21 July, 1944

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 403 % Postmaster, N.Y.

France

21 July, 1944

My dearest sweetheart –

I am now sitting in the back of our big truck writing this V-mail to you. It happens to be the driest spot available at the moment – but it’s quite comfortable. As a matter of fact I’ve been rummaging around through some of my boxes and bags and I came across my clarinet and as soon as I’m through writing this – I think I’ll try blowing a few tunes out of it. Anyway – I ought to end up with more room here than there is now!

Greg's "large truck" may have been similar
to this 1/2 ton 4x4 WC54 Field Ambulance

I haven’t heard from you in a couple of days, now, dear, but that’s because of the recent mail set-up which should be corrected in another day or two. I thought so hard of you last night – it was almost impossible to stand it. I just wished so hard that you were with me or I with you – that I had to change my line of thought. Gosh, darling, I do love you a tremendous lot and I can hardly wait to get home and show you what I mean. But I will!! Hope you’re hearing from me regularly now. Love to the folks and

All my love, dear

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about A Quiet Period

CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE

(L to R) Lt Gen Omar Bradley 1st Army,
Maj. Gen Leonard Gerow V Corps
Gen Dwight Eisenhower,
Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force
Lt Gen Lawton Joseph "Lightning Joe" Collins,
VII Corps, on 21 July 1944

According to HyperWar's US Army in WWII: ETO Breakout and Pursuit written by Martin Blumenson:

Between the end of the earlier July offensive and the launching of COBRA, there was a lull for about a week. Not only did the period of inactivity permit plans to be perfected and the troops to be better organized for the attack, it also gave the men some rest and time to repair the equipment damaged in the battle of the hedgerows. Units were able to integrate replacements. By the time COBRA got under way, all the divisions on the Continent were close to authorized strength in equipment and personnel and most had undergone a qualitative improvement.

The quiet period before COBRA also made possible increased comforts such as hot meals, showers, and clothing changes. Even though B rations - a non-packaged food affording a variety of hot meals - had reached the Continent early in July and were ready for issue to the troops, the battle of the hedgerows had prevented their being substituted for combat 10-in-1, K, and C rations until later in the month. With kitchens set up to serve hot meals, "it was amazing how many cows and chickens wandered into minefields... and ended up as sizzling platters."

As Allied leaders searched rain-filled skies for a break in the clouds that might permit the air bombardment planned for COBRA, a phrase of the Air Corps hymn came to mind: "Nothing can stop the Army Air Corps." Nothing, they added, except weather. While impatient commanders waited anxiously for sunshine, and while General Bradley facetiously assumed the blame for having "failed to make arrangements for proper weather," the First U.S. Army rested and prepared for the attack.

20 July, 1944

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 403 % Postmaster, N.Y.

France

20 July, 1944

Dearest darling –

Good morning! I’m getting an early start today because I expect to be busy a little later. No mail yesterday and probably none today.

Yesterday was another easy day at the hospital and it may be like that for another day or two. In the evening several of us went to a nearby quartermaster shower and saw something new in the line of Army efficiency. Before entering, we passed thru a tent and told a soldier what size underwear, and socks we wore. We were given new socks, underwear – shirts and shorts – plus a large-sized Cannon bath towel. We could keep our dirty clothes or discard them – as we saw fit. How’s that for up to date service?

All is quiet at present, sweetheart, and we’re enjoying our relaxation. I thought a great deal about you yesterday, dear, and last year and our meeting each other and of the first night I poked my head thru your door – and lots of other pleasant things that happened last summer. Best of all – I ended up by realizing that you are really my fiancée and that I have something real and lovely to come home to – and boy! that thought makes me very happy! I love you very much – darling. Never forget that!! Love to all at home.

All my love for now –

Greg.

Route of the Question Mark



(A) Deville to (B) St. Jean-de-Daye, France
11 July to 20 July 1944

From Page 24 from The Route of the Question Mark:

July 20... St. Jean de Daye.  We lost S/Sgt COOK, our mess Sgt. There was a false gas alarm which threw everyone into a panic. We witnessed the spectacular bombing operation on 25 July 1944. Wave after wave of B-17's and B-24's dropping bombs on the German lines ahead of us at Saint Lo. Pvt DAVIES joined the Infantry here.

* TIDBIT *

about the Failed Attempt on Hitler's Life

On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government. The failure of both the assassination and the military coup d'état which was planned to follow it led to the arrest of at least 7,000 people by the Gestapo. According to records of the Führer Conferences on Naval Affairs, 4,980 people were executed, resulting in the destruction of the organized resistance movement in Germany.

Since 1938, conspiratorial groups planning an overthrow of some kind had existed in the German Army and in the German Military Intelligence Organization. Early leaders of these plots included Brigadier-General Hans Oster, General Ludwig Beck and Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben. Oster was the deputy head of the Military Intelligence Office. Military conspiratorial groups exchanged ideas with civilian, political and intellectual resistance groups. Plans to stage an overthrow and prevent Hitler from launching a new world war were developed in 1938 and 1939, but were aborted because of the indecision of Army Generals Franz Halder and Walther von Brauchitsch, and the failure of the western powers to oppose Hitler's aggressions until 1939.

In 1942, a new conspiratorial group formed, led by Colonel Henning von Tresckow, a member of Field Marshal Fedor von Bock's staff. Their most important recruit was General Friedrich Olbricht, head of the General Army Office headquarters at the Bendlerblock in central Berlin, who controlled an independent system of communications to Reserve Units throughout Germany. Linking this asset to Tresckow's resistance group in Army Group Center created a viable coup apparatus. Tresckow systematically recruited oppositionists to the Group’s staff, making it the nerve center of the Army resistance. Tresckow and Olbricht formulated a plan to assassinate Hitler and stage an overthrow during Hitler's visit to the headquarters of Army Group Center at Smolensk in March 1943, by placing a bomb on his plane. The bomb failed to detonate, and a second attempt a week later at an exhibition of captured Soviet weaponry in Berlin also failed.

Henning von Tresckow

By mid-1943 the tide of war was turning decisively against Germany. The Army plotters and their civilian allies became convinced that Hitler must be assassinated so that a government acceptable to the western Allies could be formed and a separate peace negotiated in time to prevent a Soviet invasion of Germany. In August 1943 Tresckow met a young staff officer, Lieutenant Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, for the first time. For some time this man's religious scruples had prevented him from coming to the conclusion that assassination was the correct way to achieve a negotiated peace. After the Battle of Stalingrad in December 1942, however, he had come to the conclusion that not assassinating Hitler would be a greater moral evil.

Olbricht now put forward a new strategy for staging a coup against Hitler. The Reserve Army already had an operational plan called "Operation Valkyrie" which was to be used in the event that the disruption caused by the Allied bombing of German cities caused a breakdown in law and order, or an uprising by the millions of slave laborers from occupied countries now being used in German factories. Olbricht suggested that this plan could be used to mobilize the Reserve Army for the purpose of a coup. In August and September 1943, Colonel Henning von Tresckow drafted the "revised" Valkyrie plan and new supplementary orders. A secret declaration began with the words: "The Führer Adolf Hitler is dead! A treacherous group of party leaders has attempted to exploit the situation by attacking our embattled soldiers from the rear in order to seize power for themselves." Detailed instructions were written for the occupation of government ministries in Berlin, Himmler's headquarters in East Prussia, radio stations, telephone offices, and other Nazi apparatus through military districts, and concentration camps.

During 1943 and early 1944 there were at least four failed attempts organized by von Tresckow and von Stauffenberg to get one of the military conspirators near enough to Hitler for long enough to kill him with hand grenades, bombs or a revolver: in March 1943, in late November 1943, in February 1944 and on 11 March 1944. But this task was becoming increasingly difficult. As the war situation deteriorated, Hitler no longer appeared in public and rarely visited Berlin. By the summer of 1944, the Gestapo was closing in on the conspirators. There was a sense that time was running out, both on the battlefield, where the Eastern front was in full retreat and where the Allies had landed in France on 6 June, and in Germany, where the resistance's room for maneuvering was rapidly contracting. The belief that this was the last chance for action seized the conspirators. By this time, the core of the conspirators had begun to think of themselves as doomed men, whose actions were more symbolic than real.

The conspirators scored a major coup in early July when they managed to initiate Erwin Rommel, the famed "Desert Fox," into their ranks. Rommel was by far the most popular officer in Germany, and was also the first active-duty field marshal to lend support to the notion of ending of Hitler's rule. However, although Rommel felt he had to, as he put it, "come to the rescue of Germany," he thought killing Hitler would make Hitler a martyr. Instead, he wanted him arrested and hauled before a court-martial for his many crimes.

On Saturday 1 July 1944 von Stauffenberg was appointed Chief of Staff to General Friedrich Fromm at the Reserve Army headquarters in central Berlin. This position enabled von Stauffenberg to attend Hitler's military conferences and would thus give him an opportunity, perhaps the last that would present itself, to kill Hitler with a bomb or a pistol. On 11 July von Stauffenberg attended Hitler's conference carrying a bomb in his briefcase, but because the conspirators had decided that Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Göring should be killed simultaneously, he held back at the last minute since Himmler was not present. By 15 July, when von Stauffenberg again flew to the Wolfsschanze, this condition had been dropped. The plan was for von Stauffenberg to plant the briefcase with the bomb in Hitler's conference room with a timer running, excuse himself from the meeting, wait for the explosion, then fly back to Berlin. Again on 15 July the attempt was called off at the last minute. Himmler and Göring were present, but Hitler was called out of the room at the last moment; von Stauffenberg was able to intercept the bomb and prevent its discovery.

Claus von Stauffenberg

On 20 July, around 12:30PM as the conference began, von Stauffenberg made an excuse to use a washroom where he used pliers to crush the end of a pencil detonator inserted into a 1 kilogram (2.2 pound) block of plastic explosive wrapped in brown paper. The detonator consisted of a thin copper tube containing acid that would take ten minutes to silently eat through wire holding back the firing pin from the percussion cap. He then placed the primed bomb quickly inside his briefcase, having been told his presence was required. He entered the conference room and placed his briefcase under the table around which Hitler and more than 20 officers had gathered. After a few minutes, von Stauffenberg received a planned phone call and left the room. It is presumed that Colonel Heinz Brandt, who was standing next to Hitler, used his foot to move the briefcase aside by pushing it behind the leg of the conference table, thus unwittingly deflecting the blast from Hitler, but causing his own death when the bomb detonated between 12:40 and 12:50, demolishing the conference room.

Conference Room Wreckage, 20 July 1944

Three officers and the stenographer were seriously injured and died soon after. Hitler survived, as did everyone else who was shielded from the blast by the conference table leg. Hitler's trousers were singed and tattered and he suffered from a perforated eardrum, as did most of the other 24 people in the room. Hearing the explosion and seeing the smoke issuing from the broken windows of the concrete dispatch barracks, von Stauffenberg assumed that Hitler was dead, climbed into his staff car with his aide Werner von Haeften and managed to bluff his way past three checkpoints to exit the Wolfsschanze complex. Werner von Haeften then tossed a second unprimed bomb into the forest as they made a dash for Rastenburg airfield, reaching it before it could be realized that von Stauffenberg could be responsible for the explosion.

Werner von Haeften

At 16:40 von Stauffenberg and von Haeften arrived at the Bendlerblock. Learning that Hitler had not died, Fromm, presumably to protect himself, changed sides and attempted to have von Stauffenberg arrested. As Remer regained control of the city and word spread that Hitler was still alive, the less resolute members of the conspiracy in Berlin also now began to change sides. Fighting broke out in the Bendlerblock between officers supporting and opposing the coup, and von Stauffenberg was wounded. By 23:00 Fromm had regained control, hoping by a show of zealous loyalty to save himself. Ludwig Beck, realizing the situation was hopeless, shot himself at the command of Fromm — the first of many suicides in the coming days. Although at first Beck only just managed to seriously wound himself, he was shot in the neck by soldiers. Fromm convened an impromptu court martial consisting of himself, and sentenced Olbricht, von Stauffenberg, von Haeften and another officer, Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, to death. At 00:10 on 21 July they were executed in the courtyard outside, possibly to prevent them from revealing Fromm's involvement. Fromm went off to see Goebbels to claim credit for suppressing the coup. Goebbels' only reply to him was "You've been in a damned hurry to get your witnesses below ground." Fromm was immediately arrested and later, in March of 1945, was executed on charges he had failed to report and prevent the coup on 20 July.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Friedrich Fromm, Friedrich Olbricht, and Albrecht von Quirnheim

19 July, 1944

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 403 % Postmaster, N.Y.

France

19 July, 1944        0945

My dearest sweetheart –

It’s a quiet Wednesday morning and although there isn’t much in the line of news to write about, dear. I thought I’d ramble on for a bit anyway. We didn’t get any mail yesterday – but we’ve been averaging mail on about 4-5 days out of seven and that’s not much different from England. We get the Continental edition of the Stars and Stripes almost daily and every 2-3 weeks we get a batch of fairly recent magazines, including Life, Look, Esquire, and a bunch of Detective Stories, Mechanics etc. – which I never get around to reading. Oh yes – Coronet and Reader’s Digest are always included. The fact is dear – I don’t even get a chance to read my Medical Journals – but I do read Time.

Yesterday was an easy day at the hospital – they were cleaning out their cases. I got through about 1500 and instead of returning to battalion – I decided to take a trip down to the beach. It was only 10 miles away from where I was and it was a nice day. It was very pretty. The water was greenish-blue – but no one was in swimming. I hated to leave the area – but it was getting on towards supper hour and traffic on the roads is heavy – so we headed back.

For supper we had steak again – the “captured” cow is now fast disappearing. And then we had a real surprise. Our Special Service officer had dug up a film, rigged up some tentage and we had a movie at 2030. The amazing thing is that it was a new one – I believe – “See Here, Private Hargrove”. It was light and amusing and the boys got a kick out of it. And then to bed.

This morning I plan to take it easy and not go out to visit the batteries, but I’ll trip up to the hospital this p.m. and see if any new cases have been admitted. I believe I mentioned that we had laundry facilities at the hospital. We got ours back yesterday and you can’t imagine what a thrill it is, darling, to put some dirty clothes into a bag and get it back in a few days – nice and clean – although unpressed.

That just about brings me up to date with things, sweetheart. I try to tell you what’s going on and I hope you have some picture of it in your mind. Since I’ve been at the hospital – I haven’t had much time or opportunity to develop my conversational French – but I’ve picked up on my German – in conversing with some of the German prisoners working at the hospital. They were aid men in the German Army.

I suppose you must wonder how I get a chance to think of you at all, sweetheart, with all the running around I’ve been doing. Darling – in everything I do – you are with me – anyway – so I can’t forget you. When I climb out of my tent in the morning – I see “Wilma” in bright white letters on my jeep – which is parked right beside me (I’d rather have the original!) On the inside of my windshield – made out of copper wire is the name “Wilma” and it is so arranged – that as I sit in the jeep – it stares right at me. Do I need such constant reminders, dear, to make me think of you? Hardly – but I like to see your name around – and now when one of my drivers turns over the jeep to another – he invariably says “Take good care of Wilma."

If this could but all end soon and I could call you ‘Wilma’ – in person – I’d be very happy, darling. I dream of that often and I know it will materialize – with you as my own – my wife – my companion – my love. Dearest – I’ll have to close now. Give my love to the folks – and for now –

All my deepest love –

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about "See Here, Private Hargrove" (1944)

CLICK ON POSTER TO ENLARGE

The "real" Marion Hargrove began his writing career as a reporter for the Charlotte News in North Carolina and was unanimously voted Fort Bragg's "worst all-round selectee." According to contemporary sources, playwright Maxwell Anderson helped Hargrove find a publisher for his autobiography, which became a best-seller. And from his book came the movie. The Variety review noted that "the book...was a find and the cost of the film rights reasonable because the purchase was made long before the Hargrove piece hit the bookstalls and the best-seller class." Hargrove went on to a successful career as a screenwriter, authoring such films as The Music Man (1962) and Boys Night Out (1962).

Here is the original movie review, written by Bosley Crowther, as it appeared in The New York Times on 22 March 1944:

The personal (and private's) experiences of a young man named Marion Hargrove as one of the initially favored selectees in the present Army of the United States — experiences which are famously recounted in the book, "See Here, Private Hargrove" — are the basis for a rough-and-tumble comedy about a soldier's merry life, tagged with the same familiar title, which opened at the Astor last night. It may be that this joyous manifestation of fun and frolic at a basic training camp is a little bit wishful in its blinking of some of the harsher realities of war; it may be that its emphasis is slightly heavy upon the first person very singular. But Private (now Sergeant) Hargrove made the best of a solemn thing when he hit the ranks. And it may be said that Metro has done the same — or much the same — by his book.

For this is a strictly happy picture about a chuckle-headed kid and a couple of his classic companions in the transition phase from citizens to troops. It tells a story with a loose continuity of a boy's adventures in a world where regulations are amusingly broken and punishment is monotonously the same. The agreeable hero is persistently and forever getting himself in dutch by muddling his orders, fouling equipment and knocking over men of higher rank. And he is forever doing penance by polishing garbage cans. At the same time, he is serving none too willingly as a literary investment for one of his sharper pals, who finances a modest romance for him and generally directs his career in medias res. The fact that the boys are in the Army is an inconvenience which finally cramps their enterprise.

Gentlemen with Army experience will probably observe with some surprise the comparative cordiality of the sergeants and other disciplinarians in this film. They may also be somewhat dubious of the concentration upon one clumsy kid. Private Hargrove becomes a famous character a bit prematurely, one might say. But with Robert Walker playing him with a delightfully insouciant air and a smile which will mellow the ladies, it is easy to take him as such on the screen. Keenan Wynn also gives a winning performance as his plain-and-fancy swindler pal, and Donna Reed is poetically licensed as the girl whom he conveniently comes to love. George Offerman Jr. and William Phillips also make two genial G. I.'s—and Robert Benchley and Chill Wills do nicely, though conventionally, in minor roles.

As a chronicle of life in the Army, we would say that "See Here, Private Hargrove" is not the definitive article. But it makes a gay and entertaining film.

The proceeds from the premiére last evening went to the benefit of the American Red Cross.

The screen play for "See Here, Private Hargrove" was written by Harry Kurnitz, based on the Book by Marion Hargrove. It was directed by Wesley Ruggles and produced by George Haight for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The movie starred Robert Walker as Private Hargrove, Donna Reed as Carol Holliday, Keenyn Wynn as Private Mulvehill, Robert Benchley as Mr. Holliday, Ray Collins as Brodie S. Griffith, Chill Wills as First Sergeant Cramp, Bob Crosby as Bob, Martin Linden as Mrs. Holliday, Grant Mitchell as Uncle George, George Offerman Jr. as Private Esty, Edward Fielding as General Dillon, Donald Curtis as Sergeant Heldon, Wm. Bill Phillips as Private Burk, and Douglas Fowley as Captain Manville.

Here is the movie trailer followed by a short clip from the movie:

18 July, 1944

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 403 % Postmaster, N.Y.

France

18 July, 1944

Dearest darling –

Got your letter of 2 July yesterday and one from your mother of 3 July. Mother’s was very sweet – as always. Yours had the post-card showing a couple of “surgeons” and was very appropriate – considering what I’ve been doing for the past week. They’re still going strong at the hospital – although they should be closing down for a rest any day now. They usually work for about 2 weeks or so – not for several days and start all over again. So far we’re still comparatively near to them and I just hope it stays that way. As far as the hospital is concerned – I’ve been told to act as if I were part of it and to go ahead and do anything I want – which is darn white of them. The fellow in charge of the O.R. is a Greek and I think he must think I’m one too – because he’s been swell to me.

Sweetheart – you must not think that anything I write concerning my love for you is “guarded’ – as you wrote in the letter I received yesterday. I don’t know exactly what you mean. I have nothing to guard or be wary of. I too, write as I feel and I’ve thought I revealed myself completely to you. If not – I’ve meant to. I can only say that I love you deeply, am proud you are my fiancée and I can hardly wait to marry you! Is that guarded?? Love to all dear and

All my love to you for always

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Entering Saint-Lô

CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE

The “Hun Chaser” tank rumbles through the debris of St-Lô
while an American soldier looks for snipers with field glasses and
poised pistol, before blockbusters have cleared the streets of rubble.

By 15 June, the 9th had cleaned out the German strongpoints east of the Taute and gained the crossroads at les Champs-de-Losque. But just south of that village, the 9th struck the enemy's new MLR (Main Line of Resistance), defending the higher ground rising toward the Périers-St-Lô highway. For the next two days of very severe effort, net gains were negligible. Finally, on 17-18 July, the 39th Infantry broke through; during these two days the 9th Division pushed to within a few hundred yards of the St-Lô highway, and crossed it with patrols. The 9th and the 30th together had gained the ground which First Army proposed to use for its jump-off in the breakthrough operation, Cobra.

29th Infantry Division soldiers lay low along Route D191 heading
toward St-Lô, while a map or message is read (lower left corner).


A stretch of D191 today - perhaps the same location.

By the morning of 18 July, unrelenting pressure on the enemy had loosened up the whole front east of the Vire River. The 35th Division reported that the enemy had pulled out along its entire sector, leaving a considerable amount of materiel. Early in the day, General Corlett told General Gerhardt to take St-Lô and secure it. He wanted to find out "what was in there" before anything further was launched. The attack was to be made by Task Force C, especially organized for speed and headed by General Cota. Consisting of reconnaissance, tank, tank destroyer, and engineer elements, the task force was ordered to get infantry support from the nearest available infantry unit just prior to the entrance into the city.

The initial objective within St-Lô, chosen after previous aerial reconnaissance, was a square near the cemetery that had been relatively untouched by bombing. The plan was to clear and occupy this square for use as a base of operations within the town. The 29th Reconnaissance Troop entered St-Lô first and pushed through the rubble-choked streets, using any possible course or route. When it became impossible to proceed farther in vehicles, the men dismounted and deployed like infantry, moving rapidly to seize and organize three strongpoints, previously determined and assigned. The tanks, TD's, and infantry followed the reconnaissance troop into town. A CP (Command Post) was set up at the three-way junction of the main highways. This soon became an exceedingly hot place as, in addition to the artillery fire coming from the high ground to the south of town, an 88-mm gun was firing down the Bayeux road.

CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE

Men of Task Force C go down a winding street not yet too damaged
(until German artillery opens up) on 18 July 1944


Holes have been blown in walls which were still intact in the
earlier photograph (under the word "Restau---" on wall at left).
Bodies of American soldiers lie near the immobilized tank destroyer.
Shell cases fired by a tank destroyer litter the sidewalk.

As the infantry entered, men in groups of four and five were ticked off to accompany a tank or a TD (tank destroyer)and sent to posts commanding other key points throughout the town. There were 17 of these, including bridges, and they were swiftly outposted. Some of the important areas in the town, such as those originally seized by the 29th Reconnaissance Troop, were reinforced to constitute formidable strongpoints, composed of an armored car, two tanks, two TDs, and an antitank gun. Other outposts were held by small groups of infantrymen armed with bazookas and antitank grenades.

By 1900 after a series of skirmishes by the forces which were fanning through the city, St-Lô was firmly secured. It seemed evident that the Germans had been surprised by the speed and boldness of the task force maneuver. Swiftness in getting the column past the important road junction and dispersed before the enemy artillery could bring full force to bear on it was a prime factor in the speedy occupation. General Gerhardt hastened to inform General Corlett of the victory: "I have the honor to announce to the Corps Commander that Task Force C of the 29th Division secured the city of St-Lô after 43 days of continual combat from the beaches to St-Lô."

Major Thomas D. Howie, a battalion commander within the 29th Inf
Div, told his men on 17 July, "I'll see you in Saint-Lô!" He was
killed moments later leading his battalion through the outskirts of
St. Lô. On 18 July, to honor him, his men fulfilled his promise,
and laid him under a flag on the steps of the Holy Cross Church.

Below: Holy Cross (St. Croix) Church then and now:
  

Although the city was captured, Task Force C continued to receive severe enemy fire. The infantry not posted at strongpoints had worked its way through the battered streets to clear the bombed remnants of the town from east to west of any snipers or resistance pockets, few of which were encountered. But the enemy continued to pour mortar and artillery fire throughout St-Lô, searching out points here and there as though moving methodically over a checkerboard. A mortar shell caused the death of several men with whom Colonel Ednie (now commanding the 115th Infantry) was conferring at the CP, although the colonel himself escaped injury. At 1930 General Cota was wounded by shell fragments and had to be evacuated. Capt. Sydney A. Vincent, Jr., of Company B, 803d Tank Destroyer Battalion, left his vehicle to coordinate the activities of his tank destroyers and was killed. A forward observer of the 29th Division Artillery reconnoitered one of the spires in the church of Notre-Dame as an observation post. He decided upon its use and went to gather his crew. By the time he had returned, the enemy had shot both spires off the church.

CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE

Remains of Notre Dame Church in July of 1944


Notre Dame Church as it was somewhat re-built.

17 July, 1944

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 403 % Postmaster, N.Y.

France

17 July, 1944

Dearest sweetheart –

Of course I’ll always remember the 24th of July – but the week before that is just as important to me because then it was that I was making the first steps towards meeting you. Remember? I got your letter of July 8 – last night when I got back from the hospital. It was a particularly sweet letter, dear and made me feel good. You express the hope that although I don’t write the same way as I did in Dec. and Jan. – I still feel the same. Don’t you ever have a second’s thought on that account, sweetheart. You mean more to me now – than you ever did – because then, dear, you didn’t belong to me and now you do. If my tune is different it is because my surroundings are different, too, and it’s a rare time when I can be alone and write down in quietness what I’m thinking. As for sharing my experiences – darling. I’m glad you don’t have to and where do you get that stuff about going too far in presuming your presence might help! It certainly would – although I don’t think it would help the war effort. And don’t worry about me hardening. I found how soft and real I could be when I went to work operating in the hospital – and saw all the patients around me. No – I’m not hard, darling – life just takes on a different meaning here – that’s all. There’ll be no barrier for you to crack and I know you’ll find me the same fellow who loved you hard when he last saw you and loves you much more now. Love to the folks, dear and

All my love is yours –

Greg

Route of the Question Mark


[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

(A) Douville to (B) Deville (6 miles)
(Exact route taken is unknown)

From Page 24 of The Route of the Question Mark:

July 17... Deville. We saw SEE HERE, PRIVATE HARGROVE, and spent most of our time filling sandbags which were piled up in a solid wall to protect the kitchen. The 4th Inf. Div. had a rest area across the road and talked continually about their experiences. We swallowed it all.

* TIDBIT *

about the Port Chicago Disaster

On July 17, 1944, the United States saw its worst home front disaster during WWII. Two transport vessels loading ammunition at the naval base in Port Chicago, California, on the Sacramento River were suddenly the center of an enormous explosion. The blast wrecked the naval base, heavily damaged the small town of Port Chicago, killed 320 American naval personnel, and obliterated both vessels in an instant. The entire pier at which the ships had been docked was gone without a trace. More than 300 people were injured. Property damage was estimated at 9.9 million dollars. Windows were shattered in towns 20 miles away, and the explosion itself could be seen 35 miles away in San Francisco!

The EA Bryan, a 7,212-ton EC-2 Liberty ship docked at Port Chicago on 13 July 1944, and at 8 a.m. on July 14, naval personnel began loading the ship with ammunition. The Quinalt Victory was a brand new ship preparing for her maiden voyage. The ship was being rigged in preparation for loading ammunition. By 10 p.m. on July 17, both ships were heavily laden with explosives and ammunition. The EA Bryan had taken on 4,600 tons of munitions including 1,780 tons of high explosives. One boxcar delivery containing a new airborne anti-submarine depth charge design, the Mark 47 armed with 252 pounds (110 kg) of torpex, was being loaded into No. 2 hold. The torpex charges were more sensitive than TNT to external shock and container dents.

The docks were congested with men and machines. 98 men from Division Three were busy loading the EA Bryan. 102 men from Division Six were busy on the Quinalt Victory. There were also 9 Navy officers, 67 members of the crews from both vessels, and armed guard detail of 29 men, 5 crew members from a Coast Guard fire barge, a Marine sentry, and dozens of civilian personnel. The pier was jammed with equipment, a locomotive, and 16 railroad boxcars. There were also about 430 tons of bombs and other munitions on the pier waiting to be loaded. In all, the munitions on the pier and in the ship contained the equivalent of approximately 2,000 tons of TNT. Just before 10:20 p.m. on July 17, 1944, a massive explosion ripped through the pier. A column of fire and smoke shot up more than 12,000 feet into the night sky. Everyone on the pier and aboard the ships was killed in an instant. The port's barracks and other buildings and much of the surrounding town were severely damaged. Shattering glass and a rain of jagged metal and undetonated munitions caused many additional injuries among both military and civilian populations, although no one outside the immediate pier area was killed.

The Quinalt Victory was blown out of the water, completely turned about, and smashed back down leaving only fragments. The 12-ton diesel locomotive that had been sitting on the pier vanished entirely. Not a single recognizable piece was ever recovered. The entire pier was obliterated including all of the man and machines that had been there only moments before. The dead and injured, or parts thereof, were scattered throughout the harbor and on the land as far inland as 1/2 mile. It would be days before all of the bodies and parts were recovered and longer still before those which could be identified could be completed. Despite a naval inquiry into the incident and a slap on the wrist to the commanding officers who had been making a competition of the loading, no official cause for the explosion was determined.

The aftermath of the disaster showed the gross discrimination of the Navy against African American soldiers. From the beginning, all the enlisted men employed as loaders at Port Chicago were African American; all their commanding officers were European Americans. Each of the enlisted men had been trained for a naval rating but the men were instead put to work as stevedores. None of the new recruits had been instructed in ammunition loading. All had been told the munitions were not "live." After surviving the explosion and performing the gruesome task of cleaning up body parts and corpses littering the bay and port, the men were in a state of shock; all were nervous. Many of them inquired about obtaining a 30-day "survivor's leave" sometimes given by the Navy to sailors who had survived a serious incident where their friends or shipmates had died, but no 30-day leaves were granted, not even to those who had been hospitalized with injuries. White officers, however, received the leave, causing a major grievance among the enlisted men.

Three hundred twenty-eight men were asked to resume the dangerous task of ammunition loading; all said they were afraid and that they would not load munitions under the same officers and conditions as before. 50 were later identified by the Navy as mutineers during war. Despite the efforts of their legal defense as well as intervention by Thurgood Marshall, as chief counsel for the NAACP, they were convicted and given prison terms of 10 to 15 years. This included a cook, who had never worked loading muntions and a soldier with a broken wrist, still in a sling.

It wasn't until the surrender of Japan that the sentences were reduced by one year, as the Navy was no longer able to justify such severe sentences as a warning to other potentially dissident servicemen and labor battalions. Finally, in January of 1946, 47 of the 50 were released. These 47 were paroled to active duty aboard Navy vessels in the Pacific Theater, where the men were assigned menial duties associated with post-war base detail. Two of the 50 prisoners remained in the prison's hospital for additional months recuperating from injuries, and one was not released because of a bad conduct record. Those of the 50 who had not committed later offenses were given a general discharge from the Navy "under honorable conditions".

The story of the Port Chicago 50 was the basis of "Mutiny," a made-for-television movie which was written by James S. "Jim" Henerson, directed by Kevin Hooks and included Morgan Freeman as one of three executive producers.

16 July, 1944

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 403 % Postmaster, N.Y.

France

16 July, 1944            1030

My dearest darling –

I thought I’d take some time off for a while and write you a less hurried letter than usual. I’ve really been busy this past week and it has been a great relief. The past 5 days have literally flown by and when evening has come I have been tired and slept well.

When I got back from the hospital last night (the 34th Evacuation Hospital) I found two letters from you, darling, and that’s always been a pleasant way to end up a day away from home. It sure is comforting, dear to realize that despite the tediousness of waiting and wondering – you are still in love with me and keep me first in mind. The fact that the reverse is true – is of course obvious – but in case you’re not sure, sweetheart, I’ll tell you again that nothing occupies my mind so fully, so constantly and so completely – as the thought and vision of you – and us together right after the war and forever after that – ‘until death do us part’ – as man and wife. Like you – I have imagined us together in Salem – so often – that I now accept it as fact – and it must be so some day, dear. I have the added advantage, though, of knowing what Salem is like – what it was like before I went into the Army – and how much I missed by not knowing you earlier. Well – we’ll make up for it!

Your letters last night were of June 29th and 30th and when the mail does come now – it isn’t too old – not that it makes much difference, really, because a letter is a letter – and a statement of love and affection doesn’t ever get old, does it, dear? You had received my letter of June 21st and I don’t know what I wrote in that letter, Sweetheart, but I’m sorry it made you worry. I thought that you knew by now just about what my outfit was doing – and if I had created an illusion before then – I’m sorry I inadvertently destroyed it. I must have had a blue day – or a bad night before. I’m really sorry, darling, because there’s no need to worry you about details that won’t do you any good at all to know about. As for foxholes – etc. – it’s just the safest place to be and we take it as a matter of course now. The food in the early days was necessarily monotonous and packaged – but there was always enough – I mean enough to make one nauseated – but there I go again. Really, dear – it was adequate. In addition – I had some concentrated vitamins A B C D and G which I’ve been carrying with me for over a year. I started taking them when we arrived in France and I think they balanced the “diet” – well.

Since then – our food has picked up a great deal in quantity, quality and variety and we now get bread at least one meal a day – which is a relief from those damned biscuits. At the hospital – the food is even better and I usually have my evening meal there. As for sending me anything, dear, – there’s really no point to it – although I appreciate your desire. Once in a while you get the desire to eat something like a bar of Nestle’s or a Milky Way or some such thing – but now that I’m busy from early a.m. – to late evening – I don’t even get that desire anymore. You just keep sending me your love and affection, sweetheart, and that’s all I want.

It’s nice of Granny B. to feel so well disposed towards me when she really only met me a couple of times. I’m glad though – because I’ll bet if she didn’t like anyone – she wouldn’t hesitate and say so. I must drop her another V-mail – perhaps today.

Darling – if I haven’t already told you I love you hard – I’d better do so now. It’s true – and you too will find out how much when I return. Before I stop – I want to tell you again that there’s no point in worrying – but plenty point in having faith. And your Mother’s right about ‘foolishness’ in feeling funny about eating good food etc. I’ll bet I’ve had more eggs in the past couple of weeks than you have – and don’t forget, dear – from French hens!

Have to stop now – Love to all at home and to you, darling.

All my love forever

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Evacuation Hospital Work

The following is excerpted from Medical Service in the European Theater of Operations, written by Graham A. Cosmas and Albert E. Cowdry for the U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1992.

During World War II, a field hospital could perform approximately eighty operations a day, and over 85 percent of those soldiers operated on in field hospitals survived. While field hospitals proved more than equal to their task, the 400-bed army evacuation hospitals found themselves consistently over-burdened. Processing all patients who were transportable and needed more than the most elementary treatment, these hospitals worked in rotation, some receiving casualties while others, cleared of patients, rested or moved forward behind the divisions. During the first weeks, evacuation hospitals lived from crisis to crisis. "When a hospital moved in and set up" the 41st Evacuation Hospital commander complained, "there would always be a big influx of patients, which continued until every bed was filled and this hospital bogged down. Then the hospital would be closed and left to work itself out of the mess."

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Conventional Layout of an Evacuation Hospital
usually comprised of up to 27 tents.

With the arrival of more evacuation hospitals the flow of patients evened out, but in more units a chronic surgical backlog persisted. The majority of the casualties reaching these hospitals were injured men who needed surgery - for example 894 out of 1,302 admitted by the 5th Evacuation Hospital during its first two weeks in Normandy and all but 360 out of 3,200 treated at the 128th Evacuation Hospital in a similar space of time. The surgical staff of this type of installation, working 12-hour shifts and reinforced by as many auxiliary surgical teams as the hospital's 40 nurses and 217 enlisted men could support, could perform about 100 major operations every twenty-four hours; the patient influx during heavy combat occurred at about double that rate.

Inevitably, less urgent cases had to wait their turn on the operation tables, often developing infections in undebrided wounds or suffering other complications. To help its hospitals overcome this backlog, the First Army deployed surgical teams and mobile truck-mounted surgical and X-ray units and, when these proved insufficient, added provisional teams from combat zone hospitals which had landed but were not yet functioning. The medical group assigned a collecting company to each evacuation hospital, to provide relief ward officers, additional litter-bearers, and ambulances to help in moving out patients.

Clinically, surgery during the first two months of combat produced few surprises. Surgeons were impressed by the frequency and severity of the multiple wounds from artillery fire. On his July inspection trip one General saw a patient "with a penetrating wound of the skull, sucking wound of the chest, partial evisceration and a compound fracture. This means that one surgical team, on that one individual, must perform four major operations."

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Causes and Locations of Wounds
Battle of Normandy
June-July 1944

Patients with post-operative stomach wounds were routinely kept in an evacuation hospital ten days before they were sent on, and those with chest wounds were usually kept at least five days before they were evacuated. Critically wounded patients needing specialized treatment were air-evacuated to station and general hospitals, which advanced more slowly than field and evacuation hospitals and were usually housed in semi-permanent locations. Stable patients requiring a long recuperation were sent back to England via hospital ship.

15 July, 1944

V-MAIL

438^th AAA AW BN

APO 403 % Postmaster, N.Y.

France

15 July, 1944

Dearest sweetheart –

I thought it was settled. Of course we’ll be married immediately after the war! I see no sense in waiting. I certainly am not going to wait to see how things are, how I’ll do, what my income will be – etc. You’ll just have to take a chance, darling. We’ll have a nucleus to start with – most important of which will be that I did practice in Salem once before and secondly – I am still a member of the staff at the Hospital.

Was glad to read you had received the books on England – particularly the ones concerning Sherborne. Was afraid they might hold out the latter because I was still in England when I mailed it.

Everything here going along swell. Was at the hospital again yesterday and again got plenty to do. Other advantages of being with the hospital are 1) Shower facilities and 2) Laundry – both of which I was doing without.

No mail yesterday – but maybe today. Keep hoping for that early finish to all this, sweetheart – and before we know it – it will all be over. Love to all –

All my love to you

Greg

* TIDBIT *

about Preparing for Operation Cobra

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First Army Front Movement from 8 to 15 July 1944
VIII Corps on the left, VII Corps in the middle, XIX Corps on the right

This is an excerpt from the War Department's Historical Division's American Forces in Action Series, entitled "St-Lô (7 Jul - 19 July 1944)", Chapter 4, page 91:

In the VII Corps zone, the 4th and 83d Divisions continued to shoulder along the Carentan-Périers highway, more and more aided by the pressure exerted from the east by the 9th Division. On 13 July, that unit had driven nearly to the important crossroads at les Champs-de-Losque. By 15 July, as a result of the hardest kind of fighting, the 4th and 83d were on a line just north of Raids and held the Sainteny hills which had been their main obstacle. But ahead of them the enemy still held strong defensive positions, and had shown no signs of making a voluntary withdrawal. The cost to VII Corps of getting some six square miles of ground along its peninsula had been high. From 9 to 16 July, the corps lost 4,800 men; by 15 July the three regiments of the 4th Division had suffered 2,300 casualties, including three battalion commanders and nine rifle company commanders.

First Army now called a halt to the offensive west of the Taute River, holding VIII and VII Corps (except for the 9th Division) at the positions reached on 14-15 July. Definite plans for the major breakthrough, Operation Cobra, were being made, the outline plan having reached First Army on 13 July. While terrain and the enemy had halted the drive of the VII Corps, the attack did achieve some of it’s goals. By moving the front several miles south of Carentan it stabilized the area and prevented the Germans from shelling the town and the vital crossroads. Further it prevented the Germans from launching a counterattack in this area - considered the weakest on the entire front - and had inflicted serious losses on the Germans, losses they could not replace.

The Taute River, Normandy (in 2006)

The offensive which had been under way was to continue, but would aim at more modest objectives which would give suitable jump-off positions for Cobra. The primary goal became the ground along the St-Lô-Périers highway in front of the 9th and 30th Divisions. At the end of 15 July, the 30th Division was to come under VII Corps in order to coordinate the continuing offensive toward this area. The 4th and 83rd Divisions passed to the VIII Corps in a front-wide reorganization.

During the 12 days from 4 to 15 July, ammunition expenditure had been greater than at any other period during the first two months of First Army's campaign. This occurred during a period when control was being exercised and unrestricted firing was not permitted, when units were limited to one unit of fire for attack, one-half unit for each subsequent day of attack, and one-third for a "normal" day. But deeper and wider concentrations of fire than was ordinary had to be employed in hedgerow country to compensate for lack of observation. Stocks became low in certain types, particularly 105-mm howitzer, and strict rationing was established to restore the stocks for the coming operations.

Fortunately, the port of Cherbourg, although thoroughly mined and demolished by the Germans, had been rapidly cleared for use. The first supplies from it began to trickle south on 15 July. Cherbourg was to prove an essential aid to the supply problem in the next weeks. But the main ports of entry were still the open beaches, Omaha and Utah, where the 1st, 5th, and 6th Engineer Special Brigades were performing miracles in getting tonnage ashore under all conditions of weather. A daily average of 12,000 to 14,000 tons was being maintained.

Front and Back of German Newspaper dated 15 July 1944

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