davis Jr.
• Staff Sergeant Thomas Forte
• Corporal Robert Green
• Private First Class (PFC) James Leatherwood
• Private Nathaniel Moss
• PFC George Motten
• Sergeant William Pritchett
• Technician 4th Grade James Stewart
• PFC Due Turner.

Four of these men were repatriated back to the US for burial. The remaining seven who made the ultimate sacrifice while turning back Germany’s last, desperate campaign to avoid defeat, are buried and honoured at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery (HCAC). Those buried at HCAC are:

• Private Curtis Adams (Plot C, Row 11, Grave 41)
• PFC George Davis (Plot D, Row 10, Grave 61)
• Staff Sergeant Thomas J. Forte (Plot C, Row 11, Grave 55)
• Private Nathanial Moss (Plot F, Row 10, Grave 8)
• PFC George W. Moten (Plot E, Row 10, Grave 29)
• Tec. 4th Grade James A. Stewart (Plot C, Row 11, Grave 2)
• PFC Due W. Turner (Plot F, Row 5, Grave 9)

Production & Filming Details

• Narrator(s):
  • Corey Reynolds
• Director(s):
  • Robert Child
• Producer(s):
  • Robert Child … executive producer
  • Frederic Lumiere … executive producer
  • Joseph Small … executive producer
  • Joseph A. Springer … associate producer
• Writer(s):
  • Robert Child
• Music:
• Cinematography:
  • Jamie Hobbis … cinematographer
• Editor(s):
  • Frederic Lumiere
• Production:
  • Ardennes Group (executive production)
  • Rob Child & Associates
• Distributor(s):
  • Janson Media (World-wide, 2011)
  • TDM Entertainment (Netherlands, 2012)(DVD)
• Release Date: 16 February 2011.
• Running Time: 70 minutes.
• Rating: Unknown.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Link(s)