Sunday, 31 December-Cliff Hope

New Year's Eve and we were geographically in almost the same place we had been on December 20. The difference was that we were advancing, not retreating. The VIII Corps offensive was progressing. Rochefort, at the tip of the German salient, was recaptured by American Third Army troops. A day of survey took us from the Recogne road junction to within five kilometers of St. Hubert. That night we moved into a schoolhouse in Libramont. There was a stove but as usual, no lights. Libramont had been bombed often in the past week or so. The old year ended, not with a bang but a whimper in my diary: "My feet are finally beginning to feel the effects of prolonged cold. My toes hurt whenever my feet warm up. Quite a New Year's Eve. Dead tired and no cognac. I should think of something more worthwhile to say, but am too exhausted to do much more than stare stupidly into the gasoline lamp on the table before me."
Our battalion was luckier than most. Since landing in France in mid-August, we had suffered three killed and nine missing in action, a low casualty rate statistically. But that was little comfort to those men and their families.

Comments

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

Search This Blog