We sailed about 6 am as I said but having just come on board and still excited I was awake and was on deck to watch the statute of Liberty pass by. There were very few others awake at this time to see what I saw. The ship took six days to cross to Glasgow Scotland. Normally it took three but because of submarines we went far south to avoid them. One of two English ports deep enough to accommodate the big ship.
On the way over we were fed twice a day. For breakfast we had scrambled eggs and orange marmalade. To this day I do not like marmalade much. Some soldiers put out a daily little newspaper. Mostly about how the war was going. I have a copy of this to this day. There was nothing to do except watch the ocean which I liked to do or gamble which I did not like. I learned early I could not win by gambling. Even today I don't think it is a way to make money. To the point I do not even buy lottery tickets with its million dollar winning tickets.
When we arrived in Glasgow Scotland because we were the last on we were the first off. I would guess it took a week to unload because we had to be unloaded by lighter which is a barge like conveyance. The ship went to Glasgow because the east coast of England was under attack from V2 rockets. Being a soldier we were not even told of the rocket attacks upon England. So I didn't even know about them until after the war.
They took us immediately to the train where before they closed the windows and pulled the shades some nice Scottish Red Cross girls gave us coffee. One of them tried to hurry and fell spilling her coffee. We all felt bad to see her fall.
The next time we saw the light of day was in Southampton on the south end of England on the English channel.
We were immediately put on board an old dirty Polish ship and as soon as it was loaded set out across the English channel. Because the train was blacked out on our way to Southampton we saw no evidence of the war. But in Southampton the harbor was in a shambles from bombing. We were more curious than having any fear or trepidation.
Our
destination was LeHarve France on the English channel. This port had been severely damaged also from American and British bombs. We had to march through the town to get to one of the cigarette named camps out of town. Passing through the town we were observed by impassive French people looking out the windows at us. Some soldiers threw candy and gum towards those looking out the windows in the upper floors. For some reason those French didn't seem very friendly and we found out why later. The reason was that Allied bombing had killed about 25,000 French in Le Harve while trying to destroy the harbor and railroad terminal while the Germans occupied city. The idea of surgical strikes didn't originate with current day propaganda about smart bombs. They talked about pinpoint bombing in WW2. The Norton bomb sight was to aim the bombs for pin point accuracy. But it was American bombs that killed the 25,000 French. The British were worse. They essentially just closed their eyes and pulled the lever. If they got within miles they were lucky. But when you are aiming for an entire city what difference does it make if a few bombs hit some farms. To disparage Airforce aim does not disparage Airforce courage. They died like the ground soldier. In fact when I went to the Cemetery at Anzio in the '80's it seemed as if about half the 7,000 graves were Airforce men.My stay in the camp on the edge of Le Harve was three days. Then we were marched back to the RR yards near the harbor. For a latrine at the RR yards there was only a fence between the staging area and the latrines. But what was funny was on other side was the town. In other words any privacy was for soldiers not the people of the town. You could see people hanging out the windows looking over at us. Spies???
We were loaded onto a French passenger train. There were about 6 people in a compartment. Just like the old movies. Two benches facing each other across the train width. Racks above for bags. No way to lie down. Just sit up for a couple days. Occasionally there would be a rest stop in one of the fields. This was the most miserable train ride in my life. Try sitting up for a couple days and see how fun it is. North of Paris we stopped along side a train of German prisoners going the other way. They were packed into coal cars which is an open car with sides about 4 feet high to hold coal. They were packed so tight if one died he could not have fallen down. I could have learned something if I had listened to one guy in our car who was talking German to them. Instead I spouted off why didn't he get in with them. They had done a pretty good number on me and I mindlessly went along with hate the enemy no matter what facts were. Our train ride was sumptuous compared to the cruelty these men were treated to.
But on we went up into Belgium where there had been much fighting. The tracks had been in very poor condition because of bombing and we were only able to go about 20 miles per hour. Even though at one place the last car jumped the track and had a rough ride until they could stop the train and put it back on the tracks.
Eventually we arrived in Verviers Belgium in the night. Like an old WW1 movie we debarked onto the platform of a blacked out town. We marched through the blacked out town for a mile or so until we arrive at the replacement depot where solders are kept until a permanent organization is found to assign them to. Pitch black. No one to show a light . A few went out to find a latrine. One fell into a hole in the dark and hurt himself. There may have been a few hundred men waiting for shipment to somewhere else. In a few days I and some others were
shipped out to just south of Luxembourg to Villerupt near the Maginot line in France. The Maginot line were French fortifications made prior to WW2 to protect France from Germany. It was massive concrete fortifications. In this article you can see us standing near a couple.We stayed in one of what had been French barracks. It was below freezing every night. All we had for warmth was a blanket sleeping bag. This is comprised of a wool blanket closed with a zipper. I slept in my clothes but still could not get warm. This is until I started putting my jacket around my feet. Once they were warm I kept pretty warm.
The French had a strange stove for heat. We had a little coal to make a fire with. The only thing is it was lined with firebrick. The idea was I suppose was to get the brick hot then keep it hot. Unfortunately it took most of the day to get it warm. During the night of course the fire went out and the stove cooled down. To this day I wonder if that why the French lost the war so fast. If their army was not better planned than that stove.
The picture of Frank, Kay and me in the hotel shows why Generals like war so much. Not many have to rough it. They don't expect to get shot at either. We are sitting in the Hotel that had been the headquarters for the Army in Luxembourg. The hotel had big pictures posted on the walls of the Generals who stayed there. We stayed at the hotel too that's why we are sitting in the lobby. Even the General of 3rd DivArty had a trailer for to sleep in. So it was just a camping trip for him. I suppose he needed his rest to make his big decisions. Not like the foot slogger whose only decisions was just to stay alive.
I had an opportunity to visit Luxembourg city during my stay here. It was just a few miles north of Villerupt on the major highway in LuxembourgOne day we hopped on a truck and went to the red cross. Unfortunately we missed the truck coming back and had to hitchhike back. That wasn't so bad but we caught a ride in a jeep driven by a mad man I think coming back from the front. But we arrived in one piece no worse for the wear. I went back to Luxembourg city in 1984 with Kay and Frank Brown. We visited the Maginot line again by renting a car. We also visited the town Villerupt near by that I was able to visit several times in WW2. I and a buddy met a Frenchman who gave us a drink and talked to us while some of the others visited the Army run brothel. The Japanese were not the only ones to have Comfort Girls in WW2 although the girls provided for the GI's were not prisoners but French volunteers.But eventually the war moved on ahead of us into Germany so we moved again then to Worms Germany. The end of the war was now only about 2 weeks away. We were in a camp with tents occupied by perhaps a thousand men. I have a picture of myself somewhere with the other men in the tent when the war ended. Before the war ended I was able to see the German boys and girls play around the camp. Some were in very bad shape from malnutrition. One boy in particular I remember trying to keep up with the others who were not in such bad shape. I don't remember now of feeling particularly sorry for him. Today I would have definitely compassion for his condition.
So the war ended when I was in Worms. Shortly after that I was shipped out to Salzburg Austria and assigned to Hq Brtry, 3rd Inf. Div. Artillery.
Now the war is over and the divisions job was to disarm the Austrians. It was here that the incident happened that made this present trip to Austria. One day two little Austrian girls about 5 years old walked by. I stooped down and picked them up. Someone with a camera took our picture. I kept that picture for years. About 25 years ago I made it into a poster size picture and put it on my wall. All these years I have had to look at the picture and wonder what happened to them. Times were bad for the people of Salzburg. I have a picture of me sitting at the wheel of a truck while it is being unloaded at the garbage dump. At the same time the Austrians are picking over the refuse for something usable. Even a year later in Germany the German kids were outside American Army mess halls to take the soldiers leftovers to eat
I liked Salzburg because it was not destroyed and was such a center of culture. Our division managed to organize some concerts and entertainmentin some of the famous places in Salzburg. But eventually we were shipped into Germany for serious occupation. We went up towards Kassel. DivArty HQ was at a little town of Melsungen. In an old RR barracks for railraod workers. Occasionally we would get up real early and make a sweep through the towns and villages looking for arms. No doubt a certain amount of looting went on too. The GI's started out OK but after 2 or 3 hours tramping up and down several flights of stairs There wasn't a lot of searching going on.
Division Artillery is composed of several battalions of Artillery (cannon) battalions and and other support organizations. Because we were occupying defeated Germany parts of the Division Artillery were billeted in various little towns in the part of Germany just south of Kassel. A platoon here and a platoon there. All under the command of the General of Division Artillery. Commonly known as DivArty. Where we were stationed was just across the river from the little town of Melsungen. The railroad ran along the river and up the hill a few hundred feet the Germans had built Barracks to house railroad workers. Headquarters Battery took over the barracks and used these to direct DivArty operations. Times were quite easy. We were still however not getting good rations even 4 months after the war ended. We still had to eat lots of K rations which was for that day and age meals ready to eat that the Army now uses. Not even real coffee as I think the cooks were selling it on the black market. So we drank instant coffee or tea.
One day I was assigned to be the driver for the executive officer. This officer is the next in command of DivArty and acts as a gofer for the commanding general. The general says gofer this and gofer that. His old driver got fired because he got drunk and drove him into a ditch.
I went up to the officers club to pick him up, which was at the end of a long narrow driveway. When I picked him up and went out the driveway there was a sharp turn with a ditch overgrown with grass and weeds which I couldn't see. So I made a turn and let the right rear wheel drop into the ditch and let the colonel bounce against the ceiling of the car when it dropped into the ditch. He growled, ôGudgelö if you cant do better than that I will fire you now. We got along better soon. In one instance he had been trying to get his uniform repaired. For some reason no one could find a tailor. He gave the job to me and all I did was ask around the Germans and one told me of a taylor in a small town nearby. So I went and had it fixed. When I was done there were others standing around and he asked me how I located tailor. I simply said "ask questions" This didn't help me in being promoted to Sgt. later because the Company commander told me to be a Sgt you have to be a soldier and I was not a soldier.
That was the only time he had a complaint as a while after that he liked me well enough to be his orderly. Just another way of saying servant. That idea I didn't like so turned him down. As the Colonels driver I was assigned to interesting places to go running errands for him. Several times I drove to Le Harve to take officers who were to take the boat to return home to America. The railroads were not in operation due to the bombing. Each time I got to go through Paris
One time another guy and I took the Mercedes-Benz to Le Harve. Several hundred miles away. This large limousine had been owned by a high up Nazi official. The division took it over and used it to carry the General around at times.
The autobahn (Freeways) didn't have much traffic. One time when I was driving a jeep I went from Frankfurt to Kassel without taking my foot off the floor on the throttle of the jeep A WW2 jeep will do 67 mph flat out. Down hill more of course. Up hill less. But on the flat 67 miles per hour. Another time I was driving a 1942 buick which the division had acquired somehow. I wanted to see how fast it would go. Still no traffic as the only vehicles on the road were U.S. Military vehicles. So I floored the throttle and when getting to top speed about 93 miles per hour when I heard a rushing sound like another vehicle was trying to pass me. This really scared me as I thought I was the only one on the road. But the mystery was cleared up shortly because in my vision in the windshield a P 38 lightning fighter zoomed past. If this had been during the war I would have been dead meat. He would have had me for sure.
At times we visited German Prisoners as we kept them penned up for years after the war denazifying them. When you force someone to change their views it's called brainwashingö.
When I returned home in June 1946 we were on a track opposite of a train carrying German prisoners to freedom.
A good book to read about German prisoners in POW camps is the book by James Bacque called Other Losses
After a few months in Melsungen we were transferred south to a totally demolished town named Darmstadt. A little town of about 100,000 people that had been demolished by bombing even though there was no War industry in the town. We were put in permanent barracks in an old German army camp. Called the Emil Ludwig Kasserne. Darmstadt was totally demolished. Not one building left standing that I remember in the town except on the fringes. The end of the war was almost upon the combatants. 30 or 40 thousand women and children died in a few minutes to satisfy the butchery that comes out of war. For no reason.
composed of several battalions of Artillery (cannon) communications battalions, and other support organizations. Because we were occupying defeated Germany parts of the Division Artillery were billeted in various little towns in the part of Germany just south of Kassel. A platoon here and a platoon there. All under the command of the General of Division Artillery. Commonly known as DivArty. Where we were stationed was just across the river from the little town of Melsungen. The railroad ran along the river and up the hill a few hundred feet the Germans had built Barracks to house railroad workers. Headquarters Battery took over the barracks and used these to direct DivArty operations. Times were quite easy. We werDivision Artillery ise still however not getting good rations even 4 months after the war ended. We still had to eat lots of K rations which was for that day and age meals, ready to eat that the Army now uses. Not even real coffee as I think the cooks were selling it on the black market. So we drank instant coffee or tea.
One day I was assigned to be the driver for the executive officer. This officer is the next in command of DivArty and acts as a gofer for the general. The general says gofer this and gofer that. His old driver got fired because he got drunk and drove him into a ditch.
I went up to the officers club to pick him up, which was at the end of a long narrow driveway. When I picked him up and went out the driveway there was a sharp turn with a ditch overgrown with grass and weeds which I couldn't see. So I made a turn and let the right rear wheel drop into the ditch and let the colonel bounce against the ceiling of the car when it dropped into the ditch. He growled, ôGudgelö if you cant do better than that I will fire you now.
That was the only time he had a complaint as a while after that he liked me well enough to be his orderly . Just another way of saying servant. That idea I didn't like so turned him down. As the Colonels driver I was assigned to interesting places to go running errands for him. Several times I drove to Le Harve to take officers who were to take the boat to return home to America. The railroads were not in operation due to the bombing. Each time I got to go through Paris One time another guy and I took the Mercedes-Benz to Le Harve. Several hundred miles away. This large limousine had been owned by a high up Nazi official. The division took it over and used it to carry the General around at times.
The autobahn (Freeways) didn't have much traffic. One time when I was driving a jeep I went from Frankfurt to Kassel without taking my foot off the floor on the throttle of the jeep A WW2 jeep will do 67 mph flat out. Down hill more of course. Up hill less. But on the flat 67 miles per hour. Another time I was driving a 1942 buick which the division had acquired somehow. I wanted to see how fast it would go. Still no traffic as the only vehicles on the road were U.S. Military vehicles. So I floored the throttle and when getting to top speed about 93 miles per hour when I heard a rushing sound like another vehicle was trying to pass me. This really scared me as I thought I was the only one on the road. But the mystery was cleared up shortly because in my vision in the windshield a P 38 lightning fighter zoomed past. If this had been during the war I would have been dead meat. He would have had me for sure.
At times we visited German Prisoners as we kept them penned up for years after the war denazifying them. When you force someone to change their views it's called brainwashing . When I returned home in June 1946 we were on a track opposite of a train carrying German prisoners to freedom.
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