Mom told me on more than one occasion that she thought there’d be a lot fewer alcoholics but for World War II. Pop saw combat three times and received three Bronze Stars. Three times is not always a charm. Whether Pop’s alcoholism would have progressed the way it did had he not been through those battles or suffered the injuries he did on the bank of the Rapido River – I don’t know. As an Infantry Commanding Officer, did the pain of losing so many of his men haunt him so deeply that his only relief was at the bottom of that bottle?
The Battle of the Rapido River, 20 Jan through 22 Jan, has been described by veterans and historians alike as disastrous, catastrophic, and a brutal bloodbath. And those are some of the more tame descriptors. Total American casualties for that brief, relatively unheard of battle were 1,052 wounded in action, 921 captured or missing, and 155 killed in action.
This 24 Jan 1944 Award of the Purple Heart reflects a tiny percentage of the casualties. Pop, 1st Lieutenant John R. Potts, is the 52nd soldier listed on the five-page Army Order.
The War In My Bones 
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