I’ve known many World War II heroes in my life. But most of them didn’t emphasize this often little-known fact about themselves to others. The years they spent in the war never came up in conversation, except sometimes incidentally. My Dad, three of his brothers, and three of my mother’s brothers served in WWII and came home with medals. In my Dad’s case, he received a Purple Heart, two Oak Leaves (essentially 2 additional Purple Hearts), four  Presidential Unit Citations, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon, and a Combat Infantry Badge.  He also came home with a piece of shrapnel still behind his ear. He never talked about it.

I don’t think my Dad ever knew the profound impact his years of service had on the world. There are two kinds of heroes. Heroes who shine in the face of adversity, who perform an amazing feat in a difficult situation. And heroes who live among us, who do their work unceremoniously, unnoticed, but who make a difference in the lives of others. My dad was a hero in both regards.

Last week, I was able to spend some time in the company of WWII veterans who are also heroes.  They came to the Netherlands to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands. One American veteran named Armando Marquez, ninety years young, was in the 101st Airborne and dropped into the Netherlands in 1944 during Operation Market Garden. He was flown by the Dutch government from El Paso, Texas to the Netherlands with his wife Christina of sixty-six years and his daughter Martha to attend the week-long ceremonies to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Liberation. I met with him at a lunch stop in a tank and military vehicle procession and got to know a little bit about him. We bonded as fellow Texans, he said he was glad to know someone from home. This was his first trip back to Europe since the war. In coming back, I think he was starting to know the impact his service made on this world. His regret was that from his company, he was the only still living.

Many attending the procession wanted Armando’s autograph, some wanted to ask him questions about the war, and others just wanted to say thank you. During our conversation, we were interrupted many times by others who wanted some of his time. I commented to him that he was like a “rock star”, considering the following he had among the attendees. I asked his wife if he told any stories of the war and she mentioned that he wouldn’t keep quiet about it. Armando leaned over and said he only told the good stories.

Armando’s first jump during combat was in Normandy and his second jump during Operation Market Garden, when he landed in Son, Netherlands. He lost his helmet during the jump and grabbed one from a soldier who unfortunately would not need his after his jump. In Armando’s home in El Paso, he has a photo of a German tank in the streets of Eindhoven, newly decorated with American flags after the liberation.

Later, I asked Armando if he realized that these people thought he was a hero. I mentioned to him I talked to a gentleman during the procession who was a eight-year-old boy during the Liberation of Eindhoven seventy years earlier. This man remembered the tanks and military men in the streets that day and in his mind, those men saved his family and his country. Armando smiled and didn’t answer for a while. He said that he supposed that perhaps they thought he was. His smile was slow. It is worth celebrating seventy years if for only to let one veteran know that his courageous efforts and service in the World War II really mattered. Armando is an ordinary hero from Texas whose actions seventy years ago defined greatness.

My Dad was in the infantry in WWII, serving in the Africa and Sicily campaign under General George Patton, then in Normandy and finally in Germany, where he was located in the Huertgen and Ardennes forest during the Battle of the Bulge. Last summer with my sister, we retraced his steps in Normandy and Germany and I have blogged about our experience there. Next summer we are going to find the spot near Mt. Etna in Sicily where he was injured the first of three times during the war. In recreating my Dad’s steps in WWII over the last 15 years, I have become extremely interested in learning about the war, and what his experience may have been like when he served, as well as the experience of other soldiers and civilians.

When my friends Kate and Lee from Austin came to visit, we took a weekend to visit Luxembourg and Bastogne, Belgium to see the area when the majority of the Battle of the Bulge was fought in the Ardennes forest and also to visit the American Cemetery in Luxembourg where Patton is buried.

 

We started in Luxembourg City. We had previously booked a bicycle ride in the Moselle Wine region to visit some wineries. This was cancelled right before our trip, so we ventured in to Luxembourg City to see what we might find there. What a treat it was! Luxembourg was started in the early Middle Ages because it was at the crossroads of two Roman roads. A huge castle was built and over the years, it became an important fortification in early Europe. It has been occupied by the Burgundians, the Spanish, the French, the Spanish again, the Austrians, the French again, and then the Prussians. Germany invaded and headquartered here during WWII and finally after the war,  it was restored as it’s own nation. There are tunnels, walls, gardens, an old abbey,  viaducts, and a Catholic church dating back to the 12th century. The topography drops over 230 feet (or 70m) and it is very picturesque.

Walking through the area, it is a bit like a 3D maze because of the topography of the area. It is possible to look out across the city to see where you want to go, but have no idea how to get there. We climbed and descended the landscape to uncover all the treasures in the city. The best part of the day was finding the elevator and the biggest surprise was hearing the screeching air raid sirens to commemorate the one hundred years since the start of WWI in Luxembourg. The noise was ear-splitting and it is always a bit scary to hear air raid sirens. We later enjoyed a typical Luxembourg dinner (passed on getting the pig knuckles) and local brew. A couple of bachelor parties found us and whatever the tradition is, we were given a carrot by the future groom. I am not sure I want to know what that might signify.

The next day we started early to visit the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, the second largest WWII cemetery in Europe. It is also where Patton was buried after his early death due to a car accident in Luxembourg shortly after the war. In paying respects to the soldiers of the war, I noticed a couple of brothers that were buried near each other, many graves of unknown soldiers, and a ceremony where a family had come to place flowers on the grave of a loved-one. Patton was originally buried among his soldiers, with the tradition that in death officers were buried alongside their troops. However, Patton’s body was moved to a special area in the cemetery after nearby graves were trampled because of the traffic due to visiting Patton’s grave site. I believe my Dad had seen Patton when Patton was his commander in Africa and Sicily after reading some After Action Reports of my Dad’s unit in Africa and Sicily, though I don’t know for sure. Patton spent much time in front of his troops to get them ready for battle.

After a short visit, we set off for Bastogne, Belgium to visit the Bastogne War Museum and Mardasson Memorial. It has been recently reopened in March of this year after extensively renovations. It focuses exclusively on the Bulge campaign and the story is told from the viewpoint of 4 characters: an American soldier, a German soldier, a female schoolteacher who was a member of the Belgian resistance, and a Belgian school boy who grew up during the war. It was only at the end of the museum tour that we realized that these characters were not made up – they were true stories about the lives of these four people during the war. I had been a little confused about the Belgian experience of WWII and this museum perfectly explained how Belgium was affected by the war and how they participated though defeated early by the Germans. I saw at the end what I believe to be the gun that my Dad started the war with – a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) machine gun which is a two-person assembly (one for the gun and the another for the stand and water cooling apparatus that is required). The Mardasson Memorial nearby talked specifically about my Dad’s unit during the Battle of the Bulge.

We left the Museum to find some original foxholes and to also see the area that was featured in the documentary “The Band of Brothers”. My Dad told the story of getting in trouble and reprimanded by an officer because either the manner he dug his foxholes or jumping in the foxhole that was dug for an officer.  While crossing the Meuse River at Hastiere, Belgium, all of my Dad’s unit was lost (except my Dad who was in the hospital after he was hit the second time in the war). My Dad arrived in Monschau, Germany after his second hospitalization and integrated new soldiers and officers into his unit. From what we’ve read of the battle, we believe he was the only veteran soldier left in his unit. Dad must have been devastated to know that his Army buddies of three years were gone. He also must have been affected to know that he would be away from home for his third Christmas.

We don’t have the details about the story around the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, but we have surmised that his officer apparently tried to tell him how to dig a foxhole. My Dad had actual war experience that the officer did not. My Dad dug the foxhole as directed, but also dug another foxhole to HIS specifications. When the air strafing started by the German Luftwaffe, my father jumped in the foxhole that he dug that he thought would better protect himself during the fighting. He faced discipline from his officers for not using the specified foxhole, but he survived the attack by using the one he dug the way he thought it should be done. Also, at one point, my Dad told me that he had a profound belief in God because every time he was hit in WWII, he knew that morning while rising from his foxhole that day, he would be hit that day. It was important for me to see a battle field and some actual foxholes.

My husband Paul loves to ride his bike. I rarely joined him in Texas, citing how uncomfortable I felt on the roads near Austin. He and his riding buddies ride on the side of the road right next to the cars and trucks. It scares me to ride there.

I feel differently about cycling after our move to Holland. Cycling is very easy here, with as many cycling roads (actual separate roads) here as there are for cars. Bikes have the right of way most of the time at intersections and if not, then there is a separate light for them. It is very flat in the Netherlands and the weather is cool – even in the summer. They have bike route system to travel the entire country, and maps that make it easy to use. I have a bike with bell and I feel like a kid again.

Paul’s German biking buddy Stefan (joining Paul on his last eight MS150 bike rides from Houston to Austin) cooked up a proposal for Paul and myself, his wife Petra and of course Stefan to bike the newly created cycling route from just outside Munich to Prague along the rivers. It is a total of 440km going along the Danube, Moldau, Malse, Otava, and  Vltava Rivers. The elevation from Munich to Ceske Zleby is more than I was comfortable with, so we agreed to start after the climbs and will ride 315 kilometers over five days to Prague. We’ll carry our stuff in panniers, and stop in pensions or zimmers along the route. These are usually a room in a private home with breakfast in rural areas, literally a bed and a breakfast. That also should be a part of the fun.

It took me several weeks to agree to this. Even with the ease of cycling and the enchanted idea of riding near rivers and castles, the thought of doing this terrified me. I spent countless hours finding and translating details about the ride. I got out the calculator and figured out the steepness of the climbs. I read blogs and heard about the busy traffic along parts of the route. I spent much time wondering how fit I am and could I even do this? After all, I was the fat kid in gym class. It finally came down to this question: What am going to regret more? Am I more afraid of dying or am I more afraid of not living?

I said yes.

I’ve been riding on weekends and several times during the week to get used to the bike seat and the miles. I’ve made a packing list that includes the essentials (after all, there is only room for what is essential). This past weekend Paul and I rode sixty-eight kilometers in the rain to Tilburg on the cycling paths from our apartment. We rode along the canals for much of the ride, passing through the woods to windmills, and area farms with goats, and miniature horses and baby deer.

I still don’t know if I can do this ride, but I’m open to the experience of trying it. The biggest adventure might be conquering those inner struggles rather the miles on the bike and the inclines. Stay tuned  . . .

©Copyright 2016, All rights reserved. KimberlyNixon.com

After my sister Jane and I and our husbands got back in the van from visiting the Douve River, Taking the Douve River , our guide Francois seemed to pick up speed traveling back roads that seemed to get more and more narrow. It seemed that he was on a mission to a new place. I sensed his urgency. We turned to the left and encountered gridlock with another car that wanted to turn where we needed to be. We maneuvered around the oncoming car and proceeded down a stone road that seemed to lead to nowhere. After several turns onto narrower roads,  Francois parked the van and turned off the ignition. We walked to a clearing and Francois announced that this was the location of the battlefield of Bois du Hommet near Tribehou, where our father was injured for the second time in the war.

We left the car and walked across the grassy field and I immediately felt this was hallowed ground. Could I really be in the same spot my Dad was in almost 70 years ago to the day? We stood near trees that were large and most probably present during this battle. I walked by one tree had a nick in it perhaps from getting hit with artillery fire. I thought of my Dad injured, laying in that field, already away from his family for just short of two years. His injury was a head injury, which grazed the top of his head and also resulted in shrapnel behind his ear. I always wondered how he could have gotten the shrapnel behind his ear if he was facing forward in battle. But after the seeing the scarred trees I surmised that the shrapnel from the artillery fire hit the tree, then hit my father. Was my Dad unconscious after the penetration of the shrapnel or did he realize the situation he was in? He told me when I was a child that when he was in the war, there was one morning that he woke and knew he was going to be hit that day. Was this that day?

It had rained quite a bit on the day of this battle, delaying and eventually canceling the air support that was to clear out the battlefield before they commenced. Dad was probably very wet from battle and from lying on the grass in the marsh after he was hit. It had rained much of our morning as well, so I could easily imagine that day for him.  I could feel him there and was honored that I could be in this place.

I stood where he was hit for a while with my sister and recreated the scene of where the Germans were shooting from and how the American soldiers had no cover in the open field. I tried to absorb the facts of the battle. I instead let the feelings of finding Dad in this place overcome me. Most importantly I felt gratitude that my father survived this, as difficult and scary as it must have been for him. That day, not too unlike every day he served our country, he was a hero. He almost gave it all so that we might be free. I stood in that place for quite a while to be with Dad.

My father didn’t know it at the time, but getting injured in this battle saved his life. Two months later on September 5^th, 1944 , just a couple of days before he was released from the hospital for the second time, his unit was totally annihilated crossing the Muese River at Heer & Hastiere, Belgium (the border between Belgium and Germany) by German troops who perched on the hilltops as they crossed. Had he not been in the hospital for this injury, he would have been killed in that battle with men he fought with for nearly two years. Getting wounded at Bois du Hommet  – or the injury in Sicily and the one in Germany – may not have been the greatest of his WWII pains. Losing all the soldiers in his unit may have been worse.

© Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. KimberlyNixon.com

Paul and I picked up my sister Jane and  her husband Bill at the ferry in Calais and then drove to Bayeux France, our base for our Normandy explorations of the battlefields and beaches. We had stopped for lunch in the delightful town Honfleur that was near the sea. A chapel was performing wedding every 30 minutes and there were several brides that rainy day. There were boats by the sea, a town carousel, and an organ grinder to boot. We drove on to our hotel Hotel D’Argouges, which was a very old building in the middle of Bayeux. It would be our staging ground for a few days to explore Dad’s haunts.

The next morning we met with Francois (http://www.europebattlefieldstours.com/About-us/About-us.html) a guide that we found on the web that was highly recommended by others online who taken this trip before us. We had given him a list of what we wanted to accomplish, our idea of where our Dad had been, and a specific task of finding the spot where our Dad was hit for the second time in the battle fields near Bois du Hommet. We wanted background information and wanted to know where the enemy was shooting from, what the soldier experience was, we wanted him to verify what we had found about specific battles and we wanted him to recreate for us the experience that our father may have had. It was a tall order for a 1 day tour, but Francois was up to the task.

The first stop of the day was to go to Utah beach. It was a rainy morning and uncommonly cold for this time of year. The beach was beautiful and we saw it at low tide as it would have been when the troops were coming ashore. It dawned on me as I set foot in the sand that this was it. This is what my sister Jane and I had been wanted for over 10 years, a chance to be where Dad was when he was in the war. I looked out at the water and saw him in the landing craft – jumping out and getting his balance before starting toward the shore. Would he have been seasick from the strong current in the English Channel? He would have been weighted down and likely carrying a large gun over his head to keep it dry. How did one make progress, taking steps toward a place that you didn’t really want to go? He already knew from personal experience what could happen in a war. In a very weird way, it bothered me that his pants would be wet and would stay wet for days. His socks would be soaked and he would not be able to dry them. His boots would  take him the 100 or so miles that would be required of him during his march through France. Did he think of his family, his other 3 brothers serving in the war? His 7 year old brother at home. We walked where he marched, but we still didn’t know how he felt about coming ashore. It was like becoming acquainted with our father again, with a different set of lenses on. When he was 22, it would have been usual to think about girls, food, and fun. Instead he had to focus on survival, carrying with him just what he needed to survive.

Our access to the beach, was his access off the beach to encounter the German soldiers. I imagined him trudging through the water with all the weight of equipment and gear, wondering when he would meet enemy fire as he had in Africa and Sicily. Our Dad came to this area June 10. We arrived June 23^rd and the weather was probably similar, though we had not received as much rain as they had that year. There were no cliffs to climb for him as they had at Omaha and I was grateful for that. There was also no enemy to meet him at first. Francoise explained the role of the paratroopers from the 82^nd airborne and the density of their effort to come ashore before my father did. They secured the area to prepare for the arrival of the infantry. I tried to put myself in his boots, imagining coming to a new country that needed his help. I collected some sand from the beach to take to my kids. It seemed right to take something away from that place to take home with me. It was a hallowed place.

When Dad came away from the beach area, he could see a church in the distance. He could also see the marshy flooded land and the hedgerows that could be hiding danger for him. I never totally envisioned what hedgerows would be until I saw them. They made great fences for the small farmers, but were ominous to the soldier. I had imagined my father seeing his enemy when he fought, but between the hedgerows and also the capability of the enemy gun as explained by our guide, I realized that my father rarely saw those that were shooting at him. Artillery fire and mortars launched, the enemy could be up to 2 miles away and be effective with their weaponry. They would only see them eye-to-eye only when they captured them or saw them lying on the ground injured or dead. I didn’t want to think about the casualties of war as we traveled off the beach.I know my father didn’t have a choice but to face it.

Francois, our guide,  explained the role of the paratroopers in securing the area before the infantry approached the area just south of the coast. Two tanks were used, first a bazooka to clear the enemy and push them further back and then a second tank to keep them from advancing to the US position.

We moved onto the Douve River Bridge and got a lesson from Francois about where the enemy was and the battle that took place at this bridgehead site. He further explained the difference between a bridge and a bridgehead. He gave us an early lesson on the importance of bridges during the entire war, both in France, Belgium, and Germany. There were three bridges in the area on the small country road. We parked the van and got out and really couldn’t understand why taking this bridge, this small bridge was so important to taking control of the area. There was water running in the small river, but it didn’t look ominous to get across. There had been rain and current was swift, but not so swift to prevent movement of people and supplies. Francois explained how marshy the area was during that particular time and also the flooded the field area was around that particular area. He explained where the enemy fire was coming from and how far this area was from where the majority of the US troops were.

I knew from reading After Action reports from the military that my Dad’s company was surrounded at times on three sides by the enemy and also that they went beyond their objective for the day. The men were running out of ammunition and the valiant effort that was required to fight the enemy at this particular battle. I really couldn’t connect what I was seeing with what my Dad went through to earn a Presidential Unit Citation. Taking the Douve River  Why is it so difficult to see our parents as people, to know them in a way other than a caretaker? It was sinking in to me that Dad was a hero long before he was a father. I felt like I was just beginning to know something about my father that I never considered before and that he never talked about: He, along with other young men,  saved the world from Hitler.

©Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. KimberlyNixon.com

Cherbourg and R&R

The troops continued into Cherbourg to cut off the peninsula and give the Allied troops control of the supply and shipping point, essentially the English Channel. They encountered open terrain, sparsely wooded, and hilly terrains. There was some enemy action, but at this point the enemy gave up and retreated to the city. On June 25^th, there were 1000+ German prisoners taken.

The 60^th continued toward Beaumont, France and encountered mines. The terrain was still hilly and the guys were running uphill towards gunfire, shooting as they are running. The next day Beaumont was taken.

Starting the next day July 1, the Cotentin Peninsula was conquered and the 9^th division got one week of R&R at les Pieux, a village southwest of Cherbourg and north of Barneville, France. It was a pup-tent city, complete with incessant rain. Almost everyone got mail, magazines, and small packages of food and other items from home. Uniforms were replenished, clothes were washed in streams, and hot food was given twice a day. One afternoon, a unit of Army’s special services division rolled up and setup a stage show with 8 French chorus girls, and 3 French burlesque-type comedians who had been taught some dirty American words. Card games were played and the radio was played.

Bois Du Hommet

On July 9^th, the troops prepared to continue the front and on the 10^th, they were in position to move with the 2^nd Battalion on the right. They met heavy resistance along the line occupied by the cavalry and some congestion on the road. On the 12^th, they were given the objective to take Bois du Hommet, (Bois translates to “woods”) which was designated as Objective B.

The woods were believed to be occupied in strength by the enemy and a 15 minute artillery preparation was ordered at 1345. The attack jumped off at 1400 and the leading battalions meeting with the only minor opposition reached the western edge of the woods at 1530.

The terrain west of the BOIS du Hommet end north of the village LES CHAMPS de Losque.  CHAMPS de LOSQUE forms a peninsula bounded on the east  and west by streams flowing through low marsh ground which had been inundated but at the date in question was for the most part passable except for the streams themselves. To the north of the peninsula is a piece of high ground in the form of an island in the marshland on which is situated the village of TRIBEHOU.  Reconnaissance patrols had established the fact that the enemy occupied TRIBEHOU in some force but little was known of the enemy strength in the peninsula to the south. Failure to find the enemy in the BOIS du Hommet was somewhat of a surprise, and accordingly the Regiment was ordered to take the northern part of the CHAMPS de LOSQUE designated as Objective “c”.  The 2^nd Battalion remained in reserve during this action in the southern parts of the BOIS du Hommet. Lt. Col Kauffman, commanding officer, 2^nd battalion, was wounded and evacuated during the night.

The enemy was able to observe our actions and during the night of the 12-13 July 1944, the enemy moved in all or parts of the 5^th Prcht Division. Lt. Col Shinberger reported for duty and was assigned to command the 2^nd battalion. The Regiment was disposed with the 3^rd Battalion occupied the northern tip of the CHAMPS de LOSQUE peninsula, the 1^st Battalion immediately south of the 3^rd Battalion on and in the vicinity of Hill 21 (391729) and the 2^nd Battalion in the southern part of the BOIS du Hommet. The immediate objective of the Regiment was the crossroads at Les Champs de Losque designated at Objective “k”. The attack originally scheduled for 100 hours 13 July 1944  was delayed to 1230, awaiting improvement of the weather to permit a bombing mission. The bombing mission was called off and at 1310 the attack jumped off after a 10 minute artillery preparation. The 1^st Battalion advanced south astride the TRIBEHOU – CHAMPS de LOSQUE Road and the 2^nd Battalion attacked in two columns from the southern edge of the BOIS de Hommet, using the two parallel unimproved roads at la FEUILLE (411721).

They met strong opposition both to the front and from the enemy flanking fire delivered from the REMILLY Sur LOZON Peninsula. Company E had crossed the main east and west road and was working west parallel to the main road on the southern side. The position around the crossroads was organized for the night with the 1^st Battalion on the right, 3^rd Battalion in the center and the 2^nd Battalion on the left. All three battalions were engaged throughout most of the night. While no organized counterattack seems to have been attempted the whole positions was subject to infiltration by small groups particularly across the low ground from REMILLY SUR LOZON. By 0800 on the morning of the 14^th July, the front was comparatively quiet and positions were adjusted and consolidated during the morning and early afternoon.

July 13^th was a rainy day and there was no air support as a result of it. Dad was injured during the fighting and received a head wound across the scalp. There was some shrapnel lodged behind his ear. His injury report mentioned that his wrist watch was broken. His belongings at the time were 2 watch bands, 1 flashlight, 2 tape lines, pictures, souvenir coins, scissors, souvenirs, 1 fountain pen, toilet articles, 3 knives, and no money. Little did my father know that this injury, as serious as it was, would save his life a few months later.

A letter postmarked July 23, 1944 from my Dad to his sister Bert from England 4130 US army hospital plant in England, Dad asked about Bert’s boys and her. He wanted her to know that he was feeling OK. He could write a book if the war was over, but it wouldn’t be of value to anyone. There was so much for him to tell, but he probably couldn’t write about details of the war. And perhaps the war experience escapes all words.

Another letter dated July 30, 1944 from the same hospital in England says “Mail comes in regular spurts, we move so darn fast mail can’t keep up.” He sent a photo of himself in battle dress for her to give to his mother. Perhaps he had written that letter earlier when he was actually fighting in Normandy before the injury.

On July 31, 1944, My grandmother Edith received a telegram that my Dad was seriously wounded in France on July 13, 1944. It is incredible to think that she found out 18 days later about his injury.

©Copyright 2016. All Rights Reserved. KimberlyNixon.com

My Dad was in Company E of the 2nd Battalion in the 9th Infantry Division of the Army. Here are details of the first battle after arriving in Normandy France. What courage and valor which resulted in a Presidential Unit Citation and being very successful in Normandy.

“Between June 14^th and June 16^th, Company E was extremely significant in winning several objectives near Orglandes. France.

On the 16^th of June at 5am, the Regiment resumed the attack and had the objective to reach a point just short of the Douve River at St Columbe with the goal of taking the bridgehead of the river. The river was flooded that year. Crossing the river was complicated by the extremely flooding that had occurred earlier that week. It was rough, country, muddy, and very hard-going for the infantrymen. Weapons couldn’t be carried on the vehicles, so the 60 pound guns had to be hand carried.

Company E, under the aggressive Captain Prindus got out ahead of the rest of the Battalion that first  night and was isolated for a time, being surrounded on 3 sides by the enemy. Company E was forced to dig in because there were Germans all around. The next morning a column of Germans went right by them on the road, with slung arms. Company took the whole column that morning Company E had more trouble getting back to the Battalion than they originally had in advancing to their position the first night.

Company E lead the way with a platoon of heavy machine guns attached, followed by F Company, then by G. Before reaching the corssroads, considerable quantities of enemy material were found abandoned, but there was no opposition at the crossroad. The  battalion regrouped. At 3pm, the Battalion had run into opposition at the crossroads with a MG fire from the north, coming from the houses up the road. The 2^nd platoon of E company immediately deployed, infiltrating across the road, and entered the orchards to the north of the cross roads and made a “helluva racket with rifles, BARS, and everything we had” says Sgt Burr, and others. They worked their way down to the houses and forced the surrender of the Jerries, 17 or 18 of them, after killing several. In the meantime, Pfc Daniel Smith one of the best gunners in the regiment entered the draw just West of the Cross road and picked off several Jerries to the North.

From the cross road the Battalion continued across country, making a wide arc to the North, for enemy tanks had been seen on the main road. E Co continued to lead, with the 1^st Platoon out ahead. St. Columbe was entered without opposition. While en route the Regimental Commanding Officer, Col Frederick J. De Rohan, had talked to Lt Col Michael Be Kauffman; Bn CO, and told him to try for the town of St. Colombe and attempt a bridgehead across the Douve. So the Bn pushed ahead, having kept up a rather fast pace all day. E Co crossed the Douve, taking the first bridge intact, but found the 2^nd bridge, over a sizable tributary, blown. This was no major obstacle to E’s advance, although the tanks, with the 2^nd Platoon of F co on them, decided they could not cross. The tanks received some artillery fire.

E Co was well on its way across the causeway, which was only about 35 feet wide, F Co following, when German shells began to fall. It was about 1600. The exact directions from which they came was hard to determine. Some thought it was friendly fire at first because it appeared to come from the left rear. Some fire came from the higher ground to the south, west of the river. Apparently the Battalion had passed some enemy artillery. The 1st platoon of H Co attached to E Co had remained just east of the bridge, and were set up, but the brush was thick and they had no fields of fire; one shell had just killed 4 Sargeants in the platoon! Word came back that E Co from Nehou also. Lt Thomas Wiggins, commanding the 1^st MG platoon, went forward to reconnoiter, sent back for Sgt Albert Shelby, section Sgt, but he was hit while attempting to go forward, and died later. The platoon was now badly depleted and demoralized. Corporal Mack Quinn took over the platoon and tried to reorganize it. There were several casualties in the platoon, everyone was hollering for medics, and men started streaming back from across the river. The machine gunners thought it was E co, the leading Co, falling back. Actually, it was F Co. (All of F Co had reached the main bridge when artillery hit it. Lt Allen had gone back to the 3^rd Bn for help and when he returned he found his platoon was strung along the road, single file). The 2^nd platoon had been ordered back to the main bridge on instructions of Col Kauffman, where all of the 2^nd platoon took up a position in one field to the left of the road, West of the bridge. One platoon of G Co was also in position on the opposite side of the road, across from the creamery.

What remained of the 1^st MG platoon started back also, more or less panicky as a result of the excitement of the last few minutes. The mortar platoon of M Co. had taken up positions on the higher ground just on the East edge of St Colombe and was firing into Nehou and the surrounding orchards. Its vehicles were in the orchards to the left of the road.

Capt West immediately reorganized his MG platoons. The leader of the 2^nd platoon had started back with his platoon, for which the Capt relieved him because it had been done without orders. Because of the shortage of leaders Capt West dissolved the 1^st platoon, distributing the men between the 2^nd Platoon and the 3^rd platoon.

The 2^nd platoon of F Co stayed at the bridge only about 45 minutes. It had been intended they dig in there as a reserve for E Co. This was about 1900. The platoon was about half dug in when it was ordered to move back to town, to take up a position along the stone wall by the church, astride the road and in front of H Co. This area was shelled by the enemy, but they dug in nevertheless, preparing to form a perimeter defense around the town. The rest of F co had preceded the 2^nd platoon back to town and had begun setting up a defensive position. The 1^st platoon under St. Allen dug in front of H co to the right of the road; Lt Joseph Gallo put his 3^rd platoon in position to the 2^nd’s left. All this was done by dark.

All these difficulties, the artillery fire, fire from Nehou, the blown bridge and the shortage of ammunition caused a great deal of uncertainty for some time. Our tanks were firing on Nehou from St. Columbe, but they also ran out of ammunition. E and G Cos and part of F Co were getting direct fire from German weapons on the nose to the South. The Bn Commander, Col Kauffman, had left temporarily, apparently to get ammunition. Major Wolfe, Bn Ex Officer, came up about this time and also sent someone back for ammunition, then went to the 3^rd Bn to see if they were in a position to offer support. Upon his return he found Col Kauffman returning with a 2 ½ ton truck with ammunition (which, incidentally, crossed the blown bridge!).

All units were badly shaken, from the fire to the South and left rear and from the town of Nehou, but ammunition was brought in, M Co’s MG platoon joined E Co on the east edge of Nehou where E co went into position. The attack on Nehou, had to be postponed till the next day because of the lack of tank support, the approaching darkness and because of the bad shaking the Bn had taken that day. Most of E Co went into position SE of Nehou on a little knoll which the North/South road runs along, where it continued to get mortar fire from the enemy.  At 2200 artillery again fired, enemy and friendly. There was confusion in the units and units were badly mixed. F Co had pulled back to establish defense of St. Colombe – they were told to hold it at all costs.

During the night, the 3^rd Bn moved through the 2^nd and in the morning led the attack on Nehou at 0700. Nehou had been evacuated however. The 2^nd battalion came up, reaching the needed position about dawn. They dig in, slept for 2 hours, to the north of the road. That same morning Capt Sprindus (E Co) and col Kauffmann (Bn CO) made a reconnaissance up the road, meeting some MG fire, and planned the attack. E was to make the attack, from the gully which the right followed, south of the road. The attack was schedule for 0800. Capt Sprindus called the NCOs together (there were no officers with CO, except Capt Sprindus and the Executive Officer, Lt John Cookson), said “We’ve got to take these hills. Let’s show the Colonel we can do it without officers!” E Co began to infiltrate across the road to its LD along the RY in the gully. Sgt Burr took the 2^nd platoon across first. The 1^st squad crossed at the road junction at (006256) and the 2^nd squad 100 yards farther down the road (SE) and the 3^rd squad still another 100 yards east. The road was covered with MG and heavier gunfire from the hills and from the direction of Beaumont-Hague. One by one the men crossed the road in the vicinity of the RY; the 2^nd and 3^rd squads were hit by MG fire, and by mines in the field between the highway and the railway. The 1^st platoon followed the 2^nd and took up positions in the minefield. The 3^rd followed the 1^st and went into position between the other 2, in the Ry bed.

The attack was schedule for 0800, but there were delays, and it actually didn’t jump off till 0915. Smoke had been requested and delivered, at 0800, so it actually was no help to the attackers since they were an hour and 15 minutes late. There was no other support.

It was a typical Sprindus attack – 3 platoons abreast, 3 squads abreast in each, in skirmisher formation, who at the signal for the attack charged up the hill firing while moving. At the head of this Co was not the fabulous Capt Sprindus, who charged across the minefield on the right, cane in his right hand, map case in the left, with his pistol, as always, dangling in front, between his legs, his fatigues in shreds. His voice could always be heard above the others, and as he went forward he removed mine after mine to clear the way for those who followed. Most of the opposition came from Hill 179. While the 1^st and 2^nd Platoons went over this hill the 3^rd went up the draw between hills 179 and 175, swung to the west down the draw, circled hill 179 and advanced on the town up the river bed to the east of the road. While going through the draw the 3^rd platoon was at one time pinned down by an enemy emplacement on hill 179. Pc Vondershere maneuvered his 2^nd squad to take the position despite 4 casualties and heavy MG and mortar fire, enabling the Co to move ahead. The 1^st platoon took 70 prisoners on the way in.

Some Jerries left their positions up the road upon hearing the tanks, and took off for town. Col Kauffman now got on the road and told the tankers to get on into town and join E in mopping up. The tanks moved and one squad from the 2^nd platoon took each side of the street, clearing the houses. The attack lasted about 2 hours. The 3^rd platoon of E ran into MB fire to the SW of town, but there was no serious delay, and the town was entered at about 1130. E took 53 prisoners, including a Lt Col in a bunker just SW of town. The Jerries held out until they had thoroughly destroyed all radio equipment.  At noon came the German artillery. Prisoners said the town was going to be shelled, so the American units moved to the western edge, the shelling did follow. Shells fell everywhere, coming from the direction of Auderville. Most of the men took refuge in stone buildings. One shell hit a feather bed and for a minute, Sgt Burr said it looked as though it were snowing.

The attack on Beaumont-Hague was different from the fighting that had been done thus far. It was done on different terrain (across open, bare ground); it was made without supporting weapons with the exception of 2 LMGs with the 1^st platoon. The mortars couldn’t displace fast enough to give support; and it was an infantry assault, 3 squads abreast, 3 platoons abreast in skirmishers, the kind of a charge which could be easily associated with Capt Sprindus. We see it later at Sadoc Hill.

Major Sprindus was later wounded while commanding the 1^st Bn. Beaumont-Hague was a rather costly attack, for the Co suffered 28 casualties, 1/3 of them dead. But Beaumont-Hague was taken and the obstacle to the Cap removed, which had helped up the other 2 Bns for a couple of days. They had told E Co they’d never take the ground. But they did.

The 2^nd Battalion pushed ahead and captured 2/3 of the bridges keeping them intact and crossed the River, over achieving the goal of the day.

The 2^nd Battalion, 60^th Division of the 9^th Infantry was given a Presidential Unit Citation for these few days. It was considered in hindsight to be a major factor in cutting the peninsula to Cherbourg France and winning in Normandy.

Cherbourg and R&R

The troops continued into Cherbourg to cut off the peninsula and give the Allied troops control of the supply and shipping point, essentially the English Channel. They encountered open terrain, sparsely wooded, and hilly terrains. There was some enemy action, but at this point the enemy gave up and retreated to the city. On June 25^th, there were 1000+ German prisoners taken.

The 60^th continued toward the Beaumont, France and encountered mines. The terrain was still hilly and the guys were running uphill towards gunfire, shooting as they are running. The next day Beaumont was taken.

Starting the next day July 1, the Cotentin Peninsula was conquered and the 9^th division got one week of R&R at les Pieux, a village southwest of Cherbourg and north of Barneville. It was a pup-tent city, complete with incessant rain. Almost everyone got mail, magazines, and small packages of food and other items from home. Uniforms were replenished, clothes were washed in streams, and hot food was given twice a day. One afternoon, a unit of Army’s special services division rolled up and setup a stage show with 8 French chorus girls, and 3 French burlesque-type comedians who had been taught some dirty American words. Card games were played and the radio was played.”

**Taken from After-Action Reports Dated June 13 – 30.

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On June 6^th, the Liberty transport ships were loaded and Dad proceeded to the staging area at South Hampton England and was told he was headed to Utah Beach, which was less brutal terrain than Omaha Beach. Because his unit had military experience, they were chosen to go onto the beach days after the initial attack. Eisenhower had decided to expand the invasion of Normandy to include five landing places, three of them to be taken by the British and the rest to be taken by the Americans. Utah beach in the St. Mere Eglise area was named an American name specifically for invasion planning.  It was chosen because of the mess that had occurred at Omaha beach and because the approach was flatter to come ashore. He was supposed to be on the second day of D-Day, but storms delayed the departure by one day and the officers decided to take an additional day to better prepare the equipment for the sea voyage (wax epoxy was placed on the electrical wiring and snorkel extensions were put over the carburetor air intakes). They sailed from Dorchester, England on June 9^th, 1944, taking two days to cross the English Channel at the furthest distance from Dorchester.

Dad’s boat was one of the fifty fleet transports to cross that day. He was aboard a LCI, a landing craft that would hold 20 – 30   Infantrymen. He boarded the smaller boat from the Liberty transport ship at 0430 and they landed at 0930 on June 11^th,. The tide was low, but the men still had to march a hundred yards to get to the beach, all while wearing woolen pants and carrying their guns, their helmets, the gas masks, and back packs with their shelter – ½ of a pup tent -, an equipment belt containing their ammunition, K rations, first aid pouch and a water canteen. There was also a life belt with CO2 cartridges for inflation. It was reported to be about 50 pounds of equipment, not counting the heavy guns that they had to carry. We think Dad was carrying a Browning Automatic Rifle – that weighed 60 pounds. He would have walked ashore holding the gun over his head to keep it dry.

The Battalion marched through one of few causeways inland and then through a marshy area seven miles to Sebeville, France. There were a few casualties along the way: German soldiers, American paratroopers that had previously stormed the area to clear out the enemy and even a few French citizens. The hedgerows in the area were a problem to start. These thickly hatched bushes from 4 feet to 10 feet tall in rows along the road to demarcate farmer’s fields allowed the enemy to hide in the area and prevented the troops from marching straight over the marshes to their objective. The tanks were also not able to follow the path of the troops due to the obstacles of the hedgerows. A real breakthrough came when a tank sergeant improvised a large cutting blade to attach to the front of the tank to plow over the hedgerow, much like a snowplow. The troops dug trenches and settled in to enjoy their K rations, which came in a box about the size of cigarette cartons and was coated to keep it waterproof. In it were tins of Spam, cheese, powdered coffee, sugar, and a fruit bar. Hard chocolate was sometimes available but often they were so hard they were inedible. The regiment remained in bivouac at this location until June 13^th preparing for their first attack to commence on June 14^th. This battle would be the regiment’s first since the Sicilian campaign in August 1943, 10 months earlier.

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My husband I started our journey into the WWII past in Ieper Belgium. My father was not ever in this town that we know, though he did get R&R in Antwerp after the war and likely was in Brussels transporting trucks after the war was over. Our daughter’s fiancé’s parents live in this quaint town in northwestern Belgium and we decided to visit them to start our trip. We thought it would be mostly a social visit with our daughter’s future in-laws – and it certainly was a great visit. However quickly, my husband and I realized that Ieper as a very important WWI battleground where for 4 years the Germans – and the rest of the world would battle over essentially 2 – 3 miles of land. The lessons we learned here about war in general and honoring those who serve was an important introduction about war for the beginning of our trip. What is the Dutch word for serendipity?

The first night we visited with our hosts the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate where the names are inscribed of over 54,000 Commonwealth soldiers that died fighting in WWI – and whose bodies have never been found. At the ceremony that has been held nightly since 1927, buglers in uniform play the “Last Post” bugle call at 8pm to a somber crowd. There is a moment of silence. We witnessed this with over 500 people, including many school children, attending and there was complete silence as the soldiers were honored. School children laid poppy wreaths at the base of the memorial while these words are said “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.” The buglers close by playing Reveille. I was astounded that the ceremony was attended by so many and has been a nightly event for 86 years. There was a genuine appreciation for all soldiers who fought, but particularly those who gave all.

The next day this lesson in the reality of war further sunk in when we visited several of the 200 cemeteries in this small town. Seeing those white headstones of the Commonwealth soldiers near the former battlefields marked my first steps into my pilgrimage of my Dad’s experience. It was sobering in a way that I had not previously internalized. The memorials were so beautifully kept. There were flowers everywhere and the cemeteries were visited my many. There were soldiers that were only 15 years old. School children had made homemade wreaths and were given the instruction to find “their soldier” that had died and lay a poppy wreath on his grave (there were 4 women buried in the largest Tyne Cot cemetery however). 500,000 men lost their lives in one small town in Belgium. What a high price for trying to attain power and control over other countries.

We also visited the German cemetery with mass grave of 20,000 soldiers and the headstones of others that did not contain a name. It was my first heart-felt realization that war causes mothers of enemy soldiers to grieve as well. Were these soldiers fighting in something that they believed in? Or were they forced to do something they didn’t want to do? The wall around the memorial contained the names of the fallen and one last name was the same as my father’s German heritage surname with an “e” at the end. The officials at the cemetery keep an opening to the mass grave as they are still finding bodies from almost 100 years ago. We left the next morning to meet my sister in Calais, France with a new understanding of results of war. This lesson would serve me well on my trek across Europe visiting the hallowed ground of the battlefields that my Dad and many others sacrificed to keep free. The personal toll of war was sinking in for me.

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My sister Jane visited Winchester England on the first days of our European trip while my husband and I went to Ieper, Belgium to visit our daughter’s fiance’s parents (more on that later).  Jane met with a fellow who was a school boy of 13 when the American soldiers were stationed there. Actually, there were soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, as well as the British soldiers who were stationed there and were training for the D-Day invasion. My sister and her husband arrived 90 minutes late and Mr. Len Burke waited for her because he was so appreciative of how the American soldiers helped his country and also how they treated the citizens of Winchester. They particularly liked that the Americans were kind and were generous with their chewing gum and small change. The American soldiers were able to leave their barracks and training facility to come into town a few days per week. On their free time, the Americans played football (soccer) with the youth after school.

Mr. Burke toured the town with Jane and pointed her to the girl’s school that was an American hospital during the war. It is very likely that this hospital was where my father stayed for two months after his first injury in Sicily. According to Len’s recollections, air raids happened daily and the community had Zeppelin balloons afloat to keep the enemy airplanes from diving down into the town when they attacked. The balloons would entangle the plane and cause it to crash, so the enemy pilots stayed at a certain height during their bombing missions on England. At one point a school was bombed and 100 school children died during the bombing. Jane was able to tour the former barracks which once held 20 men to a room and are now million pound flats where the well-to-do live. A fountain is where the tarmac used to be where the troops would parade for review. Churchill and Eisenhower stood in front of this building and quite possibly our father marched before them. At least Churchill and Eisenhower saw the troops when my father was there. Jane visited the very same soil that my father was on for 10 months of his WWII tour (2 months in the hospital and 8 months of training with the rest of Operation Overlord troops from the US and Britain.).

The next day, Jane and Bill boarded a ferry from Dover to Calais France, where we would meet her. She crossed the English Channel to experience in a simplistic way the voyage my father took 69 years earlier on D-day plus four. It took my sister two hours to cross the channel as she sat in the executive lounge of the ferry. It took my Dad two days to cross in the open bow of a Liberty transport ship (LTS) with 200 other men. Dad was likely carrying a 60-pound Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and wondering what the enemy held for him. As he traveled to the shores of Normandy, he was sailed to secure the shores of liberty for essentially most of the world.

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