Sunday, 24 December-Christmas Eve Cliff Hope

German Messerschmidt

From Lu's Scrapbook

Cliff Hope:

The Third Army counteroffensive continued to make good progress north and occupied several towns. On the northern flank of the German drive, however, St. Vith fell to the Nazis. Morning in Oberpallen found us out on triangulation survey near Ospern to the benchmark beyond. A German patrol of six men was brought in from the woods near the benchmark soon after we got there. Two Messerschmidts strafed the 561st Field Artillery battalion on the west edge of Ospern near us, but no casualties or damage were caused. There was plenty of machine gun fire around us.

At some point during the day, we went into a house and took over the dining room for awhile to get warm, then seven of us went back to the house where Bruno and I had washed the night before. All of us got to wash with hot water, quite a treat for Christmas Eve. Okie's rejoining us was another cause for rejoicing. He had been on KP at VIII rest camp at Arlon, the rest camp naturally having been disbanded. He brought candy and peanuts, appropriate treats for Christmas Eve. This was the first time since 16 December that we'd spent two nights in the same village.

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