Evening star., 1944-07-26
Henry
Continued From First Page.)

misty Corot landscape was blotted
out.
Then there came strange silence
as the last bomber disappeared into
the west The silence was broken
only by an occasional sharp mortar
burst.
The atmosphere was foul with
the stencil Of cordite and of dead
cows. The $3,000,o00 show was
over, and its value remained to be
assessed.
The Americans had withdrawn
back of the bomb line before the
attack Hosts of Germans had es-
capped death by occupying this va
Gated ground, so they were able to
offer formidable resistance to a
later infantry advance and used
bomb pits as foxholes. Despite the
machine-gun fire the troops moved
on through the desolate land. They
realized this was only faint shadow
of usual German resistance. The
Germans had been close under the
great bomb hail and they were
shelterless
My own greatest experience was
the worst of the day. That was
when the bombers surged over,
jettisoning bombs through blue
window in the sky as I watched in
the company of general and sew
eral colonies.
With another correspondent who
was seeking high ground in the
marsh country, had gone to the
crest of the Les Hautes Sents, hill
of high winds"
In shell-shattered farmhouses
there found generals had preceded
us, accompanied only by drivers.
Generals continued to arrive. The
higher ground was ideal for observa-
ton of enemy positions.
We got quite chummy.
I walked into the gravel-f1oored
courtyard just as an artillery shell,
falling short. caused the generals
and their aides to hit the ground.
1t was an informal introduction.
Then I went to child's bedroom
upstairs in the ruined farmhouse.
Over the rubble were strewn pages
of Sunday school book, Historic
Dune Anne" (Story of SouD.
There l watched out of a window
for the first bombers. along with an
Air Forces general who had come
dangerously near being a victim of
his countrymen's bombs. A few
bombs were dropped.
Run down and see if they did
any damage" says general to his
aide facetiously, knowing the bombs
were dropped well over the German
lines.
Planes flying high were caught
above the clouds.
Damn near ten-tenths," said an
air general discouraged by the over
cast.
Bombers Seen Trapped.
The bombers seemed trapped high
up In the sky. They had only
desperate chance of diving below
the clouds.
The generals ate lunch from the
seats of their jeeps Their food was
K rations, like that of privates, but
they did have coffee in thermos
bottles.
An infantry platoon went by and
soldier was posted at the court
gate as guide. A general took his
name.
I'VE always do that when we have
a chance. III write his mother. 1t
may give her boost" said the
general
The generals relaxed and snapped
pictures of each other.
1t was 1890 o'clock and there
still was the incessant sound of low
thunder in the gray heavens. Sud-
denly the sun came through. The
generals are like excited schoolboys.
BY God, they may make it," says
one.
The blue window in the sky be-
came larger. 1t was filled with silver
planes flashing in the sun-coming
In to drop their bombs
The white streaks Of markers
dropped by the Thunderbolts looked
like jagged cracks in the blue grass
There was deafening scream like
that OF titanic shell, A co,,ple of