Evening star., 1943-08-07
Yanks Who Captured
San Stefano Ridge
Trained in Virginia
By THOMAS r.. HENRY,
Star Staff Correspondent

ny AnoAsAhS N. uENNIs
Star Staff Correspondent.
ADVANCED AIR FORCE LIAT-
SON, 7th ARMY, SICILY, July 81
tDelaye6 After some of the hard
est fighting of the Sicilian campaign,
five ridges rising to 5000 feet, chosen
by the Germans for q determined
stand, were stormed by Americans.
Each ridge was captured by a
division OF infantry trained In such
tough combat in the mountain coun-
try around Lynchburg, Va. Five
days Of fierce battling were required
to take the heights.
The mountains rose before the lit
tie fishing town of San Stefano,
standing at the crossroads on the
Islands great north coast road from
Palermo to Messina. The mountain,
had to be taken before the town
could be captured and the strategic
highway opened.
1t. Col. Irving o. 6chaefer of
Montrose, Colo, with q single COM
pany Of infantry finally entered the
town. He said 1t was like treading
egg shells, that last six miles over
roads thick with mines.
The terrain up the mountains was
so rough that requisitioned mules
dropped dead in their tracks and
weary men under machinegun fire
had to carry the packs on their
backs.
Ridge Is Captured.
The fate of the town was sealed
with the capture yesterday OF a
bloody ridge a few miles away. The
Germans started to withdraw early
In the forenoon, leaving their deaA
from artillery shells In the streets.
But before they left they mined az
the approaches more effectively than
any traps the Americans had en-
countered in Sicily.
The second platoon of Col. Schae-
fer's company stumbled into a
cleverly concealed Italian jumping
daddy mine at a blown-up bridge
half a mile from the town. Eight
were killed. including captain and
a lieutenant, and 10 more were badly
injured.
A few miles down the road squad
stopping at an open place on the
roadside to wash up had lain
around the grass for a half hour
when mine exploded, wounding
six.
Shells Burst Overhead.
entered this town with three
other correspondents while inter-
mittent German shells still burst
overhead about an hour after the
first American marched in. Other
units OF an infantry division were
still coming up. All soldiers were
halted at the destroyed bridge. The
correspondents made their way with
scouts over mile detour by goat
tracks up near unclimbable slopes,
through blackberry brambles and
across the wide, dry bed Of the San
Stefano River, filled with rolling
stones. The leader stepped cautiously
in the footsteps of the scout ahead
and others stepped In his tracks.
We were warned there were mines
everywhere. Engineers had not yet
arrived to probe with locators and
bayonets.
We finally met q farmer who
said he had worked in the United
States. He said he knew just where
the Germans had put the mines.
The old man led the way and the
others followed with reasonable con-
| fidence.
On the other side of the bridge va
came upon the first German corpse,
beside the road. with a rather elab-
crate coffin nearby. 1t looked as If
burial party had fed in the act
OF picking up the body.
Red Cross Established.
In the town of 1000, with 1000
evacuated, the first sight was q big
Red Cross on white sheet hanging
across the street at a building where
the Americans were trying to set I'D
field hospital. The first Americans
we met in the hard-fought-for town
were Pvts. Yares Godfrey of 157
Patrick street, Emporia. Va; Edgar
Deese OF Dothan, Ala; Dale Hawley
OF Longmont, Colo, and Wallace
Mcneil of Greencamp, Ohio.
We asked an apparently friendly
italian crowd the way to Fascist
party headquarters. usually the
center Of town activities. They led
the way, but the door was locked. A
small boy climbed through window
and opened, the door. The crowd
followed us in. They appeared to
go wild with rage when they saw
Mussolini's picture. They tore the
photograph and glass-inclosed Fas-
cist mottos from the walls and
trampled them underfoot. We had
to restrain them for fear of being
I blamed
We located Col. Schaefer at the
police station a few minutes later.
in room filled with otwnfolks ap-
parently overjoyed at their deliver
ance. The town barber was trying
to cut the colonel's hair.
Troops Lacked Water.
Col. Schaefer said his men put In
nearly a week of hell, without ra-
tions, often without water, in DESC
late mountains. They had to live
largely on grapes, figs and tomatoes,
now plentiful in the hill villages.
They spent one night pinned down
by shell fire after taking a little
mountain town. Again last night
they were under heavy shell fire in
the hills just above San Stefano.
A prisoner revealed this morning
that the Germans were quitting the
town, and the colonel hurried his
command forward, finding only
friendly italians left. He actually
was the second American to enter
the town. The first was a lst Di-
vision lieutenant on reconnaissance.
His jeep driver had been killed run
ming over mine. and he had STUN
bled into the town, not knowing its
name, and found the Germans too
busy getting out to notice him.