CROSSING THE ROER RIVER PHOTOS

405th, 406th, 407th Regiments' routes

A~ Palenberg

B~ Krefeld

SW corner- Maastricht and Malmedy

Roer River

Roer River

More photos here

THE HORRORS OF WAR AND CROSSING THE ROER RIVER

Now, back to Germany- we were never supposed to receive dead bodies in our station, only if they died on route to our station. But every unit had a Graves Registration Officer. That was one of my jobs, and two of my clerks were assistants. One day they came to tell me a dead body was just removed from an ambulance and the litter was placed in a small storeroom. I told them to take everything from his pockets and to put it into small bags for that purpose. They both asked me to go with them as it was the first [time either had done this.] At the door they stayed out in the corridor while I went in, and then I knew why they had [come] to me. The guy was really beat up- one arm partially off, one leg blown off, a gaping hole in his side, and part of his face [was] gone. He must have been hit by a grenade. I got through that that experience, and never went through [anything like that] back in the U.S., although I did see some other casualties in rough shape, however. But I do recall at some later date while out on an errand I came across a Graves Registration Unit and could see hundreds of coffins lined up for shipment to the U.S.A.

While at Palenberg, the Germans were constantly firing artillery shells in our direction. On several occasions some landed a few hundred yards away from our position, but fortunately none ever landed close enough to cause any casualties. The one thing that sometimes bothered us were the “Buzz Bombs.” They could be fired for great distances, and they had great luck in their use against London during the earlier months of the war. They were usually fired at night and the buzz could be heard in flight. But if the buzz stopped within hearing distance, it meant the bomb was dropping, and that was the time to run for cover! Fortunately none ever dropped close enough to cause damage. After we crossed the Roer River we heard fewer and fewer. We found out some time later that the plant where most were built was ruined by our planes.

Just before we crossed the Roer, a Jeep arrived from Division Headquarters with three U.S. aviators. Their plane had been hit, but not so badly, and they were able to return and land behind our lines and they were brought to us [with] just a few scratches. They stayed with us and spent the night. We exchanged names and home states. When I said Rhode Island, one of them if I knew anything about Valley Falls, and of course I said it was my wife’s hometown. He said his father had owned a speakeasy in Chicago and that he use to get his “moonshine” from Valley Falls. When I told him my father-in-law had been in the grocery business during those days and used to sell sugar to the makers of the moonshine, he said “It’s a small world!"

THE SIGHT OF BLOOD

Again I’m backing up to an incident that occurred at Camp Swift. Dr. Forejt, while on duty as medical officer of the day, had agreed to remove a cyst from the back of the neck of a Sergeant. By right, it should have been done in a hospital, but as we were getting ready to move on to Fort Dix, the possibility of losing his services could only be prevented by doing it at our station. I stayed with Joe and watched the operation… until I almost fainted at the sight of blood! I left the room, then returned. I knew I might see more in Europe! But I finally got up and left the room- the heck with it.

COMMENDATION FOR A JOB WELL DONE

While in Palenberg, the 102^nd was preparing for its first big fight, to cross the Roer River. The Germans had fought hard to stay on the west side but were finally driven away and the Division now had to plan to cross the river. It was not an easy task for the wintertime. Before we could cross, the Germans blew up the dams several miles to the north doubling the width of the river, which made it extra difficult for the engineers to build bridges. Many lives were lost in the water. Sometime later, Odie wrote in a letter that an article in Liberty magazine had stated that the 102^nd was the first division of all American forces to get all units across the river. When the crossing was completed we learned that our battalion had processed more wounded than any other medical unit in Europe to date. As a result, the battalion was awarded a special patch to be worn on the lower left sleeve. I must admit that I never did see such a commendation worn by any member of any unit but ours during our stay in Europe. I guess we did a good job!

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B~ Palenberg, Übach-Palenberg, Deutschland
C~ Malmedy, Walloon Region, Belgium
D~ Maastricht, The Netherlands

LIQUOR, PARIS, & ANOTHER CLOSE CALL

For the first few months all officers received a liquor ration- two bottles of scotch, two of champagne, one of American whiskey, and a couple of bottles of what we called “French moonshine.” Because I preferred champagne to scotch, I was able to trade one bottle of scotch for two of champagne. In the meantime Odie had started to send small packages to me, which included small bottles in which she had transferred some liquids for whisky and small packages of food. Most of this didn’t reach me until shortly before the end of the year while we were in Palenberg, so I decided to host a party for the officers of Headquarters and Company D on my birthday. For me it was a blast. I kept all the champagne for my personal use, and let the others drink and eat the food. I got drunk! I had planned the party for the house that Col. Eaton had taken for himself, (we couldn’t complain.) Late in the evening, I noticed that Joe Forejt was no longer with us, and I went out to look for him. The clearing station was in a school across the street. The walk from the house to the street was covered with ice, (it was mid-January!), and I never got too far and finally crawled back into the house and into a bed I somehow found. Late the next morning when I awoke I went across the street to our office and found Col. Eaton talking to two strange officers- one of them was a full colonel and the other a major. They were in front of a large map pinned to the wall and discussing the situation, I presume. They stopped talking and turned to face me and I asked “What the hell is going on?” Col. Eaton made some mention of me being ill and sent me back to bed, and I went.

Nothing was ever said to me about the party, except how they all enjoyed the food and drink, with one exception. Major Tauber, the division psychologist (and a real quack in my opinion) a few days later said he hoped that I would go in to see him, that we should talk! Of course I never made an appointment!

Incidentally, to back up a little, to get our liquor ration for the month of December, every unit was to furnish a vehicle to be part of a convoy to go to Paris to pick up the liquor. I persuaded Col. Eaton to let me go to Paris on two conditions- that he let me have his driver, PFC Zito, and that I have an ambulance to make the trip. Zito, the driver, was more than willing to go, and with an ambulance, it was a great trip, as the ambulance had a heater.

Our ambulance was the last vehicle in the line, and since the trucks ahead were not speeding, Zito and I slowed down to see the countryside, then we would race to catch up with the others. We arrived in Paris about dark and our vehicles were ordered to a parking lot near a warehouse where the liquor was stored. Then we were rushed to a kitchen near a hotel and we were told that curfew was at 9 pm. It was already 8 pm and we hadn’t eaten. I think a lot of officers expected to do some hell-raising but never did. The next morning after each unit’s vehicle was loaded, we took off on our return trip. Since we were the last vehicle, Zito and I did some detours to see some of the sights of Paris before catching up with the rest.

Since we left Paris quite late we did not go all the way in one day and stopped in some town, I don’t recall the name, and we were told to visit whatever units there were in town for a meal and a place to sleep. I had seen a sign for an aid station so we went there. The Doctor in charge had us fed and then put a couple of cots for our disposal, so we spent a comfortable night. As we were leaving I was handed a copy of the Army Times, and [then we] proceeded on our way. I was only about 4 pages. When I reached the last page, there was a map and an article which described the push by the Germans at Malmedy. While reading, I glanced out the window as we passed an intersection, and I found myself reading a sign, “Malmedy 5 KM”, about 3 miles. I had Zito race ahead of the convoy and stopped in front of the lead truck. A major in charge was a bit surprised when I showed him the paper, so we changed direction at the next intersection to avoid any possibility of meeting up with any Germans!

A~ Weymouth, England
B~ Cherbourg, France
C~ Maastricht, The Netherlands
D~Malmedy, Belgium
E~ Paris, France

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HOW THE ARMY WORKS IN BATTLE

At this point I’m going to draw a sketch to show how our division was to operate, at least according to the books. I’m only going to show the regiments and our battalion, the other units of the division usually supported the regiments in like fashion.

It was normal procedure to have two regiments on the line, with one in reserve, which in time would replace one of the front line regiments so they could rest and refresh themselves. However, when the Germans tried their last attempt at The Bulge, the 84^th Division of our 9^th Army was sent to help and for a while all of our three regiments were spread out on the line in our sector.

Usually the collecting companies were from one to three miles to the rear of regimental headquarters. All units of the regiments had doctors and aid men, but their purpose was mainly first aid and then to send the men back to our battalion for more help. In just about all cases, wounded all reached our clearing station as we had more doctors and were better equipped to handle some serious cases. But we also sent the more serious cases back to the hospital units where they could be handled more easily. We were not supposed to hold casualties for any period of time since we were more apt to be on the move in order to be able to continue to give quick support to the troops ahead.

CLOSE CALL IN GERMANY

At this time the front line was just about at the Dutch and German border and within a couple of weeks we were in the town of Palenburg in Germany. From that time while in Germany we always stayed in hotels, hospitals, schools or some large building where we could be properly accommodated. It was in Palenburg that I came the closest ever to be hit by enemy fire. One day an ambulance from my old Company B came in with some casualties. Before the driver left I went out to talk to him. His ambulance was parked almost against the school building and we were standing between the school and the ambulance when a German plane came screaming alongside and sprayed the ambulance with gunfire less than three feet away. No one was hit.

It was here on our first day in Palenburg, Joe Forejt tried to jerk a table cloth from under a complete set of dinnerware from a dining room table, but my mentor disappointed me! We were alone when he made his attempt and his story and mine were not the same! But I never told anyone the truth!

MAP: Weymouth - Cherbourg - Maastricht

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NORMANDY TO HOLLAND

On our trip from Normandy to Holland we passed through St. Lo which had been the scene of a huge battle- the town was a wreck! It gave us an idea of what was soon to become normal events- towns almost 100% destroyed by shell fire. We passed through the outskirts of Paris- and as in many other towns. The French were pleased to see us, many people tossed some flowers to us as we passed, but we never got any of the champagne that the troops ahead got, as the medics were usually at the rear of all convoys. It seemed that every French person had an American flag, where they came from I couldn’t imagine. When we arrived in Holland, the Dutch were more sedate, although appreciative of our presence.

Our first night in Holland was spent in an orchard in Ulestraten, but from that day (or night) we always were in some sort of building. We moved into a school near the Hoensbroeck Castle. The Colonel took Jim LaNasa to visit the count who lived in the castle, and because Jim could speak some French, he and the count became quite friendly, so friendly that they later began to exchange Christmas gifts, and on occasion Jim and Emalie went to Europe and visited the count and his family.

NORMANDY

One day while in Normandy, Col. Eaton, Jim LaNasa and I visited the beaches where the troops had landed on D-Day, June 7th. It was amazing; there were hundreds of ships of all sizes in the water that had been hit and ruined by German artillery. The beaches ended at hills rising as much as 50 feet to the top, where the Germans had fortifications of cement with walls 2 to 3 feet thick, so that fire from the Allied ships had to make a direct hit to make any damage, if any. I recall that I mentioned to the Colonel and Jim that every soldier who survived deserved at least a Silver Star for bravery! The Allied soldiers after getting out of landing craft had to cross a wide beach where they were open to fire from the Germans about 50 feet overhead, and then had to scale the hill to get to the top, all the while the Germans were shooting down at them. It was a scene I never forgot. I have seen pictures of the beaches taken much later when the damaged ships had all been removed, but seeing hundreds of ships and landing craft at that date is something I never forgot.

A few days later our Colonel hosted a dinner for about 12 officers of the battalion at a restaurant he had located in his “travels”, a real French treat. There was a big sign on the building, “Off Limits To All Troops.” We parked behind the building where our vehicles couldn’t be seen. Had a great meal! Before we left for the front lines the Colonel and I went into Cherbourg to buy some shoes, the U.S.A. had already gotten into business in France!