WWII Memoirs: Part 6 – Going Home

After V-E Day, we settled into barracks life, except we were in pup tents. Close order drill, parades, physical training, inspections and softball took up our time. Living in the field, the only latrines available were slit trenches, dug by assigned details or work parties.

WWII Memoirs: Part 2 – The Bulge

The 87th Division was pulled out of the Saar Basin on December 23. It was a cold, barren place with copses of woods concealing enemy machine gun emplacements and tanks, deadly for foot soldiers. We were positioned on the right flank of the Third Army. We were glad to go. It was rumored the Germans had broken through the American lines somewhere to the north.

WWII Memoirs: Part 1 – The First Day of Combat

With full pack and rifle, we carefully went over the side of our cross-channel ship and worked our way down the cargo net to a landing craft (LCI) heaving alongside the hull in the long harbor swells of Le Havre. We were instructed to leap in the boat as it fell in the trough. With rifle and full pack added to our body weight, if we landed in the boat as it rose in the swell, you could break a leg.

2nd Lt. Stanford Lee Arnold, E-345 Killed in Action on 8 Feb 1945

2nd Lt. Stanford Lee Arnold, E-345 Killed in Action on 8 Feb 1945

Lt Arnold set up a telephone in a building near Olzheim, Germany, and realizing the immediate necessity of filling the position when the artillery observer was delayed, took over and telephoned vital information to friendly artillery. Enemy tanks moved up and fired at point blank range at the building and enemy artillery was directed against it. With great courage and devotion ….