MY ARMY DAYS: World War II (1-10)

            -1-

I was a lad of seventeen

I had just lost my dad

My mother would be in dire straits

My pay was not enough

And so I thought to help her out

I’d join the service soon

So she’d get my allotment check

And get back on her feet.

As I was only seventeen

There was nowhere to join

Except United States Marines

Who’d take me at my age

So up to Boston did I go

To take a physical

But when the doctor saw my spine

He said I wasn’t fit.

And so I waited ‘til eighteen

Then joined the army and

Became one of the few who were

Induction volunteers

This meant the army now could send

Me anywhere they chose

And that is how I did become

Another G.I. Joe.

            -2-

They sent me to Fort Devans first

Along with other men

And there we got our army clothes

Along with shots galore

Then after spending a few days

In getting used to camp

We boarded a westbound troop train

That wound up in Camp Howze.

This camp is in the Lone Star State

Up in the northern part

And here we joined Love Company

Of the Three Forty Three.

And all three regiments did make

The Eighty Sixth Black Hawks.

We were the last of the recruits

To fill our company.

Our first three months consisted of

All basic training stuff

We learned to drill, and hiked a lot

And always had full packs.

We learned to shoot our rifles well

Out on the rifle range

And with our basic training done

We thought we were the best.

            -3-

I’ve left out much of these three months

Of details that do make

A soldier’s life so miserable

But take a lot of space

The early hours of getting up

Before the sun does rise

Inspections on just everything

Barracks, clothes, beds and men.

Sometimes the smallest speck of dust

Would cause a great furor

And cause the entire group of men

To sacrifice a pass

Or pushups done as punishment

For some imagined sin.

And then of course the sergeants love

The K.P. punishment.

But all in all these punishments

Did have a purpose, for

They did eventually instill

A rigid discipline.

This is a must, especially

Now that a war is fought

And so we took our punishment

And from it discipline.

            -4-

But now with basic training done

It was our furlough time

Each soldier is supposed to get

Some thirty days a year.

This time we got only ten days

Including travel time.

I had to get from Texas to

Rhode Island and return.

It would be difficult I knew

To make it there and back.

The travel time by those old trains

Would take at least five days

But off I went, spent sleepless nights

Before I got back home.

I kissed my mom, then called Paula

To set up times to meet.

I had five days before I left

I made the most of them.

We first went down to Moonstone Beach

There were a lot of us

My sister Sue, my cousin Dot,

Both with their own boyfriends

All went with Paula and myself

We could not be alone.

            -5-

Then two days later we did go

Back up to old Beach Pond

We six did manage to fit in

To my Old Town canoe.

We started paddling up the lake

Until we reached the rocks

Where on that day a year ago

Paula and I had met.

The others dropped us at the rocks

We stayed there for a while

Then swam to shore and climbed the rocks

Where Larry and I once dived.

We lay there in a shady spot

Paula across my lap

We talked about the things we’d done

While we were far apart.’

And after that we said not much

Just held each other close

For that short time we were alone

We made the most of it.

We kissed a lot, ‘til passion rose

Affecting both of us

And so to calm our ardor down

We dove into the pond.

            -6-

Then when we swam back to the rocks

The others did appear.

They picked us up and home we went

To end another day.

I saw Paula the next two days

Before I had to leave

Then back I went to old Camp Howze

To join my company.

When I got back, no one was there

The company had gone

I went to see the first sergeant

To see what I should do.

“Go get your full field pack,” he said,

“And bring your rifle too.

I’ll drive you out to their bivouac

And you can join them there.”

I got there, found my own platoon

And then we went to chow.

I told them all I thought I should

About my trip back home.

They told me that I’d missed the hike

Twenty-five miles or more

And said I’d have to make it up

But then I never did.

            -7-

While we were in advanced training

With landing boats and such

The Army Air Corp opened up

An opportunity

For any who could pass their tests

To join their ranks and be

A pilot, if he qualified

And that was right for me.

I took the tests, and passed them all

Then packed up all my gear

And so I left the infantry

Was sent to Shephard Field

And there I spent three weeks or more

Just taking further tests.

At last I passed, climbed on a bus

And was sent off to school.

We were a group that made a flight

No longer a platoon

We now must think in Air Corp terms

Of flights, squadrons, and wings.

The bus arrived and we debarked

At the Buffalo Court

Of West Texas Teachers’ College

And Canyon was the town.

            -8-

We now became the members of

350 CTD (College Training Detachment)

We were assigned to Marsden Hall

And that became our home.

The bunks were good, the food was great

The studies difficult.

There was no let up in our work

All day and into night.

The grind was tough, we studied long

For now we had to cram

Two years into just six short months

These made for long, long days

Two hours each evening did we spend

In doing our homework

We studied all the types of math

Including calculus.

Our other studies did include

English and history

Geography and physics too

In these I did excel.

It was quite a difference now

From my old high school days

For now I had a great desire

To do my very best.

            -9-

My hard work in my studying

Really paid off for me

For when we got close to the end

I headed up the class.

It was then we finally flew

Ten hours was the norm

So we could get some flying time

Before our pre-flight came.

I still remember that first day

When my instructor wrote

“This student is scared stiff in flight,”

And he was mostly right.

But by my third time in the air

I changed that all around.

I got my air legs and went on

To be the best of class.

We had just one more week to go

And I was feeling good

I’d tied for tops in every class

Was best in flying too.

It was then we got the word, our

Program was breaking up

It seems the Army Air Corp had

Too many aircrews now.

            -10-

We all were shocked, had never thought

That we would not go on,

To pre-flight, basic, and advanced

And finally to fly,

The Mustangs or the Thunderbirds,

Or the two-tailed Lightning.

This was a broken- hearted bunch,

For now we'd never fly

And so we packed up once again

To go from whence we came.

We said goodbye to girls we’d met

And climbed onto the train.

It was an all night ride until

We reached Camp Gruber which

Was just outside of Muskogee

In Oklahoma State.

No time was lost as we detrained

They called out each man’s name

We were assigned, then boarded trucks

That took us to our bunks.

My outfit was the Two Four Two

Infantry Regiment,

Part of the Forty Second, or

The Rainbow Division.

 

MY ARMY DAYS: World War II (21-30)

            -21-

The time went by, too fast for me

Yet was near twelve o’clock

And time for me to go again

If I would make my train

I called my Mom, we said goodbye

Then Paula and I left

In a taxi that dropped me off

Then took my Paula home.

I took the train at one A.M.

‘Twas not the train I thought

It took me on a longer course

And got me back so late,

That by the time I reached the camp

My pass was out of date.

And so my captain had no choice

But give me punishment.

“You now will go another month

Before you get your stripes.

That is the best that I can do.

I hope you liked the pass.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, “I surely did.

I saw my mom and girl

Whom I may never see again

Depending on this war.”

            -22-

And so when all were back from pass

We boarded trains once more,

And took the short ride to the docks

That lined the New York shore.

Then went on board the General Black,

A troop ship for our group.

It held our entire regiment,

And had some room for more.

The crew then showed us to our bunks

And how to get around

It wasn’t long until we left

The ship got under way

And very quickly headed north

To pick up our convoy.

We changed our course so many times

We knew not where we went.

We zig-zagged after leaving port

Then crossed in fourteen days

And never once did I get sick

I loved it up on deck.

I and a pal sat in the bow

Just riding out the waves.

The bow went up, and we did too

Then dropped so suddenly.

            -23-

We had not much to do at night

And so just four of us,

Would gather at the starboard rail

All from our mortar group.

“Blue Eyed Elaine I Love You So”

Was our favorite song,

We loved to sing into the night

We harmonized so well.

We also sang some other songs

Mostly from World War I

“There’s a Long, Long Trail Awinding”

Was one we all did love

“Smile Awhile,” and “Tipperary”

Are two more that we sang.

We always harmonized these songs

As a quartet would do.

We sang the songs of long ago

Before the Civil War

Like “Aura Lee,” “The Old Ash Grove,”

And “In the Gloaming” too.

We sang the songs of later on

As “My Wild Irish Rose”

And “Shenendoah,” which we hummed

For no one knew the words.

            -24-

We reached Gibraltor in the night

Then passed right thru the nets

Into the Mediterranean Sea

Then on into Marseilles.

We gathered up our gear again

And disembarked the ship

Trucks then hauled us up the hill

To stay at C.P. Two.

This camp was just a staging point

We stayed there just two weeks

And so we put our pup tents up

All lined up row by row

It was the last we ever saw

Of pup tents in this war.

The weather was so cold and damp

That everyone had colds.

They gave out passes for Marseilles

And I was one who went.

We were told to stay teamed up for

Marseilles was not the best

So many foreigners lived there

So international

And always on the look out for

The rich Americans.

            -25-

We stayed not long, just long enough

For those who liked the girls

To visit a cat house or two

To satisfy themselves.

We stopped into a bar to see

Just what the French would pay

For cigarettes or chocolate

Of which we had a lot.

We stayed in the bar long enough

To have ourselves a beer

Which seemed to us to be too warm

Though we did not complain.

We left the bar and hiked on out

To where the trucks did wait

We climbed aboard, all those who could

And so went back to camp.

Our time in C.P. 2 was up

All regiments were there.

We now became a true “Task Force”

And “Linden” was our name.

Artillery we did not have

For that was still back home.

We had to fight with what we had

That could be difficult.

            -26-

But when all regiments had come

We then did board the trains

This time they were forty and eights.

That dad had spoken of.

The French used them to carry troops

And in the days gone by

They would carry eight horses or

A forty man platoon.

We got aboard then had to wait

A common army trait

But when we finally did start

We opened up the doors,

And posted guards so none would fall

And then we got some sleep

If sleep it was when all of us

Were packed in like sardines.

And when we stopped, the French kids came

And offered bread and wine

In exchange for cigarettes or

Any chocolate.

This was the pattern up to Metz

A newly taken town,

That showed destruction everywhere

From artillery and bombs.

            -27-

We now de-trained and glad we were

To climb on to the trucks.

All night we rode, and it was cold

But finally did halt

Outside of Strasbourg on the Rhine

And then we went on foot

Into the city, which we were told

To hold at any cost.

This was the idea of the French

Who could not bear to part

With Strasbourg, now that it was ours

It must be held they said.

For our lines had been stretched out

And now were very thin

To compensate for troops moved north

To battle in the Bulge.

We took some old French barracks here

As ours for just a night

We looked at all the storehouses

Most empty but some not

One had a lot of machetes

Of these I took a few

For mortar squads to clear out brush

On to our belts they went.

            -28-

The next day was the day before

That day in World War I

When the old Rainbow did begin

It’s fight against the Huns

And so to keep tradition high

It did become our lot

To enter into combat on

The same day as the past.

And so our regiments were stretched

Out all along the Rhine

The Krauts had started their big drive

With troops moved from the Bulge

In hopes of breaking thru our lines

That now were stretched so thin

They had succeeded in Alsace

In re-crossing the Rhine.

Our second night we were called out

To answer an alert

We manned the railroad MLR

That overlooked the Rhine

We set our mortars just in back

Of those old railroad tracks

Then watched thru moonlight, that was bright,

For anyone to cross.

            -29-

That no one did is obvious

For Krauts were not that dumb

They would not cross when all could see

By light from that big moon.

Instead they satisfied themselves

By dropping just three rounds

Of mortar fire, close to our lines

They knew right where we were.

We spent the night out on the tracks

I guess it was as well

It gave us all a taste of what

Was surely going to come.

At dawn we were pulled back again

To search throughout the woods

For some imagined snipers that

Were hidden thereabouts.

And after that were just patrols

Those first few days at war

We were holed up within a house

While waiting word to move.

We had a good machine gun squad

In a French pillbox, that

Could be reached by rubber boats, that

Crossed the canal by night.

            -30-

Those boys had been out there for days

And had begun to jump

At every shadow or each sound

That happened every night

And so our platoon leader came

To ask for volunteers

And so I volunteered my squad

To swap for just that night.

And so when the darkness had come

We who had volunteered

Crossed over the canal in boats

And sent the others back.

We set the gun up once again

Next to the pillbox door

And made Borders our gunner who

Knew most about the gun.

We took turns watching through the night

And heard a lot of sounds

But then at twelve all hell broke loose

But was not aimed at us

Red and green tracers were shot from

Somewhere across the Rhine

The bells in Kiel were ringing out

For now ‘twas the New Year.

MY ARMY DAYS: WWII (31-40)

            -31-

When we had finally settled down

And watched, alert and sharp

For any move the Krauts might make

To cross the Rhine again.

Throughout the night right up to dawn

We watched so carefully

Then after pulling in the gun

We all went in to sleep.

We kept watch thru the cupola

That every pillbox had

And took turns sleeping thru the day

‘Til night came once again.

We sent a man to the canal

To wait upon the boats

While we set up the gun again

And waited – all in vain.

For no one came that night or day

Our 536 didn’t work

And so we settled down to wait

Until we got some word.

And finally late the next night

We heard the sound of boats.

We challenged them, they answered back

And came into the shore.

            -32-

“Go get your gear,” they said to us,

“And bring along the gun.

Your regiment was called to move

And in a hurry went.

They could not contact you, so left

And then they called us up

To get to you and take you back

To your own regiment.”

We quietly got in the boats

With ammo, gear and gun

They took us ‘cross that old canal

As quiet as they could

Then loaded us in their DUKW

The thing we called a duck

Then we took off and drove for hours

Or so it seemed to us.

We got there at the break of dawn

Wherever “there” might be

And were united once again

With our mortar section.

We had no time to talk about

The things that had occurred

We had to set our mortar up

Behind the MLR.

            -33-

We dug our mortar pits and then

We waited once again

To see what the Germans would do

And if they’d come our way

But they didn’t, and sure enough

We got the call to go.

And soon were mounted on our trucks

And dropped at Koenigsbrück.

Now Koenigsbrück was just a town

As small as it could be

It had a river and a bridge

That split the town in half

We held the southern half alone

With just our company

The bridge was mined and set to blow

As soon as we saw fit.

We dug our mortars in once more

Then dug our own foxholes

Patrols were sent to the north side

Where Germans would appear.

They came but only one patrol

And these were ambushed good

One man was killed, one was wounded

The others prisoners.

            -34-

And so we had drawn our first blood

Upon our enemy.

But no other Germans came, so

We pulled up stakes again.

This time we went into the woods

It snowed a lot again.

We now could hear much rifle fire

Along with machine guns.

We knew we were just to the south

Of Hatten, we were told,

Where our first battalion was then

Getting chopped to bits

They had no artillery support

Mortars were all they had

They were simply overrun by

Panther and Tiger tanks.

So with the loss of Hatten and

Another town nearby

Although we stabilized the front

And all was quiet now

We had lost a lot of men

To this German attack

But they had also lost a lot

Of men they couldn’t replace.

            -35-

And while the war seemed quiet here

It was not going well

In other areas nearby

And so the choice was made

To shorten up the Alsace front

And so we must pull back

We got the word and left the woods

As snow began to fall.

We moved all night thru driving snow

It was a march of hell

And then before the dawn did come

The snow began to lift

The moon came out through flitting clouds

And cast eerie shadows

Down thru the firs that lined the road

Still onward did we go.

The weather had turned very cold

And now ‘twas nearly dawn

We saw a sign that told us we

Were near to Haguenau

And sure enough within an hour

We moved into the streets

And as we passed an old schoolhouse

Our Captain called a halt.

            -36-

“Seek shelter where you can,” he said

He had to say no more.

The Company just filed right in

That schoolhouse was like home

Weapons platoon was in one room

The others had one each.

We built a fire out of old chairs

Then tried to get some sleep.

We all had marched throughout the night

And were not fit to fight

But we knew the Germans would not

Give us the time to rest

They would be right upon our backs

Once they did realize

That we were gone, and could not now

Stop their sustained attack.

But now we had anti-tank crews

That bottled up the roads.

They destroyed tracked vehicles that

Preceded infantry,

And gave us time to dig into

Our new resistance line.

That was formed thru trees and fields

The Moder River line.

            -37-

Now the battalion let us rest

When we reached Haguenau

But only for three hours, no more

And then they roused us up.

We had to get some outposts out

So we could be aware

Of what the Kraut intentions were

And counter his attacks.

So they sent out our first platoon

The third platoon as well

To locate out in front of us

About a half a mile

Each took a house, and there dug in

To wait upon the Krauts

Each had a mortar squad attached

And each a machine gun.

By some coincidence not known

My squad remained behind

Our second mortar squad was sent

Out with our third platoon

From what we heard, they had it rough

Were nearly all cut off

But managed to fight their way out

And back to our main line.

            -38-

We later heard that Forgiel had

Been in that old outhouse

And while his pants were at his knees

He saw the Kraut attack.

Three of the Germans circled round

To get behind the house

In doing so, they went right past

Where he was indisposed.

He spotted them through some big cracks

And jumped up from the seat

Then throwing wide the outhouse door

He did commence to shoot

One Kraut went down, the others fled

As fast as they could run

But while he got his pants back up

The Kraut attack began.

The riflemen around the house

Held off the Krauts at first

Our mortar squad poured in their fire

And added to the din

But when the Krauts brought up a tank

To try to blast the house

Our guys came tumbling out the back

And headed down the hill.

            -39-

 “Get going,” Lieutenant Yelton called,

“We’ve done our very best.”

So Anderberg knocked down his gun

And left so very fast

He could not bring along his sight,

Ammo or cleaning rod.

But all of them got back into

That Moder River line.

We had no casualties that day

But could have had a lot

If each of those outposts had been

Cut off from their escape

But each did manage to get back

To join the Company

And take their places once again

To stop the Kraut attack.

We dug our mortar into ground

‘Twas frozen at the top

But when we got below the frost

It was much easier

And so we dug a big round hole

With sandbags all around

Our stakes were set within the pit

With ammo right at hand.

            -40-

We were now ready for the Krauts

Whatever that would bring

And so as it was getting dark

We set one guard to watch.

We had enough for each of us

To take two hours apiece

The guard stayed with the mortar while

The rest of us did sleep.

The time was close to 2 A.M.

It was my turn to watch

When suddenly a thunderous roar

Came down upon us all.

There was artillery, guns from tanks

Mortars of every size

With Nebel-werfers shrieking down

To bolster this attack.

The heaviest of this barrage

Came down just to our right

It landed on our MLR

And one machine gun squad

Zucks and Kryzinski manned that gun

And both were killed at once

Hit by a German mortar round

That landed just behind.

MY ARMY DAYS: WWII (41-50)

            -41-

Bridgeman carried ammo for them

And he was wounded bad

The other two escaped the round

That hit the other three

How many of our riflemen

Went down I do not know

It was later on that we heard

Of all our casualties.

Now when the big barrage came down

The others all awoke

They manned our mortar right away

While I tried to find out

What we should fire our mortar at

For things were all confused.

The Germans were among our men

And none knew who was who.

As I could find no one to ask

I started to go back

When Sergeant Gerber caught my arm

And said to bring my crew

“Get them all and bring them here

And do not hesitate,

For you will set your mortar up

Right in this very spot.”

            -42-

From the deep ditch along the road

We looked across a field

Now we could see much better here

But they could see us too.

We had no stakes, so when we shot

It had to be a guess

Of distance and location but

No target did appear.

We sat there for about two hours

And listened to the fight

The firing was sporadic now

But we could never tell

Whether the Krauts had broken through

Or if our line had held.

We knew not which and so we sat

And waited out the fight.

Now it was just before the dawn

That Germans saw us there.

They must have seen our silhouettes

Against a snow background

But two of them, out in the woods

And just across the field

Did open up with their burp guns

That threw a hail of steel.

            -43-

We ducked below the embankment

Then someone fired back

But Sergeant Gerber just sat there

Not in the least disturbed.

The Germans fire went right past him

But never did he flinch

Until we heard some rifle shots

Someone had saved our hides.

‘Twas quiet now, we did not hear

The sound of Kraut burp guns

And somehow knew our line had held

Against this big attack.

We knew some Krauts had broken through

And gone across the road

Into a little airport there

That once held fighter planes.

When day had come and all could see

Our Captain made a check

Of all our killed or wounded men

In this big nighttime fight.

It was also the time to see

About the German dead

With many German prisoners

Taken among our men.

            -44-

We stood upon the road and gazed

At the snow covered field

And where the German burp gun fire

Had almost gotten us.

Right in the middle did we see

A huge old bomb crater

Probably made by our own planes

That missed the airport then.

Into the crater we did go

To set our mortar up.

It was not anywhere as good

As the one we had left.

It was too open, full of snow,

But when we dug it out,

It served the purpose for the gun

And so we set it up.

Then after getting settled in

We got called out again

To go with our reserve platoon

To make the airport clear.

We knew some Krauts had crossed the road

But now they were cut off

And so we had that doubtful job

That task to dig them out.

            -45-

We went right thru that old airport

In a tight skirmish line

Then searched each building on the grounds

But never found the Krauts.

They had just simply disappeared

We knew not where they went

And so my crew and I went back

To get our gun reset.

Now in the afternoon we learned

That we were to attack.

Our first and third platoon would go

The second in reserve.

The jump-off time was four o’clock

And we would give support

We’d start to fire at the same time

As our big mortars did.

The time was then three fifty-five

When we first dropped a round

I watched it thru my glasses where

I thought that it might land.

It smacked right off the factory roof

The spot I tried to hit

Fire for effect I told the crew

You’re right on target now.

            -46-

They started firing faster now

But only got off three

When the base plate broke through the frost

And kicked the mortar up.

“Reset that gun and make it fast,”

Was my shouted command

But ‘ere the gun could be reset

I got the call to stop.

Our men were now in very close

And all supporting guns

Had then been told to cease their fire

Our men were on their own

The fight was short but very fierce

We lost a lot of men

And then they started pulling out

They had done all they could.

They stopped the Germans in their tracks

There were no more attacks

Though they now had my crew spotted

Out in that open field

And so we took their mortar fire

Along with fire from tanks.

The tank fire went right overhead

It did us little harm.

            -47-

But mortar fire was something else

It could come down on us

And one came down so very close

We heard it all the way

I can remember scrunching down

And saying, “this is it.”

It landed right next to our hole

And left us nearly deaf.

When that occurred I jumped right out

And bypassed everyone

I found the Captain and explained

That we were under fire

“The Krauts have spotted us,” I said,

And would it be all right

If I brought them in right away

Where they could spend the night.

The Captain said it was OK,

“We cannot lose more men

For it will serve no useful end

For now it’s getting dark.

So bring them in and let them sleep

I think we’ll be all right.

Just have them leave their mortar there

In case the Krauts attack.”

            -48-

So I went back to that bomb hole

And told my men to come

But first make sure that mortar’s aimed

At that big patch of woods

Also be sure the rounds are stacked

Ready for instant use.

We do not want to be caught short

In case of an attack.

When all was set, we plodded in

To the tavern next door

And when we had something to eat

We all just went to sleep.

We hadn’t slept in two full days

And so our sleep was sound

‘Twas better than our foxholes were

To sleep right on the floor.

The days that followed were so calm

Not much disturbed the peace

The Germans had pulled further back

And we just manned the line.

Then on January twenty-eighth

Our outfit was relieved

By the Screaming Eagles known as

The Airborne Infantry.

            -49-

This was our first taste of combat

The cost to us was high

We lost ten men who had been killed

Eleven more had wounds

We paid a price at Haguenau

Of men we wouldn’t forget

In turn we stopped the Germans cold

No further did they get.

We boarded trucks that took us back

Some twenty miles or more.

When we had disembarked the trucks

We were in a small town

Where we were given billets for

The following two weeks.

We took a room over a bar

And there we settled down.

There are some things about that town

That I will not forget

It was here that each received his

Combat Infantry Badge

And here it was that Anderberg

Was shot by accident

By Bernhardt, who had thought it time

To clean his forty-five.

            -50-

Instead of letting go the slide

He first put in the clip,

And when he let the hammer down

That gun just up and fired

The bullet went thru my jacket

Where I had sat before

And went thru Anderberg’s right arm

Before it hit the wall.

And so another vacancy

Was left in our platoon

But in the next two days or so

We did receive some men

Replacements who would fill the gaps

Left back in Haguenau

The new men sent to those platoons

That needed them the most.

We did no training for a while

Were left to just relax

And so while I was roaming ‘round

Outside that little town

I happened on a Kraut Schmeisser

Just laying in the mud

I picked it up to feel the heft

And found I liked it well.

MY ARMY DAYS: WWII (51-60)

            -51-

But at that time, I did not know

That it was loaded still

So when I pressed the trigger of

That gun, it just went off

And scared me almost half to death

Until I realized

That this Schmeisser had once been used

To fire at our men.

The next thing that I recollect

Was firing my rifle

At two ducks out on a pond some

Eight hundred yards away

I had just filed my rifle’s sight

Down to a sharpened point

And I was anxious now to learn

Just how my rifle shot.

I raised the rear sight up until

I’d gone twenty-four clicks

At three clicks drop per hundred yards

I’d have the distance right

So I lay prone, the sling up tight

And aimed right at those ducks

I squeezed the trigger and then just watched

To see where I would hit.

            -52-

The distance was exactly on

I’d estimated right

But when I saw the water splash

Right in between the ducks

I knew this weapon would be right

For they were swimming close

And I now had a good excuse

For filing down that sight.

Now when our rest was nearly down

We got a pile of mail

I got letters from my mom, and

From my sisters too

I also got a single one

The one I’d waited for

I read the others first, and then

I opened Paula’s last.

I read it thru, then stood in shock

It was a “Dear John” note

Her letter was straight to the point,

It left me in no doubt

She’d found another, so she said

And would I write no more

I stood there disbelieving what

She’d written me was true.

            -53-

But finally it did sink in

My Paula was no more

I thought about the time we’d met

Upon my favorite pond

And of the times we’d spent since then

Now all had gone for naught

I’d been away from her for too long

And this was the result.

I heaved a sigh of disbelief

Then put her from my mind

I could not be distracted when

There was so much to do

She’d taken up with someone else

And “that was that” I thought

I acted as I’d never heard

Of Paula Jane Ballou.

Some two weeks later we did leave

This town they called La Garde

We traveled northeast to the town

The French called Wimmenau

Our division was now complete

We had artillery

And other troops who were not here

When we first came overseas.

            -54-

And so we went back into line

As divisional reserve

Our sleeping quarters were a barn

We slept upon the hay

That was OK with all of us

And we slept very well

A lot better than all the guys

In foxholes at the front.

Our time was now devoted to

The training of new troops

The two replacements that we got

We put right thru the mill

We taught them how our mortar worked

And ran them through some drills

In case that day should ever come

When they would need those skills.

But over in the section that

Was run by Sergeant Webb

He had the task of replacing

A whole machine gun squad.

I know he split his first squad up

To make a second squad

With replacements filling in

And learning what they could.

            -55-

But now that we were in reserve

Patrols did fall on us

And ‘oft we did supply the men

To make these nightly raids

Sometimes a squad, or full platoon

Were called for from above

No notion did they have at all

Of what these men went through.

The squads went on reconnaissance

Were led by non-coms now

Platoons were led by officers

And were combat patrols

But when the Germans ascertained

A certain route they took

They’d plant that area with mines

That would blow off a foot.

We lost some men on these patrols

Most all stepped on a mine

But these patrols did show to us

That Jerry was spread thin

He put his men quite far apart

With Schu mines in between

And hoped to hold us in this way

For they did get few men.

            -56-

And finally on March the ninth

We went back into line

We’d had more snow that melted fast

It was too close to spring.

We were attached to third platoon

As often was the case

We set out mortar up again

Behind a wooded bank.

Instead of foxholes we did have

A vaulted dugout type

Dug deeply far into the bank

And partly ‘neath a tree

We stayed only five days and yet

Two incidents occurred

The first beneath the melting snow

A dead German appeared.

We called the Company to see

What they would have to say

We’ll send Graves Registration men

And they’ll take care of him.

The other incident occurred

Before we were pulled out

“Don’t knock that mortar down just yet,

Just send us up a flare.”

            -57-

This call came on our telephone

They seemed so insistent

I said OK, where should we fire

He said he wasn’t sure

Just put one out there right away

And we can tell from that

And so we shot up our first flare

I called – “It’s on the way.”

We saw it pop and then flare out

And then there came a ring

“Stop, stop,” he shouted o’er the phone

“It’s right over our men.”

The flare we’d shot had stopped our men

They had to stand stock still

It seems they’d left our mortar squad

To cover a pullout.

Our squad was now the last to know

That we had been relieved

They left us there to shoot up flares

So the Krauts wouldn’t know

That we’d been pulled out of our line

And would attack elsewhere

This is a thing they would not say

Over the telephone.

            -58-

A runner reached us later on

And said that we should come

We packed up all our gear and left

And at the road were met

By trucks that took us not too far

Until we had rejoined

The other squads of our platoon

We were alone no more.

We’d be right there for just one night

Our barracks bags had come

We hadn’t seen them since Strasbourg

They were a welcome sight

We now could have a change of clothes

Could take the snow-pacs off

And put on combat boots again

To lighten up our feet.

We did these things, then settled down

To sleep just off the road

They woke us up at four A.M.

“Take only weapons now.”

We were attached to third platoon

And started up the hill

We reached our jump-off spots too soon

For it was still quite dark.

            -59-

We would have no artillery prep

And it was planned that way

We’d just move out at six o’clock

As softly as we could.

But soft or loud, it mattered not

For as we started out

We ran right into a minefield

And then all hell broke loose.

Our men were stuck in that minefield

And dared to make no move

A lot of men had lost their feet

While some of them were killed.

And then the Kraut mortars began

To hit the trees in bursts

They always covered minefields with

Sniper and mortar fire.

I found an old machine gun pit

It was dug very deep

And covered well with logs and dirt

The perfect place to watch.

And so I put my entire squad,

We now were down to four,

Into this spot to wait it out

Until we could proceed.

            -60-

I looked out from my covered hole

And saw a sorry sight

A rifleman had lost both legs

Was propped against a tree.

I crawled out of my hole alone

To see what I could do.

It was Coslow of First Platoon

And he’d been hit so bad.

 “I’m waiting for the Medics now”

Was what he said to me,

“There’s not a thing that you can do

Except to stay with me.”

And so I stayed, ‘til medics came

And carried him away

I then crawled back into my hole

To see what next we’d do.

I later learned that we had sustained

A lot of casualties

Max Larsen, our only Mormon lad,

Had lost his foot, and then

Had fallen forward, hit his head

And then was gone like that.

One other had been killed we learned

By heavy mortar fire.

MY ARMY DAYS: WWII (61-70)

            -61-

But most of our casualties

Occurred in that minefield

When riflemen, in dimmest light,

Stepped on those wicked mines.

Most lost a foot, and falling down

Would sometimes lose an arm

No one could ever take their place

For they were gone for good.

I then got word from up in front

Lieutenant Benson called

To come up here, we need to talk

And so I started out

I pulled myself along the ground

As flat as I could be

I watched for mines, they were the threat

While mortars burst in trees.

I reached Lieutenant Benson’s side

And found him lying flat

“Can you get us some mortar fire

Into that sniper’s nest?”

I had to tell him that we couldn’t

The trees are far too thick

We cannot find a place to fire

Or help you out at all.

            -62-

Then as I turned around to go

I noticed that I lay

Upon a tripwire tied right to

One of our own grenades.

I quickly looked right at the pin

To see if it was in

And saw it had been partly pulled

A little more – and “bang.”

I pushed it in and bent it back

So it could not come out

I then untied it, pulled the pin

And hurled it far, far out

Then I turned and looked around

And saw our engineers

Just probing ground ahead of them

And clearing us a path.

They did their job so quietly

Did not remove the mines

But cleared a path so we could see

Each box with cover up

The sniper who had held us up

We now found lying dead

One of our men had spotted him

And got him in the head.

            -63-

The mortar fire had slackened off

They may have used their rounds

And so we rose up to our feet

And started out again

We went right thru in single file

The path that had been cleared

No opposition did we meet

And soon we all were through.

Then taking up a column march

We headed toward the north

Right through the woods without a stop

We traveled all that day

We met no Kraut resistance there

For they had all pulled out

And when the evening had begun

The captain called a halt.

 “Now settle down,” our sergeants said,

“And get yourselves some rest

We will move out before the dawn

And you can bet on that.”

We formed a line, encircling us

Like wagon days of old

We’d found a slight depression where

My squad had planned to sleep.

            -64-

I had my four-man squad with me

And we were packed in tight

We had nothing to keep us warm

And it was getting cold.

Our section leader settled in

Next to me on my left

When the burp guns just opened up

And hell broke loose again.

But now we all returned the fire

As fast as we could shoot

We could not see in front of us

For it had gotten dark

And so we just shot straight ahead

And hoped to find a mark.

The din was so terrific now

‘Twas a real firefight.

Then to my left Zip Zeysing groaned

“I think I’ve just been hit.”

“Where ‘bouts?” I asked. “In my left leg

That burp gun stitched me good.”

“Hold on,” was my reply to him,

“Until their fire lets up.

If you can crawl, then start on back

A medic is quite near.”

            -65-

That was the last I saw of him

For he had crawled way back

The firing stopped as it began

So very suddenly

I turned to check up on my men

And found that none was hit

They’d stayed way down, so very low

The fire passed over them.

But then I looked again and saw

That Seradarian

Had piled his rounds, all six of them,

Right up in front of him.

He was our newest man and thought

They were protecting him.

But had a bullet hit those shells

None of us would have lived.

Now when the firing had ceased

We lay there for a while

Then I arose to look around

And check on Zeysing’s leg.

I couldn’t find him, but found a horse

With wagon still attached

The horse was dead, the wagon searched

One blanket did I find.

            -66-

A blanket at that very time

Was what we needed most

For it could help to keep us warm

It now was getting cold.

I helped my men dig out a space

Wherein we all could lie

The blanket covered three of us

While one of us kept watch.

And while we all were hunkered down

Our sergeant came to us

And said to me, “With Zeysing hit

You are the next in line

And so you become the leader

Of our three mortar squads.”

Tom Hamilton now took my place

And each moved up a notch.

Then word came down that we must send

A man to go with those,

Who had been wounded in the fight

Just a short while ago.

So I sent Wren, the newest man

Who never did fit in

And wanted nothing more than this

To get out of the fight.

            -67-

I then went out as the new man

To head the section up

To let the other squads now know

That Zeysing had been hit

And now that I had been moved up

They would report to me

And with that duty done, I thought

I now can get some sleep.

We did not sleep too well that night

It was in fits and starts

With changing watch every two hours

My turn was four o’clock.

So as the dawn did give more light

I thought I saw a blob

Lying right out in front of us

It was a big dead Kraut.

Our casualties were light that night

Two wounded and one dead

The wounded were Zip Zeysing who

Had caught it in the leg

The other was a replacement

Shumpert was his name.

Crossland was the one who died

Killed by those Kraut burp guns.

            -68-

I do not know the casualties

The Germans took that night

For as the day was getting light

I only saw the one.

But as the others made their counts

The total went up fast.

It seems the Krauts in their attack

Had lost at least eighteen.

When we had gotten organized

We started out again

And traveled on for miles and miles

Until that afternoon

We reached a hill that overlooked

A road and a small town

The captain then did call a halt

And all of us sat down.

We looked across the valley then

At a big wooded hill

And thought that if defended now

It would be tough to take

But while we sat, we saw new troops

Just passing right on through

And then we saw two water-cooled

Machine guns start to shoot.

            -69-

The new troops were Company G

They had been in reserve

But now they formed a skirmish line

Before they reached the road

And while we waited we could hear

Artillery on the way

It just erupted on that hill

As time on target will.

All guns of ours and of Sixth Corps

Had come to bear at once,

If there were any living Krauts

It was a miracle.

Artillery kept up their fire

About five minutes more

And then ceased fire as suddenly

As when they had begun.

And as we watched, that skirmish line

Just jumped across the road.

They started up the hill and soon

Had disappeared from sight.

We heard no shots, the hill was ours

Those Krauts who still did live

Were stunned by our artillery

And quit without a fight.

            -70-

It was then our Captain called and

Told us to move out fast

To cross the road and up the hill

Before the coming dark.

We crossed the road, went up the hill

And kept on going then

It was midnight ‘fore we stopped

And each went right to sleep.

We got the sign and countersign

And posted men to watch

Then climbed into our gas mask capes

To gain a little heat.

We shivered with the cold all night

Got very little sleep

Were set to go by five o’clock

Before the sun came up.

We’d always moved just off the road

That led us toward the east

We could not travel on the road

Because of all the trees

The Krauts had dropped them down for miles

So nothing moved at all

Until our engineers had sawed

And pulled them off the road.