The Wilmington morning star., 1944-01-05
With
The AEF
Bv KENNETH L. DIXON

With LIE 1aGI AN 41ALH,
Dec. 29-Delayed)- R News
notes from along the front:
Back in Denison, Tex. Robert
L. Cox always got a candy cane
each Christmas from Mrs. VENT,
Harrison, a neighbor, it was sort
of standing joke between the Cox
and Harrison families.
Tony Giarraputo, who ran the
candy kitchen in Denison, ALWAYS
made the cane but this year Tonv
closed his store because he was
getting old and because materials
were so hard to get.
But which Mrs. Harrison remind.
ed him of the annual candy cane,
Tony hobbled out into his own kit.
chen and made the peppermint
cane, giving it to MIR. Harrison
with tears in his eyes.
Robert Cox, a lieutenant colonel
of infantry now, had just touch
of a catch in his own voice whe,
he got the gift and the note about
Tony shortly afterwards.
But he and the other officers
and men of his command post had
decided to share their Christmas
candy with the kids of war ravag.
ed Mignano.
So the candy cane went to a
five year-old Italian boy whose
bandaged head showed the effect
of German mine and whose
home was a filthy cave.
Sixto Frausto, of Ell Paso, Tex,
is not an officer; he is only
communications buck sergeant but
when the chips are down he'll do
until an officer comes along.
During the last attack on San
Pietro, only one officer was left
| in Sgt. Frausto's company and he
was wounded. Sixto was not even
the senior noncom but he took over
the leaderless men and got them
dispersed in fighting positions.
| Then he slipped across so yards
LOT open field where even the leaves
were shredded off the bushes by
the Nazi machine gun fire and re.
ported to the battalion command.
err.
II told him to keep the men in
position and I'd send another Of
ficer over" the c o. said later.
I did and he was killed on the
way. But Sgt. Frausto got there
and he continued to lead the COM
pany during the rest Of the at
tack"
And the survivors of that bunch
of kids who had stormed the slopes
of San Pietro again and again fol-
lowed the non commissioned COM
pany Frausto without faltering and
took their detectives.
Private Ray J. Scott, Of Seattle,
Wash. was supposed to be just a
runner between a battalion COM
mand post and a forward artillery
observation post but he turned out
to be jack of all trades-a mas
ter at them all.
The Germans got the range or
the observation post and killed the
radio operator. The forward OBJ
server was killed and the radio
! knocked out by exploding shell
But Pvt. Scott started tinkering
; with it. Got it to working and
then took over the observation
work too.
! He called for more fire to get
the counters cking ferries just
in front of him. It got them ano
kept knocking his radio out o.
commission but he kept tinkerins
il back into operation again. Final
ly it was wrwecked so badly tina
he picked it up and carried i
back to the command post.
But that time, the Jerry counter
attack had the battalion corneret
but it didn't care to withdraw TO
fear it might expose the flank o
one of the other outfits. Pvt. Scot
volunteered to go through the in
: terlacing enemy machinegun fir
and mortar barrage to the regi
mental command post for orders
Somehow he made it both way:
and brought orders to Withdraw
temporarily.
Then he led a group of litter
bearers out into the battle area
$ to pick up wounded, he led pa
: troll to get information on the enc
' my positions-and got it-pavin&
the way for a successful attack
the next day.
That's the Seattle kid-a clear
: cut quiet guy who, when operating
] the observation post all alone I'm
: der heavy fire, identified himset
to puzzled command post radio
: operator with: That's who l said