The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1944-01-14
With
The AEF
By KENNETH L. DIXON

dark infantry lieutenant with III.
shock of curly hair and a tbroa
day growth of beard was talkiSr
a blue streak.
His company had just cleanoa
out San Vittore. He had been SON,
back to the medics for coInIs
of days to get his feet fixed IYn
He wasn't wounded, but The bac.
tendons on his ankles were 50 hs+
| ly strained he could hardly wall,
| so they sent him down now fl.
battle was over, the tension wa
gone and the dam had burst
yeah, Fuoto; Frank Fuo.o
that's my name. How old? I'm "a
Yep, I'm married. Any kid,
Should have been a poppa for,
ldays ago, but I don't know Far .
while 1 thought I was going IN h.
a posthumous poppa. but it's hrn
ed out all right.
"Where from? Brooklyn. wbo,o
else?" He cracked, and his fsoo
lit up in a broad grin 1914 Ztl
street.
Yeah, I came over in NAV
Replacement officer. joined tbi.
outfit when it was policing I'm fns
brass after the Tunisian eamoa;ar
Man. but that's tough. When yon
,come in you're brand new Shave
tail. No battle experience. but the
CTS under you are all veterans
"They look you over and Won
know what they're thinking as thew
right flank, left flank, and about
thinking all the time, The, .e
face. You know what they're
thinking wot-the-hell does this guy
know about war and you can't
blame them. They've seen it and
Ijust a 90-day wonder, even if thev
you haven't and they figure you're
(don't say it. And then when YOU
get little outaline they start talk.
ing about Hill 500 and Kasserhe
Pass and places like that and all
you can do is sit back in the corner
and shut UP. And you're not to
command those guys.
"But now there's a lot Of diff.
ference. I can talk with them Thev
know me and I know them and
we've been across the Votuno
together and up Mt. Pantano and
into San Vittore and after this
can talk about those places, Jeez
Its great
He grinned at the grinning doc.
tors and enlisted men who sat
around him asking questions,
: yeah, you don't have to ever
: worry about hearing about Hill 500
: and the other places again after
! Pantano," said one doctor, Capt
: Merritt Aud. 80 of Yankton. S. C.,
'Pantano was Hill 500 and Sicily
l and all the rest of them ralled IN
!. together"
That street fighting in San VII,
: tore was something, too, said
/ Fuoto, you go around the corner
: and the ferries would be running
. tout of one house and into another
and you'd let 'em have it, BRIT
5 T-T-T-T-or they'd cut loose at you
from the roof and you'd sweat EN-
out until they showed themselves
and then you'd let 'em have it.
Boy, they threw the whole kitchen
at us when we went in there.
Suddenly he laughed.
Once they got so mixed Up
that we tricked two punches o.
t ferries into shooting at each other
: We egged the bunch in each houst
t on with few shots, and eaci
thought it was coming from thu
} other house, so they started shoot
ing it out.
But. they always shoot up al
2 their ammunition and then they'
holler 'Kamerad and start Wav
+. ing their white flags. They Away
:. get everybody they can first
He got up to go out to the am
l bulance to be taken back to tn
t station hospital. Hobbling througi
a the door he said:
Anybody who don't want to of
r in the infantry is crazy.
What about those who do wan
" to be in the infantry asked
!. grinning corporal.
They're the craziest Of ALL
: quipped the lieutenant from BROOK
: Ign.
t When he got outside the d0of
: the doctor said he's the exception
S Most Of the men who come IT
: here aren't that way. OF coU'fSS
l he's keyed from the San FlttoI'
scrap, but I'll bet he's d whale o.
r good officer. That's what you
need in infantry lieutenants IN any
army. They have it tough. Ihey It
the expendables. ~
He's not very different, saI'
litter bearer. I've seen NH
up there in the lines, and ne
about that way all the time. IT,
really a morale builder when 'H'
! going's tough g.
Suddenly Fuoto ilobbled back L
the door.
"Where's my maps? I left en-
in here. Gotta have my maps So
can show those guys at the hospN"
, where i've BEEN