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Metz, France - Here at Metz, we enjoyed the Christmas season with a delicious turkey dinner, eaten beneath a cheerful Christmas tree decorated by the creative hand of John Radford. Parties were evident throughout the entire building with boisterous voices emanating from nearly every room. Many of the rooms were decorated with colorful crepe paper ribbons and bells, while tables were adorned with bottles of cognac and champagne. The jubilant spirit of Christmas was strong in the hearts of every man, and for a moment, we had the feeling of being home and enjoying a good old fashioned reunion among our friends. The first sergeant, Raymond L. Biggs, who carried a slight overdose of cognac under his belt, served as an example of our jubilation, but slightly overdid it when he wildly confronted the officer's table and made the impressive oration of, "Whoopie, I feel drunker than 700 dollars!" The officers were thoroughly convinced of the truth of his remark when they carried him to his room for recovery. Old St. Nick came to many of the boys in the form of packages from home which were saved for the occasion. We also remember the movie, "Sweet and Lowdown," starring Benny Goodman's swingsters, which was greatly enjoyed. Church services were held in honor of the day for all types of faiths -- Catholic, Protestant and Jewish. Our four-day stay at Metz was really enjoyed and it is doubtful that it will ever be forgotten. |
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Steinsel, Luxembourg - Two days after Christmas, after travelling 42 miles and going through the beautiful city of Luxembourg, we arrived at the town of Steinsel just a few miles north of the city. Steinsel was a quaint little town with the most friendly people we had met since landing on the Continent. On our arrival, we were amazed at the hospitality of the smallest country we had seen. Everyone of the townfolk welcomed us with open arms and begged us to stay in their homes. They were always busy trying to make us comfortable. We were surprised to hear the younger generation speaking almost perfect English to us. Their home language was the German tongue, but they called it "Luxembourger." We were beginning to learn our first words of German -- "Essen" and "Schlafen" -- or translated, to eat and sleep. The kitchen was set up in the local dance hall and auditorium where tables and chairs were provided making eating a pleasure once again. |
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Meix le Tige, Belgium - We supported the division from Steinsel until December 30 when we moved to Meix le Tige, Belgium, where we found the same friendly hospitality, only back in the familiar French version. Our two-day stay here proved to be interesting because the Belgian tradition called for kisses to bring in the New Year. Not many of the boys objected to this custom ofter [after] the first acquaintance with the beautiful mademoiselles.  "Happy New Year" The whole town of Meix le Tige attended church services on New Year's Day. We found the Belgians, as well as the French and Luxembourgers, a very religious pople [people] and we were often invited to attend church services with them. While at Meix le Tige, we were blessed with our first heavy snowfall. On New Year's Eve, a full moon reflected on a blanket of white snow which was a picture hard to forget and many thoughts were sent homeward to our folks and loved ones back in the States, wondering just how it would feel to be with them for a few hours tonight. The frolicking and gayiety of a real New Year's celebration would have been heaven just then. While those thoughts were still in our minds on that quiet moonlit night, we could hear the distant rumble of enemy aircraft. Before long the planes were overhead and the tracers of 50 cal. machine guns were arcing across the sky. We had a celebration after all. |
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Houdemont, Belgium - The first day of the New Year found us on the road again, travelling northward toward the "bulge." The deep snow made it necessary for all vehicles to have chains on the wheels when we left the area. Arthur Herman was seen to be having plenty of trouble adjusting the chains on his vehicle but after a good deal of tugging and profane coaxing, he finally succeeded in getting his truck ready for the trip. Herman was driving along in the moving column without a worry in the world when suddenly the back end of the vehicle lifted as though he had hit a mine. On investigation, he found the rear mud flap and the wheels tightly woven with the chains. Much disgusted, Herman and the chains made a formal parting. The Germans had penetrated deep into Belgium and a push in our direction was said to be threatening. In an effort to give the division close support, we placed our next bivouac in the town of Houdemont, Belgium. This was a typical Belgian town with nothing more than a main street, several watering troughs and a monument dedicated to the dead of World War I. The people here were also friendly and invited us into their homes. It was fortunate that these towns were so hospitable during the cold winter months because the blizzards were unbearable at times for outside work and living. The supply lines were kept clear of the deep snow by the constant attention of the engineer road gangs. We remember also at this location that Theodore Derowski came with a tale of woe. It seems that he and his truck never came to an understanding and on this special occasion it became completely out of hand. A slippery road, a sharp curve and a deep ditch spelled disaster when Derowski was at the wheel. At any rate, he found himself leaning at a precarious angle in the company of three Continental motors. Our first day at Houdemont netted a little excitement when our radio halftrack caught fire and was partly destroyed. This put the burden of the battalion radio net, operated under the nimble fingers of Argile Starkey and Warren Williams, on the busy Division Administrative net under the expert touch of Eddie Boldt. The hospitality here was so touching that we made every effort to return favors, if nothing more than just to apply the good neighbor policy. A helping hand was given wherever needed. On one occasion, the spasmodic electric current in the town failed altogether. The snap-decision brain of capable Lt. Edgar Jani came to the rescue, and with "Wires" Sawyier, the battalion electrician, the party was soon on its way tracing highpower lines through fields and over snow drifts to find the faulty connection. However, their minds were diverted by the sudden appearance of an enormous jackrabbit. Needless to say, the mission turned out eventually to be a hunting expedition and the town suffered for electricity until the local authorities traced the breakdown. During our enjoyable two-week stay at Houdemont, Harry Triplett and Nelson Weidman became closely aquainted [acquainted] with two Belgian belles. Everyone knows that a romance can advance quite far in a two-week period, and according to all reports, this love affair made remarkable strides. It was with the utmost reluctance that this pair moved out with the rest of the company to our next bivouac at Witry, Belgium. However, these two men were not completely discouraged by this move, for depot runs had to be made and the route took the trucks through -- you guessed it, Houdemont. Triplett was always present at the beginning and end of these runs, but at the depots he was nowhere to be found. Weidman, not to be outdone, received word from some mysterious source that a supply dump had been set up at Houdemont and he immediately made the trip to ascertain the truth of this report. Close personal investigation disclosed that the depot had not moved. We could tell that the trip had been fruitful though because of the smile on Weidman's face upon his return. The forward elements of the Sixth Armored Division were busily engaged in the fighting toward Bastogne. Many staggering battle stories were told by Jack Moffat and Dale Burlingame of the Inspection Section team, detailed to work in that area. Thousands of Allied bombers and fighters flew over us. They were just specks up in the stratosphere, but long vapor trails would mark their path. It was a wonderful feeling to see our air superiority during this grave situation of the Ardennes breakthrough. |
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Witry, Belgium - Our company moved 18 miles further north toward the city of Bastogne for the continued support of the division. This brought us to the snow-blanketed town of Witry, Belgium, which was located approximately 12 miles from Bastogne. We carried on operations here from January 13 to January 20. Inside billets were secured among the friendly civilians. Mr. Marvin Thompson, Charlie Ahrens, Gurney Littleton and Charles Quartararo can relate an exciting story of how a German dive bomber tried to pin them down with a bomb. They had just left Witry in two peeps and, after driving a short distance, heard the screaming sound of a diving airplane. Before they had a chance to realize their danger, the bomb had already landed and was near enough to spray them with the resulting debris. Needless to say, the rest of the trip was made with one eye on the sky. By this time, the road leading to Bastogne from the south was cleared and the enemy occupying the area on either side were being driven back. Heroes of Bastogne were being relieved by other troops and during our stay here, we became acquainted with a few of the 101st Airborne Division men. Their battle stories were appalling, and they enjoyed our eager inquiries and facial expressions. We knew that Bastogne would be our next move, but gave thanks to the Airborne Infantry and other forward elements for making our entrance much less exciting. |
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Bastogne, Belgium - On January 20 we entered snow-covered Bastogne. It seemed that Mother Nature was trying to give the city a snow-white glistening garment to dress its wounds and scars of battle and to temporarily lift the hopes of the returning civilians who always spoke of this great city with pride. It was now a mass of ruins and destruction. Not a building was spared. The trip from Witry to Bastogne was cold, so as soon as we arrived, groups of men started seeking warm lodgings, and as the old saying goes "The early bird gets the worm," the first to go seeking usually found the most convienent [convenient] and comfortable places. It was usually rather a wild scamper.  It was hard to find a livable building An old cafe which wasn't too badly damaged was found for the kitchen. Before cleaning the mess, the snow had to be shovelled out of places where it had drifted through the broken windows during the blizzard the night before. There was quite a snowdrift piled against the bar, so Clyde Etnyre came out with the intelligent remark, while standing knee deep in the drift, "This would be a good place to get a cool drink." At the sound of the word, Ivan "Frog" Bacheldor thought, this being a cafe, there would be some cognac, wine or at least beer in the celler [cellar]. On his first return from the cellar, he brought up an old rusty stove, but no drink. His second trip revealed coat hangers, steel pipes and a broken-down beach chair, but no drink. "Frog" kept bringing up junk from the cellar which added to the mess that was already there to be cleaned., This didn't make Mess Sergeant Marvin Barger any too happy, so, after a fiery conversation, Bacheldor had to carry all his precious cargo to the rubbish pile. The most predominating thought in the minds of the men at the moment was that Von Rundstedt's drive into Belgium was stopped and being pushed slowly back. The buildings still vibrated to the tune of the heavy artillery pieces. On our second day here, we witnessed a flying bomb passing over the city but it went on and not even the explosion was heard. Working was difficult in the snow and bitter wind, but still the job of issuing, supplying and repairing was remarkably being carried on.  A typical street in Bastogne Chief "Loot-Seeker" Henry Bucher found his most prized discovery in Bastogne -- an intact shoe store -- but the shoes weren't of any use to us for they were all made of wood. However, they made swell souvenirs and nearly all of us sent a pair home. Wooden shoes were the typical everyday wear for the people here and those who were in possession of a pair of leather footwear only wore them on special occasions. We appreciated the good pair of high-top Army issues we had on. Many of the returning civilians wore a red, yellow or green scarf made from the parachute silk used for air-supply operations over Bastogne. It was then just a piece of nylon to keep them warm but they told us that they intended to keep this piece of cloth to cherish in remembrance of the great American heroes who held their beloved city. Other priority units entering Bastogne forced us to find quarters in a nearby town called Marvie, two miles southeast of Bastogne. |
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Marvie, Belgium - We could see that fierce battles had been fought in this little war-shredded town. Quarters were hard to find, but due to the frigid weather, the boys performed wonders in making those wrecked buildings livable.  Two hundred animals were buried  A German tank was used for target practice |
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The town of Marvie was situated on a hill, so the shell and mortar-scarred valley could be plainly viewed. Many souvenirs were collected there, the most popular being the colored parachute silk used by the air force in dropping supplies to the encircled American soldiers in Bastogne. Many of us had this material made into scarf and handkerchief sets for the folks back home.
An early thaw exposed many weird and hideous objects that were previously hidden under the snow. Frozen German corpses with fixed facial expressions, hard to forget, also horses and sheep everywhere. This presented an unsanitary condition that was taken care of immediately by several crews on a burying detail. Two hundred animals were buried and 20 of the enemy were evacuated. We also remember the disabled German tank that we towed to an isolated position for the sport of target practice. Every "bazooka," rifle and machine-gun in the company sent a withering streak of firepower on the hulk of German steel. Our assistant first sergeant, Wilson Bryant, was kept busy carrying weather beaten ammunition from the surrounding fields for the shindig. The prize went to Stanley Geller and his twin fifties with the approval of the weapon's designer, Lt. Raleigh "Pop" Haves, the well liked officer in charge of Parts Issue, and incidentally a killer-diller on the guitar. |
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Brachtenbach, Luxembourg - The enemy was withdrawing rapidly toward the mother country when we moved to Brachtenbach on February 7, covering about nine miles. During our stay of five days here, we witnessed. the uncovering of many German soldiers killed in an Allied bombing raid shortly before our arrival. The story goes that a squadron of P-38's strafed the town and forced some German soldiers inside a cafe, then dropped their eggs on the trap. The civilians here spoke the German language and weren't quite so friendly toward us. We could feel that we were getting close to Germany. The late winter thaws made working difficult, so our billeting party made an effort to find better facilities for our company's operations.  A view of Brachtenbach, Luxembourg |
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Wiltz, Luxembourg - The area at Wiltz seemed like a paradise since most of our trucks were placed under cover, as well as the salvage operations under the supervision of Alvin Winn.  The area at Wiltz, Luxembourg The most popular establishment in Wiltz was the local Engineer shower tent. There were probably many points of interest in Wiltz, but the main attraction as far as we were concerned were the showers. The soil of three countries, France, Luxembourg and Belgium, was removed from our weary bodies. New underclothes were issued in exchange for the old. The transformation was so noticeable that many of the fellows walked out with a questioning look on their faces, wondering if they had left anything behind. The entertainment angle was presented in the form of movies during the evenings at the local theater. The Special Service office put us up to date with the latest films and stage shows. The three-week stay at this location was made very enjoyable, and our morale was generally on the upgrade, especially at our introduction to the Red Cross girls who made their headquarters with us while making doughnuts and coffee for the Sixth Armored Division. We made a special effort to satisfy our taste for doughnuts, and of course to fill our eyes with the novelty of genuine American womanhood. We actually spruced up a bit, practically becoming gentlemen once more. We learned that they would travel right into combat with us. Word came that our next move would take us over the German border onto enemy soil, the home of the Supermen, as they called themselves, and we were now going to enter their land on which they promised their people the Allies would never tread. From here on, we must be more on the alert than ever before because even the liberated people were our enemies. Two main obstacles were laid before us: The man-made Siegfried Line with all the various pillboxes, wire entanglements and roadblocks, which in itself was enough to discourage any army, and the great Rhine River, a natural fortification and barrier that required operations similar to D-Day maneuvers to establish beach-heads on its eastern shores. |
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Dahnen, Germany - This next move, on February 27, made a red letter day in our Army career. We covered 26 miles without mishap to establish our first bivouac on German soil. Germany was entered at last, which gave us the feeling that we were on the home stretch. The first appearance of Germany looked as though the Americans had entered with vengeance, for the first town we saw, after crossing the Our River, was completely destroyed. The hills overlooking the Our River, which marked the border, were covered with fortifications which seemed almost impossible to penetrate.  The Americans entered with vengeance As Dahnen is located a short distance from the border, we often travelled back to the Bailey bridge where the "Super Sixth" made its triumphant crossing and were proud to have our picture taken in front of the large sign erected soon after the historic event. It was located, on the German side of the bridge, immediately after crossing from Luxembourg to Germany. It read, "You are now entering Germany, through the courtesy of the Sixth Armored Division." Much American and German equipment was destroyed at this bridge-head position, as Mike Benko's excellent snapshots so grimly testify. All the way up the steep hill on the road leading into Germany's heart, were pillboxes, trenches, heavy artillery and numerous road blocks. There is no doubt in our minds that the boys who fought there were heroes, in every sense of the word, and our hats were off to them. We had our first look at real German civilians around this area. They were afraid of us and shied away when we came near. Hitler had told them that the Allies would never touch German soil and the arrogant people had believed this until they saw their little towns and villages, along with the big cities, being crushed under Allied superiority.  "Chow" at Dahnen, Germany It was hard to find any trace of civilians in Dahnen and it was considered quite an achievement to trace a civilian into some underground hideaway. We never bothered them much unless they acted suspicious. While we were located at Dahnen, the weather was just about the worst Spring variety imaginable. A cold, raw wind blew continually, night and day, and woe to the poor individuals who "caught" guard each night. Theirs was a miserable vigil for the wind penetrated all clothing, regardless of the number of layers. And with the wind came an assortment of snow, sleet and rain, keeping the mud knee-deep and making working conditions for the outdoor men just about as unpleasant as they could be.  Berlin, 350 miles Another unpleasant feature of the Dahnen scene was the presence of mines and booby traps around the numerous pillboxes of the Siegfried Line which dotted the countryside. Exploring here was a dangerous business. After reaching this position in Germany, apparently well on our way to Berlin, we were surprised to receive the order of transfer to the U.S. Seventh Army, which was at this time fighting in the Saar Valley. This necessitated a move of 138 miles through Luxembourg into France again to the city of Chateau Salins which took place March 9. It was interesting to note that we had travelled on the soil of three countries in a period of ten days after leaving Wiltz -- Luxembourg, Germany and France. We left our doughnut girls with the Third Army. |