Evening star., 1944-05-01
Stories Of Heroism
Abound at Front but
Medals Are Scarce
BY KENNETH L. DIXON,


% Delayed When you return to
an infantry outfit after long ab-
sence during which it has seen a
lot of action it seems almost as
though every single survivor is a
hero.
In this outfit, for instance. every
time you turn around you hear a
new case of individual heroism. The
boys don't wear their medals, but
their stories get told just the same.
There's James V. (Jim Jenkins of
Bryson City, N. c., a private first
class from Company G whose pla-
toon was attacking near Terrelli on
the Casino front back in February
Men were getting cut down on both
sides of him by small arms and
motar fire. Finally the Germans
started heaving hand grenades.
One landed right between Jim and
his platoon leader, and the latter
didn't see it. So, instead of hitting
the dirt, Jim made a dive for the
grenade, grabbed it and pitched it
right back at the Germans where it
exploded. He saved several lives in
his own platoon and knocked out
that many of the enemy.
Then there's Pfc. Roy J. Grabe
of Chicago, machine gunner in
Company c, who was up on Mount
Castelone that day when the Ger
mans got so close he couldn't fire
at them because of the fixed posi-
ton of his gun mount. It's sweep
didn't extend that far on his flank,
so Roy threw grenades at them
until he saw that wasn't going to
do the trick.
What he did then isn't in the
book. He simply tore his machine
gun off its mount, dropped down
on one knee and fired from the
hip, stopping German counter
attack.
only thing we can figure is that
Roy's from Chicago" his buddies
explain. Maybe that's where he
learned"
Anyhow, both Jim and Roy got
the Silver Star.
Then there's 1t. Glare N. Lyke,
field artillery forward observer
from Milwaukee, who was way out
in front of his gun positions on the
Casino front when a shell threw
a huge rock at him, wounding him
painfully. A little later, he was
wounded by a mortar shell but still
stayed put, directing the fire all
night.
Next morning he was relieved and
given first aid, but as soon as the
last bandage was on he caught a
ride over enemy positions in Cub
artillery spotting plane. There was
an enemy battery he'd seen the day
before and he wanted to knock it
out, so he directed the fire for his
guns and knocked it out. Another
Silver Star.
Capt. Ralph S. Phelan of Houston
is another one who just got the
Silver Star the other day, although
the thing he did to earn it hap
pened last November up on Mount
ERotundo.
The captain is battalion surgeon.
Word came down the mountain that
there was big bunch of badly
wounded men up there who couldn't
be brought down that night because
of artillery fire and the rugged ter
rain.
So Capt. Phelan grabbed up some
blood plasma and other first-aid
supplies and headed up on the
mountain, crawling and scrambling
and clawing from foothold to foot
hold.
When he got up there the same
enemy fire which had caused the
casualties and was causing more by
the minute had grown even more
intense. He wasn't field aid work.
er and it wasn't his job to 60 crawl
ing out there from wounded man
to wounded man.
But the captain went, with shells
bursting all around him. BY mira
Gle he wasn't hit and saved a lot of
lives before they could start bring
ing the wounded down at dawn,