Ocracoke’s WWII General Ira Thomas Wyche

By Philip Howard

Ocracoke Island, though small and isolated, has sometimes played an outsized role in the history of the United States. Visitors, and even residents, are often unaware of islanders who have had significant impact on the wider world.

In November, long-time island residents Ruth and Bob Toth, while vacationing in France, were staying at the Lion d’Or in Bayeux, reported to have been General Dwight Eisenhower’s favorite hotel.

A highlight of their trip was a visit to the Normandy American Cemetery situated on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel.

During a walking tour that Veterans Day, Ruth and Bob asked their local guide if he had any information about Ocracoke Island native Gen. Ira Thomas Wyche, who had served in World War II.

The guide was well informed and immediately shared stories about Wyche’s heroic operations in Normandy. But he knew little about Wyche’s early life on Ocracoke.

Wyche, born in 1887, was the second of three children of Ocracoke islander Lorena Howard and Rev. Lawrence Olin Wyche.

When Ira was just nine years old, his mother died, and his father, who at that time was a circuit-riding Methodist preacher, was unable to care for his children. They moved in with their maternal grandparents James and Zilphia Howard. 

Captain James W. Howard, keeper of the Cedar Hammock Lifesaving Station, one mile south of Hatteras Inlet, hired a teacher and converted an unused horse stable for use as a schoolhouse for the children.

When Ira was a teenager, a paternal uncle invited him to attend a well-respected private high school in Laurinburg, North Carolina.

After high school Ira enrolled at West Point Military Academy. At graduation he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and steadily advanced in the Army.

By 1941 he had attained the rank of brigadier general and assumed command of the 79th Division, nicknamed the Cross of Lorraine. He was commissioned major general, a commander of up to 20,000 troops, in 1942.

The 79th Division landed on Utah Beach, Normandy, on June 12, 1944, spearheading the assault on Fort Du Roule, and helping clear the Cherbourg area of Germans by June 28.

In July the 79th captured the town of La Haye-du-Puits after a bloody battle lasting five days. According to a story published in the Stars & Stripes in 1945, “[R]epeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire, Gen. Wyche regrouped the men and led them a distance of two hedgerows to a position where they were enabled to knock out the [German] strongpoint. At the peak of action, he struggled in front of the battle line to help evacuate a wounded infantry scout.”

At the Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy in Bayeux the Toths discovered a plaque commemorating Wyche and the 79th:

“General Wyche, commanding the 79th US Infantry Division, received a telephone call on 19th August ordering him to cross the Seine that night… The river was more of a problem than the enemy, as near Mantes its width varies between 150 and 250 metres. As luck would have it, there was a little pedestrian bridge on a nearby dam and assault craft and engineers’ rafts could transport other soldiers and light equipment. On the night of 19th August, in torrential rain, the men of the 313th Infantry Regiment crossed the dam bridge in single file, each with a hand on the man in front, to avoid falling into the water. At dawn on 20th August, while the 314th was rowing across the river, the divisional engineers were starting to lay tracking on a bridge made of boats. In the afternoon, as soon as the bridge was ready, the 315th Regiment crossed in lorries. By nightfall on 20th August, most of the division, including tanks, artillery and anti-tank guns, were on the north bank. The next day, the XV Corps artillery battalion crossed over. As a complement to the floating bridge, the Americans captured Rommel’s command post in La Roche-Guyon.”

After crossing the Seine and capturing the command post of Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (“the Desert Fox”), the 79th marched 2,300 miles across Western Europe, fighting some of the Third Reich’s finest panzer and parachute divisions as it made its way through France, and into the Belgian frontier.

On March 24, 1945, Wyche’s troops crossed the Rhine. By April 11, the 79th was occupying Essen.

Soldiers serving under Wyche referred to him as “Papa Wyche” for his habit of walking through the encampments checking on his men before he retired for the night.

One press report identified him as “one of the most popular officers in the Army.”

According to the late Ocracoke historian Earl O’Neal, after Germany’s surrender, “General Wyche threw a farewell party for all unit commanders to Battalion level at Neheim, Germany.”

You can read more about General Wyche online at www.villagecraftsmen.com and in Philip Howard’s latest book, “Ocracoke Island Eccentrics, Innovators, & Free Spirits” for sale at the Village Craftsmen.