Sharpening A Spearhead . . . (continued)

"Bad Deal"

"MAC" was the first to galvanize into action. As rapidly as possible he made his way back to Pendleton. The Lieutenant had with him some morphine syretts for an emergency such as this. He crouched down over the wounded man in order to administer the opiate. As he did so he felt his balance wavering and placed one foot behind him in order to regain equilibrium. It landed squarely on another mine. This, in exploding, injured T/Sgt. Dunlop who was standing close by, the Lieutenant, himself, of course, being an immediate casualty. To add to the general consternation at this point was the ever-present fear that the explosions would act as a beacon or a guide for the enemy in placing fire on the spot from which the explosions were coming. Had it been daylight the patrol would have been in plain sight of the enemy. Also (like coals to Newcastle) the men had been alerted before leaving for two German patrols supposed to be on the loose in or around this area. If all hell didn't break loose soon it would be a miracle!
Against the admonitions of the other men, Colonel Emery sprang forward from his position in the column to enter the mine field. He succeeded in bringing out Lt. McCarron making three trips in all, the last of these being for Pendleton. This one proved to be his nemesis, another mine going off and leaving him also stranded in the field. Parker, another patrol member, now took over the mission of mercy and began to travel in and out of the field doing all he could to bring help and comfort to the wounded men; covering them with all available clothes as a guard against shock, loosening and rebinding their tourniquets, risking the danger of a light and giving them cigarettes to smoke, and whatever else he could think of to do. Shortly before this a runner had been sent back to bring assistance from the aid station. It was just before this help arrived, under the leadership of Lt. Bock, that Parker went in for the sixteenth time and exploded another mine. This brought the total to five men already injured.




EVACUATION

The aid men and the litter bearers now took charge of the situation. Parker was first to be brought out. Col. Emery was next since the others could not otherwise be reached. Over his protests they began to evacuate him but had to call for two more men to help lift him onto a litter. T/4 Graybill and Pfc. Hnath of the detachment responded. Disaster stalked themagain for another mine (the last one that night!) was touched off injuring Hnath in leg and foot, striking Graybill in the face and eyes. Lt. Bock now entered the mine field, and with the aid of Pfc. Jones hurriedly evacuated Hnath who was incapable of movement and helped Graybill to grope his way out, so blinded by his injuries that he was otherwise helpless. They retraced their steps into the field twice and with the aid of T/4 Duska succeeded in evacuating the Colonel and Pfc. Pendleton. At 0530, with the gray light of dawn breaking into the east, the patrol turned sadly back to Berbourg carrying its wounded, mission incomplete, but thankful that the night had not been even worse than it was.

Experience . . .

SADDENED by the experience . . . . naturally . . . but undaunted! After a day's rest their activities began again. Lt. McCarron was replaced by Lt. Clark; and a little later on, because of Lt. Clark's transfer to another position, Lt. Liddicoat became patrol leader under the supervision of Major Reithel, the Major in turn coming to regimental headquarters with the function of patrol coordinator. For a while matters went along smoothly with the Raiders. Missions were assigned to them and they went out and discharged them faithfully and intelligently. Major Reithel grew into the habit of accompanying them from time to time and grew to enjoy the confidence of this little group almost as much as had "Mac."
Late in February they were assigned the mission of traveling down into Hinkel. They had been here before, scouting through the entire town despite the presence of the enemy and returning unscathed with the desired information. This was just another routine job--with only two slight differences. First, the mission this time included bringing back one or two prisoners for questioning. Secondly, they had with them this time a "visiting fireman." This was S/Sgt. Bob Williams, (15354558), operations sergeant of the regimental command post.
Bob Williams, even as far back as McCoy, had been engaged in what might be called clerico-administrative work. Before that he had been to OCS and had dropped out of it finding himself temperamentally unsuited for the type of existence with which he would have been faced. Cultured, brainy, well-read, an excellent conversationalist, he also conveyed the impression to those who did not know him too well of being an arch-cynic. Perhaps there was a dash of cynicism in his make-up. If true, this was because he had already seen quite a slice of life and some of the "illusions" had already disappeared. Realities concerned him far more.
With his peculiar qualifications it was natural he should land in the headquarters section. Those who worked with him found him a hard taskmaster--but no harder on others than on himself. It was merely that if he worked, others worked also.

Itch for Action

IN the course of natural events it was inevitable that Williams would find inside work palling upon him--particularly when it stretched as, it did, day after day without respite. Coming from Belgium to Boudeler, he was mixed up in one of the several jeep crack-ups, but suffered only several cuts. He plunged into the work of organization. And to him goes much of the credit for setting the machine in motion. Nevertheless as time drew on he appeared a little more fretful day by day. To some it must have seemed as bad humor. To others who knew him better it was plain restlessness. And not many knew that he had asked not once but many times to be allowed out on some of the patrols which were being run--whether they were from battalion or from the "Raiders."
He had his wish finally. On February 21st he heard of the mission to Hinkel. He had, for a wonder, managed to catch up with, all the tasks in the CP. Conditions would never be more favorable. So, he asked permission, and this time the answer was yes.
The patrol started from Berbourg. There were not many left of the original squad of McCarron's Marauders. Naturally so, since work of this kind takes its toll. But it was still a substantial group. With all noses counted, there were fourteen men familiar with the job and ready to go.

Beyond the shadow of a doubt there still were Germans in Hinkel. The I & R observation post could see them in there. In fact that was why that particular OP had been set up in an abandoned barn between Girsterklaus and Girst, with the men going in and coming out at night, on a twenty-four-hour basis, watching every enemy movement every moment of the day, making it a listening post at night and keeping in constant telephone communication with the command post. Scarcely a thousand yards away was the enemy and they could look right down at him. Overhead, artillery seemed to come so close that it could almost be tabulated as it passed back and forth.

FORWARD C. P.

O. P. -- I. P.

THIS OP was the beginning of the last stage of the patrol that night. They started from Berbourg at 2300 with Lt. Liddicoat in charge and Sgt. Williams as second-in-command, going by way of Dickweiler to Girst. There they detrucked and started down the road towards Hinkel. They passed the OP that was expecting them--and at that point they knew they had left the last friendly elements behind. They carried a radio with them for the sake of emergency communications--otherwise their progress was to be as silent and soft as the night itself. The OP would be channeled in on their own radio listening for all transmissions.
It was another one of those nights with which the GI had become so familiar in Luxembourg. No moon, no stars and a black curtain of night which could almost be cut with a knife. They did not take the road proper but deployed to the left using all the cover and concealment offered by the terrain. About a mile was covered in this fashion before they reached the spot from which they wished to approach the town. Here was a railroad track whose banks offered them their last bit of shelter. Beyond here they would find a field about two or three hundred yards from Hinkel. They halted long enough to check over their plans. Lt. Liddicoat, Sgt. Williams and Pfc. Schmidt were to enter the town and look for Germans. The rest were to take up positions and be prepared to act as support.
It was at this spot, at 2400, just as they broached the field that all hell broke loose. There was fire from in front and from both flanks; in a moment or so artillery began to land. Some lynx-eyed lookout had spotted them; the jig was really up so far as the surprise element was concerned. The only thing which remained was to save as many of the pieces as possible.

S. O. S.



UNDER FIRE

A FULL-BLOODED Indian boy by the name of Corcoran was handling the radio. (He, together with Schmidt, Hrusch, Gates and McInerney, had been a volunteer for this work from the very first day, coming from the Regimental I & R.) All the men had hit the ground. Things were happening with electric sharpness and rapidity. The patrol had opened up with a little fire of its own and was teaching the German positions caution. The railroad embankment afforded some protection, but not too much. There were also pock marks of shell holes in the field itself.

They were not large--but it was surprising how much of the human frame could be crammed into an unbelievably small space when necessary. Corcoran began to send his messages: "Patrol pinned down outside of Hinkel. Give us supporting fire!" Over and over again that transmission went out; it must have seemed an eternity before the answers came. The reason for the slowness can perhaps be found in a note which is casually interjected into Cannon company's log or journal for that night: "Have just had an all-night session. Were only company able to deliver fire and are told that our firing of this mission has saved all but one of a hopelessly trapped Tiger Patrol." The report was right. Cannon did not stop the machine guns or the German artillery but they did make them pause from time to time and gave the patrol some intermittent moments of respite in which to creep and crawl to safety and to bring their wounded out.
The only one who did not come out was Bob Williams. The reason was that they could not find him. When the action first started he seemed to be everywhere. Afterwards some of the boys said that they were sure he was wounded. None of them knew why they had this impression. Williams himself certainly never said a word about it. But most of them had the same idea. He kept rolling over and over from position to position finding out how each man was and moving them back whenever there was a chance. Lt. Liddicoat had been bit and the leadership had fallen on Bob's shoulders. And it can be said that it was in large measure due to the way in which he assumed that responsibility that as many of his men came cut as did.
In all, that night, there were a total of seven casualties. One of the boys who was brought out later on died. This was Pfc. John C. Gutierrez, (19086871). The others were all serious. Seven out of fourteen. It was pretty much of a shambles. Ernie Wright had been sent back for the Medics. Gaber and Gates, Schmidt and Hrusch and McInerney were doing yeoman service in bringing out their buddies, Lt. Liddicoat, Stanton, Gutierrez, Gray, Huffington, Martinez (who still did a lot of walking despite the fact that his foot had been struck)--all except Williams. The men waited, miserably, hoping, against hope that any moment he would come back into sight--that they might possibly hear the crack of his carbine and be able thus to locate his approximate whereabouts--might be able to have some trace of him somehow.

Beau Sabreur

THE alarm had gone back to the command post at the same time as the request for artillery support. Even before the Medics arrived on the scene Major Reithel came charging up. When he heard that all but Williams were out the Major started back in after him with two of the boys. Despite all their searching he remained missing. The last anyone had seen of him he had been crawling away in the general direction of the enemy, stopping now and again to pump away with his carbine. The last words they heard him say were: " . . . going to get as many of the b - - - - as I can!" But how far he was able to crawl and creep it is impossible to say. Certain it is that he kept firing away until all his rounds were gone. Equally certain is it that his fire must have deflected enemy fire away from the little group which he had been trying to spirit to safety as well and speedily as he could.
About this patrol there are some things which will never be quite fully clear. This much is clear, however,--that not a man who was on it will ever forget that Bob Williams was on it too! They will never forget that the cynicism which was a superficial part of him had, for those moments, flamed into a bright pure light for them alone and silhouetted him as the Beau Sabreur he was.

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