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1
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-okay.
-welcome.
2
00:00:12,120 --> 00:00:13,109
Hi.
3
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Thanks for sitting down with us.
We appreciate it.
4
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Would you recount for me
the incident where you were wounded?
5
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Well, I was standing...
6
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...on the top of this hill
at the aid station...
7
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...and a random shell came in.
8
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It couldn't have gone off
more than 10 feet away...
9
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... because all I remember
is a tremendous blast and a flash.
10
00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:47,112
And the next thing I knew,
I was on the ground in the snow...
11
00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,874
...and I tried to get up.
12
00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,476
And when I tried to get up, l....
13
00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:59,073
only thing I could see
were the broken ends of my legs.
14
00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:01,880
And I thought my legs
were gone. I was--
15
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Because that's all--
Both femurs were shattered.
16
00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:11,398
They were laying down here as I was
on my back, trying to raise my legs up.
17
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And I thought:
18
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"I'm dead," you know,
"I'm about to die."
19
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And I said--
20
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I said my Act of Contrition,
because I am a Catholic.
21
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And then the next thing
I thought of was my mother.
22
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And I thought,
"What's she gonna say?"
23
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Because I was an only child.
24
00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,792
My name is C. Carwood Lipton.
25
00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,992
I was born in Huntington, west Virginia.
Grew up in Huntington.
26
00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,870
Frederick T. Heyliger. Concord,
Massachusetts was my hometown.
27
00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,476
I was born in a town named
lnchelium, Washington.
28
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It's on an lndian reservation.
29
00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:36,513
My name's j.B. Stokes.
I was born close to Bonham, Texas...
30
00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:38,796
...in an area called Leonard.
31
00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,395
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio...
32
00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,473
...my dad worked for the railroad.
My mom was a housewife.
33
00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,269
My nickname was Babe.
And my mother...
34
00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,990
...she was a little lrish broad.
Red hair. Fiery.
35
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Great woman.
36
00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,269
Born and raised in Philadelphia,
where times were tough.
37
00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,439
Mom had 10 children,
so you had to work to survive.
38
00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,069
It was just survival
in the streets of Philadelphia.
39
00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:15,270
We came up in the Depression. Sometimes
we'd live on a farm and have...
40
00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:17,471
... pigs and raise a garden.
41
00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:21,872
I saw people that really were hungry
and had hard times.
42
00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:26,232
My father was able to find employment.
We never went hungry.
43
00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:32,072
We lived on a farm. Everybody
was poor. That was the Depression.
44
00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:35,875
When I got to about 10,
I got a paper route.
45
00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:40,232
I made $5 a month. Something like that.
But it was something.
46
00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:46,310
There's a work ethic the Pennsylvania
Dutch in this area are very proud of.
47
00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:51,680
I was the oldest one, so I sort of
branched out on my own at an early age.
48
00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:56,476
I was married when I was
19 years old in 1941.
49
00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:59,712
on December 7 of '41...
50
00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:02,872
...we were in a store,
and a guy, he says:
51
00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,197
"The U.S.A. is in a war with japan."
52
00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,671
And everything just went silent.
53
00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,873
I said, "Let's go in the Army."
He said, "l don't want to."
54
00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,595
I said, "You're gonna have
to go sooner or later."
55
00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,594
Something was wrong with you
if you weren't in the service.
56
00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:24,591
It was what you had to do.
57
00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:29,197
I wasn't gonna be in the infantry.
I was gonna be in some...
58
00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,029
...top kind of a unit,
or I wasn't gonna be in the Army.
59
00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:41,277
LIFE magazine had run
an article on paratroopers...
60
00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,276
...sometime in early 1942.
61
00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,836
And it told about the
training that they got...
62
00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:55,274
...and the difficult physical
requirements, and I got interested...
63
00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,358
...in seeing if I could
become a paratrooper.
64
00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,872
Nobody forced you to do this,
you volunteered.
65
00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,476
And it was the notion...
66
00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,993
...that you wanted to do something.
You wanted to be with the best.
67
00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:16,273
But once you got in there,
you was proud to be.
68
00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:20,196
we was proud of our boots,
and our shoulder patch.
69
00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,397
And we was proud to be paratroopers.
70
00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:28,760
And we was proud to be working with
the guys we were working with.
71
00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,797
You know these people
that you're in service with....
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00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,749
You know those people better than
anybody in your life.
73
00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,077
You know them right down
to the final thing.
74
00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:46,308
And that comes when you start
your training, while that progresses.
75
00:06:55,480 --> 00:07:00,270
-Each man was like a championship boxer.
-out of 100%, only 10% made it.
76
00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,278
-I thought I'd die.
-No holding back.
77
00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:08,554
-You had to hang in there and be tough.
-We marched 118 miles in three days.
78
00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,832
The training I got
and the men I trained with...
79
00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:16,719
...gave me the confidence
to go into battle.
80
00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:25,035
We were just a bunch of ordinary kids
when we went in.
81
00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:29,159
The training was to build you up
physically and mentally.
82
00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,875
Some of them lost as much as 40 pounds.
83
00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:37,119
But I didn't have nothing to lose.
I weighed about 130.
84
00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,989
If I lost 40 pounds,
I'd have been too small to stay.
85
00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:45,671
You know, they weeded out so many.
86
00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:49,396
They'd be there one day,
and they'd be gone the next.
87
00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:54,230
They couldn't keep up with it.
They couldn't take that hard training.
88
00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,917
You had the cream
of the cream of the cream.
89
00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:04,478
we had to climb this mountain called
Currahee every morning. Run up and back.
90
00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:07,871
If you couldn't,
you'd end up in another unit.
91
00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,709
The name Currahee means
"We stand alone together."
92
00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:17,398
That's an lndian name.
It became a symbol of the camp...
93
00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:21,110
...because it was rough and tough,
going up and down.
94
00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:27,111
A lot of times, when some of the guys
would go and get them a drink or so...
95
00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,273
...you'd see them laying on the road,
where they were sick.
96
00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:35,598
It didn't matter how hard you trained
and how tired you got...
97
00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:40,231
...you would still go out on your own
and run the mountain at night...
98
00:08:40,560 --> 00:08:43,632
...which was ridiculous
because during the day...
99
00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:46,109
...all you did was bitch and moan.
100
00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:50,911
At night, they'd get a couple guys
and go up and do it on your own.
101
00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,669
we learned how to be
soldiers at Toccoa...
102
00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,509
...as a group, all of us coming in...
103
00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:01,399
...from no experience
in the Army at all...
104
00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:04,313
...coming in directly
from civilian life.
105
00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:07,199
I'm gonna say this,
I believe...
106
00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:11,991
...that the paratroopers
of the 101st Airborne Division...
107
00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:17,758
...was as well-trained as you
could get a soldier to be at that time.
108
00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,396
-We packed our own chutes.
-Nervous as hell.
109
00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,831
You're asking yourself,
"What am I doing here?"
110
00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:31,869
-Coming down is great.
-lt affects everybody different.
111
00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,430
-I broke my foot.
-You're dropping 16 feet a second.
112
00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,677
I can remember
just like it was yesterday.
113
00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:40,876
That morning after breakfast...
114
00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,073
...they marched us all
out there to the airfield.
115
00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,317
There were guys
that already made their jump.
116
00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:55,759
And they were all hollering,
"You're gonna be sorry!" You know?
117
00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:58,679
You didn't want
to be afraid, you know...
118
00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:03,795
...because these other guys are there
with you. Your bravado and all that....
119
00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:08,113
You didn't wanna be afraid,
so you kept that out of your mind.
120
00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:13,269
Jumping out of a plane wasn't like
today. My first flight up, I jumped.
121
00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,358
That was years before
I landed an aircraft.
122
00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:19,472
Most of the troopers
was the same story.
123
00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:23,275
Foolishly, I didn't think
it'd be so tough, but....
124
00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:27,553
The first time-- The first jump
you make is not all that bad.
125
00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,309
You don't know what you're doing.
When you step out...
126
00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:33,949
...the chute just opened right then.
127
00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:36,828
As I went out the door, I was blank.
128
00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,560
I cannot remember leaving the plane...
129
00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:42,917
...until after the chute
opened up. My God.
130
00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,674
But after that, it wasn't as bad.
131
00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:49,634
It was a thrill.
It was like going on a roller coaster.
132
00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:52,109
You get off
and want to get back on.
133
00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:54,516
It was a thrill.
134
00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,593
It was a high, as they say these days.
135
00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:02,278
Everybody enJoyed themselves.
Landing was the hardest part.
136
00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,876
once that chute opened,
I was happy as a lark.
137
00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,594
You know, coming down is great.
138
00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:13,670
I was small too, and I didn't
hurt myself when I hit the ground.
139
00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:18,312
Some of the big ones hit
like a ton of-- what's his name?
140
00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,399
You worried most about your chute.
Did you pack it right?
141
00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:28,311
You'd pack it one day and jump the next
day. You thought about it all night.
142
00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:30,278
You had...
143
00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:33,677
...ideas of what you might
have done wrong, or....
144
00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:35,836
But it worked out fine.
145
00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:39,476
We made five jumps
in the third week there.
146
00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:45,073
Then you were a qualified paratrooper.
Got your wings pinned on...
147
00:11:46,560 --> 00:11:51,680
...and became one of the elite members
of the parachute regiment.
148
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:54,878
We were thoroughly prepared.
149
00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:56,998
The men were...
150
00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:00,471
...trained, hardened...
151
00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,675
... physically and mentally.
152
00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:07,071
And they were ready to jump.
153
00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:14,319
That's how we started
off for Normandy.
154
00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:31,671
When you walk up that gangplank,
you know you're gone.
155
00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:38,396
As you pull out of harbor,
and you pass the Statue of Liberty....
156
00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:42,596
"Will I ever be coming back?
I don't know."
157
00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:51,994
You know you're in a parachute troop.
158
00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:56,557
You're gonna be jumping behind
enemy lines. what do you expect?
159
00:12:57,520 --> 00:12:59,875
You have no idea.
160
00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,877
That'll make anybody stand...
161
00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:08,470
...and search his soul
for a few minutes.
162
00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:16,197
We were ready.
163
00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,990
We were stationed in England
for about a year before D-Day.
164
00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:25,359
we had a lot of maneuvers
and parachute jumping.
165
00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:28,393
They put us in a camp...
166
00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:30,392
... preparing us for D-Day.
167
00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:33,069
At just about a week before D-Day...
168
00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:38,269
...they put us in. No liberties, no
nothing. You couldn't get out of camp.
169
00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,950
They had guards around
the marshaling area...
170
00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:44,879
...so nobody could leave.
171
00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,113
That's when you felt
that, "This is it."
172
00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,874
We did not know which day.
173
00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:55,596
we did not know where we were
gonna jump until we were locked in.
174
00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,115
And then they had the briefing...
175
00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,399
...to tell you exactly
what your mission was.
176
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,194
And they took this map...
177
00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,830
...and they made a model
of the features of the land.
178
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,675
They put in all the buildings,
the bridges, the knolls...
179
00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,913
...all the sand dunes.
Everything was in on that layout.
180
00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,430
We knew it by heart.
We knew where we were going.
181
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:22,517
We knew exactly what to do.
182
00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,395
I mean, if you could've been there
at the time to see...
183
00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:31,589
...where the planes were lined up and
all the gliders hooked up to the planes.
184
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,588
T anks and trucks
and fields and fields of them.
185
00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:40,072
I had no idea that there was
that much hardware.
186
00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,113
No question, we knew
it was gonna be big.
187
00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,117
And that day...
188
00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:50,480
...that we got the orders
to get on the planes.... This is it.
189
00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:08,112
We had confidence in our leaders...
190
00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:13,673
...and all the plans and preparations
that took place before the invasion.
191
00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:19,351
We were confident and calm.
192
00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:44,516
we were all loaded down. we carried
everything we thought we could...
193
00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:47,479
...in the line of personal items...
194
00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,912
... plus the necessary things
we were assigned to carry.
195
00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:53,957
And we were loaded.
196
00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:13,274
Everybody got in there...
197
00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:18,916
...and a lot of them were
very scared. I was scared too...
198
00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:23,073
... but probably in a different way
that other people were.
199
00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:26,919
As long as I was in that plane...
200
00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:30,277
...and they were gonna
get me there safely...
201
00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,671
...that's all that I worried about.
202
00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:49,952
At the time,
I had no feeling whatsoever.
203
00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,272
My feeling was for my brother,
who was killed.
204
00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:58,068
That infuriated me.
205
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:03,070
And that's why, when I jumped
on D-Day, I swore....
206
00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,909
I swore I would kill every damn
German I came across.
207
00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:11,591
That's why they nicknamed me
Wild Bill. I killed a lot on D-Day.
208
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:18,077
The sky was clear,
coming across the channel.
209
00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:23,673
Since I was jump master, I could lie
at the plane door with my head out...
210
00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,275
...in the slipstream, looking down.
211
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,711
And I saw the thousands
of craft ships...
212
00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,718
...everything from LCls
to battleships...
213
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:37,795
...down there in the channel.
I think that's when I first realized...
214
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:43,273
... how large the invasion was.
T remendously large, the invasion was.
215
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:48,998
We were out for 1 1 /2 hours before we--
We went down the south end of England...
216
00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,471
...and then across
the jersey islands...
217
00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:56,116
...and then across
the Cherbourg peninsula.
218
00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:58,999
And that's when
the fireworks started.
219
00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:03,917
Flak was terrible.
220
00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:06,873
Anti-aircraft was absolutely horrendous.
221
00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:08,308
It was like...
222
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,637
...a july the 4th celebration,
10 times over.
223
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,389
Then it would hit
under the wings and body...
224
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:20,634
...and you could hear it go...Iike
gravel hitting a car fender.
225
00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:22,910
You could see
tracers all over.
226
00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:26,157
Everybody wanted
to get out of the plane fast.
227
00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:30,108
Whether it was high, low,
no matter where we were. Out!
228
00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:32,550
They were getting shot up.
229
00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:36,116
Finally, the pilots--
I happened to read their minds--
230
00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,669
" Okay, we got so much gas...
231
00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:43,630
...and we're gonna have
to get back to England.
232
00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:46,593
What do we do with all
the guys back here?
233
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,109
Give them the green light. Get out."
234
00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:50,793
We're ready to jump.
235
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:56,279
There was a relief when the green
light came on, and we said, "Let's go."
236
00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:58,710
Well, I jumped up on a run...
237
00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:03,670
...and hit the static line
with the hook and out the door...
238
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,750
...and got such an opening shock...
239
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,799
...from the prop blast,
that it broke this chin strap...
240
00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,600
...that we had on this helmet liner.
241
00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:20,198
And that's when I lost this famous
leg bag that everybody talks about...
242
00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:26,191
...just from the shock of the opening.
It just flew right off my foot.
243
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,073
The British call them leg bags.
244
00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:33,871
They gotta be this big, and you
stuff everything you can into them.
245
00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:39,279
They're supposed to weigh 1 5 pounds.
By the time you're done, they're 60.
246
00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:43,075
Everyone that jumped
with a leg bag, they lost it.
247
00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:47,313
Most of the paratroopers
that landed didn't have nothing.
248
00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,078
I was one of them.
249
00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:50,912
It tore right off...
250
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,832
... because we jumped at speeds
of 1 50 miles an hour...
251
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,195
... maybe even higher. I don't know.
252
00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:00,868
And lower than we should've been.
253
00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:05,312
That wasn't bad either,
because you got to the ground quicker.
254
00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:09,832
When we went out the door, I looked
to see if my chute was open...
255
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,197
...and I saw tracer bullets
burning holes in the chute.
256
00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:18,713
And they told us all you'll have to do
is shuffle up to the door...
257
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:23,556
...throw that leg out, prop blast
will hit it, and you're gone.
258
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:26,710
Well, they were right.
259
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,589
only I was going out,
and my leg was in...
260
00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,877
...and I was hanging upside down...
261
00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:37,874
...Iooking at everything down
with my leg in the plane.
262
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:41,868
All this happened in a split second.
Paul rolled me out.
263
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:43,877
Paul Rogers rolled me out.
264
00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:49,677
I just helped him out. I just picked
him up and threw him out, I guess.
265
00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,997
I had to get out.
We wanted to get out so bad.
266
00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,476
And I come down
right behind city hall...
267
00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:01,071
...watched them shoot at me all the way,
which wasn't very long.
268
00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:07,031
I could see the tracers. They were
kind of spraying around in the air.
269
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:12,878
Whoever the machine gunner was down
there that was concentrating on me...
270
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:15,554
...apparently was
not a very good shot.
271
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,479
They were firing in every direction.
272
00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:22,036
You don't know which way to go.
273
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:26,756
The next thing is that you are
getting close to landing...
274
00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:31,192
...and you're saying, "There's
some trees. There's a road.
275
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:37,390
Try and slip to avoid the trees. Try
and slip to avoid landing on the road."
276
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,991
I slipped and my chute fell across
power lines, and I hit a fence...
277
00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,476
...and fell into a farmer's garden.
278
00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:49,474
I'll never forget that fence.
It had glass on top of it...
279
00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:53,275
...and cut me up,
but that didn't bother me.
280
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:57,308
I just-- I was down,
and I got down with my gun.
281
00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:02,990
I hit the ground in a field, and we
were way-- I got looking at my map...
282
00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:07,711
...and we weren't close to where
we were supposed to be.
283
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,396
We was plumb off our maps
that they'd given us.
284
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:15,519
So we had to make our way back.
we knew that the beach...
285
00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:21,278
...was to the east. We headed that way
to find out where the outfit was.
286
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:26,675
My friend from Erie
was in another plane.
287
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:32,000
when I hit the ground, I hit about
2 feet away from him.
288
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:37,075
And him and I start walking around
looking for more of our troops.
289
00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:42,269
And we were running into Germans
everywhere, but we had to hide.
290
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:47,674
You know, because if we didn't,
we were dead meat.
291
00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:52,472
And I laid in a tree.
I had my trench knife.
292
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,877
And I reached up...
293
00:22:56,120 --> 00:23:00,875
...and grabbed hold-- It was a big
trunk, the tree, and I swung into it.
294
00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:05,989
I cut those risers with,
I think, one swipe.
295
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,993
And I come down that
tree like a monkey.
296
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,988
And then there I was
with a trench knife and a canteen...
297
00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,875
...and about six candy bars
in my pocket...
298
00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:21,232
... ready to fight
the German army, you know.
299
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:26,278
So there's four guys
that were with me on D-Day...
300
00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,678
...who didn't have nothing
but a jump knife when they landed.
301
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:35,078
So we had to hope, scrounge.
302
00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:38,310
As it worked out for all of us...
303
00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:42,354
...Iater on, we'd run across somebody
who had been killed...
304
00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,516
...and you'd take his weapon.
305
00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:48,719
And that's how you get
a weapon for D-Day.
306
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:50,313
Rather haphazard.
307
00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,677
we were scattered
all over the peninsula...
308
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:57,469
...so it was quite
a confused situation...
309
00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,229
... but we were better prepared
than the Germans were.
310
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,000
The Germans didn't know
where we were.
311
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,909
Whereas on the beach,
those people coming in on boats...
312
00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:11,948
...those Germans had guns
aimed at them, waiting on them.
313
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:16,153
They had it tough.
I admire every one of them.
314
00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:27,954
These guns were pointed
and firing right down on the beach.
315
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:36,269
People on the landing craft were coming
onto the beach and were being fired at.
316
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:53,070
This battery of 105s was placed
precisely where it should be...
317
00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:57,353
...to protect any troops
coming up that causeway.
318
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,792
As you sit back years later,
you think:
319
00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,828
"This was laid out
exactly right, tactically."
320
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,232
we thought we knew
every foxhole in Normandy.
321
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,716
We knew where everything was.
We knew it cold.
322
00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:27,999
But on this one, the Germans
had moved in there...
323
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:33,075
...and camouflaged it so well,
we didn't know it was there.
324
00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,870
E Company was the assault company
of the battalion.
325
00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:54,194
we were trained from special assaults
and whatnot, special assignments.
326
00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:59,878
They weren't aware of what we had. They
didn't realize we only had 1 2 people.
327
00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:03,396
We worked our way down
through the farm area...
328
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:08,355
...to a hedgerow. Lt. Winters
had us set up a firing position.
329
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,514
And I went up
to scout it for myself...
330
00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,593
...crawled out along this hedgerow...
331
00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:21,551
...to get a little closer, to look it
over, and I felt I could see a trench.
332
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,191
And I thought I knew
where our machine gun was.
333
00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:26,793
Winters...
334
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,878
...was an exceptional leader.
335
00:26:30,120 --> 00:26:34,477
And he was able to size up,
all through the war...
336
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:39,310
...size up combat situations
and decide quickly...
337
00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:44,634
...and correctly the best way to take
care of whatever the problem was.
338
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:49,470
I divided the group into two units.
Lt. Compton was with me.
339
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,439
I gave him half the men,
and I took half.
340
00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:58,713
I gave instructions, "I want
Compton, Malarkey...
341
00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:03,869
...and wynn to crawl up there
and hand-grenade that machine gun.
342
00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:09,513
Crawl through the grass,
and as you throw your grenades...
343
00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,558
... I'll charge up
with the rest of the guys."
344
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,109
I had the two machine guns set up...
345
00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:19,068
...to give him covering fire
while he crawled up there.
346
00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:21,475
I get out to this hedgerow...
347
00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,878
...and I peek-- I look out,
and I peek through the bushes...
348
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:31,598
...and I see a couple of Germans
over there, about 30, 50 yards away...
349
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:34,673
...stoking this gun and firing it.
350
00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,960
I pull out a grenade
and pull the pin...
351
00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:43,716
...and I threw it as high
and as far as I could throw it...
352
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:47,873
...in their general direction.
It had enough hang time on it...
353
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:52,158
...that by the time it got to them,
it went off in the air.
354
00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:55,432
I jumped up with other guys,
and we charged...
355
00:27:55,640 --> 00:28:00,350
...so that we all jumped into
the first position together.
356
00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:05,071
They had trenches cut in where
they worked, the Germans did.
357
00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,589
They jumped down
in them trenches...
358
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:11,355
...and they worked them Germans
like a ghost assault.
359
00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:16,270
Three Germans broke off
from this position...
360
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:21,476
...to run across the field,
which was the wrong thing to do...
361
00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:23,153
...from their viewpoint.
362
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,038
We cut them down.
363
00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:30,991
I was in a trench, and I looked,
and I saw an arm.
364
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,789
I didn't even see-- The man
was in a camouflage tent...
365
00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:39,352
...and I didn't see him. Then I saw
an arm stuck out of that tent...
366
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,279
...and one of those
potato-masher grenades...
367
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,876
...you know, with a stick
come out of there.
368
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:47,917
I said,
"He's gonna miss me."
369
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:51,197
It fell right down
in that trench with me.
370
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:55,513
I was trying to scuttle my way
out of the way, and it went off...
371
00:28:55,760 --> 00:29:00,550
...and I felt like it blew my butt
over my head, and it pretty near did.
372
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:04,913
He's behind the enemy lines on D-Day.
373
00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:07,475
Does he holler, "Help"?
374
00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:08,874
No.
375
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:14,757
He hollers, "l'm sorry, lieutenant.
I'm sorry. I goofed."
376
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:20,872
I felt like I kind of let him down,
but that's neither here nor there.
377
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,469
My God.
378
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:32,476
It's beautiful when you
think of a guy who's...
379
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:38,074
...so dedicated to his company,
to his buddies...
380
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:43,599
...that he apologizes for getting hit,
but that's the kind of guy he was.
381
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,992
That's the kind each one of them was.
They were all the same.
382
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,799
I look upon them,
each man, with great respect.
383
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,156
Respect I can't describe.
384
00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:02,320
Each one of them proved himself...
385
00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,073
Each one of them proved himself...
386
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,116
...that he...
387
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:10,510
...could do the job.
388
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,718
We've been through Normandy, through
battle. Maybe if I had been harder...
389
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:27,034
...if I had done a little bit better job,
more men would've gone home.
390
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,191
I never thought
I'd get through D-Day...
391
00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:49,594
...Iet alone the next phase. I thought
I was gonna get killed instantly.
392
00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:52,954
The chances of survival is very slim.
393
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,115
There's the parachute.
394
00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:05,911
I got that done
in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1944.
395
00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:08,469
Me and johnny Martin.
396
00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:10,238
Drunk as a skunk.
397
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:16,795
Guarnere and I decided
we'd go to Scotland and get a tattoo.
398
00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:20,874
We didn't figure
we had a chance to come home.
399
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:25,472
But....
400
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:28,472
Yep.
401
00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:30,278
We thought, "Well, hell...
402
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:35,873
...the war is just starting, and Christ,
we're 50% gone now.
403
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,275
So it's a long haul."
404
00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:47,911
The 101st came back from Normandy
after about 33 days...
405
00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:51,629
...and we were replacements
for those who were killed...
406
00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:53,995
...or wounded in Normandy.
407
00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,111
There were young kids that came in...
408
00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,477
...and for some reason,
I don't know why...
409
00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,590
...they were the first ones killed.
410
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,798
And I think maybe
they were trying...
411
00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:13,672
...to impress the older guys,
maybe people like me or Shifty.
412
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:18,431
We were in awe of them. They had
infantry badges on their uniform.
413
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:22,872
They had a star on their
Jump wings. They....
414
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:27,390
They were our heroes.
That's how we looked at them.
415
00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,271
I don't know why, but I got
right there to where...
416
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:35,951
...I didn't want to be friendly
with replacements coming in...
417
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:40,073
...because, God, I didn't like
seeing them get killed.
418
00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:43,392
It just tore me up, and....
419
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:48,069
I don't know why, but they
were the first ones killed.
420
00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:51,949
My 10-man squad that I was in,
eight were replacements.
421
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:55,396
The squad leader and
the assistant squad leader...
422
00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:59,872
...Sgt. Muck and Cpl. Penkala
had been to Normandy. we hadn't.
423
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,749
The eight of us hadn't
been anywhere but Aldbourne.
424
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:08,112
The training got really tough
between there and the Holland jump.
425
00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:10,271
Training, training, training.
426
00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,352
We had missions scratched.
We were to jump on...
427
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:15,397
...a French city of T ouraine.
428
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:17,795
And it got to the sand-table part...
429
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,475
...where we gathered round
to see who was gonna do what...
430
00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:26,470
...and Patton's troops overran
the drop zone, so that was called off.
431
00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:32,676
we were wondering if we'd ever get to
go, and then it got to be September.
432
00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:45,117
It was a Sunday afternoon,
noontime, 70 degrees.
433
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:47,271
The drop was perfect.
434
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,751
Everybody was dropping
on the same field.
435
00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:55,670
Daytime drops are a lot easier.
You can prepare for the landing.
436
00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:59,674
I saw a plowed field,
and I slipped right over it.
437
00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:05,153
I believe I almost landed standing up,
you know, soft. A great jump.
438
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:09,148
The most dangerous part about it
was that people were...
439
00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:14,480
...Iosing helmets and equipment, and
all this equipment's raining down...
440
00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:17,950
...and if you got hit with this,
you're gonna be killed...
441
00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,759
...or wounded before you
got off the drop zone.
442
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:25,118
Everybody got together.
We all assembled very fast.
443
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:28,875
We moved out towards
the Wilhelmina Canal.
444
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:34,478
our mission was, first, to take
a bridge over the wilhelmina Canal.
445
00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:37,478
It took us hours to get there.
446
00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:41,269
And taking hours to get there,
the few German troops...
447
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:45,877
...that were securing this bridge
had plenty of time...
448
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,913
...to set their charges
to blow the thing up.
449
00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:53,352
And just as we got to it,
I was maybe 1 50 yards away...
450
00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:55,715
...it blew up in our faces.
451
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,357
Rocks and timbers were flying
and falling all around you...
452
00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:10,311
...and you can't help but think,
"My God, what a way to die in combat...
453
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:14,758
...to be killed with a flying timber."
454
00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:17,278
We were that close.
455
00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:21,951
It delayed us until morning.
We wanted to get across that night...
456
00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:26,392
... but it took us till
the next morning to get across.
457
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,758
But once we got in, the Dutch--
458
00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:34,479
It was just marvelous, their reaction.
459
00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:37,996
They loved Americans, and still do...
460
00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:43,473
...for coming in there
and pushing the Germans out.
461
00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:53,190
They called us "angels
from the sky, " which we were.
462
00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:58,275
I mean, you're under German
occupation for four years, right?
463
00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:01,950
It's horrible, and you see
paratroopers come out of the sky.
464
00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,914
Who were they? They were the angels.
They loved you.
465
00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:09,594
Their welcome was unbelievable.
466
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:15,472
They couldn't restrain
how happy they were to see you.
467
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,319
It was hard to get
down the streets...
468
00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:21,080
... because the people
were swarming over us...
469
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:23,874
...trying to congratulate us
for being there.
470
00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:27,629
They hugged you and kissed you,
and we didn't mind.
471
00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:30,718
Naturally, we was young,
We didn't mind at all.
472
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,470
And they were really proud
to see us in there...
473
00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:38,395
...to the point where it
was dangerous for us...
474
00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:42,394
...trying to clean out the town
because snipers did damage...
475
00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:44,630
...in a situation like that.
476
00:36:57,080 --> 00:37:01,517
We had a lot of fighting
because we're on the Rhine River...
477
00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:03,830
...and Germany is across the river.
478
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:07,669
They're fighting like heck
to keep us out of Germany.
479
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:13,671
It's called "The lsland." We called it
The lsland, and we set up...
480
00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:16,355
...positions there.
481
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:20,069
We had some substantial battles there.
482
00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:24,513
They could observe any movement
we made during the daytime...
483
00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:27,871
...and at their will...
484
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:32,795
...they could just shell us. Mortar--
Put mortar fire on us...
485
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:36,629
...when they had
a target of opportunity.
486
00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,070
I heard something coming down.
487
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:41,316
I knew what it was...
488
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:46,350
...a mortar shell, and I threw
my arm up, like that...and went down.
489
00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:48,988
It lit within 3 feet of me, 4.
490
00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:54,189
But when it blows,
it goes up like that:
491
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:59,560
It went through my arm and hit me in
the head. I was bleeding pretty good.
492
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:02,718
Well, I was picked to go up on a dike.
493
00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:08,512
So, of course, when you get
to the top, you don't expose yourself.
494
00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:11,712
I took my rifle
and put my helmet on it...
495
00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:17,956
...and put it over, even with
the road, on a dike.
496
00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:21,795
No action, so I brought it back down,
put the helmet on...
497
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:23,791
...and I sort of peeked over.
498
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:29,552
when I peeked over, I saw a hand with
a potato masher, and he threw it at me.
499
00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,473
I ducked. It hit my helmet
and bounced off.
500
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:37,509
When that thing bounced off my helmet,
I hollered to the guys below:
501
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:38,874
" Live grenade."
502
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:41,674
If Lesniewski hadn't
hollered, "Grenade"...
503
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:45,389
...and I had enough sense to know
that that's that grenade...
504
00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:51,157
...that hit my rifle and is right
in front of my face, practically...
505
00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:53,834
... I'd have either
had my head blown off...
506
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:58,670
...or I'd have definitely been blinded.
There's no question about that...
507
00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:01,957
... because I just got turned,
just part way...
508
00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:06,716
...and it exploded, and it
caught me in the face, neck...
509
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:09,918
...Ieft arm, under the arm,
in the shoulder.
510
00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:14,159
I hollered for them to take off.
I said, "Get the hell back."
511
00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:18,313
I had eight grenades,
so I had taken them off...
512
00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:20,914
... pulled the pins
and threw them over.
513
00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:27,508
And while the grenades were rolling
down or landing wherever they were...
514
00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:30,319
...they were hitting
some of the rauts...
515
00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:33,393
... because I could hear
screaming, crying.
516
00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:37,553
I think I threw eight grenades
in about four seconds.
517
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:40,035
And then I took off running.
518
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:43,909
So the doctor that counted
the holes in me down at Nijmegen....
519
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:45,593
Yeah, NiJmegen.
520
00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:49,594
The first doctor that
really counted the holes...
521
00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:51,955
...said there was 32.
522
00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:57,717
That was our first experience
with artillery in large numbers.
523
00:39:57,880 --> 00:40:03,830
I can remember sitting there a couple
of nights listening to artillery land.
524
00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:11,478
And the 88 was the fiercest
cannon that the Germans had.
525
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,712
It was the way they used it,
an all-purpose gun.
526
00:40:14,880 --> 00:40:18,873
It could shoot anti-aircraft tanks,
anti-personnel, airburst.
527
00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:21,793
That was the bad ones,
when shells went up.
528
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:28,918
I saw a huge mushroom cloud...
529
00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:32,918
...from the shell...
530
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:36,790
...and joe T oye stepped out of it.
531
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:40,316
I run up. I remember that
like it was yesterday.
532
00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:45,156
I run up, and I grabbed him.
He said, "Don't touch me."
533
00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:50,952
I said, "What's the matter?" He said,
" l'm hit all over." He said, " l'm bad."
534
00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:54,157
I said, " Okay."
I said, " l'm gonna go see jim."
535
00:40:54,320 --> 00:41:00,793
He said, as bad as he was hurting,
Joe T oye, he said:
536
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:06,952
" Heffron, I already
checked him. He's gone."
537
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:18,479
Jim Campbell might be alive today
if he hadn't said to me:
538
00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:23,236
"Heffron, you stay here with your gun.
539
00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:25,710
I'm going up."
540
00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:34,710
And I never, never, never--
I sleep on it, I eat on it--
541
00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:39,716
I never, never forgot that.
542
00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:44,038
And anybody that went through it...
543
00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:49,433
...will tell you the same thing.
They can't--
544
00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:52,757
It's just...
545
00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:59,398
...so bad all your life, you gotta
remember what one guy did...
546
00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:05,430
...because he thought it was his
Job to do, and he took a shot for you.
547
00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:19,950
The exhaustion on these men,
the physical exhaustion...
548
00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:25,194
...affects their endurance
to be able to cope.
549
00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:29,235
You don't realize it at the time
you come off the line...
550
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:34,679
...from living in the mud
and being absolutely miserable...
551
00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:37,877
...for 70 days straight.
552
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:41,516
You didn't realize
that you'd only be off the line...
553
00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:45,912
...for a few days, and you're
gonna be facing Bastogne.
554
00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:57,671
This is the last desperate
action of the Germans...
555
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:01,310
...to turn the tide of this whole war.
556
00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:48,877
What it is, it is Bastogne. It is--
557
00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:53,989
-This is Bo jack's woods, right?
-lt is the woods.
558
00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:57,118
Sure looks different now.
There ain't no snow.
559
00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:01,069
These trees might've been replanted.
560
00:44:01,240 --> 00:44:06,519
I think if the trees look
like they did in '44 or '45...
561
00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:09,274
...we could get a better idea.
562
00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:12,952
-That's it.
-Yeah.
563
00:44:14,240 --> 00:44:15,798
That's the town of Foy.
564
00:44:16,560 --> 00:44:20,758
oh, this is definitely the area.
This is definitely.
565
00:44:21,520 --> 00:44:27,436
There's the town of Foy, after the empty
field, where those cattle are grazing.
566
00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:29,079
About half a mile away.
567
00:44:29,240 --> 00:44:33,756
Yeah, we had an outpost set up
looking right into the town of Foy.
568
00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:38,596
They had to watch everything
because we'd come in here and sleep.
569
00:44:38,760 --> 00:44:43,550
we had our foxholes right over here,
and the other area and the other.
570
00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:47,474
wherever we had to move out
and dig in again...
571
00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:50,279
... because the Krauts had artillery.
572
00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:53,591
Most intense I ever
went through here, shelling.
573
00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:58,197
Most intense in the world. Couldn't
believe it. You had to be here.
574
00:44:58,360 --> 00:45:01,750
You just dove in the hole
and prayed, and that's it.
575
00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:04,480
If it comes in,
you ain't gonna know it.
576
00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:09,350
we lost Muck and Penkala over on this
side. They were killed instantly.
577
00:45:09,520 --> 00:45:13,274
The shell went down,
direct hit right in the hole.
578
00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:16,910
-Made mush out of them.
-Luz come over and hollered:
579
00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:20,231
"l can't see nothing of them,
nothing there."
580
00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:23,153
They were all gone,
just disintegrated.
581
00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:25,629
Unmerciful shelling, really.
582
00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:32,274
Everything out here was shredded.
Yeah, shredded by it.
583
00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:39,633
I tell you, it's an odd feeling.
584
00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:46,390
T o me, it brings a lot of memories,
memories of the men, the times...
585
00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:49,518
...good and bad, a lot of memories.
586
00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:03,711
It was the most miserable place
I've ever been in my life, even today.
587
00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:07,038
on a real cold night,
we go to bed...
588
00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:12,228
...and my wife will tell you,
I'll say, " l'm glad I'm not in Bastogne."
589
00:46:12,440 --> 00:46:16,353
The Germans wanted Bastogne
because of the road network.
590
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:19,193
That's why it was such an obJective.
591
00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:23,114
So that's where we had
to hold, which we did.
592
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:33,959
31 8 trucks come in around
noontime, and by that evening...
593
00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:37,635
...everybody was loaded
and moving out.
594
00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:39,950
We were short of equipment.
595
00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:44,352
we didn't have enough ammunition
or enough warm clothes.
596
00:46:44,520 --> 00:46:48,672
But we had confidence that our...
597
00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:53,630
...higher military authorities would get
to us whatever we needed.
598
00:46:53,800 --> 00:46:57,759
When we got up there, we didn't know
what we were getting into.
599
00:46:57,920 --> 00:47:00,115
There was very little information...
600
00:47:00,280 --> 00:47:02,669
...only that the Germans had
broken through.
601
00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:07,709
We went down, loaded on the trucks.
Another truck came by with weapons...
602
00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:12,954
...and pitched weapons. You catch one,
that's what you got until Bastogne.
603
00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:16,590
As it worked out,
there was some men who actually...
604
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:21,390
...got on the trucks and left
for Bastogne that didn't have a rifle.
605
00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:30,592
when we got there, we saw men
singly and in twos and threes...
606
00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:34,514
...working their way back,
some of them without weapons...
607
00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:36,352
...without equipment.
608
00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:38,351
Some of them were terrified.
609
00:47:38,880 --> 00:47:42,429
They were beat to a nub.
Every one of them were saying:
610
00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:45,592
"They're gonna kill everybody."
611
00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:50,959
They couldn't believe, when they
saw us up there, that we intended...
612
00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:54,078
...to set up lines
and stop the Germans.
613
00:47:54,240 --> 00:47:56,117
They said they couldn't be stopped.
614
00:47:56,280 --> 00:48:00,353
We went in and started taking up
their weapons and ammunition.
615
00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:05,674
Asking the retreating guys, "You got
any extra ammunition or grenades?"
616
00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:09,958
You could hear the firing going
on up ahead, and we're marching...
617
00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:12,151
...to it with little ammunition.
618
00:48:12,320 --> 00:48:17,599
We marched through the night, went
to the front of Bastogne and dug in.
619
00:48:17,760 --> 00:48:19,398
And then it snowed.
620
00:48:19,600 --> 00:48:24,390
Snow, cold up to your rump.
621
00:48:24,560 --> 00:48:27,711
We didn't have
no winter clothing or nothing.
622
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:31,236
A third of the doggone
casualties was either...
623
00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:35,313
...frostbite or trench foot,
whatever you want to call it.
624
00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:39,917
Bad move. A lot of snow...
625
00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:43,311
...a lot of everything
you didn't like.
626
00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:46,395
It was a cold place.
627
00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:50,559
At this particular time,
we was on top of kind of a hill...
628
00:48:50,720 --> 00:48:54,076
...and the top of the hill
had pine trees.
629
00:48:54,240 --> 00:48:57,835
We set up our positions around
the fringe of the woods.
630
00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:01,709
In Belgium, trees are planted.
They don't grow like in Maine.
631
00:49:01,880 --> 00:49:03,677
There are rows of trees.
632
00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:06,513
You look down a row
and can see half a mile.
633
00:49:06,680 --> 00:49:10,229
on top of this hill,
there was a ridge with a tree line.
634
00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:12,038
We were dug in there.
635
00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:17,752
The Germans knew right where we were,
and they really gave us a shellacking.
636
00:49:22,080 --> 00:49:24,992
T o an infantryman...
637
00:49:25,960 --> 00:49:30,192
...in wartime, the mother earth
is your best friend.
638
00:49:33,440 --> 00:49:37,069
You could always dig a hole and get
out of sight, you know.
639
00:49:37,240 --> 00:49:40,437
We dug plenty of those.
640
00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:46,868
You get through
hard ground quickly...
641
00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:50,237
...when someone's shooting,
and shells are falling.
642
00:49:50,360 --> 00:49:54,273
You can make fast work of it.
We just have to dig that hole.
643
00:49:54,440 --> 00:49:57,830
we say we became experts
on foreign European soil.
644
00:49:58,000 --> 00:50:01,709
we dug in, and two people
could dig better than one.
645
00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:06,590
In ground that's frozen, it takes
a while. You just chip it out.
646
00:50:06,760 --> 00:50:10,753
By the time you finish, they
whistle to you, "We're moving out."
647
00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:13,753
And you go someplace else
and dig another one.
648
00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:16,388
You must understand,
the Germans were--
649
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:21,270
We were surrounded. The Germans
were maybe 100 yards away from us.
650
00:50:21,440 --> 00:50:26,833
No matter where you looked in a circle,
you could see artillery flashes.
651
00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:30,879
So we knew from that
that we were surrounded.
652
00:50:31,040 --> 00:50:34,953
But we went through a couple
of shellings at Bastogne...
653
00:50:35,120 --> 00:50:39,272
...that were earthshaking.
654
00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:44,036
If you lived through them, you remember
them for the rest of your life.
655
00:50:44,200 --> 00:50:47,795
I'm not sure you're the same
for the rest of your life...
656
00:50:47,960 --> 00:50:51,509
...after you live through them.
You never forget them.
657
00:50:51,680 --> 00:50:55,468
There was one moment
I remember. I'll never forget it.
658
00:50:55,640 --> 00:50:58,438
one guy got hit in the arm
with shrapnel...
659
00:50:58,600 --> 00:51:01,239
...took his arm off above the elbow.
660
00:51:01,400 --> 00:51:05,393
They were taking him out, he said,
"Get my watch off my arm."
661
00:51:05,560 --> 00:51:07,312
Before they took him out.
662
00:51:07,480 --> 00:51:10,517
That always stayed with me.
663
00:51:10,680 --> 00:51:15,435
I mean, calm voice and everything,
"Get my watch off my arm."
664
00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:22,797
on the 3rd of january, we withdrew
back to our former positions...
665
00:51:22,960 --> 00:51:28,751
...there, up the hill from Foy.
And when we got there...
666
00:51:28,920 --> 00:51:34,278
...we could see that the Germans
had zeroed in artillery there.
667
00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:38,831
T rees were knocked down.
There were holes in the ground.
668
00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:41,992
It was right at dusk, and
the Germans had this....
669
00:51:42,160 --> 00:51:46,119
This woods of ours
zeroed in completely.
670
00:51:46,280 --> 00:51:50,398
And as we hit the woods,
this tremendous artillery attack came.
671
00:51:57,120 --> 00:51:59,315
They knew where we were...
672
00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:03,553
...and started shooting,
point-blank, 88s into our area.
673
00:52:03,760 --> 00:52:07,309
They let us have it.
Everything, the kitchen sink...
674
00:52:07,480 --> 00:52:11,393
... mortars, a rocket thing
with a screaming sound.
675
00:52:14,360 --> 00:52:18,672
It scared the hell-- I was scared,
but I think I was petrified then.
676
00:52:18,840 --> 00:52:22,276
I thought the whole world
was shooting at us at once.
677
00:52:22,480 --> 00:52:27,713
I jumped into a foxhole somebody
had started and hadn't finished.
678
00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:33,352
So I was crouched down in that foxhole,
but it wouldn't hold all of me.
679
00:52:33,520 --> 00:52:36,273
From about my nose up
was above the ground.
680
00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:39,398
I could see all these shells hitting.
681
00:52:44,640 --> 00:52:47,996
Sgt. Guarnere
and joe T oye each lost a leg...
682
00:52:48,160 --> 00:52:51,948
...in the same place, right there
on one hill. I remember.
683
00:52:52,120 --> 00:52:53,951
just this certain instance.
684
00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:59,917
Joe got caught not near his hole,
and Bill and I were ahead of him...
685
00:53:00,080 --> 00:53:02,674
...and Bill had not been hit.
686
00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:07,038
He came up out of his hole quickly.
We were still under heavy fire.
687
00:53:07,280 --> 00:53:10,556
Joe said, "Jesus Christ...
688
00:53:10,720 --> 00:53:14,156
...what do I have to do to die?"
689
00:53:14,320 --> 00:53:16,959
He got hit real bad
in the back of his leg.
690
00:53:17,120 --> 00:53:20,795
He's out hollering, "Medic,"
and he can't find a medic.
691
00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:25,078
I went out to see what
I could do for him... I got it too.
692
00:53:28,160 --> 00:53:31,914
I went over to Guarnere.
He was sitting on the ground.
693
00:53:32,080 --> 00:53:35,516
His leg was badly mangled.
694
00:53:35,680 --> 00:53:39,878
He was holding his leg,
and it was jerking like that:
695
00:53:44,800 --> 00:53:50,033
He said, "Lip, they got
old Guarnere this time."
696
00:53:50,200 --> 00:53:54,716
He had been hit before,
but they really got him there.
697
00:53:57,200 --> 00:54:01,751
We got him out of there,
Babe Heffron and I and some others.
698
00:54:01,920 --> 00:54:07,950
And they brought a jeep down,
and we put him on stretchers.
699
00:54:12,080 --> 00:54:14,514
I better not talk about him.
700
00:54:14,680 --> 00:54:16,989
I better not talk about him.
701
00:54:17,160 --> 00:54:19,310
It was terrible.
702
00:54:25,440 --> 00:54:29,115
We had lost some
very good men there.
703
00:54:29,280 --> 00:54:32,716
T oye and Guarnere
had lost their legs there.
704
00:54:32,880 --> 00:54:38,750
A number of other people were killed.
It was a difficult situation there.
705
00:54:38,920 --> 00:54:43,118
When a man was wounded,
we felt glad for them...
706
00:54:43,280 --> 00:54:45,077
...we felt happy for them.
707
00:54:45,240 --> 00:54:51,634
He had a ticket to get out of there,
and maybe a ticket to go home.
708
00:54:51,800 --> 00:54:55,076
And when we had a man
who was killed...
709
00:54:55,240 --> 00:54:59,756
...we found that he was at peace.
710
00:54:59,920 --> 00:55:02,832
And he looked so peaceful.
711
00:55:03,720 --> 00:55:07,998
And we were glad that he found peace.
712
00:55:13,200 --> 00:55:15,430
We had this...
713
00:55:15,600 --> 00:55:18,990
...assistant squad leader,
name of Mellet.
714
00:55:19,160 --> 00:55:22,072
He was from New York City.
715
00:55:22,240 --> 00:55:24,959
And I overheard him
talking one time...
716
00:55:25,120 --> 00:55:29,113
...this was in Bastogne,
he says:
717
00:55:29,280 --> 00:55:32,431
" I been through...
718
00:55:32,600 --> 00:55:35,717
... Normandy and went
through Holland...
719
00:55:35,880 --> 00:55:38,838
...and to this day, I haven't
got one scratch."
720
00:55:39,000 --> 00:55:44,552
He says, " l'm afraid when I do get it,
l'm really gonna get it."
721
00:55:44,720 --> 00:55:46,472
And he was right.
722
00:55:46,640 --> 00:55:51,350
In this little town of Foy,
he got killed.
723
00:55:55,720 --> 00:56:00,999
I don't think he had any premonition
of it. He just wondered about it.
724
00:56:01,160 --> 00:56:03,230
But I never did wonder.
725
00:56:03,400 --> 00:56:09,111
Never give it much thought.
You just live from day to day.
726
00:56:11,360 --> 00:56:16,070
Keep your fingers crossed,
and that was it.
727
00:56:34,800 --> 00:56:40,033
I have the honor to present the supreme
commander, Gen, Eisenhower,
728
00:56:43,480 --> 00:56:48,793
It is a great personal honor
for me to be here today,
729
00:56:48,960 --> 00:56:54,830
To take part in a ceremony
that is unique in American history,
730
00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:58,879
Never before has a full division,,,
731
00:56:59,040 --> 00:57:01,600
,,,been cited by the War Department,,,
732
00:57:01,760 --> 00:57:05,548
,,,in the name of the president
for gallantry in action,
733
00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:09,838
This day marks the beginning
of a new tradition,,,
734
00:57:10,000 --> 00:57:12,594
,,,in the American Army,
735
00:57:12,760 --> 00:57:16,799
With that tradition will always
be associated the name,,,
736
00:57:16,960 --> 00:57:21,988
,,, of the 101st Airborne Division
and of Bastogne,
737
00:57:22,160 --> 00:57:25,596
Good luck and God be with each of you,
738
00:57:34,360 --> 00:57:39,434
The Germans had started to surrender.
They still had their arms...
739
00:57:39,600 --> 00:57:44,913
... but as you're going
down the autobahn...
740
00:57:45,080 --> 00:57:51,428
...there was almost a solid line
of German troops coming north.
741
00:57:51,840 --> 00:57:57,312
And our job is to get to the end
and get to the heart of it.
742
00:58:01,240 --> 00:58:04,915
Berchtesgaden,
that's the end of the line.
743
00:58:05,080 --> 00:58:09,358
It's the retreat that Hitler
had for himself.
744
00:58:09,520 --> 00:58:12,751
And he built his Eagle's Nest...
745
00:58:12,920 --> 00:58:17,152
... his penthouse on top of the Alp...
746
00:58:17,320 --> 00:58:22,440
...to, l'm sure, relax
and confer with his staff...
747
00:58:22,600 --> 00:58:25,876
... because they all followed
him to Berchtesgaden.
748
00:58:26,040 --> 00:58:29,237
This was their final retreat.
749
00:58:29,520 --> 00:58:32,876
of course, this is where
they had their loot as well.
750
00:58:33,120 --> 00:58:37,511
This was the goal of the French,
who were on our right flank.
751
00:58:37,680 --> 00:58:42,196
This was the goal of the British.
752
00:58:42,360 --> 00:58:47,229
And this is the place to capture.
This is the one everybody wanted.
753
00:58:47,400 --> 00:58:49,630
Hitler's Berchtesgaden retreat...
754
00:58:49,800 --> 00:58:52,872
,,,burned by SS troops
in the war's last days,
755
00:58:53,040 --> 00:58:57,397
The chalet from which he hoped
to rule the world now lies in ruins,
756
00:58:57,560 --> 00:59:00,791
American Air Force 's pictures
show the gutted rooms,,,
757
00:59:00,960 --> 00:59:05,750
,,,and the great window through which
the fuhrer gazed out on the Alps,
758
00:59:06,120 --> 00:59:11,638
We took Berchtesgaden May the 5th,
no fighting, no shooting.
759
00:59:11,800 --> 00:59:14,917
The only thing I seen
of Berchtesgaden was a couple...
760
00:59:15,160 --> 00:59:19,358
...dead SS troopers laying
on the road as we were going up.
761
00:59:19,600 --> 00:59:24,958
It was beautiful country. He knew how
to pick out a good spot for a house.
762
00:59:25,120 --> 00:59:30,240
We took over his house...
763
00:59:30,400 --> 00:59:32,630
...and liberated it, you might say.
764
00:59:32,840 --> 00:59:37,755
There was, obviously,
loot of all kinds...
765
00:59:37,920 --> 00:59:43,040
...that the men were looking for,
such as guns....
766
00:59:43,200 --> 00:59:46,317
There was money
that they were looting.
767
00:59:46,480 --> 00:59:49,836
I was a pack rat anyway.
I picked up a lot of German items...
768
00:59:50,000 --> 00:59:54,391
...including some post cards
and envelopes addressed to Hitler.
769
00:59:54,560 --> 00:59:57,996
Come to find out, that place
was full of big art...
770
00:59:58,160 --> 01:00:02,676
... Rembrandt and all those people
hanging on the wall.
771
01:00:02,840 --> 01:00:06,833
old soldiers like us, we don't recognize
a painting when we see it.
772
01:00:07,000 --> 01:00:11,790
The 101st Airborne Division uncovers
Hermann Goering 's art collection...
773
01:00:11,960 --> 01:00:14,599
,,,hidden in a subterranean chamber,
774
01:00:14,760 --> 01:00:18,389
Twelve hundred artworks
worth millions are included,
775
01:00:18,560 --> 01:00:23,509
The treasures will go back to rightful
owners in pillaged nations,
776
01:00:26,000 --> 01:00:31,950
we found a warehouse full of gin
and vodka and stuff like that.
777
01:00:32,120 --> 01:00:35,237
Wasn't much whiskey.
Those people don't like it.
778
01:00:35,400 --> 01:00:38,073
And we took it all and set up a bar.
779
01:00:38,240 --> 01:00:41,437
Had seven truckloads
of champagne and cognac...
780
01:00:41,600 --> 01:00:46,037
...out of the wine cellars
out of the Eagle's Nest.
781
01:00:46,440 --> 01:00:49,273
So we stayed
pretty well oiled for a while.
782
01:00:49,440 --> 01:00:52,637
oh, that champagne was good.
oh, that was good.
783
01:00:52,800 --> 01:00:58,113
I started drinking it one day, and l
drank until about midnight that night.
784
01:00:58,280 --> 01:01:03,149
I went to the back and went to sleep.
I didn't wake up the next day.
785
01:01:03,320 --> 01:01:06,630
I made a two-day thing out of it.
786
01:01:06,800 --> 01:01:12,033
It didn't taste like it would hurt you.
It tasted like ginger ale.
787
01:01:12,200 --> 01:01:16,478
That was the only time I remember,
when I was in service...
788
01:01:16,640 --> 01:01:19,074
...that the company fell out
in their underwear.
789
01:01:19,240 --> 01:01:21,959
We didn't even have
to dress, you know.
790
01:01:22,120 --> 01:01:27,911
Everybody was looped, and so we fell
out in line formation in our underwear.
791
01:01:28,080 --> 01:01:31,311
They're enJoying themselves.
They're at peace with the world.
792
01:01:31,480 --> 01:01:35,678
They have a big, happy,
satisfied grin on their face.
793
01:01:35,840 --> 01:01:39,992
It was a paradise for
a soldier to move into.
794
01:01:40,880 --> 01:01:46,079
I had no problem with the looting,
because I came down through Germany.
795
01:01:46,240 --> 01:01:51,030
And I had seen the Holocaust.
796
01:01:51,920 --> 01:01:56,789
And I had seen what the Germans
had done to the jewish race.
797
01:01:56,960 --> 01:02:02,512
And I had seen what they
had done to the displaced persons...
798
01:02:02,680 --> 01:02:06,468
...and what they had done
in their occupation of France.
799
01:02:06,640 --> 01:02:12,909
And what they had done to their
occupation in Holland, Belgium.
800
01:02:14,480 --> 01:02:19,634
So that by taking over
their homes for a few nights...
801
01:02:19,800 --> 01:02:22,837
...to bed down my men....
802
01:02:23,000 --> 01:02:28,028
And if they picked up
a few trinkets, I had no problem.
803
01:02:39,200 --> 01:02:45,230
Nobody has ever taken their time
to tell you how to handle a surrender.
804
01:02:47,400 --> 01:02:53,794
We'll talk about it when we get there.
Here we are. How do you handle this?
805
01:02:59,280 --> 01:03:02,113
The German army
was a well-disciplined army.
806
01:03:02,280 --> 01:03:04,953
Those prisoners that
come down out of the Alps...
807
01:03:05,120 --> 01:03:07,998
...they came down in formation.
They marched down.
808
01:03:08,160 --> 01:03:11,675
They didn't drag down
or nothing like that.
809
01:03:11,840 --> 01:03:16,868
They came down
as defeated soldiers.
810
01:03:17,040 --> 01:03:21,477
We thought the Germans were
the evilest people in the world...
811
01:03:21,640 --> 01:03:27,112
... but as the war went along, we found
out also, it wasn't the Germans...
812
01:03:27,280 --> 01:03:31,876
... per se, it was the SS
and the special troops.
813
01:03:32,040 --> 01:03:36,318
They were the ones
that could kill their own people...
814
01:03:36,480 --> 01:03:41,270
...and the regular German
soldier was not that way.
815
01:03:41,440 --> 01:03:44,989
one of those prisoners
handed me this little book...
816
01:03:45,160 --> 01:03:48,709
...and it was a Catholic
prayer book for the Mass.
817
01:03:48,880 --> 01:03:53,829
And I realized, " Hey, I haven't got
Nazis here. I've got some Catholics."
818
01:03:54,000 --> 01:03:57,913
And I've got a Catholic good enough
to stick one of these in his pocket.
819
01:03:58,080 --> 01:04:03,757
I've thought we might've been friends.
We might've had a lot in common.
820
01:04:03,920 --> 01:04:09,040
We might've liked to fish. He might've
liked to hunt. You never know.
821
01:04:09,200 --> 01:04:14,035
They did what they were supposed to,
and I did what I was supposed to.
822
01:04:14,200 --> 01:04:19,718
But under different circumstances,
we might've been good friends.
823
01:04:20,600 --> 01:04:24,195
I have a great deal of respect
for them as soldiers.
824
01:04:24,360 --> 01:04:27,318
They were very good soldiers.
825
01:04:27,480 --> 01:04:29,948
But they're still enemy...
826
01:04:30,280 --> 01:04:35,991
...so they must
be controlled as prisoners.
827
01:04:36,400 --> 01:04:41,679
when it reached the level
of surrender for company...
828
01:04:41,840 --> 01:04:44,035
...and smaller units...
829
01:04:44,200 --> 01:04:47,351
... I was assigned this maJor...
830
01:04:47,520 --> 01:04:51,115
...and when he walked in...
831
01:04:51,280 --> 01:04:54,431
...he presented me this pistol...
832
01:04:54,600 --> 01:05:00,516
...and offered
his personal surrender...
833
01:05:03,480 --> 01:05:09,430
...which, naturally,
I accepted gratefully.
834
01:05:09,800 --> 01:05:14,237
So that would be the end
of the war for his men...
835
01:05:14,400 --> 01:05:17,949
...and this is basically
the end of the war for my men.
836
01:05:18,120 --> 01:05:20,429
And the significance is...
837
01:05:20,600 --> 01:05:25,276
...it wasn't until later, after he gave
me his pistol and I had a chance...
838
01:05:25,480 --> 01:05:29,678
...to look at it carefully,
that I realized this pistol...
839
01:05:29,880 --> 01:05:32,235
... had never been fired.
840
01:05:32,800 --> 01:05:35,473
There was no blood on it.
841
01:05:37,160 --> 01:05:40,311
That's the way all wars should end...
842
01:05:40,480 --> 01:05:43,870
...with an agreement
with no blood on it.
843
01:05:44,040 --> 01:05:47,919
And I assure you, this pistol
has never, never been fired...
844
01:05:48,080 --> 01:05:52,551
...since I've had it,
and it will not be fired.
845
01:06:06,240 --> 01:06:08,674
we didn't come home
and flout ourselves.
846
01:06:08,840 --> 01:06:11,593
I didn't come home and say
I was a war hero.
847
01:06:11,760 --> 01:06:16,197
I came home and went back to it like
we did before war. just go to work...
848
01:06:16,360 --> 01:06:18,510
...and live our life.
849
01:06:19,480 --> 01:06:23,234
I think it was difficult
for most fellows coming back.
850
01:06:23,400 --> 01:06:28,554
They didn't know what they were going
to do when they got out. I didn't.
851
01:06:28,720 --> 01:06:30,711
Went to work for a coal company.
852
01:06:30,880 --> 01:06:34,350
Did some bartendering
and ran a pool hall.
853
01:06:34,520 --> 01:06:37,478
T ook up a course in
ornamental horticulture.
854
01:06:37,640 --> 01:06:41,872
It didn't pay very much,
but I met a lot of nice people.
855
01:06:44,760 --> 01:06:48,036
I went to work where
I was working before the war.
856
01:06:48,200 --> 01:06:50,077
It was Caterpillar T ractor Company.
857
01:06:50,240 --> 01:06:53,516
I became an industrial arts
and social studies teacher.
858
01:06:53,680 --> 01:06:57,195
The spring of '46, I took
a boat to Ketchikan, Alaska.
859
01:06:57,360 --> 01:07:01,797
I went to work for the government,
a letter carrier for 37 years.
860
01:07:01,960 --> 01:07:06,875
I built homes. I was in construction.
I went into hard work, tedious work.
861
01:07:07,040 --> 01:07:10,555
I'd done everything.
You name it, I done it.
862
01:07:11,960 --> 01:07:14,394
I ended up working
on the waterfront.
863
01:07:14,560 --> 01:07:16,790
I went with the ClA
in Washington.
864
01:07:16,960 --> 01:07:18,678
Got my degree in 1948.
865
01:07:18,840 --> 01:07:21,832
After the war, I taught
for almost 30 years.
866
01:07:22,000 --> 01:07:24,958
Got a job working for
Nixon Nitration works.
867
01:07:25,120 --> 01:07:28,112
I was making $75 a week.
868
01:07:28,280 --> 01:07:30,919
We've never become
wealthy in life...
869
01:07:31,080 --> 01:07:35,232
... but we have a lot of other wealth
that means more than that.
870
01:07:35,400 --> 01:07:40,155
Everyone done well,
I done well too, thank God.
871
01:07:48,600 --> 01:07:50,318
I want to welcome you...
872
01:07:50,480 --> 01:07:55,679
...to our banquet tonight to celebrate
the ending of a fine reunion.
873
01:07:55,840 --> 01:07:57,637
Thank you all for coming.
874
01:07:57,800 --> 01:08:01,349
I want to extend the best wishes
to all the men from company E506.
875
01:08:01,520 --> 01:08:05,115
I love you, God bless you all.
Thank you.
876
01:08:06,360 --> 01:08:08,669
The purpose the reunions serve...
877
01:08:08,840 --> 01:08:12,719
...is to give us a chance to get
together and talk to each other.
878
01:08:12,880 --> 01:08:17,715
we relive some
of the Army experiences.
879
01:08:17,880 --> 01:08:21,270
But we have great respect...
880
01:08:21,440 --> 01:08:24,910
...and, you might say,
affection for each other.
881
01:08:25,080 --> 01:08:28,516
The type of affection you get
when you've lived through...
882
01:08:28,680 --> 01:08:31,478
... many dangerous
situations together...
883
01:08:31,640 --> 01:08:34,791
...and have learned that
you can rely on each other.
884
01:08:34,960 --> 01:08:40,432
If you see them today, that bond's
there. The bond you can't explain.
885
01:08:40,600 --> 01:08:45,833
Soon as you see them, you're thinking
of battles, thinking of it to yourself.
886
01:08:46,000 --> 01:08:48,514
The men stand out amongst each other.
887
01:08:48,680 --> 01:08:53,834
There's an intimacy develops and like
nothing that I've ever experienced...
888
01:08:54,000 --> 01:08:58,278
... not in college, not with
any other group of people.
889
01:08:58,440 --> 01:09:03,070
we're a strange bunch of dudes,
as far as I'm concerned.
890
01:09:03,240 --> 01:09:09,475
T o be this close after all these years,
that's the thing that gets me...
891
01:09:09,640 --> 01:09:12,279
...is we're like brothers.
892
01:09:12,440 --> 01:09:14,112
I'm back in my youth now.
893
01:09:14,280 --> 01:09:18,432
When I get to these guys,
I'm back when I went in the service.
894
01:09:19,200 --> 01:09:24,320
It's fantastic.
I'd like to make 20 more reunions.
895
01:09:24,480 --> 01:09:28,393
we had a lot of real
good times in there.
896
01:09:28,560 --> 01:09:31,950
Those are the times
you really remember, you know?
897
01:09:32,120 --> 01:09:37,194
A lot of those is what we kid each
other about at these reunions a lot.
898
01:09:37,360 --> 01:09:40,989
And then you had a lot of bad times.
899
01:09:41,280 --> 01:09:44,670
My family didn't know
anything about it...
900
01:09:44,840 --> 01:09:47,434
...and I just didn't tell them.
901
01:09:47,600 --> 01:09:50,478
I just, you know,
figured it was something...
902
01:09:50,640 --> 01:09:54,394
...that didn't need talking about.
It was done, over with.
903
01:09:54,560 --> 01:09:58,917
We didn't know Shifty the way
the men knew Shifty, you know.
904
01:09:59,080 --> 01:10:03,870
He started talking about it
just in the last five or six years.
905
01:10:04,040 --> 01:10:05,996
Last five, I'd say.
906
01:10:06,160 --> 01:10:10,073
It was like he--
That was another life, you know.
907
01:10:10,240 --> 01:10:16,156
He was another person, and we weren't
aware of the stuff he went through...
908
01:10:16,320 --> 01:10:18,117
...things he had seen.
909
01:10:18,280 --> 01:10:22,432
It didn't even dawn on me
that he had killed people.
910
01:10:22,600 --> 01:10:26,275
I really admire my dad, my daddy.
911
01:10:26,440 --> 01:10:30,433
He's a good guy.
He's a real strong guy.
912
01:10:30,600 --> 01:10:34,957
We travel a lot, and we've been
to France and to that cemetery.
913
01:10:35,120 --> 01:10:39,875
It's incredible. There's crosses
upon crosses lined up perfectly...
914
01:10:40,040 --> 01:10:45,797
...as far as the eye can see, and then
there's a cliff and the ocean.
915
01:10:46,360 --> 01:10:49,158
These weren't
just anonymous statistics.
916
01:10:49,320 --> 01:10:53,199
These were people I knew,
and I told my daughter, I said:
917
01:10:53,360 --> 01:10:57,672
"This guy here died at age 19 or 20."
918
01:10:57,840 --> 01:11:01,310
A whole life never lived.
919
01:11:01,480 --> 01:11:04,358
No family...
920
01:11:04,520 --> 01:11:05,748
... nothing.
921
01:11:05,920 --> 01:11:08,115
No children...
922
01:11:08,280 --> 01:11:13,832
... no opportunity to have satisfaction
in building a life, nothing.
923
01:11:14,320 --> 01:11:18,313
When I went there, I said,
" Dad, my gosh, you were so lucky."
924
01:11:18,480 --> 01:11:21,631
He looked at me and said,
"Yeah, l'm very lucky."
925
01:11:21,800 --> 01:11:24,189
And he started crying.
926
01:11:25,960 --> 01:11:29,475
These guys have been together
in the absolute base experiences...
927
01:11:29,640 --> 01:11:32,950
...of human existence.
They were there with each other...
928
01:11:33,120 --> 01:11:38,069
...thinking you're gonna die or seeing
people dying all around you.
929
01:11:38,240 --> 01:11:41,391
And there they went day after day...
930
01:11:42,760 --> 01:11:46,992
...and I admire that and held my father,
even on his tombstone...
931
01:11:47,160 --> 01:11:50,994
...as Sgt. Joe T Oye.
932
01:11:52,960 --> 01:11:55,918
506 PIR 101st Airborne Division.
933
01:11:56,080 --> 01:12:01,154
That's what he wanted on his
tombstone. It meant that much to him.
934
01:12:11,320 --> 01:12:15,313
How it happened that
those various individuals...
935
01:12:15,480 --> 01:12:18,040
...ended up in E Company,
I don't know.
936
01:12:18,200 --> 01:12:23,194
But as you know, every Army unit
thinks it's the best...
937
01:12:23,360 --> 01:12:26,477
...but we knew we were the best.
938
01:12:30,640 --> 01:12:33,359
I think about the guys
more than anything.
939
01:12:33,520 --> 01:12:35,750
I think about most
of them every day.
940
01:12:35,920 --> 01:12:40,948
It's something that's etched
in your memory, I guess.
941
01:12:41,680 --> 01:12:44,353
It'll never leave either.
942
01:12:45,280 --> 01:12:48,875
Am I proud of having served
in that outfit? You bet your life.
943
01:12:49,040 --> 01:12:52,077
I wore that eagle
on my right shoulder for 1 8 years.
944
01:12:52,240 --> 01:12:54,435
Probably the proudest thing
in my whole life...
945
01:12:54,600 --> 01:12:58,434
...was having been
in Easy Company 506.
946
01:13:01,600 --> 01:13:04,512
The heroes had crosses
over their heads...
947
01:13:04,680 --> 01:13:07,399
...the ones that are buried
in the cemeteries.
948
01:13:07,560 --> 01:13:10,028
Those are the true heroes, not us.
949
01:13:10,200 --> 01:13:12,475
We're just part of the works.
950
01:13:12,640 --> 01:13:16,758
And we thank God we got
back alive. That's all.
951
01:13:18,760 --> 01:13:23,515
How would you like to be a mother
or a father to a son never come back?
952
01:13:25,400 --> 01:13:29,757
The son and the mother and the father
are the heroes of world war ll...
953
01:13:29,920 --> 01:13:32,354
... not the guys that come home.
954
01:13:34,880 --> 01:13:37,075
Let me say this...
955
01:13:38,800 --> 01:13:41,951
... I believe there's very,
very few heroes...
956
01:13:42,120 --> 01:13:46,830
...that came back from the war.
They're still over there.
957
01:13:56,200 --> 01:14:00,955
Do you remember the letter
that Mike Ranney wrote me?
958
01:14:01,120 --> 01:14:03,634
Do you remember how he ended it?
959
01:14:04,560 --> 01:14:09,429
" I cherish the memories
of a question my grandson...
960
01:14:09,600 --> 01:14:14,037
...asked me the other day
when he said:
961
01:14:14,200 --> 01:14:18,193
'Grandpa, were you
a hero in the war? '
962
01:14:20,520 --> 01:14:23,353
Grandpa said, 'No...
963
01:14:27,160 --> 01:14:30,755
... but I served
in a company of heroes.'
964
01:15:49,400 --> 01:15:53,951
Joe T Oye.
oh, there was a big mick.
965
01:15:54,200 --> 01:15:58,955
And we used to have a few beers
at night, and I'd sing.
966
01:15:59,800 --> 01:16:02,234
Guarnere would
come over and sing.
967
01:16:02,400 --> 01:16:04,197
He'd say to Guarnere:
968
01:16:04,360 --> 01:16:07,875
"Guarnere, you're Italian,
you don't know this song."
969
01:16:08,040 --> 01:16:10,713
Guarnere could sing
it better than he did.
970
01:16:10,880 --> 01:16:12,472
"Bridget O'Flynn."
971
01:16:12,640 --> 01:16:14,358
How's it go?
972
01:17:08,080 --> 01:17:12,756
Now, that's the song T Oye liked,
and that's what we sang.
973
01:17:12,880 --> 01:17:16,634
You only needed a sisal of beer.
Two beers you were drunk...
974
01:17:16,800 --> 01:17:19,473
...because you were
in great physical condition.
975
01:17:19,640 --> 01:17:22,712
You were too piqued, you know...
976
01:17:22,880 --> 01:17:27,351
...and two beers you were as high
as Georgia pine, you know.
85988
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