The Wilmington morning star., 1944-07-16
WITH ERNIE PYLE


IN NORMANDY-(by wireless)
1T was about time for me to go
out alone into that empty ex-
panse of Is feet-as the infantry
company I was with began its
move into the street that led tc
what we did not know.
One OF the soldiers asked If 1
didn't have rifle. Every time
you're really in the battle lines
they'll ask you that. I said no,
correspondents weren't allowed to;
it was against international law
The soldiers thought that didn' t
seem right.
Finally the sergeant motioned-
it was my turn. I ran with bent
knees, shoulders hunched, out
across the culvert and across the
open space. Lord, but you felt
lonely out there.
1 had 70 stop right in the mid
die of the open space, to keep my
distance behind the man ahead. l
got down behind a little bush, as
though that would have stopped
anything.
Just before starting 1 had got
into a conversation with a group
of soldiers who were to 60 right
behind me. I was just starting to
put down the boys names when
my turn came to 60. 50 it wasn't
till an hour or more later, during
one of our long waits as we sat
crouching against some buildings,
that l worked my way back along
the line and took down their
names.
1t was pouring rain, and as We
squatted down for me to write on
! to hold my helmet over my note
book to keep it from being soaked.
Here are the names of just few
of my company mates in that
little escapade that afternoon
Sgt. Joseph Palajsa Of Pitts
burgh.
Pfc. Arthur Greene of Auburn,
Mass. His New England accent
was so broad I had to have him
spell out Arthur and Auburn
before I could catch what he said.
Pfc. Dick Medici of Detroit.
Lieut.. James Giles, platoon
leader, from Athens, Tenn. He was
SO wet, so worn, so soldier looking
that l was startled when he said
lieutenant, FOR 1 thought ne Was
a CT.
Pic. Arthur Slageter of Cincin-
natl. He was an old reader of this
column back home, and therefore
obviously a fine fellow.
Pfc. Robert Edie of New Phi.a.
delphia, Pa. Edie is 30, he is
married, and he used TO work in
a brewery back home. He IS a
bazooka man, but his bazooka was
broken that day so he was just
carrying rifle.
Pfc. Ben Rienzi of New York.
Sgt. Robert Hamilton of Phila-
delphia, who was wounded in At
RIGA.
And Sgt. Joe Netscavge of Shen-
andoah, Pa, who sports two SOU.
venirs of the Normandy campaign
"a deep dent in his helmet, where
a sniper's bullet glanced off, and
a leather cigaret case he got FROM
a German prisoner.
Ns,,f -.
veterans, most of whom lad fought
in Tunisia and Sicily too.
Gradually we moved cn, a few
feet at time. The soldiers hug
ged the walls on both sides of the
street, crouching all the time. The
city around us was still full OF
sound and fury. You couldn't tell
where anything was coming from
or going to.
The houses had not been blown
down along this street. But now
and then a wall would have a
round hole through it, and the win
dows had all been knocked out by
conclusion and shattered glass lit
tered the pavements. Gnarled tele
phone wire was lying everywhere.
It was poor district. Most of
the people had left the city. Shots.
cruise on the famous yacht Poto-
mac, but CLIO leaders have not en-
tirely forgiven the South Carolinian
for certain asserted "unfriendly