Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1945-03-17
Performance
PIeases Third
Army General
Correspondent
Tells OF Many
Heroes In Fight
By SGT. TREZvANT W.
ANDERSON

WITH U. S. FORCES IN
EUROPE CAMP - Negro COM
bat units ranged along the allied
front from Holland to Southern
France have given brilliant &C
count of themselves in 1914 and
thus far this year, proving for
once and all time that there was
nothing the enemy had to offer
which they couldn't take and give
more of in return.
Outstanding feats Included the
combat actions of the 761st Tank
battalion, only Negro tank bat
talon in the ETC, the 6l4th Tank
DESTROYER battalion; first ard only
Negro tank destroyer battalion to
see action in this war as of the
end of the year: the glorious fire
missions of the 969th Field Artil-
lery battalion with its les nm.
howitzers blasting at the Germans
in a 36O-degree perimeter while
surrounded completely in the Bas-
togne area in the December Ger
man offensive which they helped
to stem after having rendered g
glorious account of themselves from
st. I.o to Brest, back on the Nor
mandy and brittany -Crozen pc
ninSulas
AAA UNIT BLASTS PILL
BOXES
Terrific fat trajectory fire by
the 452nd Anti-Aircraft artillery,
doing front line pill-box attack
ing along the third army front
helped to pulverize German con-
crete gun emplacements barring
the way to the onward sweep Of
1t. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr,
drive in the Scar basin.
High flying silver balloons OF
the 320th Anti-Aircraft BarTage
balloon very low altitude) bat
talon, first Negro offensive unit
to be decorated as unit by Gen
Eisenhower, aided 1t. Gen. Court
ney S. Hodges First IT, S. army
to thrust. forward into the Hurt
gen forest and the Roer river sreas
where 1t. Gen. William H. Snip
sons Ninth U. S. Army fought
bitterly to gain entry INTO German
Siegfried defenses.
Negro smoke generator units laid
their blankets of man-made fog
over the hills and valleys around
Metz when Mai Gen. William II
Walton's Goth corps, using the 5th
Goth and 95th Infantry divisions,
drove into that great baStion and
captured it for the first time in
history The work of these same
chemical units had already made
possible h first permanent
bridging of the Moselle river in
September Many times the wa
tiers Of this 100-yard wide stream
had run with blood Of American
soldiers as infantry and armored
units had tried to cross to its east
bank where the Germans were
staging one of the bftterest de-
lenses of the entire war on any
front. The blood of these Negro
smoke generators had also been
mingled with the clear waters OF
stream, as they, too gave their
lives to maintain the protective
cover which allowed third army
engineers to throw that first
bridge across under intense Ger
man Smelling of the position. But
the bridge was finished As one Of
the grimy lads said afterwards:
Gen. Patton wanted the bridge
over, and by God we meant foI
him to have it."
The valiant work of the Combat
units of this Third Army was
tribute to their attitude towards
Gen. Patten himself, who. though
much criticized by rear-line mill
tary critics. was popular favorite
with all bis men who knew him
for what he really was. Incident
ally, Patton made 1t a point to
take a personal interest in his Me-
gro units. When the 761st Tank
battalion arrived at the front ON
October 81, he came down to per-
sonally welcome them.
His expressed faith in their
ability was justified and vindieat-
ed by their work in the Saar basin
and later when they moved into
the beleaguered Bsstogne area to
help relieve the pressure on Hodges
First army in December He also
took the same interest in the
614th Tank Destroyer battalion
when they arrived to join Mai.
Gen. Harry L. Twaddle's 95th In
fantry division, rugged veterans,
and continued his interest even
after they left to join 1t. Gen.
Alexander M. Patch's Seventh u.
S. army in Southern France, aft
er having knocked hell out of Ger
man installations in Germany In
the Trier area. around Operperl.
just before joining the seventh
army in late December.
Even the combat service troops
shared In the glory of proving
that the Negro combat soldier was
no flash in the pan," for thev did
a terrific job where they were as
signed as component parts of the
ground forces as troop transporta-
ton units, gas supply units, and
service support units In the for
ward areas. These were not the