Minuteman Minute | Nebraska's 134th Infantry Regiment

A month after D-Day, Nebraska’s 134th Infantry Regiment, part of the 35th Infantry Division, landed in Normandy and joined the fight to liberate France. Their struggle at the strategic crossroads of St. Lo inspired Keith Rocco’s print “From Cornrow to Hedgerow.”

Hi, I’m Will Roulett, director of the National Guard Memorial Museum here in D.C., and this is your Minuteman Minute! This print by Keith Rocco depicts Nebraska’s 134th Infantry Regiment, part of the 35th Infantry Division, fighting outside the French town of St. Lo during World War II. The 35th Division landed at Omaha Beach on July 5th, 1944, a month after D-Day, and joined the fight for St. Lo, a strategic crossroads. The enemy held strong hilltop positions, and the Americans needed to fight through tangles of rock and vegetation called "hedgerows," which separated each small farm and were fortified by German defenders. On July 15th, 1944, the Cornhuskers of the 134th, led by future chief of the National Guard Bureau, Butler B. Miltonberger, attacked. Under heavy fire and despite almost 700 casualties, the Nebraskans lived up to their battle cry of, “All hell can’t stop us!” They dislodged the Germans and opened the road to St. Lo. Come learn about this – and a whole lot more – at the National Guard Memorial Museum. I’m Will Roulett, and that’s been your Minuteman Minute, brought to you by the National Guard Educational Foundation.