Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Found in the The Bismarck Tribune (Bismarck, North Dakota) newspaper from Monday, December 11, 1944; The champion army sign painter T/4 is Liberto Vilarino, of Los Angeles, Vilarino scoffed: "I made 17,000 in Normandy alone and once turned out 3,700 in one day." He used red, white and black, he has painted 35,000 signs since landing in France. His nearest rival slapped out 15,000.
Liberto Vilarino, Army Serial Number 19160037, enlisted on September 25th, 1942 in Los Angeles California. He was assigned to the 2nd Infantry division.
This metal sign measures 9 inches by 5 inches and is intricately hand painted and signed by Liberto Vilarino. The 2nd Infantry division trained in Northern Ireland and Wales from October 1943 to June 1944, and this sign is a records all the places visited by Vilarino during that time. By the end of the war Vilarino was a very well known sign painter but this is one of his earliest signs.
The 2nd Infantry Division crossed the channel to land on Omaha Beach on D plus 1 (7 June 1944) near St. Laurent-sur-Mer. Attacking across the Aure River on 10 June, the division liberated Trévières and proceeded to assault and secure Hill 192, a key enemy strong point on the road to Saint-Lô. After three weeks of fortifying the position and by order of Commanding General Walter M. Robertson the order was given to take Hill 192. On 11 July under the command of Col.Ralph Wise Zwicker the 38th Infantry Regiment and with the 9th and the 23rd by his side the battle began at 5:45am. Using an artillery concept from World War I (rolling barrage) and with the support of 25,000 rounds of HE/WP that were fired by 8 artillery battalions, the hill was taken. Except for three days during the Battle of the Bulge, this was the heaviest expenditure of ammunition by the 38th Field Artillery Battalion; And was the only time during the 11 months of combat that 2nd Division Artillery used a rolling barrage. The division went on the defensive until 26 July. After exploiting the Saint-Lo breakout, the 2nd Division then advanced across the (Vire) to take (Tinhebray) on 15 August 1944. The division then raced toward (Brest/France), the heavily defended port fortress which happened to be a major port for German U-Boats. After 39 days of fighting the Battle for Brest was won, and was the first place the Army Air Forces used bunker busting bombs.
The division took a brief rest 19–26 September before moving to defensive positions at St. Vith, Belgium on 29 September 1944. The division entered Germany on 3 October 1944, and was ordered, on 11 December 1944, to attack and seize the Roer River dams. The German Ardennes offensive in mid-December forced the division to withdraw to defensive positions near Elsenborn Ridge, where the German drive was halted. In February 1945 the division attacked, recapturing lost ground, and seized Gemund, 4 March. Reaching the Rhine 9 March, the 2ID advanced south to take Breisig, 10–11 March, and to guard the Remagen bridge, 12–20 March.
The division crossed the Rhine on 21 March and advanced to Hadamar and Limburg an der Lahn, relieving elements of the 9th Armored Division, 28 March. Advancing rapidly in the wake of the 9th Armored, the 2nd Infantry Division crossed the Weser at Veckerhagen, 6–7 April, captured Göttingen 8 April, established a bridgehead across the Saale, 14 April, seizing Merseburg on 15 April. On 18 April the division took Leipzig, mopped up in the area, and outposted the Mulde River; elements which had crossed the river were withdrawn 24 April. Relieved on the Mulde, the 2nd moved 200 miles, 1–3 May, to positions along the German-Czech border near Schonsee and Waldmünchen, where 2 ID relieved the 97th and 99th ID's. The division crossed over to Czechoslovakia on 4 May 1945, and attacked in the general direction of Pilsen, attacking that city on VE Day. 2nd ID cooperated with Polish Holy Cross Mountains Brigade on these days. The division lost 3,031 killed in action, 12,785 wounded in action, and 457 died of wounds.
