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After being in
France
for a couple of weeks and slopping around in the mud at Camp Lucky
Strike, Company D promoted a little deal.
In exchange for the sweat of honest toil we were billeted in a
chateau in Torcy le Petit. The
chateau was about a fifteen minute walk from the nearest café, presided
over by a winsome French maid named Christine.
Here Sgt. Johnston displayed his ability as a carpenter by
building a table for Christine. He
was the butt of many jokes as we watched him work, but the last laugh
was his, for the cognac which cost us many francs was his for the
asking.
Passes to
Dieppe
were frequent, and the Celtic Bar became the favorite stopping place for
some of our men. One day
Sgt. Sprankle and Sgt. Zala ran into Lt. Naughtin and Lt. Wilkeson
there, and after a series of rounds prevailed upon the proprietress to
get them some food. She was
very obliging, and in a short time returned with four plates of meat
which she assured them was beefsteak.
It was then they had their first experience with horse meat “a
la filet mignon.”
After almost a month at Torcy, we were ordered to
Germany
for our first assignment. We
were all elated at being the first company of the battalion to be
committed to action. Our
first night on the road was spent at
Charleroi
,
Belgium
, where no preparation hhad been made for our coming.
The problem was solved by some very obliging young ladies who had
been persuaded by Lt. Brice’s fluent French and charming personality
to get us some billits. It
was very amusing to see a young lady followed by a half-dozen dirty
tired soldiers, carrying bedrolls and packs, marching down the street.
At each house the young lady would knock and arouse the
occupants. Then she would
ask them how many “soldats” they could accommodate.
She never asked them if they could take us in, only how many.
These people opened their hearts and homes to us.
When Sgt. Morgan, in his “G. I. Book” of French asked his
hostess if it was possible to take a bath, she immediately began frying
eggs for him. He never did
have much faith in the book after that.
Our
first assignment at the front was to camouflage the equipment and
materiel in preparation for the crossing of the
Rhine
River
. The British, after long
experience, had become experts at living off the land.
We were quick to follow their example.
However, we went even further, and added insult to injury, when
Pfc. Berube not only obtained some chickens from a German farmer, but
also convinced him to kill and dress them.
Unfortunately for the farmer, a pig strolled around the barn at
an opportune moment and was added to our larder.
The 3rd and 4th platoons, who had been
assigned to the 30th Corps, were fortunate in that they were
working in cattle country. Veal
steaks were the order of the day.
The
men all acquitted themselves well while working under fire, and we were
fortunate to suffer only one casualty.
This occurred when Sgt. Wood discovered that “hitting the
dirt” didn’t evade low flying shrapnel.
Our next assignment was to work with the artillery which was
engaged in reducing the Ruhr Pocket.
We were billeted in the town of
Osterath
, half of which had been cleared of civilians.
This part of the town offered great opportunities for souvenir
hunting. Cycling became a
favorite sport, for bicycles were plentiful.
A little excitement was added one night when snipers took a few
pot shots at T/5 Lehn, who was on guard.
The snipers were dispersed when Capt. De Lucia led a small patrol
against them.
Our next move was to Idar-Oberstein, where we set up and operated
a Corps Map Depot and Sign Shop. We
were very fortunate in obtaining excellent billets in the form of two
apartment houses that had been formerly occupied by the families of
German officers who had been attending a
Gestapo
School
there. Our Map Depot and
Sign Shop were set up in a large Hitler Youth building..
From the roof of the building where the sign shop was located,
our painters spent many happy hours studying the anatomy of the
frauleins who practiced sun bathing on a high cliff across the river. It
was in this town that the fraternization ban came in for thorough
discussion by the members of the company, for the frauleins offered
considerable temptation. Lt.
Naughtin, on the prowl for fraternizers, flushed a covy in a nearby
building one day. The
building, however, had too many exits, and he was unable to bag his
game. The result was a lecture by Capt. De Lucia after duty hours, on
the evils of fraternizing. Work
was easy and life was pleasant, for at that time for confiscation of
German liquors became legal, and we came in for our share of the spoils.
Our life was made easier when we engaged five Russian displaced
women to do our laundry and KP. Sgt.
Crannell displayed extraordinary taste in selecting these women.
He made certain that they were efficient rather than sightly.
After
the war ended, we were ordered to Isselhhorst, where we joined C
Company. Having no specific
duties, we spent most of our time engaged in athletics.
The evenings were devoted to the beer garden, jointly operated by
C and D Companies. The beer
garden was the scene of much revelry, and without a doubt added greatly
to the pleasure of our stay.
Shortly thereafter, we were ordered to Korbach, where for the
first time since February, the battalion was assembled as a unit.
Here for the first time too, the unity of D Company’s “Big
Three” was disrupted. This
was brought on by Sgt. Brueck’s refusal to share the spoils of was
with his cohorts. A fatal
break was avoided when the incident of the locked door was
satisfactorily explained to Sgts. Sprankle and Zala.
After a short stay at Korbach we were ordered to return to Camp
Lucky Strike, where we were processed for that most welcome boat ride
home.
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