The ships loudspeaker, that reminded Billy of the offensive Irish Sergeant Major from Catterick Camp, announced that they were looking for a barber. Interested parties with hair cutting experience should report to the manager of the hairdressing shop - the chance of making money was not lost on the young opportunist.
Falaise Gap. We were set on a sloping field about two hundred miles from the road. When the Gap was closed we saw truck loads of prisoners being hauled out. I remember the funeral services for Sgt. Roy. We went over to Headquarters battery. The service was like one that would take place at home except it was held outdoors in a small clearing in the forest. It struck me as being ironic that we could hold a service like this after all the dead we had seen before this who were disposed of like so much garbage.
The village that we stayed in while we were there was shelled the morning that we landed, and most of it had burnt completely flat. One native woman cooked a ton of food for us. We had fried chicken twice while there, which was a treat, and a thanks at the same time. Then one of the boys bought a pig and they cooked that while we were there.
We flew our 24th mission on New Years Day 1945, and from our 14th mission on, we Led or Deputy Lead in the formation of our 36 plane formation. It was a position in formation we thought and considered to be safe. At least better than tail end Charlie. We were flying Deputy Lead on January 6, 1945, target railroad marshalling yards was our primary, Duetz Bridge, Cologne, Germany our secondary target.
The whole time that we were on the front it rained, day and night. So, I suppose that did not make it any easier. They told us that it would probably rain for at least two more months. I was wet and scared, dug into a little three foot fox hole, and seeing my first action of the war. One of the two other boys whom I came into this outfit with were wounded on the front. He was only a few yards away from me when he was hit. It was just an arm wound, so he was all right, but it definitely indoctrinated us into the combat life.
William Gieske during WWII
By William Gieske
(Continued from 2/7/22)
This is the Army
MOUT Training, Ft. Devens, MA, 1973
Taken From Just a Few Lines: The Memoirs of Keith L. Winchenbach
By Keith L. Winchenbach was born in Rockland, Maine on July 13, 1923
Submitted by Jessica Winchenbach from handwritten notes from her grandfather, Keith L. Winchenbach. All chapters have been edited and proofed by Jessica Winchenbach.
In Elementary Flying School in Canada, Keller learned to fly old biplanes called Fleet Finches. His instructor tied long red ribbons to the struts of his plane when he made his first solo flight. “I guess it was a warning for other planes to steer clear!” he notes wryly. He polished his training on Prince Edward Island, where he graduated to the powerful 450-horsepower planes called, ironically, Harvards.
Marion was one of the few who actually volunteered for the war. His voluntary submission to the U.S. Army came when he saw his brother’s draft summons. The cold reality of war was now knocking on his door, pulling his brother from the safety of The Lone Star State, and into the grasps of the armed forces. At that moment, Marion knew he wanted to go, not as a draftee, but as a willing servant. “If I don’t go, they’ll get me to go anyway,” he said stoically.