Evening star., 1943-01-26
Blazing Car and Moon
Spot Ambushed
Newsmen for Nazis
Machine Guns Finally
Nick Correspondent in
Desert Escape
BY WILLIAM H. STONEMAN

Chicago Daily News Correspondent With
A. E. F. in Tunisla.
SOUTHERN TUNTSIAN FRONT,
Jan. 81 Delayed Yesterday after
noon I drove my car right into the
middle of tank and infantry battle
s miles east of Ousseltia and was
ambushed by German heavy ma
chine gun.
I escaped from my blazing car
With nothing but a very minor nick,
played 'possum for nearly an hour
and then made my way 2 miles back
to the safety Of our lines.
It's a sadder and wiser war cor
respondent who pens these lines
while recovering at an American
casualty clearing station.
Before proceeding I must def
nitely assure all interested that
there Is nothing wrong with me
except that I will have to be careful
about sitting down for week or
two.
My adventure resulted from mis-
Information regarding the location
OF the fighting which was going on
between American and German
tanks. AT the moment the Germans
opened fire 1 was looking for a
height from which to watch a spot.
miles farther on, when I had been
Sold I might see something.
Mines Show Plight.
travelling alone in the car. I
passed through OuSseltia and drove
miles eastward. On the wav I
passed various American units and
hnally came to two freshly wrecked
leepS. In the far distance I could
see German guns flashing in the
light of the rising full moon.
paused briefly when an 88 shell
went eff, 200 yards ahead, but de-
clded 1t was freak and went on.
suddenly I saw a line of mines
across the road and knew I had
gone too far. 1t was too late.
Before I could turn the car around
everything broke loose.
A heavy machine gun was pound
ing the car with tracers and in
rendiaries from the left. It seemed
only so yeards away. Blazing bullets
were swapping past me in the car
and in an instant it was in flames,
l took a jump through the right
hand door, and ran and threw N.Y.
self on the ground about 30 feet
sway.
The Germans turned their atten-
tlon TO me and burst after burst
came past me. In the light of the
blazing car showed as plain as day
ana the moon was getting brighter,
I prayed hard and expected to be
hit any minute. They stopped firing
hnally and noticed numb SPOT IN
my right rear. But didn't realize
had caught one.
Action Revived.
l lay there an hour PLAYING dead
and cursing the blazing car and the
moon. BY an oversight I had brought
along 20 cartridges belonging to the
rl1e OF a conducting officer and
shere was tobacco can containing
some French revolver shells. They
started popping off and the Ger
mans, thinking somebody was snip-
ing at them, began to plaster me
again Then the wires fused and
the car began to honk a plaintiye
farewell. That upset the Germans
AS I lay there fiat on nv face. NOT
even daring to look up, I heard a
EAR drive up from the German lines
followed by the sound of voices.
sroze. Then they appeared to 90
away.
After a spell of silence I decided
10 make run for it.
Our artillery was banging awav
With 75's and shells were exploding
a short distance beyond me. I
waited until I heard one headed
in the direction of the German
machine gun and at the instant
when l thought the Germans would
be ducking I got up and ran like
sin away from the road. After so
yards, 1 threw myself down among
some bushes and lay there to recover
my wits and breath-and then broke
kne worlds record for half a mile.
got back to the road and began
p half crawl, half walk down a
nice deep ditch toward our lines.
Spotted Again.
AFTER more than a mile 7 heard
motors and voices right ahead of
sne and went to earth again until
they seemed to have gone. When
gpt ap there I was confronted by
fmo-dozen dim figures. They could
PEE me so I just had TO go I'D to
them. Asking them loudly, in Eng
sish and German, not to fire 7
walked over to them and Just about
fied Of relief when 1 found they
were Americans.
Then l had a good look at nv
fSTuise and found my underclothinp
Foaked by an extremely minor pune
Eure, I got first aid then 1t. Col.
Fsangsak, of st. Louis, took me down
The road. There I was examined
Rnd treated by DR.. r. S. Averiu of
Eanonsburg, Pa, assisted by Sergt.
Donald Tarbert Of Pecatonica, III
md Clarence Shelton Of Golden, I'll.
Soon afterWard I encountered Ma j,
Phillipson Of Chicago
Although my wound was no worse
than hard kick, they loaded me
into an ambulance with three others
who had been wounded near the
same spot
After an all night moonlight ride
through the mountains we arrived
at am.
tcopyright, 1913 Chicago Daily News, Inc