WWII Letters to Wilma

11 March 1945

2012-03-11T22:36:00.000-04:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

11 March, 1945 0930

Germany

Dearest sweetheart –

An early start on another Sunday morning in Godforsaken Germany. It does my heart good to see the present servility of these people of the Master-race as they drift back to their homes and ask permission to look for this or that and take it with them. I’m called over on all cases as interpreter and when they hear me speak – they jabber on and on about how they didn’t want Hitler, that they’re not Nazis, that they have an uncle or grandmother in Chicago etc. It makes me sick and I tell them I’ve been in Germany about 3½ months and haven’t been able to meet one Nazi – and yet the whole world’s fighting them. They usually get the point then and shut up. As far as I’m concerned they’re all bastards and responsible for my being here.

Today is not exactly a Holiday and yet there’s to be some sort of parade in the big city which you’ve been reading about the past few days. Our outfit – or part of it – is to represent AA of Corps – which is a distinction of one sort or another. I don’t know why they bother to have things like that in the middle of a war – unless it’s to impress the populace. We were supposed to parade after the fall of Cherbourg – but the whole thing was called off at the last minute for some reason not clear to me.

The Colonel got back yesterday – after having had a 7 days’ Leave in London. He flew over and back – leaving from Liège. He seemed to have had a good time and said that London was much more loose and fancy-free than a year ago.

I’ve just re-read your letter of 25 February telling me of the grand day you spent together with Phil and Florence. It was nice of them to have you out with them and it sounded like a swell time – Copley, Ritz, Mayfair – gosh they seem so far away, it’s unbelievable. You get so used to 3 meals a day, drinking liquor raw out of a bottle, wearing the same khaki clothes, no tie, seeing the same all around you – why you just forget about music and dancing and waiters and tablecloths. But it’s going to be so easy to remember again! Don’t get me wrong, darling, I’m not missing that – any of it – except you. And I’m not going to miss it just so long as this war’s on over here. By the way – who were all those Joes you were dancing with? To quote you “as if I’d be jealous!” I hope they didn’t hold you too closely. They’d better not have – because they’ll have me to reckon with once I get back! But I am glad you had a good day and evening and I think it must have done you a lot of good.

Speaking of khaki clothes, Greg received the following rations
on 11 March 1945:

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

Front and Back

I enjoyed your letter telling me about your dream – and me in it, too! It sounded like a natural enough homecoming, sweetheart, and I’m ready for it anytime. I sure wish it were me you were clutching when you awoke instead of that pillow – but it will be I some day! And of course our conversation would be about marriage, and plans etc – rather than about war. I think most of us will be willing to forget about that pronto!

And so now you’re robbing the cradle, are you? Just another example of relativity. That is interesting, though. When you think of it – these young girls being afraid there’ll be no one around for them after the war. I don’t know about no one being around – but I’ll bet the boys will have a lot to pick from. But I don’t see why a girl in her early 20’s has to worry. Anyway, sweetheart, your story made me feel like a gay, young blade – which – in fact – I am!

Yes. I guess I don’t write the folks very much – albeit often. There isn’t a heck of a lot to tell and I certainly don’t discuss the war or any aspect of it with them. Most often – it’s a 3 or 4 line letter saying that all is well – which it is. You admire my disposition about the war, dear, – and I don’t see how anyone can be otherwise. I’ve felt always that it’s tough enough at home – so why make everyone feel worse by griping and complaining? That certainly helps no one and any s-o-b that does it ought to be ashamed of himself. Darling – I’ll save my griping for afterwards – that’s fairer – because then you can gripe right back at me if you have a mind to. Then I can challenge you to a wrestling match – and win of course – because anatomically speaking, I know some swell holds – not to mention certain vital tickling spots. Boy! Oh boy! What you’re in for!

And now I’ll be in for some hell if I don’t see a couple of soldiers on sick-call. So I’ll have to take off again, sweetheart, reminding you it’s only temporary. But my love for you is permanent and that’s what counts. Love to the folks, dear and

All my sincerest love,

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Bombing Essen
and the Story of the Krupp Munitions Family

The Krupp Munitions Plant after 11 March 1945 Bombing

From LIFE magazine, 4 June 1945, (Vol. 18, No. 23) comes this:

A large body of the German munitions plants were located in Essen, a city of 650,000 a few miles north of the Rhine. The heart of this bod was the Krupp Works, Europe's biggest steel plant. Today the city and its heart are a mashed pulp. The picture above shows the center of the Krupp Compound, with wrecked steel mills (foreground) and blasted gas tanks (right background). Most of this damage was done by 500- and 1,000lb. bombs from high altitudes. Despite the raids Alfred Krupp recently claimed his factories were working 50% of capacity until 11 March 1945. On this date 1,000 United States Air Force bombers plastered Essen so thoroughly that even the water supply was cut off. When Americans entered the city seven of Krupp's former 200,000 workers were left in the plant.

So what of the Krupp family?

Published on 5 April 1982 an article in People magazine, (Vol. 17, No. 13), reported this:

Arndt Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach's name evokes images of war and devastation. But the 44-year-old heir to the once-dread munitions empire, is the first Krupp in 171 years to voluntarily lay down his arms. In 1966 Krupp, who has the dubious distinction of being Adolf Hitler's honorary godson, renounced his $500 million inheritance along with the right to take over the Krupp cannon works turned global conglomerate. "I wanted nothing to do with this company," sniffs Arndt. "My father sacrificed his life for work and died a twice-divorced, depressed billionaire. I'm not like him, and I was not interested in his business."

Arndt Krupp

The family began dealing in weapons 11 generations ago in 1587 with a gun-selling store in the Ruhr Valley. Arndt's great-great-grandfather, Alfred ("the Cannon King"), supplied Kaiser Wilhelm armies during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Fearing that his workers might organize, Alfred hired an agent to inspect used toilet paper for seditious notes. His son, Fritz, a pudgy sybarite, pyramided Krupp into a world industrial power. When he wasn't building steelworks, Fritz staged Black Masses and homosexual orgies in which skyrockets were fired to celebrate orgasms. When his wife protested, he had her locked up in an asylum. When the scandal broke in the German press, Kaiser Wilhelm II rushed to his support. But it was too late—Fritz committed suicide.

Friedrich Alfred Krupp
"Felix" (1854-1902)
Alfred Krupp (1812 - 1837)
Arndt's Great-Great-Grandfather

Alfred's daughter, Bertha, inherited the cannonry in 1902 but needed a consort. Hand-picked by the Kaiser, a Prussian diplomat, Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach, was granted the right to use the Krupp name and pass it on to his eldest son. In 1945, not long after Gustav suffered a stroke, that son, Alfried, was arrested and later stood trial at Nuremberg. The Krupp empire was confiscated, and Alfried was sentenced to serve 12 years for the exploitation of some 100,000 people as slave laborers—most of them Jews, many of them women and children. "As a small boy, I went to boarding school near Landsberg Prison so I could see my father," Arndt recalls. "He was unhappy and suffered for crimes committed by Gustav. But my father had no choice. His country was at war, and Hitler told him to make munitions. He had to do it."

Gustav and Berta
Arndt's Grandparents
Alfried Krupp
Arndt's Father

Arndt and his mother, whom Alfried had deserted on Gustav's order a few years after their marriage (she was considered too bourgeois to be first lady of Kruppdom), lived hand-to-mouth and were considered pariahs until Alfried's sentence was commuted in 1951 and the company was restored to him. Graduating in the mid-'50s from a Swiss prep school where "boys beat me up because I was a Krupp," Arndt began flaunting his new wealth. He bedecked his playmates, male and female, with lavish jewelry (including a $94,000 Cartier diamond ring) and invited them aboard his 102-foot mahogany yacht, Antinous II, named for the favorite young page of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. "I have a lot of nice lady friends, but I don't exclude the company of men," says Arndt. "I enjoy beauty in every respect, whether it be male or female. In Europe that makes you a playboy."

In 1966, the year Arndt graduated from the University of Cologne, the Krupps hired a Munich public relations man to repair Arndt's image with columnists who had portrayed him as an arrogant Apollo. Finally, in 1969, Arndt decided to marry Princess Henriette "Hettie" von Auersperg of Austria's royal family. These days the couple maintain what Arndt calls "a close friendship" but choose to live apart. Says he: "I love my wife, but we each have strong character traits we need to be alone with.

"My mother has been the closest person to me," Arndt adds. "She was abandoned. I share that with her. It is something special between us." He supervises a staff of 27 servants at his Palm Beach mansion and the family's 84-room Blühnbach Castle in Austria, a 38-room Moroccan palace in Marrakesh and an apartment in Munich.

Through philanthropy, Arndt hopes to redeem his family's tarnished name and give his life meaning. "I want to spend more time in Thailand with underprivileged youth," he says. "I give half a million dollars a year to charity, so I don't feel as bad about spending $100,000 for a car or a piece of jewelry. It soothes the conscience of extravagance."

The Krupp fortune was built in the Franco-Prussian War and two world wars. Forced by the Allies to get out of the weapons business after World War II, the firm, which became a public corporation by 1968, now sells trucks, tools, toys, ships, steel and cement mixers. So why wouldn't the last heir (he has no siblings or offspring) want to rule over the kingdom? "For all my family's money," says the delicate, soft-spoken Arndt, "it didn't always bring them happiness."

Arndt is hardly suffering for his decision. At 28, he began to receive an allowance of $250,000 a year. That figure doubled when his father, Alfried, died a year later. After Arndt spurned a career with the firm, the senior Krupp willed his personal $3.5 billion fortune to a German philanthropic foundation and created a private income for his high-living son, who Alfried knew would never work. In addition to his allowance, Arndt receives a 2.5 percent royalty on each ton of coal produced by a former Krupp mine, plus a percentage of the profits from family-owned supermarkets and hotels in Munich and worldwide real estate holdings. Arndt's worth: "Maybe $80 million, maybe more. I'm not sure."

Two years ago Krupp plunked down a reported $1.5 million for the 26-room Palm Beach villa he now shares with his mother, Annelise. "I hate Germany," he huffs. "I must hide my wealth there. People threw rotten eggs at my Rolls-Royce and made fun of me when I wore expensive jewels." He claims things like that don't happen in Palm Beach—one reason he is applying for U.S. citizenship. "America is the last bastion of freedom," declares the man whose father armed Hitler's war machine. "Society here seems to accept me."

In that belief, he just spent $2.5 million renovating his mansion, including the cheeky task of moving the swimming pool from one side of the house to the other. "He has a wonderful sense of humor," says his Palm Beach chum Ann Light, fourth wife of J. Paul Getty. Chimes in millionaire neighbor Robert D.L. Gardiner: "He's fascinating, well-read and a brilliant conversationalist."

As mentioned in the People article, Arndt married Princess Henrietta von Auersperg on February 14, 1969. What the article did not say was that despite this, Arndt was notoriously homosexual. In 1986, four years after the article was written, Arndt - being an alcoholic for a long time - died in his castle in Salzburg of jaw cancer at the age of 48. He was deeply in debt.

10 March 1945

2012-03-10T23:16:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

10 March, 1945 1000

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

Well I wrote you a short V-mail last night because I was tired and it was late. But here it is another day, dear, and I’m off to a good start. I got 2 V-mails yesterday and an air mail. The former – 20, 21 Feb, the latter – 24 Feb – so you can see – the V-mail is again a bit slower. I’ve already heard from you by air mail – as of 28 February.

Your one V-mail mentioned a Freedman family in Salem. I did know a Mrs. Freedman and a daughter there. But I believe the daughter married a fellow I once knew at Harvard – Arnie Dane. I don’t know the other daughter – or at least I can’t remember. And it wasn’t professionally – either – that I knew them. They happened to be one of the few Jewish families I knew in my early days in Salem. But I never got to known them very well.

I was glad to read my letter to the girls had arrived and that they enjoyed it. It was nice of them to write – in the first place.

Gee I was so glad to read in your letter of 24 February about the 2 packages arriving. I don’t know just how many I’ve sent out – but I’m certain there are several more on the way. I suppose I should jot them down as I send them out and then check them – but that would be too methodical. A lot of the stuff I send you undoubtedly can be classified as junk, darling, and I realize that. But I see something – it hits me as being something to remember after the war, and I ship it off. You’ll probably have a closet full before the war’s over – but put it aside and we’ll throw out what you want to afterwards, O.K.?

So you think I’ll use the toilet set on out honeymoon, do you? Could be, dear. It really is a nice one – and what surprised me was that the woman who sent it – was a visitor to Salem; I treated her twice and never saw her again because she returned to Chicago where she lives. She also sent some candy. I wrote and thanked her and she has since written me asking me what I would like she and her husband to send me. I don’t understand it.

I’m so glad you think that the “German portfolio” I sent you is not just another book. I thought not myself; actually I’m sure it’s rare and that there are few of them around. You made no comment about it’s source or ownership. I carried it along with me ever since late August when we were in France. It comes from the same place our clock came from. You may or may not have noticed that the signature in the front of the book is that of the owner of the place we visited. If I ever hear of his whereabouts after the war – I’ll see that he gets the thing back. The real story is that the day we passed by – the Maquis were running wild; the Germans had a headquarters in the place and had just been run out. The Maquis – who were really a pretty wild bunch – ransacked the place of many of its treasures. What I took would have been ruined. There were a thousand other things – but it was just impossible to take them. I think I did well with the 2 items I got.

I’m sorry you can’t read the German, dear. I’ve sent a couple of other things home to you – a couple of simply framed poems that are nice. One about “Mother” and another one about a man’s home. Oh yes. I sent a very interesting bell home to you with an inscription on it. It’s from the days of the Kaiser – made of silver and rather different. And I’ve sent some volumes – beautifully photographed – on the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. I’ve never seen anything like it and they’re worth having.

Two Sides of Silver Bell from Kaiser Days

Well – you got 4 letters from me the day you got 2 packages and you said they were full of spirit and were funny. That’s good, darling, I’m glad my letters are able to strike you that way. My sense of humor? If I haven’t lost it – I’m glad too. Sometimes I feel pretty sour – but damn it – that doesn’t help one bit and I’d just as soon see the funny side of things if I can.

I knew you wouldn’t like the news about Sgt. Freeman. I hated to write it but I felt I had to. Yes – I liked him; he was dependable, steady and a good soldier. He must have written that himself – but he was more seriously wounded than he implied. He’ll be coming home – as he said. His sister wrote me – or did I tell you already? She wanted details – and I just couldn’t give them to her. That is one of the things the Army is extremely strict about. It was a difficult letter for me to answer.

Hell – I’m getting worried about your not receiving those 20 odd photos I sent you. I hope they weren’t taken out by a censor – although by now – you probably have them – I hope.

It was sweet of you to worry about my reaction to my Aunt Mollie’s death. I was taken aback when I first heard she was ill and what her illness was. Lawrence was the first to mention it. When I realized Ca [cancer] was the Dx [diagnosis] – I knew of course that the sooner the better. In recent years I saw her rarely although many members of the family played up to her constantly because of her wealth. We never did that in my family. I don’t suppose she visited us or we her 10 times in the past 5 years. She was a good scout, though, and a very striking woman, I always thought.

Yes – if the opportunity came for a trip home – for 1 day – not 30 – I’d grab it! Regardless of the heartache of having to come back – it would be worth it to me. Incidentally – I believe I told you about a friend of mine, M.C. who was 2 yrs overseas and finally sent home not long ago – reassigned, not rotated. I heard from him yesterday. He first got a leave, and since then he’s been kicked around to N.Car., Florida, Georgia and he’s now at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. He’s a bit fed up and glad to be in the States, of course. His home is in Conn. I wouldn’t mind – so much – because so long as I was in the States and there to stay – we could be married and travel about together. My – that would be fun! Getting married, Yum! Yum! Well – we will, sweetheart – no fear about that. Just keep loving me as I love you and all will be fine. Have to close now, dear. Be with you again tomorrow. My love to thefolks – and

All my deepest love,

Greg

P.S. Naturally this outfit is in everything –

L,G.

If You Still Have a Mother

Translation
Alternate translations are welcomed...

If you still have a mother, so thank God and be content; not all on earth have this great fortune. If you still have a mother, you need to care about her with love, so that she can lay her tired head to rest in peace.

She has lived from the first day for you with fearful concerns. She brought you to bed at night, and woke you up in the morning. And when you were sick, she took care of the one she gave life with deep pains. And when all gave you up, your mother didn’t declare you lost.

She taught you the holy prayer, she first taught you talking; she put your hands together and taught you to pray to the Father (God). She guided your childhood, she guarded your youth years. Thank (only) your mother if you still follow the path of virtue.

And if you don’t have a mother any more, and you can’t make her happy any more, you still can decorate her early grave with flowers. A mother’s grave, a holy grave, for you an ever holy place! Oh, go to this place, if a wave of life pushes you over.

Author: Friedrich Wilhelm Kaulisch

* TIDBIT *

about Building More Bridges
and Attempts to Destroy Them

From "U.S. Army in WWII European Theater of Operations: The Last Offensive" by Charles B. MacDonald for the Department of the Army's Office of the Chief of Military History, published in 1973 in Washington, D.C. comes this excerpt:

At the bridge site, concentrated efforts were made from the start toward supplementing the Ludendorff railroad bridge. One of the first units to arrive for the purpose was Naval Unit No. 1, a U.S. Navy force with twenty-four LCVP's (landing craft, vehicle and personnel) that had been attached to the First Army for some months in anticipation of the Rhine crossings. Also quick to arrive was an engineer unit of the III Corps, the 86th Engineer Heavy Pontoon Battalion, with orders to operate three ferries, one well north of the Ludendorff Bridge, one close to the bridge at Remagen, and the third well south of the bridge. As assembled by the engineers, the rafts were made of five pontoons covered with wooden flooring. Used as free ferries propelled by 22-hp. outboard motors, the craft began to operate as early as the morning of 9 March. The ferries and LCVP's were augmented on 14 March by ducks (2½-ton amphibious trucks) of the 819th Amphibious Truck Company.

Survey teams of the 1111th and 1159th Engineer Combat Groups, scheduled to build tactical bridges across the Rhine, reached Remagen during the morning of 8 March. Because of road priorities granted at first to infantry units and engineers who were to operate ferries, the bridging units themselves began to move to the river only during the night of 9 March. Construction of the first bridge, a treadway from Remagen to Erpel, began early on 10 March 1945.

Although jammed roads leading to Remagen continued to hamper bridge construction, the most serious delays derived from German artillery fire and air attacks. During 8 and 9 March, the Germans maintained an average rate of one shell every two minutes in the vicinity of the bridge sites, but by 10 March, their fire had fallen off to four or five rounds per hour. Artillery fire during the course of construction of the Remagen treadway bridge destroyed four cranes, two Brockway trucks, two air compressors, three dump trucks, and thirty-two floats.

Exhortation to the Luftwaffe to strike and strike again was one of the few immediate steps Field Marshal Kesselring could take toward eliminating the Ludendorff Bridge after he assumed command in the west on 10 March. He conferred that day with senior Luftwaffe commanders, urging them to knock out the bridge and any auxiliary bridges the Americans might construct.

From 8 through 16 March, the Luftwaffe tried. The German planes struck at the railroad bridge, at the ferries, and at the tactical bridges, but with no success. Whenever the weather allowed, American planes flying cover over the bridgehead interfered; even when the German pilots got through the fighter screen, they ran into a dense curtain of antiaircraft fire. When they tried a stratagem of sending slow bombers in the lead to draw the antiaircraft fire, then following with speedy jet fighters, the Americans countered by withholding part of their fire until the jets appeared. American antiaircraft units estimated that during the nine days they destroyed 109 planes and probably eliminated 36 others out of a total of 367 thatattacked.

The Germans tried to destroy the railroad bridge by three additional means. First, soon after losing the bridge, they brought up a tank-mounted 540-mm. piece called the Karl Howitzer. The weapon itself weighed 132 tons and fired a projectile of 4,400 pounds, but after only a few rounds that did no damage except to random houses, the weapon had to be evacuated for repairs. Second, from 12 through 17 March a rocket unit with weapons located in the Netherlands fired eleven supersonic V-2's in the direction of the bridge, the first and only tactical use of either of the so-called German V-weapons during World War II. One rocket hit a house 300 yards east of the bridge, killing three American soldiers and wounding fifteen. That was the only damage. Three landed in the river not far from the bridge, five others west of the bridge, and one near Cologne; one was never located.

The night of 16 March, the Germans tried a third method - seven underwater swimmers in special rubber suits and carrying packages of plastic explosive compound - but from the first the Americans had anticipated such a gambit. During the first few days of the bridgehead, before nets could be strung across the river, they dropped demolition charges to discourage enemy swimmers and stationed riflemen at intervals along the railroad bridge to fire at suspicious objects. Later, with nets in place, they stationed tanks equipped with searchlights along the river.[In fact, part of the 438th AAA Aw (Mobile) Battalion helped move those searchlights to the Remagen Bridgehead and helped set them up.]

When the German swimmers first tried to reach the bridge, American artillery fire discouraged them from entering the water. On the next night, the 17th, they moved not against the railroad bridge but against tactical pontoon bridges, only to be spotted by the American searchlights. Blinded by the lights, the seven Germans, one by one, surrendered.

09 March 1945

2012-03-09T22:31:00.000-05:00

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

9 March, 1945 1900

Germany

Hello darling!

Just a shortie this evening to tell you I love you, miss you, want you and need you. Have been out all day and I’m a little tired but I’ll be O.K. in an hour or two.

About your V-Mails – I enjoy them and it’s swell of you to write so often. Up to about 2 months ago they seemed to arrive earlier than air mail – or so the fellows said. Recently – the reverse seems true – but it’s never the same from month to month.

All else is O.K. sweetheart, and I’ll write you a regular letter tomorrow. Will you excuse this one? I thought it better than no note at all – and anyway I wanted you to know I love you strongly!

All my love for now, dear

Greg

Love to the folks.

L.G.

* TIDBIT *

about The Firebombing of Tokyo

B-29 Firebombing Tokyo on 9 March 1945

From The History Channel's This Day in History comes this:

On 9 March 1945, U.S. warplanes launched a new bombing offensive against Japan, dropping 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo over the course of the subsequent 48 hours. Almost 16 square miles in and around the Japanese capital were incinerated, and between 80,000 and 130,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the worst single firestorm in recorded history. Temperatures reached 1,000° C (1,899° F). Over a million residents lost their homes.

Early on March 9, Air Force crews met on the Mariana Islands of Tinian and Saipan for a military briefing. They were planning a low-level bombing attack on Tokyo that would begin that evening, but with a twist: Their planes would be stripped of all guns except for the tail turret. The decrease in weight would increase the speed of each Superfortress bomber - and would also increase its bomb load capacity by 65 percent, making each plane able to carry more than seven tons of various incendiary explosives, including white phosphorus and napalm, a new gasoline-based, fuel-gel mixture... "You're going to deliver the biggest firecracker the Japanese have ever seen," said U.S. Gen. Curtis LeMay. In fact, the death toll from the March 9-10 bombing exceeded that of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and of Nagasaki.

B-29s Pass Mount Fuji on the way to
Tokyo for Firebombing on 9 March 1945

The cluster bombing of the downtown Tokyo suburb of Shitamachi had been approved only a few hours earlier. Shitamachi was composed of roughly 750,000 people living in cramped quarters in wooden-frame buildings. Setting ablaze this "paper city" was a kind of experiment in the effects of firebombing; it would also destroy the light industries, called "shadow factories," that produced prefabricated war materials destined for Japanese aircraft factories.

Cluster Bombing Tokyo on 9 March 1945

The denizens of Shitamachi never had a chance of defending themselves. Their fire brigades were hopelessly undermanned, poorly trained, and poorly equipped. At 5:34 pm, Superfortress B-29 bombers took off from Saipan and Tinian, reaching their target at 12:15 a.m. on March 10. Three hundred and thirty-four bombers, flying in streams 400 miles long at a mere 500 feet, dropped their loads, creating a giant bonfire fanned by 30-knot winds that helped raze Shitamachi and spread the flames throughout Tokyo. Masses of panicked and terrified Japanese civilians scrambled to escape the inferno, most unsuccessfully. The human carnage was so great that the blood-red mists and stench of burning flesh that wafted up sickened the bomber pilots, forcing them to grab oxygen masks to keep from vomiting.

Tokyo in Flames from Bombing of 9 March 1945

The raid lasted slightly longer than three hours. "In the black Sumida River, countless bodies were floating, clothed bodies, naked bodies, all black as charcoal. It was unreal," recorded one doctor at the scene. The "only" 243 American airmen were considered acceptable losses.

EyeWitness to History's web page called "The Incendiary Bombing Raids on Tokyo, 1945," quotes eyewitness Robert Guillain, a French reporter, who wrote this in his book I Saw Tokyo Burning (1985):

They set to work at once sowing the sky with fire. Bursts of light flashed everywhere in the darkness like Christmas trees lifting their decorations of flame high into the night, then fell back to earth in whistling bouquets of jagged flame. Barely a quarter of an hour after the raid started, the fire, whipped by the wind, began to scythe its way through the density of that wooden city.

The fire front advanced so rapidly that police often did not have time to evacuatethreatened blocks even if a way out were open. And the wind, carrying debris from far away, planted new sprouts of fire in unexpected places. Firemen from the other half of the city tried to move into the inferno or to contain it within its own periphery, but they could not approach it except by going around it into the wind, where their efforts were useless or where everything had already been incinerated. The same thing happened that had terrorized the city during the great fire of 1923: ...under the wind and the gigantic breath of the fire, immense, incandescent vortices rose in a number of places, swirling, flattening sucking whole blocks of houses into their maelstrom of fire.

Evacuees Far Enough Away to Escape

Wherever there was a canal, people hurled themselves into the water; in shallow places, people waited, half sunk in noxious muck, mouths just above the surface of the water. Hundreds of them were later found dead; not drowned, but asphyxiated by the burning air and smoke. In other places, the water got so hot that the luckless bathers were simply boiled alive. Some of the canals ran directly into the Sumida; when the tide rose, people huddled in them drowned. In Asakusa and Honjo, people crowded onto the bridges, but the spans were made of steel that gradually heated; human clusters clinging to the white-hot railings finally let go, fell into the water and were carried off on the current. Thousands jammed the parks and gardens that lined both banks of the Sumida. As panic brought ever fresh waves of people pressing into the narrow strips of land, those in front were pushed irresistibly toward the river; whole walls of screaming humanity toppled over and disappeared in the deep water. Thousands of drowned bodies were later recovered from the Sumida estuary.

Sirens sounded the all-clear around 5 A.M. - those still working in the half of the city that had not been attacked; the other half burned for twelve hours more. I talked to someone who had inspected the scene an March 11. What was most awful, my witness told me, was having to get off his bicycle every couple of feet to pass over the countless bodies strewn through the streets. There was still a light wind blowing and some of the bodies, reduced to ashes, were simply scattering like sand. In many sectors, passage was blocked by whole incinerated crowds."

Some of the Remains of Tokyo from the Air (above)
and on the Ground (below)

08 March 1945

2012-03-08T22:41:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

8 March, 1945 0930

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

Mirabile dictu! – or I don’t believe it – but yesterday I actually received a letter from you post-marked and written 28 February. After the long waiting periods for letters – hearing from you one week after you wrote a letter is amazing and wonderful. It’s strange how the nearness of a date can make you seem so near. It makes me angry when I realize that mail can reach us so quickly and yet takes4 and 5 weeks sometimes. By the way – I can’t seem to remember what date I used on the letter I wrote you yesterday, darling; it seems to me I used the 6th instead of the 7th – or it may have been the letter I wrote home.

Well, sweetheart, what can I tell you that’s news from this part of the world? Oh – that reminds me – dear; you always refer to my being 3000 miles away. It seems to me it’s even farther than that; if it isn’t actually – it feels that way anyway. Just a point, just a point. Well there isn’t a heck of a lot of news except war news and that as you know is good. It was a quiet day here most of the day and in the late evening we played a little Black Jack and Poker – the first time in a long while. I won about 100 francs. Incidentally – we get paid in Belgian francs now rather than the previous – U.S. marks. The latter were no good to us because we couldn’t buy anything in Germany anyway, and when we got back to Belgium – we had to convert.

I found your letter of 26 February, dear, extremely interesting. It was written after you had read my mail to you of the month of January and you told me about my experiences as you interpreted them, when you thought I moved – etc. Actually – we moved more there than you believed we did. You were right about the rotten month we had. It was – but it could have been worse. And your ‘moody’ letters of late December – didn’t worry me, really, dear. I understood how you felt – and I don’t expect you to be cheery all of the time. I know that’s impossible.

You still have trouble visualizing the part A.A – or rather this Battalion is playing in the war. I can’t help that, dear. If you’re confused – it’s because our own particular missions vary from time to time – and because all A.A. over here or anywhere – don’t do the same thing. You say the pictures of my activities is meager and yet I feel I tell you quite a bit. I can’t for the life of me see the point in my writing to you about tactics, maneuvers etc. – which – in the first place is strictly forbidden, and which secondly – even if not – would not help you stand the war one bit easier. If it’s tactics you want sweetheart, I’ll give you all the dope I know after the war – until it comes out of your ears!

You mention receiving more pictures, dear – I’d almost forgotten all about the batch I sent you. How many did you finally receive? I think I sent out something like 23 or 24 or 25. File them away with the rest, dear. We ought to have quite a few before we’re through. You have some from England, too, haven’t you? I’ve already got 3-4 more rolls ready for developing – but I don’t know where or when –

As for Admiral – he was a cute trick. We had him for about 4-5 mos. altogether. Before this last push – he got a bit sick and we left him with some Germans. We just didn’t have the medicine or time to look after him. I hated to leave him – but we couldn’t help it.

And I’m glad you found out about the Birthday cake and how nicely your surprise really worked. It really had me puzzled but I enjoyed it tremendously. It was interesting to note that the Field Director wrote his rather full address – a no no, dear – you should know – if you didn’t already – what Army and what Corps we’re with.

I didn’t mean to bring up the subject of age difference – dear. I don’t fear it either and as a matter of fact – it rarely enters my mind now – although, frankly, it used to. But the best and most important factor was that I never once was aware of it when I was with you – riding, talking, dancing, kissing. I always felt we clicked together – and I know that’s what counts most.

Yes – I heard from Lawrence yesterday as of 17 February. He didn’t actually say he had applied for overseas duty....

[LETTER IS MISSING ANY SUBSEQUENT PAGE(S)…]

* TIDBIT *

about Bonn, Beethoven and Another Bridge

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 15 miles south of Cologne its history dates back to Roman times. In about 11 BC, the Roman Army appears to have stationed a small unit in what is presently the historical center of the town. Even earlier, the Army had resettled members of a Germanic tribal group allied with Rome, the Ubii, in Bonn. The Latin name for that settlement, "Bonna", may stem from the original population of this and many other settlements in the area, the Eburoni.

Bonn's most famous son, Ludwig van Beethoven, was born in 1770 in a house that is now a museum with many original artifacts including the great man's grand piano. The Beethoven Monument, a large bronze statue which stands on the Münsterplatz, was unveiled on 12 August 1845, in honor of the 75th anniversary of the composer's birth.

When the Münsterplatz was bombed, Beethoven was untouched

Beethoven today showing buildings on his right

Münsterplatz today

On 8 March 1945 the First Infantry Division was continuing its attack to the east, with its main objective the capture of the City of Bonn. In the late afternoon of March 8th, elements of the 3rd Battalion, 18th Infantry, cleared the town of Ollekoven, and also attacked into Bonn. By the end of the day, elements of the 16th and 18th Infantry were fighting in the streets of Bonn. Stiff resistance was encountered both on the outskirts and in the city, and over 1,000 prisoners were taken. Contact was maintained between the 1st Infantry Division and the 8th Infantry Division. At 8:30 P.M. the 3rd Armored Division joined the First Infantry Division and assembled in the vicinity of Liblar.

The Rhine Bridge, the only exit for the Germans, was a touch and go affair. Several German prisoners reported that they had seen the bridge prepared for demolition, and most of them were surprised that the bridge had not been blown already. The bridge was blown at 9:15 pm, 8 March 8 1945, by a Captain of the 6th (German) Engineer Regiment (later captured by the First Division), who had not slept for three days worrying over whether he would be able to blow the bridge at precisely the right moment. He succeeded admirably.

Soon after the destruction ferries, boats and some truck ferries transferred goods and people between both sides. From 29 August 1945, on Bonn's Committee for Urban Planning, the "Bauausschuss", dealt with the construction of a new bridge and released the plans in March 1946. In September 1946 Grün and Bilfinger started with the construction. The bridge was built on the nearly intact pillows within 36 months. On 12 November 1949 the new bridge was opened. On December 2, 1963, just ten days after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy the bridge was renamed to "Kennedy Bridge". Necessary reconstruction and widening of the bridge was begun in 2006 and is now complete.

Print of Rhine Bridge as it Looked in 1945

Photo of Rhine Bridge in 1920

Kennedy Bridge Today

07 March 1945

2012-03-07T22:45:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

7 March, 1945 0930

Germany

My dearest darling –

Our set-up remains luxurious and I hope we stay put for a couple of days more anyway. We’ve got our power plant hooked up to the wiring in this house – so we have electricity. Yesterday – one of my sergeants did some scouting around and brought back a fancy boudoir or bed lamp – just for a gag. But before we were thru – we had it wired up, plugged in and working – so actually, sweetheart, I read in bed – and didn’t have to get out to turn the light out. Now if that isn’t the way to fight a war – I’d like to know a better way.

Another funny thing happened. I passed by the kitchen i.e. the kitchen in the house the medics are occupying – and there on the table – were 5 freshly killed chickens! I can’t conceive where they came from – but I can figure out that 5 divided by ten (that’s all there are of us here) gives ½ and that’s just what we’ll have – ½ chicken per man – either for dinner or supper today. My! My! And my onesergeant who likes to cook – insists on frying the chickens, having French fries, fried potatoes – and – while he’s boiling the chickens to make them soft – he likes to make chicken soup. Oh – well – we can stand it.

But sweetheart – we’re – or I’m missing the dessert. Couldn’t you possibly fit in? I’d keep you all to myself of course. I sure could do with a bit of you, you know – as the main dish, as a matter of fact – but now I’m straying. Gosh, darling, a little loving would go good right now – wouldn’t it though!

I got mail yesterday. Three letters from you, dear – 2 airmail (23 and 26 Feb) and the V-mail undated. Now that’s the 2nd time you’ve done that! I also heard from Eleanor – thanking me for the gift – which she seemed to like very much; there was a letter – or a short novel I should say from Barbara Tucker. It was an 8 page typewritten letter and she does that about every 4-5 months, bringing me up to date with her Navy career, wanderings, and news of Salem. She’s doing research work for the Navy at G.E. in Schenectady – and doesn’t care for the set-up. She wanted to know about you – or us, and someday I’ll have to sit down and write her a letter. She tells me about her love affairs, etc. and writes a generally amusing letter.

1045

A slight delay, dear, to see a couple of patients. Now I can get started again. Well. I got one more letter and I didn’t enjoy it. It was from the sister of Sgt. Freeman – the boy in my detachment who was injured some time ago. They finally got the sad news that he was seriously injured and they’d hear more later. They found the waiting unbearable and so she wrote me asking for details. The sad part is that that is strictly taboo in the Army and I just can’t tell her the details of how it happened and how badly he was hit. But I wrote her anyway and told her he was alive and would stay so. I couldn’t do any more – but believe me, dear, it was very difficult writing that letter.

Your letter of 23 February, written the day before, was interesting. You were making a strong attempt to know me better than you think you know me – and wondering if you were succeeding. It was in answer to a previous letter of mine – defending my – shall I say – morale-building letters? Darling – as you say – a moody letter, an occasional sad sentence etc. – is best left alone and not taken apart. I do that most of the time, I think – and I know you do too. I don’t think you’ve complained about things half as much as you could have – and I love you for your spirit. If you have been moody for days at a time – I haven’t been aware of it – honestly. You cover up well. As for me – dear – I insist. I just don’t stay moody long. It was always that way with me. Oh – I just don’t brush things off and forget about them. I never did; I’m too introspective for that, but I always tried to rationalize, to temporize, to look for a bright spot. I end up sometimes clinging on a very tenuous support, but it helps and usually it’s enough to see you through a dark period. I’m not referring only to war time. I was always that way, dear. Maybe it’s a good policy, maybe not; in reality – it’s not a policy – it’s a person’s nature – and I guess I’m of that nature. I don’t think I overdo it – because that would be child-like. But it does help, dear. And I’m not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. I just can’t write you discouraging letters – when you’ve got enough to be discouraged about yourself. Damn it – I’m cheery naturally, and I’m not going to let Hitler, his arms or the goddamned war change me. I hope you won’t think from that that I’m irresponsible. I think I see things clearly enough most of the time – and I know I can be serious when I have to be. Yet I’m glad you feel you’re knowing me better – despite being away. I feel the same way about you – and more and more. I’m learning to love you with greater depth and appreciation. I know we’re meant for each other, sweetheart, and I’m sure we’ll be happy together. We’re going to be married and have all the things we both want and I feel that I’m just the guy to do it for you.

And with that cock-sure note – I’ll start to close. We need a little more patience, a little more courage – and continued love. I think we have all that.

For now, dear, so long. Love to the folks; I hope Mother B is continuing to feel better.

All my everlasting love, darling

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Bridge at Remagen

The Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen was a railway bridge across the Rhine in Germany, connecting the villages of Remagen and Erpel between two ridge lines of hills flanking the river. Remagen is situated about 20km south of Bonn. Designed by Karl Wiener, the bridge was 325 meters long, with two rail lines and a walkway. Numerous nature activists protested against the construction, fearing that the beauty of the Rhine valley at this point would be destroyed. After it was finished the bridge was considered to be among the most beautiful bridges along the river Rhine.

During World War I, General Ludendorff had the bridge built by the Cologne-based company Grün and Bilfinger beginning in 1916 to connect the Right Rhine Railway, the Left Rhine Railway and the Autobahn in order to facilitate transport to the Western Front. Russian POWs were used during construction. The final result was a 4,642-ton bridge with one unique feature: on the Erpel side of the Rhine river it led into a 383m long tunnel through the mountain, "Erpeler Ley", which was carved for this very purpose. The excavation material was transported to the north side of the village in small lorries.

It was a key element of a planned strategic railway that was to start in Neuss, cross the Rhine at Remagen and connect with the Ahr Valley railway that connected with the Eiffel railway that has lines into Luxembourg and France. The advantage of such a line was that troops and supplies could be transported to the Western Front from the Ruhr industrial area without having to go through the busy rail centers of Cologne or Düsseldorf.

After its completion the bridge was named after General Ludendorff. The towers on the Rhine shore resembled fortresses. They were equipped with embrasures, troop accommodations, and storage rooms. The high plateaus on top of the towers provided for far-reaching surveillance. The bridge itself was easily and quickly converted for road and pedestrian use: wooden planks could cover up the railroad tracks. While intended as a logistics backbone before World War I, it only served as a retreat pathway for the beaten German Army in 1918.

In the first days of March 1945 the bridge was being equipped with planks just like in World War I. Preparations were taken to be able to destroy the bridge in case of an enemy attack. As a precautionary measure the charges were only to be deployed when the enemy was less than 8 km away. The bridge in Cologne-Mülheim had been destroyed accidentally because a bomb hit had set off the charges. This should not happen a second time.

The Germans had dutifully destroyed each bridge over the Rhine when Allied Forces approached, as had been done in Cologne. However, the Germans were surprised by the American forces at the bridge at Remagen, and had not yet blown it up. For their part, the Americans were surprised to find the bridge intact! But First Army's 9th Armored Division of III Corps took little time in taking advantage of their find.

The bridge was captured at around 16:30 on 7 March 1945 by a small vanguard of the 9th American Panther division under the command of Lieutenant K. H. Timmermann, and became the first bridgehead across the Rhine. Armored infantry fought their way across the bridge under intense enemy fire as the Germans attempted to destroy it with demolition charges. Several explosions damaged part of the bridge, but the main charges failed to fire and the bridge remained standing. Behind them followed Army engineers who quickly set about to defuse the still-remaining explosives and then make quick repairs on the decking. Working in the rain and under fire from Germans on the hilly countryside, engineers finished their quick-fixes by midnight, and shortly thereafter tanks and other heavy armor began pouring across the bridge, along with essential support troops.

U.S. Army Engineers Repair Ludendorff Bridge

Both sides then engaged in a race to reinforce the area which ultimately was won by the American who had much greater resources. The Americans captured the railway tunnel in the early hours of the following morning by passing over the hill and taking it from the rear.

In the days to follow, the Germans used every trick in the book to bring down the bridge, all to no avail. They were hindered by weak forces in the area and the Erpeler Ley hill which actually protected the bridge from attack from the east. Without the possibility of artillery spotting, attacks were much more difficult. Several attacks were made by the Luftwaffe with one bomb scoring a hit but failing to detonate. They sent floating mines down the river, hoping to destroy the bridge’s supports; German frogmen failed in their bid to plant explosives; and even V-2 rockets were fired at the bridge. The Germans also tried to pound the bridge with artillery, only to be met by murderous return fire by American forces.

AA Troops Protect Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen

The rough terrain on the eastern bank of the Rhine at Remagen made the region a less than ideal avenue for the invasion of Germany in Allied strategic planning. Nonetheless, the Allies seized the opportunity to transport troops, tanks, and vehicles across a bridge, rather than over the river by assault boats and pontoon bridges. Allied plans were quickly adjusted to take advantage of this coup. Because of the air attacks and the artillery fire, the engineers at the bridge site requested that smoke be employed, and requests were made of First US Army for a smoke generator unit. Because none was available at this time, however, smoke pots were gathered from all available sources. The 9th Armored Group was ordered to furnish CDLs (search lights mounted on tanks) to assist in protecting the bridge against floating mines, swimmers, riverboats, etc., and depth charges were dropped into the river at five-minute intervals during the night to discourage swimmers bent on demolishing the bridge. Meanwhile, thousands of men and vehicles poured onto the bridgehead that, although suffering repeated German counterattacks for a week, continued to expand east of the Rhine.

Troops Pouring Over the Ludendorff Bridge

Within a week of the first crossing of the Ludendorff Bridge, seven U.S. divisions had established themselves on the east side of the Rhine River. Forty thousand men crossed in ten days. Simultaneously, pontoon bridges were constructed for additional crossing ability. Then, at about 3 pm on 17 March 1945, a loud bang could be heard, followed by the thunder and rumbling of twisting iron. The Ludendorff, severely damaged in the fighting ten days earlier and weakened further from the strain of heavy traffic, collapsed into the Rhine. This happened so quickly that almost nobody was able to get away. 7 people died in the ice-cold water, 18 are still missing, and 66 were injured (of which 3 died later on). That day marked the end of the bridge, only 29 years after its construction.

Medics After Ludendorff Bridge Collapse

Having crossed the Rhine and established a beachhead, the Allied armies prepared to drive into the interior of Germany. Eisenhower changed previous plans and diverted supplies and forces to exploit the Remagen crossing, making it the point of departure for the decisive double encirclement of the Ruhr valley that captured more than 325,000 prisoners and ended organized enemy resistance.

Below are two episodes of the TV program called "The Big Picture." These videos were made by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1965 and narrated by Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, William Hoge and other Americans involved, as well as the German officer in charge at the far side of the bridge. They offer a comprehensive review of the taking of the bridge at Remagen.

BRIDGE AT REMAGEN - PART 1

BRIDGE AT REMAGEN - PART 2

06 March 1945

2012-03-06T22:47:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

6 March, 1945 1300

Germany

Dearest Sweetheart –

Well I feel much better today – normal in fact and I’m sure glad about that – because this is no time in which to be sick. I got a swell night’s sleep – in a bed if you please, dear – and I feel real chipper today. I’m just about settled again – and once more I have a nice room all to myself and with windows intact! Itseems funny to be able to find such a spot – but we’ve been lucky. Windows are a peculiar thing, darling. You just don’t think much about them until you don’t see them for a long time – then you become acutely aware of them. It’s that way with most things I guess. Anyway – as you should gather – we’ve been pretty much on our toes as of late.

My present room was undoubtedly occupied by a female. There’s a white bureau in it and on a little ledge are several bottles – mostly empty – but the array includes some d’Orsay’s Eau de Lavende, a bottle or perfume with a Russian label, a bottle of Brilliantine aux fleurs – and a couple of cold cream jars. There’s a small end-table next to my bed that holds my radio on one side, and I have a pretty flower pot with pussy willows on the other end. These past few places were only recently inhabited by civilians of course and are therefore quite homelike. We move into a house – use the furniture we want and out goes everything else – thru the nearest exit. A lot of good stuff gets ruined thereby – but the war’s still on. You’ll have to watch me closely for awhile, sweetheart. If there’s an armchair, divan or table I don’t happen to fancy – I’ll be strongly tempted to heave it out of the nearest window – and that won’t look so nice in Salem – you know.

I haven’t had time to re-read some of your most recent letters, dear, but I did a little while ago. I came across the one that mentioned Florence’s episode at the Ritz. It made me furious – just reading it and I can well imagine how she must have felt. But it’s an old story in Boston. I can remember when I was at College and Med school too how I had to be the one to call the Copley for reservations of a Saturday nite. If Guralnick or Waitzkin or Levine called – they either got nowhere or got stuck in a corner. I usually had better luck, but it’s a damn shame – no matter how you look at it.

Say – I also came across your news about Leonard Salter and his being at a POE. And a medic! That’s really something. I’d say offhand, though, that of all places in the Army, he’ll probably fit best there. I wonder if he has really gone over. You know, darling, despite the hardship of having been away from you so long – I still don’t envy the boys who are sweating it out in the States now. Their prospects are tough as I see it. Whether they come to the E.T.O. or go to the Pacific they’ll run into so many troops that have so much more time then they, that it’s a sure bet they’ll beyears in coming home. Even I have to worry about those boys who fought in Africa and Italy and have a year or so more time than I have. But they can’t take away the 16 months I already have with 9 months combat service. The latter, by the way – i.e. the amount of combat – is the more important of the two figures – and that’s increasing steadily. And except for a few old divisions over here – the African campaign group – this outfit has as much time or more than anybody else. No one seems to know what will happen after this phase is over – but it seems pretty definite that we’ll all get a crack at the U.S. and it also seems to me that our turn for that will come long before we’d get a chance to be rotated – if the war should continue.

Now how did I get onto that vein? In case you don’t know, darling, I’ll tell you. It’s because the one thought that obsesses me as much as the realization that I love you darling, – is the thought of getting home as soon as possible to show you that love, to make up to you all the lonely nights you’ve had to put up with on account of me. I guess I’ll never be able to repay you, sweetheart, for your thoughtfulness, constancy and devotion – but you can bet your last dime that I’ll be trying always. We’re going to be happy together, dear – very happy – because with our love for each other goes a deep appreciation of each other – and that is what counts most of all.

And enough for now, darling. Be well, dear and take care of yourself (especially on those splits!) Love to the folks – and

All my sincerest love and devotion

Greg

Route of the Question Mark

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A)Kenten to (B) Konigsdorf, Germany (6.5 miles)
5 March to 6 March 1945

March 6... Konigsdorf. The Battery Commander prepared more road guides, a white question mark on a red background. The joke of the year: Pvt [Bernard M.] STEWART rushed into a room, breathless with excitement, exclaiming, "Hey, there's a harp next door!", and someone said "What the Hell do we want a harp for? No one in the Battery can blow it!" Here the jeep drivers gave an elaborate dinner for Capt [William S.] RENKIN and 1st Lt [Frederick C.] ABER.

* TIDBIT *

about the Cathedral and the Bridge

On 6 March 1945, the 3d Armored Division drove quickly through the heart of Cologne, a wasteland from long years of aerial bombardment, and reached the Hohenzollern Bridge, only to find a 1200-foot gap blown in it. Clarence Smoyer, E Co, 32nd A.R., 3rd Armored Division, gunner of the newly introduced M26 Pershing tank, recollects that when he was about a 15 minute drive away from the Hohenzollern Bridge he heard some massive explosions coming from the area that he later knew to be the bridge and "that must have been its demolition." The Hohenzollern Bridge was one of the most important bridges in Germany during World War II; even under consistent daily air strikes the bridge was not damaged badly. On 6 March 1945, German military engineers blew up the bridge when Allied troops started to conquer Cologne, so that the Allies could not follow them over the Rhine. Close by amid the sea of ruins stood the stately Cologne cathedral, damaged but basically intact.

The Hohenzollern Bridge had been constructed between 1907 and 1911 after the old bridge, the Cathedral Bridge (Dombrücke), had to be demolished. The Cathedral Bridge had been unable to handle the increasing traffic in Cologne. After being demolished by the Germans during the war, reconstruction was quickly organized; by May 8, 1948, the Hohenzollern Bridge was accessible by pedestrians again. Over the next eleven years the bridge was improved until by 1959 it was usable without any impairment. During the 1980s the bridge was renovated with two new tracks. The Hohenzollern Bridge now regularly has over 1200 trains pass through daily. The bridge is regarded as an important part of Cologne as it connects Cologne's central station with the major European cities on the other side of the Rhine. The total length of the Hohenzollern Bridge is 1,342.5 feet (409.19 meters).

The Hohenzollern Bridge "Then" (above) and "Now" (below)

The Cologne Cathedral construction began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete, roughly 600 years. It is 144.5 meters long, 86.5 m wide and its towers are approximately 157 m tall. The cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and the largest church in Northern Europe. For four years, 1880–84, it was the tallest structure in the world, until the completion of the Washington Monument. It has the second-tallest church spires, only surpassed by the single of Ulm Minster, completed 10 years later in 1890. Because of its enormous twin spires, it also presents the largest facade of any church in the world. The choir of the cathedral, measured between the piers, also holds the distinction of having the largest height to width ratio of any medieval church.

In 1996, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites. In 2004 it was placed on the "World Heritage in Danger" list, as the only Western site in danger, due to plans to construct a high-rise building nearby, which would have visually impacted the site. The cathedral was removed from the List of In Danger Sites in 2006, following the authorities' decision to limit the heights of buildings constructed near and around the cathedral.

The cathedral suffered seventy hits by aerial bombs during World War II. It did not collapse, but stood tall in an otherwise flattened city. The great twin spires are said to have been used as an easily recognizable navigational landmark by Allied aircraft raiding deeper into Germany in the later years of the war, which may be a reason that the cathedral was not destroyed.

A U.S. Army Chaplain holds Mass in Cologne Cathedral
7 March 1945

The repairs to the building were completed in 1956. In the northwest tower's base, an emergency repair carried out in 1944 with bad-quality brick taken from a nearby war ruin remained visible until 2005 as a reminder of the War, but then it was decided to reconstruct this section according to its original appearance.

Inside the Cathedral "Then" (above) and "Now" (below)

Some repair and maintenance work is constantly being carried out in some section of the building, which is almost never completely free of scaffolding, since wind, rain, and pollution slowly eat away at the stones.

Here are views of the Cathedral and Bridge together, taken "Then" and "Now"

05 March 1945

2012-03-05T23:16:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

5 March, 1945 1730

Germany

My darling Wilma –

This time I’m in a really modern home – and surprisingly preserved. This little town for some reason or other managed to escape most of the artillery and bombing and it’s quite a treat to be able to set-up in a house that has a couple of windows in – and a roof. I’m in one of the bedrooms right now; my bedding roll is on a single bed and there’s a small stove going. It’s really quite comfortable but could be tremendously complemented and supplemented by your presence, sweetheart. What this bedroom needs is a woman’s ‘touch’ – and when I write ‘woman’ – I mean only you.

I have to write fast now because it’s starting to get dark – rapidly. It should be easy to surmise, dear, that I’ve been on the go of late – and the hours are irregular. As a result – time is where you find it. A couple of hours ago I didn’t think I’d be able to write you. Last night when I got to bed – I felt dizzy and nauseated – for no reason whatsoever. I hadn’t been drinking and I had eaten nothing unusual. Well I went on from there – spending a very miserable night – and this morning I really felt sick. It seemed like ptomaine – but I can’t figure the source. Anyway – I wasn’t able to eat all day. In the early p.m. I started sipping some canned orange juice – and so far it has managed to stay down. I didn’t go to supper – and here I am. I can’t remember ever feeling this way before although I’m now about 80% cured, but I sure felt like giving up the ghost last night. It’s so rare that I’m ill – I hate it. I’ll be O.K. in the morning – because I can think of food now – and not mind.

The mail, naturally, has been a bit jumpy – and we don’t mind – if it’s for the reason it is. The last real chuckle I got was in your letter telling me about what Uncle Ab had to say one day. It certainly was considerate of him to look out for you and me – but where do you get away with that “and me so naive too” stuff. Who told you you were naïve, darling? Certainly – it wasn’t I! But anyway – dear – you must take care of yourself, so please! Be more careful!! After all!

By the way – I don’t remember whether or not I told you – I received a Valentine’s Card from Dr. Finnegan with a little note stating that he felt I wouldn’t be getting many from the girls – and that’s why he sent his. I got a kick out of that too and I must write him and thank him for his thoughtfulness.

And darling – it’s almost dark here now and I’m getting a little more headache than I started out with. Damn it – I don’t get headaches and here I am complaining of one. Well – I’ll try to get some sleep tonite – I got precious little last nite. And as usual I’ll drop off to sleep with pleasant thoughts of you and me – together again – I love that theme! My love to the folks, dearest, and so long for now.

All my sincerest love,

Greg

Route of the Question Mark

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A)Elsdorf to (B) Kenten, Germany (5 miles)
2 March to 5 March 1945

March 5... Kenten. Mr SANDRI milked the goat and we collected scores of radios and thru furniture out of windows while the inhabitants wept. All in all we completed the destruction of the town.

* TIDBIT *

about Operation "Lumberjack"

As the 3rd Armored, 104th, and 8th Divisions drove toward Cologne on 5 March, resistance was strongest in the north, where General Rose's armor faced the seemingly ineradicable 9th Panzer Division, and in the south where the 8thDivision at the end of the day still was two miles short of the city limits. The relatively slow progress of the 8th Division reflected not only the difficulties of attacking through the coal-mining district but also the fact that the division was striking the north flank of the LVIII Panzer Corps.

The armor nevertheless broke into Cologne soon after daylight, to be followed two hours later by the 104th Division from the west. In a precursor of what was to come as Allied armies fanned out all across Germany, the stiffest fight developed around an airfield where the Germans turned sixteen stationary 88-mm. antiaircraft guns against the tanks of Combat Command Hickey. The tanks finally eliminated the guns in smoke-screened cavalry-like charge. Almost all resistance by the 9th Panzer Division collapsed a short while later when the division commander, Generalmajor Harald Freiherr von Elverfeldt, was killed. As evening approached, the First Army commander, General Hodges, shifted the southern boundary of the VII Corps to the southeast to provide room for the 8th Division to drive to the Rhine south of Cologne and cut the enemy's last landward escape route.

Now a pile of rubble from thousands of tons of Allied bombs, Cologne had once been the Queen City of the Rhine, the third largest city in Germany, and was the largest German city to fall to the attack of British or American forces in this war.

The first 5:39 minutes of the following video shows Americans entering Cologne (Köln), Germany on 5 March 1945, and the remainder is from 6 March 1945. Turn off the sound if it annoys...

04 March 1945

2012-03-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

4 March, 1945 0930

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

I often think – as I did last night – of the week-end we had together in Holyoke alone. We had never really been alone for any length of time until that Sunday afternoon – as a matter of fact. I knew I was learning to love you for what you were but from a purely physical point of view – we hadn’t quite kissed hard enough or long enough to react to each other truly emotionally. We did that day and I’ve never forgotten about it. It’s such a long time ago, sweetheart, and yet I can still sense the reaction of being close to you, very close; of the satisfaction of knowing we were alone and not to be disturbed; of lying side by side looking up at the ceiling and talking to each other; of just being together there as we hadn’t been before. I suppose anyone reading this other than you would think the worst. But we know otherwise – and that’s all that really matters.

Well – whatever got me started on that subject! Oh – yes – I remembered thinking about it last night. A guy can think – can’t he! I’d better get back to more immediate things, I guess.

Yesterday – to continue the chronicle – was another day of activity and we were more or less kept on our toes. You’ll notice, darling, that we’re not seeing many movies these days – and that’s all right with all of us. So long as we’re busy enough moving about – we know the war is progressing well – and we’ll gladly do withoutthe entertainment. And anyway – all the relaxation I want lies in your letters – of which I received 4 yesterday, two V-mails 14 February and one undated (tch,tch!) and two airmails written 19 and 20 February. Now that’s really something, sweetheart, and really – it’s not such a bad war at all when you can get sweet letters – a variety of them in fact – and of recent date, too. Your Valentine V-mail was cute – and the “Angel” or did you say – Cupid – brought your love all right, dear – for which I thank you. You have mine – of course – for a long time now.

The news about Mother B was really ‘prima’ as they say in this country – and is an entirely different picture than was painted before. You mention a Dr. Pemberton and that you want her to see him anyway. He must be a consultant – and if he is – I certainly think she ought to see him. I don’t happen to know who he is. But it all sounds better than it did the first time you mentioned it – and I’m glad of that.

I’ll have to stop now, darling – the boys are coming back from church service and I’ll have a little work to do. Remember – I love you more each day, dear – and miss you and want you constantly. Knowing you feel the same way – makes it much more bearable. Love to the folks, dear and

All my everlasting love

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Operation "Lumberjack"

Portion of Map of Operation Lumberjack
[Click to Enlarge]

Red Dot indicates Greg's Location on 4 March 1945
Solid Blue Line is the Front on 1 March 1945
Dotted Blue Line Through Cologne is the Front on 7 March 1945

In reaching the Erft River late on 27 February, General Collins's VII Corps hadfulfilled its mission in Operation GRENADE. Yet because of the added assignment of guarding the Ninth Army's flank all the way to the Rhine, the Corps would make no pause at the Erft except that necessary to expand the bridgeheads established on the 27th and to put in bridges. By the end of the first day of March, the Corps was beyond the Erft complex astride the main highways leading from Juelich and Dueren to Cologne. Despite frantic efforts by German planes, usually operating singly, six class 40 bridges were in place across the Erft.

The conspicuous feature of the terrain immediately beyond the Erft, west and southwest of Cologne, is a low, plateau-like ridge some twenty-five miles long, the Vorgebirge. Factories and heavily urbanized settlements abound. Northwest of Cologne, the country is generally flat and pastoral, dotted with villages and small towns, particularly along the major highways radiating from Cologne. Because of the basic requirement of protecting the Ninth Army's flank, the VII Corps was to make its main effort north of Cologne, leaving the city to be taken later. General Collins split responsibility for the assignment between General Rose's 3rd Armored Division and the General Lauer's 99th Infantry Division.

The critical assignment went to the armor, beefed up during the opening phase of breaking out of the Erft bridgehead with attachment of the 99th Division's 395th Infantry. Rose was to strike north from the bridgehead to cut the Cologne-Muenchen-Gladbach highway at the town of Stommeln, thereby severing a vital artery leading into the Ninth Army's flank. Meanwhile, General Lauer's infantry was to clear the ground between Rose's armor and the Erft.

When the armor attacked before daylight on 2 March, all thrusts were successful, but they failed to precipitate immediate breakout. Conglomerate German units, mainly from the 9th Panzer Division, fought back stubbornly behind antitank ditches and obstacles that made up an extension of the third line of field fortifications the Germans had prepared behind the Roer. The gains here were insufficient to have any effect on the counterattack projected for that day by the 11th Panzer Division into the Ninth Army's flank; that failed to come off only because the Ninth Army's capture of Muenchen-Gladbach prevented the Panzer Lehr Division from launching its converging thrust.

As night fell on 2 March, the armor had expanded the Erft bridgehead to a depth of three miles, which carried it beyond the northern reaches of the Vorgebirge into open country. From that point the Germans would be capable only of delaying actions, almost always in towns and villages since the flat terrain afforded few military features. That fact was demonstrated early on 3 March when two task forces of CombatCommand Hickey moved before dawn to take the Germans by surprise in two villages southwest of Stommeln. So complete was the surprise in the first village that the attacking armored infantrymen incurred not a single casualty. At both villages the Germans were annihilated, leaving nobody to a final village still remaining short of Stommeln, the division's intermediate objective.

Combat Command Howze moved against Stommeln from three sides. Despite an extensive antitank minefield covered by a relatively strong concentration of antitank guns, the columns converged on the town in late afternoon. Aided by P-47 air strikes against the antitank defenses, they cleared the last resistance by nightfall. General Rose meanwhile sent a column from his reserve, Combat Command Boudinot, beyond Stommeln to a village just four miles from the Rhine. Only one more town lay between the armor and the final objective of Worringen.

Even though the 3rd Armored Division still had several miles to go to reach the Rhine, the VII Corps commander, General Collins, deemed it time to shift emphasis from the northward thrust to capturing Cologne. Late on 3 March Collins told General Rose to continue to the Rhine at Worringen the next day but at the same time to divert a force southeast against Cologne. Not waiting for a new day before continuing to the Rhine, patrols of the 3rd Armored's 83rd Reconnaissance Battalion in early evening of 3 March determined that the one town remaining short of Worringen on the Rhine was stoutly defended. Declining to give battle, the reconnaissance battalion turned north over back roads, bypassed the town, and in the process captured an artillery battery and 300 surprised Germans. Before daylight on 4 March 1945 a 4-man patrol led by First Lieutenant Charles E. Coates reached the Rhine north of Worringen. A task force of Combat Command Boudinot then moved up the main road at dawn, cleared the defended town, repulsed a counterattack by 200 infantry supported by five tanks, and drove on to Worringen and the river.

03 March 1945

2012-03-03T22:35:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

3 March, 1945 1000

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

When I have to skip a day in writing to you I hate it, dear, particularly when you’ve been telling me how good I was about writing you. But I had to miss another day yesterday – and that makes the second time this week. But it’s in a good cause and I know you understand. The war goes well here and soon all of the Rhineland will be ours – and it’s really a good chunk of Germany – at that. If it were not for censorship regulations, sweetheart, I could write you lots of interesting things right now – but it will have to wait.

Our aid station now is in what was left of a rather nice six room house – although last night we all thought it wise to sleep in the cellar. The Germans are going to remember all of us for a very long time. When we finally find a spot that is fairly decent – we have to clean up the rooms before we move in. Usually the infantry has been ahead of us and they start it. But it ends up in throwing the furniture etc. out the nearest window. Everything goes out – as a matter of fact and then we set up. Destruction has lost its meaning to all of us I think – although once in awhile you see something begin destroyed and you feel a little bit queer about it. And then you realize that it was these same Germans who were responsible for your being here – and your mood changes – and that’s all there is to it.

I got your letter of Feb 16th day before yesterday, dear. You told me about the long Bridge session you had had one night with Frank, Jerry and Barbara. That seems to be a pretty steady foursome. I was sorry to hear that Jerry was lame – although I don’t know him. I hate to hear that about anyone. I don’t recall the first time you met Frank – or much else about him. What’s his story, dear? I was disturbed by what you had to say about Irv and his “friend” calling him a draft-dodger etc. In the first place – he can’t be much of a friend to write anything like that – and I just can’t see how some people can be so crude. Irv is a very sensitive person and I know he must have taken something like tha pretty hard. As for my own attitude – I resent the fact that some people I know managed to stay out – but I would never write and tell them about it. I’ve never felt that way about Irv. I know the details in his case; it was borderline – and happened to fall the right way. Furthermore – he made an attempt to get into the Navy – but was anxious to get a commission – for which I don’t blame him a bit.

At any rate, sweetheart, what interests me more than anything else is the fact that you think I’m a man, your man. The “your” part is definite, dear; I am yours in every sense of the word and I hope it will always be so. The “man” part – I don’t know. As tough as the war and separation have been darling, I think it would have been almost as tough and more uncomfortable – had I managed to say out of the war. I don’t see how some of the fellows stand it – but that’s their business.

And – whatever gave you the idea, dear, that I didn’t want you to write – just as you felt – and as often? My letter of 8 January couldn’t have implied that. I love your letters – emotional, matter-of-fact, dealing with love, us, the future – all your letters – and for Heaven’s sake – don’t change them. And mine – I hope – aren’t all exactly matter-of-fact – are they? I’ve saved a few of your letters, darling. I’ve destroyed most of them – not for security reasons but because I just don’t have any place to keep them. We travel too much and space is at a premium. Of course I keep your pictures with me, dear. They never leave my left shirt pocket – and do I look at them! I’ll say! About every day, darling – and many times – several times a day. I’m still waiting for that picture of you in uniform – by the way.

And now sweetheart – things are starting to happen and I’d better close this letter. I love you deeply, dear – and don’t you ever ever forget that fact. My love to the folks and

All my love is yours, darling

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Night of the Intruders

In early March 1945, the German Luftwaffe, in an isolated display of resistance, developed a tactic which, had it been deployed earlier, could have neutralized the WWII operations of Royal Air Force Bomber Command. In the late hours of 3 March 1945, in Operation Gisela, some 200 Junkers JU88 nightfighters of the Luftwaffe Night Fighter Destroyer Group were deployed to intercept the allied bombers returning to base at their most vulnerable point, just before landing. The marauding aircraft crossed the North Sea at points stretching between the Thames Estuary and up the East coast to the North Yorkshire moors. The fact that these intruders were able to cross the North Sea coast without being picked up by English radar operators would seem to have been a result of a degree of complacency that had set in amongst Bomber Command, as the Luftwaffe appeared to be subdued.

The Allied Bomber Command mission scheduled for that evening had been a dual attack on the synthetic oil producing plant at Kamen and a raid on the Dortmund Elms Canal. 234 aircraft from the Northern 4 and 6 Groups took on the first mission while 222 bombers from 5 Group, Lincolnshire, tackled the canal, They departed bases at around 10:00 pm on 3 March 1945. The mission ran smoothly, until the return, when they ran into trouble in the form of Operation Gisela. On this clear night, some of the early returning aircraft had inexplicably switched on their navigation lights much earlier than usual, despite warnings of the dangers of possible predators. Those following did the same.This gave the circling intruders a clear, enticing target.

Having already claimed two Halifax Bombers of 158 Squadron returning to RAF Lissett, near Bridlington, Hauptmann Johann Dreher (Iron Cross) flying his Junkers JU88, set his sights on a French 347 Squadron Halifax returning to RAF Elvington. At about 1:50 am, as Capitaine Notelle approached Elvington, he received the warning of the attack just as the airfield lights went out. He pulled his aircraft up and headed north for Croft, narrowly escaping the menacing intruder.

Elvington Runways Today

The nightfighter continued its attack on Elvington, strafing the road at a passing taxi. Circling for another pass at 1:51am, the JU88 was too low, clipped a tree and crashed into Dunnington Lodge, a farmhouse on the outskirts of the airfield. Machine gun fire from the fighter had strafed the farmhouse before the aircraft crashed through one section of the building. Here, farmer Richard Moll and his wife, Helen, were waking up, having been startled by the gunfire. Their daughter-in-law, Violet, was making her way to their bedroom when the aircraft struck. Meanwhile, Violet's husband, Fred, was saving the life of their 3 year old son, Edgar, by scooping the child up in one arm and, with fire extinguisher in the other, fighting his way through flames and debris to the outside. Tragically, both Violet and Helen died as a result of their injuries, shortly after admission to hospital. Richard Moll survived initially, but suffered severe burns and died later. The JU88 ended up in a field at the junction of the Elvington and Dunnington roads.

This was the last German aircraft to crash on British soil during the war, preceded by a JU88 crashing at Welton, near Lincoln at 1:48am and a JU88 crashing near Halesworth, Suffolk, at 01:37am. Three French Halifaxes were brought down that morning, though with miraculously few casualties. On route to Croft in escaping the trap at Elvington, Notelle’s Halifax was hit three times by fire from the JU88 of Feldwebel (Sergeant) Gunther Schmidt, before he successfully belly-landed the burning aircraft at Rockcliffe Farm, Hurworth, near Darlington. All crew escaped, but some reports suggest that two civilians were killed by the skidding aircraft. Notelle was treated at a hospital at Northallerton for a head injury. Sous-Lieutenant Terrien, remaining at the controls of his burning Halifax whilst the other six baled out, crashed at Glebe Farm, Sutton on Derwent, close to the Elvington base. In a tragic irony, Capitaine Laucou, on his first mission, was brought down near Orford Ness, Norfolk, reflecting the extent to which the returning aircraft had been scattered by the attackers. Both he and the flight engineer were killed, but the others baled out.

The German JU88 that crashed near the village of Welton was piloted by 25 year old Feldwebel Heinrich Conte who spit cannon fire and machine gun bullets at a car driven by an Observer Corps official, Mr J. P. Kelway, father of two boys. Conte was apparently under the impression that the car's headlamps indicated activity on Scampton Airfield. While diving to attack, his aircraft struck telegraph wires and crashed on top of the car.

Feldwebel Heinrich Conze

Both car and aircraft were completely wrecked, parts of the burning aircraft being scattered over a wide area. All the members of the crew were killed together with Mr Kelway. Many years later, a farmer plowing his fields found a German identity tag thought at first to belong to one of the aircrew who had perished. But this was a new name. Checks were made and it was found to belong to a member of the squadron's ground crew, who had been reported as "absent without leave". He had evidently "hitched" a lift in the JU88, probably for a bit of excitement.

RAF Red Arrows are based at Scampton Airfield today

Intervention by Mosquito fighters brought the disastrous Night of the Intruders to an end, but, in just a couple of hours, Bomber Command had lost a further 19 aircraft in addition to the 9 reported missing on the raids themselves. The Luftwaffe also lost 25 fighters out of the 200 involved in the operation.

02 March 1945

2012-03-02T21:41:00.006-05:00

No letter today. Just this:

Route of the Question Mark

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A) Merzenich to (B) Elsdorf, Germany (12 miles)
1 March to 2 March 1945

March 2... Elsdorf. We collected an assemblage of drakes, ducks, chickens, and rabbits from this deserted town, and spent hours roaming in all directions for souvenirs. The advance party spent a sleepless night due to enemy air activity.

Aid Station "Near Elsdorf - March 1945 - "Classy?"

* TIDBIT *

about Operation "Lumberjack"

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

Before General Omar Bradley could turn full attention to gaining the west bank of the Rhine, Supreme Commander General Eisenhower gave him the assignment to extend his protection of the Ninth Army's right flank by clearing a triangle of land between the Erft and the Rhine extending northward from Cologne to the confluence of the two rivers near Duesseldorf.

Bradley logically gave the assignment to the First Army's General Hodges for execution by Collins's VII Corps. Once the job was completed, the VII Corps was to take Cologne, then head south along the Rhine. As Collins turned south, other contingents of the First Army were to launch a narrow thrust from the vicinity of the road center of Euskirchen southeast to the Ahr River, there to converge with a thrust by the Third Army through the Eifel and create a pocket of trapped Germans in the northern reaches of the Eifel.

Bradley's plan went by the code name Operation LUMBERJACK...

As VII Corps fought its way toward Cologne, the RAF pulverized what was left of the city from previous bombing raids, once again leaving the Cathedral unscathed. From "The Porage Diaries" comes the following excerpts:

By day break on 2nd March 1945, and within thirteen hours of landing back from a mission at Mannheim, nine RAF crews had been de-briefed, slept, eaten two meals, attended a fresh briefing and were actually airborne en route for Cologne, together with seven other crews. Exceptionally clear weather conditions, combined with precise Pathfinder Force markings, resulted in a highly effective raid by 858 aircraft. With once again the miraculous exception of its cathedral, Cologne, by now almost a front line city, suffered considerable damage in this last RAF raid - only four days later it was occupied by American troops...

Cologne without Rooftops - Bomb Attack 2 March 1945

Bomber over Devastated Cologne - 2 March 1945

Bombs Away Over Cologne - 2 March 1945

Throughout all of World War II, Cologne endured 262 air raids by the Western Allies, which caused approximately 20,000 civilian casualties and almost completely wiped out the center of the city. During the night of 31 May 1942, Cologne was the site of "Operation Millennium", the first 1,000 bomber raid by the Royal Air Force in World War II. 1,046 heavy bombers attacked their target with 1,455 tons of explosives. This raid lasted about 75 minutes, destroyed 600 acres (243 ha) of built-up area, killed 486 civilians and made 59,000 people homeless. By the end of the war, the population of Cologne was reduced by 95%. This loss was mainly caused by a massive evacuation of the people to more rural areas. The same happened in many other German cities in the last two years of war.

Cologne, Germany after final bombing

01 March 1945

2012-03-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

1 March, 1945 0945

Germany

Dearest Sweetheart –

Happy First of March to you, dear! It’s a fresh, windy, cool day here today and I don’t see how we can have very much more winter from now on. And if we don’t – then we really got by pretty lucky – because we had only one bad month – January – but that was really a b—ch!

I’m in what we call our Aid Station right now and there’s confusion and noise – so excuse any incoherence, darling. Our room is so boarded up that I can’t see to write from there – and it’s not warm enough yet to write outside. Last night we sat around the C.P., talked, studied the map and generally killed the evening. The news continues good and from where we sit – it’s engrossing to see the various phases develop. Incidentally, dear, the medics have been issued maps ever since the early days and I’ve been able to file away most of them. If I can ever get them back – I’ll be able to show you where we’ve been. I guess I have enough to cover the walls of a medium-sized room.

Yesterday evening I got a letter from you written at the time of your last big snowstorm and boy! – you’ve really had some ‘fun’ this winter. I had to laugh at some of your descriptions, dear – snowdrifts, tired muscles, aching back etc. I also got a very old letter from you – your impressions of the “party” at Stan’s house. Your description of Betty was illuminating, to say the least, darling. As I once told you – I didn’t remember exactly how she looked – but I did remember that I was hardly attracted to her. Now you can see why. She is affected – and that of course I didn’t like from the start. I hate that in anyone. What troubled me most was your remark that after 3½ months of marriage it was rumored that Stan was already “fooling around” with others. That corroborates my initial belief that he didn’t marry her for love but for her obvious wealth. And therefore – unlike you, dear, I don’t feel sorry for him in the least. He knew what he was letting himself in for; he’s no child. I want all the things you want from life – too – as you already know. Gosh – married life should be so wonderful – it seems to me. To have someone so close to you, so much a part of you that you can confide your every thought and dream – must be about the most wonderful thing imaginable. Everyone goes thru life, I think, harboring things to himself – things which he doesn’t even tell his brother or sisters or parents – no matter how close they may be to him. Those are the things he saves for his wife – and those are the thoughts I’ve saved all these years for you, sweetheart. The intimacy of being married, living together, sharing the same bed and therefore sharing everything – is something I’ve always wanted - and darling, you’re the girl I’ve saved all that for. We’ll have our home and children; we’ll not be superficial; we’ll have good friends and live a decent, full life. We’ll be steady and real and substantial – I know.

Say – you mention Steve’s receiving an insignia of an infantry division and you immediately became worried because I might be with an outfit like that. Well – I’m not. A good many AA outfits are and it’s not a very good assignment. Fortunately – we’ve never been and I hope we don’t. Our assignment has been the same ever since we left the Eighth Air Force in England and went to Sherborne. For AA – it’s a good assignment.

And darling – you seemed peeved because I once wrote I wanted to see this thing thru. I believe you misinterpreted me. Like Roosevelt – I hate war, too – but I’m just making the best of a situation over which, at present, I have no control. Again I say you’re influenced wrongly by your ARC work – seeing fellows get home for this reason or that. Well darling, I hope I don’t have to come home for compassionate leave or because I’ve been wounded. But I do want to come home just as soon as possible. When I say ‘seeing this thing thru’ – I mean to imply only that I think most of us won’t get back until the war here is over. I personally want to be among the healthy ones – and you must know, sweetheart, that the earlier I get home – the better I like it.

Gotta stop now, dear, and arrange a few things. It’s pretty active here at the moment and something is happening most of the time. Meanwhile, darling, remember that I love you and only you – and that’s the way it will always be. Love to the folks and I hope Mother B is feeling better.

All my deepest love, dear

Greg

P.S. Now – if they had some way of sending us home for ‘passionate’ leave –

Love,

"Near Duren - March 1945 - Proof that the 438th Shoots 'em Down
This is part of a FW 190 shot down by Baker Battery
Pilot was captured after parachuting."

Route of the Question Mark

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A) Rolsdorf to (B) Merzenich, Germany (4.5 miles)
26 February to 1 March 1945

March 1... Merzenich. A one night stand, spent in ruined houses, lingering only long enough to sleep and be paid. We were shelled all night and one particular shell landed twenty feet from the building we were using as a mess hall.

* TIDBIT *

about The Shell that Came Close to the Mess Hall

Two sites address the shelling around Merzenich, possibly explaining the comment in "The Route of the Question Mark" about being shelled. It seems either explanation is a possible source of the shells.

At this point in time, units of the 438th AAA AW Bn were assigned to protect the 3rd Armored Division's 188th Field Artillery Battalion. On a 3rd Armored Online Guest Book web site, Lou Rossi, from the 188th, remembered:

In a town called Merzenich, I was standing around with some 104th Infantry riflemen, and the 3rd's armored artillery was also in the town. A flight of our own Ninth Tac came over and bombed the hell out of us. I woke up in a cellar with some infantry and armor guys around me. When I came up to the street I observed a lot of damage and guys were pointing at the yellow and white US markings on some duds and using very foul language directed at the Ninth Tac bombers. Maybe someone in the 3rd's artillery remembers being hit by our own bombers in Merzenich. The tanks had already taken off for Morschenach, about forty miles ahead. I've always suspected that those two names were confused by a bomber navigator and they unloaded on us instead of hitting Morschenach, the target town they were supposed to hit in support of the tanks spearheading toward Cologne.

Meanwhile, Hodge's Diary mentions night attacks by the Boche. From "U.S. Army in WWII European Theater of Operations: The Last Offensive"by Charles B. MacDonald for the Department of the Army's Office of the Chief of Military History, published in 1973 in Washington, D.C. comes this excerpt:

This account from Hodge's Diary also states that the Boche had 34 downed aircraft. Greg seems to have taken a picture of the wing of one.

28 February 1945

2012-02-28T22:34:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

28 February, 1945 1605

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

For awhile I thought I wouldn’t be able to write you today but I’m finally settled and here I am. I won’t be able to write much because there’s lots to do yet but a short letter is better than none at all I figure.

Apartment houses don’t exist anymore, dear, and yet I’m able to write you from a room that has 4 walls. Sweetheart – you’d have to see it to believe it – but a 4-walled structure in these parts is a rarity. Of course when I say 4 walls – I don’t imply necessarily that they are 4 whole walls by any manner or means. I guess I’ve told you a good deal about destruction and ruined towns since I hit the continent – and you must be getting tired of it, but darling, I’m giving you a picture of the war as I’m seeing it and I’ve got to tell you what I see. I just haven’t seen anything like what we’re seeing now. I thought Aachen was laid waste. There just won’t be any cities or towns where we’re passing thru now. It would take years to lug away the debris. We were in a city today of about 50,000 – about Salem’s size. There was not one house, store, building, factory or anything standing. I don’t know how the destruction could have been so complete. Actually – dear – it’s terrifying. Of course there’s not a soul around – and that adds to the picture of death. If the rest of Germany is like this – and a good many bigger spots already are – we won’t have to worry about the next war for some time. Germany will be a primitive nation for years and years. She has nothing left and the pity of it all is that their hopeless war goes on – causing more men to die and be maimed.

Well – well, darling, didn’t mean to get on that track – but what we’re seeing these days leaves a very deep impression on one. We got no mail yesterday, nor none today. Today is supposed to be pay day – but I don’t see how that’s going to be accomplished. That reminds me – thanks for your letter telling me of Eleanor’s gift and how much I owe you. It’s my fault for not telling you how much to spend. I’d like you to have spent more – but you say the slip was nice and that’s good enough for me. Thanks for the trouble, darling. And your gift to Stan and Betty sounds very nice and your reasoning correct.

In one of your letters, dear, you mention all the pretty songs out. I think I mentioned recently the fact that we don’t hear them until they’re fairly old. Every time you mention one I keep watching for it. Anyway – the only songs I’m interested in are the ones that say “I love you – over and over again” – because that’s the way I feel about you, darling, and as far as I’m concerned – those are the prettiest words ever. I do love you, sweetheart, in every sense of the word – and I always shall.

For now, dear, I’ll have to sign off. My love to the folks – and

All my sincerest love –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Rhineland Campaign and Germany's Doom

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

Greg mentions the destruction of Germany and that while Germany has nothing left, the war goes on. Even von Rundstedt knew the war was lost, yet Hitler insisted on continuing the fight. From "U.S. Army in WWII European Theater of Operations: The Last Offensive"by Charles B. MacDonald for the Department of the Army's Office of the Chief of Military History, published in 1973 in Washington, D.C. come these excerpts:

The Rhineland campaign included both the First Canadian Army's Operation VERITABLE (under General Crerar) and the U.S. Ninth Army's launching of Operation GRENADE (under General Simpson). Operation VERITABLE was planned as a drive southeastward up the left bank of the Rhine from a position gained by the big airborne attack the preceding fall (during Operation MARKET BASKET) in the vicinity of Nijmegen. Operation GRENADE was planned as an assault crossing of the Roer followed by a northeastward drive to link with the First Canadian Army along the Rhine...

As these events had been occurring with such swiftness, German commanders who as late as 24 February could hope that the Ninth Army’s crushing drive was not designed to converge with the Canadian thrust southeast from Nijmegen were at last impelled to face reality. Operation GRENADE at that point clearly was the hammer aimed at crushing the southern wing of Army Group H against the anvil of Operation VERITABLE. Success of the operations meant encirclement or crushing defeat both for Army Group H’s southern wing, the First Parachute Army, and that part of the Fifteenth Army that was being forced back to the north.

Admission of that hard fact came at every level of command, from Fifteenth Army to OB WEST. Although Field Marshal Model at Army Group B acknowledged the truth of a grim estimate of the situation made by the Fifteenth Army, he could do little to help. He did promise commitment of the Panzer Lehr Division, which OB WEST accorded him, but the Panzer Lehr still was severely bruised from its fight against Operation VERITABLE and in any event could make no appearance in strength for several days.

The Commander in Chief West, Field Marshal von Rundstedt, appealed on 25 February to Hitler for new directives designed to prevent disintegration of the entire Western Front. The situation was bad everywhere, he reported, not only in the north but in the south where attacks by the U.S. Third Army on either side of the Moselle River (Bitburg and Trier) worried Rundstedt most of all. When Hitler made no immediate response, Rundstedt on the 26th begged permission to make at least a minor withdrawal in the north, to pull back the extreme left wing of the First Parachute Army out of a salient at the juncture of the Roer and Maas Rivers near Roermond. The withdrawal was designed to ensure contact between the parachute army and the Fifteenth Army’s XII SS Corps as the latter fell back before the American drive. Yet even such a minor withdrawal Hitler refused to sanction.

Hitler’s response on 27 February sought to allay Rundstedt’s fears about an attack along the Moselle but offered no palliatives for any of the crises in the west. By redeploying units already present, Hitler directed, the endangered southern wing of Army Group H was to hold where it was. Withdrawal behind the Rhine still was unthinkable.

Even as Hitler’s message arrived, the crisis along the boundary between Army Groups B and H was growing more serious. Again Rundstedt appealed for permission to make at least the short withdrawal from the Roermond salient. This time he had the support of the Deputy Chief of the Wehrmacht Operations Staff, who personally briefed Hitler on the crucial situation. Hitler at last agreed - “with a heavy heart...

On the 28 February 1945 and the first day of March, events proved conclusively that the battlefield belonged to armor. All along the front American units recorded advances of from seven to ten miles, and there was little the Germans could do about it.

27 February 1945

2012-02-27T22:16:00.004-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

27 February, 1945 0900

Germany

My dearest Sweetheart –

After the lapse of one day, I’ll take up where I left off – and tell you that I love you more than ever, dear, want you more than ever, and miss you more than ever; and I’m going to keep on feeling that way until I come home. Then I want only to love and want you. I hope I’m not compelled to miss you, darling.

Well – as I already implied, I didn’t write you yesterday, dear – but it was for the obvious reasons. I did get mail, however, and boy – am I ever hearing from you, sweetheart! It’s wonderful – V-mails, air-mails – and it’s a race right now – which arrives earlier. Believe it or not – but I received an air mail of the 15th (written) and V-mails of the 15th and 17th of February. Shades of England!

Right now I’m in my bedroom – sitting at a nice table in front of the window. This room is part of a 5 room apartment – in a small apartment house in the suburbs of a fair sized city. Houses of any sort with roofs on them are pretty hard to find – so we consider ourselves lucky for having this one. But we hope we don’t stay long. I’d like to get moving the way we did when we came across France. We’d be getting home that much sooner, dear. The news here and all around us is good – as you’re probably aware of.

Before I forget it – I want to take up the matter of Mother B’s condition. I remember you told me some time ago that she had been to the doctor’s and was being followed by him. I don’t remember whether you told me his name or not. That’s important, of course, from the point of view of diagnosis. Assuming the diagnosis is correct – and it sounds reasonable – the choice between fibroidectomy or hysterectomy and x-ray usually lies in the person handling the case. The big trouble with x-ray is that it not only destroys the fibroids in the uterus – but it destroys the ovaries, too. That isn’t too much a consideration in your mother’s case, though, because she’s at the menopause stage anyway. The other trouble with x-ray is that you don’t know exactly how well the job has been done. In most cases that we saw at Salem – x-ray was reserved for those people who were in no physical condition to undergo operation. In other words – dear – personally I feel that operation in a physically fit person is preferable. You can see what you’re doing, whether the diagnosis is correct, you can leave the ovaries intact – and in the hands of a good man – it is not too difficult an operation at all. If the doctor your mother is visiting now does not operate himself, he probably has a couple of surgeons he refers work to. One who comes to mind who is as good as they come in Gynecology around Boston is Louis Phaneuf. He’s top notch in his field. If nothing more – it might be worth having a consultation a man like him because he’s handled thousands such cases I’m sure.

I’m sorry, darling, for Mother B and for your worry – but it’s really not bad – and whichever treatment she undergoes – she’s going to be a whole lot better off. Where you can do the most good is to encourage, allay her fears, bear with her. I’ll be very much interested in more news about her condition and I do wish I were home to give a little more support.

I’m so glad you got the roses and the candy, dear. I was afraid it couldn’t be arranged. It will be so nice when I can do things for you myself – little or big. I hope I never forget, busy or otherwise.

And now I’m busy, sweetheart and I’ll have to knock off. There’s lots of things to get done today and the quicker I start – the better off I’ll be. So – for now, so long, dear – and my love to the folks and don’t worry about Mother B – she’ll be O.K. I’m sure.

All my deepest love –

Greg.

P.S. 1 encl. Stars and Stripes –

Love

Back side of comic has news...

* TIDBIT *

about The Last Heavy Raid on Mainz

With its four towers and two cupolas, the structure of the St. Martin’s Cathedral of Mainz soars impressively above the city skyline. It is the oldest Romanesque church on the Rhine and the symbol of the city. Mainz was founded as an encampment for a Roman legion, then became the capital of the Roman province Germania Superior and finally was the first and most distinguished bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire. Mainz became the first printing center of Europe under its citizen Johann Gutenberg, 1397-1468. By the end of the 18th century, more than all others, electors and archbishops had left their mark on the developing city which then underwent many other changes in the 19th and 20th centuries that impacted on the inventory of organs. Many buildings and the organs that stood within them fell victim to acts of war, first in 1793 when set fire by the French and again during the Second World War. As a result of the heaviest aerial bombing attack on Mainz which occured on 27 February 1945, 61 % of the building structures – in the inner city even up to 80 % – were destroyed. Today there are over 80 organs in the greater Mainz area, of these 70 were constructed after the Second World War.

Mainz today

The following description of the attack was taken from the February 1945 Campaign Diary of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.

458 aircraft - 311 Halifaxes, 131 Lancasters, 16 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups to Mainz. 1 Halifax and 1 Mosquito lost. The target area Mainz was covered by cloud and the bombing was aimed at skymarkers dropped on Oboe. No results were seen by the bomber crews but the bombing caused severe destruction in the central and eastern districts of Mainz; this was the city's worst raid of the war. 1,545 tons of bombs were dropped. 5,670 buildings were destroyed, including most of the historic buildings in the Altstadt, but the industrial district was also badly hit. This was the last heavy raid on Mainz.

The Day They Bombed Mainz, 27 February 1945
A Photobook (and source of most of the photos below)

Click on any photo below to enlarge them all.

After 20 minutes of dropping bombs and thousands of incendiaries by the British Air Force on 27 February 1945, the city of Mainz was turned into an inferno of flames and smoke. When it was over, 80 percent of the city were destroyed. Mainz was no longer. The attack took more than 1,200 lives. Below is an interview published by SWR.de with a survivor, the then 16-year-old Anton Maria Keim who narrowly escaped death.

Anton Maria Keim

SWR.de: Dr. Keim, you still often think of the 27th of February 1945?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: Still to this day I have painful memories. I awake at night sometimes and do not know why I'm still alive. I still cringe today, when I hear a siren or when something reminds me of flak. I will forever remember the crackling and burning of the city.

What did you do when the air raid warning surprised you?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: I was in hiding in order not to be drafted into the front line or to be deported (Editor's note: Keim's grandmother was Jewish). In the afternoon I was riding a bicycle in the center of Mainz to look at two bookstores, where there were old and banned books. When the air raid alarm went off at just after 4 o'clock, I wanted to get to the east towers of the cathedral for safety. I rode off in a hurry, but fell at the Schiller Square in the bombing.

There I spent the attack in the hallway of the Alsatian bank. From the basement below me came screaming. Gas and water pipes had burst and people were drowning and suffocating. I was lucky I could get away from the burning of Mainz on my bike 20 minutes after the attack, with slight smoke inhalation. I did so with great difficulty - although I do not know exactly how.

Where did you go?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim:I was living at home in Pike. From the height of Hechtsheimer I saw the burning city, like a single torch, which is pointed at the top. I cried like a child. Although I was clear, this was the end of Mainz. The city was destroyed and remained that way for years. The cathedral remained standing - a miracle! It was the symbol of resistance. In the Capuchin monastery, 41 Sisters were killed. Perhaps these martyrs made sure I survived.

SWR.de: Were the victims acquaintances of yours?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: Yes, quite a lot of them were classmates who suffocated or did not get to the cellar in time. There were just minutes between the alarm and the first carpet bomb. The Schiller place was still full of people with prams and children who wanted to take refuge in the cellar. The place was then a wooden block. The burnt corpses could be seen for months. From the roofs dripped molten tin. I still have that smell in my nose today. It is said that there were 1,200 deaths, but who knows for sure. There were corpses dug up years later.

How did you process the experience?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: We were happy to have survived and feared more fighting between the Army and the fanatical SS. In recent days, the SS had shot three family men, who had hoisted the white flag. My uncle was among the victims. As the first tank moved into Hechtsheim, we were happy. We welcomed the Americans as liberators from bombs and terror. It was a great deliverance. The Americans were completely surprised by this greeting.

How have these experiences shaped your life?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: Very strongly. I am a social democrat and pacifist, always active in the peace movement. I was an opponent of rearmament. And I cannot think that through alliances we must have any obligations to war again.

Is it possible to compare the air raids on German cities with the attacks of the armed forces on English cities like Coventry?
Dr. Anton Maria Keim: The total air war was been begun by the Germans. The Nazis said that they would wipe out British cities like Coventry. I'm not fond of this is - that one was revenge of the other. But one thing has been causally related to the other. That does not excuse the Warrior of the Air, "Bomber Harris"'s attempt to demoralize the German population. (Editor's note: Arthur Harris was then a senior commander of the British bombers, who ordered the bombing of Dresden). But you need to know how the conditions at that time were, including the mass murder of Jews.

26 February 1945

2012-02-26T21:30:00.000-05:00

No letter today. Just this:

Route of the Question Mark

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A) Stolberg to (B) Rolsdorf, Germany (14 miles)
5 February to 26 February 1945

Rolsdorf, Germany, is approximately 1000 yards from the Roer River
and 2000 yards from Duren, which had been taken one day earlier.

February 26... Rolsdorf. Our street of deserted houses filled with civilian furnishings, which awakened all our instincts for looting. T/5 [Walter L.] JASKOW setting a fast pace. Here T/5 [Robert E.] BEGGAN, his arms full of cans of jam and jelly when the planes came over, was hurled down the cellar stairs when everyone made a rush for safety.

* TIDBIT *

about More from General Hodges

The snapshots that follow were taken from Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges & the First U.S. Army, maintained by his aides Major William C. Sylvan and Captain Francis G. Smith Jr.; edited by John T. Greenwood, copyright 2008 by the Association of the United States Army, pp.309-310.

25 February 1945

2012-02-25T23:20:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

25 February, 1945 0910

Germany

Dearest darling Wilma –

About the one time of week it’s a bit quiet here – is at this time – Sunday morning when the boys are at Catholic services. I can remember when I used to be able to really concentrate on a letter – not only in the States – but in England, too. You once told me my letters to you, dear, were much better then – and certainly that was one factor, because I know that if I’m left alone long enough and quietly enough, I can think clearly what I want to write to you.

Sometimes I feel as if I ought to wait until night time to write you, darling. It seems as if there aren’t so many people around – but – experience has shown that you can’t count on an evening – and I don’t mean because we have movies – but because more often than not, we’re interrupted.

We’ve seen a lot of movies in the past two weeks chiefly because our setup is so convenient for showing them. The movies are always available – but only those outfits in the right position can call for them. We saw another movie last night – “Christmas Holiday”. I saw most of it – saw not heard – down in Belgium during the breakthrough. I don’t know whether or not I mentioned it to you, dear. It was bitter cold that day and the sound track didn’t work. The field artillery was putting it on and a couple of us walked over. When we had almost developed frostbite, trench foot and gangrene – we decided to leave. Somehow I enjoyed it last nite – not as a whole – but some parts of it. One part in particular made me feel sad or reminiscent or lonesome or what-not – the scene in the Concert Hall. I think that excerpt was from the Meistersinger – but I’m not sure, I’m getting so rusty about the music I used to know. I haven’t been able to listen to good music for a long time now and I suddenly felt an acute longing for it and all it connoted. I closed my eyes and tried to picture the both of us at a concert, relaxing and enjoying the music. I’ve always loved good music – whether I’ve understood it or not . I can’t describe exactly what it does for me – you can’t eat it or taste it or touch it – but it gets inside you someway and for me – at least – it has the effect of temporarily detaching me from my problems, cares or worries. I couldn’t help but think of all this last nite and I paid very little attention to the rest of the picture. I dreamed of you and me and what our world would be like after I get back. Sweetheart – I just don’t see any reason at all why we can’t be the happiest couple ever. We love each other so and we have the same goal in life, I know. I’ll strive for independence – surely – but above and beyond that I want to bring up a family, see them educated – and all the while not grow stagnant ourselves. As a doctor – I wonder whether we’ll have time for all that. I don’t know – but I’ve seen so many couples “go to pot” so to speak for lack of outside interests. This world has so much to offer and yet so few take advantage of it. I want to see things, to read, to hear –– Damn this goddamned war for the time it’s stealing from us – because by now we could have been started on the right road.

But I am not discouraged sweetheart – so long as you can stick it out. Come hell or high water – we’ll be together some day and our ideals will not have changed, I’m sure. Just keep on loving me, darling, as deeply and strongly as I love you – and nothing can stop us.

All for now, dear. Send my love to the folks – and

All my everlasting love –

Greg.

* TIDBIT *

about Coverage of the Roer River Crossing by

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

Part of The Sunday Times front page
(from Trove's web site of digitized newspapers and more)

1400 Prisoners, 15 Nazi Towns Captured In
Roer River Crossing
COUNTER-ATTACKS FLOP

LONDON, Sat: American 1st and 9th Armies in their Roer River offensive captured at least 15 German villages and towns and 1400 prisoners in the first 24 hours of the attack.

Fighting is now proceeding inside Duren, which is only 20 miles from Cologne.

During the night the 9th Army beat off 6 German counter-attacks, and the offensive was still going well this morning.

Americans are across the road connecting Linnich, Julich and Duren at several places. Deepest penetration to date is that reported towards Hamback.

A correspondent reports that troops an supplies are steadily flowing across the Roer by ferry and bridges to consolidate hard-won gains and to press deeper into the Rhineland.

The Germans were quick to react after early surprise and after the Allies' tremendous effort to isolate the battlefield.

Americans are across the Roer on a 22-mile front, their spearheads at one point making progress up to 3-1/2 miles.

Reuters' correspondent at Montgomery's headquarters says the 9th Army has cleared Julich except for the citadel and the northern part of the town. Citadel consists of fortified buildings surrounded by a wall 14 feet thick and 15 feet high as well as a 20 foot moat varying in width from 70 to 100 feet.

Reuters' man on the 9th Army front describes German resistance today as light in some sectors, heavy in others.

American artillery is pounding the Julich citadel, where the Germans are holding out despite the threat of encirclement.

Effectiveness of Allied air blows is shown by the fact that 19 hours passed before the first decided German reaction came - counter-attacks against the 9th Army in the Linnich-Duren area.

Describing German counter-attacks, B.U.P. man with the 9th Army says the first counter-attack was made at Moslar, with tanks and assault guns, under cover of heavy artillery fire.

American guns countered with a barrage which sent the Germans back with heavy losses. The other 5 counter-attacks, all on a smaller scale were beaten off.

There are indications that large forces of German garrison troops in occupied Holland, north of the Maas, are withdrawing eastward beyond the Ijssel River line, which is the northern extension of the West Wall, says "Daily Telegraph" correspondent with the Canadians. Germans are probably leaving fairly strong garrisons to guard the V-2 rocket area on the coast, also such strong points as Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam.

In their withdrawal the Germans have taken most of the able-bodied Dutch population to work on the Ijssel Line defense.

24 February 1945

2012-02-24T12:24:00.000-05:00

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

24 February, 1945 0900

Germany

My dearest sweetheart –

I got your V-mail of 12 February yesterday – and it’s about 4 days ahead of my most recent letter from you – no – 5 days. But you can’t figure the mail out too accurately. I do believe though that V-mail is a bit ahead of Airmail.

This one is not as a test for speed, darling, but because I have a busy day ahead of me and I must get going as soon as I finish this. Yesterday was a nice day here – although a bit noisy. Despite all that we managed to have another movie at battalion – “In the Meantime, darling”. I don’t know who was in it. You may have seen it, though. It was pretty typical of Army Camp life and quite real about the going overseas part. It brought me back vividly to the night I had to say so long to you, sweetheart – and as I thought about it I realized how inadequate I must have been. I didn’t tell you half as strongly enough how much I loved you and wanted you to wait for me to come back. But you know it now, darling – only I love you infinitely more now and I miss you fiercely! All for now, dear –

All my deepest love – Greg.

* TIDBIT *

about "My Day" by Eleanor Roosevelt

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt

According to Wikipedia, "My Day" was a newspaper column that was written by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt six days a week from 1935 to 1962. In her column, she discussed issues such as race, women, and key events, such as Pearl Harbor, Prohibition, and the H-Bomb. This column allowed Mrs. Roosevelt to spread her ideas and thoughts to millions of Americans and give them a new view on the issues they faced every day. George T. Bye, Eleanor Roosevelt's literary agent, encouraged her to write the column. "My Day" influenced many Americans. Women felt empowered by hearing Eleanor Roosevelt's opinion and African Americans were given a sense of hope for the future.

Eleanor with Singer Marian Anderson in 1939

Here is Eleanor's "My Day" column dated 24 February 1945.

NEW YORK, Friday — I must tell you a little bit more about the children's unity festival which I attended yesterday. I arrived just as a wonderful brown bear was being led on the stage, and the children had the most marvelous time watching him go through his tricks. I was a little nervous at first, but the bear seemed accustomed to flash bulbs, enthusiastic applause and hoots and yells. Finally, three little boys even rode on his back.

If audience participation is a sign of a successful performance, these children participated with an abandon which you rarely see in an adult audience. I was a little sorry when they had to listen to speeches, but they bore with us who had to make a few serious remarks.

I left with a feeling that it would be a memorable day in the lives of these children and that the unity pledge which they had taken would be more meaningful because of the remembrance they would have of the day on which they took it. I am printing that pledge because I think it is one which might also be taken by grown-ups.
We now join hands with the children of the world. It matters not whether they are black or white, or where they were born, or if they are Jew or Gentile. We do not ask where or how they worship. We ask only that they love freedom and their neighbors. Together we will make an ever-widening circle around a tired, war-torn world, so that our parents may see our friendship and peace and follow our example. For did not the Prophet say: 'A little child shall lead them'?"
The meeting was sponsored by the Citizens Committee of the Upper West Side and I wish similar meetings could be held everywhere throughout this country.

Last night I finished a most charming story called "The Little Prince." It was written and illustrated by Antoine de Saint Exupery, and though you may think it is a child's book, you will find that much of it can be appreciated only by the very mature adult who has never forgotten what it is like to be a child.

Perhaps the wisest saying in the whole book is: "I made him my friend and now he is unique in all the world."

It will not take you long to read, but I think it will give you food for thought and for dreams which may fill empty hours.

E. R.

23 February 1945

2012-02-23T22:01:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

23 February, 1945 0940

Germany

My dearest sweetheart –

Frankly – I’m tired this morning and I don’t know how far I’ll get with this letter. War fatigue? Combat exhaustion? No – none of these, darling – just another celebration. Our new – or loaned – dentist is amazed at all this. He says that they used to have a little fun at his place, drink a few, sit around and talk – and call it a drinking bout. He’s never seen anything like what we put on when we have a celebration – and he can’t understand how we have so many. Well – I’ll admit dear – starting with the first of the year we have had a few – despite some trying days – or maybe as a result of. At any rate – it has helped release the tension at the current time – and that is most important.

As a matter of fact, sweetheart, we did have an excuse for a party last night in the form of Pete’s Captaincy coming thru. You’ve asked me a few times about it and I’ve said nothing because I felt that any day it would come – but administrative details are sometimes slow here. Well – the Colonel had Pete come in from his Battery for supper and he pinned his new bars on him. We had several drinks before and just as many after. The fact that we celebrate more vehemently at a party than most other outfits – is true, I think, dear. It’s all out – and I still do my share – so don’t worry – when I get back, sweetheart, I think I’ll be able to take up where I left off.

This morning – six of the fellows – including Pete – were not present at breakfast. That’s always proof of a ‘successful’ party. I made it, though, and as usual I have no hangover, but damn it – I sure feel tired! Now – that’s a helluva a war we’re fighting, isn’t it? Oh – well – today is another day and the chances are it will be a war-day rather than one for parties. That’s why I have no chagrin whatsoever because of having been able to tie one on again.

In one of your last letters, dear, you mention Billy’s receiving the Helmet. I’m glad it arrived and pleased that he got a kick out of it – but hell – we’re practically cousins – aren’t we? And you seemed ‘alarmed’ about that brush I left out of the traveling kit I sent back. Am I losing my hair that fast? I don’t know, dear. You know – haircuts in the Army vary so. It’s rare to have the same fellow cut your hair on 2 successive times and they really take it apart. I didn’t have a hell of a lot when I left – and there have been times when I felt that what I had would turn gray fast or disappear suddenly. But what I have is still the same color and I don’t suppose it’s much thinner – but I’m not sure. So –

And as long as you love me, darling anyway – I’m happy. And that’s quite a statement because could I love you if yours were like mine? Yes – sweetheart – any way at all – I love you – even though that was a silly comparison. The fact is I love you, love you and love you !!

That’s all for now, darling. Love to the folks – and

ALL my love is yours –

Greg.

* TIDBIT *

about A War on Two Fronts:
1. Raising the Flag at Iwo Jima and
2. Crossing the Roer River in Germany

1. Iwo Jima

Rosenthal's "Raising the Flag at Iwo Jima"

"Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" is a historic photograph taken on 23 February 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. Of the six men depicted in the picture, three were killed during the battle; the three survivors became celebrities upon their identification in the photo.

Tactically, the top of Suribachi was one of the most important locations on the island. From that vantage point, the Japanese defenders were able to accurately spot artillery onto the Americans - particularly the landing beaches. The Japanese fought most of the battle from underground bunkers and pillboxes. It was common for Marines to knock out one pillbox using grenades or a flamethrower, only to have it begin shooting again a few minutes later after more Japanese infantry slipped into the pillbox using a tunnel. The American effort concentrated on isolating and capturing Suribachi first, a goal that was achieved on 23 February 1945, four days after the battle began. Despite capturing Suribachi, the battle continued to rage for many days, and the island would not be declared "secure" until 31 days later, on the 26th of March.

Mount Suribachi Today

Many people are unaware that the flag raising Rosenthal photographed was the second that day. This led to resentment from those Marines who took part in the nearly-forgotten first flag raising. Charles W. Lindberg, who participated in the first flag raising (and who was, until his death in June 2007, the last living person depicted in either flag raising) complained that he "was called a liar and everything else. It was terrible."

Raising the First Flag

2. Roer River Crossing

When the Schwammenauel Dam was taken, the retreating Germans had destroyed the power-room machinery and the discharge valvesmaking it impossible to halt the flow of water. The Roer crossing would have to wait. Rising in depth by as much as 5 feet, the worst effect of the subsequent flood was to increase the current sharply, at some points to more than 10 miles per hour. Along most of its banks, the Roer poured over its banks and inundated the valley floor. Just north of Linnich where the river is normally 25 to 30 yards wide, it spread into a lake more than amile wide. More common were areas of 300 to 400 yards across and the crossing was toundergo successive postponements.

Acting on advice of the engineers, Ninth Army's Gen Simpson reset D-day for 23 February 1945, one day before it was calculated that the reservoirs would be drained. By moving one day early, Gen Simpson hoped to achieve some measure of surprise. As the target date for the crossing approached, the accumulated stocks of supplies rose to huge proportions. In one 5-day period, for example, over 40,000 long tons was received, the biggest delivery to any army in the theater in a comparable period. Most of it arrived by rail in more than 6,000 freight cars.

Six infantry divisions were to lead the attack, 84th and 102th from the XIII Corps, 29th and 30th from the XIX Corps, and 104th and 8th of the VII Corps. The XIII and XIX Corps were to represent the main effort with the VII guarding the right flank. This plan not only gave the VII Corps, protecting the Ninth Army's drive, the deepest area of penetration, but also its own right flank was exposed for at least two full days. Methods of crossing the swollen Roer varied to some extend from division to division. The plans for some were for only a relatively small force to cross in assault boats with the balance to use foot-bridges to be constructed as soon as bridgeheads could be secured; a task that proved easier to plan than execute. The 8th Division planned to make use of motor boats, but had extreme problems in starting the motors. Some units planned to rely heavily on cable ferries and amphibious vehicles, while others, including the 104th, relied more heavily ontransporting the attacking companies by assault boats. And while some elected to use smoke and others didn't, all plans had problems and the mighty Roer took it's toll.

Ninth Army GI killed by German mortar crossing the Roer on a Footbridge
23 February 1945 - Photo from LIFE magazine.

While crossing techniques varied, all divisions relied on a tremendous 45 minute barrage of artillery supplemented by all available weapons. The 130 battalions of field artillery and tank destroyers assigned in support of the Ninth Army & VII Corps, totaling more than 2,000 guns, was one of the heaviest artillery concentrations of the war, providing one artillery piece for each 10 yards of front. The weight of the artillery projectiles that the XIX Corps alone could throw at the enemy in six days of combat on a two division front was a massive 8,138 tons. Adding to the fire power of artillery plus anti-aircraft guns, tanks, tank destroyers, chemical mortars, and all other infantry weapons, each corps had an armored division attached. Also formidable air support was provided (in direct support of the Ninth Army was the XXIX Tactical Air Command, employing five groups of fighter-bombers, 375 planes, and one tactical reconnaissance group) and in spite of the difficult of the rampaging Roer, by nightfall, nearly 25,000 American infantrymen were across.

Footbridge at Rurdorf, Germany

On the second day, the water level had dropped enough to permit the construction of 19 bridges, 7 of them vehicular, allowing tanks to join the attack (in case bridge construction was delayed, 500 C-47 transport aircraft, fully loaded with supplies, sat ready for air-drops). Plagued by an open right flank, the 8th Division had the roughest D-day of all and on 25 February, its commander, Maj Gen Wm G Weaver suffered the fourth in a series of heart attacks and was evacuated and relieved by Brigadier General Bryant E. Moore, assistant division commander of the 104th. Enemy opposition was stubborn, but on 27 February VII Corps completed its role in, covering 13 miles from the Roer at Duren to the Erft River and Canal to seal the Ninth Army's south flank. It's drive was to continue, but now the VIII Corps belonged to another operation that General Bradley planned to carry his 12th Army Group to the Rhine.

Treadway across the Roer River

Truck on Pontoon Bridge Crossing the Roer River

Operation Grenade was a tremendous success, but not with out great cost. The Ninth Army (with a strength of 303,243) reported 92 KIA, 61 MIA, 913 WIA for a total of 1,066 casualties and VII Corps (with 75,00 men) suffered 66 KIA, 35 MIA, 280 WIA for a total of 381.

US 29th Division Crosses Roer River, Germany, 1945, Jülich

22 February 1945

2012-02-22T23:28:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

22 February, 1945 0930

Germany

Happy Holiday, darling!

Well – if Washington’s Birthday is like it used to be, dear – you ought to be having the day off today, and if so – I hope you’re relaxing, taking it easy – and forgetting about casualties, frantic wives etc. I know your office is open all of the time – but it seems to me that you worked a half day on Christmas – so someone else must be covering now.

Here – although there’s no Holiday Spirit exactly, sweetheart, the weather could easily put you in the mood – but not for Washington’s Birthday – but rather for St. Patrick’s Day or even Patriot’s Day. The sky is as blue and clear as I’ve seen it for a long time and the streets are dry and reasonably clear. I’d like to be in my Buick now, with you – the top down – just riding around somewhere – like we once did. It’s just that kind of day here. Why I should want a ride in a car with the top down though – is beyond me. Boy – I’ve really had my share of open-air driving in that Jeep of mine.

Yesterday, dear, I didn’t move much out of this place – but I managed to keep fairly busy. In the evening I played Bridge – for the first time in several nights. I won my share. We kept changing partners – and I was on the winning end 4 out of 6 rubbers. One hand was extra special and we bid and made 7 Diamonds. I opened 1 No – with a 5 count and my partner double-jumped me to 3 diamonds. I knew we were off. It was a nice hand to hold.

I was awfully sorry to read in one of your letters – about Les White. I don’t remember what I wrote you when you first mentioned his being wounded in the shoulder or arm – but then – you implied it was slight. Of course that’s where the Army puts a family off. As you must know thru your work, dear, the reports are either ‘severe’ or ‘slight’. In order to be ‘severe’ – you’ve really got to be hit – with loss of limb at least. But there’s no ‘moderate’ classification – and I think that’s been fooling a good many families when they get a report of ‘slight’. Of course I can understand Betty being happy to have him back – but nerve injuries are damned tricky and the results uncertain. I do hope he gets along O.K. The Army does a good job though of getting a soldier into a Hospital not far from his family.

Say – what’s this about a post-war scarf? I thought you were making me one for now – although I admit – it’s getting a little bit late for it. O.K. – a post-war scarf – but what if I get back in the middle of the summer? Anyway, it’s thoughtful of you, darling, and I appreciate it. How is it coming along?

And you and Grace better stop thinking about that imaginary trip to Europe – although I see the point, dear. Better let us plan the imaginary trip back to those we love. At least when we get there – we’ll be able to love and live in peace and quiet. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to come back to this goddamned Continent. I don’t see how it will ever overcome some of it’s scars and a peace is not going to make the French, Belgium and Dutch – forgive and forget what has happened. For that matter – the Germans can’t forget it either – because they’ve been knocked cockeyed. No – this continent will stink to high heaven and I don’t believe I could come back here without becoming bitter all over again for the stagnant months I’ve had to spend here. We have two overseas stripes on our uniforms now – 1 for each six month period; and a 3rd stripe is not too far off.

Excuse me for getting into that vein Sweetheart – but I love you and have loved you for a long time now and I’ve had to be away from you all this time and it makes me fit to be tied. These surroundings don’t help one bit. Well – skip it, dear. I’ll stop now and dream awhile about Newton Center. Love to the folks – and

All my everlasting devotion –

Greg.

P.S.
~~ICKLE~~
~~MICKLE~~ ~~FLUBB~~
~~STUMDOODLE~~ ZZZ

P.P.S. I don’t understand these things dear – But if you say it comes out all right – that’s O.K. with me

Love G.

* TIDBIT *

about Operation Clarion

On 22 February 1945 and the morning of 23 February, thousands of bombers and fighters of the Eighth, Ninth and Fifteenth Air Forces, joined by the RAF, dispersed across Germany, Austria and Italy, in small groups, bombing and strafing transportation objectives and targets of opportunity at low altitudes. Eisenhower'sheadquarters requested the air forces to mount Operation Clarion, a long-standing plan designed to utilize all available British and American air power non-stop day and night in a blow that would affect both economic life and the tactical situation. Some at the highest levels felt it was just the thing that was needed to "break German civilian morale." Thus, "terror bombing" was approved at the highest level, couched in tactical terms.

Although the pilots did not seem to see beyond their orders, American Air Force leaders had no difficulty understanding what Clarion was really about, and some of them protested vehemently. Over 95% of the people killed would be civilians. Those protesting felt that indiscriminate destruction of blocks of cities, including hospitals, ancient irreplaceable cathedrals, and other monuments of human culture and progress was barbaric, placing the perpetrators in the same category as those they criticized for barbarism. Still others felt it would take Allied air effort off the one thing where the Germans were most vulnerable – oil. They felt that any losses would not be just material as they would involve the reputation of the United States and Britain.

Orders went out for press releases and communiques to stress the military value of the listed targets even though the lists included small communities of insignificant military or economic importance, such as Heidelberg, Gottingen and Baden-Baden. It was directed that special care should be taken so as not to give any impression that the operation was aimed at civilian populations nor intended to terrorize them. Secretary of War, Stimson, told a press conference on the day Clarion was launched, “Our policy has never been to inflict terror bombing on civilian populations.” Somehow, he appeared remarkably unaware of what the American Air Force was doing to enemy cities that very day. For example, in the town of Hildesheim the marshaling yard was heavily damaged while the city itself received considerable damage: 102 houses were completely destroyed, and 106 houses and two churches suffered severe damage and 998 houses and four churches were slightly damaged. About 250 people were killed.

Destruction to a rail yard in Cleve, Germany
22 February 1945

Destruction to a bridge in Simmern, Germany
22 February 1945

21 February 1945

2012-02-21T21:11:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

21 February, 1945 0950

Germany

My dearest darling –

I’ve been trying to get this letter started for the past twenty minutes and all I got up to was ‘My dearest darling’ – which isn’t so bad a thought at that. It seems a bit quieter at the moment so maybe I’ll get a bit of a letter written to you, dear.

The month of February is fast slipping by and we’re still sitting on our fannies. What in hell we’re waiting for is beyond me – but it’s getting on my nerves. Despite that – I turned down a 3 day pass to Brussels yesterday – which was to start today. My name was drawn, I accepted, thought it over for a couple of hours – and then decided I wouldn’t go. That’s a bad policy – as a rule – in the Army, because the best bet is to take what’s offered; you usually don’t get a second chance – but I had several things to take care of here for one thing, and secondly, I think I’d prefer to take a chance on getting to Paris – later. I only saw a bit of it the day I was there, but there’s lots more to see. However – if Brussels happens to be the next offering – I’ll take it.

But we did have a pleasant evening. We went to a U.S.O. show that was rank – but it was followed by a swell movie – “Gaslight” – with Boyer and Bergman – and it was excellently done, I thought. This theater – by the way – is the most forward of the circuit’s theaters – and that’s why we’ve managed to see some fairly recent pictures.

Outside of all that, sweetheart, things are status quo and dragging but maybe it won’t be that way for always. Oh by the way – I have never run into any one from the Field Artillery of the numbered battalion you mentioned – although we’ve been right with outfits very close to that number. It may be that that battalion is attached to a division rather than to Corps and that’s why I’ve never seen it around. I’ll keep on the lookout though. And another thing, you mentioned going to eat at the Lobster Claw one day and it just dawned upon me – that I don’t know exactly where 159-61 Mass. Ave. is. Just where is it, dear? The Lobster Claw brought back many memories. We ate there often when we were at Tufts – Leo Waitzskin, Gene Gurabrick (in Australia somewhere), Murray Lawrence (your neighbor) and a couple of other fellows. It was Murray who got sick to his stomach once when we were at the Claw for lunch. We had been doing a little dissecting in Anatomy that morning, and knowing Murray had a weak stomach – we all went into the details around the table. He had to get up and leave. Vicious fun? Gosh I’d like to be a student again – anything, I don’t care about the subject – although I’d prefer to take a couple of courses on Love – with you as the specimen – shall I say? To make it better – I’d like to be the Instructor, but I’d want the class to be private – say limited to you and me. What a lecture I could give!

I reminisced also when you mentioned walking up Tremont Street with Grace one night. I remember those times – very vividly, and unfortunately, they were all too few. But what few we had – were so delightful, so intimate. That’s when I was learning to love you in leaps and bounds dear. And when you love someone – on such a simple basis – how much more do we have to look forward to, darling, in our love – when we can really be with each other, live with each other and get to know one another! Boy am I looking forward to that! I’m going to love you, sweetheart like you never imagined possible – just wait and see ––

And now – for another day, dear, so long and take care of yourself. My love to the folks – and

All my sincerest love,

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about "Gaslight" (1944)

"Gaslight" is a 1944 mystery-thriller film adapted from Patrick Hamilton's play, "Gas Light", performed as "Angel Street" on Broadway in 1941. It was the second version to be filmed; the first, released in the United Kingdom, had been made a mere four years earlier. The film opens just after world-famous opera singer Alice Alquist has been murdered. The perpetrator bolted, without the jewels he sought, after being interrupted by a child — Paula (Ingrid Bergman), Alice's niece, who was raised by her aunt following her mother's death.

The following review was written by James Berardinelli and has been extracted from "reelviews" web site.

Ingrid Bergman won her first Oscar for portraying Paula Alquist, the vulnerable, insecure heroine of George Cukor's diabolical, atmospheric thriller, "Gaslight". Bergman, essaying a much different character from either of her previous two roles, is alluring and convincing as a woman held captive by her own fears.

The first half-hour of "Gaslight" is deceptively romantic. We are introduced to Paula, a young English singer living and studying in Italy during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Over the past few weeks, however, her attention has not been on her craft, and her wily mentor remarks that he believes that she's in love. When Paula confirms his suspicions, and indicates that she may marry the gentleman in question, Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer), she is released from her studies. Less than a week later, she and Gregory are on their honeymoon.

At this point, "Gaslight" turns ominous. Gregory wants to live in England, so he and Paula move into a house that she inherited from her late aunt, a well-known singer who was murdered a decade ago. Once there, Gregory's attentiveness acquires a sinister edge. He convinces Paula that she's having delusions, and, as a result, isn't well enough to see visitors. He hires a forthright young maid, Nancy (Angela Lansbury in her feature debut), who holds her mistress in contempt. And he disappears every night on clandestine business of his own.

A local Scotland Yard officer, Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten), takes an interest in Paula's predicament, but Gregory and Nancy conspire to keep them from meeting. The more familiar Brian becomes with the situation, however, the more convinced he is that Paula's current circumstances are somehow related to her aunt's murder and a cache of missing jewels.

"Gaslight" may be seen as slow-moving and obvious, but no film can match this picture's intricate psychology. Paula's self-doubt builds slowly as her husband meticulously orchestrates her spiral into insanity. Since she's completely in his thrall, she never senses that he represents a threat. And, because Paula is isolated from everyone except Gregory, Nancy, and one other servant, she has no point of reference against which to gauge her mental stability.

Beautifully filmed in a gloomy, atmospheric black-and-white, "Gaslight" exhibits greatattention to detail. The benighted streets of London are cloaked with fog, and the large, lonely house where most of the action transpires is filled with shadows and strange noises. The paranoid, claustrophobic world of Paula's confinement is effectively conveyed. Even though we, as viewers, know that her insanity is contrived, we can feel the walls of the trap closing in as the situation grows progressively more hopeless.

In addition to Bergman's fine performance as the harried Paula, Charles Boyer and Angela Lansbury do excellent jobs. In less than two hours, Boyer's Gregory goes from a suave, debonair gentleman to a cunning, fiendish villain. The success of this transformation is an eloquent testament to Boyer's range. Meanwhile, 18-year old Lansbury imbues Nancy with a impertinence that makes her Gregory's perfect, albeit unwitting, accomplice.

In many ways, "Gaslight" is as much a character study as a thriller. Yes, the ending is weak, and there are aspects of the story that don't stand up to scrutiny, but this is the kind of effectively-crafted, well-acted motion picture that rises above its faults to earn its "classic" appellation.

The dénouement partly involves Paula indulging herself in a bit of revenge, psychologically torturing Gregory after he's been bound to a chair, tantalizing him with the suggestion that she might free him so he can escape arrest, trial, and execution.

Here is the Trailer from "Gaslight"

20 February 1945

2012-02-20T22:35:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

20 February, 1945 0930

Germany

My dearest sweetheart –

Tuesday morning over here and what will today bring that’s different? That’s the way we get to thinking after we’ve been sitting in one spot a little longer than usual. It’s a sure bet that this Spring will be a good one for fighting because we’ve already had our thaw, mud and flood – and those are the usual obstacles.

We had a ‘Party’ yesterday, dear – but as usual, we had an excuse. One of our Sergeants – from a line Battery – became a 2nd Lieutenant – one of these battlefield promotions that you’ve probably read about. Anyway – he was sworn in yesterday p.m. and we had to have something to drink. Boy – we really ended up with a corker. We haven’t named it exactly – but this morning I suggested “Green Death” – and everyone thought that should be the name. This week – and the first time in six months – we had fresh oranges one morning for breakfast. There were about 10 left in the kitchen – so we juiced those – as a starter. To that we added the following: one full quart of alcohol, 1½ quarts of water, 1½ quarts of grapefruit juice, ¾ bottle of Coca Cola and 1 quart of Champagne. It really went down nicely and we ended up by having a good get together. There were about 17 of us.

I went to bed early last night, dear. I was tired – and a little dizzy, too. It seems to me I must have dreamed the whole night thru – and the oddest thing was the subject: I dreamed I was back in Salem, just getting back as a matter of fact, still in Uniform, and dropping in to have a talk with Mrs. Tucker. And the oddest thing about it all, darling, was my reaction. It was not one of joy of seeing you, or my folks and yours. The dream never got that far. But over and over again I kept looking myself over and telling myself I was back, I was alive, I was uninjured. As I said, dear, the dream never got beyond that point – but you just can’t imagine what a relief it was to be home and whole. I never realized how much that thought must prey on the subconscious – but that’s what it must be.

I got a very recent letter of yours yesterday, sweetheart, written 6 February. And it was a very sweet letter, too, written in answer to a letter of mine – one of 8 January. I don’t remember exactly what I wrote in that letter, dear, but your own letter left me a bit puzzled. You imply that I write either that type of letter – or one that is completely matter-of-fact and deals only with every day activities; and you say if that’s what I want, that’s what you’ll do too – so as not to hurt me. Well – darling – just keep on writing the letters you’ve been writing – and you won’t hurt me. As for my own – I never realized there was so great a difference between the types of letters I write you. I know I don’t write you sad letters very often – and I think that’s good for both of us. My type of sad letter – if continued – would only make you and then me – very unhappy, worried – and tense. It would have too much of the war in it – and as far as I’m concerned – if you must have the morbid side of war, dear – you can’t get if from me.

I’ve never been aware that I’ve deliberately written my letters according to pattern, dear. I know a day isn’t complete unless I sit down and have a little talk with you – to tell you what I’ve done, to remind you I’m still your fiancé, to tell you I love you and miss you and to leave the war out of my letters as much as possible. Darling – I’ll tell you so much about the war when I get back and you’ll shudder – but you’ll know I’m back and you won’t mind – and I won’t either. But for now – let’s go along as always. O.K.?

And here it is time to see a couple of patients. More and more I’m getting the feeling that the war will fold up one day not too far off. Let’s just hope my hunch is right! All for now, sweetheart, love to the folks – and

My deepest and sincerest love –

Greg

P.S. If you don’t know what to do with the Nazi banner – what in the world will you do with the second one I sent you?

Love,

* TIDBIT *

about the Invasion of Iwo Jima

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

The following was excerpted from The History of War's web site called "Operation Detachment: The Battle for Iwo Jima February-March 1945". The photos were found in various places on the internet.

Before the invasion commenced on 19 February 1945, the commander of the V Amphibious Corps, Major General Harry Schmidt had requested ten days of continuous shelling from Rear Admiral William Blandy's Task Force 52 (the Support Force) but was turned down by Admiral Harry Hill as there would be insufficient time to rearm the ships before D-Day. Schmidt requested nine and was offered a mere three. The US Navy task force off Iwo Jima was joined by Admiral Marc Mitscher's Task Force 58, which had just conducted a series of raids against the Japanese mainland and consisted of sixteen aircraft carriers, eight battleships and fifteen cruisers, as well as Admiral Raymond Spruance in his flagship USS Indianapolis. The battleships and cruisers started to pound the island and were augmented by carrier-based aircraft mounting airstrikes. At this point, thousands of Marines began to disembark from troopships and LVTs. They were to be covered by sixty-eight LVT(A)s that were well-armoured amphibious tracked vehicles that mounted a 75mm howitzer and three machine guns. Despite the reconnaissance and beach samples from the frogmen that indicated the assault forces would have some trouble getting off the beach, the planners had considered that it would provide a minor obstacle only. Unfortunately, the initial assault wave encountered fifteen foot high terraces of soft volcanic ash that were to frustrate their advance inland and so the advance by the Marines, tanks, and LVTs ground to a halt on the shoreline. These were being followed by successive waves every five minutes or so, and the situation quickly deteriorated.

Troops moving ashore on Iwo Jima beach
20 February 1945

By late morning, Admiral Harry Hill had some 6,000 men ashore and the bulldozers that had arrived with the early waves were battling with the terraces. Some elements had indeed managed to get off the beach and start to work their inland, but it was at this point Kuribayashi, despite his initial plan to wait until the Marines had reached Airfield One, decided to unleash the full fury of his concentrated artillery fire on the tempting targets struggling on the beach. Added to this, a sizeable element of beach defenders had survived the Navy's rolling barrage and added their weight to the fire. As one marine battalion commander remarked, "You could've held up a cigarette and lit it on the stuff going by".

Navy Doctors, Corpsmen and Chaplain at Iwo Jima Aid Station
20 February 1945

Despite this, the Marines kept themselves in good order and started to move off the beaches in force. On Green Beach, the extreme left hand landing zone, the terrain was not so difficult here and Colonel Harry B Liversedge's 28th Marine Regiment (5th Marine Division, commanded by Major General Keller E Rockey) started their advance across the island to isolate Mount Suribachi. They were watched by Colonel Kanehiko Atsuchi and over 2,000 men in the independent command that defended Mount Suribachi in well-concealed positions all the way from the lower slopes to the mount.

Moving off the beach of Iwo Jima
20 February 1945

As the day wore on, the Marines continued to advance slowly with a number of tanks from the 4th Tank Battalion pressing inland and only halting after they had reached a large minefield. Japanese resistance was strong and casualties were heavy. The 28th Marines continued to consolidate their positions at the base of Mount Suribachi and were reinforced by a number of Sherman tanks that gave invaluable help in destroying a number of pillboxes and by evening, Mount Suribachi had been securely isolated from the rest of the island. An assault on the volcano would comesoon enough. Eventually the Marines reached the southern perimeter of Airfield No. 1 where the Japanese mounted a fierce defence and settled in for the night. The Japanese on the other hand were adept at night-time infiltration tactics and continually sought to probe for weaknesses in the Marine line while keeping a constant barrage of artillery fire.

Hospital ship "Samaritan" off shore of Iwo Jima

On 20 January 1945 bad weather and strong winds produced a four-foot surf that disrupted the follow-on landings. It ecame so bad that even the larger landing ships, such as LSTs and LSMs had difficulty in maintaining position on the beach. Cables tied to wrecked or abandoned equipment such as LVTs or tanks simply snapped under the strain. Smaller craft had even worse time of it, and as a result, Schmidt's desire to land a regiment (21st under Colonel Hartnoll J Withers) from the 3rd Marine Division (Major General Graves B Erskine) could not be accomplished. Meanwhile, the 28th Marines were now faced with the prospect of having to storm Mount Suribachi while the remainder of the assault force looked to continuing the advance to capture Airfields Nos. 1 and 2. The 28th Marines, under the cover of naval gunfire and carrier airstrikes started to advance on a broad front but by noon had only advanced some 75 yards in the face of a fierce defence by the Japanese. Even though a number of tanks had become available to support the advance, the Japanese still held an enormous height advantage in their well-concealed positions. The Marines therefore dug in to await reinforcements and additional support to continue the attack the next day. The Japanese were determined that the Americans should have no respite and commenced an artillery barrage all along the front.

37mm gun, Mount Suribachi in the background and Avenger above

Meanwhile, the other three regiments commenced their attack towards Airfield No. 1 with the right flank anchored on the Quarry and the left flank swinging northeast to straighten the line. Additional support arrived in the afternoon in the form of the brand new battleship, the USS Washington, which commenced bombardment of the Quarry with its 16in guns and caused a number of landslides, which blocked several caves. Despite fierce resistance, the Marines had captured most of Airfield No. 1 by mid-afternoon and had straightened their line out, although they had still not reached the intended D-Day 0-1 line. This was a blow to Kuribayashi who had not expected such a rapid advance, but he took comfort that the Marines had yet to reach his main defensive line and the bad weather was still hampering operations. As the second day drew to a close, heavy rain began to fall adding to the Marines' misery.

19 February 1945

2012-02-19T21:29:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

19 February, 1945 1100

Germany

Wilma, darling –

Well – this morning I’m late for another reason. We had a visiting team from Army down to give us a little talk on the pleasant subject of bombs, saboteurs, counter-espionage etc. – all with a view towards putting us on our guard as we get farther into Germany. It was very interesting, particularly because one member of the team had landed by parachute – in France – six months or so before D-day. His mission was sabotage and he told some interesting stories. As usual – the real is more vivid than what you see in the movies.

Yesterday was a very ordinary day for the most part. I can tell you this, darling, – it was enlivened by a very unusual incident – and I don’t think it will be a breach of army security to tell you. Sweetheart – I had my first Coke in fifteen months!! Now that’s really something and gives you a better idea of what war can really be like. But you’d be surprised what a commotion it caused. We each got an issue of 2 bottles – and to show you what will-power I have – I still have one bottle left. Some of the boys mixed theirs with Scotch, or gin – or Cognac – but not I – I drank mine straight – and you know, dear – I burped the first honest-to-goodness-gassy burp in over a year. What a day!! I’ll never forget it.

Well – in the late p.m. – despite the Cokes – I felt horribly blue. It was raining out, it was quiet – and I just sat at my desk dreaming of what things would be like were I home – on a similar Sunday p.m. We were together in Salem – just taking it easy – all by ourselves. That’s what my most usual picture is, sweetheart, – the two of us by ourselves. Despite my usual practicality – I don’t seem to care where we’re actually at, or what the circumstances are. I’m content to picture you and me and I’m not interested in the details. The latter will take care of themselves when the time comes – and I don’t want to be interfered with when I’m dreaming. Do you, dear? You always ask “when will it actually be?” I wish I knew, sweetheart, because it’s just as discouraging to me as it is to you. I’ve loved you a long time now – but only by long distance – just as you, and I think we’d both like to love each other at close range, direct fire – to revert to the military. Over and over again, dear, I can say only that I still love you hard, and I’ll continue to do so always no matter how long it is. I’ve never doubted that I could or would do otherwise – and all this time has not been able to prove me wrong.

Dearest – I’m going to stop now. I have a bit of a headache – an unusual occurrence for me – but it will go soon, I’m sure. Hope to hear from you today. Meanwhile love to the folks, regards to Mary and the girls – and from me – darling – accept

All my everlasting love –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about
and WWII

Coca-Cola began it's existance in a three-legged brass pot in the backyard of John S. Pemberton on May 8, 1886. Pemberton was a pharmacist trying to create a new headache tonic. Pemberton took his creation to a pharmacy about two blocks from his home. There the syrup was mixed with cold tap water and sold to ailing customers for 5 cents. As the story goes, a customer in great pain came in and ordered the syrup and the soda jerk accidentally mixed it with carbonated water instead of regular tap water. The customer loved the new drink, declaring it "Delicious and Refreshing!"

Frank Robinson, Pemberton's partner and bookkeeper, suggested the name "Coca-Cola", taking each part of the name from a key ingredient in the product and proclaiming that the two C's would look good in advertising. Mr. Robinson penned "Coca-Cola" in the unique flowing script that is now famous worldwide. Coca-Cola had experienced nonstop growth since its creation back in 1886. In the decades leading up to World War II, it seemed that its popularity couldn’t spread at a faster rate. World War II proved this notion wrong and was the cause for the enormous boom that continues to this day.

Robert Woodruff was the president of the Coca-Cola Company for 60 years, starting in 1923. Woodruff pushed for the expansion of the company overseas and sent Coca-Cola to the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics with the U.S. team. This move greatly impacted the overall success of the company, with much credit due to Woodruff, because Coca-Cola continues to be a major sponsor of the Olympics to this day. As the United States entered the war, Robert Woodruff ordered that "every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5 cents, wherever he is and whatever it costs the company".

When the United States entered World War II, Coke began to represent its product in the US as a patriotic drink by providing free drinks for soldiers of the United States Army, thus allowing the company to be exempt from sugar rationing. General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Allied Headquarters sent a cablegram that requested materials for 10 bottling plants on June 29, 1943. In addition to that, they ordered 3 million filled bottles of Coca-Cola.

The United States Army permitted Coca-Cola employees to enter the front lines as "Technical Officers" when in reality they rarely if ever came close to a real battle. Instead, they operated Coke's system of providing refreshments for soldiers, who welcomed the beverage as a reminder of home. As the Allies of World War II advanced, so did Coke. Coca-Cola plants were built as close as possible to European and Pacific battle areas. A plant in Algiers was the first of 64 bottling plants that were built abroad during WWII. These plants provided over 5 billion bottles to American soldiers during World War II.

After the war, the plants were converted for commercial use in their same locations causing for an easy transition into establishing business throughout many parts of the world. Served only in the United States in 1886, Coca-Cola products went from being available to 53 countries in the late 1930s, to 120 countries in the post World War II years up to 1959. Today Coke products are distributed in over 200 nations and its trademark is written in approximately 80 languages.

In common with many large American companies, Coca-Cola had a controversial relationship with Germany before and during World War II. Even as the Nazi party gained power, grew and created its Hitler Youth, Coca-Cola was being advertised alongside the party's posters and within its booklets. A division of the company continued to operate in Germany during the war, but eventually were unable to import the syrup needed for production of Coca-Cola from the United States. As a result, Fanta, the fizzy, sugar-based drink owned by Coca Cola, symbolic of the "American dream," actually began its life in Nazi Germany. Various conspiracy theories sporadically arise over this story, some claiming that the drink was conjured up by the Nazi war machine to counter American permeation of popular consumer culture. One could reasonably argue that the negative propaganda inherent in mass consumption of an American import would be damaging – potentially to both parties.

In reality, the drink was developed not by the Nazis, but independently by Max Keith, head of Coca Cola’s German operations, a pragmatic solution to the problem of getting Coke ingredients into Germany. Its ingredients varied, depending on which by-products were available from German factories at the time. The drink proved popular, and was adopted by Coca Cola internationally post-war.

18 February 1945

2012-02-18T22:29:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

18 February, 1945 0910

Germany

Dearest sweetheart –

It’s comparatively quiet here right now. Most of the boys are at services (Catholic) and the sick boys haven’t come in as yet. There are only periods in a day, darling, and often I’m not ready myself.

This Sunday it’s raining – but a mild gentle type of rain like the rain we have in Boston – March and April. It’s still hard to believe that winter can be over here – but this month is slipping by fast – unless March is a tough month. We had quite a snowstorm the 31st of January, I believe, with the snow piled up quite high. The next day it started to rain – and it didn’t stop until all the snow had gone. I have never seen anything quite like it. You can imagine how mucky things were. Unlike New England – instead of freezing, it just stayed warm – and it hasn’t been cold since.

Everything around here is pretty quiet and the only subject of conversation is that about the various passes and leaves that are being issued. At the moment – leaves to the States just aren’t available. This battalion gets a small quota every now and then of leaves and furloughs of 7 days to England. We’ve had one officer go so far – the lucky stiff. He’s married to a nurse who’s stationed there. I may have mentioned the fact before. Her outfit arrived in England a little ahead of ours and we were never more than 50 or 60 miles apart. And now he gets a chance to go back to see her. The passes are 3 day affairs to Paris or Brussels and we average about 1 officer and 5 E.M.’s about every 10 days or so. As you know, dear, I haven’t drawn any one of the 3 possibilities. I’m not very interested in England – but I would like to get to Paris or Brussels for 3 days – just to get away from here for a short while. I had 3 days off in October or November – and it did me a lot of good. You just can’t imagine, darling, how monotonous things get when you’re technically on duty seven days of every week There just aren’t any half days, Sundays or Holidays. One day is so much like the one that passed. And it’s been 8 months of that.

Darling – you’ve asked me a few times now to send requests to you so that you can send something to me. Honestly, dear, I appreciate it – but I don’t want you to bother. I don’t like to ask for things – and anyway I don’t need a thing I can think of. Now, now – don’t get angry with me, sweetheart – I’ll ask for something at the bottom of this letter – but I can’t be specific because I just can’t think of anything I need. Damn it – yes I can!! I’ve lost about 8 face cloths since landing on the continent and I had to borrow one – the one I’m using now. Sooo – would you please send me a face cloth, dear – and I don’t care what color it is! And if you can get a piece of yourself into the package – please send that!! I’ll love it to death – and send it back and you can spread it – but hell – that’s pretty silly talk – for a grown man – now isn’t it, dear? Well – I get pretty silly now and then – they call it ETO-happy over here – and everybody is infected with the germ. And the only vaccine for it is in the States and the reason we can’t get it is because every soldier has a different type. For example, sweetheart – my type is embodied in you and I’d get no results whatsoever from any other type. What to do about it? I guess I’ll just remain disease-ridden until I get the right treatment – and I do hope it comes soon!

I’ll have to stop now, dear. It’s getting noisy again – as usual – and I've got a couple of things to do. I hope all is well at home, darling, and that you’re managing to keep your chin up. Love to the folks, dear and

All my deepest love –

P.S. Would you please send me a Greg package including in it – a face cloth?? Thanks!!

Love

17 February 1945

2012-02-17T20:53:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

17 February, 1945 1120

Germany

Dearest darling, Wilma –

Today it’s air-mail day again. I know how you dislike V-mail but occasionally it just can’t be helped. From what I read though, it does seem as if V-mail is consistently ahead of air-mail, but if you don’t mind the delay – I’d rather write this type anyway. I’m a verbose sort of person and I always feel so damned confined when I start writing on a limited surface. Goddamit – I’ll be glad when I don’t have to resort to writing at all when I want to say something to you, dear. I get fed up too with this being apart – just as you are. I got 4 letters yesterday from you, sweetheart, the middle of January – and you really sounded tired of it all. And I can’t blame you one bit, dear. I know it has been a longer harder task than you ever dreamed of. I guess it had everyone fooled though. And with people telling you it wasn’t so smart getting engaged or wondering how you can be so strong as not to date – it must be even more difficult. At least that’s one thing I don’t have to put up with. I have no other choice right now than to continue being a soldier, dear.

And that brings up the subject of some remark I made once about my preferring to “stick it out” until it was all over. Apparently, Sweetheart, that upset you – and I’m sorry I put it that way. But that was farthest from my mind. I was just trying to counter-act some of your surrounding influences. You see, dear, you’re with ARC, you hear and know of returning veterans, you get data of one sort or another about being able to come home in this or that number of months. Well – over here it’s entirely different. We’re told we’re not even considered for rotation until 24 mos. of overseas duty, we see the war poke along – and there just doesn’t seem to be any point in trying to fool you. That’s why I wrote I’d like to stick it out. God – girl I’d give anything to get home – but it would have to be honorably done – and if I have to come home paralyzed – or for some other permanent disability, I’d rathernot come home at all. Do you think I like it over here, do you think I’m a hero, do you think I like to think about you at home with little to do except worry about me? No – I don’t like it one bit, darling; I don’t think you can be any more anxious for me to get home than I am – but, dear – I just can’t do a damn thing about it – it seems. I went to the Army Surgeon a long while ago – hoping I would get changed around some way – to get out of this rut I’m in. Now I’m afraid to try again because I might jeopardize my long standing with a line outfit. One way or another – when the time comes I’m bound to get credit for being with a front-line battalion on continuous combat duty. So I’m sticking out a situation which at times becomes so unbearable from boredom and inactivity – I could go mad – just on the one hope that I’ll get home to you a shade earlier than another M.C. I suppose you could say I was unhappy – after reading all that. But I’m just not the unhappy type, darling; I don’t like to think that war has made me so. Let us say – it’s a damned unhappy situation – and when I’m out of it – everything will be all right. Perhaps this is an example of what you meant when you wrote I could talk myself in or out of situations. If so – dear – I’m glad I have that ability – and I’m sorry for those fellows over here who don’t have it.

Yes – I’ll stick this through – but only until the first gleam of hope – the first possible opening shows itself for me to come home. Then I’ll work every conceivable way to get the hell out of here. But until that time – I’m going to do my job and try to stay well doing it, too.

Sweetheart – excuse the tirade – but it’s just the way I felt and I had to get it off my chest. I feel better now. In case you can’t see thru all my frustrations – you can blame it on the fact that I’m deeply in love with you and it drives me crazy to think of us as apart rather than a man and wife. Love to the folks, dear –

And all my everlasting love –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Iwo Jima, LCI(G)-449 and Rufus Herring

While the Armies in Western Germany were lining up along the Roer, preparing for its crossing and the push toward the Rhine, the Navy was two days from its invasion of Iwo Jima. From the book "Iwo Jima" by Eric Hammel, published by Zenith Press in 2006, comes this extract, found on pages 53-55.

LCI(G)-449 is the 3rd gunboat away approaching Iwo Jima

On 17 February 1945, at about 0800 hours, twelve wooden-hulled minesweepersapproached to within 750 yards of the eastern beaches of Iwo Jima to begin a methodical search for mines as well as to check for reefs, shoals, and manmade underwater obstacles undisclosed by aerial reconnaissance. Japanese atop Mount Suribachi opened fire on the minesweepers with small arms.

At 0840 on February 17, three battleships and numerous fire-support vessels moved to within 3,000 yards of various sectors around Iwo to provide close-in support of another foray by a team of frogmen. Japanese whose big guns had remained silent to that point opened fire as the ships and gunships came within pointblank range. The battleship USS Tennessee was struck off southeastern Iwo by one round a little before 0900. Four sailors were injured but the damage was negligible. Within thirty minutes, as the cruiser USS Pensacola approached within 1,500 yards of the northeastern shore to support the minesweepers, one Japanese 150mm gun crew opened fire on her, splashing their first round only 50 yards short of the ship. The cruiser attempted to evade, but the gunners knew their job and managed to fire six rounds into her within three minutes. Seventeen officers and men were killed (including her executive officer) and 120 were wounded, her combat information center was knocked out, an observation plane on her starboard catapult was set aflame, and she was hulled in several places. For all that, as repair parties fanned out throughout the ship, the Pensacola's guns ceased firing only as required during the course of delicate surgeries on a number of her wounded.

Although the plucky minesweepers were dogged throughout their mission by gunfire from the island, they drew off only when their mission was completed. They found no mines and no under water obstructions.

At nearly 1100 hours, a hundred swimmers from four Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) entered the water to make a final check of the invasion beaches for underwater obstacles and to get a close-up sense of the tide and surf. They were to destroy any obstacles, natural or manmade, that they could find. The frogmen were covered by fire from twelve LCI(G) gunboats firing 20mm and 40mm guns and LCI(R) rocket ships firing clusters of 7.2-inch bombardment rockets as well as 20mm and 40mm guns. The LCIs closed to within 1,000 yards of the shore as the swimmers approached the beach and opened fire. All but one frogman had returned to their destroyer-transports by 1220 to report that the beaches were clear of mines and obstacles, and beach and surf conditions were reported as favorable.

Many Japanese who watched the LCIs open fire thought the invasion was about to begin – how could they think otherwise, after all the other action that morning? - and, in direct contravention to their commanding general's orders and oft-stated wishes, they took to defending the beaches. Heavy guns overlooking and backing the landing beaches reached out to the LCIs over a period of 45 minutes. All twelve vessels were hit, some brutally, but even after drawing off to quench fires and succor the wounded, several LCIs nosed back into the toe-to-toe brawl, their crews unwilling to concede anything to the Japanese. The cumulative loss to the LCIs was 7 killed and 153 wounded.

One of the gunboats to earn the Presidential Unit Citation for operations at Iwo Jima that day was LCI(G)-449. While shelling enemy positions in support of the UDT swimmers, the ship was heavily damaged by Japanese counter-fire and went out of control. LCI (G) 449 had all 40 mm guns disabled and battled two fires caused by three large caliber hits. Twenty-one men were killed and twenty were wounded.

Casualties being taken off LCI(G)-449

Her skipper, Lieutenant Rufus G. Herring, would receive the Congressional Medal Of Honor. Here is his citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of LCI(G)-449 operating as a unit of LCI(G) Group 8, during the pre-invasion attack on Iwo Jima on 17 February 1945. Boldly closing the strongly fortified shores under the devastating fire of Japanese coastal defense guns, Lt. (then Lt. (j.g.)) Herring directed shattering barrages of 40mm and 20mm gunfire against hostile beaches until struck down by the enemy's savage counter-fire which blasted the 449's heavy guns and whipped her decks into sheets of flame. Regaining consciousness despite profuse bleeding he was again critically wounded when a Japanese mortar crashed the conning station, instantly killing or fatally wounding most of the officers and leaving the ship wallowing without navigational control. Upon recovering the second time, Lt. Herring resolutely climbed down to the pilothouse and, fighting against his rapidly waning strength, took over the helm, established communication with the engine room, and carried on valiantly until relief could be obtained. When no longer able to stand, he propped himself against empty shell cases and rallied his men to the aid of the wounded; he maintained position in the firing line with his 20mm guns in action in the face of sustained enemy fire, and conned his crippled ship to safety. His unwavering fortitude, aggressive perseverance, and indomitable spirit against terrific odds reflect the highest credit upon Lt. Herring and uphold the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Rufus G. Herring

The following photo was taken twenty minutes before LCI(G)-449 headed into Iwo Jima to support the UDT swimmers on 17 Feb, 1945. PH3/c Leo McGrath volunteered to be aboard to take photos of the pre-invasion mission. Almost thirty minutes after taking this photo he was killed by enemy batteries hidden in the caves of Suribachi. He only took two photographs and this was one of them.

16 February 1945

2012-02-16T20:43:00.000-05:00

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

16 February, 1945

Germany

Good Morning, Sweetheart –

Here goes your pet hate – a V-mail – but I haven’t overdone it – have I? If I don’t get this off now – I know I’ll not get a chance to write. Damn it – the boys are playing “There Goes That Song Again” on the Vic. We just got it the other day and I like it – but it’s sad. I don’t know how old it is but it must have been fairly high on the Hit Parade.

Here is a clip of "There Goes That Song Again," from "Carolina Blues."

Last nite we saw “Doughgirls” with Jane Wyman, Ann Sheridan et al. We were in the mood for that type of comedy and enjoyed it a lot. The weather here continues to be beautiful and yesterday was so mild you could walk around without a jacket – and the sun was out all day. I rode over to a nearby city and took some pictures of the destruction. I had been there before but it was always cloudy.

[Click on a picture to make it larger]

This was supposed to show why Aachen was called the
City of Churches - but the camera couldn't quite make it.
You can just barely see the many steeples.

Near Aachen. If you look closely you can see the words
HITLER JUGEND. This was a special school for Hitler youths.

Aachen - 1200 yr old cathedral -
where Charlemagne was coronated.

Aachen Cathedral Today

Aachen 1945. This is solid cement-walled "BUNKER" where people
lived for days in terrible conditions. Many of these thru Germany.

Former famous hotel, then German HQ - now a wreck.
Aachen - February 1945

Hotal Quellenhof - Today

Aachen - German Aid station, tank, and cross-section of
an apartment house. Most of Aachen is like this - a result of RAF.

Gota letter from Lawrence of Feb 4 yesterday and was glad to read he gota hosp. job. That should keep him around for a few months anyway. Anddarling – I haven’t told you that I love you hard because you’rethe sweetest girl in the world!! Stay that way. I’ll be back one ofthese days. Love to the folks and

All my deepest love

Greg

15 February 1945

2012-02-15T21:52:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

15 February, 1945 1020

Germany

Wilma, darling –

Believe it or not there’s actually a taste of Spring in the air today and woo! woo! – it looks like it’s going to be particularly tough to take this year. It was tough enough last year, dear – what are we going to do now? With all the snow and cold you’re having now – I suppose that’s far from your mind – but Spring will come to Boston and you’re going to have the same problem. And there are no pills for that!

The sun has shone for 3 consecutive days, but the wind is still with us and probably will be for some time. Yesterday was a reasonably quiet day. In the p.m. we had an officers’ meeting with most of the line officers coming in. There were a lot of administrative details to discuss and the meeting lasted from 1400 to 1630. It was good seeing the fellows again – we get together so seldom. And in the evening we had a movie – “Carolina Blues” – with K. Kayser, Ann Miller etc. It was class B but the music was good and I enjoyed it. This p.m. I’ve got to go to Corps Surgeon’s office on a little business – but that isn’t much of a trip.

I got a laugh out of what you wrote some time ago about my being called “Doc”. I laughed because I’ve never liked that either. It’s just unavoidable, I guess, and some people persist in using it – although I think I get away with it more than most. A good many don’t know what to do about it. I’m glad you like my name, sweetheart, because someday you’ll be able to tack “Mrs.” In front of it – and you can call me anything you like – I’ll come!

And that reminds me – you once wondered if I would find it difficult becoming a civilian again – and would I be rough, swear at everyone, gamble and tell dirty stories. Concerning the dirty stories – I haven’t heard one since coming overseas, although I knew my share before entering the Army. I never liked gambling and I don’t now – so you’ll have no trouble on that score; swearing? I’m pretty good at that – but I think I can reserve it for the right time. And I don’t think I’ve become rough. No – I think I’ll come back pretty much the same as when I left. Oh – you’ll have trouble with me all right! I’ll be forever kissing you until your lips get sore; I’ll be forever hugging you until your ribs ache; I’ll be in your way constantly – and I’ll have to be dragged out of the house for months to come. Outside of that, sweetheart, I believe you’ll find me easy to get along with.

You know, darling, I never did thank you for your really swell letter written New Year’s Eve – before you went out. I know how you felt – but there just wasn’t anything to do about it. And I’m glad you did go out, too. Your letter was warm and sincere and I’ve read it over and over again. I can’t say very much in answer. My life is already so much intertwined with yours – you must be aware of it. I love you and what is more important, sweetheart, for all the things you are. I’ll always love you, for I know that in you I shall find reciprocated love, devotion and the keen desire for life that I have always striven for.

That’s all for now, darling, except – send my love to the folks and best regard to the girls at the office.

All my everlasting love –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about "Carolina Blues" (1944)

Ann Miller and Kay Kyser

Greg mentioned seeing "Carolina Blues" and judged it as a "Class B" movie. Here is The New York Times review of the movie, written by Bosley Crowther and published on 8 December, 1944 and titled "The Screen; Very Blue."

The so-called pride of Rocky Mount, N. C., Kay Kyser, is advertising himself and his home town again in Columbia's so-called musical picture, "Carolina Blues," which came to Loew's State yesterday. And the way he is doing it this time is by playing at leading his band in a series of war-bond rallies to raise money for a cruiser, Rocky Mount. As the prop for these musical sessions there is nonsense which passesfor a plot wherein Victor Moore and Ann Miller pursue Mr. Kyser in search of a job. And that is "Carolina Blues," neighbors. It is likely to leave you depressed.

As usual, Mr. Kyser rather boldly monopolizes most of the screen as band leader, patriotic citizen and dashing Lothario. His performance of each personality is more awkward in that order. Mr. Moore is faintly amusing as several frumpy, elderly folks, and Miss Miller is virtually brushed off as the lady pursuing Mr. K. There are agonizing moments when a character called Ish Kabibble tries to clown, and some comparably painful exhibitions by bleak-looking male soloists. One song number, "Mr. Beebe," done by Harold Nicholas and a Negro troupe, rates a high grade for peppiness and satire. And "There Goes That Song Again" is good. But the rest—well, they're on the same order as the picture, which is pretty grim.

Here is a clip of Mr. Beebe, with dancers Harold Nicholas and Josephine Baker:

This synopsis of the movie comes from the Turner Classic Movies web site.

When Kay Kyser and his band, including singer Georgia Carroll, return from a long USO tour, the exhausted musicians look forward to their vacation, while Georgia plans her upcoming wedding to an Army officer. Their publicist, Charlotte Barton, does not give them time to rest, however, for she immediately takes them to the Carver shipyards. Despite the band's grumbling, they put on a good show, and Kay is entranced by the singing of Julie Carver (Ann Miller), the daughter of Phineas J. Carver (Victor Moore), whom Kay mistakenly assumes is the owner of the shipyard. However, ne’er-do-well Phineas Carver is the one poor relation in an otherwise fabulously wealthy family that includes Elliott, Hiriam, Horatio, Aunt Martha and Aunt Minerva — all of whom are also played by Victor Moore, giving this otherwise pretty ordinary movie a unique appeal.

Anxious to be married, Georgia urges Kay to replace her with Julie, but Kay mysteriously declines. On his way back to the hotel, Kay meets an old chum, Tom Gordon, the newspaper editor in Kay's hometown of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Tom asks Kay to return home to put on a bond rally, so that Rocky Mount can buy a destroyer. Carver suggests holding the show in New York, where they can raise enough money for a cruiser, not just a destroyer, and Kay tries to trick the band members into agreeing. They see through his scheme, but as they are stuck in New York due to transportation shortages, acquiesce. Georgia is annoyed at having to postpone her wedding, however, and during the show, arranges for Julie to substitute for her. Julie is a big hit, much to the delight of her father and the chagrin of her wealthy, snobbish relatives.

Kay is furious about the trick and yells at Julie for trying to ruin the show. When Georgia questions him about why he is refusing to hire Julie, he states that as a rich girl, she would have no commitment to a real career. Georgia passes on the information to Julie and Phineas, unaware that they are only pretending to be rich to make a good impression on Kay. In reality, they are the poor Carvers and are continually borrowing from their relations. Kay then travels to Rocky Mount, where the townsfolk hold a banquet in his honor. During the festivities, however, Kay learns that because the bonds from the New York show were sold in New York, they cannot be credited to Rocky Mount. Devastated by the news, Kay schemes to get the band to his hometown for another show by sending them urgent telegrams that lead them to believe that he is on his death bed.

Again, they quickly see through his ruse, but agree to put on the show as they are already in Rocky Mount. The bond sales do not go well though, and it does not look as if there will be enough for a destroyer until Julie and Phineas arrive. Believing that he can get Phineas to purchase the required amount of bonds, Kay gives the singing job to Julie. She goes out with him that night in order to obtain a contract, but the moonlight works its magic and the couple fall in love. Unable to deceive him any longer, Julie tells Kay the truth about her finances and tearfully runs off with Phineas the next morning. Phineas has a plan of his own though, and summons his relatives to Rocky Mount. That night, as Kay puts on the show, Phineas blackmails his relatives into buying enough bonds so that the town can obtain its destroyer. Julie goes to the auditorium to present the check to Kay, who quickly reconciles with her and shares the good news with the crowd.

14 February 1945

2012-02-14T21:30:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

14 February, 1945 1000

Germany

My dearest sweetest Valentine –

I hope you’ll excuse me for neglecting you – I so enjoyed the Valentines you sent me, dear – and I felt terrible that I hadn’t been able to send you at least one. You’ll just have to understand that Valentines were farthest from all our minds about the time they should have been sent out and they were unobtainable, anyway. I hope, though, that you received some notice of the day from me.

The Germans don’t know about Valentine’s Day, it seems, and so the War goes on with no display of hearts and flowers. We’re not making the news these days, darling, but believe me when I say that for some of the boys the fighting and the horrors of war are just as bitter as if we were making the headlines.

Yesterday was a dull, boring, long day – and I was glad when it was over. It seemed to drag more than even other slow days. I did manage to get over to a bath-house they have in this city and soak in a tub for about an hour – and then I took a shower. Boy! That’s really something. When we were in this city last – the place wasn’t open. Since then it was taken over by an American outfit which employs German laborers and they draw the water for the tub and clean up after you. When we first got here we all took 3 baths in a row to soak some of the dirt off us – it really was a relief.

I came across a letter of yours written 26 Dec. You had been to a party and had met a Bob Sherman and a Herb Almtuck. I believe I remember the Sherman boy. I can’t understand why he’s not in the service. As I remember him – he was a harmless enough sort of fellow and not overbright. I don’t know the other guy. He must have been in another class although he’s right about Leo Waitzkin. We were very friendly at Harvard and at Tufts although I’ve lost track of him since the war. He was doing Public Health work in Virginia when I last heard from him. He was quite an English scholar, by the way and got a Summa Cum and Phi Bet at Harvard for writing a brilliant thesis in his senior year on some obscure details about Shakespeare’s early days. It attracted the attention of Kittredge at the time.

I’m glad and happy, darling, that you can meet so-called eligible young men and not feel that you’re wasting your time waiting for me. I hope and feel certain you won’t be sorry. If you can still feel that way – that’s the test, I guess. I haven’t had a similar opportunity – although we did meet quite a few people in England. Needless to tell you again, sweetheart, you’re the girl for me and no one else will do!! I love you so deeply and earnestly – I don’t believe I’ve ever really been able to convey to you how much – and I left too darn soon to be able to show you. You must believe me, sweetheart, when I tell you that I love you more than anything or anyone in the world and from the day I knew we were engaged – my entire vision of my future life became centered on you. You’ll never doubt that either – when I get back and show you what I mean –

All for now, darling, got to do a couple of things. Love to the folks – and

My deepest love is yours –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Personal Accounts of
The Bombing of Dresden

Here are a few personal memories of the bombing of Dresden. The first is from the web site 384th Bomb Group Memories, originating from a book written and formerly published by Ken Decker of New York. The last two are from survivors of the bombings.

Again, no losses today. Jules Levison (Radio/gunner) describes the mission:
I was not scheduled to fly but Jerry Jerome's brother decided to get sick, so I had to fly in his place. I was kind of sore at first but later on was glad. Russ Holtz also flew on the crew and the pilot was Lt. Russell E Carlson.

At the request of the Russians, the target was Dresden as the Germans were sending a lot of traffic through that town. We hit the Marshaling Yards with eight 500GPs and two M-17 incendiaries. The Germans say that all we did was kill a lot of evacuees but personally it wouldn't surprise me to find out that we knocked out a locomotive or two.

On the way in we had to fly over the Zuider Zee, which is the home of Herman and his 4 guns. Herman is a German stationed on the Zuider Zee who fires his 4 guns at you when you fly over. He was a Corporal and one day he actually shot down a plane and they made him a Sergeant. Well, they must have made him a Staff because he got a plane in the group ahead of us. We saw it go down in a tight spin and only saw one chute open. It wasn't a pretty sight.

On the way home our gas was getting low so after much discussion we decided to land in Brussels, Belgium. I sent in a message to Combat Wing that we were landing there so we wouldn't be MIA.

We had quite a time in Brussels until our money ran out. Night clubs, clean sheets, good food, etc. We were there four days. On the second day the weather cleared and we could have taken off but the pilot was in town drunk. The next day we were all set to take off, there were 19 men in the plane as we were taking back a crew that had crashed. Everybody had a bottle of beer and the pilot was running up the engines with one hand and drinking beer with the other.

This memory is from Lothar Metzger, a survivor of the bombing.

About 9:30 pm the alarm was given. We children knew that sound and got up and dressed quickly, to hurry downstairs into our cellar which we used as an air raid shelter. My older sister and I carried my baby twin sisters, my mother carried a little suitcase and the bottles with milk for our babies. On the radio we heard with great horror the news: "Attention, a great air raid will come over our town!" This news I will never forget.

Some minutes later we heard a horrible noise - the bombers. There were nonstop explosions. Our cellar was filled with fire and smoke and was damaged, the lights went out and wounded people shouted dreadfully. In great fear we struggled to leave this cellar. My mother and my older sister carried the big basket in which the twins were lain. With one hand I grasped my younger sister and with the other I grasped the coat of my mother.

We did not recognize our street anymore. Fire, only fire wherever we looked. Our 4th floor did not exist anymore. The broken remains of our house were burning. On the streets there were burning vehicles and carts with refugees, people, horses, all of them screaming and shouting in fear of death. I saw hurt women, children, old people searching a way through ruins and flames.

We fled into another cellar overcrowded with injured and distraught men women and children shouting, crying and praying. No light except some electric torches. And then suddenly the second raid began. This shelter was hit too, and so we fled through cellar after cellar. Many, so many, desperate people came in from the streets. It is not possible to describe! Explosion after explosion. It was beyond belief, worse than the blackest nightmare. So many people were horribly burnt and injured. It became more and more difficult to breathe. It was dark and all of us tried to leave this cellar with inconceivable panic. Dead and dying people were trampled upon, luggage was left or snatched up out of our hands by rescuers. The basket with our twins covered with wet cloths was snatched up out of my mother's hands and we were pushed upstairs by the people behind us. We saw the burning street, the falling ruins and the terrible firestorm. My mother covered us with wet blankets and coats she found in a water tub.

We saw terrible things: cremated adults shrunk to the size of small children, pieces of arms and legs, dead people, whole families burnt to death, burning people ran to and fro, burnt coaches filled with civilian refugees, dead rescuers and soldiers, many were calling and looking for their children and families, and fire everywhere, everywhere fire, and all the time the hot wind of the firestorm threw people back into the burning houses they were trying to escape from.

I cannot forget these terrible details. I can never forget them.

Here is another memory from a survivor in the city, Margaret Freyer.

The firestorm is incredible, there are calls for help and screams from somewhere but all around is one single inferno.To my left I suddenly see a woman. I can see her to this day and shall never forget it. She carries a bundle in her arms. It is a baby. She runs, she falls, and the child flies in an arc into the fire.

Suddenly, I saw people again, right in front of me. They scream and gesticulate with their hands, and then — to my utter horror and amazement — I see how one after the other they simply seem to let themselves drop to the ground. (Today I know that these unfortunate people were the victims of lack of oxygen). They fainted and then burnt to cinders.

Insane fear grips me and from then on I repeat one simple sentence to myself continuously: "I don't want to burn to death". I do not know how many people I fell over. I know only one thing: that I must not burn.

Finally, this from a woman named Elisabeth. Elisabeth, who was a young woman of around 20 at the time of the Dresden bombing, has written memoirs for her children in which she describes what happened to her in Dresden. She was in her late 70’s at the time of her writing. First she sought shelter in the basement of the house in which she lived. Her story continues..

Then the detonation of bombs started rocking the earth and in a great panic, everybody came rushing down. The attack lasted about half an hour. Our building and the immediate surrounding area had not been hit. Almost everybody went upstairs, thinking it was over but it was not. The worst was yet to come and when it did, it was pure hell. During the brief reprieve, the basement had filled with people seeking shelter, some of whom were wounded from bomb shrapnel.

One soldier had a leg torn off. He was accompanied by a medic, who attended to him but he was screaming in pain and there was a lot of blood. There also was a wounded woman, her arm severed just below her shoulder and hanging by a piece of skin. A military medic was looking after her, but the bleeding was severe and the screams very frightening.

Then the bombing began again. This time there was no pause between detonations and the rocking was so severe, we lost our balance, and were tossed around in the basement like a bunch of ragdolls. At times the basement walls were separated and lifted up. We could see the flashes of the fiery explosions outside. There were a lot of fire bombs and canisters of phosphorous being dumped everywhere. The phosphorus was a thick liquid that burned upon exposure to air and as it penetrated cracks in buildings, it burned wherever it leaked through. The fumes from it were poisonous. When it came leaking down the basement steps somebody yelled to grab a beer (there was some stored where we were), soak a cloth, a piece of your clothing, and press it over your mouth and nose. The panic was horrible. Everybody pushed, shoved and clawed to get a bottle.

I had pulled off my underwear and soaked the cloth with the beer and pressed it over my nose and mouth. The heat in that basement was so severe it only took a few minutes to make that cloth bone dry. I was like a wild animal, protecting my supply of wetness. I don’t like to remember that.

The bombing continued. I tried bracing myself against a wall. That took the skin off my hands – the wall was so hot. The last I remember of that night is loosing my balance, holding onto somebody but falling and taking them too, with them falling on top of me. I felt something crack inside. While I lay there I had only one thought – to keep thinking. As long as I know I’m thinking, I am alive, but at some point I lost consciousness.

The next thing I remember is feeling terribly cold. I then realized I was lying on the ground, looking into the burning trees. It was daylight. There were animals screeching in some of them. Monkeys from the burning zoo. I started moving my legs and arms. It hurt a lot but I could move them. Feeling the pain told me that I was alive. I guess my movements were noticed by a soldier from the rescue and medical corps.

The corps had been put into action all over the city and it was they who had opened the basement door from the outside. Taking all the bodies out of the burning building. Now they were looking for signs of life from any of us. I learned later that there had been over a hundred and seventy bodies taken out of that basement and twenty seven came back to life. I was one of them – miraculously!

They then attempted to take us out of the burning city to a hospital. The attempt was a gruesome experience. Not only were the buildings and the trees burning but so was the asphalt on the streets. For hours, the truck had to make a number of detours before getting beyond the chaos. But before the rescue vehicles could get the wounded to the hospitals, enemy planes bore down on us once more. We were hurriedly pulled off the trucks and placed under them. The planes dived at us with machine guns firing and dropped more fire bombs.

The memory that has remained so vividly in my mind was seeing and hearing humans trapped, standing in the molten, burning asphalt like living torches, screaming for help which was impossible to give. At the time I was too numb to fully realize the atrocity of this scene but after I was “safe” in the hospital, the impact of this and everything else threw me into a complete nervous breakdown. I had to be tied to my bed to prevent me from severely hurting myself physically. There I screamed for hours and hours behind a closed door while a nurse stayed at my bedside.

I am amazed at how vivid all of this remains in my memory. It is like opening a floodgate. This horror stayed with me in my dreams for many years. I am grateful that I no longer have a feeling of fury and rage about any of these experiences any more – just great compassion for everybody’s pain, including my own.

The Dresden experience has stayed with me very vividly through my entire life. The media later released that the number of people who died during the bombing was estimated in excess of two hundred and fifty thousand – over a quarter of a million people. This was due to all the refugees who came fleeing from the Russians, and Dresden’s reputation as a safe city. There were no air raid shelters there because of the Red Cross agreement.

What happened with all the dead bodies? Most were left buried in the rubble. I think Dresden became one mass grave. It was not possible for the majority of these bodies to be identified. And therefore next of kin were never notified. Countless families were left with mothers, fathers, wives, children and siblings unaccounted for to this day.

13 February 1945

2012-02-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

13 February, 1945 1100

Germany

My dearest darling Wilma –

I was literally overwhelmed yesterday when I received 18 letters in the mail, the biggest haul in a long while and it was truly wonderful. Furthermore – quite a few were recent letters – particularly from you. I also – in addition to 5 letters from you – heard from several friends of mine in the service, the Salem Hospital, Steve L., Bea Caplan, Mary W., Lil Zetlan, Dr. Curtis from Salem and a couple of others I can’t think of – off hand. It’s the best reading material in the world and nothing makes me feel better or raises my morale more successfully, dear.

Your letter written to me on my Birthday, sweetheart, was wonderful and it was awfully decent of the girls to take the trouble to jot me separate notes. I know you’ll thank each of them for me, dear. You know by now that I did, in fact, have a Birthday and that your surprise worked as successfully as if I were home. I was completely dumb-founded by it and it was certainly original.

You mention an interesting point about my age, darling, namely that you didn’t believe I was 31 when you met me until you saw my draft card. That’s probably because I act so silly at times. I know only that I don’t feel or act differently now than I did six or eight years ago and I think I’ll behave the same for some time to come, probably. That reminds me to mention something you’ve brought up in a couple of your recent letters which sounds a bit mysterious to me; mysterious isn’t the exact word. You wrote in one letter that you would get something for Eleanor and then let me know how much I owe you for her gift and the Levine’s. Then you said I wrote some strange things at times and you couldn’t exactly understand me. In another letter you wonder whether I am affectionate enough a person to match your affection – and you doubt it; and still another place you write that you think I have the power to talk myself in or out of almost any situation – in an almost impersonal fashion.

Now – dear – is there one thing troubling you or three – or are all the same thoughts inter-connected? I’d much rather you wrote what’s on your mind, sweetheart. We know each other much too well now to have an argument over an exchange of ideas – or in an attempt to know each other better. I honestly don’t know if I’ve changed since I went away – it’s easier for others to say it. I don’t think I have. I have undoubtedly the same peculiarities, good and bad that I always had. But in reference to you I’m positive I love you, sweetheart. I’ve never lost the thrill in knowing I’m engaged to you and in the thought I’m going to marry you. My affection or ability to be affectionate I’ve never wondered about. If it’s not as open as some people’s, dear – I’m sure I compensate with depth and sincerity – which is of prime importance and more lasting, I think; and that is not to imply that I’m entirely devoid of the more obvious kind; just wait and see. I don’t know what you have in mind about my power of speech, darling. I think I think clearly most of the time – but I’m often wrong. If I think something, I try to express it as clearly as I know how – for what I believe in I believe in fully.

If I’m strange, dear – I honestly don’t know how – unless I have some peculiarities you’re just finding out. But I do wish you’d tell me about them rather than have me wonder. We’re attempting to keep stride with time and the war by knowing each other as much as possible while I’m away – thereby shortening our period of waiting when I get back. I suppose I write things at times that don’t sound right to you or reveal some characteristic of mine you weren’t aware of. If so, sweetheart – tell me about it – will you? I want you to know me completely as I’m trying to know you, too.

I’ll have to stop now, darling. It’s nearly chow time – and Pete just came in, by the way, and sends his love. I told him some time ago about my Birthday cake and he got almost as big a kick out of it as I did. Love to the folks, regards to the office crew – and

All my love is yours for always

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Bombing of Dresden
and Frauenkirche

It was on 13 February 1945 that Allied planes began the bombing of the German city of Dresden in World War II. At the beginning of the war, both Hitler and Churchill vowed that they would not attack civilian targets. But the German’s broke their promise and used incendiary bombs on London, and Great Britain quickly followed suit. By 1943, the British had begun firebombing cities like Hamburg, creating firestorms that reached 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit, with hurricane-force winds, which boiled all the water in the city and sucked all the oxygen out of the atmosphere, killing tens of thousands of people. The Allied military commanders argued that saturation bombing of German cities was the only way to force the Nazis to surrender.

Before World War II, Dresden was called "the Florence of the Elbe" and was regarded as one the world's most beautiful cities for its architecture and museums. Although no German city remained isolated from Hitler's war machine, Dresden's contribution to the war effort was minimal compared with other German cities. In February 1945, refugees fleeing the Russian advance in the east took refuge there. As Hitler had thrown much of his surviving forces into a defense of Berlin in the north, city defenses were minimal, and the Russians would have had little trouble capturing Dresden. It seemed an unlikely target for a major Allied air attack.

On the night of February 13, hundreds of RAF bombers descended on Dresden in two waves, dropping their lethal cargo indiscriminately over the city. The city's air defenses were so weak that only six Lancaster bombers were shot down. By the morning, some 800 British bombers had dropped 1,478 tons of high-explosive bombs and 1,182 tons of incendiaries on Dresden, creating a great firestorm that destroyed 15 square miles (39 square kilometres) of the city center and killed numerous civilians. Later that day, as survivors made their way out of the smoldering city, over 300 U.S. bombers began bombing Dresden's railways, bridges, and transportation facilities, killing thousands more. It was one of the most controversial actions of the Second World War, rocking the historic core of that great European city and reducing irreplaceable masterpieces to ash and rubble. A total of 3,900 tons of high-explosives and incendiary devices were delivered in four air raids carried out by 1,300 bombers.

The Allies claimed that by bombing Dresden, they were disrupting important lines of communication that would have hindered the Soviet offensive. This may be true, but there is no disputing that the British incendiary attack on the night of February 13-14 was conducted also, if not primarily, for the purpose of terrorizing the German population and forcing an early surrender. It should be noted that Germany, unlike Japan later in the year, did not surrender until nearly the last possible moment - when its capital had fallen and its Fuhrer was dead.

Because there were an unknown number of refugees in Dresden at the time of the Allied attack, it is impossible to know exactly how many civilians perished. After the war, investigators from various countries, and with varying political motives, calculated the number of civilians killed to be as little as 8,000 to more than 200,000. Estimates today range from 35,000 to 135,000. Looking at photographs of Dresden after the attack, in which the few buildings still standing are completely gutted, it seems improbable that only 35,000 of the million or so people in Dresden that night were killed. Cellars and other shelters would have been meager protection against a firestorm that blew poisonous air heated to hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit across the city at hurricane-like speeds. A funeral pyre was built that burnt for five whole weeks.

But from the rubble, a triumph - the re-building of Dresden's Baroque icon, Frauenkirche, as decribed in these excerpts from a Repost article.

An 11th century church site is the foundation of Frauenkirche, or the Church of Our Lady. Despite its name, this is a Protestant place of worship built between 1726 and 1743. The dome is called the Steineme Glocke, or Stone Bell, rises 96 meters/315 feet above the altar. It is an engineering marvel and the anchor to the city’s skyline. Johann Sebastian Bach, from nearby Leipzig, performed a concert on its new organ.

On 13 February 1945, temperatures of 1,000 C/1,832 F surrounded Frauenkirche, collapsing the dome. Miraculously, the altar was spared.

Post-war East Germany chose not to repair Frauenkirche, believing the ruins symbolized Western atrocities. In 1989 a determined group of Dresden citizen’s formed the “The Society to Promote the Reconstruction of the Church of Our Lady.” This grassroots organization grew to thousands of German citizens with donations from all over the world, including Great Britain.

The most challenging part of the quest was creating a jigsaw puzzle out of the rubble. All of the rocks at the site were categorized. Divers searched the depths of the Elbe for more pieces of Frauenkirche. 8,500 of the original stones joined millions of others in the rebuilding. Typically German, the original architectural plans survived. From them and photos came three-dimensional models. No drawing existed for the elaborately carved entrance doors. Undeterred, the re-builders requested old wedding pictures from the residents of Dresden. From the photos the doors were replicated. Seven new bells were cast for the Steineme Glocke. Frauenkirche reopened on 30 October 2005, over 60 years after it collapsed.

12 February 1945

2012-02-12T16:19:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

12 February, 1945 0945

Germany

Dearest darling, Wilma –

Shall we chalk up Lincoln’s Birthday as another Holiday we owe each other – or shall we just let it ride? You know what? – I’m going to let you decide that all by yourself – and don’t let me ever hear you say I’m not fair and square about things! I don’t suppose it’s much of a Holiday in Boston either – and boy! Oh boy! Are you ever getting the snow! I guess about the one nice thing the Army has done for me has been to keep me out of three tough New England winters. We had a b–h of a January here but it started raining about the 31st and in 3 days of February the snow and cold disappeared – and fingers crossed – it’s been mild, though rainy, ever since. If it would only dry up a bit!

And what do you think – Yesterday I got a letter from you written on the 30th of January. That’s wonderful and entirely unusual. But you chided me for the type of letter I wrote or had written to you recently because they were cheery and you thought I was fooling you. Well, sweetheart – I’ve still got you fooled. You wrote – “Now that I know” – and I’d like to know dear, what do you know now? I’m sure you haven’t yet grasped the difference between being very lonely for home, fed-up with the Army, being utterly blue – and – being uncomfortable, being cold, being shelled, being raided. The two sets of reactions don’t necessarily go together, sweetheart – and very often don’t, because when the latter of the two conditions exist – you just don’t have the time to be lonesome. I write you blue letters, dear – not often, I’ll admit – but often enough. The fact is I am not a mope by nature and I don’t stay that way long. I force myself to be cheerful – and after a half hour or so goes by – I do actually feel better. It may be that at such times – I’m writing to you – and my cheeriness doesn’t seem real – but it isn’t, darling, because I’m trying to impress you – but rather that I’m trying to impress myself. Is that confusing? Anyway, dear – I’ll be hard to change –

1300

Hello again – darling!

Sorry I had to leave you so abruptly this morning – but I was called away because of some developments in that civilian trial. When the case was referred to a higher court – the defendant was returned to jail. It was my contention that the wrong person was being tried and that the defendant should at least be released until the next trial. Well today I was notified that she was released – so I’ve won a partial victory. I’ve been told that the civilians who were at the trial couldn’t understand how the lawyer for the accused was wearing a Red Cross on his arm. That had them all mixed up, dear – but I had some fun anyway.

I couldn’t for the life of me think of any Jewish girl I knew in Salem who is now a Wave – but I didn’t know a heck of a lot of them. I know a couple of Ensigns – but they’re not Jewish. And what do you mean – “Never can tell – I may live there some day”. We certainly will, dear unless something much better turns up for us before then. Right now I’d say Salem was our best bet.

You must really feel tough with all these married couples chasing around from city to city having good times – Irv and Verna, Nancy and Abbot, Betty and Stan – and a few others you mention from time to time. All I can say, darling, is that married to you or not – I’d have sweated out the war harder at home than I am here – and I know what I’m writing. I could never have been thoroughly happy in the realization of what some are putting up with and my taking it easy. Or maybe it’s lack of realization that allows some of these people to live with themselves. I excuse artists or talented people. All others, it seems to me, could be doing something towards helping this war. No, darling, don’t be envious of the trips and the parties that some of your friends are having. We’ll have ours too – and we’ll really enjoy them and be able to hold our heads high. Because I’ll bet that secretly – these same couples – have just a slight enough amount of conscience to detract from a full enjoyment of what they’re doing. I may be wrong, of course, but I think not. I know only that I love you and want to be with you as soon as possible. But when that time comes – we want to feel that we did our part when there was a part to do – and I honestly think we are.

Well – so much for the flag waving, sweetheart, which I don’t do too often – I hope. I’ll have to do a little work now – so I’ll be with you again tomorrow. All my love to you, sweetheart – and remember always that I love you more than anyone else in the world.

Yours for always,

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Fuel Crisis

In May 1941, even while the US was not yet in the war, Roosevelt appointed Interior Secretary Harold Ickes to the additional position of Petroleum Coordinator for National Defense. Becoming once again the nation’s top oil man, or Oil Czar, Ickes had to turn around an industry that was coping with surplus to one that would maximize output and avert shortage. He had a huge liability as the oil industry detested him from previous encounters. While he had come to their aid in 1933, he subsequently had become very critical of the industry. Mobilizing the oil industry into one giant organization under government direction had been done quickly and efficiently in Britain but turned out to be different and difficult in the United States. Ickes however managed to work closely and pragmatically with the industry and succeeded in disarming the hostility and ensuring effective cooperation.

Harold L. Ickes

Harold Ickes’ hand was strengthened when he was promoted to Petroleum Administrator for War (PAW) from Petroleum Coordinator, while still Secretary of the Interior. Even as PAW, Ickes realized that unlike the case in Britain, coordinating unity among the many competing US forces (Congress, the Administration, the companies, the press etc.) in the United States was very difficult. He managed to gradually establish an effective government-industry partnership and sought antitrust exemption from the Justice Department. The U.S. was producing 514,000 barrels per day of 100 octane fuel by 1945 compared to 40,000 barrels per day in 1940. In fact, between December 1941 and August 1945, the Allies consumed 7 billion barrels of oil, 6 billion of which came from the United States.

Although there were temporary shortages, there was never a serious oil supply crisis in the United States. One such temporary shortage was described by TIME magazine, (February 12, 1945, Vol. XLV, No. 7), in this article titled "Cold Facts":

To Middle Western cities which have gone through the war in a nighttime blaze of neon lights, the brownout that went on last week was a shock. In Chicago, the usually bustling Loop was deserted; there were no long queues at theaters. In Detroit, late shopping housewives complained that they could not find stores. In Denver, barnyard lanterns blossomed on store fronts.

But no one had to be told why the lights had to go out: as civilians shivered in the coldest, snowiest, blowiest winter in years, the U.S. was smack up against a first-rate crisis in fuel.

The trouble had been on its way ever since December, when zero weather and blizzards and a manpower shortage first snarled up the overloaded railroads and disrupted fuel deliveries. The three-day embargo, clamped on all non-Government freight in the East, had helped (TIME, Feb. 5). But it was not enough. Last week, the Office of Defense Transportation clamped on another, this time for four days. Coal was the only civilian freight that could be moved.

In a wide belt from Ohio to New England, many schools were closed and offices went on shortened weeks. This did not always help. Workers celebrated their holiday by trips on already overloaded trains.

After a plea from Solid Fuels Administrator Ickes, some 65,000 miners labored underground an extra day, getting out the coal. But production dropped anyhow, mainly because there were no rail cars to haul the coal to the freezing cities. On top of this, a temporary food shortage was on the way in many an Eastern city. Freight trains as far west as California were shunted on to sidings to wait till the snarl untangled. While they waited, many a grocer cleaned out his shelves.

Trouble in the Tub. War plants were hard hit. In Pittsburgh, 200 were shut down (see BUSINESS). There was not enough heating gas for both plants and householders, so the householders got what there was.

In Detroit all plants sent workers home on an extended weekend after WPB curtailed their fuel. Then by newspaper and radio pleas they frantically tried to get them back after WPB changed its mind. Householders in Columbus, Ohio were told to cut down on their baths, flush their toilets only once a day per person so that the huge Curtiss-Wright plant would have enough water. Reason: the severe cold had kept snow from melting normally, lowered water in reservoirs.

Trouble on the Way. In New York, the rail jam was the worst. Huge drifts stalled trains in the open country. Passengers had to wade through drifts to nearby farmhouses to spend the night. State troopers went along the highway dynamiting 14-ft. drifts, clearing the roads so that emergency auto caravans could get through with feed for livestock and food for isolated villages and farms. Improvised or ancient sledges turned up in the streets.

Fuel oil was so near exhaustion in Manhattan that the Navy released 400,000 barrels to help tide civilians over. The Army chipped in with 5,000 tons of coal. Nightclubs, theaters got ready to close their doors. One theater, its coal burnt, was kept warm with loads of cordwood. But even wood was scarce.

This week there was more trouble to be met. Much of the East was lashed by a new sleet storm. There were gloomy predictions that the railroads had got so far behind that the crisis might not be completely over until April.

11 February 1945

2012-02-11T21:50:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

11 February, 1945

Germany

My dearest sweetheart –

When we’re on the move and the days are long and difficult we don’t know Sunday from any other day – but today I know it’s Sunday and by that I imply then, dear, that we’re taking things easy. Despite that – and I hate to write this darling – we suffered our first casualty in the medical detachment since landing – the other day. Oh – we’ve lost one fellow before this due to combat exhaustion – he never came back to us – and a couple due to illness, but this was the first actual case of being wounded in action – and I’m worried about the effect it will have on the family. I’ll make myself clearer, dear – although I can’t be too specific due to security reasons – and because there’s some regulation about not mentioning casualties until a certain time period has elapsed. I wouldn’t mention it to you either, dear, because I know you’ll worry – but the soldier was one who lives near us and I know that when his mother is notified – that he was wounded – she’ll certainly call Mother A and tell her about it – and that’s all she’ll need. So far I’ve been able to keep her reasonably convinced that all is well with our set-up and that we’re hardly ever exposed to danger. I’m writing all this – darling – so that if and when she hears about it and perhaps tells you – you’ll be able to tell her that the soldier in question was at a line battery and nowhere near me and that I never go or have to go where the others have to and anything else you can think of dear. I knowyou’ll do this for my sake and the folks – and that includes yours too. I debated long before writing this to you but I know what would happen and it’s best that someone at home be informed – and darling – it had to be you – naturally. Incidentally – he was severely wounded.

Well I didn’t intend to become morbid on the first sunny morning in a long while so we’ll change the subject – right? Yesterday was a comparatively quiet day except for a visit by the Provost Marshall. He had heard about the trial involving one of his Sergeants and he was investigating the facts. When he heard the story – he called his office and had the Sgt. arrested and put in solitary confinement – because there’s nothing worse over here than an M.P. doing something himself that he’s arresting other soldiers for. What will come of it all, I don’t know – but the whole thing smells. In the evening we had a movie – the first in some time. I thought it was lousy – E.G. Robinson in “Tampico”. I thought I had seen the last of the German sub – torpedo – oil tanker – rescue-at-sea – German-spy pictures – but apparently there are still some in circulation.

I came across one of your letters yesterday, darling, which discussed rotation etc. – and I don’t remember whether I answered your questions or not. You asked me to apply for rotation as soon as my 18 mos. overseas were up. I don’t know where you got your information, darling, but if there is such a plan – they’re keeping it a mighty big secret. We’ve had 3 fellows go home for 30 days in this outfit so far. All three joined us as replacements in France and had been in Iceland for 2 years – so that up to a few weeks ago when they left – they all had about 30 mos. overseas service. There hasn’t been an inkling of news concerning rotation in less than two years. So you see, dear – I couldn’t very well apply. And you don’t apply, you get selected; and furthermore – almost every rule that’s written applies almost always to GI’s and not to officers. Certainly I’d love to come home, dear – although I’d like to be around when the firing ceases. There are outfits here – overseas longer than we – infantry mostly – but we are pretty well up on the list. Our seven months in England helped a lot. Also – we’ve had about 8 mos. of continuous combat duty – and that’s quite a bit. Well – we’ll see, dear. I hardly know how I’d respond to a transfer to the States. I know darling that I’d be terribly happy to be back with you and that I’d want to get married soon. Suppose I got 30 days leave some time in the future – would you want to get married some time during that period or would you prefer to wait until the whole thing is over with? Oh – yes – I’ll propose all over again, dear – and when you say “Yes” – I’ll put the ring on your finger myself. I still get the biggest thrill imaginable out of the realization that we are in fact – engaged, that more than that – we still love each other after all these months, and that separation and distance haven’t led us away from one another. It’s a wonderful thought and there must be quite a bond between us that has kept us so. May it continue – and I know it will.

I’ll have to stop now, sweetheart. I do love you terribly – and there isn’t one little shadow of doubt in my mind that we’re going to be very happy together as man and wife. Love to the folks dear and

All my deepest love,

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about "Tampico"

(1944) Tampico is a port city in Mexico. During World War II, Mexico supplied the US with raw materials. Mexico declared war on Germany after they sank tankers taking crude oil to the United States. Because of its proximity to our country, spies from both Axis and Allied countries were active there. German spies were intent on discovering when U.S. ships were going to leave port and at what speed so their submarines could intercept them.

That is the basis for the story of “Tampico.” The captain of an oil tanker, Captain Bart Manson (Edward G. Robinson), impulsively married Katherine Hall (Lynn Bari) who was rescued by his tanker from a lifeboat from a ship that had been torpedoed by a U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico. When the tanker arrived at the port, the crew was ordered not to breathe a word about their plans.

Subsequently, when Manson's ship sinks under suspicious circumstances, Hall becomes the prime suspect due to her mysterious past and lack of identity papers. Believing his beloved to be innocent of the crime, Manson sets out to uncover the real culprit. Manson discovers that his first mate, Fred Adamson, is a German agent responsible for the sinking.

Here is the review from The New York Times published on 2 June, 1944:

"Tampico," which opened at Loew's State yesterday, has all the elements of good, suspenseful drama. But somehow as yard after yard unrolls it becomes increasingly evident that nothing unlooked for is going to come about. The picture deals with seafaring people along the Tampico, Mexico, waterfront and all the attendant rum-happy espionage and counter-espionage.

A tanker is torpedoed, and that is an impressive, as always, scene, carrying along with it the highly appropriate message of what happens when inadvertent words or actions give away military information. Then there is the business of wiping out a nest of Nazi spies and that is, as always, nice entertainment for a June day. But except in these two scenes the action consists mainly of Edward G. Robinson squaring away for a clinch with Lynn Bari and even that, when it finally comes off, isn't too shattering.

Mr. Robinson's role as a love-chastened ship's captain is carried off in his usual businesslike manner, although his admirers will likely feel that the chastening isn't particularly advantageous to his traditional characterizations. Miss Bari does an appealing and sympathetic job, and Victor McLaglen struggles along with not much of a part.

It would seem the chief difficulty with the Twentieth Century picture is that it starts off with the speed of a tanker and then, almost immediately, slows down.

10 February 1945

2012-02-10T22:27:00.001-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

10 February, 1945 1000

Germany

Good Morning, Sweetheart –

It is now 1020 – but maybe I can get started this time. I don’t remember if I told you – or not, dear – but I had been trying to get an ambulance for the battalion for some time. No one knows why – but we don’t have an ambulance on our table of allowance but there have been many occasions when we needed something better than a jeep with which to transport patients. Well – we finally got one on loan about a week ago and for some reason or other – they changed it this morning and gave us another. Incidentally – the ambulance comes complete with two drivers. With all our vehicles and trailers put together – we almost make up a convoy of our own when we travel now.

Darling – I couldn’t write you yesterday, I was just plain too tired when evening came. I was in court all day and I’m inclined to believe that with all its shortcomings, Medicine has Law beat six different ways. But it was interesting and I enjoyed it. It was really something different – making objections, being objected to, thinking up new questions on the spur of the moment – and trying to anticipate new questions on the part of the prosecution. To add to all the confusion – every question and answer had to be given over again in German. I could have saved a lot of time by doing my questioning in German – but the judge knew no German.

And the result? It was referred to a higher court for another trial – on the suggestion of the judge, who said that the charge against the defendant was too serious a charge for him to rule on. Why he waited until we had spent hours on it, I don’t know. If we’re still around when the case comes up again – I’m still the defense attorney. I’m in it so far – I may as well stick it out – but there’s a lot of work to it, darling. From what I heard the prosecution present, I can’t see how they can prove she knew there was a gun in the store next to her home, or that she was responsible for an unoccupied store. There are half-a-hundred other angles to it – and by the way – before the trial was over yesterday, I was told that the Associated Press was interested in the case. I hope they stay out of it though.

More important than that, though – sweetheart – is the fact that I received mail from you yesterday post-marked 29 January – although the letter was written on the 25th and 26th.But that is far-and-away the most recent mail from you in months and as you know, dear – although all mail from you is welcome – there’s something about a recent letter; it makes me feel just a little bit closer to you. You must experience the same reaction – I’m sure – sweetheart.

Apparently you were really having a cold spell because you sounded – as you said – positively frozen. We were having a very cold spell just about the same time. Fortunately since then it has been much milder and the past several days – although rainy – have been almost Spring-like. I’m sure that the greatest part of winter must be behind us now – and I’m not sorry. And yes – darling – I do use a scarf. I have one I’ve used for the past two winters and I could certainly use a new one – so I’m waiting.

Here are the facts about the weather in Boston for the week beginning 21 January 1945:

	High	Average	Low

Average High Temperature	37 °F	28 °F	14 °F
Average Mean Temperature	32 °F	20 °F	5 °F
Average Low Temperature	26 °F	12 °F	-4 °F

Click on the chart below to see how the temperatures that week compared to "normal."

I was glad to read that you enjoyed my mother’s strudel – and you didn’t make my mouth water. I used to like it and then lost all desire for it. I was surprised to read about Lawrence’s 5 day leave. I suppose he’s thru with Carlisle and sweating out a new assignment. I pray he stays in the States a while longer and if he has to come over – I hope it’s over here – then I’d be able to look him up. The last letter I had from him – he still didn’t know what his next assignment would be.

I think I’ll be the domestic type dearest. I’ll certainly feel like settling down after all this is over, and just the thought of settling down with you, darling – is almost more than I can stand. If only we could get going right away. If we could only be together NOW. I mind the war most, sweetheart, when I think of that and the delay – but hell – it will be and it can’t be too long now.

I’ll stop now, dear. I love you as much as any man can love a woman and I just can’t wait for the time when I can tell you that, show you – and be with you always. Love to the folks.

All my everlasting love –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Seizing the Roer River Dam
(Part 3)

[CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE]

Aerial views of the Schwammenauel Dam Today
Left shows the Reservoir and Right shows the Roer River Below

Below is an excerpt from the Personal Memoirs of General Frank Camm Jr. as found on Scorpio's website called "The Battle of the Huertgen Forest." Desiring to fight beside his father when he graduated from West Point, Frank Jr. requested assignment to the 78th Division, where his father was an artillery colonel. Here he could serve beside him in the combat engineers - not under him which may have raised concerns of favoritism.

Phelan's patrol tried again at midnight. Dashing a thousand feet across the dam through rifle fire and bursting artillery, they found the spillway inaccessible. Sliding down the two hundred-foot face of the dam to a tunnel entrance on the enemy side, they slipped into a six-foot causeway, surprising and capturing six German machine gunners and riflemen. Within a few minutes, the patrol reached the tunnel entrance, and the engineers entered to make their inspection, while the doughboys took up defensive positions at the entrance. Groping their way through the inspection tunnel in the very bowels of the Dam, the engineers knew that an already lighted fuse could be burning closer to a mighty charge. Nervously but quickly, they searched for explosives set to blowup the dam, scouting for wires and fuses, any shred of evidence the dam was mined. It was a ticklish job, but it had to be done. Phelan later told reporters, "We expected to be blown to bits by hidden charges."

Lt. Phelan's patrol returned to the 1st Battalion CP at about 0300 hours on 10 February 1945. Incredibly and much to everyone's surprise, the dam itself had not been prepared for demolition! The logical place for explosives in the tunnel contained no prepared charges! The Germans had not mined the structure. A bridge across the sluiceway and the control houses on the far side had been demolished. The control to the penstock tunnel was also destroyed, sending a thirteen-foot diameter stream of water gushing out of the reservoir. It would take several days for the Roer River to subside. Schwammenauel dam no longer was a menace to four Allied Armies in the north. Fearful of being engulfed by the eighteen-foot wall of water that the Germans could unleash on them within four hours, these armies had been waiting since November to cross the river.

Meanwhile, Staff Sergeant Ed Naylor from our 303rd Engineer S-2 Intelligence Section led another reconnaissance party with a bomb-disposal sergeant from Army and seven infantrymen to the gatehouse. They blasted its door open with a bazooka and returned about 0400 to confirm that the outlets had been blown and water was rushing into the valley below.

Later on the morning of 10 February, the 303rd Engineers dispatched the following message:

"THE GREAT DAM THAT HAS SO LONG IMPEDED ALLIED OFFENSIVES ON THE WESTERN FRONT, HAS NOT, AND WILL NOT, BE BLOWN --
THE OFFENSIVE MAY PROCEED ON SCHEDULE."

By blowing only the valves in the underground flume and keeping the great structure intact, the Germans created sufficient flooding of the Roer River to delay Allied crossings for another two weeks. Had they demolished the dam itself, the flash flood would have lasted only about one day. Thus, the Germans delayed us substantially longer with their partial demolition than they would have if they had blown the full dam.

Following seizure of the dam, Major General C.R. Huebner, V Corps commander, dispatched a commendation to our 78th Division stressing the strategic importance of our accomplishment, "Without which further contemplated operations against the enemy on the northern front would have been impossible... Although the 78th Infantry Division is relatively new in combat, you have given ample proof that in future operations you will add new honors to those you have already achieved in this..."

Writes Scorpio:

Source: The Personal Memoirs of General Frank Camm Jr.
"I would like to thank Frank Camm for granting me permission to reproduce this chapter of his memoirs on my web site."

09 February 1945

2012-02-09T21:23:00.000-05:00

No letter today. Just this:

* TIDBIT *

about Seizing the Roer River Dam
(Part 2)

Lieutenant General Frank A. Camm, Jr.

We spent the night of 8 February 1945 standing by to undertake an assault crossing [of the Roer River], but the order never came. Instead, I received instructions to provide a patrol to inspect the Schwammenauel dam once we reached it. We had to be sure that the Germans had not prepared it for demolition to flood the Roer River valley while our forces were in the midst of crossing it downstream. If the Krauts were to blow the dam, an 18-foot wall of water would crash 36 miles down the Roer across our front. Within four hours, this German-made flood would trap any allied forces that had ventured across the Roer into the Cologne Plain. I designated my company executive officer, Lieutenant Maurice Phelan, to organize and lead the patrol. A sharp and reliable officer, Phelan selected Private First Class Pearl Albough, Private First Class Harold Fisher and Private Kenneth Hart from Bill Monroe's 3rd Platoon and Private Kurt Storkel from Glen Timm's 2nd Platoon to accompany him.

About mid-morning on 9 February 1945, radio operator Joe Grimaldi was with the commander of the 1st Battalion, 311th Infantry, when they reached an exposed hilltop overlooking the dam. He reported that as they were watching their troops assault at the hill on their left, a tremendous explosion erupted near the center of the dam, carrying water and debris up several hundred feet. Shortly thereafter, there was a second, lesser explosion on the dam.

As our 311th Infantry reached the final approaches to the dam on the afternoon of 9 February, the 1st Battalion, 309th Infantry passed through them and slogged down the final way to the dam. The shell torn road behind the advancing doughboys was strewn with burned-out tanks, jeeps, wrecked trucks, and dead horses.

The 1st Battalion, 309th Infantry had spent the previous four days preparing for the final assault on the dam. Lieutenant Phelan and his engineer patrol had worked with them, studying aerial photos and blueprints of the dam. Built in 1934, the earthen dam was 188 feet high, 1000 feet long, and 1000 feet thick at its base. Directly under the road leading across the dam was a massive concrete core. Running lengthwise inside this core was an inspection tunnel that we visualized could be packed with demolitions, with the Germans waiting for the opportune moment to press the button and send it sky high.

One hour before midnight, the leading riflemen of the 1st Battalion, 309th broke out of woods at the bottom of a steep hill, and there was the prize -- the Schwammenauel dam! Enemy flares from the far side of the river lighted up the area. Machine gun fire spattered all around. The crash of mortar shells mingled with the whip-cracking reports of flying lead. Registered-in 88's whined over the dam to burst at knee height among the doughboys. As the battalion drove forward to seize the dam, they heard the unmistakable, dull rumble of demolitions. Fortunately, only the valve house exploded -- not the dam itself. Meantime German resistance at the gatehouse was overcome only after the Krauts had succeeded in damaging the intake valves and jamming them in an open position. The damaged intake gates and blown outlet valves indicated a thorough German demolition plan had been executed!

As the firefight raged unabated at 2300 hours, Lieutenant Phelan's patrol started across the four hundred yard exposed roadway atop the Dam. German flares revealed them almost immediately, and machine gun fire from high ground south of the dam drove them back. It seemed every available enemy weapon was aimed at the dam. Phelan later said, "It was like a ten-minute artillery barrage repeated every ten minutes; between shell explosions, we heard the burp-guns." Dad's division artillery had lined up every piece of artillery within range to support seizure of the dam - approximately forty-three battalions of all calibers. Within a few minutes, thirty of these battalions were firing a "time-on-target" concentration. It was truly impressive to watch it hit along the German side of the river. This intense fire covered the area a half mile east and west of the dam and 200 yards inland to the south, momentarily illuminating the river and dam.

08 February 1945

2012-02-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

8 February, 1945

Germany 1030

Wilma, darling –

I’m getting an earlier start today than I did yesterday – but I expect to be busy for the rest of the day. I told you yesterday about the military government case I was working on and that’s really got me running around. But since I undertook to handle the thing at all – I might as well do as good a job as possible. Today is the last day before the trial and I’ve got to re-drill some of my witnesses. I’ve had lots of good help from some of the officers in the outfit – including the Colonel.

Last night I wrote you that I was trying to relax and take it easy – if I could. Well it didn’t work, darling, it just didn’t work. One of our officers had his Birthday yesterday and the boys insisted on celebrating. I really didn’t feel like it – but hell – you just can’t refuse. Well – we started out playing Michican Poker – or Rummy – I don’t know which – but the game didn’t go along too well due to the liquid diversion – in the form of French 75’s; that dear, in case you’re not aware, is a mixture of champagne and cognac – and it’s just a little bit stronger than strychnine. You know, sweetheart, bartenders in the States are going to have a helluva time with the returning soldiers because they’re going to get requests for the oddest drinks. Just having a Scotch and soda or rum-coke seems too uninteresting after the variety we’ve learned to drink. For example a mixture of Scotch or Cognac with Benedictine – is one of the nicest drinks you can get and I know a bartender back home will think someone crazy for asking for it.

Say – since you wrote me about Lennie Bernstein – a lot has happened to him – hasn’t it? I refer to his two write-ups in Time Magazine 8 and 15th January – and if Time takes the trouble to write him up he’s all set, of course. He certainly is off to a grand start – and more power to him. I never knew him but I believe Lawrence knew him pretty well at Latin School. I hope for his own sake though that it hasn’t spoiled him. He seems like a nice chap.

I have one of your letters, darling, written at the time of the German break-through. You write about the reaction of the Belgian populace on seeing us roll by – backwards – during the break-through. It was really tough to see. In the first place – the Germans we left behind were obviously tickled – most of them – although in reality they had plenty to fear also. Everyone of them had been ordered to leave with the retreating German army and all who stayed behind were – in the eyes of the German Army – traitors to Das Reich. What the Germans actually would have done had they reached a fairly large German city – is hard to say. But the Belgians had mute fear on their faces and with good cause. They didn’t know what to do and plenty of them took quite a beating from the Germans. Many were shot and whole villages were burned – even though there was no fighting in the vicinity. I passed thru such towns and the devastation was terrible – and in the middle of the winter, too. On top of all that – we had lost a good bit of our prestige – although it has probably been regained by now.

Well – darling – enough for now except to save the best for last – namely that I love you more and more each passing day and that time and distance apart have served only in making me feel closer to you. I’m happy over that fact and I know you are too. My love to the folks, say hello to Mary and so long for now.

All my sincerest love

Greg

P.S. Enclosed makes the 20th photo I’ve sent – I believe. Let me know how many you get, dear.

Love, G.

* TIDBIT *

about the Four-Way Flash

Greg referred to an article in TIME magazine's 15 January 1945 issue, (Vol. XLV, No. 3), about Leonard Bernstein's success. Here is that article, titled "Music: Four-Way Flash."

The brightest young man in the U.S. musical world was just practicing last week. Leonard Bernstein was brushing up on Ravel's Piano Concerto, and getting ready to go on the musical warpath. He was about to leave Broadway—where his rollicking musical, On the Town (TIME, Jan. 8) is packing them in—for a triple-threat appearance with the Pittsburgh Symphony as conductor, composer and piano soloist. Leonard Bernstein can do more things than most musicians and he can do them better.

Last year, when tall, wirehaired, 26-year-old Lenny Bernstein conducted Richard Strauss' Don Quixote with the New York Philharmonic, critics acclaimed him as one of the most gifted of U.S. conductors. When he played the Ravel concerto at a Lewisohn Stadium concert, they had to admit that he was one of the slickest of young U.S. pianists. His Jeremiah Symphony, first performed in Pittsburgh, put him in the first rank of contemporary U.S. composers. His ballet Fancy Free (written in collaboration with Choreographer Jerome Robbins) became the hit of Sol Hurok's ballet season at the Metropolitan Opera House. On the Town topped his year's record for versatility.

Four-ring Musician Bernstein would probably have been equally successful in his father's Boston beauty-parlor supply business. But his Aunt Clara's old upright piano, which was stored in the Bernstein home when he was a child, attracted him first. Lenny Bernstein took to the old upright like a duck to a puddle, went on to major in music at Harvard, where he did his first composing and conducting.

After that, he roamed Broadway unsuccessfully as a would-be songwriter, advertised for piano pupils, taught Ramon Novarro's sister singing at $2 a lesson, finally gota $25-a-week job doing routine orchestrations for the Harms music-publishing house. Summers he spent at Stockbridge, Mass., studying conducting with Serge Koussevitzky at the Tanglewood school. There he caught Conductor Artur Rodzinski's eye, was offered the assistant conductorship of the New York Philharmonic-Symphony.

Lenny Bernstein is somewhat amazed himself at his remarkable musical facility —and a little leary of it. "I don't have any faith in facility," he says. "I think it might turn out to be a handicap in that I might rely on it too much. Things come to me in a kind of inarticulate flash — I don't understand it. It's like an atavistic memory — as though I'd done these things in another lifetime, say, seventy years ago."

While admitting his gifts, critics point out that Bernstein has yet to show any real evidence of originality, that he composes at will in the manner of anybody from Russia's Serge Prokofieff to Cole Porter, but seldom Leonard Bernstein's. His brilliant, ingenious, coldly satirical music for On the Town lacks the heartwarming quality and really first-class tunes that make music memorable.

Bernstein is not yet a Stravinsky, a Gershwin, a Toscanini or a Horowitz. But he is half way toward being all four at once.

07 February 1945

2012-02-07T22:37:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

7 February, 1945 1830

Germany

Wilma, my dearest –

I thought for awhile today that I wouldn’t have a chance to write, but as things turned out – I’ve just taken a break and here I am. And I don’t want this letter to get any older before I tell you that I love you stronger than anything else in this world.

That wasn’t a very well-connected paragraph, dear, but you know what I mean. We’re still settled in the same spot and things are going along very nicely. Ordinarily I wouldn’t be very busy right now – but as usual – I seem to have something to do all the time – and this time, darling, it’s a corker. Next to the place where our C.P.is a woman, her married daughter, son, younger daughter – and a grandson live – all in about a room and a half. I took care of the old lady for a heart attack – the last time I was here. The p.m. we arrived this time – I was called to see her for another attack and this time she was quite ill; not only that – but hysterical. Sheraved about the M.P.’s (several live upstairs in the same house) advances to her daughter etc. etc. And it seemed that because of one reason or another – the M.P.s found a loaded German gun in the next store to where these people live. The next store belongs to the woman but was unoccupied – until we moved in.

Well – the whole thing smelled pretty strange to me. We had been here for about a month before, and the people seemed O.K. If anything – the married daughter was too attractive. At any rate – they charged the daughter with having the gun in her house and arrested her. She was confined to a dingy jail. What interested me was the fact the mother – who owns the store – was not confined and the daughter was. The mother insisted they knew nothing of the gun and said it was just done out of spite.

I didn’t want to get mixed up in treating a case – when things were hot like that – so, dear, yesterday I went to the Military Gov’t and told them I was treating someone etc. etc. I asked what would happen and I was told that if connected – death was the penalty. Well – that’s a pretty stiff penalty it seemed to me – especially if these people were innocent, as I believe them to be. I asked one of the officers what sort of defense they’d have and he said they’d pick some officer, any officer – and out of a clear sky he asked why I didn’t defend her especially since I spokeGerman and needed no interpreter. I went back to see Col. Lane and he said “by all means” – and there you have it, sweetheart. I’ve been appointed by the Mil. Gov’t of this City to defend a German woman who is on trial for her life. And I a doctor!

You know, dear – law takes a lot of running around and that’s what I’ve been doing for a day and a half. This is Wednesday evening and the trial is Friday a.m. at 0900. I guess most of our officers will be there to listen in. It’s held in the City Hall. If I didn’t think these people were guiltless I wouldn’t have touched the case. As it is – the burden of proof rests on me – because the fact is the M.P.s did find a gun on their property. All day today I ran around getting witnesses lined up and it took all the German I knew to convince all of them that I was on the level and was going to defend a German against some American soldiers. It ought to make an interesting case.

Gosh, darling I had no idea I had rambled on for 4 pages already but I wanted you to know most of the details so that if I referred to the case again you’d know what I was talking about, dear.

Other than that, sweetheart, everything is normal. We got no mail the past 2 days but that always happens under these circumstances. When I get thru writing this I’m going to try and take it easy for the rest of the evening and then retire early – but I suppose something will turn up.

So for awhile, sweetheart, so long and remember that no matter what I’m doing you are still the first one in my mind and heart and always will it be so. My love to the folks and

My deepest love to you –

Greg.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

Authorization given to the jailor for Greg to visit the defendant
on 06 February 1945

MILITARY GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTERS
DETACHMENT H2 H2, COMPANY H
2D. E.C.A. REGIMENT

APO 658
6 Feb 45

SUBJECT:     Visitation of Prisoner.
TO     :    Jailor

                        This is your authorization to permit Capt. H.G.A. to visit Marianne Atzenhofer for the purpose of discussing her case.

                                                                                             JACOB JOHNSON
                                                                                             Capt, SP
                                                                                             Deputy Mil Gov Officer

* TIDBIT *

about Seizing the Roer River Dam

Below is an excerpt from the Personal Memoirs of General Frank Camm Jr. on Scorpio's website called "The Battle of the Huertgen Forest."

When the Germans had been pushed back from the Bulge, it was time for our 78th Division to attack again. Our goal was still to seize the Schammenauel Dam and prevent the Germans from blowing it to flood valleys downstream, blocking further advance of Allied forces in the north. The 310th and 311th would start the attack to clear our south flank while the 309th would hold in the north, prepared to repel counterattacks. Our combat engineers would open routes through our minefields and breach through the German mine fields. The snow was still on the ground, about a foot deep, so we issued white snow-capes to our men and built sleds to move heavy loads over the snow...

... On 7 February, our regiment's northward drive into the toughly defended stronghold of Schmidt would have made a good movie setting. Having rebuffed a couple of previous American attacks, Schmidt looked like a tank and vehicle graveyard. The bodies of dead Krauts lay all around, some missing ring fingers that scavengers had already reached. Tanks hung over edges of cliffs. Other paraphernalia of broken weapons, occasional overcoats, and cartridge belts remained where their owners had dropped them. Minefields were also there--one large one covered the northwest approach to town. Elements of four German divisions were defending Schmidt--the 85th Infantry, 9th Panzer, 3rd Parachute and 3rd Panzergrenadier. As mortar and artillery fire fell on the town, the 311th doughboys dashed forward, hitting the ground, jumping up for another dash, hitting the ground again, firing as they advanced. Krauts on the far side of Schmidt scurried out of town so fast their overcoats were flying over their heads. Godfrey Stallings in K Company of the 311th Infantry described his company's attack as follows:
My company was to make the main direct assault on this village... Our approach was to be across a wide-open space from the edge of a forest where we were to rendezvous with tanks. Tanks always make a lot of noise when they move with their motors roaring, treads clanking and squeaking...The enemy found out we were in the woods behind the tanks... and began a heavy barrage of artillery shells into the woods where we were waiting... Boy! Those artillery shells were knocking down trees, plowing up the ground, and shrapnel from the exploding shells was flying everywhere, causing casualties...I fell down beside a large tree seeking as much protection as possible. A shell cut the top out of that tree... the top slid down the tree trunk and almost pinned me to the ground. Our captain, realizing we would be cut to pieces if we stayed there, jumped up and started ordering us to move forward out of the woods. We started the attack across the open area on foot ... Everybody seemed to be firing everything they had and I do mean everybody was shooting... We didn't have much protection in the open area. Just blades of grass, weeds, and depressions in the ground left by tank tracks. Our best bet was to keep moving forward. One group would shoot while another group moved forward. They would hit the ground and shoot while another group moved up. It was sort of a leap frog action. When you ran forward, it was a zigzag pattern and when you hit the ground you rolled to spoil the aim of any enemy shooting at you.

When the leading tank got almost to the edge of the village, it was hit by antitank shells and set on fire. Seeing this, the other two tanks wheeled around and started back toward the woods. Seeing the attack faltering, Captain Ferry (my company commander) ordered everybody to start moving toward the village again and kept the attack going. We finally made it to the edge of the village and the house-to-house fighting began... Two of our guys started running toward a house when a hidden machine gun opened up on them. One guy fell to the ground and the other guy dived through an open space that had once been a window or door. Spotting smoke from the machine gun firing at them, he lobbed a hand grenade that took care of the situation. I thought the guy that fell to the ground had been hit, but he had stumbled over a piece of wire that probably saved his life... Whew! What a way to earn $64.80 a month as a private first class plus $10 a month for my Combat Infantry Badge!

Finally our 310th and 311th Infantry regiments gained possession of Schmidt, which had stayed the military might of our allied forces for several months. Some military writers have estimated this town was worth at least five divisions to the enemy.

While the 310th went through Schmidt and on to capture Harscheidt, the 311th moved toward the dam, following the curving north shoreline of the reservoir.

Just after we captured Schmidt, I was ordered to lead a daylight patrol to look for a good site from which to launch assault boats to ferry infantry across the lake behind Schwammenauel Dam on the Roer River. The far side had steep hills occupied by enemy soldiers with good observation on us. A 311th Infantry company took up positions on high ground overlooking my patrol route along the lake south of Schmidt while I took a squad of infantry along for security. We soon found an empty German dugout with a field telephone that had obviously served as a German forward observation post. Ever fearful of running into Krauts, we followed the telephone line to where it went into the lake. We encountered no enemy, but they were obviously over there on the far shore, prevented from shooting us by our overwatching infantry. We came back to report that we could emplace assault boats under cover of night or heavy smoke, and ferry infantry across, but the hills on the far shore would be terribly challenging.

In our drive for the dam, Dad's division artillery was given enormous artillery support from Corps and Army artillery. At one point, he was coordinating the fires of 26 artillery battalions, including 155-mm guns, 8" howitzers, huge 240mm howitzers, and even a British rocket battalion. This concentration of firepower of nearly 300 artillery pieces was one of strongest artillery concentrations in First Army history.

06 February 1945

2012-02-06T22:48:00.000-05:00

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 230 % Postmaster, N.Y.

6 February, 1945 0950

GERMANY

My dearest sweetheart –

It is with real satisfaction that I can again head my letters to you the word ‘Germany’. From the last time I wrote it until now – we’ve traveled a lot, seen a lot and suffered a little; we had anxious moments but my own particular concern was always as to how you at home were taking the news. I knew mail was delayed – therewere more important uses for vehicles – and I can well imagine how you all ‘sweated it out’. That bothered me more than anything, darling, that and the effect on our pride. This has been a damned good Army we’ve been in, dear, better, I think, than any other on this Front – and there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ve got the best boys of any in this Army or any other Army. From the day we landed we have never had to go backwards because of enemy action and that’s a pretty good record – and when we went backwards this time – it was only because they wanted a damn good Corps to knock Rundstadt silly. The actual breakthrough – as you must have surmised – came in another sector. And we did knock him silly.

And the best part of all, sweetheart – is that we came back to the very same spot from where we left – and right now I’m at the same desk in the same department “Women’s Apparel”. The satisfying thing is to see these same Germans who had an awfully smug look on their faces when we left. They actually believed that Aachen would be theirs by Christmas and Brussels by New Years and I have no doubt that most of them believed we were gone for good. Such is the magic of the government propaganda the Germans are still able to put out. Anyway, we’re back and I’m betting we stay in Germany awhile longer. The result of our trip to Belgium was that it gave me an opportunity to see a part of Belgium I hadn’t seen before – the Ardennes, and it must have been beautiful before; a great part of it has been destroyed – the villages, that is.

And before I leave the subject, darling, I’m sorry I had you puzzled with my omission of “Belgium” on my letters. When we left here we were under very strict security measures – this Corps in particular. It wasn’t until we were in Belgium for some time that that restriction was lifted. I decided I wouldn’t write anything until I could write “Germany” again. And now – that’s enough about the military, sweetheart.

In addition to everything else, dear, we got a stack of mail and some as late as the 11th of January. I got Birthday cards and 3 Valentines from you! And I liked each of them because my sentiments are the same. I feel terrible about not having been able to send you even one this year, but you’ll have to blame the Germans for that. Just to make the record complete though, I’ll ask you now “Will you be my Valentine, mine alone – for now and always?” (I knew you would!)

Say – by the way sweetheart – didn’t you know I was the very jealous type? Who is this Frank fellow anyway? I remember your mentioning him sometime ago but I don’t remember whether you said he was in the Service or defense worker – or what. But it seems to me he calls you quite a bit. Better tell him to watch out! I’ve learned how to be pretty rough when I want to be. I’m kidding, of course, darling – about everything except the fact that I am the jealous type – but I don’t blame you for accepting a bit of diversion when you want to. Just don’t get too fond of anyone, dear!!

I got that letter of yours in which there was a note of Nancy’s enclosed. Will you tell her I got it, dear, and thank her for me? Thanks.

And now, darling, I’ll tell you I love you – again from Germany – but it’s the same true and constant love no matter where I am, sweetheart. But I think I’ll love you most and hardest from the good old United States – and let’s hope that day is not far off. My love to the folks, dear – and

All my everlasting love

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about The Colmar Incident

A SIGABA enciphering and deciphering machine

From the National Securtiy Agency's public files comes this story about The Colmar Incident of World War II.

As the Allied armies were preparing for the final assault into Germany during the waning months of World War II, an event occurred which had the makings of a major disaster. An advancing U.S. Army division lost a SIGABA, the cryptographic machine used for the highest level of U.S. communications. This type of machine was a vital part of a world-wide Combined (UK/US) communications system, and should it fall into enemy hands, the results could be devastating. All of the Allied war plans for the Spring assault into Germany, for example had been enciphered by SIGABA, as well as arrangements for President Roosevelt's pending trip to Yalta. And it was the only highly secure U.S. cipher system available to many U.S. units in Europe at that time.

On 6 February 1945, Headquarters, Communications Zone, European Theatre of Operations (Paris) dispatched an Urgent-Secret message to all strategic commands in Europe, informing their signal officers to suspend use of certain cryptographic systems and materials due to a possible compromise. But it was not until 10 February, when the officer in charge of the War Department Code Center called persons at Arlington Hall to alert them that an extremely important message concerning the compromise had just been received, that any specific details became known concerning the systems involved in the compromise.

A trans-Atlantic enciphered phone conversation on the 11th, between Arlington Hall Station and the Signal Intelligence Division, ETO, Paris, afforded additional information. It noted, among other things, that a 2-1/2 ton truck had been stolen from a city street in Colmar, France, containing the SIGABA and associated - and other - equipment and documents. It further noted that the SIGABA and these other materials were in a locked safe in the "code room" carried by the truck. The theft involved the 28th Infantry Division, which was being transferred from Kayersburg, France, to the city of Colmar. Colmar had been evacuated by German troops several days before, and on the day of the theft the enemy was only about four miles to the north of the city.

The event had its beginning on 4 February, when the chief of the message center of the 28th Division's signal company departed from Kayersburg, with an advance station of his cryptographic team and equipment, to set up a message center in Colmar. When the men arrived, they found there were no billets ready or even allocated to the signal company. Having found an unoccupied house at No. 16 Barbarassastrasse, and having obtained official permission to occupy it, they unloaded their cryptographic equipment and established communications. The next day, 5 February, the second half of the team, with spare sets of cryptographic equipment, including a SIGABA departed for Colmar.

Upon arrival, the men located the first group. Unfortunately, though, the signal company's motor pool section, which had the responsibility for establishing a guarded truck park, had not yet arrived. After locating the division's message center, which had been established by the advance party the day before, the men were told that their billets were at No. 16, and were instructed to park as near to the house as possible. Subsequently, the truck with SIGABA and associated equipment was parked for the night in front of No. 20 Barbarassastrasse, but without guards, as normally required. The next morning, when two officers went to the truck to make some repairs, it was gone. After reporting to the message center chief that the vehicle was missing, the two men began searching for the truck. About 11:15 a.m. they found the trailer to the truck abandoned on a dead-end road. Tire tracks at the scene indicated that the trailer had been unfastened, and the truck had been turned around and driven out of town. A quick inspection revealed nothing was missing from the trailer, which had contained only unclassified material.

G-2 (Intelligence Staff) of the Division Headquarters in Colmar, coordinating with the Military Police, ordered a complete search of the area, and the Inspector General, 28th Division, ordered a thorough investigation of the responsible personnel. He also sought anyone who might have any information concerning the lost truck. This request had some results, revealing among other things, that a radio car from the same company had been parked across the street from the 2-1/2 ton truck and that men of the company had made frequent trips to the car throughout the night, for the purpose of occasionally running the motor. However, these men had neither seen nor heard anything and, in fact, had taken no notice of the truck in question.

It was further directed that all units and divisions conduct officer supervised searches to include all sheds, barns, woods, mountain areas, etc. SHAEF was also asked to conduct a complete theater-wide search, and the Sixth Army Group directed all headquarter troops, and subordinate units as well, to inventory the motor numbers and inspect the contents of all 2-1/2 ton trucks. Also, the help of the local police was promptly enlisted. Descriptions of the truck and safes, but not the contents, were given to the French officials. (American and British headquarters elements in Europe received more specific information about the contents of the truck.) General Eisenhower personally became involved and ordered that a vigorous investigation and search be made to locate the missing vehicle. With the possibility of the disclosure of all of the plans for the Spring offensive, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe gave top priority to the recovery of the truck containing the SIGABA; all Allied high commands participated in the search.

On the morning of 9 March 1945, the truck was finally located, abandoned in a wooded area several miles north of the city of Rambervillers, approximately 45 miles northeast of Colmar. The bumpers of the truck had been removed, and the numbers had been painted out; otherwise, there was no other apparernt damage to the truck. However, the safes containing the SIGABA and the other equipment were gone. Later that same afternoon, a search party from the First French Army, discovered the upper half of the safe as well as a small company field safe, submerged in the Gressen River, a small mountain stream which runs between the towns of Chatenois and Scherweiller. The safes were immediately placed under guard and turned over to the Sixth Army Group. The upper half of the safe contained the SIGABA and other classified equipment. The lower half of the safe, which had not yet been recovered, contained instructions, pamphlets and rotors for the SIGABA. After a thorough inspection, G-2 and Signal Intelligence decided that, since the settings in the safes had not been readjusted, and since there was no evidence suggesting that attempts had been made to open the safes, no compromise existed.

Finally, eleven days later, on 20 March, the lower safe was recovered from the river bottom about 100 feet downstream. Efforts to open the safe were unsuccessful because the combination was clogged with silt. Subsequently, the safe was sent to Paris where it was "opened" at a "ceremony" attended by at least half of the intelligence staffs in Paris. Attempts were first made to open the safe with a torch, but fortunately, the torch ran out of oxygen after cutting about two inches. For when the safe was finally cut and drilled open later, long after the VIP guests had departed, it was found to contain two 55-pound thermite bombs and 14-pound blocks of TNT, all wired to detonators. It was also fortunate that these explosives had not been designed as a booby trap; they were simply the devices normally carried with cipher machines to destroy them if they were in danger of being captured by the enemy.

Although no written record can be found regarding who had actually stolen the truck, an interview with an officer who was active in G-2 efforts at Headquarters, ETO, Paris, during the Colmar incident, did uncover some interesting information. He stated that during the Inspector General's investigations, two French peasants commented that the American Government could find its truck in the "woods," and, further, that the "boxes" in the truck had been thrown into the "river." Although the woods and river were not identified by name, their description of the surrounding area was sufficient to permit the truck and equipment to be found, and these two men were subsequently apprehended on the suspicion they participated in the theft. During their interrogation, however, it was learned from the Frenchmen that it was actually their friend, a farmer, who had taken the truck to move his household furniture. The farmer's name was never disclosed by his friends; consequently, he was not apprehended for questioning. In view of these revelations, the concensus at Sixth Army Group Headquarters was that the vehicle had been stolen for the value of the truck itself, and that the thieves were unaware that the truck contained highly valuable and sensitive cryptographic equipment.

05 February 1945

2012-02-05T22:30:00.000-05:00

No letter today. Just this:

Route of the Question Mark

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A) Failon, Belgium to (B) Stolberg, Germany (62 miles)
24 January to 5 February 1945

February 5 ... Stolberg. Back to our old quarters in the department store with the Nazis pinned behind the Siegfried line once more. Presparations for The Battle of Germany. Replacements arrived from the States, and all of them good men, which was a miracle. The impressive warnings against fraternizing with the Germans - we are to remain cold and aloof at all times. Capt A's frantic and successful efforts to get "The Blonde" out of jail, which made T/Sgt [Clayton W. or Lars G.?] PIERSON and several others very happy.

City Square - Now a GI Car Park
Stolberg, Germany - 1945

This is dissection
Stolberg, Germany - February 1945

Main Street. That is not Schulte's Cigar Store.
After all - it's not on a corner.
Stolberg, Germany - February 1945

This stream bisects the city
Stolberg, Germany - February 1945

The Castle at Stolberg, Germany - February 1945

Stolberg, Germany - February 1945

04 February 1945

2012-02-04T20:53:00.000-05:00

No letter today. Just this:

* TIDBIT *

about The Yalta Conference

Seated (l to r) Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin
4 February 1945

The Yalta Conference took place between 4 February 1945 and 11 February 1945. Much can be said about the Conference, but this is not the place for that. Instead, here are some simple summaries. First, The following was taken from History.com's "This Day in History."

On 4 February 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Premier Joseph Stalin met at Yalta, in the Crimea, to discuss and plan the postwar world — namely, to address the redistribution of power and influence. It is at Yalta that many place the birth of the Cold War.

It had already been determined that a defeated Germany would be sliced up into zones occupied by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, the principal Allied powers. Once in Germany, the Allies would see to the deconstruction of the German military and the prosecution of war criminals. A special commission would also determine war reparations.

But the most significant issue, the one that marked the conference in history, was Joseph Stalin's designs on Eastern Europe. (Stalin's demands had started early with his desire that the location of the conference be at a Black Sea resort close to the USSR. He claimed he was too ill to travel far.) Roosevelt and Churchill attempted to create a united front against the Soviet dictator; their advisers had already mapped out clear positions on Europe and the creation and mission of the United Nations. They propounded the principles of the Atlantic Charter, formulated back in August 1941, that would ensure "life, liberty, independence, and religious freedom" for a free Europe and guarantee that only those nations that had declared war on the Axis powers would gain entry into the new United Nations.

Stalin agreed to these broad principles (although he withdrew his promise that all 16 Soviet republics would have separate representation within the United Nations), as well as an agreement that the Big Three would help any nation formerly in the grip of an Axis power in the establishment of "interim governmental authorities broadly representative of all democratic elements in the population... and the earliest possible establishment through free elections of governments responsive to the will of the people." Toward that end, Roosevelt and Churchill gave support to the Polish government-in-exile in London; Stalin demurred, insisting that the communist-dominated and Soviet-loyal Polish Committee of National Liberation, based in Poland, would govern. The only compromise reached was the inclusion of "other" political groups in the committee. As for Poland's new borders, they were discussed, but no conclusions were reached.

The conference provided the illusion of more unanimity than actually existed, especially in light of Stalin's reneging on his promise of free elections in those Eastern European nations the Soviets occupied at war's end. Roosevelt and Churchill had believed Stalin's promises, primarily because they needed to—they were convinced the USSR's support in defeating the Japanese was crucial. In fact, the USSR played much less of a role in ending the war in the East than assumed. But there was no going back. A divisive "iron curtain," in Churchill's famous phrase, was beginning to descend in Europe.

This list of "Key Points" was taken from Wikipedia.

Agreement to the priority of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. After the war, Germany and Berlin would be split into four occupied zones.

Stalin agreed that France might have a fourth occupation zone in Germany and in Austria but it would have to be formed out of the American and British zones.

Germany would undergo demilitarization and denazification.

German reparations were partly to be in the form of forced labor. The forced labor was to be used to repair damage Germany inflicted on its victims.

Creation of a reparation council which would be located in the Soviet Union.

The status of Poland was discussed. It was agreed to reorganize the communist Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland that had been installed by the Soviet Union "on a broader democratic basis."

The Polish eastern border would follow the Curzon Line, and Poland would receive territorial compensation in the West from Germany.

Churchill alone pushed for free elections in Poland. The British leader pointed out that the UK "could never be content with any solution that did not leave Poland a free and independent state". Stalin pledged to permit free elections in Poland, but forestalled ever honoring his promise.

Citizens of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia were to be handed over to their respective countries, regardless of their consent.

Roosevelt obtained a commitment by Stalin to participate in the UN.

Stalin requested that all of the 16 Soviet Socialist Republics would be granted UN membership. This was taken into consideration, but 14 republics were denied.

Stalin agreed to enter the fight against the Empire of Japan within 90 days after the defeat of Germany.

Nazi war criminals were to be hunted down and brought to justice.

A "Committee on Dismemberment of Germany" was to be set up. Its purpose was to decide whether Germany was to be divided into six nations.