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April 12, 1945:
The Ninth Army crosses the Elbe River. Roosevelt dies. Got word
also of Steve Conway dying.
April 15, 1945:
We drove some twenty miles and at the present are in a pretty
hot place. There are sounds of small arms fire, artillery (both
incoming and outgoing) and plenty of mortar shells. War is funny.
At times a guy does not know where the front line is; and when
artillery and small arms fire are coming from every direction,
a guy doesn't know whether it's friendly or enemy.
We headed for Nordhausen. We are being harassed
by heavy small arms fire and bazooka attacks. It is a clear day
and quite warm. It's such a beautiful day that one thinks it
a sin to conduct war on a day such as this. The Piper Cub spotter
planes are out directing artillery, and also a squadron of P-47
Thunderbolts were out strafing and bombing a German stronghold.
After a bitter battle with these fanatic Germans,
Nordhausen has fallen and what we encountered is sickening, atrocious,
and mind boggling. We went through the Nordhausen concentration
camp. What we saw is hard to describe. Countless political prisoners
were lying there either dead or dying. Bodies heaped on piles
with barely enough flesh to hold the skeleton together. As one
gazed on this heap of bodies you would see an occasional movement.
What looked like hundreds of dead bodies on a pile, you would
see a hand move, or leg or a muted groan. These poor souls were
literally starved to death and left to die on this pile. The
stench was terrible, conditions filthy, and task at hand was
monumental.
Sorting out these bodies was a ghastly and
sickening task. I had no appetite for about three days. We were
told by townspeople that there were around 2,000 prisoners in
this concentration camp.
As the proper medical authorities took charge,
we were happy to leave this most unforgettable experience. Along
the road as we continued, we encountered thousands of slave laborers
and liberated prisoners of war. Some of these were our own American
soldiers. Many of these prisoners of war were too weak to walk.
Saw and heard of some instances of brutality by the S.S. The
majority of these prisoners were very thin and undernourished.
It was a most pitiful sight.
At the present time we seem to be in an unsafe
position, as the village nearby has some fanatical die-hards
shooting it out. May God be with us.
Today we had the opportunity to go to Mass
and Communion. Yesterday was Bob's birthday and I thought of
him a lot. I hope he is doing alright in his new life. May God
be with us all. I have great confidence in Him and know all will
turn out for the best.
April 16, 1945:
We are bivouacked in a field. We are getting a little rest with
a worried thought that we seem to be out here all alone without
too much protection from our tanks and artillery. We would not
stand a chance of surviving a German counterattack. So it goes,
a constant worry all the time. We are on the outskirts of Dessau.
Sure enough, at 2:30 a.m. we were awakened
by small arms fire just a few hundred yards away. What happened
was that the Germans did make a counterattack and retook the
town about one-half mile away from us. Three G.I.'s who escaped
came running towards us and told us the Germans took the town
and were coming our way. So at 3:30 a.m. our company was alerted
and we all stood in readiness manning our guns to defend ourselves.
The Germans never showed up. (Thank God!). We stayed up the rest
of the night. The next day our tanks and infantry recaptured
the town, including one hundred of our men who were captured
the night before. There were some three hundred Germans in the
town. No one knows what confusion can be caused by such an outbreak
at dark. You can't estimate the strength of the enemy and you
don't know what he's got. I thank God once again for protecting
us.
April 20, 1945:
We headed out and traveled about thirty five miles. We made many
stops. There were the usual scenes such as the many prisoners
being released and how thin, weak, and pale they are.
April 23, 1945:
We got orders to pull out. We were told we were pulling back
to a rest area in order to rest up, and tune up our equipment
in preparation for the final assault of Berlin.
We pulled out of our bivouac area amidst a
barrage of incoming artillery and mortar fire. Phew!! What a
relief. It was like a new lease on life. In our minds there was
always the horrible fear of death during the last days of war.
We traveled some sixty miles to the rear and made it in a little
better than three hours.
Dessau, a German town I will never forget.
It was this town whose outskirts we were on when told to pull
back.
A special thanks to the 9th Infantry Division
who relieved the 3rd Armored.
On our trip to the rear we went through Halle.
Here, we saw many ruined planes on the ground. The trip was not
very nice as we made it during a rain storm, but knowing we were
getting out of the war for maybe a month sure was great.
We arrived in Berga which is about ten miles
east of Nordhausen. Here we are living like kings. The night
before last is the first I have slept between sheets since I
left the States. This is a very nice house and the surrounding
country is beautiful. This house reminds me of Mahlon Bumbgartner's
house on the Elton Road (Johnstown, PA.). I have a nice private
room and here I can sleep, take it easy, write my letters and
live as a man at ease for awhile. It's quite a den.
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