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Nancy, France - After enduring the discomforts of living in the fields during the continuous rains of the past few weeks, the prospect of living and working under the large shelters, provided at the airport, lifted our morale greatly. The airport proved very interesting to the inquisitive type of person and since nearly all of us were of that nature, we thoroughly investigated the bomb ravaged buildings and damaged airplanes.  The damaged aeroplanes were thoroughly investigated Leather found around the airplane's bullet-proof gasoline tanks proved to be the most popular item in demand. This was used to increase the height of the Army shoes and convert them into the newly styled combat boot. Leather shoulder-holsters also appeared as a means to display the recently acquired Lugers and P-38's. Plexo-glass was also taken from the pilot's cabin of the planes to replace revolver and pistol grips. In this manner, the boys were brought up to date with the fads very popular at the moment. During our lengthy stay at this area, the fellows had an opportunity to display their talents as carpenters, electricians, architects and even plumbers. This being our first access to the luxury of cement floors and large shop shelters, every section took advantage of the situation and erected smaller shelters inside for sleeping quarters. Those who had the most initiative and the best ideas of course had the best houses. Among the construction teams, the combination of Royal Mayon, Charles Quartararo and Leonard Zollars was outstanding. These three Parts Issue men built their quarters with nothing more than a few pieces of old lumber and some canvas. A suitable wall was made by nailing many doors together, set up end to end. The roof was formed with canvas stretched over a wooden frame. When the outside work was finished, "Electrician By Necessity" William Trapp went to work wiring the place for lights.  These large shelters were our homes During all this construction work, Nelson Weidman and Walter Zoltowski acted as supervisors standing on the sidelines, and when the finished touches had been applied, the two sidewalk supervisors moved in to act as landlords. Each man was allotted his share of floor space and everyone went to work erecting beds for themselves. Parts Issue was credited with building the largest shelters in the company. Service and Salvage was a close second, but boasted of their plumbing installation -- with hot running water, also the automatic oil heating device and the 1000 watts of illumination. Second Echelon built a smaller home, but it was more cozy and also sported the luxury of hot running water. An old chicken house was fumigated and scrubbed clean of all things usually found in a building of that nature, and after a few days of effort, it turned into beauty spot of the company area and was used exclusivly [exclusively] for card games and beer parties. The building was christened "The Chicken S-- Inn". The Inspection Section took over the adjoining room next to the Second Echelon crew, so their constant arguments and heated debates could be clearly heard through the thin partition, which often set the whole building into verbal vibrations. The Ration Section erected a canvas roof job with wooden floors and complete with pin-up girls. Delicious aromas often floated through the evening breezes and always were traceable to the Ration Section's tent which revealed a complete kitchen set-up with Milton Montgomery, John Bayduss, Martin Dolan and William Thomas giving out with some swell dishes. Pete McMann always lent his expert advice concerning the technique of the "Cuisiniere" with Fred Connick and James Hynes doing the heckling. Chester "Skin" Bostain and Matty Dabkowski, being the company carpenters, polished off a prize two-room mansion with the luxury of painted walls, a kitchen nook, hot running water -- with shower and complete with electricity. The company officers also undertook the "better housekeeping" policy, and the result was a canvas-walled job featuring an honest-to-goodness bay window and a light-trap door that would baffle Einstein. This airport was located on the eastern outskirts of Nancy, a good sized city. We visited it often and took advantage of the elaborate indoor swimming pool and other recreational facilities that a big town can offer. Many of us had portraits made at the local photo establishments. Others visited the cafes and similar houses of gayiety. The "Bains," or the French bath houses, were among the musts on our lists. All in all, we covered Nancy pretty thoroughly and knew it as well as our own hometown.  We knew Nancy as well as our own home town Back at the airport we were fortunate enough to have movies nearly every night, along with periodical stage performances by well known motion picture and stage personalities. Marlene Dietrich was one of our outstanding visitors. The mania for beautiful ashtrays and gadgets made from 90mm shell casings was developed here. The Page and Tuzinsky Toy Factory was incorporated and soon many attractive souvenirs were turned out under the skillful fingers of Lawrence "Papa" Page and Joe Tuzinsky. The fever was contagious throughout the whole Service and Salvage section, under the able supervision of Clarence "Knobby" Baeten. Beforge [Before] long the craze spread throughout the whole battalion and into the other units of the division. This put quite a pressure on the supply of used shell casings which became so limited that a waiting line was formed behind each 90mm gun during every air raid to collect the smoking shells. In some instances, the casings were in the lathes being turned down before they had time to cool off from the powder charge. Capt. Wilson and Lt. O'Connell kept Biase Lagana busily engaged in newly designed oil heaters. Lagana, who was assisted by Clarence Baeten and William McIntyre, did a swell job in welding the "Duck Bills" on the tank track which proved to be the most important job while at this area. Work was being carried on day and night until the job was completed. This operation was a great factor in the division's speedy future operations. The "Duck Bill" was a piece of steel welded to the treads of the tank track in order to increase the area of traction. The seasonal rains and mud necessitated such a modification for the future operations against the enemy. We had periodical air attacks, along with a few robot bombs which we were instructed to call "Big Bens" for security reasons. The anti-aircraft detachment, stationed nearby to protect us, actually put our nerves on edge with their ear-splitting 90mm "Long Toms" blasting at a few yards distance. The concussion was tremendous and our flimsy little shacks really took a beating, along with the occupants inside. William McIntire possessed the gift of concocting samples of home brew, and after preparing a prize batch, set it in storage for future reference. These heavy blasts from the guns nearby had a strange effect on the brew, causing it to build up enough pressure to explode the bottles and scatter the glass in all directions. Joseph Andrews always was gifted with original ideas, and during a garbage-pit detail, he came forth with a brainstorm. After observing the tactics of digging gun positions by the AAA boys with dynamite, Andrews fancied the idea and applied the same treatment for a fast garbage pit. However, the proportions of dynamite used were a little generous and the result was rather appalling. Several persons were blown off their feet and those who could make traction dove under trucks and any other available shelter. Arthur McCann and Maj. Edward O'Hara chose the same shelter and at the same time, but McCann won the race through the error of knocking the major several feet to the side. Needless to say, Joe Andrews returned to the old method of digging garbage pits. We enjoyed listening to the World Series baseball broadcasts while at this area. Many shortwave radios were in use to pick up the program from the States. Baseball pools were started by Jimmy Burroughs, making the series very interesting throughout the company. Mr. Marvin W. Thompson and Charlie Ahrens felt quite at home listening to the program from their home town, St. Louis. Lt. Edgar J. Jani joined the company at Nancy. Through his friendly personality, he easily became acquainted with the officers and men. We considered Nancy as the half-way mark, or similar to the end of the second quarter of some decisive football game. The participants had a rest period and the band played at a division formation at which the general awarded decorations. Our battalion commander, Lt. Col. Raymond B. Graeves, received a plaque awarded for the outstanding performance of his battalion. General Grow also gave us a pep talk on the next movements to come. The third quarter was to begin and an anxious team was ready to get started in order to finish this decisive game. The field was wet and muddy from the endless rains, a condition which of course was in favor of the enemy. The whistle blew and we made our first down at Rouves, France, leaving Nancy on Armistice Day -- November 11, 1944. |