T/5 Henry B. “Mac” MacGuffee was born in Salem, Arkansas on 4 June 1922 to J. L. and Zora MacGuffee. He came from a large family with several older and younger siblings.

Per family members, “Mac” was mechanically gifted, played the guitar quite well, and was known to have a beautiful singing voice with which he entertained the family along with the children in the neighborhood.

He graduated from Salem High School, (The Greyhounds), in 1940 and joined the U.S. Army on 18 November 1942. He took basic training at Camp Rucker, Alabama, and armored training at Camp Pickett, Virginia. He shipped to England in January of 1944 to begin training and preparing for the allied assault on “Fortress Europa”.

The training was intense as armor, it was believed, would be the deciding factor on the beaches when the invasion began. The amphibious “Dual Drive” or DD M4 Sherman tanks were loaded on to LST’s (Landing Ship, Tank) for the crossing of the English Channel invasion on 4 June 1944. On 5 June, the crews of the tanks went into the holds to “fire up” their engines and assure they were in top-notch readiness. “Mac’s” tank would not start or run at all during the test. T/5 MacGuffee and his crew members worked on the engine all day of the 5th and into the wee hours of the 6th, getting the tank battle ready successfully.

They were assigned to “Task Force Howell”, whose mission it was to support the 82nd Airborne Division in fighting around Ste. Mere Eglise that morning upon landing.

“Mac’s” tank made it ashore without incident, but soon came under German attack. An eyewitness, who did not sign the letter attached, later wrote to MacGuffee’s sister, Mrs. Neama Turner, that the column of tanks came under heavy fire, most likely the lethal German 88mm all-purpose artillery cannon. T/5 MacGuffee’s platoon leaders tank took a direct hit, as did Mac’s, both tanks suffered heavy casualties. Henry’s tank had two severely wounded survivors. Both tanks caught fire, as was common when an M4 Sherman was hit, and burned intensely.

The American Battle Monuments Commission lists T/5 Henry B. MacGuffee as “Body not recovered, lost at sea”, the U.S. Army lists him as “Missing In Action” (MIA), however, as the eyewitness points out, he was most likely incinerated in the burning tank and exploding ammunition within it. French locals insist that after the tank had quit burning and was cool enough to enter, and when fighting in the area had subsided, the charred remains of the American tankers were removed and buried near Ste. Mere Eglise. The body was not recovered by Allied Forces.

T/5 MacGuffee was the first Fulton County, Arkansas man Killed In Action in the invasion of France. He was 22 years and 2 days old when he lost his life. While he has no known final resting place, he is memorialized on the Memorial Wall of Fulton County at the Salem Courthouse, and on a Memorial near Ste. Mere Eglise, Normandy, France as well as the Wall of the Missing in the Normandy American Cemetery, St. Laurent, Normandy, France.

***NOTE*** The information below was transcribed from the 6 June 1944 After-Action Report of the 746th Tank Battalion. Grammar and spelling were transcribed as written.

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Company C.

Commanding Officer - Capt. James A. Crawford

1st Plat. Leader - 2nd Lt. Joe M. Mercer

2nd Plat. Leader – 2 Lt. Harold D. Plagge

3rd Plat. Leader – 2nd Lt. James R. Shields

Maintenance Officer – 1st Lt. Lawrence S. Deptula

At 1730 after dewaterproofing their vehicles in the assembly area L, Company C moved out behind a reconnaissance platoon from the 82nd A/B Division thru St. Marie du Mont to cross roads SE of Ste Mere Eglise at 36 39 32.

With the reconnaissance elements leading the company moved NW along the road to Ste Mere Eglise but was forced to hastily deploy before reaching the creek at 354943, because of heavy AT fire coming from the high ground across the creek and just S and SE of the town. Lt. Mercer and 1st platoon deployed to the left flank of the road engaging AT guns on the enemies right flank. In this action three tanks were lost and Lt. Mercer mortally wounded. 3rd platoon under Lt. Plagge deployed to the right of the road and approached the creek in an effort to flank the enemy positions from his left. The platoon was unable to cross the creek and one tank bogged. Sgt. Smith, the tank commander, remained in this position for 4 days together with his crew and a S/Sgt. From the 82 A/B Division. During this time and after the action has passed them by, they engaged in fire fights with bypassed enemy elements, killing a total of 20 and taking 13 prisoners. Lt. Shields of the 2nd platoon deployed along a narrow front immediately adjacent to the main road and engaged the guns from those positions. S/Sgt. Buza moved his tank forward succeeding in crossing the creek and reaching the high ground. Although other tanks could not follow to support him, Sgt. Buza succeeded in knocking out 4 AT guns, several vehicles and inflicting heavy casualties on enemy troops. He radioed Capt. Crawford for instructions, stating that he could proceed to Ste Mere Eglise, because he was unable to secure support from other tanks, due to the fire directed at them, Capt. Crawford ordered Sgt. Buza to return to the platoon.

The company fought the remainder of the day in vain attempts to flank and secure the enemy held high ground. On the night of the 6 June the company bivouacked with elements of the 82nd in the vicinity of the cross roads.

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