"On February 16, 135 Flying Fortresses made their way over the Abbey and its immediate area, at 9:30 hr. You could hear the muffled explosions and see the effects as the smoke swirled ominously about the target. A rather satisfying sight to the G.I. who had been permitted to believe that the Germans occupied the edifice. Then, four hours later, Mitchell's and Marauders completed the bombing with heavier bombs that actually kicked debris into your line of vision. The classified documents put the tons of bombs at 442 - a lot of bombs. Some Allied troops who were not informed of the bombing but were able to see the leaflets telling the civilians to leave the Abbey, remarked that we told anyone - the Germans, the Italians, but not the cmbat troops who were in position at the time of the bombing. The soldier casualty list again increased due to lack of proper information to the entire troops."
"The results of bombing were an allied disaster simply because the Germans parachuted men into the debris of Abbey and continued to hold off the Allies until late in May. The effects used by German propaganda machine were far more damaging to the Allies than the destruction of this ancient structure was to Germans. Now, we were the spoiler depicted to the world, thus temporarily alleviating the German scourge of mankind. Most of the military staff stated in general opinion that the Abbey was a tremendous error. This statement was coupled with historians who proclaimed the action as needless and tasteless to mankind, especially when we were fighting for God-given rights of man."
"Colonel Coyne's diary states the same theory as presented to the soldiers' mind: Destroy that lurking eye that supposedly was watching our every move. However, one historian observes that the Germans intentionally included the Abbey in their projected line of defense as they built the Gustav line."
B.F.
"Then the 500 lb bombs started exploding at S. Pietro some 500 to 1000 yards away. Then came the shower of shrapnel. Our bombers had missed their target by 7 miles. However, Btry D had no one injured."
"On 2 Feb 44 the British took over the Cassino sector. Not many Englishmen were in the infantry. The exception was one English Bn. and two Indian Bns. made up a Reg. The other British infantry were made up of New Zealand and Austrailian soldiers. On 7 Feb 44 D Btry was assigned to protect the Express Rd. (R.R.) from air attack. The area covered ranged from Mr. Troichio to 2000 yards to the east end near a large stream (just south of the road). The 2nd Platoon's guns were near the mountain and the 1st Platoon's were east along the Exprress Rd."
"The gun positions were picked with respect to fields of fire and personnel safety. Since we had great respect for German artillery, we didn't pick abandoned gun pits, even though it would result in much less digging and sandbagging. Such a pit existed on the north side of the road from the Btry C.P. Sgt. Kitchen's gun section dug their gun pit some 100 yards to the west. New Zealand artillery moved in and utilized the abandoned pit. We told them that the Germans had the pit "0'ed" but they just laughed and moved in anyway."
"The next day, after a full crew and gun were in place, the Germans fired in a direct hit on the gun in the pit. Watching the event didn't seem real. During the salvos, four soldiers came after the two hurt in the pit. If anyone was afraid for their own safety, they didn't show it. They did move the gun the next day. Cpl. Stehle was the closest to the shells. He was in a deep, well-sandbagged "Director" pit. I talked with him later - he didn't seem too concerned about the event. In case you're wondering, the Btry C.P. had a small ridge behind it which protected it from direct shelling."
"About 200 New Zealand troops had a bivouac about 300 yards away from our C.P. in a partly wooded area in which they set up a kitchen tent. Of course tea time was about 3:00 P.M. each afternoon. About the third day they lined up for tea and the Germans started shelling. The first shells fell over the line - the next ones short. No one broke line. A shell actually had to hit the line before it broke up. They did move their camp the next day."
"On 15 Feb 44 the Benedictine Abbey was bombed. It was a beautiful clear day. I was watching the Abbey through a director scope. The first drop of bombs missed the Abbey, falling on the near side. The resulting dust soon obscured the Abbey building. I really don't think the bombing accomplished anything except the temporary evacuation of the Germans."
"Capt. Maxfield's jeep was in bad condition. It's many miles of rough road had made it a candidate for the junk yard. On 18 Feb 44 his dream was realized. His new replacement jeep had arrived at the Bn. motor pool located between S. Pietre and S. Vittore. He left late in the morning to pick it up. His return route was Highway #6 to S. Vittore cross roads, south to the Express Rd., and east on the Express Rd. to the D Btry C.P. The connecting road between #6 and the Exp. Rd. was a high center road with deep ditches on each side (road passed by 2nd Platoon's C.P.). Two English lorries just ahead of him turned south from #6. About 100 yards down, they decided they had taken the wrong road and attempted to turn around - blocking traffic. The ensuing traffic jam was enough for the German heavy artillery to have a fire mission directed at the cross roads. At the time the shelling started, I was was visiting Lt. Miller at his C.P. The shells passed directly overhead and made a swishing sound before landing some 500 yrds up the road. I looked up thinking I could see the projectiles - I couldn't. I borrowed Lt. Miller's binoculars and thought I could see Capt. Maxfield's "new" jeep, but no Max. For one brief moment I thought about walking up and looking for him but discarded the idea. The shelling lasted for 20 to 30 minutes. He and others trapped there were in the basement of a stone building located on the southwest corner of the intersection. No one was injured, but several vehicles were destroyed. Max's new jeep had 26 miles on the speedometer, 3 flat tires and looked like a tin can used for target practice - a total loss. No, he didn't get a new jeep as a replacement."
On 20 Feb 44 D Btry moved to a rest area near Venafro to a bivouac with the rest of the Bn. The move was made after dark. Shoeten's gun section located near Mr. Troichio experienced heavy shelling about moving time. Shrapnel from a close round gave their truck a flat. The section waited for the shelling to abate, fixed the flat, and left for the bivouac area. I think it was Hoaglin that fixed the flat."
"D Brty's stay in the Liri valley was over. It suffered no injuries, but did lose on jeep due to enemy artillery fire."
J.G.