The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1944-12-07
amples, since naturally I can't print
the real code names.

Once the lieutenant phoned to a
ear command post and told them
to send some trucks to a town where
two tanks had been disabled that
morning. Several times he phoned
other posts to check up on a colonel
who was wandering around the bat
tie area in a jeep. You could tell
they YER very fond Of the colonel.
and that he apparently paid little at
tention to danger.
There we're no planes in the sky
when we arrived. but that morning
the Germans had been over and
bombed and strafed our troops bad
ly. The command post had called
for air support. but somebody at
the other end said the planes were
busy on other missions and You'll
just have to grin and bear IT,"
The men around our post spoke
cynically about that remark all aft
ernoon.
Grin and bear it, eh?" they
would say. We'll, We'll bear it but
we won't guarantee to grin"
But in the late afternoon our
planes did come. First we didn't
know they were ours, SO we all
took to the foxholes. Finally,
after they had flown overhead q
couple of times without doing
anything, somebody yelled:
"They are definitely ours!"
So we came out. The planes cir
cled for about ten minutes hunting
for the correct spot in the bush-cov-
cred mountainside. They seemed to
take their time at it, to make sure,
and then finally they started peeling
off one at a time and came diving
down at a hillside a mile away.
They'd dive and then wheel back
high into the sky and dive again.
Apparently there was no enemy
attack, for there were no black puffs
around the planes. We could hear
their machine guns. and their can
non shells bursting.
They kept on diving and shooting
for about IS minutes. Pretty soor
an officer came running up the hill
and said:
do you e that? Those damned
Germans r mixed up and strafinl
hell out Of the Italians!"
When we told him they were on,
planes he said "Oh!" and went bach
down the hill.
The afternoon sun went over the
hill and the evening chill began tt
come down. We were sitting on &
bushy hillside-just a small bunch o.
American officers forming what i:
called a forward command post.
Officers who had been in the bat
tie for Ousseltia Pass all day begar
wandering in through the brush OF
foot, to report. They were dirty
and tired. But the day had gone
well, and they were cheerful in
quiet and unexpressed way.
Hit Red Cross Truck.
A medical corps major came W
the hill and said:
Those blankety-blanks! They
have knocked out two of my am
balances that we're trying to
get the wounded back. A hell of
a lot a red cross means to
them!"
Nobody said anything. He
went back down the hill, as
mad as a hornet.
The officers kept talking abou
three fellow officers who had beer
killed during the day, and a fourth
one who was missing. One of tn,
lead men apparently had been ;
special favorite. An officer WIT
had been beside him when it hap
pened came up with blood on hi
clothes.
I'VE hit the ground together" h,
said. But when I got up, hi
couldn't. It took him right in thu
head. He felt no pain"
Raise up that tent and pack hi
stuff" an officer told IN enlisted
man.
Another one said: The hell Of i
is his wife's due to have a baby
any time now"
Just then a sergeant walked up
He had left the post that morning
with the officer who was now miss
ing.
where's Captain So . and = so?'
they all asked.