Evening star., 1943-09-21
Back From the Wars
italians Await Landing Borges
For Trip to u. S., Sailor Relates
One Had Chickens
With Him, Says
George Hupp Of D. G.

The old gag of Mister, we wert
Just waiting for streetcar" re.
ceived a new twist when the mem.
bers of the amplibious forces landed
on q beach in Sicily.
The story came from Msehinist's
Mate George Baily Hupp, %, of 1914
Nineteenth street NV, now home
on furlough. Mr. Hupp makes his
home with an aunt, Mrs. Anna Cot
trell.
We came charging up the shore
after leaving our cheese boxes
0anding ships all ready for ac-
tion," he said. "and what do we
meet. A whole group of Italian
civilians, standing on the sand, each
one with grip packed and ready
to 90 places.
When Do We Go?
What's the idea?' one of our
men who spoke Italian asked.
You're Americans, aren't you?'
Yes. but
I'VE surrender We're prisoners.
Now when do we 60 to New York;
An old man, hanging on to two
live chickens with one hand and
to grip with the other, pushed in.
Me, too I'm going to New York
and make money with a chicken
farm. When do we go?i"
All the landings in which Mr..
Hupp, former Hundred CIV. Va0
High School football player, took
part did not have the same light
touch. One of the operations un-
dertaken by the amphibious forces
will never be forgotten by Mr.. Hupp.
Three Bombs Hit Craft.
AT 8 am. on. July H." he re-
counted. our boat stood off from
Licata, Sicily, waiting our turn to
go in. I had just come up from
the engine room for breath OF air
and was sitting in the bow when
there was a burst of machine gun
fire and l dove under a gun turret.
1t was an enemy plane.
Il don't know exactly what hap
pened in the next few minutes.
Three bombs hit the ship in rapid
succession, one of them landing
right smack in the center and prac-
tically breaking the boat in half.
IT got to my feet and looked
around. The place was all smashed
up. Near me were three wounded
men. Luckily, a couple of my bud
dies we're around, and they waren't
hurt. One of them cut loose the life
raft and got on it. The other one
and myself helped the injured men
onto the raft and then we dove In.
IA Cling to Raft.
by that time there were IA men
clinging to the raft, and not an oar
in the place. We were only 800
wards from shore, and all of us hung
onto the raft with one hand and
padded with the other. I never
realized 300 yards was so far in my
life. We got break, though. When
we were about half way an amphi-
bious jeep came along and took the
wounded men.
I'VE kept going despite the enemy
planes which came over and took
pot shots at us. After we got to
the beach, we all made for the hills.
I was Just about ready to fall down
and 60 to sleep when the signal for
an air raid came. The raid lasted
2la hours. Then we all got together
around 1t. B. S. Lockwood, a WON
derful skipper to be under, and went
into Licata."
Brush Breaks in Gun.
The first time we went into Sicily,
Mr.. Hupp recalled, a soldier on the
boat tried to clean his rife with a
wire brush. The brush broke, and
the soldier spent the rest of the
time prior to the landing trying to
get it out, Then came the order to
go in There was heavy fighting,
he boat sank and hours later Hupp
got safely on shore.
What do you think was the first
sight I saw? There was the same
soldier, wet and covered with dirt,
still trying to get the wire brush
out of his gun"
Mr.. Hupp joined the Navy in
Washington in June, 1912, and took
his boot" training at Newport, R. I.
He was sent to Diesel engineering
school at Richmond, Va, and began
his amphibious training in October,
1912, on Chesapeake Bay. He has a
brother Seaman First Glass Jack
Hupp, stationed at Corpus Christi,