ON TO BERLIN

A break from politics ,Plainfield's woes and other non trivia is in order for today. I am continuing my saga of my conducted European tour at taxpayer's expense in 1944-45.

If you reall the 17th had been redeployed to Alsace/Loraine for disbanding its troops to other units.

One morning in Luneville, I was informed that my transfer orders to the 82nd were on the Colonel's desk. I knew that the 82nd was slated to be part of the permanent American occupation force in Berlin and that seemed preferable to any assignment in Asia. I promptly picked them up and proceeded by our jeep to report for duty at the 82nd division in Epinal, about 30 miles away. I was to be assigned as the sole medical officer to the 376^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion.

When I went back to the 17th in order to pickup my possessions I was informed that the Colonel was looking for me. Apparently, Division had sent down new orders for me. I was now supposed go directly via the Suez Canal to the 1st Airborne Wing, the force which was to make the initial landing in Japan. I laughed at them and remarked “too bad you don't own me anymore”. Another medical officer from the 194th received those orders and was in transit but back through the states when THE BOMB was dropped. I was stuck in Berlin, but he was discharged months ahead of me.

The convoy’s route to Berlin west of the Rhine, passed through the aptly named city of Bitburg which was nothing but rubble. Also, on the way to the Rhine was Aachen, Charlemagne’s old capital, which was destroyed after fierce fighting.

The American sector, the Southwest portion of Berlin, was relatively untouched. The occupation forces were quartered in houses and other large buildings. I shared space in a private house with another officer. The owner of that house had an extensive library consisting of every paperback English edition of Zane Grey’s novels published in Germany. I had plenty of reading material.

The center of Berlin itself was a mass of rubble and destroyed buildings. The outer walls of the Reichstag were practically intact, and the Brandenburg Gate appeared untouched. The Nazi Reich Chancellery was in ruins not only from the shelling but also from the looting by the Russian army. Hitler’s bunker was just outside the Chancellery, but of course, we were denied entry. There was however a vicarious pleasure to walk over it.

During the latter stages of the Berlin siege, many of the residents had taken refuge in the subway tunnels. Supposedly, the Germans themselves, in order to block the Russians from a route of access to the city center, opened the tunnels to the Spree River which flowed over them. In the flooding hundreds of people were drowned in the tunnels. The subways were not pumped out during our stay in Berlin.

The 376^th medical detachment consisted of 5 enlisted men, two Jeep's, an illegal ambulance not listed on the “T/E”, and two apparently untouched trunks of aid station equipment and supplies, which I neither inventoried or disturbed. The ambulance which had been abandoned by the retreating Americans in the “Bulge” was supposed, on recovery, to be returned to its original outfit. The original organizational description had been painted over and replaced by the battalion’s.

My medical responsibility was not only the 376th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion but also the division brig. One day a GI, who had been in the brig continuously from Africa, reported for sick call with an obvious fresh gonorrheal discharge. Evidently, confinement in the brig did not limit accessibility to life’s pleasures.

There was a large black market for penicillin in Berlin. As a result, the Berlin Command had issued an order prohibiting the administration of penicillin for treating GC, without a positive gram smear. The slides had to be sent to the Berlin base hospital laboratory for diagnosis, which would only take 24 hours. Although the diagnosis was clinically obvious, I had to follow the protocol. The soldier was incensed and said, ""the last eight times I had gonorrhea I got immediate treatment". I assured him that there was an order which I had to follow, and the next day gave him his “shot”.

About three weeks later, I received an inquiry from the Inspector General's office as to why I had not promptly treated this man. Apparently, he or a relative had complained to his congressmen, who initiated an investigation. There was no problem since I had the directive to back me up. On the other hand, this was another example of a politician putting ill advised pressure on the military.

Medical detachments had a supply of medicinal grain alcohol which when mixed with either one of the canned fruit juices or the “tang” substitute that we were issued made a palatable drink. Canned grapefruit juice was the preferred dilutent to produce “moose milk”. In Berlin, someone at the officers club was mixing the alcohol with burnt sugar syrup which gave it a caramel coloring. The result was referred to and bottled as brandy.

Periodically, while in Berlin, it was a habit to go over to the Russian zone. Unlike the British or French zones, it was necessary to pass through a rigid checkpoint. The major Nazi ruins were just beyond the Brandenburg Gate, including the Reich Chancellery and Hitler’s Bunker. The Russians were printing paper occupation money as fast as their presses would run... It had no value as Russian currency but was interchangeable at par with the American and Allies issues which we were backing in dollars. The Russian soldiers had just received back pay with lots of that paper, and would buy anything, especially cigarettes and watches. Before going overseas, I had bought an Omega automatic watch at the PX for $50. I sold that watch for several hundred dollars worth of their Russian Marks.

The “Russian” marks were of course worthless unless they could be redeemed by the western armies, or back in the states since our government had guaranteed their value. I will again mention those marks in the next episode.