European Readers Request

I would like to ask my European readers to contact me for one of two purposes:
1. To put me in contact with WWII veterans from your country
2. To be pen pals with me

aengleford@gmail.com

Update

Sorry for the time between posts. I hope to have the next war story posted within the next 1 1/2 week. Thank you for being patient with me, as I have had much on my plate.

Hattie “Kitty” Bass (Ulmer) – WAC

Born in 1918, Hattie Bass grew into an adventure seeking gal. In 1942 she was living in Wilmington, North Carolina where she was volunteering a few hours each week with the Aircraft Warning Service (AWS) which had a local station at the town Post Office.

          Hattie picked up the nickname ‘Kitty’ and despite a war going on, she kept a bright outlook on life. Her duty with the AWS was to keep up with spotted planes along the coastline in her area. Air Observers would volunteer along both American coasts to report all aircraft they spotted and pass that information along via a phone call to people like Hattie. The Air Observers were trained to identify enemy and friendly aircraft by counting the number of engines, reading any markings, and recognizing the aircrafts’ shape.

          Congress approved the creation of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 14 May 1942 after a bill for such was introduced a year earlier. Five training centers were opened: 1 – Fort Des Moines, Iowa 2 – Daytona Beach, Florida 3 – Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia 4 – Fort Devens, Massachusetts 5 – Camp Ruston, Louisiana. The WAAC had no military status and in 1943 Edith Nourse Rogers, the Massachusetts Congresswoman who had introduced the first bill, introduced another to enlist and appoint women into the U.S. Army on 01 July of the same year. President Roosevelt signed off on it and 90 days later the WAAC was transformed into the WAC (Women’s Army Corps). More men were needed on the fighting fronts which surely played a role in allowing women to serve their country.

          Hattie, having heard of the WAC, thought it sounded like a great adventure and a good job. It would be full-time and she was told that she would even be able to live at home, which appealed to her very much. She soon decided to join up and her parents didn’t object to her decision. At the age of approximately 25, Hattie attended basic training at Fort Des Moines beginning on 18 October 1942. The women went through much the same as the men did from being fitted for uniforms to being interviewed to receiving inoculations against disease. In December of ’42 Hattie was stationed in Wilmington, N.C. where she continued her work with the AWS. She ended up having to live in barracks, not at home as she had been told. She ended up asking for a transfer overseas.

          On 17 April 1943, Hattie was transferred to Camp Polk, Louisiana and in June she moved on to Fort Devens where she received the overseas orders she desperately wanted. It was on to Camp Shanks in New York in September and from there she boarded the British Troop Ship, Strathnaver. Hattie was headed to England to work in the ETO (European Theater of Operations) and the trip across the Pond proved to be a nerve-racking one. When the Strathnaver left the New York harbor, Hattie remembers being surrounded by other vessels as far as the eye could see. Upon awaking several days later and looking out across the sea she was shocked to see no other vessels surrounding hers. The Strathnaver was essentially a sitting duck for German u-boats prowling the ocean’s waters. Hattie found out that they were having engine trouble and the crew was attempting to make the necessary repairs. The convoy couldn’t wait on a single ship so they had to leave them behind.

          A destroyer was dispatched to escort the mechanically impaired ship to St. John’s, Newfoundland. Hattie and the others spent two weeks there while repairs were made. Once again the troops boarded their vessel but as they were leaving the harbor it struck a rock which ripped a hole in it. They were forced to dock again at St. John’s. After the hole was repaired they boarded the Strathnaver for the third time. About 30 minutes out to sea her ship began dropping depth charges which meant that a German u-boat was likely in the area. It seemed that the Strathnaver was not meant to make this voyage to England because the percussion of the depth charges messed up the new repairs. The ship once again returned to St. Johns and another ship was sent to pick up the troops. Before they could start their journey to England they had to wait until the next convoy left America. Hattie and the others finally set foot on foreign soil when they arrived in Liverpool, England in October of ’43. The trip had taken an overwhelming 45 days to complete!

          From Liverpool, Hattie made her way to London by train. She recalls the English trains being very different from the ones in America. In London Hattie worked as a typist for A.G. Cables where she and other ladies worked one of three shifts each day. The cables would come in like telegraph cables with the strips of paper with words on them pasted to a sheet of paper. When they came to Hattie they still needed to be decoded and she would then type or cut a stencil of the message so copies could be made for distribution to other places. The cables could be anything from requests for supplies or troops to Top Secret information. One such top Secret cable that Hattie decoded was the one that told of General Eisenhower’s impending arrival to London where he would be taking over SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces), formerly known as ETO.

After Eisenhower took over SHAEF Hattie was transferred to the Psychological Warfare Division (PWD) where she was a typist and secretary of sorts for a Colonel. Hattie said that the PWD were responsible for providing leaflets to the Air Force which they would drop over various areas. Some leaflets would urge enemy troops to surrender and some would pass along information to citizens of occupied areas.

The war experience was very different for American service members stationed in England. Hattie recalls the blackouts each night and heavy bombing in London. She said it was scary at first because of the air raids. During nights when it wasn’t foggy the Jerries would fly over and the air raid sirens would sound. When this would happen Hattie, who was living near Hyde Park, would go down into the basement with the others. She recalls feeling the ground shake when the ack-ack guns in the park would go off as well as when the bombs exploded.

She clearly remembers the V-1 and V-2 buzz bombs. The V-1 could be heard buzzing through the air and suddenly it would stop and glide to the ground. The V-2 was more advanced and would simply drop from the sky and head straight down. Eventually she got used to it and had the attitude of ‘if it’s going to hit me, then it’s going to hit me’. “I felt for the British people and have a great admiration for them. They put up with a lot,” she said of what they endured and came back from.

In November of 1944, Hattie was transferred to G2 Intelligence Department in Paris, France where she was in a typing pool. She then moved to Reims, France where she worked in the little red school house. Hattie was working in Reims when the Germans came there to sign their surrender. From there Hattie was transferred to Frankfurt, Germany and then on to Berlin. She was in a typing pool while in Berlin where she typed up dossiers on German’s who the Allie’s wanted to bring to trial. The files would contain information such as where they were from, what they were to be charged with, and what they had done. Of her time in Germany Hattie shared that she had never seen people as hungry as so many of the German’s. They would pick out of the trash any food bits thrown out by the American’s.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

          From Berlin Hattie headed back to France and then took a ship across the English Channel to England again. From Southampton, England she boarded the Queen Mary and headed back to America. She chose to leave the military in October of 1945 because she didn’t much care for army life. However, she did enjoy the work she had done and despite the obvious negative aspects of life with a war going on, she managed to make the best out of the circumstances. Hattie had begun as a Private but she left as a T5 Corporal.

          Once back in her home country, Hattie married her hometown sweetheart John Ulmer, who had served in the Navy during the war. It took her about a year to be able to hear or see a plane without it reminding her of her war experience in Europe. “It was great to get home,” she said of her return. Hattie was interviewed about her time in the WAC for the article ‘2 ships and 45 days’ which was published in the magazine America in WWII. Today she is 94 years old and enjoying the world and country she served to preserve. 

The Blitz (BBC 4-part video)

Getting Back On Track With Posts

     I will begin by apologizing for the lapse of time between the last war story posted and the next one to be posted. I have had various personal issues which I have been juggling and this blog had to take a back seat for a while as I prioritized my responsibilities. I am working on the next war story and hope to have it published next weekend. I appreciate your patience and hope that you will continue to return to the blog as I focus on getting back in the saddle.

Dambusters- WWII Radio Show 2 episodes 04/03 by eddiesotr | Blog Talk Radio

Dambusters- WWII Radio Show 2 episodes 04/03 by eddiesotr | Blog Talk Radio

C.G. Cooper: Rifleman & Cook In The 75th Division Of The U.S. Army Air Force

           C.G. Cooper was born on 11 July 1923 in Lafayette, Tennessee. C.G. decided to leave home after graduating high school to wander America. He ended up becoming a welder at Kaiser Shipyards in California. The draft board finally caught up with him and on 28 June 1943, just shy of his 20^th birthday, C.G. was inducted into the United States Army Air Force. He went through basic training at Camp Lee, Virginia and when asked by the Army what he wanted to do, C.G. basically said ‘anything but cooking’. Needless to say, C.G. wasn’t laughing when he was told that he’d be designated as a cook and would go through Bakery & Cook School. He graduated from Bakery & Cook School as a 1^st cook and told he would be behind the front lines with plenty of food and warmth and placed in Company E, 289^th Infantry, 75^th Division.

C.G. Cooper - Age 21

            C.G. was supposed to be quartermaster but because of his excellent marksmanship and the need for more men to fight the elite German forces wreaking havoc on the European front, was chosen to be on the frontlines as a rifleman. Wherever his company went, C.G. was either fighting alongside them or cooking food for them. C.G. received further training at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky and went overseas from there. He recalled when they gave the 1^st cook position to another guy who knew nothing about cooking, much less for an army of men! The new guy asked C.G. the proper amount of beans to prepare for all the men. C.G. told him to figure it out since he was now the cook and especially since he was receiving sergeant pay (C.G. was a Pfc).

The sergeant cook, as I will call him, made 17 pounds of beans for approximately 250 men, when only 7 pounds were needed! Beans, beans, and more beans! The company of men the sergeant cook prepared them for were none too happy with his lack of portion control, as they had to eat them for every meal over the days that followed until every last bean was gone! This was due to the fact that the food was considered Army property and improper disposal of Army property could lead to being court-martialed!

            Around this same time period, C.G.’s wife Patricia who was back in Knoxville, Tennessee, was about to give birth. She was a very small lady and the doctor was concerned that she might have difficulty during the delivery. Like any concerned husband and soon to be papa, C.G. wanted to be with her. He was told that if he left he would be court-martialed. This warning did not deter him. Instead, C.G. made his way to the Red Cross and asked permission to go telling them that if they denied his request he would climb the walls and go anyway.

            The phone rang and it was the doctor in Knoxville saying that C.G. needed to come immediately. They finally gave him permission and he began his trek by hitch hiking. At one point he was stranded in the rain. Thankfully someone stopped and offered him ride. Unfortunately the vehicle was a motorbike. C.G.’s brother had been killed while riding one so he was a bit apprehensive. He ended up accepting the offer however. He got off in Nashville where his father lived and then caught a bus on to Knoxville. C.G. was supposed to be back on the base that Sunday, but decided to stay in order to hold his baby in his arms. (All had gone well with the delivery.) Of his decision to stay he said, “I didn’t know if I’d live to ever see him again or not.”

            On Monday he got orders to go to HQ as he was considered to be AWOL. C.G.’s service record indicates his one AWOL, but it was a decision he never regretted. His son was two weeks old when he left for the battlefields from New York on 22 Oct 1944. His ship arrived at in Liverpool, England on 3 Nov 1944. The men then traveled on to South Wales and finally crossed the channel to France. Once on French ground the men headed to Paris where C.G. says they were treated like heroes. Then it was on to Bastogne, Belgium where they spent their first night in battle with the enemy. This brutal battle would become known as The Battle of the Bulge.

            Despite the area having its coldest winters on record up to that time, Allied leaders chose not to send appropriate winter clothing with C.G. and the other men, saying that they would only be involved in a few skirmishes. These leaders were wrong and their decision could have spelled disaster for the Allies. Fortunately our men pulled through like the troopers they are. The men were given C and K rations so there would be no need for cooks on the frontlines. C.G. was put in charge of guarding the kitchen and ammo truck on the first night while the other men were enthralled in battle. The driver of a jeep came up to him saying that a German tank was headed his way and not to let it through.

            “What will I do?” C.G. remembers thinking back then. Ideas began swirling in his mind….the .45 pistol on his hip…his rifle. He grabbed a carbine, machine gun, bazooka, grenades, and ammo belts from the truck he was guarding. “I was a walking arsenal”, he said. The ideas continued in his mind…a grenade…no, that won’t work…a Molotov cocktail…no, that won’t work…blast it with a bazooka (he recalled watching a training film that showed a bazooka being used to blast the tracks off a tank)…no, I have no ammo for it. At this point, the tank is right in front of him and his mind is frozen. In the chaos, C.G. slipped falling in the tanks’ path due to the slick mud. Providence was with him as the tank rolled right over him, straddling him and continuing on its path.

            The next morning he found out that some of his buddies had been killed. C.G. said it was a gruesome sight, the bodies strewn about the battlefield. The Germans had succeeded in surrounding them and they were now cut off from replacements and supplies. C.G. ate dry hog bran from a farm and was happy with that discovery. He also managed to find a turnip in the root cellar. Another group of the Allies eventually pushed the Germans back and rescued the previously surrounded men. They regrouped and received replacements, some of whom were only teenagers. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1944, a heavy snow had covered everything and C.G. said it was a beautiful sight to behold. Suddenly all heck broke loose with dogfights in the sky and heavy artillery shelling on the ground. He never forgot that Christmas Day.

At one point, C.G. was sent to the hospital due to his frostbitten toes. This was a common occurrence with the lack of appropriate clothing for the extreme weather conditions. While lying in his hospital bed, the soldier on one side said to the soldier on C.G.’s other side, ‘Joe*, I’m dying. Tell my folks how much I love them.’ C.G. later found out that the two men had fought alongside the Russians who had given them poisoned liquor for some reason. (*After a while, soldiers would call one another Joe because by the time you learned someone’s name, it seemed you died or they did.)  The soldier who asked his buddy to give the message to his parents, died later that day and his buddy soon suffered the same fate, blind and calling out for loved ones.

That same morning, soldiers were lined up to be seen by the doctor. Many of the men were there for frostbite and the doctor told most that the affected appendages needed to be amputated. When it was his turn, C.G. put his hand up to jaw and moaned. The doctor asked what was wrong with him and he said he had a toothache. The doc told him that he was in the wrong line and off C.G. went. He remembers thinking, “I came over here with all my body parts and IF I get to go home, I wanna go home with all my body parts…all together.”

From the hospital he hitchhiked back to his outfit. He went to the kitchen truck and told his company commander that he had been on the front lines and knew what it was like. “If you’ll give me permission to have a truck and driver, I would like to take hot chocolate and donuts to my buddies in the foxholes.” Permission was granted and C.G. began making preparations. “While making up the donuts the tent was hit. There was shrapnel all in the donut mix. I picked it all out and continued on,” C.G. shared. He fried the donuts and prepared the hot chocolate, the latter which he put into insulated containers to keep it hot. The refreshments were loaded on the truck and the two men headed to the front lines. On the way there they were caught in the crossfire between both sides. There were bullet holes in the hot chocolate and the truck, with hot chocolate spilling everywhere. C.G. was in the back sliding around with the containers. Thankfully neither he nor the driver was hit.

The driver soon stopped, having taken C.G. as close to the front lines as he could get him. He told the dirver it was fine as he knew where the fox holes were located. C.G. carried the refreshments to each of the fox holes and they were sure a welcomed treat. The men would hold out their steel helmets and C.G. would pour in some hot chocolate and throw in some donuts. Mind you, the soldiers’ helmets were a versatile tool. Not only did they protect their heads or hold food and drink, but they were also used by the soldiers to relieve themselves so they wouldn’t have to leave the safety of their fox hole.

After serving everyone, C.G. made his way back to the truck. The driver said that they were going a different way back since they had come under fire on the way up. It was dark and there was no GPS for them to conveniently use. Suddenly the driver shouted, ‘We’re behind German lines! Look at all those Krauts! What do I do now?’ C.G. told him to push in on the clutch and the gas at the same time to make the engine roar. The driver did so and C.G. threw his arm out the window saluting Hitler and yelling, “Heil Hitler! Comrade, Comrade.”

Once again Providence was on their side as the Germans actually allowed them to pass through safely. Eventually the two men made their way back to camp where they told of what happened. Some of their fellow soldiers were unsure whether or not to believe what they were hearing. A few days later, the 75^th captured some of those same German’s and asked them why on earth they had allowed the Americans to pass. The German’s response, ‘We didn’t know what you darn yanks were up to.’

After awhile, the 75^th and others were pulled back from the front lines and billeted in Belgian homes for a rest. At the home C.G. stayed in there was a pot bellied stove. “Oh I could not wait to get my boots off,” C.G. said of his delight at having a stove. His feet were so swollen that he couldn’t get his boots off. The ladies of the house offered to assist him and were eventually successful after much tugging and pulling. Immediately they saw how black his feet were. They would each get under one of his arms and walk him outside to wash his feet over and over again in the snow. “Thanks to those ladies I still have my feet and toes,” C.G. said of their nursing care.

Communicating with the Belgians was difficult and it was only through hand signals and motions that they were able to understand one another. He was asked his name and told them Cooper. They said ‘Jackie Cooper’ (American Actor ) and he nodded uh-huh (the two men were the same age and build). The women went into town telling everyone they had a celebrity in their home. Everyone came over with writing tablets wanting an autograph. “What else could I do? They had been so good to me, so I signed ‘Jackie Cooper’,” he said of the experience.

A 90-day wonder (second lieutenant), as the men would call them, decided that a kitchen truck would be put on the front lines and serve hot food to those in the foxholes. “We didn’t think that was too bright of an idea but after all, he was our officer,” said C.G. Snow was everywhere and the kitchen burners weren’t working properly. He had to take them outside and tinker with them. During this time, some of the fuel spilled out and caught fire. There they were in the Ardennes forest with flames shooting up through the trees giving away their position. Heavy artillery began to rain down on the men, busting trees to pieces and causing them to become spears hurling at incredible rates of speed hitting some of the men. C.G. took cover behind the kitchen truck and thankfully was not hit. Unfortunately the second lieutenant who put the kitchen trucks on the front lines was hit. C.G. never saw him again and believes he didn’t make it.

C.G. made another trip to the hospital, this time for a bleeding nose and lips. His nostrils were extremely swollen and he couldn’t breathe through them. At hospital they put him in a barber type chair then placed hot towels on his head and a curved steel cup below his ears and mouth. To thaw him out they placed long steel rods up his nostrils and switched out the towels as they cooled with fresh hot ones. All kinds of bloody ‘corruption’, as C.G. called it, came oozing out his facial orifices until finally he could breathe better. His breathes were still shallow so they wrapped up his chest with an adhesive tape bandage and let him go. Just outside the hospital was a gully which C.G. tried to jump. He was unsuccessful and fell in. Thankfully someone saw what happened and carried him back into the hospital where they loosened his chest wrap a bit.

C.G. told of a facility the soldiers entered that appeared to be a slave labor camp. Nude bodies were lined up 4 – 5 feet high and roughly 20 feet long. “What a horrible sight,” C.G. said, “Some were barely alive…just skin and bones, didn’t have the strength to move. They were a pitiful sight.” One of the camp guards had a pistol and whip on his hip that was likely used on the prisoners. C.G. relieved him of his weapons and kept the whip as a souvenir. It wasn’t long before C.G. became disgusted with the whip and the pain it had induced on innocent people so he got rid of it. He said of the item, “I got sick of that whip and what it had done. I did not even want it as a souvenir, its bad memories.”

C.G. spoke of the mental effect the war had on many of the soldiers, “Some of the soldiers had seen so much horror that they became zombies of sorts. It was as if their spirit had already left their body. Some of them just kept on walking, on into enemy fire. I felt like when they did get shot down, they did not feel the pain of the bullet. They were not in that body anymore…their spirit had left them. Oh, how horrible.” He recalled another horrible experience, “One guy next to me had been hit pretty good. (It) left him like scrambled eggs. I waved my hands in the air and said, ‘Thank you Lord. Joe. No more cold. No more pain. …Why me Lord? Why am I still here?’”

The 75^th pushed the Germans back and the medics headed out to help their wounded on the battlefield. Later on the next day or so, C.G.’s unit found their medics stripped of all clothing, tied to trees, and their bodies mutilated. Soon thereafter the 75^th believed they had captured some of the Germans responsible for the mutilated medics. Recalling what happened next C.G. shared apprehensively, “It’s not easy to talk about…..the Germans were hollering ‘Mercy, Mercy!’ as they were cornered in a barn and the flamethrowers ending their lives as they hollered ‘Mercy, Mercy!’. They showed no mercy to our fellows. Oh lordy, How cruel a human being can be, one to another.”

Back and forth both sides pushed each other in the Ardennes. Dead German soldiers and American soldiers were piled up on top of one another, covered by the never ending snow. The bodies were frozen stiff. C.G. remembered when they did pick up their dead; they would throw them into the back of a truck like you would a log of wood. All piled up there together, Germans and Americans. In death it did not matter that the two had fought as bitter enemies.

One time when he went to eat his K-rations, he sat down on what he thought was a log. Something was sticking him in his bum so he began digging around in the snow to see what it could be. “It was a Germans belt buckle. I was sitting on a corpse,” C.G. said. He will never forget the bitter cold and ground frozen so hard you couldn’t even dig a foxhole. The men would sleep standing up. One wouldn’t think it possible but C.G. said that 4 of them would huddle together in a circle, putting their arms around each other’s shoulders and actually catch a few winks and maintain some warmth. He also remembers some of the men sleeping as they were walking due to their extreme exhaustion. Being hungry at the same time didn’t help and they often stumbled, falling into the snow which became the final resting place of some.

On one night in the battle, C.G. heard someone holler real loud and then a shot was fired. A soldier had chosen to shoot himself in the foot rather than continue on fighting in hell. He was unable to convince his superiors that it was an accident because of him hollering before he actually shot himself. The soldier ended up receiving some bad time and going without pay for a spell. That night “so many of us got killed,” said C.G. Many officers were among the dead and some of those who made it through told C.G. they were going to make him a second lieutenant. C.G. wanted no part of it because so many of the officers died. Another soldier ended up receiving the promotion. C.G. laughed as he said, “Would you know that sucker made it through every battle fought from then forward and made it back home.”

Near the Belgian barracks where C.G. was staying at the time, he came upon a cow and thought to himself, ‘I haven’t had milk since we left the states…..I’m an old farm boy….I’ll just sit my gun in the corner and milk her.” He patted her on the head and called her Bessie in an attempt to calm her down and placed his steel helmet beneath her udders. As he milked her she continued to moan, which C.G. latter believed was because she hadn’t been milked in so long.

He successfully retrieved a helmet full of milk which he then placed in the snow to cool it. When he went to drink it some of the other soldiers said, ‘You’re not going to drink all that blanket blank milk yourself’ to which he turned up the helmet and began guzzling it. He continued with the story, “It was so good but it had no more hit my stomach than it came back out both ways. I was so sick! That milk wasn’t fit for human consumption because poor old Bessie had it in her bag for so long that it had become contaminated.”

As the men managed to push the German’s back once again, they moved forward gaining ground. They came upon a huge beautiful home and C.G. wondered if he might find any dry, clean clothes inside. He and a buddy went to check it out but he couldn’t find any men’s clothing. “There must have been a great big ole woman living there ‘cause I found a great big ole pair of bloomers.” He began to laugh as he recalled what he did next, “They were clean so I put them on. I also found a petticoat and put it on too.” This only illustrates how cold our men were.

His buddy hollered from across the room to look at what he had found. Lo and behold, that soldier had found a tuxedo and top hat. The soldier put on his find as well but left the top hat and off the two goofiest dressed soldiers went back into battle. C.G. couldn’t get the petticoat tucked into his britches so he just left it out. He said that the sight of himself and his buddy made him laugh uncontrollably at the time.

At one time the men were low on rations. One soldier who had been a butcher at a packing company in civilian life told C.G. that the two of them should go out that night and butcher the cow. C.G. thought it a great idea and the two headed out in a Jeep to procure the meat. C.G.’s buddy took his position in front of the cow, raised his knife, and took a good hard swing to cut the cow’s throat. Unfortunately, the young man managed to miss the cow and instead cut his own thigh. C.G. took over from that point, as he too had spent some time as a butcher, and slaughtered the cow. He then tied it to the Jeep and drug it into a nearby building where he butchered it. During that time, someone began knocking on the big metal door of the building. Thankfully, the person soon went away and C.G. was able to finish the task at hand. The men cooked up their meat and everyone wanted a portion, even the inspector general! C.G.  knew that he and his buddy could have been court-martialed for their actions. However, they didn’t regret their actions and their buddies were sure thankful for a reminder of what real food tasted like instead their boxes of rations.

AT one point after the 75^th had been fighting in the Ardennes for some time, the French needed help in Colmar, France. The men were loaded into ‘forty & eight boxcars’, which got their name during the Great War because they could carry forty men and eight horses. C.G. said they had a lot of men packed into those boxcars like sardines. C.G. was in the middle of the boxcar next to a big container used by the men to relieve themselves. “Oh Lord,” he said laughing, “I didn’t like sitting there.” He continued on describing his ride in the forty & eight saying, “I thought to myself, ‘If I could just work my way back to the corner of this boxcar, I could lean up against the side and rest my head and back. How nice that would be.’” So C.G. began shrugging and pushing, which the other men cussed and fussed at him for. Finally he made his way to the corner he had eagerly scouted out. He leaned back, putting his head to one side and all he could hear was ‘bump, bump bump, bump...’ There was no sleep for this soldier. C.G. remembered the train coming up off the tracks for a split second and then slamming back down.

That’s how the 75^th crossed into France to fight with the French 1^st Army, who had been struggling against the Germans, in the battle of Colmar Pocket. “Oooh boy. Those Germans really let in on us,” recalled C.G. He was unsure if he would make it through the battle so he kept a picture of his wife and little boy next to his heart thinking that if he died, maybe they would bury him with it. He did make it through that battle and was awarded the Croix de guerre for his efforts. Food was scarce at times and one of the things the French soldiers would do was to put chicken coops on their armored tanks and then go out to local farms to gather whatever sources of meat they could find, including chickens and pigs. They would then put the animals in the coops and tie the coops back to the tanks, taking the animals into battle with them.

C.G. in France-1945

Croix de guerre - French medal

The men soon headed into Holland where C.G. says the war had been quite tough. He recalled a pub whose owners had left because of the intense fighting but who didn’t lock it up on their hasty retreat. The men went on in and enjoyed the variety and wealth of drinks and snacks to be had. C.G. spotted a radio set which he turned on to see if there was anything worth tuning in to. The broadcast just happened to be the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Uncle Dave Macon and his son Dorris were performing.

C.G. actually knew Uncle Dave from time spent hunting near his cabin in the woods. “I was so shook up. Here I am in battle and the Grand Ole Opry, which I used to go to so often back home….ooohhhh that was so sweet,” he said of that moment. Not all the men (namely some of the yanks), cared for the music and told C.G. to turn it to something else. “I can’t believe what I did next,” C.G. recalled, “I held up my gun and said ‘Don’t nobody touch this radio’ with tears rollin’ down my face.” The yanks backed down and C.G. was able to enjoy a touch of home for a few minutes.

            That same evening, in a big farm house, the men drew straws to see who would go out on a recon mission and report back where the enemy was and so forth. One of C.G.’s pals ended up as one that drew a short straw and that fella was downright angry about it. Not that he was trying to shirk his duty but rather because he had this nagging feeling that he wouldn’t make it back alive. In his eyes it was a death sentence. The soldier decided to write a letter home telling his family how much he loved them and such. He asked C.G. to mail it, explaining the 6^th sense about his death that he had. C.G. told him that he couldn’t send a letter like that and that he would safely return. The next morning, the rest of the men headed out and found the young man dead, his goodbye letter covered in blood. C.G. said he wishes to this day that he had at least gotten the contact info of his buddy’s family so he could tell them that story.

            For roughly 7 – 10 days, the men fought in a fierce battle and finally made their way to the river Rhine. “Those combat engineers….I gotta give them credit,” C.G. said. They went up on the bridge and tried to repair it so the men could cross into Germany. C.G. would watch them at night. Time after time he saw a body fall off the bridge and into the river below, having been shot by the enemy. On one night in particular, he recalls standing in a building watching through a window as the night skies lit up like a 4^th of July celebration in America. Suddenly a plane came along and was firing tracer ammo beneath his feet. Thinking to himself, ‘This is a little too close for comfort’, he ran and dove beneath a bed which had a spring sticking out that scratched his back to pieces. One of his fellow soldiers ribbed him about these injuries ‘received in action’ saying that C.G. could get himself a purple heart. C.G. told the guy he didn’t want any part of a Purple Heart, especially for such minor injuries. He explained that he now had a little boy back home and one day that little boy would be asking his daddy how he got that Purple Heart. C.G. did not want to be in such a predicament.

The 75^th fought for an extended period in the area. All the time the men had been building a pontoon bridge, which is how the men ended up getting across the river Rhine into Germany. They headed out early one morning that was thick in fog and on the other side of the river there was yet another horrible sight that would leave its mark on the memory of all those who witnessed it. The trees had no leaves on them whatsoever but something was hung in the branches. Upon getting a closer look the men realized it was the flesh and body parts of the dead strewn about throughout the branches. As the men made their way through various German towns, C.G. said that many of the Germans willingly surrendered because they were as sick of the war as the Allies were.

When the 75^th came into one German town, they found a barbershop where some of the men decided to stop in to get a haircut and shave. One of the group would stand watch over the others while they were getting some proper grooming. The soldier, who was standing guard while C.G. and another were in the barber chairs, left his post early when a chair became available but before someone else could keep guard. C.G. said he was a bit nervous that the German barbers might cut their throats with the razors and drag them out back with no one the wiser. Thankfully nothing of the sort occurred and the men tipped the barbers VERY well for the services provided.

At this time it was coming into spring and the snow was beginning to melt. C.G.’s group needed to get their kitchen truck across a stream but it was too deep to simply drive through. So C.G. decided to take one for the team and wade across the stream, whose waters were still freezing, in order to hook a winch cable from the truck to a tree. While he was doing this, an enemy plane began strafing them. Bark was flying off the trees as they were hit and C.G. was behind one of those very trees. He ended up diving into the water for safety and it worked!

When the war with Germany ended, C.G. was assigned to occupational forces in France, while awaiting orders to head out to Japan. “Thank the Lord for the Atom bomb,” C.G. commented. During his time with the occupation forces, he and the other Allies got to know their one time enemy. C.G. was a part of every battle from the Battle of the Bulge on to Berlin (where they stopped outside and allowed the Russians to take over) and was among those who safely returned home but not without some physical and many emotional scars.

The 75^th also fought alongside the British and C.G. remembers how every afternoon round the same time they would have a spot of tea. Bullets would be a flying but the British would still take time out to have their tea. “I don’t know if they were tough, crazy, or if they just loved their tea,” C.G. said of this tradition.  

New Post Coming In 2 Days

Hello Faithful Readers! I have been moving and unpacking for the past couple of weeks and unable to post my latest WWII story as a result. However, I am now getting back on track and will have the next story posted within the next two days. Thank you understanding and keep coming back as I have numerous stories lined up to add to this blog.

‘Operation Varsity’ CG-4A Glider Pilot: George Theis

            George Theis was among the young men and women eager to serve their country during the Second World War. When Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, Theis was living in Salisbury, Maryland. He wanted to enter the U.S. Army Air Corps’ aviation cadet program. However, he would have to wait until he was 18 to legally join up. Most of his friends were already old enough and were enlisting everyday it seemed like while “I waited around to take the aviation cadet tests. While waiting for the birthday that would make him an adult in the eyes of the American government he played saxophone at a beach resort in Ocean City. George recalls hearing on the radio during this time about the new glider pilot program but he wasn’t interested because, “who in his right mind would want to fly an airplane without an engine.”

After turning 18 he enlisted with the Air Corps in Baltimore on 28 October 1942, in an effort to be the draft and hopefully become a pilot. During his flight physical, George was unable to pass the eye exam which required 20/20 vision. It was a devastating blow but his determination to become a pilot led to the Recruiting Sergeant telling George of a new program within the Air Corps that was just taking flight. George’s only question to the Recruiter was ‘would he be able to become a pilot’. With a yes he agreed to volunteer for the program. He was only supposed to complete the first two phases of the program, after which time he was to be called to active duty, then sent on to basic training, and finally into the glider pilot program.

He was enlisted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps (ERC) and was assigned to the Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) Program at Lynchburg College in Virginia. He would learn to fly a powered aircraft before he went through Basic Training. At this time he was not active duty and would not receive any pay until later. His first flight was on December 4, 1942 at Preston Glenn Airport just outside Lynchburg. He completed his first phase of training on January 17, 1943 and began the second phase on February 12^th of the same year. He was only supposed to go through the first two phases of the five phase program. He completed the second phase on March 31, 1943 and was sent home to await further instructions. During this time a serious glider accident occurred in St. Louis, Missouri where the Mayor and 10 City Officials were killed. This nearly brought the program to a halt.

George did not get called to active duty and decided to take the third phase of the training program for Cross Country Pilot Training. IT seemed that he was destined to become a Service Pilot flying non-combat ferrying missions. His first flight in the third phase was on July 16, 1943. The military realized that young men in the CPT program were quite unhappy at not receiving pay during all this time so they called them active duty. After George completed the third phase of training he was finally sent to Basic Training at Greensboro Army Basic Training Center in North Carolina on September 2, 1943. Finally he was receiving pay!

George was sent back into the CPT program where he began the fourth phase of the training offered, known as Instrument Pilot Training at the University of Vermont in Burlington. [Note: The name if the program was changed from Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) to War Training Service (WTS)]. After completing the fourth phase George was supposed to be commissioned and given a Service Pilot Rating to fly powered aircraft in the Ferry Command. However, before he graduated on December 6, 1943 the military decided they needed no more Service Pilots due to the formation of the WASP’s (Women Airforce Service Pilots).

            George had one other option left open to him……take the fifth and final WTS training phase, for becoming a Flight Instructor. He was sent to Danville Military Institute in Virginia. His first flight in this phase was on December 21, 1943. This was now fourteen months after he had enlisted and he still had not seen a glider! The plan was to discharge George after he completed the last training phase and give him a Civilian Pilot Rating to be a Civilian Pilot Instructor. This was due to the policy at the time that all Army primary flight instructors had to be civilians. The thought behind this was that civilian instructors would be less intimidating to cadets than officer instructors. George was fine with this as all he wanted to do was to be a pilot. Just one week before George was set to graduate, it was decided that the Army Air Corps did not need any more instructors. His last flight was on January 14, 1944. George commented on his thoughts at that time, “The war is almost over and I am still being shifted around with nowhere to go.”

After 15 months in various training programs, being shuffled around, and falling through the cracks George was finally sent to be reclassified. When George was sent back to Greensboro for his reclassification he found he wasn’t the only one. There were well over a hundred fellow students from the same program looking for a new career. He first got into the line to become a power pilot aviation cadet since, because of the flight hours under his belt; he could potentially accelerate through the program and become a commissioned power pilot. By this time they had lowered the eye sight qualifications. But then he heard that the program had a 75% wash out rate and George wasn’t looking to face another disappointment. He wanted to actually put his training to use for his country. So he entered another line which would allow him to finally become a glider pilot.

During this portion of his training George flew a Fairchild PT-19 powered aircraft which was a monoplane primary trainer aircraft. He graduated from Advanced Glider Pilot Training at South Planes Army Airfield in Lubbock, Texas on September 15, 1944. This was nearly two years of training that he had gone through!

George was assigned to the 98^th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 440^th Troop Carrier Group, which was one of four Groups’ in the 50^th Troop Carrier Wing in the 9^th Troop Carrier Command in the 9^th Air Force. He finally received overseas orders and was stationed in Orleans, France, arriving there in mid-January 1945. After arriving, Georges’ personnel records were checked and it was learned that he could play the saxophone. Unbeknownst to him, the Special Services Officer was looking for volunteer musicians for the 440^th Serenaders dance band. They asked George to join and he accepted. He was their lead Alto Sax player and remained with them until well after the war ended in Europe. The band made numerous trips to Paris and military bases and hospitals near Orleans, where he was stationed.

Ground Crew Loading George's Glider

George Standing Next To His Glider 'Lady Helen'

On March 24, 1945 George and his co-pilot (who was also a glider pilot) took off from airfield A-50 in Bricy in his Waco CG-4A glider (nicknamed 'Lady Helen'). Towed by a C-47 Skytrain and loaded with four Airborne Troopers from the 17^th Airborne Division and a Jeep, George’s glider was among the 1,300 (including the British gliders) that participated in Operation: Varsity, the crossing of the river Rhine. This was a joint British-American operation in which two airborne divisions were dropped behind enemy lines. The gliders were towed at a speed of approximately 120 mph. After release the glider would decrease to a speed of roughly 80 mph and approximately 40 mph to land. Each glider had a Pilot and Co-Pilot seat, each of which had a set of controls. The plane had to flown while being towed just as if it were powered by its own engine. The controls inside a glider included a control wheel (to make turns and raise or lower the nose) and rudder pedals, which had a brake pedal attached to it. George said of controlling a glider, “After cutting loose from the tow plane, pushing the nose down allowed you to keep the airspeed above stalling speed…….It was a one-way street, you could only go down as there was no soaring like in a sail plane.

His flight was to take roughly three and a quarter hours. “It was long and uneventful until we saw the smoke over the Rhine River and across our designated landing zone.” He landed his glider round noon in Landing Zone N near Wesel, Germany (East side of the River Rhine). Asked if the flimsy construction material of the gliders worried him George replied, “No. In tow position there was a lot of noise like you were inside a base drum but when you were cut loose, it became quiet and was a real pleasure to fly.”

Georges' Glider Being Towed By A C-47 Skytrain

George successfully landed his glider without crashing into any trees or the like. George’s orders included assisting with the unloading of his glider. The four Airborne Troopers got out and raised the tail, using wood props to hold it up. Doing this lowered the nose section to allow the Jeep to be driven out. George cut the tie down ropes and one of the Troopers began to drive the Jeep out. Unfortunately, the props swayed and the tail fell. The Jeep engine stalled and the nose fell onto its hood. Everyone then got out of the glider and held up the nose. Finally the men got the Jeep out.

George’s orders, after assisting with the unloading of his glider, were to proceed to a designated GP checkpoint. Once there he was to dig a foxhole and become part of the inner perimeter of defense for his first night. The situation did depend upon enemy activity. Many glider pilots had to fight alongside infantry soldiers until the territory was cleared so the glider pilots could be released to return to their home base. On the second day, glider pilots were to be used to guard and escort German POW’s back to the East side of the river Rhine where they were turned over to Military Police.

After the unloading of his glider and the small arms fire subsided, George headed along a road toward a farmhouse. He was looking for signs to lead him to his designated GP checkpoint. Along the way he met fellow glider pilot, Bill Stone who had been in George’s training class at Lubbock. Bill was a professional photographer before the war and was the one who took the photos of Betty Grable?? doing the Manual of Arms with a rifle for the cover of Life Magazine. Bill was with a Paratrooper Brigadier General who had landed outside of his drop zone. The Brig. Gen. was lost from his troops and without any maps. Bill asked George is he had any maps with him they could use but upon looking for them; George realized he had left them back in his glider amidst the confusion.

Georges' Glider (Pictured At The Left) In Landing Zone N Behind Enemy Lines Near Wesel, Germany

The Brig. Gen. asked George to go back and retrieve them. Along the way he had to dodge small arms fire. He went through a hedgerow that he was using for cover when suddenly two German soldiers came out with hands raised saying, ‘Kamerad, Kamerad.’ They wanted to surrender rather than be killed so George led them back his glider. Recalling this memory George said, “Later I was told that the Senior German Officers had told them that they would be killed rather than captured. I guess I was as young as they were and they must have thought they could trust me. They were correct because I never fired gun during the whole mission and I don’t know to this day if I could have raised my gun on another human being. Fortunately, I never had the chance to find out.”

Once back near the glider, George saw another American soldier standing near his aircraft. George asked the soldier to hold his gun on the prisoners while he took a picture of his prisoners standing near his glider. 

The Two Germans George Captured

Morning After The First Night Of Oper: Varsity - A Glider Crashed Near The Men's Campsite

George's Co-Pilot On Their First Night After Landing Behind Enemy Lines

He retrieved the maps and made his way back to the Brig. Gen. with the captured Germans in hand. Once there he turned them over to the MP’s who were collecting prisoners. The Brig. Gen. asked George to stay with him and George explained his orders were to report to the GP checkpoint. The Brig. Gen. realized that George was not an Airborne Trooper and released him. Finally George made his way to the checkpoint and reported in. Operation: Varsity was the largest single day airborne assault in Europe during the Second World War. 

During George’s second day behind German lines, he and some others were pinned down by sniper fire after moving from their foxholes near a railroad bed. Thankfully some Airborne Troopers came along and cleared them out, allowing George and the others to move forward.

Pinned Down By Snipers

Along The Evacuation Route A Bombed Out Windmill

 

(Note: Years later George read about a couple of General Officers (Dalby and Gaither), both Staff Officers and Parachute Qualified, who had requested to jump with the 17^th Airborne Division. They were not part of the chain of command and simply along for the combat experience. Unfortunately, they were both dropped outside of their drop zone, without staff or maps, and lost from their units. It is highly likely that the Brig. Gen. that George helped out was one of the two mentioned in the book he was reading, The Last Drop. George’s story is included in this book along with a photo of him.)

After George’s glider mission, he returned to entertaining the troops with the 440^th Serenaders. When the war in Europe ended, the group was at the Grand Hotel in Paris. It was the night of May 8, 1945 and what was dubbed Victory in Europe (VE) Day. George remembers that all of Paris celebrated. In November of ’45, the 440^th Troop Carrier Group was inactivated. George was one of eight Officers left behind. The whole operation in Orleans was closed down and George and the others were transferred to Germany for reassignment. He was reassigned to the 14^th Liaison Squadron near the German town of Holtzkirken.

George returned stateside in July of 1946 and was honorably discharged at Fort Meade, Maryland. He received various campaign ribbons and was awarded the Air Medal for his glider mission in Operation: Varisty. He was also entitled to wear the bronze Arrowhead Device on his ETO ribbon, which indicated that he had participated in an airborne invasion behind enemy lines.

George entered the Reserves and decided to attend Spartan School of Aeronautics to get this aircraft mechanics license, flight instructor rating, and multi-engine pilots rating. Before graduating he was set to go to work for a small civilian airline as a mechanic and spare co-pilot on their DC-3 type transports. Just before he graduated the company filed for bankruptcy and George ended up working for his father in construction.

Not long after he had had enough of construction and made the decision to re-enter the military. George couldn’t qualify as an Officer but his civilian training as an aircraft mechanic led to him enlisting as a Staff Sergeant and becoming a Flight Engineer on a B-50 bomber. Through the next years he received various assignments as Flight Engineer and in 1968 he was honorably discharged for the second time on November 30. George now serves as the National Treasurer for the National World War II Glider Pilots Association. 

Robert T. Murrell: Patton's 3rd Army - 80th Infantry Division Company M 318th Infantry Regiment

            Robert Murrell was drafted into the U.S. Army on 21 July 1942 and assigned to the newly reactivated 80^th Infantry Division, aka the 80^th Blue Ridge Division. Murrell had served before in the Army Air Corps’ 325^th Observation Corps and thought he had served out his time with the military. However, he was called back to do another stint and help with the American war effort. The 80^th had been reactivated only a few days prior and Murrell was among the first assigned to it.

            The first few months were spent in training, during which time he was promoted to Corporal. His first assignment was as an instructor in the 2^nd Ranger Battalion at Camp Forest. When the Ranger Battalion was sent overseas, Murrell was sent back to his original post and the Division was moved to Camp Phillips, Kansas. Here they received further training and sharpened their skills with all weapon types.

            After this they moved to Camp Laguna, California and/in the Mojave Desert. They left in March 1944, boarding trains for Fort Dix, New Jersey. While there they received their overseas orders and taken to Camp Kilmer, where they boarded trains to take them to the Queen Mary. They boarded the Queen Mary on 28 June 1944 and made the voyage across the Atlantic. For the trip across the pond, Murrell was made Sergeant of the Guard. He wore an MP armband and button, letting others know of his job. As a perk of his special assignment, Murrell could choose his own time to eat and could go to any part of the ship. The entire trip took only seven days. Murrell remembered the “S” wake caused by the ship changing course every 5-7 minutes to prevent a u-boat from laying a course on her fast enough to fire a torpedo and hit her.

            About half way through, a drill took place to allow gunners to practice firing their anti-aircraft guns at drones pulled by aircraft. Not everyone had upfront knowledge of this drill and as a result, initially thought the ship was under attack. Murrell was one of them. However, it soon became apparent that it was only a drill and all were relieved.

On Day 7, the Queen Mary reached the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. The men were finally setting foot on European soil. The men and their gear were unloaded and a train boarded for Manchester, England. The troops went to different local areas with the 80^th bound for Tatton Park, where they honed their weaponry and map reading skills. Murrell said that during their free time they would craft rings out of Silver Fluorine. “We would pound them on the edge until they were reduced in size and flared out. Then we would punch a hole in the center so we could wear them. I lost mine in France on the battlefield,” he recalled.

The men stayed in England for two months and on 26 July they moved toward Southampton and then crossed the English Channel. On 3 August, the 80^th reached the French Coast. They saw sunken ships and aerial balloons moored by the cables to prevent strafing of the landing site. On 5 August, they climbed down a rope ladder to the LCI (Landing Craft Infantry). Unfortunately, when the LCI was pulling alongside the ship it rammed and punctured a hole in the hull. Murrell said the Captain raised cane about the repairs he would have to make.

The first thing Murrell saw when the LCI ramp was lowered was a bombed out gun emplacement. The men loaded into trucks and traveled all day. At dark they unloaded at a field and made camp. Murrell remembered that night saying, “I recall hearing artillery firing but was too inexperienced to know it was our artillery and not that of the Germans.”

The next morning they again loaded up and headed out. Their route took them through St. Lo where the jeep Murrell was riding in was fired upon from the steeple of the town church. He also witnessed his first aerial fight between a German and American plane. The American plane won and the German pilot bailed out, landing in a nearby field.

The men loaded back up and headed for St. Hilaire, 75 miles away. The roadways were littered with the bloated bodies of dead animals and soldiers. The next morning they drove two miles to the vicinity of Vaiges, where they camped overnight. The following morning they headed on to the area of Chammes and continued through several villages. Sniper fire and booby traps were a constant threat. The men were warned not to pick anything up as it could be booby trapped.

Mines were one of the other big threats and as the men came upon them, they would take the time to defuse each one. They traveled through St. Suzanne and Sill Le Guillaume which was defended by the 9^th German Panzer Division. Along the way they encountered several roadblocks where they received artillery and small arms fire. Fortunately the surrounding landscape was one of rolling hills and thick wood areas….the perfect place for the 80^th to halt their column.

They fought a few enemy troops but it wasn’t enough to hold them back. The 80^th suffered several casualties, including one by sniper fire and an officer by means of booby trap. Regarding the bomb damage sustained by France Murrell said, “Everywhere we moved, buildings had been totally destroyed by either bombs or shells.”

The men were told of a large build up of enemy troops SW of Falaise with the mission of cutting the 3^rd Army’s supply lines. (This would lead to what we now know as the ‘Falaise Gap’.) This was the 80^th’s first major battle of fighting through hedgerow’s. One after another, the men had to make their way through them, some being five to six feet high and made out of earth and rock with trees and bushes tightly packed together growing on top. Murrell said that the hedgerow’s were so tall and thick that a German could be on side and an American on the other, neither aware of the others proximity!

A tank would go over the hedgerow and its bottom would be in the air. The German’s would fire a round into it, knocking it unusable. Someone came up with the idea to attach a plow point to the front of the tanks to break through the hedgerows. This proved to be invaluable ingenuity.

The 80^th was assigned to attack and take Argentan. On 19 August 1944, Murrell set up his Machine Gun (MG) section in what he believed to be good positions…..on an embankment overlooking a roadway that ran left to right and turned into a heavy wooded area. He also had some of his MG’s overlooking a grain field. Surrounding his position in front and on both sides was barbed wire fencing. Suddenly one of the men yelled ‘Tanks!’ Murrell looked up and saw a tank coming up the road toward them, with its MG firing. He ordered one of his sergeants to shoot a grenade at the tank with his Springfield rifle that had a grenade attachment. The shot landed right in the turret, killing the entire tank crew!

During all this action, Murrell had his pistol belt shot off and a bullet went through his helmet. Neither time was he wounded! He began trying to clip the barbed wire in front of him when several MG rounded took care of it for him. Again, he was uninjured. The Platoon Officer and two Sergeants were killed only a few feet from Murrell and a rifleman had his leg blown off by a shoe mine. “This was my first experience of what war was like,” Murrell shared, “It wasn’t too much longer and I became battle hardened.”

The men of the 80^th advanced forward to the wood area where they found a wire stretched between a couple of trees and branches thick with foliage hung along it, creating a blind allowing the Germans to freely move without being spotted by the Americans. After a total of three days heavy fighting, Combat Team 317 came to the aide of the 318^th (Murrell’s), relieving them of their positions on the line on 21 August. The men had captured Argentan, after which they moved out to meet up with the Canadian Army.

On 22 August near Pilou, a member of Murrell’s MG section told him he was going to surrender. Murrell tried his best to talk the soldier out of it but to no avail. The last Murrell saw of the man was as he disappeared into a wood area down the hill toward enemy lines. (Note: In 1983, Murrell returned back to the battlefields. When visiting HAMM Cemetery, he saw the young man’s name on the wall as being MIA.)

On 26 August, the men loaded into the trucks and headed for La Riviere nearly 250 miles away. From there it was on to Jalons, another 330 mile trip. The men traveled an additional 45 miles to Les Grandes Loges where they engaged the enemy. As the Sergeant of a MG section, Murrell would give covering fire for the advancing infantry. Once the infantry would get close to the line of the MG’s, the MG sections would move up and repeat the process. This was accomplished by watching where their tracers were hitting.

The infantry fought several minor battles over the following weeks. One such battle took place on 10 September when the German’s counterattacked at Belleville, France. A good friend of Roberts commented that he was tired of having to dig in each night. He chose not to dig in that night and unfortunately there was a night attack, during which time his friend was hit in the head. Five days later the comrade died.

Soon the men crossed the river Moselle at Dieulouard and fought through Loisy and Atton. The 3^rd Battalion captured Mousson Hill (a lookout spot that’s vantage point went for miles). The enemy launched two counterattacks and was finally successful on 15 September in cutting the supply line that ran from the bridgehead area to Mousson Hill (and the 3^rd Battalion). The enemy retook Atton (1.5 miles south of the hill) and the adjacent area.

The 3^rd Battalion, two platoons of an anti-tank company, along with Company M and its MG’s, 81 mm Mortars, and Tank Destroyer Units were cut off from the bridgehead area and surrounded by the enemy. The battalion was low on ammo, radio batteries, and medical supplies. Volunteers were needed for a patrol through enemy lines for the much needed supplies. Murrell volunteered to lead the patrol of four other volunteers. The men reached the bridgehead without being spotted and received the much needed supplies.

All five were loaded down with as much as they could squeeze into their packs and pockets (rations, mail, medical supplies, batteries, etc.).  Just as they had made it through enemy lines, the patrol was spotted. Murrell remembers one of the men having a box of rations shot off his shoulder and exclaiming, “No German is going to stop us so get the he*$ out of here!” The men did just that and safely reached their own lines. The group was received with a grand welcome. They found out that in their absence, an L-4 Artillery Spotter plane had dropped supplies to the men. Murrell received the Silver Star for leading this patrol and safely returning with the entire group.

After a few days, Company B 319^th Infantry Battalion fought through enemy lines, breaking the German encirclement. Brig. Gen. Searby (Commander of the 80^th Artillery) was killed from an MG burst on the hill during a counter attack. The 318^th headed on to Millery where, from 22 – 24 September, they fought the enemy before moving on to Bratte. While in Bratte, Murrell was walking down a path beside the woods. He thought he heard German voices. Patiently listening intently, Murrell saw two German soldiers talking and walking towards him, rifles slung over their shoulders. They were oblivious to Murrells presence. He shouldered his weapon and shouted “Halt!” The Germans surrendered immediately. While walking them towards the encampment, so the men could be taken to the POW cage, he noticed the safety was on on his rifle. “I just about crapped,” Murrell said of the realization.

On 22September, Murrell’s MG section was assigned to Company I 318^th with the objective of capture the high ground on Hill 351 (500 yards west of Morey). Note: The dates in the above two paragraphs are correct. Murrell was in two places, so to speak, on the same day. It was captured before dark and the men settled in to the foxholes dug by the Germans. Two men were assigned to Murrell’s MG section. He told one which squad he would be in and sent him to it, while the other was to stay with Murrell in his foxhole until morning.

Before morning, the two Germans who had dug the foxhole Murrell and the young man were in returned. At the time Murrell was asleep, as it was not his turn at guard. One German jumped down into the foxhole and landed on Murrell’s thumb. The young comrade of Murrell’s, having no combat experience, acted immediately and like a combat hardened veteran. He stabbed the German who had jumped into the foxhole with his bayonet and then, taking the German’s gun off him, promptly shot the other one who was standing at the edge of the foxhole. His quick action saved Murrell and his own life.

Company I (which Murrell was still attached to) had captured several German’s and were temporarily being held in a slit trench. The American artillery began shelling the hill the next morning. Company I sent up flares for the day but he artillery either was without a codebook or in the dark as to the code used by Company I. As a result, the Company had to vacate the hill and one of the German POW’s found this hilarious. He didn’t laugh for long, as one of the riflemen tossed a grenade into the trench with the solo German.

October brought rain and lots of it, causing the levels of streams to rise above their banks. The muddy conditions led to the troops being unable to move and the Division took up defensive positions near Lixieres. They remained there until 8 October when they moved to engage the enemy at Clemery. While in Lixieres, Murrell received a 3 day pass to Paris. He described the sites, such as the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame Cathedral as “awesome and inspiring”.

Any front line troops on liberty, wore a green shoulder loop letting MP’s know who they were. Speaking of this Murrell said, “It made one feel good to know and see so many others wearing that green loop. If anything was to happen and you needed help, we were all together to settle the problem.”

After his R&R, Murrell returned to his own unit which continued to fight across France. On 26 November at Fort Bambiderstroff, the group came upon a pill box setting in a valley with a road leading to it. The ground in front of the pill box was completely barren and surrounded by barbed wire. Murrell led a group of several men into the pill box and discovered it had 5 floors below ground level with tunnels connecting it to other pill boxes. While clearing the pill box the men captured several German soldiers.

From there it was on to St. Avold and Longueville, and then on to Bettwiller where the men were readied to cross over into Germany. Before this move, new orders came for them to pack up and be ready to move out on an hour’s notice. Word came down on 19 December for Murrell and the other men to board their vehicles and travel ~150 miles to Fischbach, Luxembourg without delay. General Patton had learned of the German breakthrough in the north. Murrell’s group was to be part of the efforts to stop the German counterattack. The men were to drive as fast as possible and not to use the cat lights (head lamps completely covered except for a thin slit which made them look like a cat’s eyes). This battle in the north is what we now know as the Battle of the Bulge. The vehicles used by the 80^th were open to the elements and the temperature was at freezing point. The men were in a battle to stay warm on top of trying to defeat the Germans. They huddled up together, under blankets and anything that would help them to stay warm.

They arrived at their destination on 20 December at 1500 hours. On the morning of 22 December, they moved out on foot to Colmar. Upon reaching the outskirts of Ettelbruck, the 80^th attacked the Germans. Artillery shells filled with white phosphate hit only a few yards in front of them. Railroad tracks cut through the field and the 80^th noticed a column of Germans who hadn’t yet noticed them. Having the upper hand, they killed many of the unsuspecting Germans.

It was the worst snow the area had seen in quite some time. At a depth of about one foot or more, walking was difficult for the men of the 80^th and so was the battle for Ettelbruck. Eventually they were successful. After this, the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions were withdrawn from the positions of the 318^th and attached to the 4^th Armored Division. They were to relieve troops surrounded in Bastogne. This left the 3^rd Battalion (Murrell’s) to cover the ~ 10 mile area of Ettelbruck (and surrounding areas).

On 23 December, Murrell was approaching the two MG’s he had set in a valley facing northeast, when a direct hit was made on one of the crews killing every member. A few seconds later and Murrell would likely have shared the same fate. The men continued holding the town until 2 January 1945 when they went into the Corps Reserves. The snow was still deep and temperature’s extremely low. Speaking of the deadly and unfavorable conditions Murrell said, “If a man were wounded he had to try to keep moving as he would freeze to death if he lay down.” He also recalled the water in their canteens freezing, forcing them to scoop snow for drink.

The morning report following the capture of Ettelbruck noted the losses of Company M 318^th: 1 Officer & 6 Enlisted Men KIA, 7 lightly wounded in action, 3 seriously wounded in action, 4 lightly wounded in action and 5 non-battle casualties. Murrell’s group left Ettelbruck on 23 January and traveled to Wiltz in Regimental Reserve. They received one of a few hot meals in many days and were entertained at a USO show.

They left for Bedford on 27 January. Once there they took up defensive positions and engaged the enemy from 27 January until 15 February. During their time in Bedford, Captain Kessler (Company Commander) told Murrell to send Bill Ewing (a good friend of Murrell’s) to the Command Post (CP) because he was being given a 90 day furlough. Murrell was not to tell Bill why the Captain wanted to see him.

Seeing a golden opportunity to have his buddy shaking his boots, Murrell said to him, “What the heck have you done? The Captain wants you at the CP on the double.” The two headed for the CP. Bill gave a perfect salute to the Captain and stated ‘Staff Sergeant William E. Ewing reporting as ordered sir.’ Captain Kessler told Bill the good news at which time Bill turned to Murrell and exclaimed, ‘I’d knock you off your butt if you weren’t such a good buddy!’ He then grabbed Murrell, the two hugged and cried, Bill ecstatic at going home for a bit and Murrell happy for his pal to be off the battlefront for a while. Before Bill could return the war ended but the two men remained in contact afterwards, often visiting one another, until Bill’s death in 1983.

On 16 February Murrell and his fellow infantrymen crossed from Bedford, Luxembourg into Biesdorf, Germany.  They took up defensive positions, received replacements, and engaged the enemy near Cruchten. They fought their way south through numerous towns and villages. Finally they reached a town called Serf, which was where they crossed the river Rhine into Weiskirchen. The pace at which the men were moving greatly increased, blowing through towns at lightning speed.  They reached Kassel on 3 April and from there moved to Siebleben to Apfelstadt to Gotha to Egstad to Jena to the outskirts of Chemnitz, where they were halted. Company M 318^th was assigned to reconnoiter positions on the far outskirts of the town.

They pulled up alongside an anti-tank gun and asked where the roadblock was. The men pointed ahead of them so the Company M 318^th continued on until realizing they had run their own roadblock and were right in front of the German’s roadblock! The driver of the jeep Murrell was in quickly turned around in an attempt to escape their mistake. Unfortunately a shell hit them on the broadside of the vehicle. The men jumped into the ditch closest to them, each on opposite sides. The ditch Murrell was in overlooked a building with German soldiers all around it. He shouldered his carbine and took a shot, but couldn’t determine if hit anyone.

Murrell jumped up and ran to the other side of the road where he took cover behind some buildings. Just as Murrell was peeking around the corner, a brick just above his head was chipped by a bullet. The men commandeered a couple of bicycles and rose like the wind back to their own lines. Thinking of this ride Murrell said, “I often wonder what the crew of the anti-tank gun thought as we rode past them on bikes. I remember the day better than any other day in the war because it was my 3^rd wedding anniversary (16 April 1945).

The 80^th Infantry Division was notified that the Russian would be taking Chemnitz, so they reversed their direction and headed back to Gera then to Nuremberg. The 3^rd Infantry Division had recently taken the city and it was where Hitler gave many of his speeches and held massive rallies. Murrell and his buddies were assigned to mop up and patrol the town until 27 April. After their stint at Nuremberg, they loaded into the trucks and headed to Hordorf on 4 May. They then crossed into Braunau by walking the framework of a railroad bridge blown up by the Germans. The men remained in this town for a short period, patrolling streets and maintaining order.

On 7 May the men boarded a train to Attnang, Austria. Before getting on the train, they took time to purchase tomatoes, onions, and bread to make sandwiches. A few bottles of wine were also procured. On 8 May, the war in Europe was declared over and Company M 318^th celebrated until they had to move out on patrol in the Mondsee Mountains. Murrell was riding in a jeep that had a water-cooled MG mounted on it. Along their journey they happened upon a pocket of Germans who were unaware of their country’s surrender and a short fire fight took place before the men could convince the German’s that the war was over. Company M headed back to Attnang.

The German 6^th Army surrendered to the 80^th after General McBride told the German General that all his men who were across the river would become American prisoners while those who didn’t get across before midnight would have to go to the Russians. The 318^th Infantry Regiment became guards who patrolled the city. Word soon came down that they were to travel to Sonthofen, Germany (a place where the Hitler Youth, aka: Hitler-Jugend, were trained).

While in Sonthofen, an NCO (Non-Commissioned Officers) club was formed and Murrell was made Liquor Control Officer. The club was located in the building of the former chow hall of the Hitler Youth. The top 3 grades of NCO’s were issued a bottle of whiskey and it had to be controlled by the club. Each one was issued a card that allotted them 23 drinks. Each time a drink was served the NCO’s card would be punched. Once the card had 23 punches, the NCO was cut off.

To supplement their liquor, Murrell managed to procure some potato schnapps. He took the German who served as bar keep with him and they were able to obtain 15 gallons of pure uncut schnapps. They cut it with 3 parts water and served it as an added drink. During his time as an officer in the NCO club, Murrell learned he had accumulated enough points to go home and be discharged.

He was sent to Camp Lucky Strike for processing and asked if he wanted to switch his 80^th patch for that of the 6^th Armored Division which he would be travelling back to the states with. “I refused”, Murrell stated, “wearing the 80^th patch all the way.” He boarded the Rock Hill Victory ship in Marseilles, France. He sailed through the Mediterranean Sea, past the Rock of Gibraltar, and on to New Port News, Virginia. The entire voyage took 23 days. Murrell was sent to Camp Atterbury, Indiana and discharged on 26 October 1945.

In 1973, Murrell learned about the 80^th Infantry Division Association and joined. Over the years he has served in various positions with the association, including as National Commander (1982-83) and as National Secretary/Editor/Historian for 19 years (retiring in 2009 from the post. He remains active in helping the children of men KIA in the Second World War find out about their father and has even written several books on the 80^th.