JAN 3 1945

This bit of minutia from personal history of 69 years ago seems appropriate this January 3rd.

"On Jan 3^rd we were to move up to the front lines.  The German advance had been stopped and supposedly the Bastogne highway had been reopened by Patton's troops. However, there was still a great deal of anxiety regarding German soldiers in American uniforms. The GIs were often using improvised impromptu pass words based on American sports. The Allies were now ready to counter attack from both the north with Montgomery in command of the combined forces, and the south with Patton’s 3^rd Army.

Due to the 17th Airborne Division's T/E lack of sufficient vehicles, we were using trucks from an attached separate trucking unit to transport the battalion. Their Sergeant, who was in charge, told us that his lieutenant was last seen several days earlier going down a road in his jeep and there had been no further word from him.

We started out that night in convoy. The vehicles used only their blackout lights but were spaced too far apart.  We were given a destination and the password for that day.  It was snowing and very cold.  We came to a fork in the road. The trucks in the convoy ahead of us took the left road. Several miles down the road the officer in the first truck realized that they had lost the convoy and the trucks pulled up on a circular drive in front of a farmhouse. All the officers with the group were lieutenants who after pouring over their maps, turned to me and said "Doc, you are the senior officer here (captain) what should we do?”  Medical officers had rank but exercised no command functions except in their own units.  I suggested the obvious; going back to the fork in the road and taking the right fork, which we did.  We're now rolling up the Bastogne highway toward the unknown front.   Suddenly our 2_1/2 ton truck stopped out of gas. The others vehicles, even those behind us, continued down the road. It was dark and out of fear that we were German soldiers in disguise nobody would stop.

Finally an armored car stopped. An officer, after supplying us with gasoline, informed us that not only had our destination been changed but also the password.  We followed his directions and arrived in a village at what was supposed to be division headquarters. I was directed to the command post. 

Unchallenged, I was suddenly in the general's presence. "oops" I was informed that my regiment was in another village and they would have a guide sent to lead us to our battalion. I went out to wait. In the meantime, the men had disbursed out of the cold truck into nearby housing.  About an hour later the guide arrived. 

After rounding the men up, we were led around the corner about 100 yards to another house which was our battalion’s headquarters. The rest of the regiment was in another town."

The next day the Battalion and we medics were in active combat. Part sad and part ridiculous and funny. 


I do plan to past Saturday a blog about 2014; no resolutions and no predictions but rathe  comments about my concerns and anticipations nationally, statewide, locally and to some extent worldwide  for the year. If the scope is too great that may be postponed until Sunday.  Because of the storm;most likely there  will be no material preavailable for Monday's meeting.