Evening star., 1944-01-16

sion, the battalion was reas-
sembled, and we started west by
motor convoy. Because I had
ridden for such long time
with the top and windshield down
continued to ride this way.
We did put up the windshield .on
the jeep one morning, but 1t gave
us feeling of claustrophobia, and
we had to lower it. AS a result my
lips and the backs of my hands
became very badly sunburned, so
badly that I wasn't able to cure
them until after the Sicilian cam
paign.
This trip took six days-we went
from the golden grain and crimson
poppy fields of Tunisia through the
sometimes bald and sometimes
wooded Atlas Mountains, through
the apparently endless grape vine
yards of Algeria until we came to a
combination wheat and grape coun-
try west of Oran.
Here we set up a bivouac area in
freshly moved wheat field. This
was our 'rest area" but it afforded
no rest of the sort that we had
hoped for at the end of a two and
one-half months campaign. We
worked on our equipment all morn
ing, then only 10 per cent could go
on pass in the afternoon; the passes
were good only in a small town
in which there were no girls. And,
of course, in a wheat field there
is no shade.
Here we were reassigned from the
I'd Army Corps to the 5th Army,
and here also we were hit by
diarrhea (Which has been nick
named by all in the Mediterranean
area 1.-The G. I.sO. At first we dug
one latrine feet deep and 80 feet
long per day, but soon we were dig
glng four and five of these a day.
Wash Soiled by Red Dust.
We were here about two weeks.
and then we moved to a hillside near
Arzew, and were relieved from the
5th Army and assigned to the lst
Armored Corps, attached to the I'd
Armored Division. Undoubtedly,
this was the worst bivouac area that
I have ever SEEN Though we over
looked the Mediterranean, which
was about 3 miles away, the stretch
between it and us was red dust.
and when the wind blew in from
the sea it filled everything with
dust. On several occasions washed
my clothes, and when I took them
off the drying line they were dirtier
than before l started washing them.
There was one saving factor.
though-each afternoon half of US
could go swimming in the Medi-
terranean. Though it wasn't Vir-
ginia Beach, or Rehoboth, it was
fine. And the water was remark
ably clear, almost like that in an
old abandoned quarry.
The best rest that we had had I
believe, was in our last position with
the 34th Division field artillery bat
talon. There I gave the boys in
my platoon vino" one night. 1t
greatly relieved the tension that had
been building up during the two
and one-half months that we had
been away from everything but war
In these rear bivouac areas there
was no vino to be had-in fact,
as said, there was almost
no recreation of any kind, except
for swimming and movies. which
were being shown about 2 miles
from us.
Practice for Invasion.
Suddenly We received the electri-
flying news-We were going on "the
INVASION Of course, we had
thought ever since we came into
this area that such must be our
mission, otherwise, surely, they
would have bivouaced us further
inland under some trees. Frankly,
we were SO disgusted with our
bivouac area that we were glad to
get away regardless of the eircum-
stances. Quickly we began to pre-
pare-to load our equipment, to
practice getting on and off a LIST.
A LIST Qanding ship, tank is a
pretty large ship-over 300 feet long
and so feet wide, with both upper
and lower decks. 1t also has a
complete galley and plenty of good
quarters. While practicing this
loading one time I noticed a small
open-deck boat tied up alongside,
and I thought how lucky we were,