Imperial Valley press., 1944-08-01
SOMEWHERE IN NORMANDY

SOMEWHERE IN NORMANDY
(By WireleSS)-We drove slowly
across the two pastures in the big
M-19 retriever truck with which
our ordnance evacuation company
was to pick up two crippled Ger
man tanks. The wrecker truck fol-
low us. 1t was just after midnight.
We came to a lane at the far
Size of the pasture. Nobody was there
to direct us. Inc officers had gone
on ahead. We asked a sentry II he
knew where the German tanks
were. He had never heard of them.
We shut off the motors and waited.
l think everybody was little on
edge. We certainly had American
troops ahead of us, but we didn't
know how far. When things are
tense like that you get impatient
OF monkeying around. You want to
get the job done and get the hell
out Of there.
We waited about 10 minutes, and
finally a sergeant came back and
said for us to drive on up the road
about half a mile. He climbed on
to direct us. Finally We came to a
barnyard, pulled in, turned around
and then very slowly backed on up
, the road toward the e..cm lines.
stood on tie steel platform behind
the driver so l could see.
WAS DARK NIGHT
1t was very dark and you could
only make out vague shapes. You
could see dark walls of hedges and
between them lighter strips of
gravel roaG. Finally huge black
shape took form at one side of the
road. 1t was the first of the Ger
man tanks. Just before we got to
it we could make out two dark
stripes on either side of the road
on the ground. They were the size
and shape of dead men, but they
were only forms ano I couldn't tell
for sure.
Being tense and anxious to get
finished, I hoped our truck would
take the first tank. But no. We
passed by, of course, and went
backing on up the road.
When you're nervous you feel
even II inches closer to the front
is too much and the noise CT your
motor sounds like all the changing
Of hell, directing the Germans to
you.
l knew it was foolish to be nerV-
Gus. l knew there was plenty of
protection aheac. And yet there
are times when you don't feel good
10 start with, you're uncomposed
and the framework of your charac-
ter is off balance, and you are weak
inside. That's the way l was that
night. Fortunately I'm not always
that way.
CAME TO END
Finally the dark shape of the Sec
ond tank loomed up. Our officers
and some men were standing ir
the road beside it. We backed tx
within about five feet of it, anc
the driver shut off his motor anc
We climbed down.
A layman would think all yol
have to co is to hook a chain II
the tank and pull it out of thu
ditch. But we were there half ar
hour. 1t seemed like all night to me
First it had to be gone over fol
BOBBY traps. l couldn't help but ad,
mire our mechanics. They knew
these foreign tanks as well as ou
own.
One Of them climbed down tn,
hatch into the drivers seat ant
there in the cark, completely b,
feel, investigated gadgets of tn,
cockpit and found just what shap'
1t was in and told us the trouble.
GEARS BENT
1t seemed that on this tank tW,
levels at the drivers seat had beer
left in gear and they were SO ben
there was not room to shift then
out of gear.
One man was sent back up tn,
road to get a hacksaW from tn,
Wrecker truck so they could sav
off the handles. After five minute.
he came back and said there was.
Mt any hacksaw. Then they sen
him back after a crowbar and tha
finally did the trick.
During this time we stood in g
group around the tank, about a
dozen of us, just talking. Shells
still roamed the dark sky but they
weren't coming as near as before.
There would be lulls of many
minutes when there was hardly a
sound but our own voices. Most
everybody talked in low tones, yet
in any group there's always some
tx -.