Chapter 19 - Almost Lost

We moved about a lot after this from one division to another and one general's command to another. Of course, we had already done an awful lot of this. We had been in the First, Third and Ninth Armies, the Third, Eighth, and Twelfth Corps and had been attached to too many divisions to begin to name including the 7th Armored which we were with during our most crucial period. We received a Presidential Citation for our action during the Battle of the Bulge, and later on the king of Belgium gave us the Belgium Fourragere for the same action.

Sometime around the middle of April we were pulled out of action. We were attached to the Eighth Armored Division at that time. We, under their command, were to become part of the military government of Germany. I remember my section's command post was set up in an old house in a small village, and there is no way that I can remember its name. We had worked very hard a few weeks earlier getting all our equipment cleaned up, painted oil changed and lubricated. Then we had driven them down to a motor pool in Leipzeig, Germany, and lined them up neatly in rows and left them there to rust into junk.

Our time in Europe was drawing to a close, and rumors were everywhere about what was going to happen to us. Some of the older men in time of service began to get transferred home, but the vast majority of us didn't have enough points to be considered. The hottest rumor going was that we were to be sent straight to the South Pacific, in time for the invasion of Japan.

I had never given much thought to being killed in Europe, and had pretty much taken the attitude it just won't happen to me, but the thought of going to Japan really worried me a lot. I became much more concerned and apprehensive about what might happen to me, if we were sent to fight the Japs.