Milt Moncrief: An Infantryman in WW II

Table of Contents

Royal Mayon: Interviewed by a  High School student

Introduction

 Our Task Force Column had stopped on a road outside Kassel.  It was about 0:400 a.m. We had moved all night driving black-out, no lights and all were getting sleepy.  When the lead tank stopped -- ALL others down the line DIED -- the motors switched off.  Everything was quiet!  No noise of any kind -- no voices, no coughing, no walking, no metal to metal banging -- just quiet.  In a field, several yards away a hay stack was burning to the left a little about 10:00 angle.  The narrow road curved to the right about 14:00 or 2:00 o'clock.

Our part in the Task Force was Forward Observers, 105 Howz self mounted, on M7 Carriers.  The F. 0. section consisted of a half truck with a much longer antenna and a jeep with a shorter distance antenna.  I was the NCO driver of the jeep.

The Lieutenant was the decider of our missions. The Lieutenant went down front to make contact with the tank Lieutenant.  The half truck was bumper to bumper behind my jeep.

About this time, we heard motors, TANK motors, coming in on our left flank, about 09:00 angle.  The crew in the halftrack, and me in the jeep, started wondering.  Then we said, "We do not have a T.F. [task force -- ed.] that close on our left flank." By the sound of the motors, they sounded like German tanks.  So, we just waited and they kept getting closer.

We didn't know it because of the darkness, about 50 feet from us to the left at about a 10:00 angle, was a road leading into the road we were on. The German tanks were on that road headed for Kassel.  I got out of the jeep with my carbine and watched the first tank go past the light of the burning haystack.  They went in between my vision and the burning haystack.  So, I could see it was a German tank with 3 or 4 soldiers riding on it.  The second tank was the same thing.

The scare was - Are they turning left or right?  If left, to the front of our Column; a right turn would mean turning in our direction.  We had nothing to fight them with.  They turned left - right down the Column - bumping into several of our vehicles.  When they got to the front tank, all hell broke loose.  So far up until this point, there wasn't any firing from either side.

Then, Lieutenant McNamee knocked out one.  All the men on the tank burned to a crisp.  The other one got away.  After this happened, it was quiet again and still dark.  I decided to leave the jeep and walk to the lead tank to see what had happened.  It was about 200 yards to the front tank.  I had my weapon and an early prayer to move me on.  There was some danger from friendly fire.  On arrival, I saw the burning tank and the charred bodies.

I believe I saw one Trooper and he said one of the officers had gotten killed.  He thought everyone was getting some sleep before sunrise.  I walked back to the jeep.  The crew and I waited until day light.  The Column would be moving out front again.

Now, to end this with a flash back memory - We have our annual SUPER SIX Reunion every year and lots of time to mix war stories.  I had in mind to ask him about this incident because he wrote about this incident in our SUPER SIX magazine.  He then told me he was the Lieutenant that knocked out the tank and that one had gotten away.  When the Column stopped, he had put a round in the haystack to start it burning.  Lieutenant McNamee's unit was 15th Tank Bn.  Our F. 0.  part was from the 212th AFA Bn., and the third unit on this Kassel mission, I don't remember - the third would have been an Infantry Bn.

How lucky we were that darkness caused them not to see our Column.  They may have opened up on us with them 88's - it could have been a lot worse.
 
 

Milt Moncrief: An Infantryman in WW II

Table of Contents

Royal Mayon: Interviewed by a  High School student

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Last update: September 20, 1998