- The 103rd Infantry
(Cactus) Division left Camp Howze, Texas during the last half of
- September 1944. I, Hallet K. Brown, known as H.
K., was a member of the 410th Infantry
- Regiment, 1st Battalion (Company D). Company D,
a heavy weapons company, consisted
- of one mortar (80 mm) and two machine gun (.30
caliber) platoons. I was the first gunner,
- responsible for carrying the tripod and firing the
gun, of the eighth squad (8 members), second
- section, second platoon.
- The night before we left
camp we slept in pup tents outside our barracks, since the barracks
- had been completely cleaned out and padlocked. We
had been inspected over and over again
- and then once again right up to the time of
departure. Immediately after lunch, 6 x 6 trucks began
- picking up our battalion for transport to the
railroad. One GI from one of our rifle companies had
- not changed from his fatigues into his suntans. He
was not going overseas, or so he said. He put
- up quite a struggle, but with the help of several
MPs, his fatigues were taken off and he was
- dressed in his cotton uniform. He then played
unconscious. He lay limp the whole time while
- being carried to the truck, and from there to the
train. Finally, at the last minute an ambulance
- took him off the train and I suppose he never went
with us.
- We were assigned seats
according to number and each seat was occupied by three men.
- It was a Pullman coach with two men in the lower
and one in the upper. I shared my
- seat with Donald Hudson from Little Rock, Ark. (He
was killed Nov. 29, 1944.) and
- Leonard Seatter from Cleveland, Ohio. Three nights
on the road. What a trip. First, we
- backtracked to Fort Worth and from there northeast
toward Arkansas and Tennessee.
- Next came North Carolina, Virginia, D. C.,
Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
- and New York. Once a day we stopped for 20 minutes
of calisthenics and close-order drill
- directly outside of whatever railroad station we
were stopped at. Our rations were
- short and we were prevented from buying anything
along the way. We passed
- through Memphis near J. C. Gentry's home in Shady
Valley, Tenn. (He was killed Nov. 29,
- 1944.) Later we passed through Philadelphia, where
William Purcell lived. (He was captured
- on Nov. 29, 1944.) To occupy ourselves, we played
cards--almost every game imaginable,
- including bridge. TSgt Slyford, our platoon
sergeant, Hudson, Lincoln Ng, (He was killed
- Nov. 29, 1944.) and myself were great domino
fans--we played quite often at camp.
- On through New York City, north for about an hour
until finally we arrived at Camp Shanks.
-
- The weather was very cold but the food was
excellent. The next 10 days were spent in getting
- ready for shipping over. Extra winter
clothing and new equipment were issued. Everyone spent
- at least one full day on KP. I spent one night on
guard duty with Frank Horejs. (He was killed
- Nov. 29, 1944.) All sorts of final processing
and inspection. Over the side of mockup ships and
- down rope ladders to simulate submarine attack.
During this period, everyone was given
- at least two 12-hour passes to New York City. The
30th of September was payday--everyone
- had a chance to spend it on a final pass. It was
during my first pass that I stopped a policeman
- on the street in New York and asked him
about a reputable jeweler. He suggested Macy's as
- both reputable and reasonable. I bought
an engagement ring, had it engraved, and mailed it
- to Miss Marjorie Bourquein at Harrison, Ohio.
Then, during my last pass, I telephoned her
- to find out if she had received it and how she
liked it. Both D and C Companies had to furnish
- KPs aboard ship; therefore, I boarded early on the
3rd of October. The next evening the rest
- of the units were loaded and on the following
morning we pulled out of New York harbor,
- past the Statue of Liberty, and headed south along
the coast. The troopship, Gen. J. R. Brooke,
- the flagship of the large convoy, was plowing
along through the heavy swells of the Atlantic,
- somewhere off the coast of North Africa--that much
we knew. It was a full two-week cruise.
- Our ship was flanked by several destroyers that
all but disappeared each time they hit a large
- wave. On our right rear was a small aircraft
carrier, upon which could be seen several outlines
- of planes lashed to the deck. The rest of the
troop ships, as well as oil and supply ships,
- were strung out behind. The convoy was
eleven days out of New York and the monotony
- remained unbroken except for an occasional gun
drill, fire drill, or submarine drill. Once the ship
- had lagged far behind the convoy for gunnery
practice. Several large red balloons had been
- released and the multiple-barrelled .50 caliber
machine guns had succeeded in hitting one. Soon
- the others were out of range; then the 40 mm
antiaircraft guns went into action. Their accuracy
- looked very poor from my angle; the little puffs
of smoke marking the explosion of the timed
- shells were hundreds of yards from the target. A
strong wind soon blew the balloons well out
- of their range also. The J. R. Brooke then made a
few sharp turns and headed back for the
- retreating convoy at full speed. In the
enlisted men's quarters on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th deck levels
- the air was stuffy, full of smoke, and reeking
with the smell of sweat, garbage, and vomit. Since
- we were on KP the entire voyage, our quarters were
on the 3rd level, directly below the kitchen.
- We were exempt from calisthenics and had been
issued meal tickets which entitled us to early
- chow. What good were they? I had not eaten for 5
days. Several times I had stood in line,
- determined to try to get something down, only to
get right up to the food being served before
- I had to quit the line for the main deck and fresh
air. I didn't envy the fellows who had to work
- 6 to 8 hours every second day at the garbage
disposal cans. In comparison, my job was easy.
- I had to help prepare the fresh vegetables every
second day. This involved loading potatoes
- into an electric spud peeler, peeling turnips,
cutting carrots or peeling onions. This took only
- about 4 hours out of every 48. I do remember once
that we sort of went to sleep at the spud
- peeler. Before we thought to check on the
potatoes, all we had left were about 20 round
- marble-sized bits.
-
- Being on the night shift, I was allowed to sleep
until 10 o'clock the following morning. Bunks
- consisted of four canvas affairs stretched on
pipes. These bunks were stacked on top of each
- other. In addition to the person sleeping, the
bunk contained a fully loaded duffle bag, full field
- pack, horseshoe roll, personal belongings, rifle
belt, canteen, sidearm, and life jacket. Just like
- 4 sardines. My bunk was next to the floor and had
to be tipped up each morning for cleaning
- the floor. The ventilation was very poor and the
air was unbearably hot and stuffy. After dark
- the ship was closed tight for blackout reasons. I
had received a package of cookies and a
- carton of Orbit chewing gum from Marj just before
leaving New York. Because I was on the
- verge of seasickness the entire journey, I still
associate the smell of Orbit (fruit) gum with that
- voyage. Taking a shower was impractical
because of the cold salt water. After the first day
- the Navy disconnected the faucets on the hot
water. After that we all became unbearably smelly.
- One evening we found a pair of pliers among the
knives in the kitchen. This we took to the
- shower room and, unnoticed, unscrewed the hot
water faucets. We dared do this only in the
- early morning because of discovery. Hot salt
water, although far from ideal, was one hell of a
- lot better than cold salt water for showering.
Recreation while on board was confined to card
- playing and reading. Red Dog in the mess hall was
a popular game, before the night patrol ran
- us out. The classic form of recreation, however,
was the old sea-bat in the bucket trick. A pail
- was filled about 2/3 full of water and covered
with a towel. Sgt. Dominick Grusecki had the
- touch with recruiting participants. The pail was
brought to a secluded part of the deck and
- some curious person urged to bend over and peek
under the towel for a good look at the
- sea-bat. He always straightened up quickly
enough after a resounding whack on the seat
- of his pants with a flat board. Many officers as
well as enlisted men were caught in this manner.
- KPs were allowed on the stern of the ship to wash
clothes. Twice I tied my dirty fatigues to
- ropes and dangled them in the water behind the
propellers. I doubt if it ever did much cleaning
- but it was more or less a popular pastime. I read
the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, one
- night between 9:00 PM and the following 5:00 AM.
Pocket books were plentiful. My
- $2 American green, the only money allowed upon
boarding the ship, went to the Navy for a
- gallon of ice cream one evening while on KP.
The stairways (ladders) from one deck to the
- next were very hard to navigate during a rough
sea. In going up, it was impossible to lift one's
- foot to the next step while the ship was being
lifted out of the water by a large wave. One would
- literally be glued to the floor. As soon as the
ship went down into the trough of a wave, a person
- would shoot up several steps at a time, then stop
and wait until the ship went down again before
- gaining more ground. Going down stairs was
entirely different. When the ship would rise, the
- steps seemed to come up and meet you. I could go
down one whole flight of stairs while the ship
- was rising on the crest of a wave. When it started
down, I couldn't seem to reach my foot far
- enough for the next step. Our platoon leader
(officer), Lt. Harry Geckler, seemed OK
- compared to the other officers. Company H was in
charge of cleaning the decks. In one instance
- I remember Sgt. Bernard Brast, an ex-boxer, who was in
charge of the detail, grabbing a
- medic from near the head of the chow line and threatening to
hit him if he didn't grab a broom
- and help sweep. This effort was always preceded by the PA
system blaring: "Now hear this;
- now hear this. Sweepers start your brooms; sweep fore and
aft." It seemed that our air
- raid alerts always ended up with everyone on the top deck and our
submarine alerts with
- everyone below deck; I would have thought just the opposite to be
preferable.
- On October 18 I was below deck when we passed
through the Strait of Gibraltar. I did not see
- the coast of North Africa (French Morocco) when
land was first sighted late in the afternoon.
- Several fellows said that the Rock could not be
recognized since it was getting so dark. The
- evening before, two oil tankers had collided and
one could be seen smoking. The first evidence
- that we were in the Mediterranean Sea was the
perfect calmness and smoothness of the water.
- The 19th of October was a beautiful day and we
followed the African coast eastward before
- turning north. For a time the ship was plowing
through absolutely smooth water as far as the eye
- could see--not a ripple or a wave--just like a
mirror--completely smooth. The whole scene
- reminded me of the song "Rolling Down to
Rio" although I don't know why. It seemed we were
- sailing on a sea of glass.
It must have been the
calm before the storm. Sometime late that afternoon
- after we had turned more due-north, the sky
clouded up and we hit our worst storm. It was terrible
- --everyone who didn't get seasick before,
then got sick. Everyone was vomiting; the
- motion of the ship made eating, sleeping, reading
or anything else impossible. The storm lasted
- until midmorning of the 20th of October. Rumors
were flying; we were supposed to land late in
- the afternoon. When we sighted the coast of
southern France, everyone was ready and willing
- to leave the ship. We first sighted land east of
Marseilles and after several hours of cruising west
- along the coast we were ordered below because of
the blackout. We left the ship about
- 10:00 PM down the rope ladders into LCTs.
These craft put us ashore on Callahan Beach
- west of Marseilles. Each man carried every bit of
equipment except the duffle bag. That meant
- full field pack, horseshoe roll, gas mask, weapons
and food. I carried a pistol, .45 cal., but no
- ammunition, and 3 K rations. Original instructions
were to walk inland about 9 miles and camp
- for the night. We walked, mostly uphill, sometimes
through villages, but mostly following
- high-power electric lines. At the first rest stop
I started eating the new breakfast K ration. The
- fruit bar was good. To make a long story short, we
walked about 10 miles, part of the time in
- the rain. There were many large bonfires as far as
one could see along the cleared area under
- the lines. My back was aching; several fellows
dropped out. About 2:00 AM we dropped
- exhausted and curled up in our blankets. No one
paid any attention to the rain. We weren't
- allowed to build fires; the enemy might see them!
I slept soundly until daylight before shaken
- awake and told to get packed as we had quite a
ways to go yet.
-
- Our total walk was about 18 miles. About 10:00 AM
on the 21st, we had been assigned our
- camp site. It was located on a bulldozed,
wind-swept plateau outside of Marseilles. Orders
- were to line up pup tents and dig foxholes. I was
soon to learn that a true foxhole was very
- rare. Actually it is a square hole about 4 or 5
feet deep and perhaps 2 to 3 feet on each side.
- Any hole big enough to get the better part of your
body in was referred to as a foxhole;
- however, a slit trench, a shallow trench about 18
inches deep and long enough to accommodate
- the body was the usual thing. So we dug
slit trenches in the clay alongside our tents. Also they
- had to be lined up straight; a beautiful setup for
a strafing job.
|