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Alfred Robert Streit served in the 915th Field Artillery Battalion that came ashore on Utah Beach, Normandy, in June 1944. They were called the “Tough Hombres Combat Team” and they fought in five campaigns in 318 days between Normandy and Czechoslovakia.
The weather had been a factor in timing the invasion. The phase of the moon and the tides were ideal on only a few days each month. A full moon was an important source of light for Allied aircraft. A high and incoming tide was also important. A few days earlier, for example, there were high winds and heavy seas with clouds preventing aircraft from finding their targets.
Streit said in a Taylor Daily Press interview that “there were ships sunk all around us and airplanes strafing. We all wanted to find some dirt to dig us a hole, but we were sitting out there on the water. You had to move bodies out of the way so you could walk without stepping on them.”
The Norman Hedgerows
He didn’t say that the troops had trouble getting through the Bocage, the hedgerows inland from the beach. The Norman farmers didn’t have rocks to build walls or wooden or wire fences separating their fields. They had hedgerows dating back to Roman times. These were walls of earth topped by trees and thick brush that kept cattle from wandering away and defined each farmer’s land. They could be fifteen feet high and hard to penetrate even without enemy fire.
Meeting his future wife at Arlington Cemetery
Always upbeat and smiling, Streit also didn’t talk about what his unit had encountered on the way to Czechoslovakia, but he described in detail his meeting with Hallie Stream Gregg, the love of his life. They met while both were touring Arlington Cemetery and were married on Aug. 4, 1946, at St. Peter’s Church in Coupland. He had been a member of St. Peter’s UCC since 1937.
Before that he and his family had gone to the church held in the Mager schoolhouse.
Alfred Streit’s parents and family and WWII registration
When he was born, his parents lived near Structure/ Beaukiss and he went to the Mager School where classes were taught in German. He was born Oct. 14, 1918. His WWII draft card shows him as being age 22, Oct. 16, 1940. This was when he registered in Coupland. He was 61 inches tall and weighed 174 pounds. His complexion was dark, his hair was black, and his eyes were brown.
Alfred’s father was Fritz (Friedrich Gottfried) Streit (1895-1966) and his mother was Frieda Butikofer Streit (18951969). Both of them had Swiss ancestry from the German-speaking part of Switzerland. His sisters were Lydia Streit Beyer (1922-2005) and Alice Streit Guenther (19282016).
Children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in 2010
Alfred and Hallie had four children, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren at the time of his death Dec. 12, 2010, at the age 92. Hallie, who was born in 1925, died in 2016.
Burial
Alfred and Hallie are both buried in Saint Peter’s Church Cemetery in Coupland, where the earliest burials date from 1891. The cemetery is on Texas State Highway 95.
Charlene Hanson Jordan wrote the above narrative as the latest in a weekly column based on new research. Each story along with photographs/ supplemental history, as well as new stories, and articles about local Swedes and Germans will appear in her soon-to-be launched Patreon website.
Her latest book, “NOTES & RECOLLECTIONS, Post Oak Island & Elgin, Texas,” is available at the Elgin Depot Museum where exhibits, photographs, and books on local history are also available. The museum is open on Fridays & Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. and during Sip, Shop, and Stroll on the first Thursday of each month. Watch for notices.
“Notes & Recollections” may be purchased from the Niswanders at the Elgin Farmers Market, Veterans Memorial Park.
The book is also available at the Elgin Courier office, 105 N. Main Street, Elgin, 512-285-3333, during business hours all week or from Charlene directly at charlenehansonjordan@ yahoo. com or 512-856-2562.
