May 11th Journal Entry-Moving wounded

May 11 Moved 100 or more wounded German soldiers to another hospital so battery could take over the place-mostly amputation cases.

Lu from Ray Hight's book; When the end of the war in Europe was declared in May 1945, we shifted to helping the civilians, who were deeply strapped for food and shelter. We pulled back to Meiningen, a "hospital town" that had already been designated as Russian territory. Most of the injured men in the hospital were sergeants and enlisted SS troops who had just been following orders. They were frantic about what was going to happen to them once the Russians arrived. There was nothing we could do for them, and we actually felt sorry for them because we knew what might be coming.

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November 4th 1945 Embarkation! Headed Home on the USS Westerly Victory ship

Watch for Lu's binoculars in many of his photos. They might be his best used acquisition from the war. This mimeographed newsletter is an interesting view into the voyage home.

July 20 1945 Letter to Mom

Bensheim Germany July 20th 1945 Dearest Mom, I started to get a letter off to you last night about midnight. I was corporal of the guard on duty in the orderly room. But an electrical storm was commencing and I no sooner got paper and pen out than a crash of lightning hit the power relay station nearby and all the lights went out. That storm was a beaut. Great jagged forks of lightning playing everywhere and the thunder sounded like all the artillery in the E.T.O. (European theater of operations) was sounding off in unison. In between flashes it was pitch black but most of the time (for about a half hour) you could read street signs a block away it was so bright. One triple forked bolt lit up the castle up on the hill and really made an eerie scene. You (You) know this is the first place I've seen actual balls of lightning. They looked like balls of fire. Mail came in at last yesterday. A big batch of it and it was really swell to hear what's going on at hom...

August 29th Journal Entry-Hedgerow Fighting, Plougastel taken

29th SAME- Still eating K's & C's Germans blow 1 span of bridge-Plau. taken Lu from his memoirs: The infantry fighting, as the circle around Brest was tightened, was brutal. This was "hedgerow" country, which provided great defensive cover and a huge obstacle to attack forces. The countryside was covered with a patchwork of small fields, each surrounded by "hedgerows". Over centuries of cultivation dirt collected in the hedges that surrounded each field. The hedges gradually became raised on high walls of soil, some of them eight to ten feet thick. The brush and small trees that formed the hedges were cut, dried and used for fuel to heat and cook with. Since the stumps and roots were not disturbed, they grew back rapidly, and were an excellent source of energy. There was an entry way to each field, and cart roads back to the farm buildings but it was extremely dangerous for American Infantry to try to attack along these roads and through ...

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

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