G Company, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division

There were jeep and truck rides that forever pushed us forward, and at times we were held up by elements of the German Army that were only too happy to surrender. One such place was near Ellwangen on a hilltop. There was a huge church -- its yard and cemetery surrounded by a large stone wall.

Our elements tried various ways of breaking through, and it was here that Lieutenant John Wasiluiski, a former sergeant with a battlefield commission, had his hair parted from a 30 caliber of German origin. He had his head wrapped at the aid station and returned to duty. Eventually, we captured the church.

It was March. A town we moved into had the misfortune of having its Burgermeister (Mayor) shoot himself. Someone liberated the gun he used, but I just don't remember who it was. This same town was the jumping off place for Captain George Devine of G Company, as he was rotated to the States. I think he came to the Company about D plus 6, and remained with us till now. We wished him well and hated to see him go.

Lieutenant Paul Ingersoll, the Executive Officer, took command temporarily until Captain Stackhouse again returned to G Company.

It was now near spring, and the weather was getting better. It was no longer the smell of wet fir trees, of burnt gunpowder, of decayed feet. It was more open country now, and dryer. The armor was now more involved; roads were better. The deep mud was gone, but the war still remained, and there were casualties as before, although not as many. I was glad to leave the stink and the smell of the forests. The trucks groaning over log made roads with their cargoes of ammo, blankets, and K-rations coming in, and their load of dead Americans going out, covered only with a tarp, and their combat boots sticking out.

As we motored more rapidly into the heart of Germany, the soldiers were giving up by the hundreds, maybe thousands. We passed them and motioned them to keep moving toward the rear. I doubt that they all got processed. Our movements took us across the Rhine and south of Munich where our last big fight took place on the Lech River. Several days later, it was over. This was near the end of April.

My limited German, and now no need for a radio operator, made it possible for me to be a forward element that went to the Bamberg area to secure housing for the Company, prior to moving back to France.

It was while we were in tents in the Bamberg area that I was asked by 1st Sergeant Beileski to help him in the Orderly Room. After half a day, he was transferred to the 99th Division and Lieutenant Ingersoll asked me to take the position as 1st Sergeant. I had the most experience and, after viewing the past number of months, and trying to visualize what the future had in store, I decided I would take this new job.

April 1: We are now on motorized marches going into the heart of Germany. The Company stopped in a small town near Wurtzburg after a hot dusty ride. We were billeted in a small house with a widow, her married daughter and two small sons. The husband of the daughter was on the Russian front somewhere. German planes strafed outside the town, but no damage. Our AA Knocked down a two motor plane.

April 2: We walked about 8 miles to clean out a small town that was causing some trouble. All of the enemy had left, so the platoon sergeant and myself liberated a motor bike to ride back to our billets. We burned out the clutch on a hill, and discarded the bike. We walked the rest of the way. The women had tubs of hot water for us, and baked us some prune kuchen. They were happy to see us back, and the hot water and change of pace cooking helped our moral.

April 3: We moved to Ochsenfurt on the Main River. A nice house with running water, and canned fruit in the basement. There were Lots of liberated motor bikes in town. It was a real chore to keep them operational. Some guys strayed too far from town and were sniped at for a while. One was hit in the leg.

April 4: Last night a Jerry patrol came into town, and damaged some vehicles in the pool. A large warehouse in town opened for us, and we rescued cheese, sardines, knives, canned foods, cigarette lighters, and ersatz coffee. Lou Coppola was rolling a large cheese down the street looking for Jack King, the mail clerk. Said he wanted to mail this cheese home to his dad!!!!! It was about 8 feet thick, 36 to 40 inches high, and weighed about 150 pounds.

April 5: Four Jerry planes came over town this morning, and did a lot of strafing. Bieleski brought us more sardines and cheese. Shady Wires has the G.I.'s. Either he eats too much, or not at all.

April 6: A squad of us went down to Marktbriet, a few kilometers down the road, to clean it out. We are getting harassed from this area. We had the civilians turn in all weapons and cameras. Got a nice Luger and 25 automatic. Found a bottle of 1753 Champagne. It didn't last long. We are staying in a large brick building. Got another motor bike, as those in Ochsenfurt were taken away from us. A tank ran over mine about the time I got all the wires hooked up.

April 7: Patrolled a little across the river.

April 8: A quiet day, wrote letters. Pat got a package of canned, boned chicken, and we all helped him taste.

Submitted by his son David
Many thanks David.

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