HomeMy WebLinkAboutLannes Hope, Brazos Valley HeroesBy Bill Youngkin
Special to The Eagle
Lannes Hope of Bryan was an accomplished
musician and always wanted to be a band director. His
involvement in combat in World War II and his resulting
hearing loss changed that life choice, but his combat
experience led to another career opportunity -serving
as the assistant dean of men at Baylor University and
being placed in charge of the freshman men's dorm. It
was in this job that his combat experience served him
Lannes Hope's story began on the famous Matador
Ranch in September of 1921. As recalled by Hope: "My
dad was a working cowboy on the Matador and my
mom a country school teacher. My dad decided that
cowboy wages were not going to be sufficient to raise
a family, so we moved to Slayton, Texas, near Lubbock,
where he worked for the railroad.
"I moved to Borger, Texas, for the last part of my
senior year, graduating in 1939. I enrolled at Texas Tech
University and joined the Texas Tech band. After one
year my money ran out, so I joined the National Guard
so I could continue school, as did about half of the Texas
Tech band. In 1940, our unit was activated and sent
to Camp Bowie near Brownwood, Texas, as part of the
36th Infantry Division.
"I became part of the regimental band and from
time to time we would play in the towns nearby. In May
we went to Comanche, Texas, to play for the Memorial
Day activities. It was there that I met Peggy Durham,
who would become my wife in 1943 and has remained
my wife for almost 65 years now."
Hope volunteered and was accepted into the army's
officer candidate school program in August 1942. He
was commissioned as a second lieutenant of armor
at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, in November 1942. Hope would
receive additional training including testing for the pilot
program, where he qualified as a navigator. He decided
to remain a "tanker" and in September 1943 volunteered
as a replacement officer to be sent to Europe.
Before leaving, he proposed to Peggy on Saturday
and was married on Sunday, November 7, 1943. They
had to get the county clerk to open the courthouse
office to get their marriage license. As related by Hope,
"I boarded ship to England on January 1, 1944. After
arrival, I became a member of A Company, 745th Tank
' Battalion, First Infantry Division. We trained in England
and on June 4th, 1944, we and our tanks were loaded
aboard ship to participate in the invasion of France.
"We were to land on Easy Red at Omaha Beach on
June 6th but were not able to off-load on to the beach
3; until June 7;1944. By the time we landed the beach had
` been cleared of the wounded, but the dead remained
~ and were laid out in rows. It was a very sobering sight
for all of us. We moved our tanks into the area we had
~ been designated and secured it, to include breaking
"After securing our sectors, we were assembled for
the breakout that had been planned. It seemed as if '~+
every plane in the European Theatre roared over our `.
heads. I had never seen such an awesome sight. The
Germans shot down the first plane, but we then took
out the German 88's that did that. After all those bombs `.
were. dropped, the breakout began.
"The breakout resembled a line play in football '.
Some units went through the German defenses and
turned to the left like a blocking lineman, while others
turned to the right. The `runner' was about 10,000 of us
that shot straight ahead through the hole in the German ".
line. Within days we were in Paris and had captured
thousands of German soldiers along the way.
"We swung south of Paris, breaking through the ''
Maginot and Siegfried lines, stopping at Stolberg ;
because we ran out of gas. They gave the gas to the ?
British General Montgomery for his failed attempt at the
`Bridge Too Far' in Holland. On this drive I was to lose '
two tanks from direct hits by German artillery, but no
man iri my crew was lost.
"One thing that was good about being a tanker
was when you stopped at night and dug in, the crew `
could get in what they had dug and then we pulled the `'
tank over the top of them. That way, we would all be
safe from overhead artillery fire. That tactic was an
especially useful practice in the Hurtgen Forest battle."
In November 1944, Hope accidentally broke his foot
and was sent to a hospital until he could recover and
rejoin his unit in Germany. Because of his broken foot,
he missed the Battle of the Bulge.
"When I returned to my unit, the lieutenant who had ;
replaced me had been killed and all the members of my
crew had either been killed or .wounded. I'm proud of
what we as soldiers accomplished. We established the
procedures for the infantry and tanks working together, ,!
coming up with several innovations like a field telephone '
mounted to the back of our tanks so the infantry could r
communicate with us."
With the war's end, Hope returned to Texas and
completed his education on the GI Bill, getting his
bachelors and masters from Tech and his PttD from
the University of Texas. After his tour of duty with the
Baylor freshmen, he joined the faculty of A&M in 1961
and remained with A&M until his retirement. He also
remained active in the army reserve, retiring as a full
colonel in 1981.
Recalling that time in his life, Hope said, "That
time was a process of growing up for me. I was given
responsibilities far beyond what I would have expected
at that age."
Lannes Hope's name is found on the Brazos Valley
Veterans Memorial. If you want to have a name added
to the Veterans Memorial, for more information, to make
a contribution, or if you know a World War 11 veteran
whose story needs to be fold, contact the BVVM of
www.veteransmemorial.org or Bill Youngkin at (979)
260-7030.