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It's a long way from a "castle in the ground" with the wind, the rain, the mud, the snow and the Luftwaffe in your hair to the contrast of central heating, plumbing and all the other unromantic comforts of civilian life.
It's a long way from Central Europe in the middle of history's most savage war to America's Midwest in peacetime, but it's all included in the experiences of members of Headquarters Company. There were times in those "castles in the ground" when 88's whined overhead to crash nearby and when the flare and bomb-dropping Luftwaffe roamed the night sky, seeking targets on the ground. At times like those, many of the personnel of the company wondered if they ever would see America again. And at the moment, the room for doubt didn't bother them too much, for minds were filled with the hope that "the next one misses me too." But usually the attitude of Headquarters Company men, like that of the rest of the Ordnance Battalion, was one of thankfulness that they had things no worse than they did. They felt that their dangers and labors were slight, compared to those of the division's tankers, infantrymen and cavalrymen. And unbelievably enough, when the longing for homefolks could be forgotten, there were occasional moments when the life of a soldier in the ETO wasn't so bad at all. That Christmas in Metz, for instance, with plenty to eat and drink, a good place to stay -- at least for a few days -- those passes in Paris for the lucky ones who drew them. It is to remind you former members of the company of all these things -- the good and the bad -- that this story is written. For your guidance in remembering, for your pleasure, for better or worse, here it is! |