"The sounds of war were frightening. There was constant bombardment by the Germans during the first night and next day. Sometimes you would wonder if the next one was intended for your. The German six barrel rocked (screeming Meeme) was particularly nerve wracking. The rockets were fired in sequence with the tail fins making a whistling noise. Since each rocket at any given time was traveling at a different speed, the resulting whistle sound from each was a a different pitch. Really a weird sound. The fog usually prevented one from seeing where they were landing."
"There was one near injury during the three day crossing attempt that was related to me. Sgt. Kinzey, while relieving himself in the latrine, was struck on the buttocks with a piece of hot mortar shrapnel. The force of the piece was not enough to penetrate the skin, but enough to prompt the Sgt. to immediately jump into a protective slit trench nearby. It was the speed of the maneuver that was outstanding."
"My activities the first two days were limited to manning the C.P. (Command Post) and being available to receive and pass on orders in Capt. Maxfield's absence."
"However, on 22 Han 44 I was called to Bn Hdq (fwd) for a briefing, returning at 1500 hours. Walking alone on a country road about 500 yards north of the No. 6 gun position (21st day), I met Lt. Miller and 2nd Platoon afoot. They emerged out of the fog, so to speak. Lt. Miller informed me that they were evacuating their gun positions as the Germans had crossed the river and were on our side. I told him that his information was false as I had just been briefed. Then I had an anxiety spasm when I remembered that they had incinuary grenades. The grenades could destroy the gun's breach and were to be used to prevent the guns use by the enemy in the event of capture. what relief to find out that they hadn't been used. I instructed them to return and man the guns, which they did. Their total absence from their gun emplacements was probably less than one hour. I did not mention the incident to Capt. Maxfield."
"It was obvious from the briefing that I had received that no crossing had been successful. The 142 Reg., however, had not yet been used."
"About 2000 hours 23 Jan 44 we received a march order to move the Btry back to the original bivouac area near San Pietro. Capt. Maxfield left to bring up the kitchen and supply sections, still located 2 miles south of the jct. of Highways #6 and 85. I was to bring the guns out."
"All guns and trucks were assembled along the road leading to the Btry. C.P. and ready to move out about 2330 hours. Instead of returning to the Express Rd. the same way we entered, the convoy turned east on a country road in a NE direction towards the town of S. Vittore - to an intersection with Highway #6 - then to the San Pietro bivouac."
"It was a black night, but the road was a chalk white. Only the blackout lights of the vehicles were used. The map showed a stream near where the route crossed the R.R. (Express Rd.). Knowing that the Germans had probably blown the bridge, I was very cautious. I finally got out of the jeep and walked ahead. Sure enough, a 6 ft. wide section of the bridge had been blown - and there were no road barricades up. It would have been easy to have driven off into a 12 ft. drop. Back tracking about 200 yds, I found where traffic had been bypassing the bridge. The convoy was successful in fording the stream and arrived at the bivouac area sometime between 0130 and 0200 on 23 Jan 44."
"The next morning the first order of business was roll call. Everyone answered or was accounted for except one soldier. Yes, that same soldier that Sgt. Donahue had hunted for some 4 days for on the boat going to North Africa a year before. He was last reported seen at about 2330 hours headed for the Rapido River. Later that morning Sgt. Donahue congratulated Sgt. Ziglar for his loss. Congratulations may seem a little strange, but Pvt. ______ had been the Btry's leading candidate for a Section 8 for some 12 months. Sgt. Ziglar was a fine Sgt., but was noted for a lack of patience and capable of physical discipline. He had been imposed upon to supervise ______ most of this tme."
"The kitchen and supply trucks arrived about noon and were warmly received - their arrival meant a hot meal for supper. Guess who arrived with the trucks? Well, you guessed it - Pvt. ______"
"After a couple of good night's rest and hot meals, everyone was feeling upbeat. We were sorry that the crossing was a failure, but glad that Btry was once again safe - or so we thought."
"Someone found a hand crank siren. Since we occasionally had a flyover by enemy planes, we established an air watch using the siren as an alarm. About the third day back in bivouac, we had a flyover of what was clearly indentified as B-25 bombers. I remember watching and wondering "Why are their bay doors open - Cassino is still 7 miles away?" Then I saw the little black specks starting to fall. My next recollection was that of looking Sgt. Donahue in the face under a half-track that didn't even belong to D Btry. "
J.G.