October 21, Saturday-Journal Entry-Survey close to the lines

10/21/1944- Off on D. S. at about 0930 Troisveres Lux- Wiltz- Ettelbruck, Luxembourg,

Rodt/Syrgwecker and finally to Berboug----

We received a royal welcome to the tune of German 88's and 105's which killed two chiefs of section in a nearby gun Btry. and injured six---

They brought out the dead in a W. C. (weapons Carrier).

Billeted in two story home after being chased out of another (town empty of civilians)

P-47 dive bombed and strafed the Germans-

Came in from High Alt-Left vapor trails-

Shook pears out of trees.

Cliff Hope from his book: Our fun and games ended on the following Saturday when our survey party was ordered to the Mompach-Berbourg area of eastern Luxembourg, close to the front. A few minutes after we entered Berbourg, German shells landed a few hundred yards away. Shortly after, medics carried two bodies past us. We heard that six more soldiers were wounded. That night we billeted in a house left by Luxembourgers. There I found a number of Nazi postcards and German and Luxemboug geography books. There were virtually no civilians left in the town but it still had running water and electricity. I found myself wondering who was paying the utility bills.

Example of a weapons carrier

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Journal Entry March 27, 28th And Battalion history

March 27 Crashed B-24 March 28 Put in mike base-taped-Jeep broke tape at road intersection. Put in flash OPs. Picked up Helmet, leather. Battalion History: On 28 March, headquarters of the Barnstorming 16th crossed the Rhine, followed the next day by the Letter Batteries. With advancing armor taking the fight out of the Germans, the 16th found itself scouring the woods around Henmethal --- for prisoners, souvenirs and eggs. Souvenirs and eggs were more plentiful than prisoners. From Ray Hight's book: By the time the 285th crossed the Rhine toward the end of March, much of the area was in American hands and things were moving so quickly we hardly had time to set up. The German forces were pulling back, and there was very little opposition as we crossed the southern part of Germany almost up to the boundary of Czechoslovakia.

Journal Entry March 4th- New jacket and boots

Lu in June wearing field Jacket 1945 issue Combat Boots 1945 issue Field Jacket March 4 Got Laundry. Got ready to move. Red cross girls serve chow. Surveyed in rain. Oh yes, got new field jacket & combat boots.

October 20th, Friday-Movie, steak and fries

10/20/1944- Wrote Wes and Deane and Bud- Saw "Cassanova Brown" with Garry Cooper, Terresa Wright-in St. Vith. Fried Steak and French Fries in evening. Packed to leave on D.S. Cliff Hope from his book: Within the next week we drove to Luxembourg City and back twice. The scenery was beautiful, the terrain honeycombed with small, swift streams. On the second trip, we returned by way of Arlon, Belgium, stopping there for about an hour. Arlon was a clean, small city. The stores resembles those back home. I bought postcards, maps, steaks, three scarves, a buffet piece, and, most important of all, a small dish of ice cream. It was the first ice cream I'd had since Fort Bragg. Along the way we checked out the farm girls of the region. Some of them looked strong as oxen. I saw a girl pulling a four-wheel wagon. They had to be husky. Some of the men sized them up as "13 ax handles wide" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casanova_Brown Cass Brown is about to...

Winsor War Notes-Luther Snow Winsor's WW II experiences

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