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Getting Ready - The advance cadre of Company "C" left New York City along with elements of the battalion and division on January 31, 1944, at 1100 hours, bound for the ETO on the British liner, Mauretania, and docked on February 11 at Liverpool. The rest of the company left the States at 2300 hours on February 11, via convoy, and landed near Glasgow, Scotland, on the 22nd of February. Travelling by train southward through Scotland and England, we reached our destination, an English camp which had been put partially in shape by the company personnel who arrived ahead of us. This, to be our home for the next five months, was known as Springhill Lodge. It was located about three miles from the nearest large village of Broadway. Springhill Lodge was on the corner, where the Camden road met that running north from Broadway. "C" Company was alerted, passes were cancelled [canceled], no phone calls could be made to bid goodbye to the girls of Worcester, Evesham, Broadway and other towns, and all clothes, newly drawn, were packed. On July 14, trucks were moved to the field behind "B" Company. Then, this area -- first covered with weeds and brush, next by boxes of trailer parts for assembly, and finally by correctly lined trucks -- now appeared policed and bare. Roadways showed the former lines of vehicles, and only the retrievers stood at the entrance awaiting the march order before completely abandoning the motor park of five months. No more close calls on catching the last pass truck back to camp, no final rush, necessitated by the refusal to give up the last few minutes of pass time and no more 45-minute hikes up Broadway Hill, possibly pushing an English bike past Fish Inn. Was this a practice alert, a dry run, or was it the real thing? Many said "dry run" but with little belief in their own words. That night was spent in the barracks and huts -- the last under a roof for some time to come, because, on the 15th, the first of the battalion's vehicles which were lined up began to move. Before "C" Company's time arrived, it was necessary to remember the details, to go back and police the area. |
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Goodbye England - The company moved in two serials, the first led by Lt. Stanley K. Gilbert, our company commander, following a brief interval behind "B" Company, and the second serial, led by Lt. Eugene E. Beaumeister, took off five minutes after the first. Beginning just before dark, the move was completed shortly after daylight. The trip was without event except for a few vehicles on the end of the first serial getting lost as the column doubled back to the main road. These pulled in by a different route, and took their places in the column at about the same time it arrived at the marshalling area in the vicinity of Southampton on Sunday, July 16. With vehicles lined on the road, we were assigned to tents, and got cots, extra blankets and finally some sleep. Drivers, and a few others who preferred, stayed in the trucks which were bumper to bumper, camouflaged, and near the pubs. It was a long walk to the mess hall. There were buildings wrecked by buzz bombs. The next day, rations were issued, with sea-sick pills and emergency paper bags thrown in. That night gave us our first buzz bomb alarm, but none were close to the area. Most men moved to the vicinity of their trucks early in the morning of the 18th because of an alert call on the loudspeaker system. The next night by the trucks brought another buzz bomb alarm. Mermelstein started for his slit trench, put his hand on his head, and discovered that in haste he had forgotten his helmet. As he went back for it, Thomas Hansen, who had his helmet, was right behind him. They circled telephone poles on their way back to the truck, and then both headed for the slit trench, which they found damp because of latrine seepage. The final alert came on the 20th, and the column proceded [proceeded] through Southampton to the docks. At the port, Kirby and Peterson took the wrong turn and boarded "B" Company's LST, only to find out, after Kirby finished bragging about finding his boat, that it was not "C" Company's, and they had to get off. The afternoon was spent loading vehicles onto the LST. By dark, loading was complete and the ship had pulled out into the mouth of the inlet formed by the Isle of Wight, and cast anchor. There were many ships around, including one large hospital ship covered with red crosses. The Channel was calm, and sleeping was easy. Most men found beds below decks on the wall bunks, and a few slept on or under canvas on the open deck where all three-quarter-ton and smaller vehicles were chained down. Each man kept his emergency bag handy, but there was little, if any, use for it.  "C" Company convoy waiting in Southampton Next morning, July 21, found us in the Channel, out of sight of land, and most men on, deck were wet from mist and a slight drizzle of rain. Breakfast was routine, and shortly thereafter, the east coast of the Normandy Peninsula came into view. Other ships began to appear as they closed in toward the beach, following each other in a long line, which reminded one of the "victory snake dance" back home. And once again the multitude of barrage balloons came into sight. Each boat had started with one on a cable, but a few had escaped to float up and away. All were at various heights, and were sufficient in number to keep aircraft high. Our LST anchored only for a short time, and then went toward the beach, but the tide was too far out for unloading, so we pulled out a few hundred yards and anchored. Here, we spent the rest of the day watching the beach activity. First, the many sunken ships aroused our imagination as to what D-Day must have been like. Rumors circulated that many had been sunk as a breakwater for the rough sea on that day. Some were broken in two, others had one end showing, and others showed only their rigging above the water. The beach itself appeared as a few hundred yards of barren, flat, slightly-rising floor of sand with a natural embankment and wall, excellent for defense positions, in the rear. Many remarks were passed on the difficulty of landing with enemy machine guns mounted behind that wall. All the while, "ducks" bobbed around, back and forth from ships to shore. It seemed incredible that they stayed afloat or ever made any progress. One was washed over by a wave, and settled down as we watched. There was constant activity on a ramp to our left where supplies were pouring in. When the tide came in that evening, the wind was too strong and the sea too rough to land; therefore another night was spent at sea. This one was not so quiet, and it was necessary to rechain many vehicles. Several spent their last night afloat playing cards, making coffee, and "Johning" the Navy. A few were sick. All slept below that night, and were awakened at 0400, 22 July. By daybreak, shortly after 0500, the ship was aground, and soon thereafter, the tide was out enough for the vehicles to be unloaded. All men were well supplied with rations swiped from the ship's kitchen. By the time the last vehicle was moved off, the ship was entirely on dry land.  LST nosing into Utah Beach An elevator amidships took those on deck to the hole to be driven off. Four peeps were taken down at once. Running out the open end of the ship, down the steel ramp onto the sand was a brief operation. |
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Hello France - Vehicles moved straight inland, turned left, and proceeded to an opening in the wall behind the beach. The men got a first glimpse of the pockmarked, shell and bomb-cratered French countryside, still strewn with wreckage of all types and descriptions. Puptents were scattered over fields among bodies of dead animals and possibly land mines. From here, the company was scattered along the road, a few vehicles at a time mixed in with those of other units of the division and of other outfits. K-ration breakfasts were eaten on the slow, five-mile journey to the assembly area at St. Martinsville. The day was a typical wet one. We drove over country roads which should be called lanes because of their torn condition. Being rookies, all were tense, and even though the trip was a short one, we were glad to get out and stretch. The company was collected here, and within one hour moved out. Before moving, we heard our first rumors of MP's being shot at by snipers. This was a morale builder. The first move was 30 miles, taking us through St. Marie Eglise, Montebourg and Briquebec to Fierville. Both Montebourg and Briquebec were badly torn up. Few buildings were standing, and rubble was piled high. These towns furnished our first experiences with smiles and waves from the mademoiselles of this new country. Our destination was reached in mid-afternoon when we set up our first bivouac in an apple orchard and an open field, surrounded by hedgerows in which at least one break had to be made. Then came the first fox holes for a reason, camouflaging of vehicles and tents and generally a wondering of what would happen next. Of importance also was the setting up of guardposts and anti-aircraft machine gun positions -- this time with real ammunition. Also of interest to many was the question of whether or not we could write that we were in France. The first password in combat was "Faucet" with "Surplus" as the countersign. That was July 28. The words for the following day were "Emblem" and "Whip." Two ratings came out in this first area. Effective as of July 21, Willy Dahl was promoted to technician, fourth grade, and Ernie Russo, Service Section, was made technician, fifth grade. The Evacuation Section, Lt. Henke in charge, left Southampton two days before the company, laying over on the LCT a day before landing in France. They pulled into the marshalling area and then on to Fierville where they were held in the new area for three days until the rest of the company arrived. Isom's mover sustained a broken pintle in disembarking from the LCT, causing a delay and keeping Williams, Cavanagh, Fronczak and Smith busy for awhile.  Evacuation Section's three prime movers Beginning here and continuing until the final relieving of the situation by S/Sgt. Robert Baker, when his Supply Section called in all ammunition and explosives at the end of the war, every member of the company kept a healthy respect for, and a weather eye on T/3 Thurman Clark, the guy from McMinnville, Tennessee -- suspected by S/Sgt. Kirby to be Snoodsville. For here he first collected "S" mines and other personnel mines and booby traps which he found in the areas, in German foxholes and in hedgerows. Small wonder that T/4 F. A. Johnson's hair was grey after driving this explosive-laden truck through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Much to our dismay, we were required to make a road march in this area. Lt. A. Russell Hagberg received notice of his promotion to first lieutenant, which order had come out several days before, and he donned the silver bars. |
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Into Action - Late on the 27th, section chiefs were called together and informed by Lt. Gilbert that the division was now tactical and that "C" Company was to be the first of the battalion to move out in support of CCA. We were on a one-hour alert, he said, but it was unlikely that we would move out before morning. That night gave those of us who were awake a glimpse of enemy flares in the immediate vicinity but not over our company area. Now we began to have a healthy respect for those who suggested the digging of foxholes. Next morning, July 28, at 1203, the company moved out of the bivouac area and onto the road to the south, in line with but not bordering the West Normandy Coast. We hardly reached the main road when the great amount of traffic nearly halted the march, causing delays up to an hour. During one of these halts, we saw Gen. George S. Patton pass in his peep, and in the following hour saw more three, two and one-star generals than ever before in a short period. Nearly every peep, it seemed, sported one or more stars. That day's move, only 12 miles long, kept the convoy on the road more than four hours. We passed through recently liberated La Haye du Puits, travelling on new fills, repaired roads and bridges. The town was badly wrecked, and little time had elapsed to allow cleaning of the streets for traffic movement. This was our first view of a scene where the wreckage was still burning, a scene to be repeated many times before we reached our final objective. A few miles past, we bivouacked and spent two nights. This area was to the right of the road, consisting of two big fields enclosed by hedgerows which we soon began to appreciate for the comfortable feeling they gave us as possible cover in the event of an emergency. Again we saw flares and ack-ack during the night. While in this bivouac, T/Sgt. Campbell and his crew were sent ahead to do some work. Needing some parts for an M-5 tank, Campbell and Pravatte started back to the company about dark. They were stopped at a crossroads by an MP to let a convoy pass, and while waiting there, a delayed German mine exploded a couple hundred feet ahead, completely demolishing that section of the road upon which the men would have been travelling, had not the MP stopped them. Both were sincere in their thanks for being halted. |
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The Road to Brest - This was the longest stop on the road to Brest, which we did not know at the time was our destination. It was very near Lessay. Leaving at 0620 on July 30, we saw Lessay and Coutances, passed the Seine river, and bivouacked on the other side of Brehal at 1800 after moving 18 miles. This time the company occupied three smaller hedged fields which were selected earlier in the day by the billeting party for the company, with Lt. Hagberg, billeting officer, in charge. T/Sgt. Gill was sent back to lead the company to the area, and T/5 Hakes remained with the lieutenant to hold the field until the company arrived. Here, the first indication of the success and swift movement of the division became apparent. The field originally was occupied by a field artillery unit, and eight-inch howitzers were set up, but they told us they had not yet been able to fire, because, by the time they were set up, the tank battalions had pushed the front out of range. This situation had been continuing for days. MP's directing traffic reported that the Germans were in rout and were sending emergency calls for gasoline. Their tanks were being destroyed for lack of fuel to retreat. At the area, vehicles were dispersed, puptents erected, and foxholes started. Such digging was hard work for tired men, and each wondered if he would need a hole for that night. About dusk, ack-ack across the road unexpectedly opened fire, and we looked in time to see a German fighter come very low over our field. There hardly was time to man the anti-aircraft machine guns, but one man did get a good shot at the Jerry. Andy Bettina, caught over a straddle trench, took off without the ordinary preparations for leaving. A little later, the plane returned at a more respectable height. All night, pup-tents quivered with the concussions of bombs landing only a short distance down the road. Shovels were at work all night. A close "buzz" at 3 a.m. only served to quicken the tempo of the shovels. The drone, rising and falling in typical German style, filled the air all night. Again in the vicinity, T/Sgt. Campbell and his crew had another close call with the Germans. While working on an M-8 armored car, they were badly in need of parts. The vehicle had been knocked out in a heavily mined field, and the crew, consisting of Lt. Henke and Sgts. Dahl, Zappone and Towery, was constantly on the alert. Suddenly they were fired upon by snipers, so the rest of their section began a tour of search for the enemy. Cpl. Jordan discovered about 40 of them being hidden by an elderly woman across the fields, and all were soon chased into the surrounding woods. To get parts, it was necessary to strip another M-8 which was burning in the town, and the job was done by Sgt. Hyre and Cpl. Craver. On the way to get the parts, Lt. Henke, Dahl and Pravatte were fired upon by a sniper in a church steeple. This one was eliminated by a long burst of machine gun fire. But more parts were needed, and another M-8 was found a few miles out of town, On the way, this crew ran into a battle between the 86th Cavalry and German paratroopers. They turned around, for this was something too hot for the "non-combat" boys, and resorted to our Parts Issue for the necessary replacements. In due time, the repaired vehicle was taken up front to the 86th by Visnick, Towery, Lt. Henke and Pravatte. In the nearby town of Mauron, a priest was burying three American dead, so Toaldo, Craver, Harrold, Dilworth and Covington acted as pallbearers at the funeral. At 1500, the company pulled out, keeping an alert for snipers. We went through Coudewille, Danville, Granville and to Sartilley, arriving at 1830, 1 August, 1944. In Granville, a resort town, the column missed a turn and went through the town within sight of the Atlantic Ocean, turned back, and got the right road. But the personnel of the company didn't mind, for Granville was quite scenic, with views of many mademoiselles lounging in front of hotels on widened parts of the sidewalk. Soon we arrived at an area close to Sartilley, which was crowded with troops, and moved into fields occupied the night before by "B" Company. Rumor had it that Maj. Chambers and his driver had been fired upon by snipers and that "B" Company had been bombed, with resultant casualties. These rumors were confirmed. Spurlin, Crowder and Clark took a little scouting trip around the edge of the area where they ran into some FFI who told them about two Germans behind a hedgerow. Going around the hedge, they took two prisoners without resistance. Marching them to our company CP, they were directed to Battalion Headquarters from where they were sent to a PWE. A prisoner apparently was about the most troublesome thing you could get hold of. He was harder to get rid of than he was to take. Only one could go, so Clark took them on a peep to the PWE, and had to walk back, a distance of about a mile. In the gathering darkness, he was halted by a guard on the road who asked for the password, which Clark did not know. Giving no answer to the challenge, he was promptly fired upon. Everyone was trigger-happy that night. Clark hit the ditch and yelled, and the other GI took off, apparently as scared as Clark. Taking a prisoner had turned out to be a risky business! |
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"Bombs Away" - As the vehicles circled the fields for dispersing, nets just had been ordered to be dropped when the Germans came back, via airplane, to confirm our rumors about what had happened to "B" Company. The dispersal of men took place immediately, and each had his own story. The Artillery 2 1/2-ton truck, which was in the middle of the field, was moved and parked in record time by T. B. Moore. Mauer, working on a light tank, jumped off with the intention of getting underneath, but found that other men who had been standing around had the space filled long before he could reach it. The kitchen stayed back in Fierville, intending to catch up by travelling with Division Trains. They left two days later, and proceded [proceeded] southward. Reaching Lessay, they were crossing the Seine river on a pontoon bridge when our engineers touched off a land mine. The 12 men in the truck, thinking the bridge was under German bombardment, experienced a thrill which was only the first of many to come. After moving a few miles beyond Lessay, Trains bivouacked for the night, a night which the German planes picked for a visit, causing the kitchen crew to be showered with ack-ack shrapnel. Two days later, they moved out again, still following Division Trains. Passing through Annoville, they continued a few miles and then ran into sniper fire about 1330. As usual, the convoy stopped, and, according to S/Sgt. Carmosino and T/4 Crotts who were taking turns driving, they felt like sitting ducks at a hunting scene. The next day, they caught up with the company, and the whole gang on the truck -- Blackman, Van Pelt, Reynolds, Barnes, Ehrhardt, Harris, Warren Wood, Corral and Grow -- all said they were glad to be back in the fold. The place, Sartilley, was too hot, so billeting parties started at 1000, after dark, to seek another spot. That led by Capt. Walter G. Pilcer of Battalion Headquarters proceeded to Avranches, took the wrong turn, and was on its way to Paris. German planes came in at midnignt [midnight] on another bomb run, the column stopped, and three "billeters" from "C" Company knelt by the shell of a building, trying to talk over the chatter of their teeth. When pieces of brick from a near miss fell on their backs, Gill thought he would get under their peep which might offer at least some protection from falling masonry. He, Lt. Hagberg and Hakes found conditions under the little vehicle sligthly [slightly] crowded. On the bombers' second run, leaflets were dropped, and these proved quite a sensation to the men on the ground until it was discovered just what they were. After the fourth run by the planes, the billeting party made its way down the hill, across a bridge which was the bombers' target, and had just reached the far hill when the planes came again. Eventually, a bivouac area was located, and the party returned to meet the companies. "C" Company pulled out at 0100 in the direction of Avranches on a road lighted by fires of burning vehicles and by flares, many entertaining the thought that this might be their last ride. A halt in the march left the company halftrack right in the middle of the bridge which was the target of the German bombers, This gave Lt. Gilbert, First Sgt. Parkins and the rest of the crew a sensation they will never forget. The bridge was under constant attack as the column started to move again and while the whole company crossed. E. A. Peterson and Stanley were directly on it when a bomb struck less than 200 feet away, but the entire company convoy negotiated the ticklish stretch in safety. A mile before reaching the bivouac area, there was a crossroads with all four entrances blocked by vehicles. Col. Droste, Trains commander, was directing traffic, and the "C" Company billeting party waited. Movement was slow, traffic congested, and Jerry evidently thought this would be a good place to cause some trouble, so he strafed the "C" Company column, not doing any damage, thanks to a Heavenly guidance under which the whole battalion must have moved throughout the war, but scaring, among others, Sgt. Bartels and PFC Hansen. Watching from the back of their truck, they saw the plane over the column four trucks back, looking, according to Bartels, "as if its wings were loaded with streaks of fire, 105mm in caliber, and automatic!" On the corner, Col. Droste yelled, "Here they come again," and headed for the "second" hole, because Gill's long, slow Southern Tennessee legs were lookin' alive that morning. Col. Droste questioned members of "C" Company at the corner, wondering "if that was enough to wake them up." In the bivouac area, which was reached at 0600, 2 August, 1944, everyone was tired, and most men slept despite the hot sun and constant strafing and bombing along an adjacent road. The 777 AAA boys made a good showing, knocking down several planes, and "C" Company men also got in a few shots. Creadon and Steller, on their way for gas, found that they were cut off from the gas dump, but came upon a group of four knocked-out gas trucks. The first, second and fourth were burning dangerously, but they swapped their empty cans for the third's full ones, thereby accomplishing their mission to get gas. After only two hours of sleep, Lt. Hagberg, Gill and Cpl. Churchill had to take off again in search of a new bivouac. This time they did not go with a battalion billeting party, but left alone at 1000. |
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"Cigarette Pour Papa" - After being harassed all day by the Luftwaffe, the company moved out at 1650, travelling 18 miles through Montovell and Antrain to the new bivouac area. Cheering crowds lined the route of march, gathering in especially large groups at crossroads and in towns. Bottles were passed to men on the vehicles, mostly hard cider made from the plentiful French apples, and the men of the company gave the civilians D-rations, cigarettes, gum, candy and biscuits left from their dinner and breakfast meals. The fair mademoiselles got perhaps more than their share. More elderly madames coined a phrase, corresponding to the popular "Cigarette pour papa." It was, "Chocolate pour mama," but cigarettes being more plentiful and chocolate making better trading material, papa's phrase paid better dividends. The trip netted many eggs and much cider, in canteens and cups. Ellison made a one-hand stab to catch a ripe egg and got showered. Toaldo, however, was the first casualty. He missed, with his hand, an apple offered him via air as he rode down the road, but caught it with his eye which was black for a week thereafter. Enroute, several Fourth Armored Division trucks got mixed in our convoy. Near Antrains, which, unknow [unknown] to the EM as usual, was our objective, the main road turned to the right. With the company truck ahead of him out of sight, F. A. Johnson preferred the good road on which he had been travelling to the narrow Antrain streets, and led one third of the company to within a few miles of St. Malo. After passing many burning tanks, a halt was called. Then came a brief consultation, after which everyone turned and back-tracked fast. Reaching Antrains, the column was stopped, and was found there later by Lt. Gilbert who led the vehicles to the company bivouac area. |
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Hunting Party - The new area was a pretty place. It was a large meadow divided by a slight hedge into two fields, bounded on one side by a creek, on another by a side road and the rest by a wooded area which followed the base of a hill. There were no troops in the immediate vicinity, and it appeared that we might not be bothered by planes that night. Civilians gathered around the entrance, one speaking excitedly of snipers on the hill overlooking the area. This led to the exodus of a searching party with Campbell, Hanes, Saladin, Zappone, Dahl, Gill and others in the group. A German officer finally was cornered in a field after he had been fired upon by Campbell, the shot grazing his shoulder. Impudent, he came out with grenades in his hand, but was well covered and made to drop them. At this time, Lt. Calloway came up with another prisoner on the front of his peep, and there was some confusion as to whether there had been two or three Germans in the vicinity in the first place. Someone, coming up from the rear of a house beside which the "hunters" were standing, shot through an upstairs door of the building, and immediately several shots were fired through the door as Hanes crept up to learn what was there. Dahl had done the last creeping went he went into a field of haystacks with the others covering him. Movement in the grass brought a shot from Saladin which fortunately missed the frightened farm girl who had been hiding there during the excitement. Lt. Bocan and Gill walked then through the barns and buildings of the farm, finding no more Germans, and all went back to the company only to hear that 150 paratroopers were nearby. A report to a line outfit brought the answer, "take care of yourselves or move." So guard was strengthened, and the company was awakened before daylight just in case the Heinies might spring a dawn attack, but all was serene. Except in the case of Hartman, that is. His bedroll was overrun by Broadhead, placing a peep under cover about midnight, while Hartman was in the sack. |
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"Fire and Movement" - The evening before, three German planes had circled our area and apparently had been about to come down for some fun when a lone P-38 flew into sight. Immediately the three Germans took off in three directions at top speed. Here, Mangum's section, which had been left behind, tried to catch up with the rest of the company. They had with them a GMC in which they had just installed a new engine and which was now ready to go back to the line. In a strafing, this GMC was the only vehicle hit, and it was knocked out by a bullet through the radiator. Brady, Hughes, Arnold' Johnson and Gilchrist did the repair job. At 1530 on August 3, the company moved through Tinteniac which had been liberated only two hours earlier, travelled 34 miles to the next bivouac area, and remained there 24 hours, long enough for some sleep, some work and some washing. An mineroller of a line outfit had been put out of action, so the night before we left, S/Sgt. Such and his crew consisting of Carroll, Curry, Sussarett, Null, Salisbury, Cox, Graham, Szezepanowski and Bogdan, plus a wrecker manned by Cline and McGuire, went ahead to fix it. They were forced to detour several times to reach their objective, for they frequently ran into enemy resistance. That job was finished the following day. On August 4 at 1900 the company again was on the road, moving through Medreac, St. Meen, Gael and into bivouac after covering 43 miles by 0530 August 5. We were now on the way to Brest, and began to suspect and hear that it was our first goal. We didn't know until later that we, with the rest of [t]he division, were cut off entirely for ten days and that the 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion and others came to escort us on our moves. Under this cover, we again moved on August 6 at 0830 on a 49-mile jaunt through Mur, Meal Carhaix and Tribian to a new bivouac where we arrived at 1630 for a two-day stay, during which time some maintenance work was completed. Here, we received our first pay in combat and in French invasion currency. An elaborate guard and roadblocks were established because of the reported presence of enemy troops. At 1410 on August 8, Company "C" began its last westerly move and started on what turned out to be one of its worst days. Passing Trains, tank battalions, TD's, Engineers and Reconnaissance, men were forced to hit a ditch with the 86th Cavalry column at a little dip in the road which was bordered by a high hedge. Word was passed along the ditch to send up an ambulance. At the crest just ahead, the ambulance picked up a patient and came back. We mounted and moved 30 yards, and the ambulance call was repeated. Thirty yards more brought the party to the ground once again, and orders were passed down the ditch calling for "cease fire" because American infantry was moving on both sides of the road. The woods suddenly became alive with machine-gun, small-artillery and mortar fire. Then all was quiet, and we were able to move once more. The company passed through Huelgoat, Berven, San Hourneau and Lesneven to the edge of Plabennec. Because of the great amount of work enroute, sections of the company were left at different areas to complete jobs which had been started. While trying to catch up with the unit, Mangum's section got trapped between 150 paratroopers at Antrains and two Tiger Royal [t]anks which had re-entered Huelgoat. They were forced to spend a hectic night in a field with all men voluntarily on guard. Bypassing Huelgoat, they joined the company next day.  "Just one more French town" as seen from a prime mover Evacuation Section also was cut off at this time, but a large number of FFI stood guard for them during the night so they might get some badly needed rest. When they arrived the following day at the bivouac area, once more all the company was together. The lone casualty suffered during the Brest campaign was sustained that day. Lt. Calloway, with his driver, Bauman, as they went down a long, steep hill into town with no place to turn off, ran into some Germans near Huelgoat who didn't care to surrender. Lt. Calloway's right arm was shattered by small-arms fire, and Bauman remained in a ditch until line elements came back and cleaned out the pocket. The lieutenant was evacuated and sent to the States where he entered an army hospital and reportedly was still there at the end of German hostilities, getting along well. We didn't know until the second day when Bauman returned what had happened. Lt. Bocan took over with Slim. He said, when he reported to CCA, that they had not been contacted for four days. Evacuation salvaged one mover. To replace this, they were issued an old General Grant tank with all its "phoney" guns, and it was not until Nancy that they got rid of this retriever. The original crew consisted of Barslow, Remmers and Kvart until it was changed to include Scierra and Bozyk. On this trip, Lt. Beaumeister, with Mauer driving and Gregal riding in a peep. were enroute to the company from the movers when word came over the radio that snipers were loose. Suddenly the lieutenant grabbd [grabbed] his neck and yelled, "Stop the peep, I've been hit!" Mauer turned under a tree, jumped out, and ran around to the officer's side. As he jerked back the latter's shirt collar, out flew a Yellow Jacket. It had inflicted the "wound." |
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Nearing Brest - The Small Arms truck, with Getsin and Schulik driving, was 25 yards behind the Artillery 2 1/2-ton truck, and as they rounded the end of a hill and came out of the shadow into sunlight, several shots passed between them. FFI men hit the ditch, and Schulik manned the machine gun. Then the FFI, armed with pistols, started for a nearby woods. The column moved on, and more shots were heard as we passed out of sight and sound of the spot. The column halted near Plabennec where it was discovered that, just past town on a road from the north, Reconnaissance had run into opposition, and the area picked by map for us to occupy was then being used by the Germans. That area was less than five miles away, and it was 0330, so we crowded into three fields rather than stay on the road. A few miles beyond the bivouac area, the road divided into three forks. The left went to Brest, the middle road through our bivouac area, and the right one was, we discovered that night, occupied by Germans. Sgt. Albig, in the dust and darkness, got on the left road, and led about one third of the company to within a few miles of Brest, before things got so hot that he stopped. A conference between Sgts. Bowmaker, Mangum and Baker produced a decision to turn back, and they reached the company area at 0200. |
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Plabennec - The following morning, vehicles were rearranged and better camouflaged, and an air-alert post was established for daylight hours. Skies were constantly scanned, and a panel displayed for friendly planes. The air was noisy with machine-gun fire and an exchange of artillery rounds. While 88's passed us, going southwest, 105mm rounds went overhead in the opposite direction. The night of the 9th was filled with sound. It seemed that everything passed through our bivouac fields except Germans on horseback, and we even suspected they skirted the edge in carts which could be heard. None of us could be sure what was firing at any particular time, and later learned that some of the sounds we had been cheering were made by 88's. The duel continued all night while we slept, or tried to, under the arch of the projectiles, and it went on during the day which followed. Our air watch found that we needed to move fast, for the first plane to appear roared over the treetops across our area and was gone before anyone even changed position. It was a P-47, but it could have been something else! Then for the next half hour we watched four of these Thunderbolts swoop down on an adjacent road. We could see and hear flak, hear the planes' machine guns, and altough [although] they disappeared behind some trees at the bottom of their runs, we could watch them come up. They went out, circled, and came back again and again, crossing directly over us each time as they came in low to strafe. Then there was a lull. Soon artillery fire was heard, and this time P-51's came in and repeated the earlier performance of the P-47's. From here on, we appreciated very much our fighter planes. They always were a comforting and welcome sight. This ended a sizeable German column on the strafed road, and the Sixth Armored Division took a large number of prisoners. Several members of the company went over to the road where the column was strafed, about a mile and a half from our area, to get souvenirs. While there, Russo and F. A. Johnson witnessed their first scene of German atrocity. Two officers, taking refuge in a French home to escape the strafing, had deliberately killed four teen-age French boys by shooting them through the heads. This act of savagery was committed to gain some sort of German-twisted vengeance for the killing of several Germans by the American strafing. Our job for the next few days, in addition to maintenance work, was to clean the German equipment from the road and to collect scattered Heinie soldiers. Lt. Henke and his driver had left the Evacuation Section to search for the company. Not being able to find it, they stayed at Plouvien, which at the time was still mostly occupied by the Germans. As they left next morning via a narrow road bordered by high hedges, they were very much surprised upon rounding a sharp curve to run into three armed Germans. Gibbons set a new record in turning a peep around as the Germans scattered. While the "C" men beat a fast retreat, the enemy recovered from surprise and sent a widely scattered hail of small-arms fire after them. Luckily the curve was handy, and both escaped getting hit. The same day, White and Strayer, roadtesting a GMC, came across three very scared Germans. They brought them into the PW camp in our area, but were disgusted to learn that Joe Such had brought in one with a Luger. White and Strayer got nothing. On the third day, we saw our first Fortress bombing mission, and there were several repeat performances during our stop. The mission was very impressive, waves of planes coming in from the northeast toward Brest, high and in close formation. Flak began to burst in, under, above and all around them, but the formation never wavered, continuing right over the target, and soon we could hear the reports of a great number of bomb explosions. Rising smoke became visible. Each wave came on over the target in perfect formation, and, as at a football game, we cheered them on. It was remarkable that any stayed up in such flak, but we saw only one burst into flame. Once we saw two parachutes, and reports later indicated that a line outfit of the Sixth Armored had picked up the two men. Two or three times a plane would lag behind as the flight headed back to base. Our respect for the airforce now included all bomber personnel, and we no longer envied their better sleeping quarters, because they more than earned them on missions, we decided. While the maintenance sections were busy repairing vehicles, Supply Section gathering motors, transmissions and parts, and Service Section hard at work, the wreckers -- piloted by Johnny Cline, Schollenburger and Athey, ably assisted by Dilworth, McGuire and Little -- were on the job with Artillery, Small Arms and Instrument Repair cleaning up remains of the strafed German column. The wreckers pulled all vehicles, trailers and other movable equipment to a lot where a junk yard was started. Mines and booby traps were found, and others had to be carefully avoided. Artillery picked up all pieces' which might possibly be serviceable, and evacuated them. Many were found loaded with TNT, detonators attached. One fieldpiece of about 150mm caliber had been left with approximately 10 pounds of TNT packed in the tube. As Lt. Hagberg tried to disarm and remove the explosive, one of the French civilians who had gathered around, in an effort to be helpful, grabbed for the cord attached to the detonator. He was stopped by shouts and the quick hand of Sgt. Victor Lindberg, the "Brooklyn Bum," who clamped a steel-like grip on his wrist. Through the whole column, German dead were scattered. At one anti-aircraft gun, the four members of the crew lay dead almost in position. The French had taken their shoes. Also, it was here that the first Mauser rifles were found in quantity, and Tangora came across a Luger. Other pistols, including Mausers, were found. A cool brook, winding through a field not far below our bivouac, served as our bath, and each day found many men using it for that purpose. French mademoiselles did not appear to be awe-stricken at the resultant scene as they passed. While filling the decontaminator at the water point which was close to the main traffic-clogged road, Watson, Wood and Bostic had a memorable experience when German 88's, which had been zeroed in on the road, opened up with everything they had. After several minutes of hugging the ground, listening to pieces of shrapnel whistle over their heads from some very close bursts, a lull came, and the three very scared Ordnance boys left in a hurry for a safer place. Everyone had a good foxhole, and guards, on a keen alert, heard and saw many animals at night which gave them initial thrills. On our first day, all officers had responded to an officers' call when an alert was given. Mr. Kenyon, in charge, posted personnel and machine guns along the hedgerow. "A" Company was in the field in front of our hedgerow, and Headquarters Company in front of them. Nothing happened. |