January 30th Journal entry and Cliff Hope-Back to St. Vith

Same view of St Vith after it was taken by Germans and re-taken by allied forces.

Jan 30 Control. St Vith towards Schoneburg (German Held)

St. Vith unrecognizable. Some streets not even there. No buildings left standing. Girls in house sewed on stripes and patches (8th Corps) for us. Lot of fun. They speak good English. Finy & Sidey

Lu, in Ray Hight's book: Toward the end of January, we went back through St. Vith , so different now from the last time we'd seen it on December 17. The town had been essentially leveled, with not much left standing. I remember trying to find some of our survey stakes along what used to be the main roads, without success. The feelings about the devastation of war were already a part of my being, so St. Vith was just one more shock. Here was a town that had been a fairly serene part of our lives in October, November, and early December. Now there was nothing left.

Cliff Hope
When I wrote home at the end of January, I reviewed everyday events---Bruno and I nearly always slept warmly, my feet were all right: "As long as the shoes can be removed at night, there's no danger of trench foot. "The cold seemed to make us feel more tired. I explained we were on the move most of the time, "but if we can keep pushing the Jerries back, it's certainly worth it...Everyone here is more interested in the Russian drive than anything else now. I hope by the time this reaches you they'll be at the gates of Berlin but of course everyone has been fooled on that score before and I refuse to make any more predictions." As I told my family, I knew certain sections of Belgium and Luxembourg better than I ever knew Kansas.

Keeping busy and on the move didn't ease my conscience on a matter that was always creeping up on me. As the month ended, we surveyed toward Schonberg, turning off at Setz and the area where we were on December 16th. It was cold, rainy and noisy---screaming meemies most of the day. I took pictures of seven German Prisoners brought in by the 87th Division Infantry. We didn't get in until dark. My toes ached from the cold and my head was weary with a day of regretting that I wasn't in the infantry.

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