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Show PAGE THE ZEPHYR JANFEB 90 the guys being hurt and killed. "Later, we moved Into Holland, and we got word that Germans were Infiltrating the lines, disguised as American soldiers. This one guy got shot, and the brass wanted us to go out and get the body to prove that it was an Infiltrator. They told this staff sergeant named Richie Gibson (he was also from Newark) to take a couple guys out and get this guy tonight They decided they needed a medic along, so they picked me. We left that night and we were way out there In No Man's Land, beyond the last American outpost They told me to stay by this empty house while they went In. I was there by myself and, oh boy, I started getting ... lonesome. Meanwhile I could hear all this traffic, all these motors going, and what I was hearing was the Germans. I thought, I wish those guys would get back. I Hell out of here. want to get the "Finally my buddies came back with the body, and he was dressed In an American uniform, but It was over a German uniform. And we thought he had probably just put the uniform on to stay warm. We took the body to a Colonel Dempsey of Division, and they looked at him and said: 'Hmm. Hmm. He's no spy; he was just staying warm.' That was that They risked four lives to bring back a dead guy, and then that was that. "The next morning the Germans came across a canal, Invaded the place, we got pushed back, and all those motors I'd heard during the night were the attack force. It was also this attack that caused me to lose my Jeep and all my possessions. Id decided to clean It out and everything was out of It when the Germans attacked. I had souvenirs and pictures and I lost all of IL But I forgot all about that at the time. Guys were getting hurt Gibson the sergeant with whom I went to recover the body, got shot In the face and lost his eye. But we held on, only a couple of companies really, and later we got the Presidential Serenade in Blue No music evokes the memory and poignancy of the Second World War better than the music of Glenn Miller. Already popular before the war came to America, Miller gave up a successful radio program and enlisted In the U.S. Army. There, he created an Army band that entertained troops In the U.S. and Great Britain. In his last radio program on September 24, 1942, Glenn Miller bid farewell and said: "I hate to say goodbye, but there's a swell bunch of guys in the outfit Im going Into, and maybe we can all get together again when this thing is over." But on December 26, 1944, as Allied armies fought to restrain the German offensive In SL Vlth, Miller attempted to fly across the English Channel to France during a severe storm. He never reached his destination. Neither Miller, or the plane he was In, was ever seen again. Glenn Miller became another casualty of war. J.S. hear that Serenade In Blue, Im somewhere In another world When - I Alone with you. Sharing all the joys we used to know Many moons ago. Once again your face comes back to me, Just Citation. "After that, they told us we were going to have some time to rest, to clean out the jeeps, take showers and all that That night at 7 p.m. we found out we were moving out; we were going south to set up a secondary line of defense. We drove all night In a convoy, lights off, and arrived at tills town In Belgium. The Germans had made a minor breakthrough. My captain told me to go out and find C Troop and take this new guy with me. We went way out this road and we came to a T. One way said Malmedy, the other St Vlth. Which way? We turned left and went a couple of miles and we didnt see anything. I said, I don't like this, something's screwy," and decided to turn around. Finally, I found a guy and he gave us directions, but we were way out there, and I figure the Germans must have been watching me run up and down that road, with the Red Cross on the vehicle. We were miles ahead of the fronL "The next day things were a mess. There were vehicles going every which way. The Germans opened fire and we alt hit the ground. The new medic said to I was me: 'I wish I was experienced In combat like you.' I Just looked at him like the theme of some forgotten melody. the album of my memory, In Serenade In Blue. seems like only yesterday, m small cafe', a quiet floor. And as we danced the night away I hear you say: "Forevermore." And then the song became a sigh, "Forevermore" became "Goodbye." It A But you remained In my hearL scared. . "Finally, we got directions to C Troop which was supposed to be at SL Vlth. Of course, we had no Idea where that was. But It turned out, It was right In the middle of the German offensive that we later called The Bulge. SL Vlth had a highway and was a major railroad center. The Germans thought If they could take SL Vlth, they could drive all the way to the ocean and split the Allied Armies in two. "I got back to C Troop at SL Vlth; we were on one side of the town and the Germans on the other. All day long, wed attack them, and theg they'd attack us. The next day It was quIeL I wandered out and found 'an abandoned American vehicle with all these uniform clothes. They fit me perfectly. Anyway when the Germans attacked, they had concentrated on the 106th Division. This was full of never-test- ed soldiers and the Germans must have known thaL The 106th just broke and ran, and abandoned all that stuff. We even found frozen steak and french fries. I remember Id cooked all this stuff up and was ready to eat, when they yelled Gotta move outl Germans are breaking through! So I took the stuff with me. I figured, damn If they catch me, I'm at least going to have a full 19 ' Editor's So tell me darling Is there still a spark, Or only lonely ashes of the flame we knew? Should I go on whistling In the dark, Serenade In Blue? ng addendum: Any woman born after this song was written, but who has the strange feeling she heard It played In a London pub In the summer of 1944, contact The Zephyr Immediately. self-servi- stomach. "We held SL Vlth for 6 days. For most of the time, I thought this was it that I'd either be killed or captured. Things were really getting bad, wed been cut off, and we had this captain that we called G. I. Johnson, because he was so much by the book. Anyway, he was on the radio saying, 'Well fight to the last man!' and I felt like hitting him over the head with something. I figured, why doesn't he Just stay here himself and fight and get the rest of the guys outta here. But we finally pushed the Germans back again, so we didnt have to fight to the last man. "We started moving through SL Vlth, and they had these checkpoints, looking for Germans disguised as Americans. They'd ask us questions like, who won the World Series, to test us. There was a doctor with us, an American but of German descent, and he was scared of his own shadow. Anyway, here's this guy being questioned, and he speaks with a German accenL Well they pulled him off the truck and said, 'Youre coming with us;' the guy must have died a thousand deaths. "Because we had defended SL Vlth, we got another presidential citation. After The Bulge, the Germans were defeated they were worn ouL Within four months I the war was over; and was back home by September 1945. Ed McCarrlck and his wife Claire moved to Moab from New Ex-me- dlc Jersey Tom Rees In the early 70s. Ed worked eight seasons as a ranger at Arches National Park. He of "The Arches Of Arches remains an avid "arch hunter and Is the contracting co-aut- hor National Park. - ATTENTION CLASS OF 80: Tenth annual Christmas Dinner will be held Friday, Dacambar 6:30 to ?, at Ml Vida Restaurant Please RSVP the Ml Vida by 122089 at 259-71Remember to tell a friend! 46. Box 1806 Castle Valley Star Route Moab, Utah 84S32 (801) 259-729- wWW,Swwft,!;i! -i 6 See you there! A. rAn.ttfc. |