lainhart1

One of Tad's friends spoke German, and he yelled for the Germans to come out within two minutes or they were going to get blasted again. All the GIs heard was moaning from the Germans. An officer ordered the GIs into the brush to flush out the Germans. Several wounded Germans were found and many different opinions were offered on what to do with them. One GI, that had been seriously wounded in Italy, took advantage of the Germans and killed the wounded. Three men were lightly wounded in the fight. The wounded F Company man was taken back to the aid station and treated.
Tad reflects in his memoirs, All American medic 1942-1945; "I know this story of the German wounded to be true, but we need to consider the circumstances at the time. We heard rumors of German atrocities and alerted to the possibility of Germans infiltrating our line, wearing American uniforms. We were cold, hungry, and far from home. The German soldier exemplified the reason we were there, eliminate the German soldier and we could go home. We had no knowledge of the Malmady Massacre had happened two days earlier. These rumors and facts developed into a feeling of hatred for the enemy soldiers."
The 325th went on the offensive in early January. They were back where they had started on December 23rd. Being a medic, and tending to wounded in the deep January snow was exhausting and trying for all. In February the 325th pushed through the Siegfried Line. Tad saw so many dead GIs that he stated he could walk on them, they were that close together. In the Spring of 1945 Tad and the 325th pushed into Germany. Crossing the Elbe River, the men of the 325th and Tad Lainhart met the Russians on May 4th. For an "All American Medic", the war was over.
Tad finished the war as a T-3 medic. With his dog "Morphine" Tad returned to civilian life a devout Christian. Tad became a salesman in the farm implement business, returing approximately ten years ago. These days Tad, at 84, still gets around, weather permitting, and ministers to nursing home residents in the Holton, Indiana, area.
Tad was awarded the Bronze Star and Good Conduct Medal during his service with the 325th. He also served with the 325th from the beginning (North Africa) to the surrender of Hitler's Reich. He is one of the few in the 325th to have been there all the way. I met Tad for the first time at the 325th reunion in Charleston, South Carolina (1999). Tad is a small man (most people are small compared to me) and deeply devoted to his belief in Christianity. He approached me, after the banquet on Saturday night, with a small vest with several patches on it. Tad stated that the vest belonged to his dog, Morphine. Made by a French girl from old blankets, the vest had 82nd and 17th Airborne patches, PFC stripes, and three overseas rockers. Tad stated he had brought the vest along to give me. I fell all over myself thanking him for the gift. As he handed it to me, he looked me in the eye and said, "Remember Morphine!" In a breaking voice, he quickly turned away. I was stunned and silent... this man had just given me a very important piece of his past for safekeeping. After regaining my composure, I again thanked him for his gift and we talked some more.
I have remnained in touch with Tad in a regular basis. He recently sent me some interesting German documents, obtained by a young man in Holland, that show 325th positions during the Battle of the Bulge and a great picture of the Nijmegen bridge.