- Kommandos Getting There
- Company K moved out of
Camp Shanks (Port of Embarkation) on October 5,
- 1944. A short train ride along the Hudson River
took the company to the port of
- New York City. The men hauled and heaved their
heavy duffel bags onto the ferry
- which took them across the river to the 42nd St.
pier. Once there, the troops were
- formed up. A Transportation officer called their
last names from his roster. The men
- answered with their first names and trudged up the
gangplank with all their gear.
- Our ship was the converted
luxury liner, the S. S. Monticello, but the conversion
- was thorough. Company K was assigned to
compartment C. We had our first look
- at the canvas bunks (in wall to wall rows four
high) which would serve as bunk, foot
- locker and rifle rack for the next 14 days. Once
nudged away from the pier, the
- Monticello joined a convoy of many other
Europe-bound troop ships and
- submarine chasers.
- After the novelty of ship
transportation had worn off, the trip became irksome for
- many. The roll of the ship proved too much for some
who had not developed 'sea
- legs' in the infantry. Trips from bunk to latrine
were frequent. To further complicate
- matters, one night the latrine overflowed, flooding
the lower bunks and their
- occupants. Each company aboard was permitted but a
short turn of time on deck
- each day that the weather permitted.
- Yes, there was a storm.
Air scoops that had been placed on the outsides of
- portholes for better ventilation began catching the
tops of big waves, giving the
- occupants of nearby bunks a direct taste of the
sea.
- Another convoy of vessels
crossed in front of ours, several miles ahead of us,
- leaving behind one of their number sinking as it
burned, victim of a German
- submarine, we assumed.
- In the ship's close
quarters rumors abounded, especially that one ship carried
- WACs and Nurses. It was never verified. Moving
through the Straits of Gibraltar,
- we learned that our destination was Marseilles,
France, this port having already
- been recaptured by Allied troops who fought through
North Africa, Italy and
- Southern France. There we landed, debarked and we
were in France to help defeat
- the Wehrmacht. Company K became a row of pup tents
about 10 miles out of
- town.
- After two weeks of living
in tents through rain storms and good weather, the
- company boarded open trucks going to the Vosges
Mountains of France. On the
- third day, continuing the move after dark,
Kommandos unloaded in the rain and the
- darkness. Without lights so as not to draw fire
from the enemy, the guys found their
- pup tent mates and set up for the night amongst the
trees beside the road. When
- morning arrived, trucks took the Kommandos to the
forward staging area. From
- there they moved by foot on a snowy trail up the
mountain to relieve the Seventh
- Infantry of the Third Division, at the tiny village
of Xainfaing on the forward slope.
- This town was the bottleneck by which the enemy
hoped to deny Allied forces the
- critical roads leading to St. Die, the military
objective of the 6th Corps.
-
- Note: Details of the Kommandos first days in combat
are aptly documented by the publication,
- Task Force Kommando, Camp Howze, Texas, to Jenbach,
Austria.
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