Evening star., 1945-06-19

you are going to have to administer
the transportation, communications
and many other things, health regu-
lations and so on, things which must
be administered as units if 1t is
going to be done successfully.
On Atrocity Stories.
@. Can you tell us about this wide
publication of atrocity stories? Do
you think the publication of them
is going to be very useful?
A. think I was largely respon-
sible for it, so must have thought
it was useful. When I found the
first camp like that I think I never
was so angry In my life. The besti-
ality displayed there was not merely
piled-up bodies of people that had
starved to death, but to follow out
the road and see where they tried
to evacuate them so they could still
work, you could see where they
sprawled on the road. You could
60 to their burial pits and see hor-
rors that really 1 wouldn't even want
to begin to describe. I think people
ought to know about such things. It
explains something of my attitude
toward the German war criminal.
I believe he must be punished, and
I will hold out for that forever. I
think it did good. I think the people
at home ought to know what they
are fighting for and the kind of per-
son they are fighting. Yes, it did,
good. =,
Toughest Fighting.
Q. Where was the toughest fight
ing between We day and D day. or
rather I should say between D day
and We day? Was the toughest
fighting in the Ardennes or was
there a serious battle.
A. Oh, no. We wouldn't classify
Ardennes as the toughest. I'd say
the f1ercest battling was along
toward the end of June In getting
our positions from which to make
the great breakout and several of
the battles on breaking through
particular portions of the Siegfried
Line in order to get an advantage
you could begin to exploit. That was
really the fiercest battle where we
took our largest losses. Except for
the captures in the 1O6th Division,
our losses in the Ardennes battle
were not very great. mean not
unusually great. Our losses had
been running about 21,000 a week.
In the week after the attack, De-
cember is, they got up as high as
27,000, and they then fell right off,
and the German losses in that at
tack, starting December Is and end
ing about January 13, their losses in
personnel were about two and q half
times ours and in materiel certainly
three times.
Q. How did it feel today to have q
neighbor from Missouri pin that
medal on you?
A. I'll tell you. For once q gen.
eral was caught in the unforgiyable
crime--he was surprised. 1t was q
very gracious thing for the President
to do, and I am very proud of 1t.
Q. Are you going to have any re.
taxation or actual furloueh?
A. If don't have a few days
there Is going to be ., rebellion
around here.
Framework Of IS.
Q. Do you consider the ordinary
SS trooper war criminal?
A. This Is what I'd say: The So
trooper, up until it began to be des-
perate, or somewhere In September
OF 1944-I'd say any one that was an
SIS trooper up until that time would
be war criminal. At least the full
burden of proof would be on him.
After that, because the SIS frame.
work Of command was the most ef-
fectiye thing they had, they would
put any healthy man in it they could
get hold Of. He couldn't help him.
self. And you might have to move
little more carefully with, let's say.
the lower noncommissioned privates
in the IS after they became really
desperate. Except for the 18th IS.
I think that the American Army as
q unit will handle the 18th S.
every man they o9n get hold Of.
They are the mens that killed our