August 27th Journal Entry-Shelling of Plougastel-Refugees

Aug-27th
French girl wanted our carbines to kill Bosch in Plougastel.
Dead GI 8'{ in field-stunk-3 German prisoners sitting on hill.
Saw Plougastel shelled by our tanks, etc.
French Farmer Killed.
Refugees pouring out.

Cliff Hope from his book: The German enemy was known by various names, Jerries, Boche, (from the French), Krauts and Huns.

Lu from Ray Hight's book: I was always moved by the plight of the civilians and the images of them struggling in the midst of their Homeland at war. One incident has stayed with me from when we were surveying on the edge of a beautiful pasture. As shells started coming in, a French farmer was determined to drive his cows out of the field, even if he died in the process. Sadly, the farmer and several of his cows were killed.

Lu from his memoirs: On the 27th I noted that I saw Plougastel shelled by our tanks and a French farmer killed. That entry brings back a memory of a farmer trying to herd his cows out of a field with shells bursting nearby. The entry also notes refugees pouring out of the town. I think that the pain and grief of the civilians caught in these situations was much worse than the soldiers involved. Today as I write, that suffering is shown almost daily on television. In Somalia and Bosnia, they remember about WWII. We don't seem to learn!

Marilu: Unfortunately, this is the end of dad's memoirs that I have been able to find. These entries have been wonderful for explaining and expanding on the brief entries in the journal that jogged his memory. It may be that once he was interviewed by Ray Hight he felt he had fully covered his war experiences. If we had those tapes we would have more of the story, but from this point on I will have to use her edited retelling of his remembrances and Cliff Hope's book and other sources to expand on and explain things from his journal entries the best I can.

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