Haunted History 4 - William O. Darby
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This cache is in honor of one of Fort Smith's most honored heroes, Brigadier General William Orlando Darby, the father of the U. S. Army Rangers. This multi will take you around the Old Fort (Downtown Historic District) of Fort Smith. All points will revolve around points of interest in the life and memoriam of Gen Darby and his Rangers. I Hope you will have fun and find this tour interesting. Rangers Lead the Way!!!
General William O. Darby Brigadier General William Orlando Darby, born in Fort Smith Arkansas, is best known for his organization of the First Ranger Battalion during World War II. He was known as an exemplary leader in combat, and he always led his men into battle. Bill Darby was born on February 8, 1911, in Fort Smith, Arkansas. His father, Percy Darby, owned a print shop, and his mother, Nell, was a homemaker. He had two sisters, Thelma and Doris. Darby attended Belle Grove School through the sixth grade and then went to Fort Smith Senior High School. After his graduation in 1929, he received an appointment to United States Military Academy at West Point, where he served as a cadet company commander. He graduated from West Point, June 13, 1933. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to the First Battalion, Eighty-second Field Artillery of the First Cavalry, the only mounted artillery unit in the army, at Fort Bliss, Texas. He was promoted to captain on October 1, 1940, and later received amphibious training. He was assigned as aide-de-camp to Major General Russell P. Hartle, commander of the Thirty-fourth Infantry Division, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and deployed with the division to Northern Ireland in January 1942. General Hartle chose Captain Darby to organize and train a new elite commando unit. Darby received a promotion to major, and the official activation of the First United States Army Ranger Battalion took place on July 9, 1942. Darby went into action when his rangers spearheaded the Center Taskforce as a part of Operation Torch under the command of Major General Lloyd Fredendan during the November 8, 1942, North Africa Invasion. Darby’s unit executed a number of successful night attacks.They landed at Arzew, Algeria, near Oran, where Darby served as the military mayor of the city for several months until he and his troops were sent to the Tunisian Front. Near the close of the Tunisian Campaign, Darby set about training and expanding the rangers into three battalions. On July 10, 1943, the First, Third, and Fourth Ranger battalions spearheaded the invasion of Sicily. The three ranger battalions were the first to land during the invasion of Italy on September 9, 1943. Early in the morning of January 22, 1944, they landed unopposed in the harbor of Anzio. They had control from the moment they landed. On January 30, 1944, the First and Third battalions, however, suffered severe casualties in the battle for Cisterna, Italy, and were consolidated with the First Special Service Force. The Fourth Battalion also suffered heavy losses and now alone made up the ranger force. Darby was reassigned to head the 179 Infantry Regiment, Forty-fifth Division on February 17, 1944. He reorganized the broken regiment into a serviceable unit after they played a role in saving the Anzio beachhead. Later that year, Darby was ordered back to the United States. After a trip home, he was appointed as a section chief of the General Staff’s War Plans Division at the Pentagon, serving approximately eleven months in this office. Darby was eager to get back into action and was able to return overseas on an inspection tour of the European Theater in early 1945 with General Hap Arnold. When Brigadier General Robinson E. Duff, assistant division commander of the Tenth Mountain Division, was wounded, Darby quickly volunteered to take his command. He received command and led the Tenth Mounted Division in the advance on Lake Garda. On April 30, 1945, he was in the process of outlining plans for the next day when a German shell exploded near his location. A piece of shrapnel hit him, and he was dead within minutes. Two days later, German forces in Italy surrendered. Darby received a promotion to brigadier general on May 15, 1945, the only soldier to receive such a promotion posthumously. Darby received many awards, including two Distinguished Service Crosses, a Silver Star for “Gallantry in Action,” a Purple Heart, and a Combat Infantry Badge, as well as the British Distinguished Service Order. Darby’s life is celebrated in many ways. Named for him are the USNS General William O. Darby, a U.S. Army troopship, which is now retired, as well as streets in many places. Cisterna, Italy, has a Darby School, and in his hometown of Fort Smith, the sister city to Cisterna, the senior high school he attended is now called the William O. Darby Junior High. Many army posts have training or airfields named after him. Darby was originally buried in a military cemetery outside of Cisterna, Italy, but on March, 11, 1949, his body was returned to Arkansas and reinterred at the Fort Smith National Cemetery, just a few blocks from his boyhood home. HOW TO SOLVE: From GZ, do a projection of 78.92* for 2,427 feet. This first stage is Cisterna Plaza, named after Fort Smith's sister city, Cisterna, Italy, where Darby and his Rangers played key roles in the battles to capture and hold that city. There is no physical container at this location for this cache, but your next projection will be from the fountain found there. From this point you need to realign yourself at 349.20* and project an additional 1,464 feet. This is the Darby Community Center. This old church................................. Now on to stage 3. At a bearing of 99.69*, go 383 feet. This is it! This is the boyhood home of General Darby. It is a tourist stop now, and seems that it will remain one of Fort Smith's better preserved landmarks for generations to come. Stage 4 will take you out of the immediate Bell Grove area and to the old Fort Smith High school. This is where the General would have attended school back in the day before the original structure was damaged in one of many tornadoes that have struck our town in the past two centuries. (the original fort was founded Christmas day, 1817) The site is now the home of a rebuilt and refurbished Darby Junior High. Once you come to GZ for this stage, you will be standing in front of a new sign for this school, gifted by the U.S. Army Rangers and many sponsors in 2012. To get here, project 2,370 feet at a heading of 110.52*. Now that you have gotten the tour and a little history lesson, I bet you're asking, "But Brett, how the !@#$% do I solve this thing?!" Well, as you know we cannot post a container on a school campus. Don't worry, it's a short trip to a nice big parking lot where you can casually walk to the Final stage and sign. Go 249.9 feet at a heading of 108.52* and put a STOP to this cache :) Hope you enjoyed yourself, and who knows, you might see a ranger while you are out!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Tbbtyr vf lbhe sevraq va n gvtug fcbg.