By Audrey Dewjee
Denris Mouton was a French-speaking Catholic born in Lafayette, Louisiana, USA, where he lived throughout his life. However, he celebrated his eighteenth birthday in England. At the age of seventeen, Denris had joined the military after America entered World War II, and he served until his discharge in 1946 at the rank of Provost Sergeant in the Military Police. His mother was the recipient of the 'Five Gold Star Mom' award for having five sons on active duty during World War II at the same time.
Denris was a member of an all-Black unit – part of the 256th Port Battalion of the U.S. Army – which was stationed at Cottingham near Hull, before moving on to Cherbourg in France. He and his fellow soldiers were responsible for unloading transport ships that brought supplies and armaments to the Allied Forces in Europe. In Cherbourg they also had another assignment. They were told to guard German prisoners – about 6,200 of them, mostly paratroopers. The prisoners were very young, with just a few older ones among them. As a first sergeant, Mouton had an orderly to assist him – a fourteen-year-old German POW.
Denris was a member of an all-Black unit – part of the 256th Port Battalion of the U.S. Army – which was stationed at Cottingham near Hull, before moving on to Cherbourg in France. He and his fellow soldiers were responsible for unloading transport ships that brought supplies and armaments to the Allied Forces in Europe. In Cherbourg they also had another assignment. They were told to guard German prisoners – about 6,200 of them, mostly paratroopers. The prisoners were very young, with just a few older ones among them. As a first sergeant, Mouton had an orderly to assist him – a fourteen-year-old German POW.
The prisoners became a valuable resource as labourers and they were used to unload the ships that came into the docks, once the docks had been cleared of mines. There were few problems with the POWs, but one incident which happened at Christmas stayed with Denris for sixty years. Apparently there was a rumour of a possible escape attempt and the US soldiers were told to tighten security. Instead of sleeping in their tents, the prisoners were made to spend Christmas night outdoors, where the American soldiers could watch them more easily. It was bitterly cold, and it began to snow. The Germans huddled in groups of about fifty, taking turns sleeping on top of each other for warmth – and they sang. “They were the best-voiced people,” Denris recalled. “They sang Silent Night in German. I think every one of my soldiers was crying because it was sad to see.”
After the War, Denris became a self-employed painting contractor known throughout his district as a Premier Craftsman. Back to African American Soldiers >> |
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References
http://www.lafayettepublicpolicy.com/creolesoldier.html
http://www.lafayettepublicpolicy.com/archive_2006.html
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvertiser/obituary.aspx?pid=162373118
*There is another photo of Denris Mouton in MP uniform in African Americans in Lafayette and Southwest Louisiana, by Sherry T. Broussard, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2012, p.111.
http://www.lafayettepublicpolicy.com/creolesoldier.html
http://www.lafayettepublicpolicy.com/archive_2006.html
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theadvertiser/obituary.aspx?pid=162373118
*There is another photo of Denris Mouton in MP uniform in African Americans in Lafayette and Southwest Louisiana, by Sherry T. Broussard, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2012, p.111.