Our Father's Generation

by F. M. Worden

  Now, the Lieutenant was smiling and shaking his head: “ yes, yes.”

  I saluted, turned on my heels, went out the door and headed for the outside door, hoping I could shake this mess.

  A Staff Sergeant grabbed my arm and pulled me over to a desk where a Wac was sitting. He said, “You gotta help us boy.” This was a big husky man. The Wac was a Captain.

  She said, “We need your help to get rid of this big shot guy. Will you help us? This General is so horny he makes us all miserable.” All the talk was in whispers.

  I leaned down right in her face, “What can I do?”

  This lady was about thirty years old and not bad looking. She grabbed me by my tie and said, “We have a plan.” I must have looked dumbfounded as she said, “We will take you to dinner tonight and tell you all about it.”

  “ Okay.” What did I have to lose? “I’ll be at my hotel. The Lieutenant knows where I’ll be.”

  She let go and I hurried outside to my hotel. In my room, I took off my cap, jacket and shoes and lay down, asking myself how I got into this mess. I must have gone to sleep, as the next thing I knew someone was knocking on my door. I got up and opened it.

  There stood the Wac Captain, the Lieutenant and the staff Sergeant. All three came right on into the room. I had backed up and sat on the bed.

  “We have to get this man a girl. Since you speak French, you can help us,” she said. “Get dressed, let’s go to dinner.” I did as she told me.

  They took me to a café and we had a great dinner. There they told me their plan to rid them of the general. They wanted me to find a French whore, or some other girl, clue her in and bring her to the office. Have her make a date with him at a night club. They had a friend with the Stars and Stripes paper. He’d be there with a photographer to get a picture with her on his lap kissing the general. It’d come out in the paper. “We’ll see his wife gets a copy.”

  “Hey,” I said, “This will take time. I only have a three-day pass.”

  “Don’t worry.” The Captain said she would get my pass extended.

  I had to agree to their proposal. It seemed the only way I could get back to my outfit. The Sergeant and I went looking to find the red light district. It wasn’t too hard to do. We just looked until we found a taxi driver we could talk to who knew the town.

  We spent time in several houses looking for the right lady, one not too old or too young. In the third place, I found a girl who would fit the bill. She was about nineteen or twenty and a real beauty.

  I took her to her room and tried to explain our deal to her in the best French I could manage. She got the message and agreed to our plan for a price. I took her out and introduced her to the Wac captain. They got along really good right away. The captain, thru me, told her our plan again. The young woman said she thought it would be fun to be an actor for us.

  The Captain told her that the general didn’t like to use prostitutes, it made the lady mad. She said, “There’s nothing wrong with my work and I’m damn good at it.” She was very indignant that the general would think that way.

  We made a date with her the next afternoon to meet and I would take her to meet the general. It was all set. The Captain and Sergeant took me back to my hotel and set a meeting for the next day.

  I went looking for the French girl I had met that afternoon. The hotel clerk knew her family and directed me to their apartment. I knocked on the door and Michelle answered and was surprised to see me standing there. She invited me in and I got to meet her mother and little brother. Her father was at work. He was a trolley conductor in downtown Paris. Her mother and brother seemed happy to meet an American GI.

  It was nice to talk with these people. Her mother insisted I stay for dinner. Guess what? They had spam for dinner. American-made spam. The way the mother fixed it, it wasn’t bad. I told her so.

  They all asked a lot of questions about America. When I told them I was raised on a cattle ranch, the girl and her little brother became real excited hearing I had been a cowboy on a cattle ranch. I guess people everywhere know about American cowboys.

  The questions came fast. Did you rope and ride mustangs? Did you fight outlaws and Indians? All I could do was laugh. I told them, “You’ve seen too many cowboy movies. Ranch life is mostly hard work. You fix fences and dig post holes and cut mesquite wood to make posts. I never saw an outlaw or Indians on our ranch.” I think I broke the little brother’s heart saying those things about cowboys not being some kind of hero. Michelle and her mother seemed to know what I told them was the truth.

  After dinner, Michelle and I took a walk to downtown Paris. The city became the place of a million lights. The Tower was lit up and you could see it for miles and miles. The girl said she was so glad the Germans were gone and that Paris could go back like it was before they came. She said the last four years crept by so slow she thought the war would never end.

  She started laughing, dancing and waving to all the people we saw. She was a real joy to be with. She said she was so happy she could hardly contain herself. “You Americans are wonderful to come help France win the war and rid Paris of the German invaders.” She started hugging me and kissed me over and over. Drat, I had to ask her to stop, I was thinking of my Jen. Don’t think Jen would approve of my being mugged by this girl. I liked the things she was doing though.

  We spent that evening together, had dinner in a sidewalk café and then I took her home and met her father. All the families were nice as could be. I liked them all. I took my leave around nine p.m.

  My hotel room was nice and warm and I had a warm shower. After a good night sleep, I was up at six a.m. and had just dressed when the WAC Captain knocked on my door. She was nice enough to take me to breakfast, a good French breakfast. These women officers don’t act at all like the men. She was a real lady.

  After breakfast, we took a cab and picked up our conspirator. This girl was perfect. At the General’s office, he was beside himself. She played her roll to the hilt. She even showed the General a little leg. The plan worked like a dream. At the night club, she sat on his lap and was smooching him as the guy got the picture. I had to hang around in Paris another two weeks. It wasn’t too bad duty. The Captain picked up my bills and I got to know Michelle a little better. A really nice girl she was. Too bad I had my Jen.

  Anyway, the General got orders to go home. His wife was the daughter of a Senator. I’ll bet the fur flew when he got home.

  The weather was getting a little chilly. It was the first of December. I felt good as I left Paris to return to my unit. Hooray!

  Chapter 4

  Battle of the Bulge

  I was reluctant to go back to my unit as I was having a good time in Paris. I came to like the people I met there…Michelle, her family, the GI’s and even the officers. I was glad to have helped rid them of the General. What a joke he was to wear the uniform of an officer. Oh well, he’s on his way home to face a mad wife. I hope I never hear of the man again.

  When I got back where the 90th had been bivouacking, I was told by an MP the 90th Division and 359th Regiment were on the way to help close a gap the German 7th Army was trying to escape from in the Falaise Pocket. The Germans had been trying to cut off 12 American Divisions. The 90th was sent to stop the Germans. I had to catch up to them somehow.

  I hooked a ride on a supply truck headed their way. After several more hitched rides, I found a Company of the 359th Regiment, 1st Battalion, herding German prisoners down the road, taking them to the rear.

  I asked a GI if he knew where I could find “B” Company. He told me the company was down the road about two miles. He said “B” had been in a tough fight and had taken a lot of wounded. I hurried on as fast as I could. I was pointed into the forest where my company was supposed to be.

  I found the company off the road several hundred yards and dug in. I reported to the CO. He was mad as a hornet and wanted to know where in the hell I had been. I tried to tell him, but I could see he was in no mood to listen to my
story. The 1st Sergeant grabbed me and sent me on my way to my Platoon. He said, “The old man is upset losing so many men. This company has been shot to hell.” God, how I hated to hear that.

  I found Sgt. Rocky, he was unhappy with me, too. I had been gone so long. I tried to explain but he wasn’t ready to listen either. He pointed me to Sgt. Good. My Platoon Sgt., Sgt. Rocky, told me to pick up a rifle, “They’re many lying around. Get your ass in a hole and be ready as we may have a counter attack anytime now.” I picked up an M1 on my way.

  When Sgt. Jimmy saw me, he yelled, “Get in a hole. Where the hell you been? We sure as hell been needing you.”

  I dropped into a hole with a young guy I had never seen before. I must have looked strange as I had no field equipment or helmet. I was still in low cuts and a class a uniform. I did have a field jacket on. I had picked up an M1 and a bandoleer of ammo. The guy said, “I’m Josh. Who are you?”

  “I’m Al. I’m in this squad.”

  “You must be the guy all the boys been talking about. You went to Paris and never came back?”

  “That’s me.”

  “You go A-WALL?”

  “Hell, no.” What else could I say?

  He told me he had joined the squad four days ago. “Man, I walked into a hell of a fire fight. These old boys are one hell for fight-n. I’m glad I got in with this bunch.” This guy looked to be in his early twenties.

  I was tired. I sank down in the hole, laid the rifle against my shoulder and went to sleep. Josh woke me up and told me I had been asleep for over an hour. “Man, you must have been real tired to sleep like you did. Here’s a helmet I took off one of the dead guys.” I took it and thanked him. Looking at the headband, it read “J. Jones.” Shit, I remember the guy. We dug latrines together before. Jones told me he was from Oklahoma City. He had a gal he wanted to marry in the city soon as he got home. Now I’ll be wearing his helmet. This damn war is Hell.

  After a while, Sgt. Rocky came to our hole. It was getting dark. He gave me two blankets, “I got-em in a hole over there.” He pointed to our left. “Them guys won’t be need-em anymore. You boys get ready, we’re going to get hit any time now.” He left on his hands and knees.

  I took out a clip from the bandoleer and pushed it into the M1, rammed a round home, set the safety. I was ready. I had never fired this rifle. I said a silent prayer it would be okay and would function properly. I didn’t have long to wait.

  I could see dark figures moving thru the trees toward us. Josh whispered, “They’re Germans.”

  I pushed off the safety and said out loud, “Baby, do your work.” I squeezed off a round. I saw a figure drop. The one I fired at. “That one is for you, Hank, old buddy.” All hell broke loose. The darkness came alive with rifle and machine gun fire. Tracers were flying all over. When one hit a rock or glanced off a tree, they flew up or sideways. Somehow, it looked like the Fourth of July at home, only these fireworks were meant to kill me. I fired and fired. I don’t know how many times I did.

  Then it was silent, not a sound could be heard for several minutes. I felt to see how many clips I had left. ONE! I didn’t know how many rounds I had in the M1. The guy Josh whispered, “You got any more Ammo?”

  “No, all out.” We both pushed our bodies hard against the side of our hole.

  It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Then the wounded started moaning and groaning. It was terrible to listen to men you can’t help, even if they’re the enemy. There was no more sleeping that night.

  As the morning light came, you could see the men laying to our front. A sight I still remember. Dead and dying lay all over. It wasn’t very damn pretty.

  Sgt. Rocky came stooped over running to us, dropped down on his belly by our hole. “I think them boys has had enough. We sure took the fight out’a them.” Then he said, “Clean your weapons. Stay alert just in case.” He crawled a few yards away, turned and called back, “Stay in your hole. I’ll send some rations as soon as I get’ em.” He went on checking the other boys. Later, we found out we had not lost a man. That made me feel pretty damn good.

  Josh and I started to get acquainted. He gave me a Lucky Strike. I told him, “I don’t smoke.” After a second, though, I took it and asked for a light. He pushed his Zippo in my face and lit my butt. I took a deep drag, inhaled and watched the smoke I blew go up and fade away.

  He smiled and said, “You smoke now.” From that time on, I was a smoker, at least a pack a day.

  Sgt. Jimmy came to our hole and dropped in. “Al,” he said, “I’m glad to have you back.” He shook my hand. I really felt I belonged. He took out a pint from his jacket. “How’s about a snort.” Josh took one, so did I. It was Old Granddad.

  “Wow,” I said, “I could get to like that.” They both laughed. Jimmy crawled out to go check his other boys.

  Josh and I continued to get acquainted. He said he was 26 years old and had enlisted six months ago. He asked about me. I told my story in five minutes. I asked why he had enlisted.

  “To get away from my old lady, she was driving me crazy.”

  “You’re Mother?”

  “No, my god damned wife. That woman was running around with any man in pants. She was giving it away to any guy she was picked up by. All she did was get on my nerves. She’s a regular bar fly.”

  “Why did ya marry her if she was that bad?”

  He took a picture out and showed it to me. Here was a beautiful girl in a swimsuit leaning against a tree. He said, “Ain’t she a beauty?” I nodded my head, yes. She was beautiful. He said, “I had to marry her. You see, she said I had knocked her up. She lied, she was never pregnant.”

  “You had to marry her?”

  “I loved her.” I asked no more questions about his wife. I did ask where he was from.

  “Ohio,” he told me. He had worked in a bakery on the night shift and his wife liked the bars. “She was good looking and an easy pickup. That drove me nuts.” I felt sorry for him.

  That afternoon, the Germans had withdrawn. We were replaced by another outfit.

  The 90th was ordered back to a rest camp again. We were only about five miles from the line. The area we moved into was all set up with squad tents, latrines and mess tents. This was really living.

  I got a whole new draw of equipment and clothing. The weather was really turning bad…rain, sleet, wind and some snow. Our winter gear was kind-a pitiful. I did get a new set of long-johns, wool socks - three pair - and best of all, new rubber galoshes. I also got a brand new M1 rifle.

  My squad got a three-day pass to go to a town called Nancy, more of a village than a town. The French people were more than cordial to us GI’s. I was told the village had been shot up pretty bad during the 1st World War. The town had been occupied by the Germans for the last four years. We GI’s were asked to stay with the town people in their homes. I got a nice room with Sgt. Jimmy and we could take a hot bath.

  We didn’t have much entertainment, so we played with the kids. We played ball, soccer and made ourselves as friendly as possible. Our supply sergeant, Sgt. Max, showed up with a lot of food and candy. Boy-O-boy did that make a hit with the kids. We saw smiles and even laughter could be heard miles away, made me feel good to help these people.

  The next thing that happened was that all our passes were canceled. We had to get back to our company pronto. Back at the company, there was much excitement. Sgt. Rocky said the Germans had launched a major attack en force and the 90th was ordered to stop ‘em.

  He said, “Get your gear and ass together. We’re move-n out in an hour. Wear your long-johns, two shirts, two pair a pants and your field jacket. It’s gonna be damn cold where we’re going.”

  I did as he ordered. I packed my duff, tagged and took it to the supply truck. My M1 had been in the rack and needed cleaning bad. Sgt. Jimmy said we all could clean them in the trucks on the way. We were loaded on duce and half’s. The trucks were packed like sardines. I had no room to do anything but sit. I’d have to clean my rifle
at the first rest stop.

  As the darkness came on, the truck behind us turned on his blackout lights. All the trucks that we could see did the same. It kind of looked eerie to me. It was pitch black in the truck. You could only see the guys’ faces when they lit a cigarette. I’m telling ya, I could see the anticipation on their faces. Going into combat is a feeling no one can explain. God, how I wish old Hank were here, I sure would feel better if he was. God, how I missed that son-of-gun.

  We traveled what seemed like hours. My butt got so sore I could hardly sit still. I tried to sleep, but the truck kept hitting all the bumps in the road. Most of the guys dozed off in spite of the tough ride. It’s not fun to travel in the back of a covered truck. It was really cold. You couldn’t see anything except looking out the rear. Boring, boring. It got colder as the night got longer. PFC O’Dell said out loud, “Ain’t war fun.” Not for me. I couldn’t get Hank off my mind. Gosh, how I wished he was here. He’d make the trip a lot better just being here.

  The convoy stopped in a small village just before daylight. The order came to dismount and to get into the houses. The street was narrow with shabby looking buildings on both sides. It was snowing hard. It was colder than a well digger’s you know what!. My squad filed into one of the private houses. It was nice and warm inside. Outside, the snow was coming down in earnest. We were all glad to have shelter.

  The family living in this house, there was an older man wearing a shabby grey suit, a woman about thirty and two girls maybe ten or so years old. All four people acted glad to see us. Made me feel better to have invaded their home and to have the occupants friendly. All the guys found a spot and bedded down.

  In a few hours, Sgt. Rocky came in and gave us each a box of c-rations. He told us we would be moving up to face the Germans soon.

  “Clean your weapons!” He had a demanding voice. I cleaned my M1 as soon as I finished eating. To my surprise, I found my squad had only ten clips of ammo amongst all of us, I had but one clip {eight rounds}. It was kind-a scary to say the least…to be going into combat with no ammo.