Well, they're not German...

[Rich G]

Greg,

I don't know how I missed this thread and have just read it in it's entirety. Please post more of your Dad's accounts. I too would love to read more of them.

Regards

Rich

[Greg Sebring]

Greg,

I don't know how I missed this thread and have just read it in it's entirety. Please post more of your Dad's accounts. I too would love to read more of them.

Regards

Rich

Thanks Rich,

I thought the story how Dad got into the Airborne was also comical.

Dad was in England. The Allies were stockpiling supplies and equipment of all sorts along many the tree lined roads. Dad said the large canopys of the many trees hid the supplies from the air. One day at a very large camp, Dad went to mess for the noon day meal. Dad said inside the mess tent there was a sign that said,"Take all you want, but eat all you take". What they were serving that day was a pork steak of some sort. When Dad got to the meat server, he was given a very fatty/gristly piece. Well you have to know Dad...he does not eat fat (or gristle). Upon finishing his the meal, you had to show a 2nd LT that was standing at the door your mess tray. Dad ate what meat he could find on the piece but left the fat & gristle. When the 2nd LT saw the leftover piece on Dads tray he said,"Soldier,..you better go back in there and finish your meal". Dad said he looked at the 2nd LT and said," Sir, I didn't eat fat & gristle when I came in the army and I'm not going to eat it for you". With that, Dad tipped his tray and dumped the piece on the ground at the LT's feet and quickly walked off. Dad said it was a very busy and hectic area with lots of activity. Dad added when he got back to his tent and thought about what he had just done, he started to worry about his actions. Just then, he heard someone yell outside his tent,"Who wants to join the Airborne?" Dad exited his tent and hollared, "When do you leave?" The soldier replied,"3:00 PM today". Dad said,"Sign me up". When Dad reported to his new assignment, he went to his Captain to report his actions. Dad said the Captain laughed and said I have the report right here. With that, that Captain said the matter was "taken care of" and not to worry about it. Dad was put in a glider outfit and never heard anymore about incident.

Thank again for your interest,...

Greg

[Militaria Ace]

Great stories thanks for sharing them.

[Angel Farré]

Keep on going!!!!!!!!!!!

It's always a pleasure to hear this little stories from the war, this are what make war more human, please continue asking your father and putting here his answers.

Angel

[Fred Borgmann]

Purple Heart

Hello Marcus,

First, I must say I'm quite proud of Dad so if I get wordy please pass it off as just an admiring son...

Dad was in the 82nd Airborne, 319th Glider Field Artillery, A Battery. He landed on the Normandy Peninsula, June 6, 1944 around dawn not far from Ste. Mere Eglise. The 82nd liberated the town from the Germans and went on disrupt communications and create general havoc for the Germans to keep them from reenforcing the beach defenses. Once the Normandy campaign gained a strong foothold, he was shipped back to England to prepare for the Holland invasion. Dad sat in the co-pilots seat of the CG4A glider going into Holland (Operation Market Garden). He was assigned there because prior to his enlistment, he worked at the B-24 Liberator plant in Willow Run, MI. He installed the de-icing boots on the front edge of the stabilizers and some interior wiring. The rational they used to put Dad in the right seat was they told him you worked on bombers so you have more airplane experience than anyone else here!! Dad has told me that on the inbound flight the tow rope between the glider and the C-47 was made out of nylon and stretched considerably. coiled around the tow rope was a communication wire that allowed the glider to talk to the tow plane. Dad had the headphones on and when the flak started coming up heavy, the tow planes increased speed to the point they were were flying faster than the loaded gliders were designed for. The vibrations were shaking the gliders serevely. Dad said he told the tow pilot to slow down as their airspeed was in the red and the glider was badly shaking. The pilot responded,"You're coming with us so hang on". Dad said a flak shell burst between them and the tow plane and a piece of it struck the tow rope causing it to unwind a bit. They were able to release the tow rope and glide down toward the landing area. Dad said the pilot appeared to freeze up a bit as they were landing in a field with an approaching tree line and there wasn't enough room to safely land. When Dad saw the pilot not taking corrective action, he grabbed the wheel yoke and pulled it back all the way. Luckly, they had enough airspeed to climb up over the treeline then stall and sort of pancake into the adjacent field. Upon landing, the glider was not in trim and side skidded to a stop with the runners cutting a nice shallow trench before stopping. This was fortunate because it gave them some cover from the Germans who were spraying the field with machine gun fire. Their objectives were to secure the bridges at Nijmegen and Grave. The 319th fired 34,000 rounds of 75mm from their pack howitzers during the Holland campaign and was awarded the "Order of William" (Orange lanyard) to be worn of their uniforms.
The medals Dad was awarded were all common: ETO campaign ribbon with one invasion arrowhead and four battle stars, the Good Conduct Medal, an Army of occupation medal with "Berlin" clasp, and the WWII Victory medal. He qualified for the Purple Heart due to catching some schrapnel in his butt but never turned the paperwork after treatment to the Aid Station to get credit for it. He said he felt embarrassd at the time to get a medal for something like that. In retrospect, he wishes he did receive it as all awards were worth so many points and the guys with the highest point total got to come home first. Dad made it through the Bulge and crossed the Rhine near Cologne before meeting the Russians at Ludwigslust. He finished his tour in Berlin harassing the Russians like you wouldn't believe.

I've rambled on enough... I could tell you a dozen more but thats enough for now.

Thanks for showing interest...

Greg

Great stuff Greg! I'm glad you are recording all your dad's stories and sharing them with us. Regarding the Purple Heart that your dad is qualified for could he still apply for it? Since the wound is part of his record I hope you could convince him to apply. Fred

[PaulR]

The stories you told were awesome. A section in this forum for war stories would be great. It would be a real treat to log in daily to read stories as well as check out the Estand!!

Thank you again for sharing!

Sincerely
Paul Reck

[Greg Sebring]

Paul/Fred/Angel/Military Ace,

Thanks for your interest in Dad's war experience. I'll dig up some more photos and post them too. For now, I remember asking Dad how often they could bathe or take care of personal hygene while in the field and combat. Dad laughed and said you would go weeks and weeks before you might get a chance to clean up and replace worn out uniforms, etc. Winter time was the worst. Dad said the sweat, dirt, and grime would build up on your shirt cuffs and collar until it was shiny black. Dad said they would take a jerry can of gasoline off whatever vehicle was left unattended and rinse out their shirts in the gasoline. The gas apparently would quickly cut the sweat and oils and then the shirts were hung out to dry. When dry, they would take a sharp knife and scrape the cuffs and collar to raise the knap of the wool. Dad said it made the shifts softer and a lot warmer. Nobody cared about the residual aroma of the gasoline.

More to come later...

Greg

[Greg Sebring]

Dad told of another close call he had while in Belgium. He and another soldier set up their radio in a small outbuilding of a farm. They made a few transmissions just before calling it a day and decided to sleep indoors that night since the opportunity didn’t present itself very often. Dad said they had just nicely settled down when there was an explosion and part of the end wall of their building was blown away. Dad said the two were stunned momentarily and after gathering their thoughts, decided to vacate the now damaged outbuilding immediately. Dad and the other soldier went out the door and started running along the building toward a corner. Dad said they got the second surprise of the night when the two of them actually ran into a German soldier that was running along another side they could not see. Dad said everyone (even the German) was startled and they all just stood there looking at each other for a second or two. The German started yelling at them. Dad said he started to fumble with his weapon but before he could put it to use the other G.I. with Dad butt stroked the German with his rifle knocking him to the ground. In the darkness, Dad said they heard other voices nearby holler,” Hans…Fritz….Kruger”. Upon hearing these “un-american type” names, Dad and his buddy ran off into the darkness in the opposite direction and were able to eventually link up with the rest of their unit. Dad later figured the Germans got a fix on their radio transmissions and wanted to take out the radio out.

Below are some photos Dad brough back. The picture of the G.I.'s around the jeep is in combat. Dad said incoming rounds struck the woods behind them Just prior to this picture. Dad has the radio.

[BrianMcC]

Thanks again for more great stuff!!

Brian

[Greg Sebring]

Dad's experiences con'td

Dad was a good auto mechanic before the war and enjoyed tinkering with engines. Dad also liked motorcycles and after the surrender while still in Germany he found a German motorcycle with a sidecar. Dad would ride it everywhere and was even lucky enough to find a hidden German supply truck in a small woods. Among the goodies inside, he found a brand new motorcycle engine still in the crate. Dad put the new engine in the bike and then practiced running the sidecar along the top edge of the brick curb that ran across the small bridges in the area. He would head the sidecar right at the slightly raised curb and then at the last minute jerk handlebars until the sidecar would raise up and run along the top of the curb. Other G.I.’s would ask him for a ride into town and he would have them get in the sidecar. Dad said the sidecar passengers would start to yell at him and some even tried to climb out of the sidecar when they saw it heading right for the curb. Dad would snap the sidecar up and run it along the top of the curb with the passengers swearing at him. Dad added few wanted to ride back to the barracks with him. When Dad finally had to leave Berlin to come back to the States he gave the motorcycle to another G.I. that was still stationed in Berlin. Dad said it bothered him to give up the cycle and when he was loading his gear up to leave Berlin, the G.I. could not get the bike started and in a final moment of frustration, the G.I. took out his pistol and cranked a few rounds into the engine and walked away.

Dad brought back a bunch of postcards. I scanned 6 that were of the '36 olympics. He has other actual picture postcards of pre war Berlin and the olympic facilities.

[Greg Sebring]

more of Dad's experiences...

Dad told me once while on a patrol in the winter, the snow was fairly deep. They all stopped for some chow and felt secure enough to build a small fire to heat water for coffee. Dad said he got his coffee in the big metal cup everyone had and with plate in the other hand, he looked around for a place to sit. Dad spotted what he thought was a log and sat down brushing a small spot to set the hot tin cup down. Dad said he took a few bites and reached for his coffee. When he picked the cup up he saw fabric and a button where the cup had been sitting. Closer examinations of the “logs” everyone thought they were resting on revealed they were dead German soldiers frozen solid.

Below are a couple of photos:
#1 shows some braiding done using parachute shroud lines. Dad said this was done to pass the time during lulls in the action. The satin scarf was a souvenier he brought back from London. The overseas cap Dad got in England. The American issue had "points" at both ends.
#2. Shows a spent fuse and fragments from an American hand grenade (a discarded pin has been re-inserted). The pieces on the right are general schrapnel/bomb fragments. The green/gold velvet backdrop is marked on the back,"Made in Belgium" "Souvenier of Antwerp"

[Greg Sebring]

Tid Bits from Dad.....

Dad told me during the initial German breakout of the Bulge , he happened to be acting as a road guard on the edge of a small village (I don’t know the name). He could hear the loud mechanized roar from the advancing German armor as it grew nearer and nearer. He told me that when he was finally picked up by a passing American truck, he was pretty sure the Germans were entering the other end of the town as the motor noise was incredible.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dad has said there were times when the 82nd Airborne was told to rip off their shoulder patches and then would be sent to re-enforce another units position down the line or help them reach an objective. The Brass did not want the Germans to know who they were fighting and wanted them to keep guessing where the Airborne unit was at. . Dad said the 82nd had a reputation as fierce fighters and the Germans nicknamed them “Devils in baggy pants”

[Greg Sebring]

coin braclet and rings

Dad brought back some unusual jewelry and I wondered if our English members saw any special significance in it or had seen anything like it before. The first one is a ladies bracelet with silver (3 pence??) coins. The oldest dates to 1899 with Queen Victoria and the rest are King George all in the early 1900's. The next picture shows a mans ring that was fashioned from a two schillng coin. Dad said it was a fad to make them and you did it by taking the coin and hitting it against something solid rotating it constantly. Eventually you would have to cut out the center to fit your finger. If you look closly, you can see the date of the coin (1944) and two schillings. The last mans ring Dad had made by a German jeweler in Berlin for a few packs of cigarettes after the surrender. "M S" is Dad's initials....."C K" is my mother's maiden initials.

[Greg Sebring]

...back side

[Greg Sebring]

ring shots...