Retired Lt. Col. James Megellas calls it “foxhole mentality,” that which drives Soldiers “to go where the fight is.” This weekend, Megellas said, the fight is at Fort Benning, where 28 two-man teams will battle for the title of Best Ranger.
Megellas flew in from his home in Texas earlier this week to meet with the competitors, and this weekend, he’ll follow their progress throughout the three-day, 60-hour competition. It’s the first time the 91-year-old has visited the post since 1943, when he attended Airborne School here.
Back then, it was called Parachute School, Megellas said, and it was where a young Soldier with that foxhole mentality needed to be if he hoped to see action in Europe.
“I volunteered because I wanted to be where the decisive action was taking place. The decisive action doesn’t take place behind a desk. I wanted be with the guys who did the fighting,” he said. “I was told the quickest way to get there was to go to Fort Benning to the Parachute School.”
Megellas’ training served him well. During the three years he spent with 82nd Airborne Division, he fought on the beach at Anzio, jumped into Holland, participated in the Waal River crossing made famous in A Bridge Too Far, and saw more than 60 days of combat in the Battle of the Bulge. He was awarded more than 10 medals and was recommended for a Medal of Honor.
Megellas commanded the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment’s H Company during the occupation of Berlin and later, in 1945, he was the first American to receive the Military Order of Willhelm Orange Lanyard from the Dutch Minister of Berlin.
Today, he is credited as the most decorated officer in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division. But, he said, he’s got nothing on the Soldiers he’s met during his recent travels to Afghanistan.
“They say we set the standard, my generation — the Greatest Generation. I say each generation raises the bar just a little bit higher,” he said. “We were the best of our generation. They are the best of their generation. We’re cut from the same cloth. We share the same values. We share the same desire to go where the fight is — that same foxhole mentality.”
Megellas chronicled his combat experience in All the way to Berlin. He signed copies of the book Tuesday at a private reception in Columbus for the Best Ranger competitors.
As he does when he gets a chance to visit with troops in combat, Megellas spoke to the Rangers about leadership.
“If I have one message for Soldiers today, it’s all about leadership — leadership at the squad and platoon level,” he said. “That’s the highest level of leadership in mortal combat. It’s not the commander. It’s not the colonel. At that point, they’re being led by sergeants. There’s a lot that’s changed in the last sixty years, but that hasn’t changed.”
