Cottrell James A.

Pfc. James A. Cottrell (1923 – August 23, 1944)

Headquarters Company, 3rd Infantry Division

by Joshua Benedict

Early Life

James A. Cottrell was born in Moore Haven, FL, a small farming town off the shores of Lake Okeechobee, Florida’s largest freshwater lake, in 1923. His father, John Cottrell, entered the US in 1897 from Quebec, Canada, with his parents, Richard and Hattie, who had lived in Canada for approximately thirty years.¹ John became a naturalized US citizen five years later.² He married Aimee Bell on October 14, 1916, in DeSoto, FL.³ The couple moved to Moore Haven, FL to raise their family with John working in the burgeoning automotive industry. They had four children: May (1917), Richard (1918), Patricia (1919), and James.⁴ Sadly, the couple also had a stillborn child in 1920, marking the family’s first tragedy.⁵

On September 18, 1926, the Miami Hurricane made landfall and devastated South Florida and the Cottrell family. Moore Haven, roughly ninety miles northwest of Miami, experienced massive flooding and strong winds. Moore Haven’s proximity to Lake Okeechobee and poor infrastructure led to catastrophic damage and severe flooding. Hundreds of people died, including James’ mother and his sister May, who both likely drowned in the flood zone.⁶ Just two years later, another deadly hurricane passed through the town, known as the Okeechobee Hurricane. It caused even more damage to the still-rebuilding area. The Navigation Association held a meeting in October 1928 to discuss new plans for the lake. John attended the meeting as a representative for Moore Haven, familiar with the local issues. Because the federal government controlled the lake, but the state government controlled drainage and reclamation, the two needed to be on the same page. Engineers decided drainage canals that led out to the ocean or Everglades could help the situation. As it was such an expensive and time-consuming project, the federal government stepped in to assist the state.⁷

Despite what must have been their abject grief, the Cottrells tried to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. John switched careers to work as a truck farmer, farmers who sold their produce via trucks that served cities and towns in the region. To help raise his sons and care for his home, he hired Mary James, who lived with them.⁸ John’s friend, G.J.L. Smith, adopted and raised Patricia.⁹

Besides their personal tragedies, the Cotrells, like most families, struggled to make ends meet as the Great Depression took hold. Men bore the brunt of financial responsibility. Those operating their own businesses suffered greatly. The stress of providing for loved ones led to an increased rate in suicide across the country; 1932 having the highest number over the previous hundred years.¹⁰ Sadly, Patricia’s adoptive father took his own life that year.¹¹ By 1935, she moved back in with her father and brothers. She likely took over Mary’s role in helping with housework, such as cooking and cleaning.  Amidst the chaos, John ensured all his children attended school, and he returned to work in the automotive industry.¹²

In 1936, James’s brother, Richard, enlisted in the Navy. He trained in Miami and briefly visited home before setting sail.¹³ That same year, Patricia married Clison Pressley.¹⁴ By 1940, the remaining members of the Cottrell family dispersed throughout the country. Patricia continued her education as a student nurse in Jacksonville, and John remained in Moore Haven to continue his work in the automotive industry.¹⁵ In August, he remarried in DeSoto, Florida, to Miriam Stewart.¹⁶

These projects ranged from planting trees and fighting forest fires to building campground facilities for future visitors. Men received payment for their work, which they often sent home to their families.¹⁸ In contrast, the CMTC allowed men to receive military training without being called for active duty. They could participate in three different camps depending on their military experience. Upon completion, they received a certificate of accomplishment and could join the US Army Reserves.¹⁹ Prior to enlisting in the Army, James likely participated in one of these programs at Fort MacArthur.

Military Career

James enlisted in the Army on April 26, 1940, before draft registration began in September.²⁰ He joined the Headquarters Corps of the 3rd Infantry Division (ID), then stationed in Fort Lewis, WA.²¹

From Fort Lewis, James and the 3rd ID trained for amphibious attacks along the coast of Washington and California in the months leading up to and following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. For most of 1942, the division trained on the west coast and prepared to join the war in the Pacific. Then, in August 1942, the Army ordered the 3rd ID to prepare for amphibious landings in the European Theater. In September, the division moved across the country to Camp Pickett, VA, to join the Amphibious Corps, Atlantic Fleet. On October 24, 1942, the 3rd ID set sail from Norfolk, VA, toward Morocco to begin its invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, known as Operation Torch.²²

The division put all its training in amphibious landings to good use. In November 1942, it took part in the Allied effort to separate North Africa’s ports from the Axis Powers. Three Allied task forces embarked on capturing key port cities, from east to west, Algiers, Oran, and Casablanca. The 3rd ID received orders to land on the beaches of Fedala, Morocco (now Mohammedia), and advance westward to capture Casablanca, which it successfully secured along with the surrounding area on November 8, 1942, providing a crucial foothold for US Army ground troops in North Africa and supporting the British Army already fighting the German forces there.²³ The 3rd ID continued to fight over 1500 miles across North Africa, helping the Allies secure the region by May 1943. They then trained for the next major Allied invasion in July 1943.²⁴

The invasion of Sicily began on July 10, 1943, as the Allies aimed to secure a foothold in Europe. They organized two task forces to carry out the amphibious landings, one targeting the island’s eastern coast and the other its western coast. James and the 3rd ID, attached to the US Seventh Army, joined the Western Task Force. Alongside the 1st ID, they invaded the city of Licata on the south-central coast of Sicily. The units experienced intense combat but captured the city in two days. Gaining control along the coast opened a much-needed seventy-mile port stretch for the Allies, essential for resupplying the front lines. On July 16, the division traveled thirty miles northwest to Agrigento, securing another port. Then, it received a new mission: to capture Palermo, the capital city of Sicily.²⁵

This new mission aimed to split the Italian and German forces between the western and eastern parts of the island. James and his division had to move quickly, traveling a hundred miles alongside the 2nd Armored Division and 82nd Airborne Division. Arriving on July 22, the 3rd ID entered the city and secured it within two days.²⁶ Around the same time, the Italian Grand Council met and voted Benito Mussolini, their leader, out of power. ²⁷

On July 31, after a few days of rest, James and the 3rd ID received orders to relieve the 45th ID in San Stefano di Camastra, Sicily. In seventeen days, they traveled ninety miles across the tough terrain of the island, facing German pushback. They pressed on toward Messina on the Island’s northeastern coast. By August 17, the Germans had surrendered the city and withdrawn, leaving the island to the Allies.²⁸

With the capture of Sicily, the Allies had a staging area from which to break into mainland Italy. They deemed Salerno the best entry point because it had relatively few defenses. The Navy swept the Gulf of Salerno before the US Fifth Army swarmed the beaches on September 9, 1943. James and the 3rd ID assisted the effort by capturing the fleeing Germans in a small town east of Salerno. As the Germans retreated, they destroyed bridges as they crossed the Volturno River to slow the Allies’ advance. The 3rd ID had to improvise. The men used Navy life rafts outfitted with gas tins and water cans for floatation to cross the treacherous river. Most of the division successfully crossed by October 14 and continued its advance across the peninsula well into November.²⁹

After Salerno, the Germans held the Gustav Line along the Apennine Mountains, using the rugged terrain to their advantage and stalling the Allied advance into Italy. To break the deadlock, the Allies shifted strategy in December 1943, launching an attack through the coastal town of Anzio. Situated north of the Gustav line, Anizio gave the Allies a direct path to Rome. What started as a small mission meant to take three weeks grew into a grueling four-month campaign.³⁰ On January 22, 1944, in the early morning hours, James and the 3rd ID landed on the beaches of Anzio and succeeded in penetrating 3 miles inland on the eastern sector of the Anzio perimeter, near the Mussolini Canal and the town of Cisterna, but they faced brutal conditions and stiff German resistance.³¹

On February 15, Division Headquarters received reports of an impending German attack, prompting the division to strengthen its defenses. James and the 3rd ID repelled the initial assault on February 16, but on February 29, the Germans launched a massive offensive with three divisions, relentlessly pressing the 3rd ID for four grueling days. Fighting under constant artillery fire, exhaustion, and harsh terrain, the men held their ground. By March 3, both sides had suffered heavy casualties, but the 3rd ID’s resilience prevented a German breakthrough, securing the Anzio perimeter.³²

In April and May, James and the 3rd ID remained entrenched at Anzio, enduring continued German artillery bombardment and harsh trench warfare. Both sides engaged in skirmishes and probing attacks, but no significant offensives occurred as the Allies prepared for a decisive breakout. The 3rd ID strengthened its positions, conducted raids, and gathered intelligence. By May, the Allies had amassed seven divisions at Anzio in preparation for the breakout, which began on May 23rd, 1944. On this day, the 3rd ID launched a fierce assault, suffering nearly 1,000 casualties in brutal fighting. Their relentless advance led to the capture of Cisterna on May 25, a pivotal victory that shattered the German defensive line. With the breakout successful, the Allies rapidly pushed inland toward Rome. By June 4, the 3rd ID, with other Allied forces, reached the city’s outskirts, securing its liberation the following day.³³

After Anzio and some well-deserved rest, James and the division returned to training in preparation for the August 15, 1944, invasion of southern France, known as Operation Dragoon. The amphibious landing along the French Riviera primarily supported the invasion of northern France, in Normandy, which had begun months earlier with D-Day on June 6, 1944. James and the 3rd ID landed on the beaches of St. Tropez. They aimed to clear out the enemy while the French First Army, 36th ID, and 45th ID attacked at Toulon and Marseille. The combined effort stretched nearly eighty miles along the French coast. The 3rd ID quickly advanced twenty miles inland by August 17. On August 21, the 30th Infantry regiment of the 3rd ID liberated the city of Aix-en-Provence.³⁴ Sadly, on August 23, eight days after the successful assault on the southern coast of France, James A. Cottrell was killed by a bullet wound in a non-combat incident in the Palette neighborhood of Aix-en-Provence.³⁵

Legacy

The 3rd ID continued to make its way across France, all the way to Salzburg in southern Germany, by the end of the war on May 8, 1945.36 Its contributions to the amphibious landings in the first years of American participation in World War II played a critical role in the Allied victory. James’s work in the headquarters company undoubtedly helped these missions. From medical and administrative work to maintenance and food preparation, the headquarters company provided the 3rd ID essential services and assistance to all men within the division.³⁷

Back home in the US,  James’ family mourned his loss. His father, John, lived in Florida with his second wife, Miriam Cottrell, until his death in 1971. After completing his service in the Navy, James’ brother Richard settled in Baltimore with his wife and daughters and became a television mechanic.³⁸ His sister, Patricia, joined the US Naval Reserve as a nurse in 1942 and attained the rank of commander by the end of her twenty-one years of service.³⁹ Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) took over clerical and health care roles in the Navy to alleviate some of the understaffing problems. Joining the Naval Reserves offered these unique women careers.⁴⁰ She served primarily on the homefront in Jacksonville and Key West during the war but relocated throughout her career.⁴¹ Patricia retired to South Carolina.⁴²

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¹ “1891 Canada Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed January 31, 2024), entry for John S. Cottrell, St. Jerusalem, Argenteuil, Quebec; “1900 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed January 31, 2024), entry for John S. Cottrell, Lowell, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

² “1920 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed January 31, 2024), entry for Samuel J. Cottrell, Moore Haven, DeSoto County, Florida; “Naturalization Records,” National Archives, last reviewed June 20, 2024, https://www.archives.gov/research/immigration/naturalization#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20naturalization%20was%20a,(%E2%80%9Dsecond%20papers%E2%80%9D).

³ “Florida Marriage Records 1837-1974,” database, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org: accessed February 5, 2024), entry for John S. Cottrell.

⁴ “1920 U.S. Census,” entry for Richard Cottrell. May and Patricia are listed with their birth names, Aimee and Lila respectfully.

⁵ “Florida, Death Records, 1877-1939,” database, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org: accessed February 6, 2024), entry for Infant Cottrell.

⁶ Kyria Wickham and Camila Rimoldi Ibanez, “Disaster at Moore Haven,” Journal of Multidisciplinary Research 12, no. 2 (2020): https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A669329848/AONE?u=orla57816&sid=googleScholar&xid=e87a26e2; “Florida, Death Records, 1877-1939,” database, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org: accessed February 5, 2024), entry for Amie Cottrell; “Florida, Death Records, 1877-1939,” database, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org: accessed February 6, 2024), entry for May Cottrell.

⁷ “Navigation Body out for Federal Control of Lake,” Fort Lauderdale News (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), October 27, 1928, Newspapers,com; “$10,740,000 for Okeechobee work is recommended,” The Brandenton Herald (Bradenton, Florida), February 1, 1929, Newspaper.com; Mark Brooke, “Flood Control of Lake Okeechobee,” The Military Engineer 22, no. 122 (1930): 168-72, https://www.jstor.org/stable/44556423.

⁸ “1930 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed February 8, 2023), entry for John Cottrell, Precinct 1, Glades County, Florida.

⁹ “1930 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed February 6, 2024), entry for Patricia Smith, Moore Haven, Glades County, Florida.

¹⁰ Feijun Luo, et al., “Impact of Business Cycles on US Suicide Rates, 1928-2007,” American Journal of Public Health 101 no. 6 (2011): DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2010.300010.

¹¹ “Florida, Death Records, 1877-1939,” database, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org: accessed March 24, 2023), entry for G.J.L. Smith.

¹²    “Florida State Census, 1935,” database, FamilySearch, https://familysearch.org/ (accessed March 24, 2023), entry for James A Cottrell.

¹³ “Moore Haven,” News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), April 25, 1936, Newspapers.com.

¹⁴ “Florida, Marriage Index, 1927-2001,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed February 5, 2024), entry for Patricia L. Smith.

¹⁵    “1940 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed January 31, 2024), entry for John S Cottrell, Moore Haven, Glades County, Florida; “1940 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed February 5, 2024) entry for Patricia Smith, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida. It appears the couple separated prior to 1940 as Patricia attended nursing school as a single woman and Clison remained in Moore Haven as a lodger, listing himself as divorced despite the divorce not being finalized until 1941.

¹⁶    “Florida Marriages, 1830-1993,” database, FamilySearch, https://familysearch.org/ (accessed March 24, 2023), John S Cottrell and Miriam Stewart.

¹⁷    “United States Census, 1940,” entry for James A Cottrell.

¹⁸ History.com Editors, “Civilian Conservation Corps,” History, A&E Television Networks, updated March 31, 2021, https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/civilian-conservation-corps#section_2; “Chapter 3: The Department in the New Deal and World War II 1933-1945,” U.S. Department of Labor, accessed February 5, 2024, https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/dolchp03.

¹⁹ P.S. Bond, et al, The Red, White and Blue Manual (Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins Press, 1921), 1: 1, 5-6.

²⁰    Compiled service record, James A. Cottrell, Pfc., Headquarters Company, 3rd Infantry Division, Final Pay Statement, National Archives, Washington, DC.

²¹    Donald G. Taggart, ed., History of the Third Infantry Division in World War II, (Washington, DC: Infantry Journal Press, 1947), 3, 443.

²²    Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 4, 6-10.

^[23] Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 13-14; United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Operation Torch: The Anglo-American Invasion of French North Africa,” Holocaust Encyclopedia, edited January 7, 2019, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/operation-torch-algeria-morocco-campaign.

²⁴ Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 13-14, 37, 42-48.

²⁵ Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 52-57

²⁶ Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 58-61; Andrew J. Birtle, Sicily: The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II (Washington D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1993), 14-16.

²⁷ By October 1943, the new government declared war on Germany and joined the Allies.History.com Editors, “Benito Mussolini Falls from Power, History, A&E Television Networks, updated July 23, 2020, ”https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mussolini-falls-from-power; History.com Editors, “Italy Declares War on Germany,” History, A&E Television Networks, updated October 10, 2019,

²⁸ Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 63-74.

²⁹ Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 80-92; “The U.S. Navy and the Landings at Salerno, Italy, 3–17 September 1943,” Naval History and Heritage Command, May 10, 2019, https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1943/salerno-landings/landings-at-salerno-italy.html.

³⁰ Clayton D. Laurie, Anzio 1944 (Washington, DC: U.S. Center of Military History, 1994), 2-4.

³¹ Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 107-112; Laurie, Anzio 1944, 8-13.

³² Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 127-136.

³³ Center of Military History, “The Breakthrough,” in Anzio Beachhead: 22 January – 25 May 1944 (Washington, DC: United States 116-121; Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 164.

³⁴ Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 201, 202, 214, 216; Cameron Zinsou, “Forgotten Fights: Operation Dragoon and the Decline of the Anglo-American Alliance,” The National WWII Museum, published August 17, 2020, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/operation-dragoon-anglo-american-alliance.

³⁵    “U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954,” database, Ancestry.com, (www.ancestry.com: accessed March 27, 2023), entry for James Cottrell, service number 06583710; Compiled service record, James A. Cottrell, Final Pay Statement. The History of the Third Infantry Division indicates James was a Prisoner of War during his service with an asterisk next to his name on page 443. The majority of his military file was lost in the 1973 St. Louis Archives fire, making it difficult to find additional sources about it.

³⁶ Taggart, History of the Third Infantry Division, 355.

³⁷ Headquarters, Department of the Army, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Infantry Division, Battle Group (Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 1960), 2-4.

³⁸ “United States 1950 Census,” database, FamilySearch, http://www.familysearch.org (accessed March 24, 2023), entry for Richard L Cottrell and Edith May Cottrell; “John S. Cottrell,” News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), September 19, 1971, Newspapers.com.

³⁹ “John S. Cottrell,” News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), September 19, 1971, Newspapers.com; “U.S., Veterans’ Gravesites, 1775-2019,”  database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed February 13, 2024), entry for Patricia Smith Pressley.

⁴⁰ “The Women’s Reserve (WAVES),” Naval History and Heritage Command, published October 17, 2022, https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/diversity/women-in-the-navy/waves.html; “Navy Nurses of World War II,” Woman of World War II, accessed February 7, 2024, https://www.womenofwwii.com/navy-nurses/.

⁴¹ “1940 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed February 5, 2024), entry for Patricia L. Smith, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida; “Navy Nurses Fishing in Key West, Florida,” Women of World War II, published November 3, 2017, https://www.womenofwwii.com/navy/navy-nurses/navy-nurses-fishing-in-key-west-florida/; “Incoming and Outgoing Nurses at Naval Hospital,” The Key West Citizen (Key West, Florida), May 22, 1945, Newspapers.com; “1950 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed February 5, 2024), entry for Patricia S. Pressley, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana.

⁴² “John S. Cotrell Obit” New-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), September 19, 1971, Newspaper.com.

⁴³ “James A. Cottrel,” American Battle Monuments Commission, American Battle Monuments Commission, accessed March 24, 2023, https://abmc.gov/decedent-search/cottrell=james-1.

⁴⁴ Translations: “Liberated August 21, 1944 by the 3rd US ID with the FFI following their landing on the coast of Provence, joined by Aixois resistors from [their arrival at] the city’s gates. The city of Aix-en-Provence pays tribute to the fighters of this glorious unit.” Our thanks to Laurianne Jourdan for taking this photograph for Florida France Soldier Stories.