when they wanted someone they got him
the easy way (enlistment)
the hard way (drafted)

you would remember if you got one of these

training was great sport for many guys
they didn't know we had inferior vehicles

the big boss was a tough old bird

look at who we were fighting most of the time
infantry not tanks

some of our guys remember St Lo

we had our bad moments
especially at Mortain France

everyone heard about the Malmedy massacre
by word-of-mouth although the 737th was not there
when Waffen SS soldiers shot 81 American prisoners

your webmaster captured a SturmTiger tank
at Minden on the Ruhr River

one of the SS crew members admitted being
at Malmedy during interrogation at the
Infantry Battalion Headquarters

when asked where he obtained the
GI sweater and boots he was wearing
the German soldier replied "at Malmedy"
he should have taken the Fifth Amendment

your webmaster thinks a dogface shot him
in the back yard of the farm house
where the headquarters was located

Joseph L Messina
your webmaster's gunner
was nicknamed "Little Joe"

Little Joe is the moniker for the
gasoline powered electrical generator in a tank

you need it to traverse the turret
when the tank motor is not running

he hit a running German with his 76mm cannon
poof! the guy vaporized in my binoculars

the gunner in the tank on my left said he saw
a helmet and head fly about 100 feet in the air
but your webmaster saw no body parts

that's the way it is in the heat of battle
no two guys see the same thing the same way

this article doesn't pussyfoot around
it straight out says the Sherman was becoming obsolete
by D-Day

your webmaster was born 50 years too late
he wanted to be an officer in the horse cavalry
but never made it past the rank of buck sergeant

all officers in the cavalry had a dog robber (orderly)
to take care of their horse and shine their boots
it made them feel like a General

are you having fun yet
try some of our sound clips

don't fence me in
was a tanker's favorite

the cold war site does not know where you came from
you must click on your back page arrow to return here

Harry Haines
webmaster