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Post by thejeepgeneral on Apr 2, 2008 20:27:09 GMT -5
These are letters that my grandpa wrote to my grandma duruni the war. ;D
8 June 1945 Mayen Germany Darling Ruth: This has been a more or less dreary morning, cold and rainy. In the warmth of yesterday I turned my field jacket in for cleaning so I now more fully appreciate exactly how cold and damp it really is. Looked at the speedometer on my jeep the other day and got quite a surprise. It came to me brand new in the middle of March and now has over 4500 miles tallied up. All applied in the right direction that would bring me to you with enough left over for a good trip together
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Post by thejeepgeneral on Apr 2, 2008 20:42:42 GMT -5
ETO Ramblings by Lt. Gerald S. Pratt Jr. Bulge Remembered Episode #1 from Letter of 15 May 1945
Now that we can write I'll give you the start of our rambling In Europe completing it as time. Arrived in England having crossed on the Wakefield, formerly called the Manhattan, and moved immediately to Gloucester where during the next seven days we assembled our equipment. That was a day and night job done at a feverish pace. I managed to get out one night but there were some who did not do even that well. The trip from Weymouth England to Rouen required nearly as long as the ocean crossing for the LST had to lie over several days at La Havre. Half the battalion came ashore on one ship but five days waiting for the rest we took off without them for the Belgian front. They overtook us by forced marches on the second day in route.
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Post by thejeepgeneral on Apr 2, 2008 20:44:21 GMT -5
Bad Luck dogged us from the start. Crossing the mountains near Baroque de Fraiture in an ice storm the entire column became involved in a series of accidents killing one officer from service battery. For two nights we remained in a fir forest near St Vith readying equipment as readily as possible and drawing ammunition from Liege.
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Post by thejeepgeneral on Apr 2, 2008 20:45:58 GMT -5
Those were cold times with snow nearly waist deep and the ground still muddy underneath. I was fortunate having swiped a small wall tent from the dump at Rouen which I share with four others. When we relieved the Second division on the line they told us how fortunate we were as this front would remain stable all winter. Existing roads would not support a major attack from either direction and both sides were aware of this.
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Post by thejeepgeneral on Apr 2, 2008 20:47:34 GMT -5
Our new Position at Ruen just east of St Vith was still in Belgium but the firing batteries seven miles away were in Germany. We took over existing facilities and had a good set up though the location of the ammunition dump on a hillside was not entirely satisfactory, particularly as that hillside had been churned into a sea of mud that was sliding down the hill into our battery motor shop.
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Post by thejeepgeneral on Apr 2, 2008 20:50:43 GMT -5
The battery was quartered in 4 houses all shared with German speaking civilians who always seemed friendly though we did not like their presence and kept a pretty close watch over them. This seizing of quarters was new to me and I remember I balked at the idea of having women in the same house as this crew of wolves. One where the men in the train slept was rather good looking but we had no trouble on that note. There was hardly a family in Heum that didn't have a so or a husband in the German army some who said that they were coming home for Christmas, a meeting we intended interfere with. Didn't realize how many men they intended to brig along with them.
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Post by thejeepgeneral on Apr 2, 2008 20:52:28 GMT -5
The next few days were Calm with Smith complaining that the firing batteries were using too much ammunition and the dump was cutting down on him -- we were rationed. The offensive started the sixteenth with the batteries being heavily shelled and the infantry driven out of Blieaff which they retook in a counterattack (423rd) late in the afternoon. Our battery had one man killed outright when several rounds landed near the kitchen.
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Post by thejeepgeneral on Apr 2, 2008 20:54:54 GMT -5
We temporaily abandoned our hilltop position moving everyone into the valley and went peacefully to sleep. Just before I hit the hay near midnight Col. Lackey asked if I would mind flying in "one of those little airplanes"! Couldn!t have asked for more and I told him I sure would like to. He said "that's all" and I never heard from hm since. The following morning the Germans moved in on us and our great trek across Belgium began. Here ends the first installment. More to be continued in later letter.
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