Sgt. Clayton Falls and Cpl. David Bacon of Medina, NY are members of the 339th “Polar Bear” Regiment, which shattered the vitals of the vaunted Gothic Line, taking Italian peaks as high as 3,400 feet east of Highway 65 and the Futa Pass. Cpl. Bacon was an original member of Co. F, 108th Inf., that was federalized in Oct. 1940.
In crossing the Gothic Line, the 339th broke through at some of the most firmly held points, moved on to capture Mt. Frena and Mt. Coloreta, dominating Firenzuola, and subsequently took Mt. LaFine, Mt. Bibele and Castlevecchio.
The “Polar Bears” got their name in WW I, when they fought in waist-deep snow along the 400-mile front between Archangel and Leningrad in Russia.
