Tiger Tracks: SSG Robert "Pete" Sweat Memorial Highway: Louisiana Highway 10

        SSG Robert E “Pete” Sweat was born to William Ephriam and Rosetta Perkins Sweat on October 28, 1920, on a farm in Pitkin, Louisiana. He grew up assisting his father in their fields until his early 20s at the start of WWII. He trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was assigned to the 10th Armored Division of the 54th Infantry Regiment of the United States, also known as the “Tiger Division.” The 10th Armored Division was inactivated shortly after the war but operated under General George S. Patton in France.      After receiving training with his division in September of 1944, Sweat and his squadmates ravaged the Germans in France, taking hundreds of Nazi prisoners. In the Ardennes Forest on December 16, 1944, the 10th Armored Division served as support for their comrades, mobilizing to Bastogne and the Bulge in Luxembourg. It is unsure where Sweat ended up during the Battle of the Bulge, but he survived this German counteroffensive and what ended up being the largest and deadliest battle fought by the U.S. in WWII.      The next battle that Sweat and the 10th Armored Division would see was one at Heilbronn, a small city in southern Germany on the Neckar River, which was an important supply center for the German soldiers. The U.S. took the city and moved southward to Crailsheim, which is believed to be one of the most difficult battles of the war where the Germans would not let up. This battle would last a few days, but Sweat’s life would come to an end on April 5, 1945. As enemy artillery fire hit targets and bullets whizzed through the air, one of Sweat’s squadmates was wounded in the line of fire. He swooped down to rescue him but was killed while returning to cover.      The After Action report for April 1-5th, 1945 read “The enemy fought a delaying action entirely, using minefields covered by artillery and anti-tank weapons. Bridges were blown and artillery sighted in on important junctions and crossroads. Small arms fire ranged from light to moderate chiefly employed on outskirts of towns. Enemy tanks were in the area but moved about constantly. Towns which we occupied received light to moderate shelling to impede our progress. Results of Operations: 161 PoW captured, two 20mm. flak guns, four anti-tank guns, four trucks, two command cars and one prime mover captured or destroyed.”       According to Sweat’s great nephew, who found a letter, Sweat was listed as “missing in action” on that date, but it became the official date of death for the family. One of his nieces, Connie Britt, told The Leesville Daily Leader “the family attempted to find more information through the military records, but a 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center destroyed millions of files, including many of those relating to Sweat. ‘All they could tell us was that he was killed in action.’”        After his death, the Allies won the war, and Sweat received a Purple Heart and two Silver Stars, the third-highest honor military personnel can receive. He is buried at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold (Moselle), France.       The SSG Robert "Pete" Sweat Memorial Highway was introduced by Representative Dorothy Sue Hill and signed by Governor Bobby Jindal. The Representative presented Sweat’s two sisters Mittie and Jean Cloud with a replica of the highway sign.