Evening star., 1944-07-29
By IRA WOLFERT.

INFANTRY WEST OF ST. LO, July
81 Delayed Everybody took his
tone from the general. and this was
very quiet tone. A colonel strolled,
in from the front. like somebody
off Fifth avenue, with handsome
leather-handled cane. / made exact
note of their conversation after
greetings We're exchanged, and this
is how it ran:
Are they moving?" asked the
general.
Yes, sir. We captured three Of
them at this crossroad." said the
colonel, putting his finger on a
point on the map.
Keeps Eyes on Map.
Good, good" the general said.
That means we're moving all right. 3"
He kept looking at the map a
long time although he could see
every coordinate on it in his mind
with his eyes closed.
We'll" he said at last. keep them
moving That is the thing. Keep
them moving"
When anybody came into this
farmhouse headquarters the general
asked the same question. First he'd
ask: Are they moving? Then he'd
ask: How do you know they are
moving? He wanted to be sure you
weren't just trying to make him feel
good by yessing him.
Across the little entryway from
the generals room there was room
full of staff officers working at one
of those long French wooden kitchen
tables. Radios tuned in on the front
were outside the back windows and
you could hear the young, high. ex-
cited American voices talking their
strange jargon Artillery spoilers
were talking to their guns, airplanes
were talking to one another and to
ground bases, and the infantry was
talking, too, calling for mortars,
saying where the enemy is and
where his mortars are.
Run Into Tanks.
Then the infantry ran into three
German tanks bunkered down and
were waiting to mince them up and
you could hear the fellows talking
from cover, asking for something
more than rifles to deal with the
tanks.
Sometimes the German infantry
waves a white flag when they see
tanks nowadays. but our fellows lay
low and hope for the best. Soon
some of our tanks started coming
down the country lanes. There were
other tanks to the left OF them
and the commander there was say
| ing to his tanks:
There are friends coming down
the lane; big friends with coughs;
big friends WITH doughs; coming
down the lane t. our right: to our
right: don't Sroot at them: don t
shoot at them: now make sure of
that-not to shoot, you guys; not
to shoot
Get OFF Air"
Then the tank commander, ov-
ing on three German tanks, said:
of the air, please. I can't spare
the air. Get off the damn air. Get
off; get off, please!'
The general heard this and
grinned Il like man who knows
what he wants and goes for it, he
said.
The tank commander spent a
long time moving his tanks through
the trees to get into position against
the Germans. The general went
into his room to telephone back to
1t. Col. Richard Mari of Oak Park,
III. I stood alongside him. We'll"
the general was saving, there's still
lots of the fog of war around here"
Then I heard a funny sound. I
don't remember what it was-jLst
something that attracted my at
tention-and I looked across the
little entry way to the doorless
room where the stsff officers were
working and saw a hot white and
orange fire flicker by the window
sill and leap up ard into the room
Why, that's a high explosive, I
thought; just like that, and I stood
stunned. Then I heard big, wham-
ming bang and saw cloud of dust
and the dust flew up my nose with
the force of gravel. The dust few
way high up into my head.
I didn't know what to do, so !
just stood, and I wasn't even sure
what had happened. Then I heard
the general say over the telephone
In his soft, quiet voice:
Just minute, Dick. A shell just
came in the window and It's noisy
here"
There were chairs crashing in the
next room and there was the
spattering sound of plaster falling
and the sound Of people scrambling
Then there was quiet for a moment
and there was only dust to sea
whole acrid pail of 1t and only the
generals voice could be heard say
ing quietly over the telephone
LOST RATION COUPONS.