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

Belgium Feb 28, 1945 Dearest Bea, I don't know where I got the idea I'd find time to catch up on a little letter writing once I left action for awhile. Honest I'm working harder, longer and getting less sleep than I did out where the big guns roar. I can't tell you why all the fuss and commotion but maybe we'll get back into combat soon and get some rest. Gee, honey, I'm glad to hear about the expected new arrival-you're really going to get your family spaced just right aren't you? Now if that discharge will just come through for Ray, things will be plenty rosy. Needless to say sis, I certainly wish I could be there by the time the baby arrives. Things are getting away from me there at home. You and Leona should have a swell chance to get to know each other now. Wish I could. I'm getting to feel like a distant relative of some sort who never has the opportunity to drop around for a visit. Send my love & best wishes to Ray and write me

Feb 28 Classes-movie Marilu: I'm not sure what classes Lu was taking at this time. 

Feb 26,27 Field problem Rod-one day tape next.

Feb-25 Services and classes From:  https://www.sarahsundin.com/today-in-world-war-ii-history-february-25-1945/ Today in WWII history, February 25th 1945 US M26 Pershing tanks are first used in combat in Europe, by the US 3rd Armored Division near the Roer River. Cliff Hope: From 16 December until our arrival in Bleialf, it had been almost impossible to wash our clothes. At least, I hadn't done so. On the fourth Sunday of February, Bruno and I finally broke down and washed all our clothes except the ones we were wearing. I made proper note of the occasion in my diary, "Bruno and I went to show in afternoon and then returned to wash clothes in big pot outside--how we wever drove ourselves to do it beats me. I swear I'll never wash anything again." the pot was a huge iron one. We built a fire under it, filled it with water and threw in some soap and the clothes and brought it all to a boil. We made an attempt at rinsing our laundry, but soap reappeared in

Feb 24 Sat Classes. Dance in Pepinster. Pair of girls in slacks look like twins-Marcelle and Lillie-swell dancers.

Feb 23 Rod on survey around Charneaux. Critique at 7:00. Movie in Pepinster. Marilu: Looking at the map for Charneux and Pepinster Belgium, I can see Lu is now north of Luxembourg, St. Vith and Bastogne by some distance and maybe 10 miles north of Malmedy. 

Feb 22 Field problem computed. Mike base around Herve.

Feb 21 Day off but no pass. Marilu: From Lu's memorabilia, guidelines for German - American Relations now that German territory was being occupied. 

Feb 20 Got things straightened out. Assigned to B Battery sound survey. Blades and Cooper to flash survey. Have a bad case of G.I.s Lu, in Ray Hight's book: My work was now quite a bit different, as the 285th was a "letter" battery. We were dedicated to direct observations and operating the outposts, rather than a headquarters battery, where the focus was more in helping to set up observation outposts and put in the sound bases. I also now had an opportunity to see how the plotting boards worked and how the information looked when it came back from the observation posts. For the technology we had in those days, it was pretty doggone good! We did our best work at night when we could see the flash of the guns before we heard any sound. When we saw a flash from a gun firing, we would turn on our equipment to make sure we caught the sound before it hit the microphones. We held it on until after the sound had gone past us, then we would turn it back off again. This

Feb 19th Transferred to 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion "To help replace men lost by Battery 'B'-murdered by Germans December 17th. Roads to Bastogne nearly all out- one sea of mud. Red Cross doughnuts. Good roads to Pepinster (Near Viviers). Staying in Chateau. Lu, in Ray Hight's book: In early February I was shocked to receive orders transferring me to the 285th FAOB. The news made quite an impact on me when I realized that I was one of the replacement troops needed after the great loss of life in the 285th during the Malmedy Massacre on December 17, 1944. This knowledge left me feeling especially responsible, and initially a bit uneasy, knowing I was filling in for a man who had been killed. Cliff Hope: Within a few days Cpl. Lu Winsor, our note keeper, was transferred to the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, a transfer which I am certain was occasioned by the terrible losses suffered by the 285th in the Malmedy Massacre. I wa

Feb 18 Survey to Trig pt. 4th division jumped off at 04:00. Whole front moving.

  Feb 17 Day off-Lay around.

Teheran, February 16th 1945 My Dearest Son,  Your letter of February 1st with postmark February 3rd has just been received. I do appreciate such a letter, my boy. Written when you were fagged out, so to speak and at a time when you would have enjoyed relaxation with your thoughts, your newest picture of the little family & all. It brings renewed pleasure and satisfaction to me for I have assurance that you are OK, that you have faith in being able to pull thru safely, faith in the future and love and devotion to your family.  After all my boy, you are better off for having real work to do. So many of our boys grow stale and sour with inactivity. They must find diversion and they are fairly driven to drink and lax living and all that goes with an idle life. I cannot be specific-but that is one of the greatest curses of war and its results.  Hang on to yourself my boy, for this cursed thing will soon be over and you and we still have a lot of living to do when we fi

Feb 16 Trig. completed for SD base-under German observation from German pill boxes on ridge.

A Bill Mauldin cartoon from Stars and Stripes Feb 15 Survey in AUW to Kobschied. Trig. across valley. Two close shells, one air burst. Abney hits Puddle-Hand initiated. Marilu: I'm not making a lot of sense of the last of this entry Anyone have any insights? Cliff Hope : In a letter home I wrote about the beautiful weather we had enjoyed for two days, "clear sunshine with a few clouds. A week of this weather would dry up the mud, but as it is it's pretty soupy. We're living in a house now, not badly damaged, and it's been warm enough that we don't have to have a fire all day. There's no need to worry about fraternization with German civilians, because there are none here and I've seen very few in other places. The meals have been generally very good, particularly the breakfasts. I had an orange this morning. Incidentally, from what I've seen, I can't see that the great vaunted Nazi superstate has done much to improve the l

Feb 14 Stayed in - G.I.'s. C'47s dropped supplies again on hill back of Bleialf. Red, Blue & Green chutes. Cliff Hope: More supplies were dropped just west of Bleialf the next morning. There must have been about a hundred planes in all. Each plane dropped six chutes of varying colors. Some cartons, breaking away from the chutes, came hurtling down. Marilu: Here is another image from Lu's memorabilia-Ration card for military issue

Feb 13 Survey towards Prum. Germans observed rd. Threw 150's. We stopped when dough boy ahead was hit. Drove through Schnee Eifle forest fortifications. C 47's dropped supplies. Cliff Hope : Survey on the following day on the road junction east of the Schnee Eifel, south on the main highway to Prum, was abandoned after three kilometers because the area proved to be under enemy observation. A number of shells landed on either side of the road. The 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Division was along the road with mortars. Someone in the outfit asked me when they were going to be relieved. He said the 22nd Infantry took two-thirds of Prum just the night before. And then a full colonel stopped me to ask the way to Bleialf. I guessed he was going to pick up supplies that were being dropped by C-47s, escorted by P-47s, just as we returned. In traveling the length of the Schnee Eifel, we saw a number of pillboxes, painted green. Most of them were virtually undamaged, but one

Feb 12 Survey through AUW in heavy rain. Marilu: Here are the images of money from Lu's time in Luxembourg. 

Feb 11 1945  Somewhere in Germany Dearest  Mom, Don't let that little line scare you 'cause as far as safety goes there isn't much difference from what went on while I was in Belgium or Luxembourg. I can't tell you much that would be too exciting about this land of the supermen. The anti-tank dragon teeth and pill box fortifications are interesting as long as I don't have to storm them with the infantry. Some of those pill-boxes are really fixed up for living in. Nice bunks, stoves and even showers. I don't care so much for this German home better than the last barn I was in. For supermen they build things lower than central African pygmies. I've cracked my head on the top of the doorway to this room a dozen times today. Leona tells me (Jan 28th air mail, got yours of the 20th 3 days ago) you found out about the massacre of the Observation Battalion Battery from Wes. I'd hoped that it wouldn't come out 'cause I knew you'd worr

Feb 11 Stayed in with Mac on sick call to get suppositories for small hemorrhoid. Washed clothes. Marilu: Flashback! Here are some Belgian Franks from when Lu was in Belgium.... From his collection of memorabilia. 

From Cliff Hope's book, 'Growing Up in the Wartime Army' Feb 10 moved to Bleialf Germany Germany. Surveyed in Siegfried line to Brandscheid past pill boxes & mined fields. Saw HW 14 Jeep-Just a mass of tin. Cliff Hope: We moved to Bleialf, Germany, at the foot of the Schnee Eifel, on 10 February, and for the first time were living inside Germany at the base of the Siegfried Line. We stayed for three weeks. It was good to leave the large, cavernous barn with its memories of death. Our party had fairly good quarters in a house in Bleialf--four rooms with a stove in each and plenty of hay from a nearby barn for mattresses. For the first week in Bleialf, my diary reported observation along the Siegfried Line and such matters as washing clothes and taking my first shower in two months. While surveying from the road junction, Grosslangenfeld, to Habscheid, I took pictures of dragon's teeth (concrete barriers) and pillboxes on the side of a hill and two

Feb 9 Stayed in made up G.I. bed roll. Bill gave me Diamond I tried to pull out T.D. (7 ^) stuck behind barn) Marilu : I'm not sure what the diamond was...a gem?  Cliff Hope: "Thompson is dead," my diary stated on 9 February. "He is reported to have died before reaching the hospital, being 75% covered with burns. St. Troy (the supply sergeant) came up today to get his personal effects and clothing. It was a helluva feeling to watch Troy sorting out his clothes. There is plenty I could say about how Thompson was becoming a regular obsession with all members of the party, but all this must now rest...Party stayed in all day ---read and writing letters and tried to keep warm. We are moving to Bleialf." A paragraph in the after action report for 8 February gave more details: "The mission of Party #2 was marred by an unfortunate tragedy which resulted in the death of the Chief of Party, Staff Sergeant Gordon Thompson. Shortly after noon, Sgt. Thompso

From 'Growing Up in the Wartime Army' Feb. 8th Tried to triangulate to Brandscheid. Waited 5 hours for Chuck & Thompson. found they had gone up untraveled Rd. to B. SCH. Hit mine. Jeep demolished, Thompson 1st degree burns. Don't think he'll live. (30 Gal gas burned), Chuck thrown 40' from Jeep. Hope he isn't too badly hurt. Cliff Hope -A tragedy on 8 February was to change the small world of our survey section from that date until the end of the war. What we all believed to be inevitable happened. hompson and Wagner, riding in a jeep, ran over a mine near Brandscheid about noon. Out working on triangulation, some of us didn't learn about it until four hours later. The jeep was apparently headed down an uncleared road. mason and Hoppe told us.They and Gindele went to the site. The jeep was wrecked and burned. What wasn't burned had already been looted by GIs. An infantry staff sergeant said his hand pulled off burnt flesh when he tried

Feb 7 Too foggy to work picked up bayonet, canteen, etc. on hill back of barn. Two dead Germans, one torn up badly, two Americans also. M2's & equipment strewn everywhere. Tomy fixing up trailer Articles of War at 8:00 PM. Cliff Hope : Waking again to dreary rain, we returned to the benchmark near Bleialf but soon came back in because of fog. After lunch I went to church over at the command post for the first time in five weeks. Thompson was mad because nearly everyone had taken off. Some in the group, I wrote, "were trying to get somewhere with two babes here." I didn't join in that competition as I was still brooding over Christine.